What Jump Space is
Jump Space is a mission-based co-op PvE game for up to 4 players where you are the crew of a spaceship. You pick from a variety of hand-crafted missions with random elements, so no two runs play out the same. The core loop is simple: jump with your ship, deal with whatever you find out there, and come back with parts and resources to make the next run easier. It is still in Early Access, so things can change as development continues.
Playing it together
The game is built around sharing a ship rather than each person doing their own thing. One of you takes the pilot seat, another handles engineering, others head out on field exploration. There are no set classes, so the group decides who does what and can swap roles whenever the situation demands it.
The ship itself needs attention during a fight. Fires can break out on the command deck, the power grid may need adjusting on the fly, and the hull and systems need repairs between or during encounters. Splitting up the work — someone flying, someone putting out fires, someone jetpacking over to an enemy vessel to sabotage its core — is what keeps a run going.
On foot and on foot in space are part of the same mission. You can steer out of an asteroid field, then switch seamlessly to a space walk or planetary exploration without loading screens. Combat happens both on the ground and in space, so expect to fight with guns as well as with the ship's weapons.
Before you start
Your ship carries over between runs in the sense that you scavenge parts to upgrade and repair it, and you bolster your guns and components with modifiers. Between missions it pays to reinforce defenses, tune energy output toward speed or toward attack power, and generally decide how your ship is built for the next challenge.
Solo play is supported if your group is not online, though the design assumes a crew splitting responsibilities. Since it is Early Access, expect rough edges and shifting balance.