Hi, I'm Bob, creator of Approaching Infinity (A.I.) .
Before my game went public, I had a talk with Matthias (magellan).
You can read about how Prospector influenced Approaching Infinity here:
https://ibol17.wordpress.com/inspiration/
The reason that I am posting here is because i get daily traffic from this thread.
And also because there are some things from above posts that i'd like to address.
Post 1: Yes, A.I. is simplified in its interface and usage. That is intentional. But there are absolutely crew upgrades, from skills, equipments, devices, and artifacts. The same applies to ships.
Posts 8 & 9: I've been making games for free for 10 years. My guess is you have either no idea what it takes to make something of this complexity, or you have the luxury of free time and/or money to do whatever you want. Most games on kickstarter raise $20k+. $5000 would not even pay for 2 months of my family's expenses. You think i'm "young"? If you think $5k (or 8k) is a lot of money, like enough to develop a game full time, you're just being naive about it. Research the field. I have 2 kids, a wife, a job, and a mortgage. Approaching Infinity is my attempt to do something that I love.
Post 10: @DarthNihilus : diseases are cured at stations, for a price. They can also be cured by a science officer over time, or a medical device or artifact.
And to anyone using the term "Rip-off" : Have you played other roguelikes? Angband, brogue, nethack, DCSS ? Do you notice the similarities? Every one of them has procedural levels, a bunch of monsters, swords and bows, potions, scrolls. And in their ascii versions, they can be hard to tell apart. Then look at science fiction tropes. There are elements that cross over in the vast majority of cases. A.I. is my interpretation of science fiction rendered in a roguelike world.
In closing, Approaching Infinity has come a very long way in its 1 year of development. It was inspired by Prospector. And A Whole Lot Of Other Things Too. I see that Prospector has also come a long way in this past year too
A.I. has a lot to offer. I suggest you check it out when a new public version becomes available.