Starfarer

[Aganazer]

This game looks great!

http://fractalsoftworks.com/

I can see a lot of Weird Worlds/Gratuitous Space Battles influence.

Two hundred years ago, the galaxy was ravaged by war.  Planets reduced to cinders with all of their inhabitants.  Fleets representing the industrial production of hundreds of worlds vaporized in mere hours. War on such a scale could not last long, but it did not have to. With most of the known galaxy a smoldering ruin, interstellar trade broke down, and even worlds initially left untouched suffered greatly trying to gain self-sufficiency.

The story of Starfarer concerns a sector largely untouched by the war.  Humanity has been slowly slipping into anarchy, though some outposts of civilization remain.  It is a time of frequent conflict, rampant piracy, and shifting allegiances.  A time of great profit for the few traders able to ply the old trading routes.  A time of great danger and greater opportunity.

    * Single player, gritty, dystopian sci-fi setting
    * Classic top down gameplay style enhanced by modern technology
    * Unique character development system – advance your story,  your way
    * Assemble a large, powerful fleet or a finely-tuned task force with hand-picked officers and crew
    * Outfit hulls with your weapons of choice, and add  ship systems to create crushing tactical combinations
    * Explore hundreds of star systems to find habitable worlds, rich resource deposits, and advanced alien technology
    * Impact the inter-stellar economy with your decisions – decide the fate of entire planetary systems
    * Fight to bring stability and prosperity to the sector – or watch it burn while you take advantage of the chaos
    * Runs on Linux, Mac, and Windows

They are doing the pre-order to beta test thing right now. Its only $10.00.

[Huw the Poo]

That looks really interesting.  Are you going to take the plunge and give us impressions, Aganazer?

(Note: correct answer is 'yes' )

[Aganazer]

That looks really interesting.  Are you going to take the plunge and give us impressions, Aganazer?

(Note: correct answer is 'yes' )

Yeah I thought you'd like it. 

The current state of the alpha has some space battles but it doesn't have the RPG, sandbox, and strategic features yet. I'll be picking it up after those get implemented. There are a few impressions in the thread over at QT3 where I first heard about it.

[Huw the Poo]

Goddamn.  I just watched the dev combat video.  My wallet hates you, Aganazer!

I'm going to need this game, and I'll be buying it as soon as I can sneak my credit card past my girlfriend.  It looks like GSB, yeah, only with a big old game built around it.  Not to discredit GSB which I really enjoyed, but Starfarer looks like it takes pretty much every element of the game and makes it into just one element of many in itself.  It looks like the kind of game you won't mind sucking at because it's just so damn fun to play.

Edit: Reading the FAQ it also sounds like a Mount & Blade in space!

Edit edit: I'll be buying this tonight.  Impressions to follow.  Can we get Aganazer temp-banned please?

[raydude]

Pre-ordered as well. For $10 I figure what the hey.

[Aganazer]

Edit edit: I'll be buying this tonight.  Impressions to follow.  Can we get Aganazer temp-banned please?

Also, you must see S.P.A.Z.

So this is what its like to be a drug dealer I guess. 

[Arkon]

So the site is giving me some issues currently...can anyone tell me what the required specs are for this?  Trying to determine if my work laptop that I use when traveling will run it.

[Huw the Poo]

Also, you must see S.P.A.Z.

I am literally not even going to click the link, you git.  Remind me about it again in a few months!

Arkon, the developer says the requirements aren't really known even to himself but he's endeavouring to keep them as low as possible.  Other than that, I got nothing I'm afraid.

In other news...bought and installed.  I shall probably give it a spin after my daily dose of Rift.

[CeeKay]

Wow, SPAZ looks interesting.  Probably a good thing you don't click on the link, Huw.

[Huw the Poo]

Indeed!

[CeeKay]

Yep, nothing to see here....

[Harkonis]

I like the game, but I prefer the idea of controlling my ship, not controlling my ship and ordering all the other ships by pausing, etc.  ( I prefer ARPG type gameplay versus CnC )

[Huw the Poo]

CeeKay you are a wanker.

[Huw the Poo]

Wow!  Just played through the tutorial and first mission (score: 77%) and it was fun!  Combat really is like playing GSB but with direct control, and the whole thing is much more polished than I expected it to be.  The interface is pretty and the sprites themselves are impressively detailed.  Sound is pretty good.  There are lots of little touches that I like.  I like how you hit the right mouse button and your shield slowly deploys around you.  I like how other ships have directional shields.  I like that fighter combat is exciting and that fighters themselves aren't horribly overpowered as they tend to be in many other games.  I like the beam weapons!

That was just so much fun, and to think - this is only one aspect of the game that we're seeing.  I can't wait to see what the rest of the game will be like, and apparently it will be completed some time this year.  Since I've already paid I don't know whether to keep playing or wait until the next major milestone or two.  I wonder how far apart each build will be released.

For those wondering, control is WASD and mouse.  You select your ship from the tactical screen (the "warroom") and then use WASD to steer and thrust forwards or backwards.  Then as with Naval Field (for those who played that game) you get firing arcs with each weapon group you select, so combat becomes a matter of keeping your enemy inside the arc while you pound him, while simultaneously managing your other weapon groups (for example using your point defense to hit fighters), your "flux" which is essentially an energy gauge that stops you having your shields up and firing all weapons all the time, and keeping your ship out of harm's way.  It sounds like a lot to manage at once but it becomes second nature after a while, and mercifully any weapon group can be set to auto which is particularly useful for point defense.  The mouse is used to aim within your weapon arcs.

All the time you have the rest of your fleet doing the same thing.  I didn't delve too deeply into the options here but I noticed you can give your other ships orders like search and destroy or repair and refit, then from my experience of the first mission you can happily leave them to it while you concentrate on your ship.  You can also switch command between ships at will.  The pacing is just right for me; not so fast that I feel overwhelmed, but slow enough to feel like it's capital ships pounding each other.

[CeeKay]

CeeKay you are a wanker.

dangit, I had money on 'CeeKay, you are a right bastard.'.  I guess Bael gets it becuase he was the closest with 'CeeKay, you are a bloody wanker'.

 

[Huw the Poo]

I'm happy to disappoint you. 

[Caine]

that sounds pretty fun and looks good too.  bookmarked for now.

[Huw the Poo]

New forum at the developer's website.

Current manual.

[CeeKay]

I saw they just put out a new update for this:

    Campaign mode – fight your way up in the war-torn Corvus system
    Start out with a single frigate, buy (or capture) more ships to grow your fleet
    Customize your ship’s loadout before battle
    Level up your crew
    Ship weapons and engines can be disabled by damage, adding a new layer of tactics
    Tons of balance changes, UI improvements, AI improvements, and several new ships and weapons

anyone still playing this?  kinda forgot about it until I saw news about the update.

[USMC Kato]

I saw they just put out a new update for this:

    Campaign mode – fight your way up in the war-torn Corvus system
    Start out with a single frigate, buy (or capture) more ships to grow your fleet
    Customize your ship’s loadout before battle
    Level up your crew
    Ship weapons and engines can be disabled by damage, adding a new layer of tactics
    Tons of balance changes, UI improvements, AI improvements, and several new ships and weapons

anyone still playing this?  kinda forgot about it until I saw news about the update.

jarrodhk and I are playing. The game is coming along very nicely.

[Tokek]

I'm playing this as well and so far I'm liking it. Haven't had time to play much though.

[Caine]

Thanks for bumping this back up.  I'll be getting this now.

[pingwrx]

Yea this looks like my type of game gonna pick it up.

[USMC Kato]

Been playing this game off and on, and with the incremental updates it just keeps on getting better.  Kinda wish this game got some kickstarter love, we would probably be seeing a 1.0 version by the end of the year if that happened.

[Dreamshadow]

Must throw in ten bucks as soon as I can.  This one looks good.  (I love SPAZ, but the third phase of the game has me frustrated)

[Jarrodhk]

Version .52a is out. Lots of changes as usual. http://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=1869.0

[USMC Kato]

Version .52a is out. Lots of changes as usual. http://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=1869.0

Thanks for the update. This is the only game I play when I'm on duty, and it plays on my crappy old laptop

[Dreamshadow]

Just as a quick question...  I just fly around attacking pirates in the beginning?  Is the main game that free-form?

[Lyno]

Just as a quick question...  I just fly around attacking pirates in the beginning?  Is the main game that free-form?

There's two game modes: Campaign and Mission. Campaign is free-form where you start off with one ship and attack anyone smaller/weaker than you. Missions are set-piece battles with various levels of difficulties and a score at the end.

There's also a bunch of mods that add new content to both the Campaign and the Missions. I installed a mod pack called Uomozs Corvus 15 DEV - Incursions and Relics, which is a compilation of the "vanilla balanced" mods, ie ones that don't change the balance of the game. You must start a new game with a mod loaded in order to get the new planets and factions.

Been obsessed with this game for the past week. But it might have to take a backseat to Diablo 3 for awhile.

-Lyno