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Star Control: October 2015 update

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Star Control: October 2015 update

from StarControl Forums

Greetings!

Another month has come and gone and here is the monthly update -- just in a nick of time.

The Star Control team has continued to staff up as we've hired more animators and artists. 

Here are the topics to lead us into November:

Topic #1: The Founder's Program

Yes. The Founder's Program will get going within the next month or so.

If you are interested in joining, please fill out this survey: 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VCQQG7D

 

Topic #2: The Tech

The game will be using the same graphics engine as Ashes of the Singularity.  That means it'll be both state of the art but also (Because we're not having to deal with 30,000+ units at once) be able to run on relatively modest hardware (it'll still require a 64-bit OS, DirectX 11 or later but you should be able to run it fine on an Ultrabook). 

The visuals are already quite stunning. Remember,. Nitrous's claim to fame (the engine)_ is that it renders similar to how CGI in movies is done except in real-time.  You can see that already in Ashes despite it having relatively simple 3D models.  Wait till you see what we can do with the aliens. 

 

Topic #3: Lore Update

Since this is a reboot, the game will take place before the events of the original Star Control 1. Without giving too much away, something happens in 2085 leading the Humans to form Star Control to begin exploring space and making contact with alien worlds.  The story will unfold from there.

 

Topic #4: Core elements

The founders will get a lot more information on all of this but below are the essential elements in the new Star Control.

  • Super Melee.  Without spoiling it, Super Melee will take place within a solar system, not around a single planet. It will support Internet multiplayer and will likely be the first component released to Founders (2016).
  • Planet Exploration.  This part is actually pretty far along and one of the coolest looking things I've ever seen and, after you see, it, it's "duh, of course that's how it should be done".
  • Encounters.  This is the most complex part of the game (or at least expensive).  Combining Nitrous with real-time emoting (not just lip syincing) is definitely proving worth it.  For the record, I was originally against this because I thought it would be cheesy. I've now seen it in action and it's really amazing.
  • Ship Customizer.  You wlll have a flag ship which will also pick up fleets of ally ships.  However, this time around, you'll be able to visually customize the ship such that everyone's ship will look different (which should prove fun in multiplayer and when exploring the multiverses created by others).  Think GalCiv III level customization combined with Nitrous fidelity.  This part of the game is already working (though primitively).
  • Exploration.  This part is working minus non-programmer art. 
  • Music.  We scored a real win getting Riku back after 25 years to score the new Star Control music. It's part of the charm of the original series.
  • Writing.  Chris Bucholz of cracked.com is in charge of the writing.  The aliens are, well, pretty awesomely insane and ridiculous already.  There are already some catchy memes that have spread across the office.  It'll be interesting whether they spread once others are exposed to them.
We're basically moving at full force.  We are still looking to hire more engineers though. Must be willing to locate to Towson Maryland.
 
Topic #5: Road Map
 
Here's the near-term road map:
  1. Founders Program begins (4Q2015). This will be access to our vault and a private forum where we can bounce ideas off those passionate, like us, about the Star Control reboot.
  2. Founders Prototype (1Q2016): Founders under NDA will start to be able to give feedback and try out some of our tools and early prototypes of what we're working on to give feedback and suggestions.
  3. Founders Alpha (2Q2016): Founders, under NDA, start getting Alpha builds.
  4. Early Access (4Q2016).
  5. 2017: 25th anniversary of Star Control 2.

Topic #6: Bonus Topic
 
Because of the heavy emphasis on player created universes (hence all the work on tools and editors), we'll be using the term "Multiverse" a lot going forward.
 
Broadly speaking, if someone uses the tools to create a Star Trek universe that players visit in the game that is full of Klingon and Federation ships (obviously, WE won't be releasing that but the tools will let people create any universe they want with their own ships, stories, aliens, etc. of varying qualities) that universe will have an Earth also. Similarly, if someone creates a Babylon 5 universe, that one has Earth in it too.  And needless to say, I suspect many people will use the tools to recreate Star Control 2 based stories with their ships and aliens -- and Earth is in that too.
 
So we can't obviously call these mods different galaxies or different parts of the milky way galaxy. They're different dimensions.  Hence, the multiverse concept. 
 
That there are other dimensions is not news to Star Control *campers* of course.
 
Once people have completed our main story-arc, they will have endless different stories to go to without having to wait for us to create sequels.  They just pop into their ship and choose a dimension to visit.
 
Let me know what questions you have.   There's already plenty of spoilers in this post but we'll be reserving most of the details for the Founder's vault.
 
 

 

230,698 views 73 replies
Reply #26 from Stardock Forums Top

Many "ultra" fans will never be satisfied, regardless of the tricks of storylines/etc, unless Fred and Paul do another Star Control themselves.  I've learned to get over it, and embrace what could be an awesome experience, all the while crossing my fingers that 1-Stardock doesn't screw up and 2-Fred and Paul stop making money and are forced to do something with Star Control to make ends meet.

 

B) :beer: :beer: :beer:

 

Reply #27 from Stardock Forums Top

Great work on the updates!  Getting these monthly updates are great and something amazing to look forward to each month.  

 

I was recently playing SC2 and was curious in the new Star Control, is there plans to have some sort of doomsday event I.E. Kohr-Ah Death March, in the main campaign?  The added pressure of having a clock in the back of your head always helped add to the tension of the game.

Galactic Civilizations III
Reply #28 from StarControl Forums Top

Riku is composing all the music on his own? Impressive. Let me know if he should need some help with that. ;)

Reply #29 from StarControl Forums Top

Can't wait for the Founder's Program and helping out with some feedback.

Reply #31 from StarControl Forums Top

Wait, are you implying that Paul Reiche wasn't perfect and the original series is not some kind of canonically flawless creation?

The end is nigh!

;P

Reply #32 from Stardock Forums Top

^ I think he's implying that they'll triple proofread their stuff when it's done. ;)

Reply #33 from Stardock Forums Top

Anyone get into the Founder's Program yet?

Reply #34 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting Precursors_TiLT, reply 28

Riku is composing all the music on his own? Impressive. Let me know if he should need some help with that. ;)

Yes, I'd love to help, too!!! I mean, it'll just be me banging cymbals together and randomly hitting a drum with a drumstick thingy, because I know nothing about music, but that would be amazing!

+1 Loading…
Reply #35 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting dogchainx, reply 26

Many "ultra" fans will never be satisfied, regardless of the tricks of storylines/etc, unless Fred and Paul do another Star Control themselves.  I've learned to get over it, and embrace what could be an awesome experience, all the while crossing my fingers that 1-Stardock doesn't screw up and 2-Fred and Paul stop making money and are forced to do something with Star Control to make ends meet.

 

B) :beer: :beer: :beer:

 

Lol... Toys for Bob's Skylanders just crossed $3 BILLION in sales to date. I'm pretty sure Paul and Fred are set for life.

Reply #36 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting cuorebrave, reply 35


Quoting dogchainx,
reply 26

Many "ultra" fans will never be satisfied, regardless of the tricks of storylines/etc, unless Fred and Paul do another Star Control themselves.  I've learned to get over it, and embrace what could be an awesome experience, all the while crossing my fingers that 1-Stardock doesn't screw up and 2-Fred and Paul stop making money and are forced to do something with Star Control to make ends meet.

 

B) :beer: :beer: :beer:

 



Lol... Toys for Bob's Skylanders just crossed $3 BILLION in sales to date. I'm pretty sure Paul and Fred are set for life.

 

Yeah, I know.  Perhaps let me rephrase my 2-.....Fred and Paul stop making money AND LOSE EVERYTHING and are forced to do something with Star Control to make ends meet.    :erk:

Reply #37 from StarControl Forums Top

Quoting dogchainx, reply 36

Yeah, I know.  Perhaps let me rephrase my 2-.....Fred and Paul stop making money AND LOSE EVERYTHING and are forced to do something with Star Control to make ends meet.   

If that ever happens Stardock will be there to make sure its published with the Star Control trademark. :) 

Reply #38 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting Frogboy, reply 7

we plan on An XBox One release. Ps4 later.

Hello! I'd like to bring up some concerns about the console release. Now this not some kind of "PC Master Race vs Console Peasant" thing! Its just some observations and I'd like to hear your thoughts on them

1) Second game on consoles? Other than ElfSquad7 way back in the day I can't recall an console release Stardock has done. As you've been on Steam and are used to all the advantages of it, I'm wondering how you will handle the disparity of how they handle games.

2) Retail release. This may not be a giant issue given that even consoles are semi-doing digital only releases. But I"m sure you're not super excited to go back into retail. So would the console release be a retail thing or digital only?

3) Patch scheduling and cost. I don't think this has changed but to release patches on XboxOne/PS4 still costs money a lot of money. Referencing your previous post about long tail revenue on LH

https://forums.elementalgame.com/452355/page/1/#replies

Given the fairly high cost of patches (10K or more each?) how do you envision maintaining the game long term. I feel like this would end up falling into 2 possible categories

a ) Payday2 released on consoles but had significatn problems keeping up with patches on the console side. THe PC side got all the love while the consoles languished.

b ) Or you end up with the typical patching cycle like Skyrim/Borderlands2 of maybe one a quarter if you're lucky, and they only do super conservative break fixes because they don't want to screw up the patch due to the distribution cost

Maybe there's a middle ground but I find it hard to see how that would work. You're running a business not a charity so doing patches every week doesn't seem financially viable?

4) Modding Support. I feel like modern Stardock releases have been big on allowing modding and this has been a great boon. Would a console release hamper things on that front since consoles cannot mod? Currently referencing the Xcom2 PC only release as an example.

5) Inevitable Consolie-itis Comparisons. Of course it being a beloved franchise already would be a difficult thing to manage expectations by itself. But now every decision, every bug, every thing that is different, wrong, etc will likely draw the typical "It was dumbed down for consoles". This on top of the inevitable "This isn't Star Control 2 in 1080p/4k! YOU RUINED MY CHILDHOOD!" threads

Like I said I have no beef with a console release. I care not for the "PC Master Race", or which console is 'better'. But I would like to hear your thoughts about these things.

Thanks

Reply #39 from Stardock Forums Top


Super Melee.  Without spoiling it, Super Melee will take place within a solar system, not around a single planet. It will support Internet multiplayer and will likely be the first component released to Founders (2016).

 

This. This right here is why I'd do anything to get into the Founders Program. The part of the game that I want the most is coming out first.

 

What about local multiplayer? Will I be able to play someone on the same computer?

Reply #40 from StarControl Forums Top

satoru1

 

This game MUST come out on gaming console platform & thank god it is.

 

If this game is to succeed, they will allow all types of gamers to purchase this game and not be stuck with the crappy 1 option of owning it only on PC.

 

Otherwise, might as well call it Star Control 3 and see failure before it happens.

 

I truly HOPE that frogboy is right about it being on Xbox and possibly PS4 later.

 

If so, THIS is the best decision Stardock has made up to this point.

 

This trumps everything else going on with the games current production.

Reply #41 from StarControl Forums Top

Looking at Galactic Civ 3.   (recently bought it)   It looks too much like Star Control 3.

 

God, I hope this new SC reboot doesn't look like SC3 or the Galactic Civ 3.

I think the charm of the SC2 was the artwork style of the cartoony looking characters.

 

Reply #42 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting Meleemike, reply 40

satoru1

 

This game MUST come out on gaming console platform & thank god it is.

 

If this game is to succeed, they will allow all types of gamers to purchase this game and not be stuck with the crappy 1 option of owning it only on PC.

 

Otherwise, might as well call it Star Control 3 and see failure before it happens.

 

I truly HOPE that frogboy is right about it being on Xbox and possibly PS4 later.

 

If so, THIS is the best decision Stardock has made up to this point.

 

This trumps everything else going on with the games current production.

 

Meleemike, deploying a game across several platforms is a business decision, that entails a lot of business issues, both marketing-wise, license-wise and programming-wise. One example is the fact that you need to program a game for the computer, with users close to the screen, maxing out resolution, etc. On the console, you're playing on a TV that is farther away, so you need to rearrange your GUI in consequence, taking advantage of the TV's technological pros while working around the cons.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, your love of consoles notwithstanding, it has a lot more implications than just saying: "It's no good if its not console".

 

And to say that it is the best decision Stardock has made up to this point, I believe, is completely off-kilter.  In my mind, the best decision they made was to acquire the Star Control IP in the first place. And the second-best decision they've made is to create another game with the SC IP  B)

 

The other way around would mean that they could create SC III on console and, in your mind, it would be better than a perfect SC Reboot only on PC.

 

Measure your words, Earthling :-)

Reply #43 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting RonPimpster, reply 41

I think the charm of the SC2 was the artwork style of the cartoony looking characters.
 

It's kind of funny that SC1's and 2's "retro" graphics are in style these days. I showed a friend Super Melee, and he said that it looked great. He compared it to Luftrausers.

Reply #44 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting Meleemike, reply 40

This game MUST come out on gaming console platform & thank god it is.

I'm not really sure why it 'must' come out on consoles. Like I said I don't have a beef either way. I'm just curious how they're handling things since this would be their first major console title. And patches work VERY differently there than on Steam. Steamworks is a veritable developer paradise compared to the restrictive BS of console 'certifications'.

If this game is to succeed, they will allow all types of gamers to purchase this game and not be stuck with the crappy 1 option of owning it only on PC.

Again while I have no real beef with consoles/PCs, I'm not sure why consoles are necessary for it to 'succeed'. Stardock has 'succeeded' very well without console releases. I get you 'want' it on consoles, but I"m not really seeing the 'need to succeed part' unless you have some business plan I'm not privy to.

Otherwise, might as well call it Star Control 3 and see failure before it happens.

So should we just throw in the towel for GalCiv3 and Ashes of the Singularity?

What about Xcom2?
 

This trumps everything else going on with the games current production.

Your platform doesn't make a good game

A good game makes a good game.

I expressly avoided rediculous 'pc vs console' hyperbole and instead concentrated on real technical differences that make a difference to devs like how patching on Steam is free but costs $10-15k on consoles. That's a very very big shift in how you deploy patches especially since Stardock is very good about doing very frequent patches to fix bugs and add free content. Thats just one of many concerns I have about how the console version would differ, or how they would handle things in general.

Reply #45 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting satoru1, reply 44

I expressly avoided rediculous 'pc vs console' hyperbole and instead concentrated on real technical differences that make a difference to devs like how patching on Steam is free but costs $10-15k on consoles. That's a very very big shift in how you deploy patches especially since Stardock is very good about doing very frequent patches to fix bugs and add free content. Thats just one of many concerns I have about how the console version would differ, or how they would handle things in general.

Don't forget about mods. Also, it would be good to note the mess that online multiplayer brings to the table when dealing with the PC/Console divide. 

 

Personally, I don't care if this comes out on a console. The original SCs were actually a great fit for consoles. What I don't want to see happen, though, is to have the PC game be crippled because of the console limitations and bureaucracy. (But... I have faith in Stardock that they wouldn't do this.)

 

Reply #46 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting IBNobody, reply 45

Quoting satoru1,
reply 44

I expressly avoided rediculous 'pc vs console' hyperbole and instead concentrated on real technical differences that make a difference to devs like how patching on Steam is free but costs $10-15k on consoles. That's a very very big shift in how you deploy patches especially since Stardock is very good about doing very frequent patches to fix bugs and add free content. Thats just one of many concerns I have about how the console version would differ, or how they would handle things in general.



Don't forget about mods. Also, it would be good to note the mess that online multiplayer brings to the table when dealing with the PC/Console divide. 

 

Personally, I don't care if this comes out on a console. The original SCs were actually a great fit for consoles. What I don't want to see happen, though, is to have the PC game be crippled because of the console limitations and bureaucracy. (But... I have faith in Stardock that they wouldn't do this.)

 

I think everyone agrees this should be a PC-first release. That includes PC menus, PC control system... not like Rebel Galaxy that just came out, which is obviously supposed to be played with a controller.

Reply #47 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting cuorebrave, reply 46


Quoting IBNobody,
reply 45




Quoting satoru1,

reply 44


I expressly avoided rediculous 'pc vs console' hyperbole and instead concentrated on real technical differences that make a difference to devs like how patching on Steam is free but costs $10-15k on consoles. That's a very very big shift in how you deploy patches especially since Stardock is very good about doing very frequent patches to fix bugs and add free content. Thats just one of many concerns I have about how the console version would differ, or how they would handle things in general.



Don't forget about mods. Also, it would be good to note the mess that online multiplayer brings to the table when dealing with the PC/Console divide. 

 

Personally, I don't care if this comes out on a console. The original SCs were actually a great fit for consoles. What I don't want to see happen, though, is to have the PC game be crippled because of the console limitations and bureaucracy. (But... I have faith in Stardock that they wouldn't do this.)

 



I think everyone agrees this should be a PC-first release. That includes PC menus, PC control system... not like Rebel Galaxy that just came out, which is obviously supposed to be played with a controller.

 

Amen. With all of the tools/etc for the community, this absolutely should be PC first and foremost. I think stardock knows that very well.  =)

 

Reply #48 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting cuorebrave, reply 46

I think everyone agrees this should be a PC-first release. That includes PC menus, PC control system... not like Rebel Galaxy that just came out, which is obviously supposed to be played with a controller.

I am okay with a controller menu system and an arcade-ish combat display. That's what we had for SC1 and 2. I was more concerned about other types of limitations. "That didn't work well for console users, so we pulled it from the PC version too."

Reply #49 from Stardock Forums Top

Controller is a must for the Melee. Endless Space has the best looking/cleanest UI (keyboard and mouse though) IMO.

Reply #50 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting Hunam_, reply 49

Controller is a must for the Melee. Endless Space has the best looking/cleanest UI (keyboard and mouse though) IMO.

Yes, it was quite good, but I think THEY actually took a page from Stardock with the whole ZOOM into wherever your mouse-pointer is. I believe that was a Stardock original with Sins of a Solar Empire...

BUT. There is literally NOWHERE I want to see a zoom function or, really, even mouse control in this game! I want to be in DIRECT CONTROL OF MY SHIP AT ALL TIMES.

I can't even get into how against click-mouse-to-tell-your-ship-where-to-go I am. I want DIRECT control of my ship. Direct. Direct!

EDIT: Mouse for menus and conversations is good. Same goes for the outfitting-your-ship screen, and I guess, building your custom vessel. And I can see some mouse input clicking on what star you want to travel to... But stop there!!