Check out the soon-to-be-released role playing game Hadron’s Forge from Arcane Logic:

An Epic Space Adventure rpg, that combines elements of Portal and Minecraft into a vast procedurally generated universe with a rich storyline.  Explore asteroids, moons, planets, and the ruins of an ancient alien civilization. Solve construction, mining and circuit puzzles to gain knowledge and experience. Mine raw resources to fill a periodic table inventory, found new materials and craft tools, stock parts and weapons.  Build your own asteroid and planetary mining bases. Your imagination is the limit as you customize your own interplanetary space ship…

Here are some recent articles about the game:

• Forging A Classic: GGS Interviews Hadron’s Forge Developers – GGS Gamer
• Hadron’s Forge Aims to Create a Realistic Space Exploration, Building and Mining Sim – Co-Optimus
• Hadron’s Forge features asteroid mining, real elements – Destructoid

More details:

Have you ever wanted to explore an entire star system? Mine asteroids, moons and planets? Exploit space resources to build-up an interplanetary empire?  Hadron’s Forge is a new open-universe, space exploration, role-playing game that puts you at the helm of an epic space adventure!

Blending real space science and technology with an immersive procedurally generated sandbox environment, Hadron’s Forge offers a chapter-based single- & multi-player adventure! Virtually everything in the game, including the terrain, is modifiable. Fill a periodic table inventory as you mine ore and refine it down to its base elements! Forge parts and items from pure metals, alloys, carbon composites, advanced nanostructures and even “paradoxium” – the rarest material in the universe. Build bases on asteroids, moons or planets using truss, plates and utilities.

You can even customize your very own interplanetary space ship! And outfit it with propellant tanks, solar panels, ion engines and many other components.  You will need to carefully balance power supplies, fuel types and structural efficiency of your space craft in order to optimize cargo carrying capacity and range.

Arcane Logic, a new indie games developer based in Washington and spearheaded by Michael Beerman and John Savage, a duo of former aerospace industry guys, are on a mission of their own; their objective is to complete the development of this highly unique, incredibly realistic, and open-ended universe. Created using a proprietary game engine developed from the ground up, ‘Hadron’s Forge’ is scheduled to include several unique modes of play, including ‘Story-’, ‘Survival-’, ‘Sandbox-’ and several Multiplayer-Modes.

Hadron’s Forge is set in Epsilon Eridani, an actual star system 10.5 light years from Earth. Every effort will be made to recreate the star system according to the latest astronomical knowledge. For instance, astronomers have found evidence of at least two bands of asteroids and a gas giant planet in Epsilon Eridani.  But there are resolution limits to current telescopic observations, hence, the game designers will invoke creative license to add more points of interest in the game.

In the games primary ‘Story-Mode’, you take on the role of Hadron, an aspiring young “tele-op” with a mysterious past, and an unquenchable desire to uncover the secrets hidden among the planets and asteroids of Epsilon Eridani. In this campaign-like experience, players complete segments of a larger adventure beginning with a prelude and continuing through multiple chapters. You are tasked with mining, construction, trade, exploration and espionage missions as you progress through the story line. You will also encounter many challenging construction, circuit and terrain puzzles on your journeys across the star system, which you must solve in order to uncover the secrets of ancient Eridanian technology. ‘Survival-Mode’ is an experience in which players hone their skills in short-duration scenarios that happen outside of the main ‘Story-Mode’ campaign. For instance, players may find themselves trapped in a Mining Pod on an asteroid or planet surface and they must use their skills to gather resources and fabricate power supplies to maintain life-support and escape! And finally, in ‘Sandbox-Mode’, players are invited to exploit their creativity; build asteroid bases, star ships and planetary colonies in a peaceful setting with a near limitless inventory. However, you will need to earn achievements in ‘Story-Mode’ and ‘Survival-Mode’ to unlock starting maps, materials, items and structures that then become available in ‘Sandbox-Mode’. This mode also allows players to build unique challenging puzzle rooms that can be shared with friends.

Several multi-player modes are planned as well, including ‘Cooperative’ and ‘Competitive’ modes. ‘Cooperative Mode’ allows players to work together on a Sandbox or Survival map. Head-to-head (PvP) ‘Competitive Mode’ challenges may be peaceful, such as a race to gather enough resources to fulfill a trade contract, or destructive, such as a pitted battle on an asteroid to take out the other guys Mining Pod. Additional information on multi-player modes will be announced soon.