Star Control out today. Anyone else excited?

[danzibr]

Title pretty much says it all.

I tried to not read/watch too much, but from what I’ve seen, this is the first game in a long long time that I’m actually excited for. Played the hell outta SCII, this looks like it has the same spirit.

EDIT: There's a fan community that redid (was pixely, made it sharp) most of the art for Star Control 2, and they provided a free download of the game here (http://sc2.sourceforge.net/downloads.php).

[BeerMug Paladin]

Is this the one made by the creators of Star Control 2? I remember reading an announcement that they got the rights back to it and were planning on making something, but I haven't seen any news about it since.

Star Control 3 was made by a different team, and if this is that project I mentioned, then I believe it's been suggested that one won't be considered canon.

[Eldan]

At least some of the same people, last i heard. I had no idea it was that far along. Yes, I'm excited.

[Kaptin Keen]

... I - don't know what a Star Control is, but I'm willing to be infected by the excitement of others =)

[Eldan]

Star Control I, I don't know much about. It's apparently some kind of spaceship shooter game. Humanity and its allies are fighting a desparate battle against an overwhelming alien empire. You know, standard stuff.
Star Control II is, well. It doesn't fit too well into genres. A bit sandbox exploration, a bit RPG, a bit spaceship shooter. It's remembered a lot more for writing and characters than for mechanics.

Humanity was uplifted by an alien species to join the war against the Hierarchy, as in the first game. But they were losing. The only surviving colony was a secret science mission on Vega, who discovered an ancient precursor spaceship. You are the captain of that ship and return to Earth decades later to find it... replaced by a weird sphere of energy. You only encounter a small orbital shipyard and refueling station, crewed by the last few surviving humans. They tell you the story.

The alliance was utterly crushed. Each species was given the choice to become locked in on their own planets, without ever being allowed to go to space again, or become battle-thralls in the hierarchy armies. Humanity chose to be locked in. The Hierarchy wiped out humanity's culture and technology: any nuclear technology and all modern computers were taken. Any cultural artefact older than a hundred years was destroyed. All non-functuional architecture was nuked. And then the planet was locked behind an energy shield, so they couldn't even see the moon or stars.

So, you begin the rebellion. You have a map of 500 stars, about 4000 planets, 26 alien civilizations you can encounter and a lot more in the background. You can recruit some, convince some not to harm you, you have to fight others to the last breath. They all have their own motives, cultures and biologies that are quite detailed. The Hierarchy is led by the Ur-Quan, who are split in two factions. The Kzer-za, who follow the Path of Now and Forever and want to enslave, then lock away everyone else, so they never have to meet another sentient race. And the Kor-Ah, who follow the Eternal Doctrine. Unending Genocide. Find new races and destroy them. Their planets too. No other life may exist. Until recently, the Kzer-Za were in control. That's changing.

Oh, and despite how dark all that sounds... about 90% of the game is comedic. Most of the aliens are silly, especially on first contact. Very silly. They'd fight right in with Hitchhiker's Guide, Futurama or Red Dwarf. A lot of it is absolutely hilarious. It's also brutally dark from time to time.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/54/StarControlII_Screenshot.png

Also, it's now free under Creative Commons. If you have a tolerance for early 90s MS-DOS graphics, take a look. There's a version with quite well voice-acted dialogue, too, which is probably necessary given that it has hundreds of pages of text.

[danzibr]

Is this the one made by the creators of Star Control 2? I remember reading an announcement that they got the rights back to it and were planning on making something, but I haven't seen any news about it since.

Star Control 3 was made by a different team, and if this is that project I mentioned, then I believe it's been suggested that one won't be considered canon.

At least some of the same people, last i heard. I had no idea it was that far along. Yes, I'm excited.
Yeah, the original 2 dudes made this game. However, it's a prequel. I've read conflicting things about trademarks, that maybe they can't use the original races. Maybe.

Also, if this goes well, they do indeed intend to make a canonical sequel to Star Control 2.

And excellent summary, Eldan :)

[factotum]

I shall do as I always do these days--wait for the reviews to come in before allowing myself to get excited. Been burned too many times by anticipated games turning out to be trash (X: Rebirth) or effectively just a giant DLC for the first game (Borderlands 2).

[Eldan]

Yeah, the original 2 dudes made this game. However, it's a prequel. I've read conflicting things about trademarks, that maybe they can't use the original races. Maybe.

Also, if this goes well, they do indeed intend to make a canonical sequel to Star Control 2.

And excellent summary, Eldan :)

I've watched hte trailer now, and I don't see any recognizeable races. Including those who would have early contact with the Hunams originally, like the Chenjesu or Yehat.

[danzibr]

I shall do as I always do these days--wait for the reviews to come in before allowing myself to get excited. Been burned too many times by anticipated games turning out to be trash (X: Rebirth) or effectively just a giant DLC for the first game (Borderlands 2).
Understandable.

I've watched hte trailer now, and I don't see any recognizeable races. Including those who would have early contact with the Hunams originally, like the Chenjesu or Yehat.
Ahh... a bit disturbing, that.

More like an alternate history origins story, then?

Makes me wonder if their planned SC2 sequel will be, well, not a SC2 sequel. Hrm.

[Eldan]

There seemed to be a large star map, though, starship battles, planet surface exploration and a lot of voiced dialogue with several different alien races. So, I remain cautiously optimistic. If they toss everything and start over with the world building, that wouldn't be that bad. I like the worldbuilding, but I probably like the tone more than the actual world.

[Grif]

Understandable.

Ahh... a bit disturbing, that.

More like an alternate history origins story, then?

Makes me wonder if their planned SC2 sequel will be, well, not a SC2 sequel. Hrm.

To elaborate, Star Control: Origins (this one), will only be Star Control in name only. This is due to a quirk in copyright. When Stardock acquired the name from Atari, they did not actually acquire any of the assorted races and backstory that came with it. Those, incidentally, still remain with the original two creators (now working under their own company, Dogar and Kazon).

Essentially, this will be a retelling or an AU of the same story, depending on how Stardock plays it, with their own original races.

For the actual continuation of the story, I recommend following Dogar and Kazon instead, and their planned sequel, Ghosts of the Precursors.

[Narkis]

To elaborate, Star Control: Origins (this one), will only be Star Control in name only. This is due to a quirk in copyright. When Stardock acquired the name from Atari, they did not actually acquire any of the assorted races and backstory that came with it. Those, incidentally, still remain with the original two creators (now working under their own company, Dogar and Kazon).

Essentially, this will be a retelling or an AU of the same story, depending on how Stardock plays it, with their own original races.

For the actual continuation of the story, I recommend following Dogar and Kazon instead, and their planned sequel, Ghosts of the Precursors.

To add to that, Stardock has taken the original creators to court in order to shut down their project and take the full rights. I used to be really excited about Origins, as Star Control 2 is among my favorite games ever, but their behavior has soured me soured me on them somewhat.

[Eldan]

Ah, shame. I guess I'll wait for it to be 5 bucks on a steam sale, then.

[danzibr]

To elaborate, Star Control: Origins (this one), will only be Star Control in name only. This is due to a quirk in copyright. When Stardock acquired the name from Atari, they did not actually acquire any of the assorted races and backstory that came with it. Those, incidentally, still remain with the original two creators (now working under their own company, Dogar and Kazon).

Essentially, this will be a retelling or an AU of the same story, depending on how Stardock plays it, with their own original races.

For the actual continuation of the story, I recommend following Dogar and Kazon instead, and their planned sequel, Ghosts of the Precursors.
Ah-ha!

That’s the info I was looking for. Thanks!

Edit: huh, so 1 company owns the name and the new aliens in SC3. This company is the one that releases SC: Origins tomorrow.

The other company has the original duo which created SC2. They plan on releasing a canonical sequel to SC2 called Ghosts of the Precursors at some point in the future, but are struggling with legal issues (with the first company).

Bit of a bummer.

[BeerMug Paladin]

For the actual continuation of the story, I recommend following Dogar and Kazon instead, and their planned sequel, Ghosts of the Precursors.
Yeah, this is the one I'd be excited to see.

[Kaptin Keen]

Yeah, this is the one I'd be excited to see.

So ... the one everyone is excited for is not the one that's released ... um, in two days from the OP (which might mean today)?!

[BeerMug Paladin]

So ... the one everyone is excited for is not the one that's released ... um, in two days from the OP (which might mean today)?!
This general confusion is probably what the people making this are banking on.

As for people who aren't me, well, it's a space-adventure-rpg game with spaceship battles and aliens to meet and talk to. Presumably, there is a market for that kind of thing, with-or-without the original team's involvement.

Really, a company might be able to make a successful anthology series out of this kind of thing. Other than peoples' general obsession over continuity, endless franchises and such, I have no idea why no company has ever tried this kind of thing.

[Narkis]

This general confusion is probably what the people making this are banking on.

Given the timeline involved, I think they were banking on the old fans going "well, it's not a true sequel, but I liked the gameplay anyway and the new aliens might be fun. It's the best we're going to get." And then they were supposed to generate some free hype about how good the old games were and get some newbies interested.

But the original creators took the wind out of the hype machine's sails by selfishly announcing their own game, with no consideration paid to stardock's feelings. Just look what they got us into!

(/s in case it wasn't obvious.)

[Eldan]

But... the gameplay was ****, for the most part. Planet exploration and spaceship battles were never much fun. And I hate all the times where those pseudo-newtonian space mechanics meant I would slowly drift past a planet I meant to land on five times on the approach.

[danzibr]

So ... the one everyone is excited for is not the one that's released ... um, in two days from the OP (which might mean today)?!

This general confusion is probably what the people making this are banking on.

As for people who aren't me, well, it's a space-adventure-rpg game with spaceship battles and aliens to meet and talk to. Presumably, there is a market for that kind of thing, with-or-without the original team's involvement.

Really, a company might be able to make a successful anthology series out of this kind of thing. Other than peoples' general obsession over continuity, endless franchises and such, I have no idea why no company has ever tried this kind of thing.

Given the timeline involved, I think they were banking on the old fans going "well, it's not a true sequel, but I liked the gameplay anyway and the new aliens might be fun. It's the best we're going to get." And then they were supposed to generate some free hype about how good the old games were and get some newbies interested.

But the original creators took the wind out of the hype machine's sails by selfishly announcing their own game, with no consideration paid to stardock's feelings. Just look what they got us into!

(/s in case it wasn't obvious.)
Yeah, this seems to capture it pretty well.

But... I'm still going to try Star Control: Origins. From what I've seen in trailers, it looks like a clone of SC2, rather than a sequel. Like the Exit Fate of Suikoden. i'll take it.

Granted, I'm much more excited for Ghosts of the Precursors.

[BeerMug Paladin]

But... the gameplay was ****, for the most part. Planet exploration and spaceship battles were never much fun. And I hate all the times where those pseudo-newtonian space mechanics meant I would slowly drift past a planet I meant to land on five times on the approach.
I can't really deny this, but I also wish to point out that these categories of games tend to rely on their gaming segments more as diversifying activity than anything else. Something to do in between sections of narrative, worldbuilding or character building. That said, at the time I played the original I thought those aspects of the game were serviceable. I'm not sure how they hold up, but I still have a lot of love for all the detail put into the various aliens.

This is also a big part of why I have a preference. It's like learning that there's going to be two new novels written using the name of Beloved Franchise, one with a writer who did not write the previous installments of Beloved Franchise and one with the writer who wrote the (best/only) previous Beloved Franchise works.

The new author could very well be good, but I'm there for the original author's writing.

Oh, and since I didn't really respond to this earlier, Star Control was a strategy game of dominating territory. The ships had rock-paper-scissors like mechanics in terms of which ones worked well against which other ones, so the purpose of the game was in part to outmaneuver the enemy with your unit placement. Other than the general format of the space battles, the sequel was an entirely different kind of game.

When the PlayStation came out, the same people made The Unholy War which was pretty much the same kind of game, but in a 3d engine. I'd recommend it to anyone who thinks that sort of game sounds interesting.

[Eldan]

I'm not sure when I first played Star Control II. Probably mid-2000s. Now, I did love it, but I hated most of the gameplay.

Edit: and as for your writing metaphor, it's not even that. This is, I don't know. Jim Butcher loses the rights to the Dresden Files. Someone publishes a new series of books called Dresden Files: Origins, which is ostensibly set in the same world, but with none of the same characters or political groups, while Jim Butcher publishes a series of books called the Chicago Warden Cases, which follow Harry Dresden.

[Kaptin Keen]

Now, I did love it, but I hated most of the gameplay.

That sounds ... complex =D

[Eldan]

Imagine a fanastically well-written comedic visual novel, point and click adventure or choose your own adventure book, with a 5000-planet star map full of interesting stuff and a decent resource management system that makes exploration risky, occasionally interrupted by two minutes of an arcade spaceship shooter from the eighties with clumsy keyboard controls.

[Grif]

This general confusion is probably what the people making this are banking on.

As for people who aren't me, well, it's a space-adventure-rpg game with spaceship battles and aliens to meet and talk to. Presumably, there is a market for that kind of thing, with-or-without the original team's involvement.

Really, a company might be able to make a successful anthology series out of this kind of thing. Other than peoples' general obsession over continuity, endless franchises and such, I have no idea why no company has ever tried this kind of thing.

This was actually done. It's called Final Fantasy. :p

[danzibr]

2 things

1: man, it’s not on the PSN yet.

2: ya know, the more I think about it, the more I’m ok with 2 companies making “Star Control” games. The first sort of in name only, but by golly it *looks* like Star Control. The second a true Star Control but lacking the title.

Worst case scenario, SC:O sucks and I wasted $35, then wait for GotP to come out.

[Narkis]

Imagine a fanastically well-written comedic visual novel, point and click adventure or choose your own adventure book, with a 5000-planet star map full of interesting stuff and a decent resource management system that makes exploration risky, occasionally interrupted by two minutes of an arcade spaceship shooter from the eighties with clumsy keyboard controls.

That is the best and most concise summary of a game I've ever seen, effortlesly capturing both what people loved and what didn't work so great. Bravo sir, my hat's off to you.

[LilacAggression]

Nah. SC2 was a big part of my formative years, and while I’d be fine with Origins and possibly even buy it on special, the way the whole thing has been handled means I won’t be buying anything from Stardock from this point.

[danzibr]

What the heck. Still not up on the PSN.

Edit: apparently they’re looking to support it on consoles. What the heck indeed. I read the release date on PSN was yesterday.

[pendell]

I played Star Control 1 when it first came out. It was essentially an RTS in space. Turn based. You would normally have a starbase which would manufacture more ships of your faction (hierarchy or alliance). You would have to spread out of your base into the nearby stars to establish mines (which would generate resources) and colonies (which would provide crew). You could also fortify a mine or base such that an enemy ship could not pass through. To destroy a fortress and pass through the star, you would need at least two ships to spend the entire turn there... UNLESS you were playing the hierarchy and the ship was an Ur-Quan dreadnaught. A dreadnaught could take out a fortress and subdue a star system all by itself.

Eventually you would build a fleet and start attacking the enemy, who was up to the same thing. When two opposing ships were in the same solar system, go to the battle screen same as in SC2. There could be multiple ships on either side, but the battle would still be resolved as a series of 1v1 battles. For instance, if you brought a Dreadnaught against 5 earth cruisers, that one dreadnaught would have to fight each of the cruisers in turn.

Do well enough, you'd start by picking off enemy mines and colonies, finish up by destroying the starbase, ending the scenario.

The full game had a number of scenarios, not all of which followed this basic thing.Example: Onslaught scenario gave the hierarchy 5 dreadnaughts but no starbase against a weakly defended set of alliance systems. Exterminate! scenario set a single hierarchy dreadnaught and colony (so it could replenish crew) against an Alliance which could only build shofixti Scouts.

It also had a melee mode just like SC2, but you could not pick and choose your teams; Team 1 had one of each hierarchy ship, Team 2 had one of each alliance.

SC2 greatly expanded this , dispensing with the RTS aspects and added a space exploration and diplomacy portion very similar to Starflight, a game of the same era. I confess that is what pulled me into SC2 -- the combat was fairly meh, but I enjoyed the exploration and the puzzles greatly.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[danzibr]

Hmm. I actually never played the original. Sounds good though.

A good few hours into SC:O. Gotta say, I’m loving it.