Seasons on Big Bang Smugglers

Getting Started

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Get the game

Android: Google Play.
Web: play.bigbangsmugglers.com — no invite code, no download.

Sign in with email and password (you must verify the address before you can play) or Google. Then pick a captain handle: 3 to 20 characters, letters, numbers and spaces only. Runs of spaces collapse to one. You can rename yourself later — but renames carry a cooldown and post a public feed story connecting the old name to the new one, so a handle is not a disguise.

Seasons

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

What a season is

A season is a freshly generated galaxy with a player cap and an end date. It is the container for essentially everything you own.

Sector count is set per season — anywhere from 20 to 65,536, with 500 as the working default. Player cap, duration, PvP on or off, the XP multiplier, and every tuning number in the formulas appendix are all per-season configuration.

Very large galaxies (over 5,000 sectors) are generated in the background, and the season sits unjoinable until generation finishes.

v2.1.0 — Out of Beta

Sun, 16 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Everything shipped since v2.0.9 — a launch-month cleanup rolled into one release.

Out of beta

The beta labels are gone, the app store link points where it should, and the game now has a proper credits screen. Thanks for flying with us this far.

Combat & mines

Minefields now name the captain who laid them — in the moment, and in the feed.
Mine strikes are reported as attacks, not bad weather.
Escape pods work the way you’d expect: a pod is a respawn, defending yourself earns the protection it should, and post-battle immunity actually covers everything it claims to.
A rare double-report on NPC kills and a bounty-payout accounting bug are fixed.

Ports & trading

The Port and Starport screens are now one Station Directory — one dock, one door.
Bounty offices live at the faction capitals, where they belong.
Per-transaction purchase caps are gone.
Planet trading posts got a real storefront, and your cargo’s cost basis follows it properly through storage and sales.

Quality of life

Victims of an attack are told about it.
Filter chips wrap instead of scrolling.
Sector headcounts count the captains you can actually see.
Admin announcements can now reach you in-game as a toast.

Seasons ahead

Groundwork shipped for seasons of any length — sprints to marathons — each tuned so progression fits its span. Current galaxies are unchanged; you’ll see this in action when the next season begins.

v2.0.0 — Big Bang Smugglers 2.0: A New Universe

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

v2.0.0 is not an update — it’s a re-founding. The entire game has been rebuilt from the engine up, the universe starts fresh, and the game now lives at play.bigbangsmugglers.com.

A Fresh Universe

Big Bang Smugglers 2.0 launches with a clean slate. Everyone — veterans and new captains alike — starts from zero: new accounts, new galaxies, no carried history. The years of v1 seasons are archived with honor, and the new record books open today. Sign up takes seconds with Google or email.

v1.23.0 — Events, Roles, End-game, and New Player Onboarding

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

v1.23.0 is the biggest content release since the game launched. Daily events, role specialization, prestige tiers, a full season end-game, and new-player onboarding are all live. An extensive bug-fix and balance pass ships alongside them — over 80 issues closed.

Daily Events

A live events system now runs inside every galaxy. Daily events generate automatically from a rotating template slate and are visible from the Events board on your Ship screen.

v1.17.2 — Season-End Stability

Fri, 08 May 2026 12:00:00 +0000

v1.17.2 is a stability patch addressing two issues uncovered after the Red Dwarf beta season ended.

Blank Screen on Season End

The app could briefly show a blank screen when launched after a season had closed, then loop back to the recap screen repeatedly. Both issues are resolved; the app now navigates correctly to the season recap on first open.

Post-Season World Cleanup

After a season ends, sectors, ports, planets, and player galaxy links are supposed to be cleared automatically. A missing function registration meant this cleanup job was never deployed and never ran, leaving old world data in place indefinitely. The registration has been corrected; ended seasons will now be fully cleaned up and archived as intended.

v1.12.2 — Season & Trading Fixes

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

v1.12.2 is a stability and accuracy pass across seasons, trading, combat, and exploration.

Season Setup Accuracy

Season setup screens now display correct counts, combat stats, and Past Seasons data. Previously, certain values could drift out of sync — this release ensures the numbers you see match your actual season record.

Trading and Pirate Combat Fixes

Edge cases in trading and pirate combat that could mis-handle cargo quantities or credit totals have been resolved. Transactions and combat loot now settle correctly in all scenarios.

v1.11.1 — Alpha Season Complete

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

Big Bang Smugglers v1.11.1 closes out the first alpha season and hands the ship over to beta. Here is what changed.

Season End Recap

When a season ends, you now see a full recap before returning to the lobby. The recap screen shows your final stats — credits, XP, kills, missions completed, planets owned, sectors explored, streak, and more — alongside the top finishers in each category. You can see who walked away as Richest Captain, Top Bounty Hunter, Mission Master, Planet Baron, and more.

v1.1.0 — Bounties, Trading Posts, and the Web Version

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Version 1.1.0 is a major feature release. Three new systems and a new way to play.

Bounty System

Players can now post bounties on other players from any tavern. Set a credit reward, and it goes live in the galaxy. When another player takes down the target, the bounty pays out automatically. Collections show up in the feed, so the galaxy knows when a contract is settled.

Player-Built Trading Posts

Planet owners can now construct a trading post on their planet. Trading posts sell commodities to passing players at competitive prices, and the owner earns a percentage of every sale. Build from your planet screen once you have a Warehouse at level 2. Upgrade the post over time to increase stock capacity and revenue. Other players can attempt to rob your trading post, so a strong garrison matters.

Galaxy Cleanup & Stability

Sat, 14 Feb 2026 12:00:00 +0000

When a galaxy ends, it should actually end.

We found two issues with our galaxy destruction process that meant old data was lingering after a season closed. We fixed both, plus cleaned up a player stats issue that was carrying state between seasons.

Starports Weren’t Being Cleaned Up

When a galaxy was destroyed, the starport documents were orphaned. The galaxy was gone but the starport collection was still sitting in Firestore. That’s unnecessary storage, and it’s the kind of ghost data that causes confusing edge cases if a galaxy ID ever gets reused.

Galaxy Creation Improvements - Clean, Easy, Repeatable

Sat, 14 Feb 2026 12:00:00 +0000

The Problem

Galaxy creation was overwhelming. Admins faced 88 parameters across 5 tabs, with no guidance on what values to use. The result? Decision paralysis and abandoned setups.

Even experienced admins just wanted to create a standard galaxy with a few tweaks, but had to wade through dozens of settings most would never change.

The Solution: 4-Phase Overhaul

Phase 1: Remove Template Manager (Completed)

The template manager was a placeholder showing “Coming Soon.” We realized the seed system already solved the problem.