I just ran across this the other day, and have to say it sounds freaking awesome. Chris Roberts (of Wing Commander fame) is the guy in charge, and
considering his accomplishments in the gaming world and on the big screen, I am
super psyched.
Watch this first to whet your appetite so you'll actually read more. This is a 'commercial' for a single seat fighter ship.
This ship is like the BMW of ships, and this is a 'commercial' for them.
So this is going to be a space simulator game. Pretty much like an MMORPG, with some differences. It's not going to follow the standard model (the
guy who has the most keybinds and gear wins like WoW), and will differ from games like EVE Online in that it's a much more visceral experience.
It's not just spreadsheets in space. You actually get to dogfight, and having the better ship doesn't guarantee that you'll win. It's like a
first person shooter version of WoW with spaceships as I understand it.
Here's a vid of the basic concept. Note how awesome the graphics are going to be.
You can play it anyway you like, from taking on legit contracts and being a space business tycoon, taking govt. contracts to destroy pirates, to
mining for profit or exploring, all the way to bounty hunting and pirating. As the game progresses, the bosses die, and never respawn and player
names are written into the lore. A new boss may take the place of the one defeated, but you still get that kill only once.
I love that you can pilot a ship while your friends are in the gunners chairs. The ships go from single seater star fighters to massive, where ten
players (or hired AI) are required to man all the stations. There are even bigger ships and space stations that will be acquired by guilds. So you
can go land your ship on a bigger ship with your buddies. If you acquire a ship that takes 4 people to man (pilot and gunners) you can hire AI to man
those spots and play alone, or a friend can replace the AI and go with you.
You can customize your ship to fit what role you want to play. If you want it fast, you can swap engines. Want it to haul cargo, add that ability.
Want it to outgun people, add different weapons. Want it safe add more shields and bulkheads. They're even allowing for customization so you can
add nose art, decals, put pictures you want inside the ship etc... You're also going to be able to take out another ship and board it, stealing
it's cargo and possibly the ship.
The thing is being released in 'modules' for those that are pledging. The first module was essentially just a hangar bay with all the ships you
purchased (ships and the game with access to Alpha and Beta access cost between $35 and $1,000, with some packages going up to insane amounts,
$15,000). This lets you go check out your ships, mess around with them a little and make you itch for the game to finalize. The next module to be
released will be this month and allows for dogfighting. The final release date is set somewhere in 2015.
I think I'm actually going to pledge because I want to be a part of the design process, and be able to vote on certain things. I also want to be
able to play the Alpha and Beta stuff before the game is really launched.
At the website you can buy packages. A package includes a ship of your choosing, and a number of in game currency, access rights to Alpha and Beta
(stages where a game is tested essentially), a hangar (which you can upgrade), and some other stuff sometimes including a miniature of your ship. You
can purchase a package, then buy ships without a package. You will be able to acquire all the ships in game, with in game currency, so perhaps don't
get too crazy.
I have been following this for a bit. Hopefully they will deliver on the promises. There are not enough sci fi games in the mmo genre unfortunately
and since WoW came along a cookie cutter formula was developed that really hurt the scene IMO.
Honestly I just want EQ1 with less grind but in space is that so hard? haha. Will be keeping an eye out on this one.
I first saw some screenshots for Eve ages ago and thought it would be cool. I never got it though but from some of the vids i've seen it doesn't
seem as cool as I had hoped.
This does though... Very cool stuff!
Sidenote: How long is it going to take to make another X Wing or Tie Fighter Star wars space sim?? They were fantastic...they need to get onto
that!
I hope it's not too over complicated. I absolutely loved Freelancer because of it's simplicity and arcade feel when you were flying. I've played a
few space sims since but they were all too awkward for my liking.