10 ms·

Awesome Engineering Games

340 points by solardev 3y ago

I've spent way too much time both playing and finding engineering-focused games, and haven't been able to find very detailed or comprehensive lists online. So I made one :) These games are both fun and often quite educational, presenting gamified versions of real-world challenges and professions. There's a lot of different sub-genres of "engineering game", such as: * Factory automation (Factorio, Dyson Sphere Program) * City builders (Cities: Skylines, Anno series) * Route-builders (Mini Motorways, Railway Empire) * Comp sci (TIS-100, Bitburner) All games on the list are very highly reviewed. I've played most (but not all) of them, and provided personal recommendations alongside the reviews. Many of them are also playable on GeForce Now (if you don't have a gaming PC). Please contribute if you know of more, or have any comments/suggestions!

jonahss 3y ago
For Demolition category, there's this old N64 game which has stuck in my memory: Blast Corps
leprechaun1066 3y ago
Transport Fever 2 if you like choo-choos.
drewcoo 3y ago
It's not a computer game, but Car Wars up to version 4. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13354/car-wars-compendium https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13354/car-wars-compendiu... Players spend some "homework" time designing vehicles, then they test them in turn-based combat, then it's back to the drawing board to revamp designs. For every hour of combat play, it's probably at least one hour of design time, tweaking designs within constraints . . . Starting with version 5, they started dumbing down the rules and focusing more on faster combat and moving around larger toy cars instead of designing anything. Because who wants to play a geeky engineering game, anyway? (me)
jader201 3y ago
I wish that there was a separate list/category of games involving coding (block or actual). One game that I really got into for a bit was Autonauts [1], but ended up falling a bit short of what I was really looking for (due to very awkward UI and controls). But would really love to see more games with automation (like Factorio) but where the automation was coded. Or tower defense/RTS games (like Mindustry) or simulation (like Rimworld) where you could automate the AI. I see some games involving coding, but mostly look like hacking games, which I think are more puzzle games, vs. sandbox. Like I said, Autonauts would have been this, but it’s just too awkward, and not quite as deep as I was hoping. I was excited this was such a list, until I realized it wasn’t software engineering. (My very first experience with something close to this was FFXII, which I loved, but fell flat for many because they didn’t want to automate the battles, which was my favorite part!) [1] https://store.steampowered.com/app/979120/Autonauts/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/979120/Autonauts/
- speps 3y ago
  I've heard about Screeps which is close to what you describe: https://screeps.com/ https://screeps.com/
- alex-mohr 3y ago
  Look at Screeps: World [0] for depth in a programming base-builder RTS. You write the code for each of your units, either natively in Javascript or Typescript, or via WASM you can run Rust, Python, etc. You use a private server or join a shared MMO world. There's a free sim [1] to try out the basics, though the actual game has much more depth. And an active Discord for help [2]. There's also a variant Screeps: Arena [3] that focuses on 1:1 PVP battles with ranked ladders if you prefer short-lived matches to a long-running world. [0] https://store.steampowered.com/app/464350/Screeps_World/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/464350/Screeps_World/ [1] https://screeps.com/a/#!/sim https://screeps.com/a/#!/sim [2] https://discord.com/invite/RjSS5fQuFx https://discord.com/invite/RjSS5fQuFx [3] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1137320/Screeps_Arena/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1137320/Screeps_Arena/
  - jader201 3y ago
    I knew about this one, but was turned off by the review talking about the base CPU isn't enough, requiring a subscription.
    - alex-mohr 3y ago
      I get that, but IMO it's not an issue. On one shard you can't use more than base CPU, so there's no advantage to a subscription there. Other optional shards are almost entirely people who subscribe. Do that too if you decide to, or ignore them.
- BHSPitMonkey 3y ago
  It's already been shared in the comments, but look into Human Resource Machine. It's a fun little game that tricks you into learning to solve problems in assembly.
Svip 3y ago
I feel like it's kind of unfair to put Factorio's release date as 2020. Yes, that's what Steam says, and that's it's 1.0 release date. But Satisfactory is listed as 2020, and that is still in early access. So maybe note on the list when a game is still in early access?
- jader201 3y ago
  What does “early access” even mean nowadays? Seems like devs can label (or not label) a game as “early access” whenever they want. I’m guessing most do it as a way to set lower expectations to minimize bad reviews. I think Factorio was early access longer than necessary, and Satisfactory also feels like it’s well beyond “early access”. E.g. it’s not like “early access” means that they’re still making changes to the game, and stop making changes once the label is gone. I’ve seen “early access” games get abandoned (or even never see another update), and I’ve seen games out of “early access” still continue getting several updates.
  - handoflixue 3y ago
    Satisfactory feels like it's absolutely Early Access: Recent Satisfactory patches have changed the tech tree, broken existing production lines due to recipe changes, and even changed the geography of the world (one of my power plants is now inside a mountain, which makes it very difficult to change anything). They're also planning to add a plot involving the alien artifacts you find across the world, although so far nothing further is known. That seems to be the clear line between "early access" and "Updates past 1.0": are you backwards compatible? Before 1.0, you don't have to worry about that, but I'd be very annoyed to find a new mountain in the middle of my base come 1.1
    - Encrypt-Keeper 3y ago
      Satisfactory does often feel feature-complete, they could release the game as-is and I don't think it would feel particularly unfinished. However it is unfinished by virtue of the fact that they have a lot more planned, and it's early access by virtue of having resources in the world with "WIP" in their tool tips.
ilikeitdark 3y ago
Great list, thanks! Does anyone have a recommendation of a semi realistic house building game for a teen? My daughter loves Minecraft and the house building games on Roblox, but trying to find something a little deeper but still fun..
- Galxeagle 3y ago
  If it’s the interior design aspect that’s enjoyable, we’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of the Animal Crossing expansion pack https://animalcrossing.nintendo.com/new-horizons/happy-home-paradise/ https://animalcrossing.nintendo.com/new-horizons/happy-home-...
- amatecha 3y ago
  Depends how realistic you're looking for, but The Sims 4 has a pretty comprehensive home-building aspect. You can also pick up the original The Sims or The Sims 2 for extremely cheap at thrift shops (since the series is so popular).
delanom 3y ago
Surprised not to see “Baba is You” on the list! Great puzzle built around programming logic. https://store.steampowered.com/app/736260/Baba_Is_You/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/736260/Baba_Is_You/
- bbstilson 3y ago
  "Baba is You" destroyed my ego. 10/10 Great game
- lifthrasiir 3y ago
  Or Recursed [1] if you have Scheme-stained glasses. [1] https://store.steampowered.com/app/497780/Recursed/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/497780/Recursed/
  - solardev 3y ago
    What category do you think this would best belong in? I watched the trailer but it wasn't super clear to me how the gameplay worked. Looks like you can move chests and keys around, but not the room itself? What's the logic/programming angle?
    - lifthrasiir 3y ago
      So you enter a room via a chest, but can also move a chest around and even take it out of the current room. And the state of room is (mostly) reset once you enter the same room again, so you can duplicate a chest provided that it was once in some other chest. Crucially, some chest refers to the existing room---you can often infinitely recurse into the same room again and again (hence the name of the game). Each level of recursed room keeps its contents until the exit, and is distinct from other levels even though they all share the same room structure. Scheme-stained glasses will translate these mechanics as follows: a chest is a function and a visible room is a scope formed by a function invocation. So it is obvious that entering the same chest again won't (mostly) keep existing objects and nested rooms have distinct states. As the game progresses, you will find various objects that interact with typical function scopes, and many of them have analogies in Scheme or similar languages. For example, I think there was an object that corresponds to an one-shot continuation!
disintegore 3y ago
I have two suggestions : TerraTech (https://store.steampowered.com/app/285920/TerraTech/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/285920/TerraTech/) for the vehicle building category. Very streamlined and surprisingly deep, although the campaign gameplay can be frustrating. Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic (https://store.steampowered.com/app/784150/Workers__Resources_Soviet_Republic/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/784150/Workers__Resources...). A planned economy city builder. It's apparently an extremely deep game with a steep learning curve. Seems to have developed a cult following.
- solardev 3y ago
  Added, thanks!
  - disintegore 3y ago
    I didn't expect my descriptions to be included verbatim hahaha
    - solardev 3y ago
      Feel free to change them! Or I can include the default Steam descriptions
hlandau 3y ago
There seems to be a fair bit of overlap with "base-building games" (a genre I'm fond of), including base-building games which I wouldn't necessarily describe as engineering games but just more generally management/simulation/strategy games (e.g. Evil Genius, Prison Architect, etc.) - Rimworld is on the list but feels a lot less engineering-oriented than say, Factorio, but on the other hand, (Open)RCT2 is missing which is surprising. Basebuilders seem to divide into two rough categories: ones where things you build appear immediately (e.g. RCT2), and ones where minions have to go and install what buildings you command to be installed (e.g. Evil Genius, Factorio's robots). Recommendations for interesting basebuilders are always of interest. While we're on the subject: games with level editors (particularly those with some kind of scripting system) are kind of interesting as even if the gameplay isn't "engineering", you can get sucked into level design. DROD comes to mind. A list of games with level editors would also be interesting.
ivxvm 3y ago
Check out Modded Minecraft Expert Modpacks like "Create: Above & Beyond", "Project Ozone", "Nomifactory" and so on.
vvoid 3y ago
Missing from Open-World Survival Sandboxes: Astroneer. Incidentally some of the best sound design and music I have ever heard in a video game.
edg-l 3y ago
This list lacks most of Zachtronics games, which are all related to engineering, and my favorite game dev. I really think Exapunks, Shenzhen I/O, SpaceChem and TIS-100 should be there, in fact, Zachtronics created his own puzzle genre, "zachs-like" https://www.zachtronics.com/ https://www.zachtronics.com/
- LugosFergus 3y ago
  They are there.
- solardev 3y ago
  They're definitely there, just near the bottom: Under https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games#hacking-computer-science-logic--automation https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games#hac... I think they were the first games I added while building the list, and a heavy inspiration for it to begin with :) I added a thank-you for them just now.
Galxeagle 3y ago
Kerbal Space Program gets high marks for giving me a great intuitive sense of orbital mechanics, aeronautical design, and space mission architectures (‘to get to space you need to go sideways, not up’), even if the actual rocket building is simplified to Lego-like to keep it fun My light bulb moment was when I looked at the Apollo 13 orbital paths and mentally considered a few alternatives they could have done too. https://store.steampowered.com/app/220200/Kerbal_Space_Program/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/220200/Kerbal_Space_Progr...
- rkagerer 3y ago
  Agreed, here's a sentiment that basically sums it up for me: https://xkcd.com/1356/ https://xkcd.com/1356/ And for anyone frustrated with the premature release of KSP 2, I recently discovered Juno New Origins which scratches a similar itch. It works on both Android and PC, and SyncThing or the like can transfer saves/crafts between.
mkoubaa 3y ago
There are two trends I'm tracking: 1. AI agents getting better and better at increasingly complex games 2. Simulations and games get increasingly closer to real engineering It'll be an interesting when these lines intersect. It'll be possible to cast real engineering challenges as games to enable AI agents to play them With AIs consistently beating humans at games, it's only a matter of time before games become a valid UX for real engineering.
dang 3y ago
Lists can't be Show HNs. Please see https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html. I've taken "Show HN" out of the title now.
- solardev 3y ago
  Oops, sorry about that! Thanks for fixing the title :)
Scoundreller 3y ago
Under the category of "Rube Goldberg Machines", I'd add this classic retro game for the kids: The Even More Incredible Machine: https://playclassic.games/games/puzzle-solving-dos-games-online/play-the-even-more-incredible-machine-online/play/ https://playclassic.games/games/puzzle-solving-dos-games-onl...
- DizzyDoo 3y ago
  I enjoyed The Incredible Machine as a kid, the modern equivalent (though still 10 years old) is 'Contraption Maker' - https://store.steampowered.com/app/241240/Contraption_Maker/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/241240/Contraption_Maker/ - which was designed by the same person. Glad to see he's still going all these years later! This is not 'Incredible Machine' related, but while I'm here, I'm working on an engineering-adjacent game where you build and automate a zoo full of spooky monsters. Might be of interest to some! https://store.steampowered.com/app/654960/The_Eldritch_Zookeeper/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/654960/The_Eldritch_Zooke...
- solardev 3y ago
  Currently, the list only has Steam games (not for platform favoritism, but for "Very Positive" reviews as a minimum threshold). However, I'm not sure if it should stay that way. Maybe it'd be good to have some older games, etc.? Discussion here: https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games/discussions/15 https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games/dis...
naet 3y ago
My original favorite engineering "game" was Garrys mod, which is basically just a playground using the Half Life 2 physics and game engine. I had great fun slapping wheels on something like a bathtub and making a makeshift car, or making silly Rube Goldberg style machines using levers, ropes, thrusters, etc. Not a typical game since it didn't offer any typical goals or levels outside of have fun and be creative, but that IMO only heightened the inspiration to engineer stuff to play with.
- solardev 3y ago
  Added, thanks!
logic 3y ago
A suggestion under factory automation: Techtonica https://techtonicagame.com/ https://techtonicagame.com/ If you like Factorio or Satisfactory, this will scratch a similar itch.
CmdrLoskene 3y ago
I think Hardspace: Shipbreaker belongs somewhere on this list. (https://www.focus-entmt.com/en/games/hardspace-shipbreaker https://www.focus-entmt.com/en/games/hardspace-shipbreaker)
- Terr_ 3y ago
  As much as I like the game, the engineering depth isn't that deep compared to "work fast and always know what's behind your cutting surface." (Especially since you are dismantling, rather than constructing.) I mean, it boils down to stuff like: Systematically depressurize, get fuses before removing generators, shut off fuel before removing thrusters, have an exit path for the generator before you disconnect the coolant, etc.
deleted 3y ago
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tgsovlerkhgsel 3y ago
Sim Tower would deserve a spot on the list if it was more modern. It was originally built as an elevator simulation and then turned into a game, and it shows. Unfortunately, it's a 16 bit application and thus not well suited for modern systems. It was unstable even back then, time was tied to CPU speed, and playing with DosBox and corresponding bad mouse behavior (no acceleration) isn't fun. Project Highrise seems to mostly omit the fine-grained elevator control that was at the core of Sim Tower, so the most recent successor that I'm aware of is Yoot Tower, which I didn't get around to trying yet. Unfortunately neither SimTower nor Yoot Tower seem to be available legally.
- Aeolun 3y ago
  If you want pure elevators you can play https://play.elevatorsaga.com/ https://play.elevatorsaga.com/
- Narishma 3y ago
  SimTower works fine in PCem with a period-accurate config.
- solardev 3y ago
  There's a current discussion about whether we should also make room for non-Steam games, especially older but great titles: https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games/discussions/15 https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games/dis... If that doesn't happen, there could very well be an sibling list of "Oldies but goodies DOS-era engineering games"?
dragon96 3y ago
Not exactly "engineering", but I might add an adjacent category of puzzle games that hurt your brain: - Baba Is You - Stephen's Sausage Roll - Jelly no puzzle + Yugo puzzle (sequel) - Braid - Snakebird
- Yahivin 3y ago
  - Patrick's Parabox
- Zecc 3y ago
  Snakebird's trailer reminds me a lot of Room to Grow.
jonwest 3y ago
Humbly suggesting “Automation” (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automation_(video_game) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automation_(video_game)) for the cars category, because not only is the engineering side of things relatively in depth, you can export your designs and drive them in another game which is heavy on physics simulation, BeamNG.
- 11mariom 3y ago
  +1, Automation+BeamNG combo is very, very playable!
derrikcurran 3y ago
Else Heart.Break() > Else Heart.Break() is a reimagination of the adventure game – a fantastic story set in a fully dynamic and interactive world. Instead of rigid puzzles you will learn (with the help from other characters in the game) how the reality of the game can be changed through programming and how any problem can be solved in whatever way you find suitable. https://store.steampowered.com/app/400110/Else_HeartBreak/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/400110/Else_HeartBreak/
- solardev 3y ago
  Thanks! Added.
inerte 3y ago
Timely as there’s a Steam sales starting on the 21st :)
namrog84 3y ago
For the city builder genre Urbek City Builder It has a pretty interesting style of how things sort a 'fit' together. Its kinda almost puzzley at times, but I think it'd fit on that list.
iancmceachern 3y ago
Detroit should be on this list. I've been trying to find it for years, had it when I was young. It was a car design and car company simulator.
- xbjfk 3y ago
  It looks like it exists on myabandomware.com [0]. I opened it in dosbox and it seemed to work. [0] - https://www.myabandonware.com/game/detroit-1ln https://www.myabandonware.com/game/detroit-1ln
  - iancmceachern 3y ago
    Thank you!!!
Danieru 3y ago
Not sure where Railgrade fall there, might not be abstracted enough for the puzzle section. Maybe the route management section?
Black616Angel 3y ago
> (2022) Dwarf Fortress I feel a little attacked by the 2022. Nevertheless this list is awesome.
bryan_w 3y ago
I wish there was a list of non-unity sim games. I hate hitting the performance wall so soon on most of these games
pallas_athena 3y ago
HN, can you help me find a game I played in the early 2000s? It was a browser game. You had a grid (pretty small), and components to put in like conveyor belts. Each level had a winning condition, of course increasingly complex. The goal of the game was, as much as I can remember, teach you some basic programming concepts (like boolean gates). I faintly remember some red and yellow lights? I might be wrong. I remember getting addicted to this game, then lost track of it forever.
- npinsker 3y ago
  Is it Manufactoria? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5tU33d3U1k&t=90s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5tU33d3U1k&t=90s)
  - pallas_athena 3y ago
    It is! Thanks! I see there's also a 2022 remake, uh.
herewulf 3y ago
Very happy to see OpenTTD on this list. It's been loads of fun since the original in the 90s.
RA2lover 3y ago
i'd recommend ComPressure (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1528120/ComPressure/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1528120/ComPressure/) and Infinite Turtles (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1952740/Infinite_Turtles/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1952740/Infinite_Turtles/), though the latter still lacks enough reviews to fit the Steam rating requirement. I'm also not sure on where something like the Poly Bridge series would fit.
- solardev 3y ago
  Thank you! I added ComPressure. Polybridge is already on there, under -- waddya know -- Bridge-Building :) FYI, there is a discussion about whether we should expand the list inclusion criteria: https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games/discussions/15 https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games/dis...
mgd 3y ago
I feel like this extends to other genres but in a more abstract way. I have spent a long time engineering a build order in an rts or a load out in an MMO (I'm thinking EVE Online as an example) Either way, thank you for putting this list together
freeqaz 3y ago
Does anybody know of any good spiritual successors to Robot Arena 2? I loved this game growing up and it very much fits into this awesome list somewhere. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot_Arena_2:_Design_and_Destroy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot_Arena_2:_Design_and_Dest...
- solardev 3y ago
  I haven't played that particular one, but I think many of the games in the category "Vehicle Builders" might be similar? https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games#vehicle-building https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games#veh... My personal favorite was Robocraft, but it didn't make the list because its reviews were only "Mostly Positive": https://store.steampowered.com/app/301520/Robocraft/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/301520/Robocraft/
DanielHB 3y ago
Oxygen not included is very cool by actually requiring logic gates to do anything sophisticated and also teaching a lot of scientific concepts The systems you can design in ONI can be crazy complicated and it is just a joy when it works. I derive a lot of satisfaction from just optimising systems in that game even though it is not really required difficulty-wise to do optimisation
oguzkonya 3y ago
A few recommendations from my library: Wrench (mechanic simulator similar to Car Mechanic Simulator, but more realistic) Tank Mechanic Simulator (similar to Car Mechanic Simulator, but with tanks) Retro Gadgets (build, code and customize old school gadgets)
rffn 3y ago
I would have added the Portal games to the list.
solardev 3y ago
Hey folks, this blew up way more than I expected :) Glad so many are interested. I've merged all the PRs on Github and addressed about half the comments here on HN. I'll go through the rest ASAP. Thanks so much for all the contributions!
ArekDymalski 3y ago
Does oldie classic like Core War belong to the list? https://corewar.co.uk/ https://corewar.co.uk/
rawling 3y ago
> Theme Parks & Dungeons > A genre started by RollerCoaster Tycoon back in the 90s No love for "Theme Park"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theme_Park_(video_game) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theme_Park_(video_game)
b__d 3y ago
First person puzzle games are missing, especially Antichamber.
bradknowles 3y ago
No mention of "Core Wars" (http://corewars.org/ http://corewars.org/) or "Robot War" (https://www.mobygames.com/game/12059/robot-war/ https://www.mobygames.com/game/12059/robot-war/)?
valyagolev 3y ago
Add Cosmoteer, where you build and fly a starship: playing it makes me think of John Boyd
shhsshs 3y ago
Shapez.io is a great introduction to factory building games. It’s basic and visual enough to be immediately understandable but there’s a lot of room for advanced builds. It is getting a sequel soon, too.
- solardev 3y ago
  It's in there! (as Shapez) I should add the free demo at shapez.io though. Can't wait for the 2nd one :)
jfoutz 3y ago
An old old one worth mentioning https://robotodyssey.online/ https://robotodyssey.online/ It’s abandoned and available for dos box as well but the web version is easy to get started with.
- voakbasda 3y ago
  Brilliant! I remember playing this as a kid on my Apple II+. I can’t remember how many hours it took me, but I eventually managed to make it through the entire thing. Many happy memories of this game helped lead me to a career in software engineering.
- solardev 3y ago
  The list currently only has Steam games, but this is up for debate: https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games/discussions/15 https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games/dis... If these older games don't get added there, it might be worth creating a sibling list that this one can link to?
  - jfoutz 3y ago
    ahhh, I didn't realize steam only. I don't think you'd find many dosbox games that really fit the theme. Robot odyessy is coming up on 40 years old. but this ``` I say keep it to just Steam games. That way if nothing else it has the focus to be an amazing utility and still has plenty of items to curate. Once the criteria becomes "everything under the sun" it becomes so huge that it's likely to have a low signal to noise ratio for usefulness. ``` seems like a pretty reasonable stance. Completely fair to say if people want old games, go look for old games.
- dllthomas 3y ago
  And its simpler predecessor (IIRC) Rocky's Boots.
azhenley 3y ago
Human Resource Machine and 7 Billion Humans are great on iOS.
piersj225 3y ago
I'm not sure where Human Resource Machine would belong, https://store.steampowered.com/app/375820/Human_Resource_Machine/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/375820/Human_Resource_Mac... might be worth adding this and 7 Billion Humans https://store.steampowered.com/app/792100/7_Billion_Humans/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/792100/7_Billion_Humans/
- m463 3y ago
  You can get them on gog too: https://www.gog.com/en/game/human_resource_machine https://www.gog.com/en/game/human_resource_machine https://www.gog.com/en/game/7_billion_humans https://www.gog.com/en/game/7_billion_humans also gog has WHILE TRUE: LEARN() https://www.gog.com/en/game/while_true_learn https://www.gog.com/en/game/while_true_learn because how many games expose you to machine learning?
  - yedpodtrzitko 3y ago
    I disagree that While True: Learn() is a game about ML. It's _themed_ as a ML game, but it's mere a share-sorting puzzle game where you are routinely load-balancing things until it works precisely as the task expect. Driving minigame was bugged at that time I was playing the game, but from what I seen on YT videos, the whole thing is about clicking "Evolve" button.
    - m463 3y ago
      I don't know, last I looked I haven't gotten to rosenblatts perceptron part yet, so I'm not that far. What I do know is that it was making me solve problems - at a high level - differently than looping/if-then-else kinds of things I did in other games. Personally, it is entertainment to me, and I won't point the finger because it was fun.
- lifthrasiir 3y ago
  HRM was personally disappointing because of both the lack of depth (no appeal to programmers) and the sudden difficulty hike (no appeal to non-programmers). Also it had (or still has?) some game-breaking interpreter bug that made me lost my code and ultimately give up.
deleted 3y ago
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rammer 3y ago
Is there a mobile app version of this list? Someone should create it? Mobile apps , I'm tired of playing bridge builder.
Kiro 3y ago
Suggestion: Hydroneer
rft 3y ago
Honorable mention: tech-focused Minecraft (Java!) mod packs (don't laugh), if that floats your boat
- willis936 3y ago
  Java MC industrial mods have been the granddaddy of industrial games since 1.4.7. Nothing scratches the itch quite like a 4 story chemical plant with hundreds of regulated processes.
  - herewulf 3y ago
    That sounds rather interesting. Link to some examples of said chemical plants?
    - willis936 3y ago
      I don't have any I can personally vet on the public internet. Most of what I've seen is on the GTCEu discord. Image searching "nomifactory" yields some stuff that looks about right. "Lawn base". https://i.redd.it/dpcixz3z60d81.png https://i.redd.it/dpcixz3z60d81.png Back in the 1.4.7 days the biggest packs out there were kitchen sink packs like MindCrack with GT3 being the biggest single mod. The gregtech family tree has grown substantially and the largest branches are much more intricate than what used to be around. On par with Krastorio2.
- ladberg 3y ago
  Included in most of the tech mod packs but deserving of a special mention is ComputerCraft, which allows you to program computers and robots in Lua that can interact with the Minecraft world!
  - rft 3y ago
    CC is the reason I can write some Lua, at least after the initial intro when I was fumbling around in the TES 3 editor. I went down that rabbit hole and build some far too complex one-off things. One of them even called out to a PHP backend for a shared database. I think I started hacking on a system that could propagate updates between CC nodes in a sort of mesh network (wireless CC networks) before just using the database backend. Luckily I lost interest before writing a whole network layer.
gene-h 3y ago
RoboCo is a nice vehicle building game. https://roboco.co/ https://roboco.co/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1067220/RoboCo/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1067220/RoboCo/ It has one of the best mechanism simulators I've seen in a game with all sorts of gears, differentials, slider joints, springs etc. I've found it handy for virtually prototyping, you can mock up and test machine concepts much faster than CAD software. Oh and it has a python API: https://docs.roboco.co/latest/ https://docs.roboco.co/latest/
- solardev 3y ago
  Awesome, thanks! I'll add it. May I please cite your comment as a recommendation and link to this?
  - gene-h 3y ago
    Sure.
    - solardev 3y ago
      Added, thanks!
dllthomas 3y ago
Possibly add the Incredible Proof Machine (https://incredible.pm https://incredible.pm)
- 082349872349872 3y ago
  along these lines, the Natural Number Game ( https://adam.math.hhu.de/#/g/hhu-adam/NNG4 https://adam.math.hhu.de/#/g/hhu-adam/NNG4 ) (the ceiling on the game this is an installment of is pretty high, eg https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2023/11/18/formalizing-the-proof-of-pfr-in-lean4-using-blueprint-a-short-tour/ https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2023/11/18/formalizing-the-pr... )
  - thaumasiotes 3y ago
    Less math-focused, but same idea: https://nandgame.com https://nandgame.com
  - thaumasiotes 3y ago
    incredible.pm is also a skin on a theorem prover. I had a lot more fun with incredible.pm; a lot of the difficulty in the Natural Number Game was in the UI being unclear. For example, I ran into a case where I had y <= d and I wanted y <= d + 1. The two relevant theorems here are the transitivity of the <= relation and the fact that n <= n+1 for all n. Both of those were in my "inventory". But I had no way to apply them. In incredible.pm, you'd have a block for "n <= n+1 for all n", you'd run that through a universal instantiator, and you'd get d <= d+1 as a result. Then you could use that as input to the transitivity theorem. But in the Natural Number game, where I had my hypothesis y <= d and my goal y <= d+1, there was no way that I was aware of to introduce the result d <= d+1, even though I had access to a theorem proving that specific fact. The solution turned out to be to say "apply le_trans" [to the goal y <= d+1], which gave me the intermediate goal y <= ?succ.inr.h.y . Hovering that upper bound then says "[This] Parses a synthetic hole [...] This syntax is used to construct named metavariables." Then, guessing something that might work but that the game certainly doesn't teach you to do, I closed that goal by calling "exact" on my hypothesis that said y <= d. This works† and unifies the value d with the named metavariable ?succ.inr.h.y . But I would not consider it a triumph of user experience. incredible.pm is also better in that it provides a playground where you can set up your own proofs of arbitrary theorems. † Well, the call to exact works. The call to apply le_trans split my goal "y <= d+1" into three goals, which were "y <= ?succ.inr.h.y , ?succ.inr.h.y <= d+1, and, for no reason I can imagine, ℕ. However, proving the first two goals completed the overall theorem, so I still don't know what it meant to have a third goal of "ℕ".
robotnikman 3y ago
Not sure if its exactly relevant, but I would also add From the Depths as well. It has a very steep learning cliff, but once you learn it you can build all kinds of war machines, from ships to robot walkers and spacecraft. And you create the individual systems which your vehicles use as well, such as steam engines, weapon systems, AI, etc. Its a game I've spent many hours in.
greggsy 3y ago
Universal Paperclips and Adventure Capitalist are more about finance, but that’s still a key part of engineering right?
YaBa 3y ago
It's missing RuckIngenur, for those who like electronics and hardware hacking. https://www.zachtronics.com/ruckingenur-ii/ https://www.zachtronics.com/ruckingenur-ii/
s_dev 3y ago
Civ VI (more precisely all Civ series games) should be on this list. There is a whole category of Great Engineers and the game mechanics allow these real life Engineers to aid in the construction of Wonders and triggering a win condition. City planning is a big part of the game. Poly Bridge is also a game that is focussed on building bridges. Kerbal Space Program is focussed on constructing a Rocket and launching it.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- solardev 3y ago
  While making the list, I debated this in my head for quite a while and couldn't come to a good conclusion either way. On one hand, if we add Civ, that would probably open up all 4X games (Stellaris, Sins of a Solar Empire, maybe even Age of Empires, etc.). That might be a lot of games, and arguably the "engineering" isn't a huge focus in those games. From what I remember, those games don't have a whole lot of automation/assembly lines going on, or focus on route-building (Civ has roads, but it's only a minor part of the game), infrastructure, etc. It's a pretty big-picture view nations, rather than the day-to-day nitty-gritty of running individual cities/settlements. On the other hand, it could also be argued that settlement games are similar too, just a matter of degree or "zoom level". I'm on the fence about it. Any thoughts? ----- Oh, and Poly Bridge and KSP are on there already :)
  - s_dev 3y ago
    >I'm on the fence about it. Any thoughts? Discuss the thoughts at the top of the GitHub page so that your thinking and criteria are clear of why certain games are included an others are not. It's completely fine to exclude Civ -- it is kind of a unique game that aims to include many aspects of ancient and modern Civilizations from military conquest to scientistic research to engineering achievements. You could argue it's an aspect of the game but not a central game mechanic which the list aims to promote. Don't over think it though -- it's just a list of games that supposed to be useful to whatever audience you have in mind. I'm just trying to rattle off suggestions anyhow and that makes the list better given many games were 'considered'.
mcphage 3y ago
The most recent Zelda game (Tears of the Kingdom) has a pretty fun vehicle builder component. People have made all sorts of crazy things using it.
dudleypippin 3y ago
Not a Steam game, but an amazing programming puzzle game that I keep looking for a modern version of. Year: 2001 Title: Colobot Link: https://colobot.info/ https://colobot.info/ My description: Use code to direct wheeled, hover and flying bots to construct, combat and explore. Description: Colobot (Colonize with Bots) is an educational, post apocalyptic real-time strategy video game featuring 3D graphics, created by Swiss developer Epsitec SA. The objective of the game is to find a planet for colonization by the human race by establishing a basic infrastructure on the surface and eliminating any alien life forms endangering the expedition. The game takes place on the Earth, Moon, and seven fictional planets. The main feature of the game, which makes it educational, is the possibility for players to program their robots using a programming language similar to C++ or Java.

340 points by solardev 3y ago

jonahss 3y ago

For Demolition category, there's this old N64 game which has stuck in my memory: Blast Corps

leprechaun1066 3y ago

Transport Fever 2 if you like choo-choos.

drewcoo 3y ago

It's not a computer game, but Car Wars up to version 4. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13354/car-wars-compendium https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13354/car-wars-compendiu... Players spend some "homework" time designing vehicles, then they test them in turn-based combat, then it's back to the drawing board to revamp designs. For every hour of combat play, it's probably at least one hour of design time, tweaking designs within constraints . . . Starting with version 5, they started dumbing down the rules and focusing more on faster combat and moving around larger toy cars instead of designing anything. Because who wants to play a geeky engineering game, anyway? (me)

jader201 3y ago

I wish that there was a separate list/category of games involving coding (block or actual). One game that I really got into for a bit was Autonauts [1], but ended up falling a bit short of what I was really looking for (due to very awkward UI and controls). But would really love to see more games with automation (like Factorio) but where the automation was coded. Or tower defense/RTS games (like Mindustry) or simulation (like Rimworld) where you could automate the AI. I see some games involving coding, but mostly look like hacking games, which I think are more puzzle games, vs. sandbox. Like I said, Autonauts would have been this, but it’s just too awkward, and not quite as deep as I was hoping. I was excited this was such a list, until I realized it wasn’t software engineering. (My very first experience with something close to this was FFXII, which I loved, but fell flat for many because they didn’t want to automate the battles, which was my favorite part!) [1] https://store.steampowered.com/app/979120/Autonauts/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/979120/Autonauts/

speps 3y ago
I've heard about Screeps which is close to what you describe: https://screeps.com/ https://screeps.com/
alex-mohr 3y ago
Look at Screeps: World [0] for depth in a programming base-builder RTS. You write the code for each of your units, either natively in Javascript or Typescript, or via WASM you can run Rust, Python, etc. You use a private server or join a shared MMO world. There's a free sim [1] to try out the basics, though the actual game has much more depth. And an active Discord for help [2]. There's also a variant Screeps: Arena [3] that focuses on 1:1 PVP battles with ranked ladders if you prefer short-lived matches to a long-running world. [0] https://store.steampowered.com/app/464350/Screeps_World/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/464350/Screeps_World/ [1] https://screeps.com/a/#!/sim https://screeps.com/a/#!/sim [2] https://discord.com/invite/RjSS5fQuFx https://discord.com/invite/RjSS5fQuFx [3] https://store.steampowered.com/app/1137320/Screeps_Arena/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1137320/Screeps_Arena/
- jader201 3y ago
  I knew about this one, but was turned off by the review talking about the base CPU isn't enough, requiring a subscription.
  - alex-mohr 3y ago
    I get that, but IMO it's not an issue. On one shard you can't use more than base CPU, so there's no advantage to a subscription there. Other optional shards are almost entirely people who subscribe. Do that too if you decide to, or ignore them.
BHSPitMonkey 3y ago
It's already been shared in the comments, but look into Human Resource Machine. It's a fun little game that tricks you into learning to solve problems in assembly.

Svip 3y ago

I feel like it's kind of unfair to put Factorio's release date as 2020. Yes, that's what Steam says, and that's it's 1.0 release date. But Satisfactory is listed as 2020, and that is still in early access. So maybe note on the list when a game is still in early access?

jader201 3y ago
What does “early access” even mean nowadays? Seems like devs can label (or not label) a game as “early access” whenever they want. I’m guessing most do it as a way to set lower expectations to minimize bad reviews. I think Factorio was early access longer than necessary, and Satisfactory also feels like it’s well beyond “early access”. E.g. it’s not like “early access” means that they’re still making changes to the game, and stop making changes once the label is gone. I’ve seen “early access” games get abandoned (or even never see another update), and I’ve seen games out of “early access” still continue getting several updates.
- handoflixue 3y ago
  Satisfactory feels like it's absolutely Early Access: Recent Satisfactory patches have changed the tech tree, broken existing production lines due to recipe changes, and even changed the geography of the world (one of my power plants is now inside a mountain, which makes it very difficult to change anything). They're also planning to add a plot involving the alien artifacts you find across the world, although so far nothing further is known. That seems to be the clear line between "early access" and "Updates past 1.0": are you backwards compatible? Before 1.0, you don't have to worry about that, but I'd be very annoyed to find a new mountain in the middle of my base come 1.1
  - Encrypt-Keeper 3y ago
    Satisfactory does often feel feature-complete, they could release the game as-is and I don't think it would feel particularly unfinished. However it is unfinished by virtue of the fact that they have a lot more planned, and it's early access by virtue of having resources in the world with "WIP" in their tool tips.

ilikeitdark 3y ago

Great list, thanks! Does anyone have a recommendation of a semi realistic house building game for a teen? My daughter loves Minecraft and the house building games on Roblox, but trying to find something a little deeper but still fun..

Galxeagle 3y ago
If it’s the interior design aspect that’s enjoyable, we’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of the Animal Crossing expansion pack https://animalcrossing.nintendo.com/new-horizons/happy-home-paradise/ https://animalcrossing.nintendo.com/new-horizons/happy-home-...
amatecha 3y ago
Depends how realistic you're looking for, but The Sims 4 has a pretty comprehensive home-building aspect. You can also pick up the original The Sims or The Sims 2 for extremely cheap at thrift shops (since the series is so popular).

delanom 3y ago

Surprised not to see “Baba is You” on the list! Great puzzle built around programming logic. https://store.steampowered.com/app/736260/Baba_Is_You/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/736260/Baba_Is_You/

bbstilson 3y ago
"Baba is You" destroyed my ego. 10/10 Great game
lifthrasiir 3y ago
Or Recursed [1] if you have Scheme-stained glasses. [1] https://store.steampowered.com/app/497780/Recursed/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/497780/Recursed/
- solardev 3y ago
  What category do you think this would best belong in? I watched the trailer but it wasn't super clear to me how the gameplay worked. Looks like you can move chests and keys around, but not the room itself? What's the logic/programming angle?
  - lifthrasiir 3y ago
    So you enter a room via a chest, but can also move a chest around and even take it out of the current room. And the state of room is (mostly) reset once you enter the same room again, so you can duplicate a chest provided that it was once in some other chest. Crucially, some chest refers to the existing room---you can often infinitely recurse into the same room again and again (hence the name of the game). Each level of recursed room keeps its contents until the exit, and is distinct from other levels even though they all share the same room structure. Scheme-stained glasses will translate these mechanics as follows: a chest is a function and a visible room is a scope formed by a function invocation. So it is obvious that entering the same chest again won't (mostly) keep existing objects and nested rooms have distinct states. As the game progresses, you will find various objects that interact with typical function scopes, and many of them have analogies in Scheme or similar languages. For example, I think there was an object that corresponds to an one-shot continuation!

disintegore 3y ago

I have two suggestions : TerraTech (https://store.steampowered.com/app/285920/TerraTech/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/285920/TerraTech/) for the vehicle building category. Very streamlined and surprisingly deep, although the campaign gameplay can be frustrating. Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic (https://store.steampowered.com/app/784150/Workers__Resources_Soviet_Republic/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/784150/Workers__Resources...). A planned economy city builder. It's apparently an extremely deep game with a steep learning curve. Seems to have developed a cult following.

solardev 3y ago
Added, thanks!
- disintegore 3y ago
  I didn't expect my descriptions to be included verbatim hahaha
  - solardev 3y ago
    Feel free to change them! Or I can include the default Steam descriptions

hlandau 3y ago

There seems to be a fair bit of overlap with "base-building games" (a genre I'm fond of), including base-building games which I wouldn't necessarily describe as engineering games but just more generally management/simulation/strategy games (e.g. Evil Genius, Prison Architect, etc.) - Rimworld is on the list but feels a lot less engineering-oriented than say, Factorio, but on the other hand, (Open)RCT2 is missing which is surprising. Basebuilders seem to divide into two rough categories: ones where things you build appear immediately (e.g. RCT2), and ones where minions have to go and install what buildings you command to be installed (e.g. Evil Genius, Factorio's robots). Recommendations for interesting basebuilders are always of interest. While we're on the subject: games with level editors (particularly those with some kind of scripting system) are kind of interesting as even if the gameplay isn't "engineering", you can get sucked into level design. DROD comes to mind. A list of games with level editors would also be interesting.

ivxvm 3y ago

Check out Modded Minecraft Expert Modpacks like "Create: Above & Beyond", "Project Ozone", "Nomifactory" and so on.

vvoid 3y ago

Missing from Open-World Survival Sandboxes: Astroneer. Incidentally some of the best sound design and music I have ever heard in a video game.

edg-l 3y ago

This list lacks most of Zachtronics games, which are all related to engineering, and my favorite game dev. I really think Exapunks, Shenzhen I/O, SpaceChem and TIS-100 should be there, in fact, Zachtronics created his own puzzle genre, "zachs-like" https://www.zachtronics.com/ https://www.zachtronics.com/

LugosFergus 3y ago
They are there.
solardev 3y ago
They're definitely there, just near the bottom: Under https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games#hacking-computer-science-logic--automation https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games#hac... I think they were the first games I added while building the list, and a heavy inspiration for it to begin with :) I added a thank-you for them just now.

Galxeagle 3y ago

Kerbal Space Program gets high marks for giving me a great intuitive sense of orbital mechanics, aeronautical design, and space mission architectures (‘to get to space you need to go sideways, not up’), even if the actual rocket building is simplified to Lego-like to keep it fun My light bulb moment was when I looked at the Apollo 13 orbital paths and mentally considered a few alternatives they could have done too. https://store.steampowered.com/app/220200/Kerbal_Space_Program/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/220200/Kerbal_Space_Progr...

rkagerer 3y ago
Agreed, here's a sentiment that basically sums it up for me: https://xkcd.com/1356/ https://xkcd.com/1356/ And for anyone frustrated with the premature release of KSP 2, I recently discovered Juno New Origins which scratches a similar itch. It works on both Android and PC, and SyncThing or the like can transfer saves/crafts between.

mkoubaa 3y ago

There are two trends I'm tracking: 1. AI agents getting better and better at increasingly complex games 2. Simulations and games get increasingly closer to real engineering It'll be an interesting when these lines intersect. It'll be possible to cast real engineering challenges as games to enable AI agents to play them With AIs consistently beating humans at games, it's only a matter of time before games become a valid UX for real engineering.

dang 3y ago

Lists can't be Show HNs. Please see https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html. I've taken "Show HN" out of the title now.

solardev 3y ago
Oops, sorry about that! Thanks for fixing the title :)

Scoundreller 3y ago

Under the category of "Rube Goldberg Machines", I'd add this classic retro game for the kids: The Even More Incredible Machine: https://playclassic.games/games/puzzle-solving-dos-games-online/play-the-even-more-incredible-machine-online/play/ https://playclassic.games/games/puzzle-solving-dos-games-onl...

DizzyDoo 3y ago
I enjoyed The Incredible Machine as a kid, the modern equivalent (though still 10 years old) is 'Contraption Maker' - https://store.steampowered.com/app/241240/Contraption_Maker/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/241240/Contraption_Maker/ - which was designed by the same person. Glad to see he's still going all these years later! This is not 'Incredible Machine' related, but while I'm here, I'm working on an engineering-adjacent game where you build and automate a zoo full of spooky monsters. Might be of interest to some! https://store.steampowered.com/app/654960/The_Eldritch_Zookeeper/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/654960/The_Eldritch_Zooke...
solardev 3y ago
Currently, the list only has Steam games (not for platform favoritism, but for "Very Positive" reviews as a minimum threshold). However, I'm not sure if it should stay that way. Maybe it'd be good to have some older games, etc.? Discussion here: https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games/discussions/15 https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games/dis...

naet 3y ago

My original favorite engineering "game" was Garrys mod, which is basically just a playground using the Half Life 2 physics and game engine. I had great fun slapping wheels on something like a bathtub and making a makeshift car, or making silly Rube Goldberg style machines using levers, ropes, thrusters, etc. Not a typical game since it didn't offer any typical goals or levels outside of have fun and be creative, but that IMO only heightened the inspiration to engineer stuff to play with.

solardev 3y ago
Added, thanks!

logic 3y ago

A suggestion under factory automation: Techtonica https://techtonicagame.com/ https://techtonicagame.com/ If you like Factorio or Satisfactory, this will scratch a similar itch.

CmdrLoskene 3y ago

I think Hardspace: Shipbreaker belongs somewhere on this list. (https://www.focus-entmt.com/en/games/hardspace-shipbreaker https://www.focus-entmt.com/en/games/hardspace-shipbreaker)

Terr_ 3y ago
As much as I like the game, the engineering depth isn't that deep compared to "work fast and always know what's behind your cutting surface." (Especially since you are dismantling, rather than constructing.) I mean, it boils down to stuff like: Systematically depressurize, get fuses before removing generators, shut off fuel before removing thrusters, have an exit path for the generator before you disconnect the coolant, etc.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

tgsovlerkhgsel 3y ago

Sim Tower would deserve a spot on the list if it was more modern. It was originally built as an elevator simulation and then turned into a game, and it shows. Unfortunately, it's a 16 bit application and thus not well suited for modern systems. It was unstable even back then, time was tied to CPU speed, and playing with DosBox and corresponding bad mouse behavior (no acceleration) isn't fun. Project Highrise seems to mostly omit the fine-grained elevator control that was at the core of Sim Tower, so the most recent successor that I'm aware of is Yoot Tower, which I didn't get around to trying yet. Unfortunately neither SimTower nor Yoot Tower seem to be available legally.

Aeolun 3y ago
If you want pure elevators you can play https://play.elevatorsaga.com/ https://play.elevatorsaga.com/
Narishma 3y ago
SimTower works fine in PCem with a period-accurate config.
solardev 3y ago
There's a current discussion about whether we should also make room for non-Steam games, especially older but great titles: https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games/discussions/15 https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games/dis... If that doesn't happen, there could very well be an sibling list of "Oldies but goodies DOS-era engineering games"?

dragon96 3y ago

Not exactly "engineering", but I might add an adjacent category of puzzle games that hurt your brain: - Baba Is You - Stephen's Sausage Roll - Jelly no puzzle + Yugo puzzle (sequel) - Braid - Snakebird

Yahivin 3y ago
- Patrick's Parabox
Zecc 3y ago
Snakebird's trailer reminds me a lot of Room to Grow.

jonwest 3y ago

Humbly suggesting “Automation” (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automation_(video_game) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automation_(video_game)) for the cars category, because not only is the engineering side of things relatively in depth, you can export your designs and drive them in another game which is heavy on physics simulation, BeamNG.

11mariom 3y ago
+1, Automation+BeamNG combo is very, very playable!

derrikcurran 3y ago

Else Heart.Break() > Else Heart.Break() is a reimagination of the adventure game – a fantastic story set in a fully dynamic and interactive world. Instead of rigid puzzles you will learn (with the help from other characters in the game) how the reality of the game can be changed through programming and how any problem can be solved in whatever way you find suitable. https://store.steampowered.com/app/400110/Else_HeartBreak/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/400110/Else_HeartBreak/

solardev 3y ago
Thanks! Added.

inerte 3y ago

Timely as there’s a Steam sales starting on the 21st :)

namrog84 3y ago

For the city builder genre Urbek City Builder It has a pretty interesting style of how things sort a 'fit' together. Its kinda almost puzzley at times, but I think it'd fit on that list.

iancmceachern 3y ago

Detroit should be on this list. I've been trying to find it for years, had it when I was young. It was a car design and car company simulator.

xbjfk 3y ago
It looks like it exists on myabandomware.com [0]. I opened it in dosbox and it seemed to work. [0] - https://www.myabandonware.com/game/detroit-1ln https://www.myabandonware.com/game/detroit-1ln
- iancmceachern 3y ago
  Thank you!!!

Danieru 3y ago

Not sure where Railgrade fall there, might not be abstracted enough for the puzzle section. Maybe the route management section?

Black616Angel 3y ago

> (2022) Dwarf Fortress I feel a little attacked by the 2022. Nevertheless this list is awesome.

bryan_w 3y ago

I wish there was a list of non-unity sim games. I hate hitting the performance wall so soon on most of these games

pallas_athena 3y ago

HN, can you help me find a game I played in the early 2000s? It was a browser game. You had a grid (pretty small), and components to put in like conveyor belts. Each level had a winning condition, of course increasingly complex. The goal of the game was, as much as I can remember, teach you some basic programming concepts (like boolean gates). I faintly remember some red and yellow lights? I might be wrong. I remember getting addicted to this game, then lost track of it forever.

npinsker 3y ago
Is it Manufactoria? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5tU33d3U1k&t=90s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5tU33d3U1k&t=90s)
- pallas_athena 3y ago
  It is! Thanks! I see there's also a 2022 remake, uh.

herewulf 3y ago

Very happy to see OpenTTD on this list. It's been loads of fun since the original in the 90s.

RA2lover 3y ago

i'd recommend ComPressure (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1528120/ComPressure/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1528120/ComPressure/) and Infinite Turtles (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1952740/Infinite_Turtles/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1952740/Infinite_Turtles/), though the latter still lacks enough reviews to fit the Steam rating requirement. I'm also not sure on where something like the Poly Bridge series would fit.

solardev 3y ago
Thank you! I added ComPressure. Polybridge is already on there, under -- waddya know -- Bridge-Building :) FYI, there is a discussion about whether we should expand the list inclusion criteria: https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games/discussions/15 https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games/dis...

mgd 3y ago

I feel like this extends to other genres but in a more abstract way. I have spent a long time engineering a build order in an rts or a load out in an MMO (I'm thinking EVE Online as an example) Either way, thank you for putting this list together

freeqaz 3y ago

Does anybody know of any good spiritual successors to Robot Arena 2? I loved this game growing up and it very much fits into this awesome list somewhere. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot_Arena_2:_Design_and_Destroy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot_Arena_2:_Design_and_Dest...

solardev 3y ago
I haven't played that particular one, but I think many of the games in the category "Vehicle Builders" might be similar? https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games#vehicle-building https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games#veh... My personal favorite was Robocraft, but it didn't make the list because its reviews were only "Mostly Positive": https://store.steampowered.com/app/301520/Robocraft/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/301520/Robocraft/

DanielHB 3y ago

Oxygen not included is very cool by actually requiring logic gates to do anything sophisticated and also teaching a lot of scientific concepts The systems you can design in ONI can be crazy complicated and it is just a joy when it works. I derive a lot of satisfaction from just optimising systems in that game even though it is not really required difficulty-wise to do optimisation

oguzkonya 3y ago

A few recommendations from my library: Wrench (mechanic simulator similar to Car Mechanic Simulator, but more realistic) Tank Mechanic Simulator (similar to Car Mechanic Simulator, but with tanks) Retro Gadgets (build, code and customize old school gadgets)

rffn 3y ago

I would have added the Portal games to the list.

solardev 3y ago

Hey folks, this blew up way more than I expected :) Glad so many are interested. I've merged all the PRs on Github and addressed about half the comments here on HN. I'll go through the rest ASAP. Thanks so much for all the contributions!

ArekDymalski 3y ago

Does oldie classic like Core War belong to the list? https://corewar.co.uk/ https://corewar.co.uk/

rawling 3y ago

> Theme Parks & Dungeons > A genre started by RollerCoaster Tycoon back in the 90s No love for "Theme Park"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theme_Park_(video_game) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theme_Park_(video_game)

b__d 3y ago

First person puzzle games are missing, especially Antichamber.

bradknowles 3y ago

No mention of "Core Wars" (http://corewars.org/ http://corewars.org/) or "Robot War" (https://www.mobygames.com/game/12059/robot-war/ https://www.mobygames.com/game/12059/robot-war/)?

valyagolev 3y ago

Add Cosmoteer, where you build and fly a starship: playing it makes me think of John Boyd

shhsshs 3y ago

Shapez.io is a great introduction to factory building games. It’s basic and visual enough to be immediately understandable but there’s a lot of room for advanced builds. It is getting a sequel soon, too.

solardev 3y ago
It's in there! (as Shapez) I should add the free demo at shapez.io though. Can't wait for the 2nd one :)

jfoutz 3y ago

An old old one worth mentioning https://robotodyssey.online/ https://robotodyssey.online/ It’s abandoned and available for dos box as well but the web version is easy to get started with.

voakbasda 3y ago
Brilliant! I remember playing this as a kid on my Apple II+. I can’t remember how many hours it took me, but I eventually managed to make it through the entire thing. Many happy memories of this game helped lead me to a career in software engineering.
solardev 3y ago
The list currently only has Steam games, but this is up for debate: https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games/discussions/15 https://github.com/arcataroger/awesome-engineering-games/dis... If these older games don't get added there, it might be worth creating a sibling list that this one can link to?
- jfoutz 3y ago
  ahhh, I didn't realize steam only. I don't think you'd find many dosbox games that really fit the theme. Robot odyessy is coming up on 40 years old. but this ``` I say keep it to just Steam games. That way if nothing else it has the focus to be an amazing utility and still has plenty of items to curate. Once the criteria becomes "everything under the sun" it becomes so huge that it's likely to have a low signal to noise ratio for usefulness. ``` seems like a pretty reasonable stance. Completely fair to say if people want old games, go look for old games.
dllthomas 3y ago
And its simpler predecessor (IIRC) Rocky's Boots.

azhenley 3y ago

Human Resource Machine and 7 Billion Humans are great on iOS.

piersj225 3y ago

I'm not sure where Human Resource Machine would belong, https://store.steampowered.com/app/375820/Human_Resource_Machine/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/375820/Human_Resource_Mac... might be worth adding this and 7 Billion Humans https://store.steampowered.com/app/792100/7_Billion_Humans/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/792100/7_Billion_Humans/

m463 3y ago
You can get them on gog too: https://www.gog.com/en/game/human_resource_machine https://www.gog.com/en/game/human_resource_machine https://www.gog.com/en/game/7_billion_humans https://www.gog.com/en/game/7_billion_humans also gog has WHILE TRUE: LEARN() https://www.gog.com/en/game/while_true_learn https://www.gog.com/en/game/while_true_learn because how many games expose you to machine learning?
- yedpodtrzitko 3y ago
  I disagree that While True: Learn() is a game about ML. It's _themed_ as a ML game, but it's mere a share-sorting puzzle game where you are routinely load-balancing things until it works precisely as the task expect. Driving minigame was bugged at that time I was playing the game, but from what I seen on YT videos, the whole thing is about clicking "Evolve" button.
  - m463 3y ago
    I don't know, last I looked I haven't gotten to rosenblatts perceptron part yet, so I'm not that far. What I do know is that it was making me solve problems - at a high level - differently than looping/if-then-else kinds of things I did in other games. Personally, it is entertainment to me, and I won't point the finger because it was fun.
lifthrasiir 3y ago
HRM was personally disappointing because of both the lack of depth (no appeal to programmers) and the sudden difficulty hike (no appeal to non-programmers). Also it had (or still has?) some game-breaking interpreter bug that made me lost my code and ultimately give up.

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rammer 3y ago

Is there a mobile app version of this list? Someone should create it? Mobile apps , I'm tired of playing bridge builder.

Kiro 3y ago

Suggestion: Hydroneer

rft 3y ago

Honorable mention: tech-focused Minecraft (Java!) mod packs (don't laugh), if that floats your boat

willis936 3y ago
Java MC industrial mods have been the granddaddy of industrial games since 1.4.7. Nothing scratches the itch quite like a 4 story chemical plant with hundreds of regulated processes.
- herewulf 3y ago
  That sounds rather interesting. Link to some examples of said chemical plants?
  - willis936 3y ago
    I don't have any I can personally vet on the public internet. Most of what I've seen is on the GTCEu discord. Image searching "nomifactory" yields some stuff that looks about right. "Lawn base". https://i.redd.it/dpcixz3z60d81.png https://i.redd.it/dpcixz3z60d81.png Back in the 1.4.7 days the biggest packs out there were kitchen sink packs like MindCrack with GT3 being the biggest single mod. The gregtech family tree has grown substantially and the largest branches are much more intricate than what used to be around. On par with Krastorio2.
ladberg 3y ago
Included in most of the tech mod packs but deserving of a special mention is ComputerCraft, which allows you to program computers and robots in Lua that can interact with the Minecraft world!
- rft 3y ago
  CC is the reason I can write some Lua, at least after the initial intro when I was fumbling around in the TES 3 editor. I went down that rabbit hole and build some far too complex one-off things. One of them even called out to a PHP backend for a shared database. I think I started hacking on a system that could propagate updates between CC nodes in a sort of mesh network (wireless CC networks) before just using the database backend. Luckily I lost interest before writing a whole network layer.

gene-h 3y ago

RoboCo is a nice vehicle building game. https://roboco.co/ https://roboco.co/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1067220/RoboCo/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1067220/RoboCo/ It has one of the best mechanism simulators I've seen in a game with all sorts of gears, differentials, slider joints, springs etc. I've found it handy for virtually prototyping, you can mock up and test machine concepts much faster than CAD software. Oh and it has a python API: https://docs.roboco.co/latest/ https://docs.roboco.co/latest/

solardev 3y ago
Awesome, thanks! I'll add it. May I please cite your comment as a recommendation and link to this?
- gene-h 3y ago
  Sure.
  - solardev 3y ago
    Added, thanks!

dllthomas 3y ago

Possibly add the Incredible Proof Machine (https://incredible.pm https://incredible.pm)

082349872349872 3y ago
along these lines, the Natural Number Game ( https://adam.math.hhu.de/#/g/hhu-adam/NNG4 https://adam.math.hhu.de/#/g/hhu-adam/NNG4 ) (the ceiling on the game this is an installment of is pretty high, eg https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2023/11/18/formalizing-the-proof-of-pfr-in-lean4-using-blueprint-a-short-tour/ https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2023/11/18/formalizing-the-pr... )
- thaumasiotes 3y ago
  Less math-focused, but same idea: https://nandgame.com https://nandgame.com
- thaumasiotes 3y ago
  incredible.pm is also a skin on a theorem prover. I had a lot more fun with incredible.pm; a lot of the difficulty in the Natural Number Game was in the UI being unclear. For example, I ran into a case where I had y <= d and I wanted y <= d + 1. The two relevant theorems here are the transitivity of the <= relation and the fact that n <= n+1 for all n. Both of those were in my "inventory". But I had no way to apply them. In incredible.pm, you'd have a block for "n <= n+1 for all n", you'd run that through a universal instantiator, and you'd get d <= d+1 as a result. Then you could use that as input to the transitivity theorem. But in the Natural Number game, where I had my hypothesis y <= d and my goal y <= d+1, there was no way that I was aware of to introduce the result d <= d+1, even though I had access to a theorem proving that specific fact. The solution turned out to be to say "apply le_trans" [to the goal y <= d+1], which gave me the intermediate goal y <= ?succ.inr.h.y . Hovering that upper bound then says "[This] Parses a synthetic hole [...] This syntax is used to construct named metavariables." Then, guessing something that might work but that the game certainly doesn't teach you to do, I closed that goal by calling "exact" on my hypothesis that said y <= d. This works† and unifies the value d with the named metavariable ?succ.inr.h.y . But I would not consider it a triumph of user experience. incredible.pm is also better in that it provides a playground where you can set up your own proofs of arbitrary theorems. † Well, the call to exact works. The call to apply le_trans split my goal "y <= d+1" into three goals, which were "y <= ?succ.inr.h.y , ?succ.inr.h.y <= d+1, and, for no reason I can imagine, ℕ. However, proving the first two goals completed the overall theorem, so I still don't know what it meant to have a third goal of "ℕ".

robotnikman 3y ago

Not sure if its exactly relevant, but I would also add From the Depths as well. It has a very steep learning cliff, but once you learn it you can build all kinds of war machines, from ships to robot walkers and spacecraft. And you create the individual systems which your vehicles use as well, such as steam engines, weapon systems, AI, etc. Its a game I've spent many hours in.

greggsy 3y ago

Universal Paperclips and Adventure Capitalist are more about finance, but that’s still a key part of engineering right?

YaBa 3y ago

It's missing RuckIngenur, for those who like electronics and hardware hacking. https://www.zachtronics.com/ruckingenur-ii/ https://www.zachtronics.com/ruckingenur-ii/

s_dev 3y ago

Civ VI (more precisely all Civ series games) should be on this list. There is a whole category of Great Engineers and the game mechanics allow these real life Engineers to aid in the construction of Wonders and triggering a win condition. City planning is a big part of the game. Poly Bridge is also a game that is focussed on building bridges. Kerbal Space Program is focussed on constructing a Rocket and launching it.

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solardev 3y ago
While making the list, I debated this in my head for quite a while and couldn't come to a good conclusion either way. On one hand, if we add Civ, that would probably open up all 4X games (Stellaris, Sins of a Solar Empire, maybe even Age of Empires, etc.). That might be a lot of games, and arguably the "engineering" isn't a huge focus in those games. From what I remember, those games don't have a whole lot of automation/assembly lines going on, or focus on route-building (Civ has roads, but it's only a minor part of the game), infrastructure, etc. It's a pretty big-picture view nations, rather than the day-to-day nitty-gritty of running individual cities/settlements. On the other hand, it could also be argued that settlement games are similar too, just a matter of degree or "zoom level". I'm on the fence about it. Any thoughts? ----- Oh, and Poly Bridge and KSP are on there already :)
- s_dev 3y ago
  >I'm on the fence about it. Any thoughts? Discuss the thoughts at the top of the GitHub page so that your thinking and criteria are clear of why certain games are included an others are not. It's completely fine to exclude Civ -- it is kind of a unique game that aims to include many aspects of ancient and modern Civilizations from military conquest to scientistic research to engineering achievements. You could argue it's an aspect of the game but not a central game mechanic which the list aims to promote. Don't over think it though -- it's just a list of games that supposed to be useful to whatever audience you have in mind. I'm just trying to rattle off suggestions anyhow and that makes the list better given many games were 'considered'.

mcphage 3y ago

The most recent Zelda game (Tears of the Kingdom) has a pretty fun vehicle builder component. People have made all sorts of crazy things using it.

dudleypippin 3y ago

Not a Steam game, but an amazing programming puzzle game that I keep looking for a modern version of. Year: 2001 Title: Colobot Link: https://colobot.info/ https://colobot.info/ My description: Use code to direct wheeled, hover and flying bots to construct, combat and explore. Description: Colobot (Colonize with Bots) is an educational, post apocalyptic real-time strategy video game featuring 3D graphics, created by Swiss developer Epsitec SA. The objective of the game is to find a planet for colonization by the human race by establishing a basic infrastructure on the surface and eliminating any alien life forms endangering the expedition. The game takes place on the Earth, Moon, and seven fictional planets. The main feature of the game, which makes it educational, is the possibility for players to program their robots using a programming language similar to C++ or Java.