Sol Expansion — Year 2847 EXTINCTION IMMINENT

THE REACH

The Sun has become a red giant. Earth's oceans boiled away 200 years ago. The surface is a cracked hellscape of magma flows, ash storms and superheated rock — utterly unrecognisable. Humanity's last survivors live deep underground.

You have one task: build a factory network powerful enough to either move the entire Earth to a new orbit — or harvest enough of the galaxy to launch the species to the stars. Every world you play on is procedurally generated. No two runs are the same.

SOLAR EXPANSION RATECRITICAL
Surface Temperature1,340 °C
Oceans Remaining0%
Breathable ZonesNONE
Underground Survivors~12,000
EARTH RELOCATION PROGRESS0.0%
GALAXY HARVEST PROGRESS0.0%
World Seed GENERATING...
Current Buildv2.1.4

Planetary Codex

A Dead Earth

This is not the Earth you know. There are no oceans, no green continents, no breathable sky. The Sun — now 180 times its original diameter — fills half the horizon, a blinding white-orange wall of plasma that never sets. The sky itself glows a deep permanent amber-red, choked with superheated particulate and vaporised rock.

The surface is a mosaic of cracked obsidian plains, rivers of slow magma, collapsed mountain ranges fused into glass ridges, and vast basins where seas once sat — now salt flats baked so hard they ring like metal underfoot. Ash storms roll across the wasteland at 300 km/h, stripping anything not bolted down to the bedrock.

Every world in The Reach is procedurally generated from a unique seed. The type, density, and arrangement of underground resource veins, deep cavern networks, ruined pre-collapse infrastructure, and geothermal hotspots are randomised each run. No two playthroughs share the same map, the same resource layout, or the same path to survival.

Your factory begins in the deep bunker layer — the only place still cool enough to work. From there, you drill outward, downward, and eventually upward — breaching the surface with armoured machines while you remain safely below.

// Procedural Generation — What Changes Each Run
Cavern Networks
Fully randomised depth & shape
Resource Veins
Type, density & location vary
Magma Channels
Flow paths & tap points shift
Ruin Sites
Pre-collapse bunkers repositioned
Geothermal Vents
Power source positions vary
Surface Topology
Glass ridges, ash basins, magma lakes
ResourceLocationRarity
FeScorched IronDeep bunker layerCommon
MgMagma SilicateSurface taps (drones)Common
CrCryo-CrystalUltra-deep cold zonesRare
QkQuantum KeelPre-collapse ruinsEpic
SxSolar ExtractSurface solar harvestersEpic
GvGravity CorePlanet-core drills onlyLegendary
Surface Zone Registry
🌑
The Ashfield
Surface / Mid-depth
Lethal
Flat plains of fused obsidian and pulverised rock. Ash storms reach 300 km/h. No direct survival — surface operations run through armoured drones only.
🔴
Magma Shelf
Upper crust
Lethal
Slow rivers of surface magma cutting through cracked bedrock. Rich in Magma Silicate. Tap nodes accessible via heat-shielded drill rigs.
🕳️
Deep Bunker Layer
Your starting zone
Survivable
Pre-collapse reinforced caverns. Still thermally insulated. Starting point for all runs — layout varies by seed.
💙
Cryogenic Depths
Ultra-deep layer
Deep Risk
Anomalously cold pockets far below the mantle. Hold Cryo-Crystal deposits critical for planet-drive construction. Extreme pressure — hull suits required.
⚫
The Core Reach
Endgame
Lethal
The planet's molten core. Only Gravity Core deposits exist here — the sole material capable of powering an Earth-scale propulsion drive. No human access. Full drone automation only.

Operations Manual

Controls & Gameplay

🚶Movement (Underground Only)
Move
WASD
Sprint
Shift
Jetpack (low-grav zones)
Space
Crouch / Tunnel
Ctrl
Interact
E
🏗️Building
Build Menu
Q
Place Structure
LMB
Rotate
R
Dismantle
RMB
Copy Blueprint
CtrlC
🤖Drone Control
Drone Network View
V
Deploy Drone
F
Command Route
RMB
Emergency Recall
X
Toggle Drone HUD
H
📋Menus
Inventory
Tab
World Map
M
Research Tree
T
Mission Log
J
Pause / Save
Esc
// Surface-to-Drive Production Chain (Move Earth route)
🌋
Magma Tap
→
🔥
Refinery
→
⚙️
Alloy Press
→
⚡
Power Cell
→
🤖
Core Drill
→
🪨
Gravity Core
→
🌍
Planet Drive
01
You can never go to the surface. All surface operations run through drones — build a drone bay before anything else or your factory starves for materials.
02
Each proc-gen seed places geothermal vents in different positions. Scan the deep caverns first — your power grid strategy depends entirely on what you find.
03
The "Move Earth" and "Harvest Galaxy" victory paths share early-game production chains but diverge at Tier 4. Commit early — switching routes wastes hundreds of hours.
04
Quantum Keel only spawns in pre-collapse ruin sites — their positions change every seed. Explore aggressively in the first few hours or you'll hit a hard wall at Tier 3.

Update Log

Patch Notes

v2.1.42026-03-01Hotfix
⚙ Bug Fixes
  • Fixed drone pathfinding freezing when surface ash storm density exceeded 90%
  • Resolved rare world-gen seed collision causing two runs to produce identical cavern layouts
  • Fixed Magma Tap nodes disappearing after loading a save mid-extraction cycle
  • Patched crash when Planet Drive construction began while a Core Drill was still active
  • Fixed underground survivor count displaying incorrectly after the first 100 in-game days
v2.1.02026-02-14Major Update
+ New Content
  • Added second victory path: Harvest the Galaxy — build a fleet of unmanned harvester ships and strip-mine passing star systems to fuel an escape ark
  • New biome: Cryogenic Depths — ultra-deep cold pockets with Cryo-Crystal nodes critical for the planet drive
  • Solar Extractor buildings — attach to surface via shielded cables to harvest energy directly from the expanded Sun
  • New proc-gen variable: magma channel flow rate — affects how fast surface taps replenish each seed
  • 50+ new factory buildings including Quantum Assemblers, Ark Fabricators, and Deep Resonance Drills
~ Balancing
  • Scorched Iron spawn density reduced 20% in starting cavern — forces earlier surface drone deployment
  • Drone heat shielding now degrades over time and must be maintained — adds late-game logistics challenge
  • Gravity Core extraction rate reduced by 30% — Planet Drive endgame now requires ~15% more production throughput
⚙ Fixes
  • Fixed 30+ blueprint placement issues on uneven cavern ceilings
  • Resolved co-op desync when host triggered an ash storm event while client was in drone view
v2.0.02025-12-20Full Release
+ Launch Highlights
  • Fully procedurally generated worlds — seed-based cavern systems, resource veins, ruin sites and surface topology
  • Original victory path: Move the Earth — complete the Planet Drive to relocate Earth's orbit away from the Sun
  • Co-op for up to 4 players sharing a single factory and drone network
  • Full research tree with 6 tiers and 240+ unlockable buildings and technologies
  • Dynamic ash storm system — storm cycles generated from seed, affect drone efficiency and surface visibility

Help Desk

Frequently Asked

Can I ever go to the surface?+
No — the surface is lethal. Average surface temperature is over 1,300°C and ash storms are constant. All surface operations are handled through armoured drones you build and deploy from underground. You see the surface through drone cameras only.
Is every world truly different?+
Yes. Every run generates from a unique seed that determines cavern depth, shape and connectivity; resource type and density; magma channel positions; geothermal vent locations; pre-collapse ruin sites; and the surface topology above you. You can share seeds with friends to play identical worlds.
What are the two victory conditions?+
Move the Earth: Build a network of Gravity Core-powered Planet Drive engines large enough to shift Earth's orbit beyond the Sun's expanded radius. Harvest the Galaxy: Construct a fleet of automated harvester ships that strip-mine passing star systems and accumulate enough mass-energy to launch a generation ark to a new solar system.
Is The Reach free to play?+
Yes — completely free to download and play. No paywalls, no premium currency, no pay-to-win. Optional cosmetic DLC is available but never affects gameplay or world generation.
Does the factory run while I'm away?+
Yes — full real-time simulation. Your conveyors, drills, drones and power grid all tick constantly. Ash storm cycles, drone degradation and magma flow also progress in real time. Come back to find your factory either thriving or jammed.
Does co-op share the proc-gen world?+
Yes — all co-op players share the same seeded world, the same factory, and the same drone network. The host's seed and save file persist. You can also invite friends to a run already in progress — they inherit the current world state.
What are the minimum system requirements?+
Minimum: Windows 10 / macOS 12 / Ubuntu 22, Intel i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600, 8GB RAM, GTX 1060 / RX 580, 20GB storage. Recommended for 1080p/60fps high settings: i7-10700, 16GB RAM, RTX 2070 / RX 6700 XT.
How do I report a bug?+
Press F8 at any time to open the bug report screen — it auto-attaches your logs, save file, and a screenshot. Include your world seed when reporting generation bugs. All reports reviewed within 48 hours.

Ready to Deploy

Download
The Reach

Free. No account required. Automatic updates. Available on Windows, macOS and Linux. Multiplayer requires broadband — everything else runs fully offline. Every download generates a new world from a random seed.

⬇ Download v2.1.4 — Free
// Minimum System Requirements
OSWin 10 / macOS 12 / Ubuntu 22
CPUIntel i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600
RAM8 GB
GPUGTX 1060 6GB / RX 580 8GB
Storage20 GB available
NetworkBroadband (co-op only)