Grab it here: 

[The Sorcerer King: Early Access Manual]

Q: What's the deal? There's a ton of awesome 4X fantasy strategy games to play. How is your game different?
A: This game assumes you’ve already played those games. And lost.

Q: Wait, what? I already lost? I haven’t even loaded up your game.
A: Yea, sorry about that.

Q: What the hell happened?
A: So to recap, in games like Fallen Enchantress, Age of Wonders, Worlds of Magic, Master of Magic, Warlock, Endless Legends, etc. you are trying to build an empire from the ground up. You compete against multiple kingdoms trying to do the same thing and win through a variety of means. Right?

Q: Right. And you’re saying Sorcerer King isn’t about that?
A: Exactly. All those things happened *before* Sorcerer King. And I have some bad news. The Sorcerer King won.

Q: So I don’t play as the Sorcerer King?
A: No. The Sorcerer King was the guy who won the previous game. He already conquered everyone.

Q: So what’s the object of your game then?
A: Well, having already built his empire and defeated everyone, the Sorcerer King wants outright Godhood and to do that, he must destroy the handful of remaining magical shards to capture their essence so that he can cast the Spell of Making.

Q: I’m familiar with that fantasy trope. So he’s capturing—
A: No, he’s destroying the shards. He’s not playing the same game you’re playing. We call that Asymmetrical 4X.

Q: Asymmetrical 4X? Is that even a thing? Sounds like a marketing thing.
A: Yea, probably. But it means that the player’s goals are very different than that of the other players.

Q: So in this game it’s not about a bunch of players building empires?
A: Right. Everyone already had their shot to build their empire. This game is what happens after the bad guy won.

Q: So what are you, the player, supposed to do?
A: Keep the Sorcerer King from destroying the shards and becoming a god.

Q: How do you do that?
A: First, you must build up and fortify your last remaining city.

Second, train new units to go out and protect the shards.

Third, you need to build up new cities to ensure you have the logistical capability of even taking on the Sorcerer King.

Fourth, find the remnants of the empires that were already defeated by the Sorcerer King and see if they can help you or at least keep them from totally surrendering to the Sorcerer King.

Fifth, go on quests, kill monsters to gather ingredients and items to use for crafting.

Q: Well that sounds like a 4X to me.
A: It is a 4X. It’s an asymmetrical one. The other players aren’t building up empires, going up some tech tree, negotiating treaties. They are all doing different things. Some are just trying to survive. Others want revenge. Some are just jerks. Seriously. Hate those guys. And the Sorcerer King himself wants to be a god. He’s already got an empire. Your job is to stop him by trying to convince the remnant empires that there’s still hope, building new cities, going on quests, finding ingredients for crafting, etc.

Q: Ah, so this game has crafting?
A: Sure does. You possess the Forge of the Overlord and can use recipes and ingredients to craft powerful equipment to give to your units.

Q: So what are the victory conditions?
A: Kill the Sorcerer King.

Q: And…?
A: That’s it. The fun is in how you go about doing that. Your means and strategy will differ from game to game based on map size, which quests come up, which minor factions are in there, what environments are available, which of the 6 different sovereigns you choose, which heroes you find, what resources are available, what spells the Sorcerer King learns, etc.

Q: What about Diplomacy? Can’t you ally with the other players and win that way?
A: Allying is indeed a victory condition – for the Sorcerer King. He will try to get you to ally with him.

Q: Wait? You can ally with the Sorcerer King?
A: Sure! Remember, he’s the one playing the traditional 4X game. He’s the one sending out settlers and building cities and conquering and trying to cast the spell of making or allying with the other races to win.

Q: What happens if you do ally with him?
A: You die.

Q: So why would I do that?
A: I don’t know. People like victory conditions.

Q: But it’s a victory condition for the Sorcerer King!
A: Well yea, it’s his game. I mean, it’s his name on the box. It’s not like the game is called Bob’s game.

Q: My name isn’t Bob.
A: And it never will be with that attitude.

Stardock is pleased to announce the early access availability of a new, asymmetrical 4X fantasy strategy game. The Sorcerer King puts the player as the sovereign of the last surviving kingdom in a world that has already been conquered.  Having annihilated the other kingdoms, the Sorcerer King is now casting the Spell of Making which will transform him into a god – at the expense of eliminating all life in the world.

Your only hope is to build alliances with the remnants of the factions you previously had been competing against to raise an army strong enough to defeat him before he finishes casting the spell.  It won’t be easy though, the world is already controlled by the Sorcerer King and his minions are founding strongholds and destroying the very shards you need to gain magic.

Visit www.sorcererking.com for more information.

Screenshots:

For those of you interested in a basic walk-through that I whipped up, here it is:

http://draginol.stardock.net/files/SK-Walkthrough.pdf

It's not a secret that the new Star Control reboot is in development.  The approved budget is approximately $5 million (Star Control 2's budget was $50,000 - that's how amazing Paul and Fred were!). 

We are missing a vital component however. The Lead Designer.  While we have received a lot of resumes for this position, we are still looking for the ideal candidate.  Right now, the development on the game is engine-related but we will reach the point fairly soon where we will need an on sight lead designer. 

The position is in Towson Maryland (Stardock East).  The team is made up of some of the most experienced developers and artists in the industry.

Contact us!

https://www.stardock.com/about/careers.asp 

Greeeeeetings!

So in 2015 Stardock will be releasing 3 new games. As I write this, only 1 (Galactic Civilizations III) has been announced.  In 2016, we’ll be releasing another 3 new games (not expansions but new games) of which only 1 (Soren Johnson’s Offworld Trading Company) is announced (but no images/video have been released).  And of course, this doesn’t count the Star Control reboot which is in development but doesn’t have a release date yet.

Join the battle!

1. We are hiring. We need you.  We have studios in Michigan, Maryland and Texas. https://www.stardock.com/about/careers.asp
2. We will be announcing a new game this week (October 2).  I am supposed to do a stream this Thursday at 3pm EST.  You are not going to believe it when you hear about the team that’s working on this.
3. Join our community if you haven’t already.  All our games and software are integrated together. Creating an account here creates an account on all Stardock sites.  You’re the boss. Tell us what you like and don’t like.

Stay tuned. And yes, that screenshot is from an unannounced game.

Last week I wrote about the Escalation of #GamerGate. I recommended that advocates of #GamerGate come up with a set of objectives while momentum was in their favor.

A Recap

For the uninitiated, #GamerGate is a schism that has formed between the enthusiast gaming press and core gamers. The schism was largely the result of the gaming media allowing their platforms to be utilized by the more radical elements within their ranks to denigrate core gamers as “dead” and “nerds” and “misogynists” in response to a handful of gamers targeting an outspoken feminist game developer who they believed had received unmerited coverage due to her personal relationships with the gaming press.

#Gamergate was coined by Adam Baldwin in response to the gaming media’s aggressive stance towards gamers who expressed their concerns regarding what they believed to be inappropriate collusion between developers and journalists and now represents those who passionately want to see changes in the way the gaming media approaches its subjects.

Jack Thompson II

The situation reminds me of when activist lawyer, Jack Thompson argued against violence in video games.  Back then, the enthusiast gaming press and core gamers ridiculed Thompson’s arguments and at times, targeted him with substantial harassment. Eventually his movement petered out and everything went back to normal.

This time, the crusade against core gaming is being led by self-identified “social justice” activists who believe that video games are inherently hostile to women, minorities, etc.  Core gamers have reacted the same as they did in 2003 with open ridicule and at times, substantial harassment of their foes.  However, this time, the enthusiast press decided to brand core gamers as “misogynists” on the basis that the targets of ridicule and harassment are feminists instead of a male lawyer.

Many core gamers believe that the reason the gaming media has been backing this agenda is because unlike in 2003, they are in bed with the other side financially, politically and sometimes literally. Meanwhile, some in the enthusiast press think that the vocal elements #gamergate are just a bunch of misogynistic lunatics.

What do you want out of this?

I suggested that the #GamerGate advocates come up with 5 objectives to rally around.  With a week of reflection, I’m not sure that’s really a good idea as it would likely just splinter those who support #Gamergate into smaller factions.Nevertheless, a lot of interesting suggestions were made. 

Below are some representations of the objectives people believe #gamergate should have

• Insist on a full disclosure of relationships (Financial, personal, or otherwise) between the developer/publisher and journalist/publication.
• Fair and professional representation of all sides during debate (Including twitter and other social media directly related to a journalists writing persona) without censorship of opposing opinions. Where disagreement over facts is present both sides should be represented with relevant proof where available.
• Fact checking of all articles. Do not report on issues like harassment and bomb threats without first checking the story is real, then also read into all parties involved and relay histories of similar incidents if a pattern is present.
• Proper representation of gaming's diverse multi-cultural elements. Don't blame 'straight, white, males' for everything. It's extremely unprofessional and deeply offensive.
• A full apology from all involved in Twitter campaigns, 'gamers are dead' articles, and other anti-GG attacks.
• A end to journalist collusion in regards to the omission of stories that do not fit in with ideology

• Report on what games are like, not what they are lacking in terms of perceived social justice.

• Quit censoring topics based on your personal political biases. If you have a stated policy, stick to that. Don’t pull the rug out because your ideology is losing the debate.

• Those sites that published articles attacking gamers should publish an editorial apologizing for those attacks.

• Stop game sites from injecting a political agenda into content, especially things like reviews or interviews. Opinion pieces are fine as long as they are clearly marked as opinion and the comments left open so that respectful, dissenting points of can be heard.

• Game sites should abandon articles that character assassinate individuals or groups that are related to the gaming industry.

• The practice of blackballing developers for the kind of games they make, their political opinion or something they might have said needs to stop, everyone should be given a fair chance.

• Game Sites should have an ethics policy which is easy to find and which clearly lays out policies regarding journalistic standards.

• Game sites should post a complete renunciation of the claim that Gamergate was "based in misogyny and harassment".

• Cut off all ties with Silverstring media as well as Patreon support for those who work with/use it.

• Force the removal of the most egregious actors in the gaming press.

• Game Magazines and sites need a stated, public policy regarding how they define a conflict of interest. For instance, a conflict of interest is may be defined as any romantic, sexual, or platonic relationship; additionally, any economic relationships through services such as Patreon or Kickstarter.

• Censorship is not acceptable. We expect to be able to discuss our grievances with your websites openly, so long as the conversation is polite and respectful.

• All news articles must meet the Ms. Walters standards- at MINIMUM two reasonably unbiased sources, with at least one from both sides, must be present. If two sources cannot be found, this must be clearly stated in the article.

• If your website believes in advocating for a political cause, be open about it.

• Full disclosure on relationship of journalist and game developer. IE Patreon, Kick Starter, Friend, Lover, Roommate, where did you get the game, etc.

This is by no means a comprehensive list.

Reality vs. Fantasy

A lot of the objectives, demands and hopes I read are fantasy. Demands without leverage are just a form of groveling.  Only objectives that the #gamergate proponents can enforce are, in my opinion, realistic.

I’m friends with a lot of people in the gaming media. I know they’re good people. They’re also honest, trustworthy and full of integrity. They are also convinced that #gamergate is a thinly veiled front to attack women in gaming.  I think they’re wrong. Terribly wrong. But they will not be convinced otherwise. 

I’m also friends with a lot of game developers. And most of them have been horrified by what they see as the self-destruction of the enthusiast press when it comes to their relationship with their most loyal supporters.  Most game developers I’ve talked to about this issue cannot fathom why the gaming press would be attacking their own readership. 

As one fairly well known game developer said to me last week, “What’s really odd is that some of these guys forget that when Cracked or whatever gets back to their usual beat, the gaming press still has to live with these guys [the hard core gamers that make up a large % of the daily page views of these game sites]”.

What I’d like to see the gaming media do

I’m just an old game developer. So I might as well wish for it to rain donuts.   Mind you, I cringe even reading the below points because I hate preachiness and anything that seems coercive. That said, I think the below points would be helpful to them.

1. Professionalism. Create a policy based on the Society of Professional Journalists. Have your writers and freelancers read it and sign it before accepting work from them. This would cover disclosures of excessive personal or financial relationships between the writer and the subject.
2. Transparency and Fairness. Create a mission statement for your site and put it in the about area. This would be useful both for readers and those who would submit content to your magazine/site.
3. Self-Enforcement. Encourage your editors to be on the look out for writers who are trying to pass their political agenda as “news”. Don’t let your platform be used to advocate some cause that deviates from the general mission of site.
4. House Cleaning. Discourage or eliminate moderators/editors who allow personal political biases to determine what topics are allowed on your forums/website. (For example if you have a policy against topics that might encourage “harassment of game developers” then make sure it’s enforced equally and not just game developers who you politically agree with.)

What I’d like to see #Gamergate do

1. Vigilance. Support and encourage those maintaining vigilance, providing constructive criticism and doing due diligence on how games are covered.
2. Resistance. Continue to resist those who would wrongly believe inclusion means one group has to “die”. This means using various channels to disseminate information.  Don’t allow your hobby to be turned into “Hobby+”
3. Inclusiveness. Vigorously discourage any repeat of the August 28 “Gamers are dead” series of articles by vigorously reminding the media that you’re not going anywhere. Gamers want everyone to play games. Support journalists who support actual inclusiveness – you want more people playing games not just “the correct” people.
4. Support. Actively support and defend those who are being marginalized for purely political reasons.

Natural Allies

As a reminder: The gaming media’s natural purpose is to be the advocate of the gamer. The media is supposed to be the watchdog making sure we game developers aren’t screwing over gamers. I feel like we’re in this bizarro situation where the game developers are the ones having to defend gamers from the media. It’s backwards. Stop it.

Gamers, by definition, want to play games. They want games to be reviewed based on how fun the reviewer thinks the game will be to their audience. They don’t care what the reviewer’s personal political hang ups are. Game sites aren't supposed to be a therapy couch for narcissism.  I have lots of opinions on life too but I don’t inject them into my games. Maybe it’s easier for me to keep my whacko views out of my games because the financial punishment would be swift and unmistakable. Either way, knock it off. 

What’s next

I don’t think #gamergate will be going away any time soon.  Given the general unpleasantness of the whole affair, I think editors and journalists in general will be more self-aware of their relationships and take more care in what gets published in the future.  Only time will tell.

Just put a PDF of the walkthrough.

Only 3 more days!

We’re getting pretty close to Beta 2 for GalCiv III. This one is the diplomacy beta series.  Part of the challenge is having UIs that can handle potentially hundreds of players.  In this screen, Kael has made his own custom players using Star Control players but players will be able to make whatever they’d like.

SpaceMonger was one of the oldest, best disk space management programs ever.

EdgeRunner has teamed up with developer Sean Werkema to re-design it for the modern age with cloud support (Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.) and a new Windows 8/9 UI refresh.

You can try out the latest build of it here: http://edgerunner.com/spacemonger-3-beta