AD3000 is a turn-based, 4X science fiction strategy game in which the player leads one of ten races to dominate the galaxy through a combination of diplomacy and conquest while developing technology, exploring and colonizing star systems. Victory is gained either by eliminating all opponents or by winning a vote on peaceful unification.

The strategy logic and user interactive concept are inspired by the original Steve Barcia's Master of Orion. Most graphics, music and text materials come from public domain licensed by Creative Commons License or General Public License.

Features:
- 10 playable races, each with a specialty.
* Each race is predisposed to like or dislike some of the other races, and is advantaged or disadvantaged in different research fields.
* Each race has a ruler personality and an objective. These traits guide their politics and economic management. Races may occasionally revolt and change traits.

- 7 normal and 6 hostile planet types.
* The various hostile types require increasingly advanced technology to colonize.
* Hostile planets are the most likely to be rich or ultra-rich in minerals. Mineral wealth dramatically influences a colony's industrial productivity while Habitability influences population growth rates.
* Artifact worlds contain relics of a now-vanished advanced civilization.
* All planets can be upgraded to Gaia class with the appropriate technologies.

- Planets can be upgraded in 3 ways.
* Terraforming increases population capacity by a fixed amount for each tech level achieved.
* Soil enrichment increases a planet's population capacity and growth rate but can not be used on hostile planets.
* Atmospheric terraforming converts hostile planets to normal ones, making soil enrichment possible there.

- The planetary management includes to allocate a colony's output between ship construction, planetary defenses, factory construction, ecology, and research.
* Defenses spending is used to build additional missile bases, upgrade missile bases or planetary shields.
* Planetary population generates production, especially when assisted by factories. There is a limit on the number of factories a unit of population can operate, but building upgrades can increase this.
* Military and spy maintenance is deducted from every colony's production.
* A planet's output can also be transferred to the treasury at a loss.

- Technology is the most important contribution to a player's success.
* Funding can be put into one or all of the game's six independent tech tree fields, including Computers, Construction, Force Fields, Planetary Science, Vehicle Propulsion, and Weapons.
* If a ship uses a component from a particular technology area, further advances in that area reduce the cost and size of the component.

- Players can design and use their own ships.
* 4 hull sizes; smaller sizes are harder to hit while larger ships can survive more damage and hold more components.
* 8 types of components, each with different effects.
* Only 6 ship designs can be used at a time.
* Ships can travel to any star system within their range and combat always occurs in orbit over a planet - it is impossible to intercept enemy ships in deep space.
* The combat is fully automatic. Results depend on numbers, technology and racial combat bonus.

- There are a wide range of diplomatic negotiations.
* Gifts of money or technology; one-time technology trades; trade pacts that boost industrial output; non-aggression and alliance treaties.
* Players can also threaten each other, declare war and arrange cease-fires.
* Each AI player remembers others' actions, both positive and negative, and will be unwilling to form alliances with a player who has broken previous treaties with it.