Gameplay Inspirations: Star Citizen

from StarControl Forums

I'm looking forward to the wealth of great space games coming out in the future, and can't help but compare some aspects of them to what could be possible in Star Control. Don't misunderstand, I'm under no delusions that they share gameplay elements and don't expect Star Control to be a massive open universe RPG spaceflight sim and first person shooter. The required hardware specification on Star Citizen is also bound to be much steeper as well. I would venture to say No Man's Sky probably has more in common with the themes in Star Control, but I digress.

I'm very happy as a gamer that a handful of new titles about cosmic exploration are on the way, all taking place on enormously huge scales with massive universes to explore. The procedurally generated content, personal customization options, and incredible detail of Star Citizen are very impressive, to say nothing of the incredible spaceflight engine; I am an early backer and it interprets spaceflight physics outstandingly well. It's like being in a legit Star Wars combat sim and I would like to think the developers at Stardock are looking at what's being done with Star Citizen at least on some level even though I expect the combat style will not be similar at all.

The sense of scale when flying in Star Citizen is outstanding and the abundance of obstacles and interstellar "terrain", primarily in the form of asteroids is very well executed. It adds an element of depth to gameplay that would otherwise be missing if you were just flying around in an empty vacuum. I also enjoy racing games so this aspect really appeals to me because it adds an element of maneuvering strategy to the gameplay. I'd really enjoy seeing that level of immersion in Star Control navigation and exploration, as opposed to just mindlessly going from one planet to the next. I feel that the best part of the adventure is the journey and not the destination, so it should be fun and challenging getting from one place to the next, rather than a chore.

I certainly don't expect Star Control to be Star Citizen, but I don't think it would be the worst thing in the world if they drew some inspiration from its incredible level of detail. Curious if any dedicated Star Control fans here are following it and what they think about it and whether Stardock could learn anything from it despite the fact that the only aspect they really have in common is the fact they take place in space!

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Reply #1 from StarControl Forums Top


the only aspect they really have in common is the fact they take place in space!

I think that sums up the comparison. 

Reply #2 from StarControl Forums Top

The nature of how Star Control plays, and the way I suspect Stardock is approaching this reboot, is paying a lot of attention to the world building. But unlike StarCitizen a lot of that effort goes into the fleshing out the aliens and their worlds/empires/cultures - less so around the challenges that might be faced traveling from A to B.

While I imagine that there will be some elements that spice up general navigation, I also imagine that most of the "gaming" aspect of the game revolves around interaction with other lifeforms (be it combat or more social).

 

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Reply #3 from StarControl Forums Top

Of course Star Citizen won't have the element of interacting with tons of different lifeforms, but the spicing up of general navigation is definitely what I was suggesting as far as inspiration goes. I'm hoping to see new mechanics that emphasize navigational and maneuvering challenges, whether in space or on the ground in a lander.

The only time that I can think of maneuvering being a gameplay dynamic in SC2 was when you were dodging ships in pursuit, whether in Hyperspace or in star systems as other ships would give chase and come after you, or perhaps predatory lifeforms on planets chasing your lander. Avoiding natural phenomena like weather, earthquakes and volcanic activity was another aspect of this.

I'd love to see that element of outrunning and outmaneuvering hostiles spiced up as well, perhaps with some fresh challenges incorporated, like dodging asteroids in Truespace or other phenomena in Hyperspace, and having difficulty getting through places in a lander not outfitted well enough to make it over big obstacles or across certain terrain.

Reply #4 from StarControl Forums Top

2D and 3D space ship games are entirely different things.  Some aspects are relevant to both, for example The Kaufman Retrograde, Oblique Attack, Oblique Option Point, Sabre Dance... most of the same "laws" still apply.  The main difference is in your level of situational awareness.  In a 3D game you are viewing the world through a straw, it is more immersive.  In 2D you are viewing the world through gods eyes, and in pure top down 2D you also gain the effect of Pattern Recognition Addiction.  They are completely different things in many ways, and yet almost all of the same "tactical laws" apply to both.

So while they are completely different things from one point of view, they are also nearly identical from a different point of view.