Greetings!

So recently we asked you what makes Star Control....well...Star Control?

If you have never played the classic series before, fear not as Star Control: Origins starts at the very beginning in a fresh new universe that we will all explore and learn about together.

Star Control is unique.  The closest thing to it is probably Mass Effect which some argue was a remake of the classic series.

So what is special about Star Control? Why do we think it's going to be such a major game-changer for role playing games?

Here's why?

Story-Driven Open Universe

The Star Control universe is rich in lore, history and depth.  But it is an open universe. You are not on rails. You can go out and explore the galaxy and affect how things go.  

You are the captain of a single ship.  It's not like Sins of a Solar Empire or Galactic Civilizations where you can simply order the construction of fleets and colonization of planets.  In fact, in the year 2088, humans are so far behind the curve that they don't start with FTL technology.  Your mission is to save the Earth and Earth is willing to...ahem...look the other way and let you decide how to do that.

Why other games don't do this now? A big part of the reason has to do with the tech.  The original Star Control series was actually pretty linear.  Star Control: Origins works on a state machine basis.  This is only possible because we do require 4 CPU cores (which you all probably have easily now adays but most games are written assuming a single CPU core).  We are, in effect, an RPG riding on top of a simulation.

I want to give credit where credit is due:  Classic games tried to touch on this. Notably, Ultima IV and Ultima V for starters.  Even the original Baldur's Gate touched on this.  In Star Control: Origins, we're doing thousands of planets with thousands of unique characters all controlled by AI.

Gameplay

As deep as it is, it wouldn't matter if playing wasn't fun.  And Star Control's big challenge has always boiled down to mixing 4 very different game designs together: Planet Exploration, Ship Combat, Space Exploration and role playing.

Think about your favorite recent RPG.  The combat and exploration and the role playing all are pretty much part of the same "scene".  That's not how it is in Star Control.  The planet exploration is a completely different experience from the space exploration which in turn is different from the combat.  This is why we had to develop a new game engine just for this game.   Imagine the challenge of having a first person mode + a strategy mode + a 4X leader scene mode and you get the idea.

When combined together with a lot of time for iteration (4 years +) you and up with something pretty awesome.

Consequences

This is similar to the idea of a story-driven open universe but it also means that we don't tell you how to play.  There is no tutorial.  If you want to go around murderin' that's your business.  You gotta do what you gotta do.  We don't punish players for doing "the wrong" thing because there is no "wrong" thing.  There are simply things that will have logical consequences.  

Writing

We've had over four years to weave together and edit terrific prose in this game that is then superbly voice acted.  Near the end of this Summer, we think you will find a game that makes you feel a wide range of emotions.  The universe is simultaneously ludicrous, tragic and horrible.

Atmosphere

Whether we're talking about a music sound track that would be worth the price alone (there's a lot of music in this game, more so than most games you get) or the small touches to the thousands of unique planets that you occasionally find a spot where someone has carefully crafted a moment for you, Star Control makes it obvious that its creators care about it and that each moment has been thought of. 

You won't see the Stardock team brag about "procedural generation".   This is a massively single-player game.  Some of the side-quests will be too difficult for 95% of players.  And that's ok.  You can all play together to try to figure out the depths of the universe.  There are no random encounters.  No random events.  No random anything.   Everything in this universe is for you.  You are the star.

Soon...

End of Summer is when we expect to make this available to everyone.  You can play the Fleet Battles (the combat game) now though if you want to pre-order at a discount and help support our development.

New Barren class world are..well, like Ceti Alpha V.  Not pleasant but survivable.

Metal class worlds are cool if you can survive lightning strikes.

Reduction worlds are well beyond our technology right now to land on.  Which is a shame because they're so rich...

Using no more than 5 descriptors, what do you think is the most appealing thing about Star Control?

I'll start:

1. Non-Linear story

2. Great writing

3. Exploration

4. Great music

5. Memorable characters

What about you guys?

The yellow dwarf

Around 8 kiloparsecs from the galactic core is a yellow dwarf star.  Its location is quite outside the the area of the galaxy that anyone would really care about.

This is a map of the milky way galaxy.  It’s probably unlike any map you’ve seen before.  That’s because unlike most maps, this is a map designed to show you the geography of the milky way galaxy.  Our galaxy is made up of several different arms.  What matters to us – and this is important – is that our arm jets out of Sagitarius arm like a spur.  We call it “Orion’s Spur” and we’re kind of at the end of a one-way path.  This turned out to be very good news because we’re way behind the curve.

A late start

Around 250,000 years ago there was a galaxy-wide war known as the “Eternal Wars”.  We know very little about it but the destruction was so widespread that about 60,000 years later, the gravitational effects reached our solar system and made a slight adjustment to our orbit.  This is known as “the big chill”. It knocked the human population on Earth to less than 1,000 people. 

This catataclysm had two effects.  First, it so reduced the population that it would take 175,000 years for humans to recover.  Second, the 1,000 or did survive were the best and brightest of the species. The net result is that humans are ingenious, industrious, reckless and adventurous. 

The Precursors

No one knows what happened to the Precursors other than after the Eternal Wars, they seemed to have disappeared.   When they disappeared they left behind the Origins.  These immense structures allow ships to travel to other universes. 

Over the millennia, more than once rising civilization has discovered the secret to using the Precursor Origins.   With the power to travel to other universes, these civilizations were able to reap great rewards but also occasionally unleashed great tragedy upon our own area of space.

The Faction of Eight

Approximately 20,000 years ago, a malevolent species known as the Dnyarri rose to power, dominating much of this area of the galaxy.  Where they originated is unknown but an alliance between the remaining free civilizations, known as the Faction of Eight, rose to contest the Dynarri and drove them out of the known regions of Orion’s Spur. 

For a time, there was peace and many new species were uplifted.  One such species was known as the Scryve.  Young and idealistic, the Scryve chaffed under the restrictions set upon them by the Faction of Eight.  In time, using unknown means, the Scryve managed to banish the faction of eight from our universe.

The Scryve

Now free from the meddling of the older races, the Scryve began to expand into the Orion’s Spur.  Uplifting and befriending many civilizations.  During this time, the Scryve began to experiment with the Precursor Origin in their possession.  With it, they began to travel not just to other universes but to peek into dimensions above and below our own.  Shortly after doing so, the Scryve begin to change. 

In time, the Scryve become obsessed with order and conformity ruthlessly obliterating any species that could become a potential threat to them. 

Local Space

Approximately 600 years ago, the Scryve’s influence began to reach into the far end of the spur where the yellow dwarf star that is home to the humans.  This area had relatively little interest to the Scryve until they began to receive radio signals from a new species that was quite aggressive and advancing at an astounding speed. A threat that the Scryve simply cannot tolerate.

The Galaxy Awaits

Take command of Earth’s first and only interstellar starship whose mission is to save the world…at any cost.  Travel to distance stars, investigate exotic new worlds, engage with alien civilizations and unravel the myriad of deep intrigue that saturates our little corner of the universe.

Explore exotic new worlds

We live in the Scryve sector of the Orion Spur which is part of Orion’s Arm which is part of the Milky Way galaxy which is part of Laniakea super-cluster which is part of universe 6091.

There’s no time to visit the thousands of worlds out there.

Strange new aliens

There are thousands of planets just in the Scryve sector.  There’s not remotely enough time to visit all of them.  We need you to find out where these potential friends and enemies are and deal with them as you see fit.

Secure Earth’s Future

Your first mission for Star Control is to save the world from the malevolent Scryve who, for some reason, has interpreted our radio broadcasts to indicate that we are a very dangerous species that must not be allowed to fully realize its potential.   There are dozens of known species in this part of the galaxy, not all of whom are the thrall of the Scryve Empire.

The most powerful starship in human history

Star Control has spared no expense in constructing the most advanced space vessel in history.  Its modular design means you can update the technology on it with modules you find, borrow or steal from others. 

You are destiny’s captain

Every decision you make may have far-reaching ramifications.  There is not guide.  No bread crumbs. No map.  Strike that, yes, there’s a map. Obviously there’s a map.  But where you go is up to you.  As the only human outside the solar system, you are on your own.  How you accomplish your mission is up to you.  Be a hero. Be a villain.  The situation is desperate.

Battle hostile aliens

Even in the future we are still relying on nukes. And by future, I mean now as in 2088.   We know that any hostile you encounter will likely have technology thousands of years more advanced than ours.  You will need to upgrade your technology or find allies quickly…or learn to run away with great skill.

Travel to distant stars

Contrary to what most science-fiction or even science fact would tell you, most planets you encounter will not simply be like Earth but with more saturated-colored plant life.  There are worlds that you can’t even imagine.  Worlds that you might even say have no business existing.  But you will need to visit some of them to gather resources, find contacts, recover ancient relics or just gather clues to further your mission.

Complete your mission…no matter the cost

Star Control is not sending you out there to explore.  You’re not on a sight seeing tour.  Yes, you can go wherever you want but you have a mission to accomplish and we don’t care how you get the job done.  We’re not telling you that it’s ok to lie, cheat, steal or murder your way across the galaxy any more than we are commanding you to act with paladinian honor.  What we do know is that Earth is hopelessly outmatched by alien forces that are seeking out Earth and you are the only chance we’ve got.

System Requirements

MINIMUM

Windows 7 / 8 / 10 64-bit, Quad-core Intel or AMD processor, 4 GB RAM, Video card with at least 1GB of video memory, 12 GB available space, DirectX Compatible Sound Card.

RECOMMENDED

Windows 10 64-bit, Quad-core Intel or AMD processor, 8 GB RAM, Video card with 2GB of video memory, 12 GB available space, DirectX Compatible Sound Card.

Greetings!

As Star Control gets closer to release, we want to share with you some screenshots so that you can see how things are progressing. If you have any questions, let us know in the comments.

Home solar system

Returning home

Strange new world

In orbit

On surface

Hyperspace

New friends

Star Control: Origins – Fleet Battles BETA 2 is available on www.starcontrol.com.  Star Control: Origins arrives later this year.

You can visit www.starcontrol.com to learn more.

April 2086

Good afternoon.  Thank you for attending this meeting.  We have been taking your questions via the Google document.  If you will enable your FaceGoog implants to turn to the topic of Precursors from the 2085 lecture we can begin.

We will assume you have gone over the classified materials from the recent Emdrive test.

As a reminder, the general public has not been brought up to speed on everything that was found on Ceres.  The rumors of the so-called "Arilou" consultant working with Darius Robotic on the emDrive remain just that -- rumors.  Today will focus only on the facts and not rumors. Suffice to say, we do not have little green men running around Darius Robotics.

Prototype EmDrive powered ship "Discovery"

Continue Reading...

You know the phrase, “Space is big”.  Today, let’s walk through just how big space really is, and how its scale fits into the Star Control multiverse.

Star Control: Origins takes place in a sector that is 120 by 120 light years.  This is a staggeringly big area, but it is nothing compared to even our local super-cluster.

Let’s zoom out. Way…way out, and we get to Lanikea:

Continue Reading...

Remember when you bought a game at the store, took it home, devoured the user manual the first evening, and then played a game that you would slowly master?  Those were the days.

Today, games are much more sophisticated and today's gamers want to see their games evolve and improve based on their feedback.  That brings us to this walk-through of Galactic Civilizations III v3.

For the purposes of this walk-through, I will be using v3.0 with all expansions installed.  Your experience will differ some depending on what you have installed, but assuming you have the Gold Edition, you should be set.

Chapter 1: Setting up your game

1. Galactic Civilizations is a sandbox game.  That means each game is different.  We include a series of campaigns, but other than the tutorial, we recommend choosing "new game" first.
2. For your first game, choose the Terran Alliance.  Each alien civilization plays somewhat differently, but presuming you're human, the Terrans are probably the most relatable.
3. For galaxy size, stay with MEDIUM or less for your first few games. Medium requires a system with 4GB of memory.  Memory is the price we pay to avoid having "space lanes".
4. For everything else, keep to the default, and into the game you go.

Continue Reading...

The core game loop of Star Control: Origins is pretty damn fun so far (I think anyway).  But what we think will help it stand out is the sheer depth of the universe you are playing in.

There are no rails in this game.  There is an overall story arch with many many side-stories in the universe to go to.  And there are many different paths you can take.  You don't have to be, for instance, the good guy. 

Having many different ways to explore the universe means you need to have a very powerful application for writers to create adventures that can easily interact with each other and be done in a way where the writer is focusing on their craft and not worrying about how the underlying engine works.  

More to come. Stay tuned!