Star Control: Origins - Star Control reboot from Stardock

[LESS T_T]

Adam Baldwin Joins Star Control: Origins Voice Cast

Today, Stardock Entertainment announced that international star Adam Baldwin is joining the voice cast of the highly anticipated science-fiction adventure game, Star Control: Origins.

In Star Control: Origins, you explore the galaxy, investigate new worlds, contact new civilizations, and battle hostile aliens.. You are the captain of Earth's brand new, state-of-the-art ship, The Vindicator. Your mission is to gather allies to fight an ancient alien menace that threatens to annihilate the human race.

Adam will be portraying a rogue mercenary commander of the Menkmack who pursues the player on behalf of a mysterious client.

Said Adam: “Great stories matter, and I’m looking forward to being part of the story the Stardock team is telling with Star Control: Origins.”

“Adam has played so many unforgettable characters and earned millions of fans worldwide. We’re thrilled to have an artist of his caliber join the talented team at Stardock to deliver our biggest and best game yet,” said Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock.

Star Control: Origins will release on September 20, 2018. Users can pre-order the game now at a discounted price and receive instant access to the Fleet Battles beta.

Star Control: Origins is available at a special pre-order price of $34.99.

 

[Dexter]

Okay, that's it, you got my Pre-Order Frogboy! And good luck with the lawsuit.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Come to think of it, what exactly have Baldwin and Wardell done to be branded as "problematic" and "toxic"? I know Baldwin is pro-GG and came up with the name for Gamergate, but what else? Is that all?

Also, "appreciate the art, not the artist" is fully valid and in effect among all civilized humans. Just like "tackle the argument, not the arguer".

 

[Cael]

Come to think of it, what exactly have Baldwin and Wardell done to be branded as "problematic" and "toxic"? I know Baldwin is pro-GG and came up with the name for Gamergate, but what else? Is that all?

Also, "appreciate the art, not the artist" is fully valid and in effect among all civilized humans. Just like "tackle the argument, not the arguer".

Wardell basically LIED about everything. How much respect he had for the SC franchise, how he would not be using SC aliens, what IP he owned, how the legal drama unfolded, everything. He also very deliberately used very questionable legal tactics to attack his opponents and, at best, can be regarded as a harasser and bully using lawfare to get his way. If that doesn't make him toxic as all hell, I don't know what will.

As for Baldwin, I am not sure which one you are talking about. If you are talking about Adam who joined the cast, then he is one of the Baldwin brothers who publicly attacked their own brother over social media for daring to support something other than the orthodoxy. That makes him toxic as hell as well.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Wardell basically LIED about everything. How much respect he had for the SC franchise, how he would not be using SC aliens, what IP he owned, how the legal drama unfolded, everything. He also very deliberately used very questionable legal tactics to attack his opponents and, at best, can be regarded as a harasser and bully using lawfare to get his way. If that doesn't make him toxic as all hell, I don't know what will.

Disclaimer: I'm neutral on Stardock in general, but I don't like when SJWs drag people needlessly through the mud, which is exactly what has happened (and is happening) to Brad Wardell.

As for your reply, it's obvious you've never been dragged into a legal firestorm. Everything you said, about how Wardell said he respected the franchise, Toys for Bob, how he'd not be using their aliens and IP, and then how he later acted against all of that, can be put down to one thing and one thing alone: The legal drama that's currently unfolding. Wardell put down $250.000 for what he believed was the entirety of the Star Control franchise (plus whatever he's put into developing Star Control: Origins) and now that all of that stands at risk, it would be foolish of him NOT to fight it, tooth and nail. It looks to me he's been forced into a position where going back on his previous statements and doing everything possible to save his investment was the best choice... even though it's a bad one in many ways.

As for Baldwin, I am not sure which one you are talking about. If you are talking about Adam who joined the cast, then he is one of the Baldwin brothers who publicly attacked their own brother over social media for daring to support something other than the orthodoxy. That makes him toxic as hell as well.

So, he's toxic for no other reason than daring to publicly challenge another person's opinion, even a family member?

...

Thanks for showing your true colors, at least.

 

[Dexter]

Also, "appreciate the art, not the artist" is fully valid and in effect among all civilized humans. Just like "tackle the argument, not the arguer".

Much better if you like both anyway, especially since he had to deal with these specific assholes before: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/stardock-sexual-harassment-lawsuit-dropped.86644/

So, he's toxic for no other reason than daring to publicly challenge another person's opinion, even a family member?

Cael is a special kind of retarded and often very confused about subject matters, there's a reason he has a lot of these tags. Adam Baldwin is an actor well known from Full Metal Jacket, Firefly, Chuck and as of late The Last Ship who also had voice roles in Halo 3, Mass Effect 2, DC Universe Online, Arkham Origins and various other games and not one of the "Baldwin brothers".

 

[Werdna's Revenge]

I can't wait till we get the Cael post about how Wardell and Baldwin the real SJWs.

 

[Cael]

Wardell basically LIED about everything. How much respect he had for the SC franchise, how he would not be using SC aliens, what IP he owned, how the legal drama unfolded, everything. He also very deliberately used very questionable legal tactics to attack his opponents and, at best, can be regarded as a harasser and bully using lawfare to get his way. If that doesn't make him toxic as all hell, I don't know what will.

Disclaimer: I'm neutral on Stardock in general, but I don't like when SJWs drag people needlessly through the mud, which is exactly what has happened (and is happening) to Brad Wardell.

As for your reply, it's obvious you've never been dragged into a legal firestorm. Everything you said, about how Wardell said he respected the franchise, Toys for Bob, how he'd not be using their aliens and IP, and then how he later acted against all of that, can be put down to one thing and one thing alone: The legal drama that's currently unfolding. Wardell put down $250.000 for what he believed was the entirety of the Star Control franchise (plus whatever he's put into developing Star Control: Origins) and now that all of that stands at risk, it would be foolish of him NOT to fight it, tooth and nail. It looks to me he's been forced into a position where going back on his previous statements and doing everything possible to save his investment was the best choice... even though it's a bad one in many ways.

So he bought something and it turned out to not be what he bought. Is it then a good reason to punish someone else for his lack of due diligence? Wardell fucked up. Accept that he did and move on. To then turn around and hurt someone else speaks volumes of his character, which is exactly what we are discussing: Wardell is toxic, a shithead, a bully, a harasser, an asshole and an arrogant jerk.

As for Baldwin, I am not sure which one you are talking about. If you are talking about Adam who joined the cast, then he is one of the Baldwin brothers who publicly attacked their own brother over social media for daring to support something other than the orthodoxy. That makes him toxic as hell as well.

So, he's toxic for no other reason than daring to publicly challenge another person's opinion, even a family member?

...

Thanks for showing your true colors, at least.

There is a difference between disagreeing with someone and attacking them. That you don't know the difference does not bode well for your emotional intelligence.

 

[Yosharian]

Is this what you're referring to, Cael?

https://startsat60.com/news/baldwin-brothers-social-media-brawl-over-election/amp

 

[Cael]

Is this what you're referring to, Cael?

https://startsat60.com/news/baldwin-brothers-social-media-brawl-over-election/amp

Yes.

 

[Yosharian]

Is this what you're referring to, Cael?

https://startsat60.com/news/baldwin-brothers-social-media-brawl-over-election/amp

Yes.

That's not Adam Baldwin's family though

 

[Unkillable Cat]

So he bought something and it turned out to not be what he bought. Is it then a good reason to punish someone else for his lack of due diligence? Wardell fucked up. Accept that he did and move on. To then turn around and hurt someone else speaks volumes of his character, which is exactly what we are discussing: Wardell is toxic, a shithead, a bully, a harasser, an asshole and an arrogant jerk.

Others have pointed out you being a special kind of retard, now I'm seeing it for myself. You're jumping over a considerable amount of points to reach your pre-ordained conclusion that Wardell is bad and that he should feel bad.

It's possible that Wardell didn't read the fine print or check exactly what he was getting when he purchased the SC franchise, but it's also possible that he got scammed, that important information was not available (either by deliberate omission or general ignorance) or that he was misled by the sellers. We don't know. We also don't know whether he has tried to seek compensation for whatever possible omissions there were in the franchise package he paid for. But none of that matters to you, in your eyes only Wardell is in the wrong here, and it's impossible for you to even consider that he may not have done anything wrong at all.

And no, we're not discussing how horrible a person Wardell is. We're being subjected to a tirade of obscenities by a lone, retarded loudmouth. You seem incapable of even writing a single paragraph in this thread without raking Wardell over the coals.

There is a difference between disagreeing with someone and attacking them. That you don't know the difference does not bode well for your emotional intelligence.

This is the pot calling the kettle nigger.

Have you not been paying attention? You accuse Adam Baldwin of something he didn't do, because you're too stupid to realize that he's not related to the Baldwin brothers, and that's before we get to the fact that the act in question is a non-issue.

And then there's this post that has a track record of your stupidity.

You're too stupid to be in any position to say anything about the possible mental status of anyone else.

Now fuck off.

 

[I ASK INANE QUESTIONS]

And then there's this post that has a track record of your stupidity.

The post is wrong though. Cael isn't stupid, he's simply autistic.
Think about it:

Has trouble understanding humor and sarcasm;
Unable to process context in the situation, always goes straight for the obvious first-order association.
Problems with understanding subtext and reading social cues;
Laser-focused on a few key themes he's interested in, everything else gets ignored or discussed solely within the context of these interests;

Also note how he's at his best when he's discussing shit he is interested in, and he's interested in tabletop games and games with complex systems in general.
Life is tough when you're autistic. Be patient with him.

 

[Dexter]

It's possible that Wardell didn't read the fine print or check exactly what he was getting when he purchased the SC franchise, but it's also possible that he got scammed, that important information was not available (either by deliberate omission or general ignorance) or that he was misled by the sellers. We don't know. We also don't know whether he has tried to seek compensation for whatever possible omissions there were in the franchise package he paid for. But none of that matters to you, in your eyes only Wardell is in the wrong here, and it's impossible for you to even consider that he may not have done anything wrong at all.

We went over this in the other thread about the lawsuit from which Infinitron decided to split these last few posts for some reason: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...-ford-legal-drama.118642/page-12#post-5684253 ff.

If you want to actually read Wardell's side of the lawsuit, go through this Blog article he's written regarding everything that happened since he acquired the rights to Star Control with ample written documentation: https://www.stardock.com/games/star...0/qa-regarding-star-control-and-paul-and-fred

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

The inability to separate art from the artist has always struck me as a pretty profound and tragic flaw because
A) Good luck finding art that was created by a truly pure and moral being

And

B)why in God’s name would anyone believe art must be moral? To make such an assumption seems to fundamentally imply a misunderstanding of what art is and what makes it important; it is there to illuminate the human condition and give hope and thought to the idea that we may someday move beyond our collective failings, not to deny those failings or hide our heads in the sand from them.

 

[Cael]

It's possible that Wardell didn't read the fine print or check exactly what he was getting when he purchased the SC franchise, but it's also possible that he got scammed, that important information was not available (either by deliberate omission or general ignorance) or that he was misled by the sellers. We don't know. We also don't know whether he has tried to seek compensation for whatever possible omissions there were in the franchise package he paid for. But none of that matters to you, in your eyes only Wardell is in the wrong here, and it's impossible for you to even consider that he may not have done anything wrong at all.

So what? He bought Atari's IP and thought he bought something that he did not. If he wants to take legal recourse, sue Atari.

Not reading the fine print is not an excuse to go around taking someone else's IP. It is like me suing you for your home because I bought a pit here in Australia thinking that I bought the deed to your home. So, by your logic, I have the right to your home because I THOUGHT I bought it. I don't have to iterate how retarded that kind of thinking is.

 

[Cael]

Is this what you're referring to, Cael?

https://startsat60.com/news/baldwin-brothers-social-media-brawl-over-election/amp

Yes.

That's not Adam Baldwin's family though

I did ask the question if it is, but I think the post was moved by Shittitron as usual. That was where Criminal Cat got the idea that Baldwin was toxic from.

 

[Cael]

The inability to separate art from the artist has always struck me as a pretty profound and tragic flaw because
A) Good luck finding art that was created by a truly pure and moral being

And

B)why in God’s name would anyone believe art must be moral? To make such an assumption seems to fundamentally imply a misunderstanding of what art is and what makes it important; it is there to illuminate the human condition and give hope and thought to the idea that we may someday move beyond our collective failings, not to deny those failings or hide our heads in the sand from them.

There is a difference between not being a pure and moral being and knowingly lying, bullying, harassing and being an asshole to get your way.

There is also a difference between admiring good art and not wanting to enrich the pockets of a lying, bullying, harassing asshole.

If da Vinci, for example, is like Wardell, I would appreciate the art that is the Mona Lisa. However, it doesn't mean I will buy it. Quite the opposite, in fact.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Good luck finding art that was created by a truly pure and moral being

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Anyone here played the Beta recently?
How's it shaping up?

edit.

 

[LESS T_T]

https://www.stardock.com/games/arti...-8-of-13---the-user-interface-of-star-control

Star Control: Origins Prelude 8 of 13 - The User Interface of Star Control

Most fans of our previous games know that we make a lot of strategy games. Strategy games are all about having as much data on-screen at one time as possible.

But Star Control isn't a strategy game, it's an action RPG. It took us a very...very long time to nail down the user interface we wanted for Star Control: Origins, mostly due to having to quit trying to make a strategy game UI for an RPG.




Who is looking?
Star Control: Origins was in development long enough for an entire UI and art-style trend to begin, peak, and end. I don't know what that art style or UI design philosophy was officially called, but I'll refer to it as "mobile".

The philosophy behind the mobile game style can be summed up as "never letting the player forget they're playing a game."

Compare these two UIs:




The left one is from Sorcerer King (2015) and the right one is from Elemental: War of Magic (2010). I chose these two because we developed both, and both use the same underlying engine. But the left one conforms to "mobile" style, and the right is a custom style.

Ignore whether you like the art of one better than the other. The difference is that the Sorcerer King (mobile) style is trying to make sure you remember, at all times, that you are playing a game. By contrast, the Elemental UI is trying to make the UI feel like you, the leader, are looking through a crystal ball.




Here's another example: Godus (2013) vs. Populous (1989). Same designer. Godus embraces the mobile UI, and Populous is of course at the other extreme where you are a god at a table.



Making the distinction between the Game and the experience

When Star Control: Origins began its development, it was firmly on the "mobile" philosophy. Now, to be sure, I'm not making a comment on whether the mobile style is good or bad. It's probably the most common style even in new games, especially Unity games.

However, the more we began playing the game, the more we realized how much immersion we lost when confronted with the mobile style UI.

When I play a role playing game, I want to get lost in it. I don't want to be constantly reminded that I'm playing a video game. And so, over time, a new UI design philosophy gradually emerged.

Talking to the aliens

What makes a Star Control game...well, a Star Control game, is interacting with the alien species. And it's one of the best examples of seeing the UI gradually change.

This is pure mobile. You have literal buttons floating on the screen. I think it looks neat but when you play, you are confronted with the fact that this is a video game with a choose your own adventure style UI.



This style lasted a very, very long time.

Over time, it evolved to this:



But, look closely at this screenshot. Who is looking at it? The Captain of a starship? Or a gamer? Even if you don't consciously notice it...your brain does. The UI was constantly reminding you that you are just playing a game. But I'd argue that half the reason we play games is escapism.

This led us to create the OS/Game dichotomy. That is, when dealing with "the game", as in, options or crafting or other elements where you are not the captain of a ship, you will see the "mobile" UI style. But when you are the captain, we focus on immersion.



Now, you are the Captain. You are looking through the view screen of your ship talking to an alien whose alien language has been translated for you (if you speak English, you're set because as the aliens explain, English is a baby language and so they vocally speak that <g>). Below the view screen are terminal options of responses that have already been translated by your Xeno Linguistics officer.

Early UI concepts that were replaced
This philosophy went through the entire game.



Fleet Battles





Fleet Management





Ship Configuration



OS/Immersion UI
There are places in the UI where we pick a middle ground. But even there, we may change that. Let me show you what I mean and please feel free to use the comments to opine.

For example, Fleet Battles was a tough one for us. Who is watching? It didn't make sense to view it through a view screen because you have an omnipresent point of view. At the end of the day, we picked to go with the tried and true ideas from the classic series. Info on the right, clean screen on the left.



Final Fleet Battles



Manage Fleet is now through your ship's view screen's computer.



Same for your ship's configuration. This is seen through your eyes at your ship's computer.

We take this concept further in setting up the game.

Rather than a generic "enter your name and enter your ship's name" game UI, we instead present you with this information through your character's home computer.



Amiga forever man!

In our future, Amiga returns and takes over. You heard it here first.

By contrast, we keep the mobile style UI when you are in the game:



The first draft of the game's Codex UI used the immersive UI style. However, we realized that this information exists outside the game. If it exists outside the game universe, then we switch to what we call the OS style. The OS style is the violet and yellow look, and the immersion UI has metal and blue.

What is the purpose of UI?
User Interfaces, in games, are there for more than just helping you "do stuff". They should help get you invested in the world at large. This is why we moved away from a mobile style UI into an immersion style UI. Games are a form of escapism. Maybe someone will argue the UI is hokey, but we hope players find it fun and interesting, as well as effective.

Let us know in the comments what you think!

 

[Unkillable Cat]

The philosophy behind the mobile game style can be summed up as "never letting the player forget they're playing a game."

Compare these two UIs:




The left one is from Sorcerer King (2015) and the right one is from Elemental: War of Magic (2010). I chose these two because we developed both, and both use the same underlying engine. But the left one conforms to "mobile" style, and the right is a custom style.

Ignore whether you like the art of one better than the other. The difference is that the Sorcerer King (mobile) style is trying to make sure you remember, at all times, that you are playing a game. By contrast, the Elemental UI is trying to make the UI feel like you, the leader, are looking through a crystal ball.




Here's another example: Godus (2013) vs. Populous (1989). Same designer. Godus embraces the mobile UI, and Populous is of course at the other extreme where you are a god at a table.

I call bullshit.

The reason "mobile" UIs are like they are is because they're dealing with Technological Limitations in a confined area. Sacrifices have to be made, corners have to be cut, information has to be made concise and easily accessible.

Populous is dealing with the same problem, but for a different reason: The UI looks the way it is there because the devs are dealing with a massive case of Technological Limitations. They can't render the playing field on a larger grid without the 16-bit computers going off and having a cry in the corner, so they needed to do something else with the rest of the screen without it eating up valuable resources. So they turned most of it into stationary images, those always save a lot of memory. And since they were at it, they integrated a padded UI into the mix, and did their best to make the whole thing look pretty. It had been done dozens of times before Populous, and it would be done hundreds of times after Populous. It wasn't until computers had the computing muscle to render full-screen viewfields properly (around 1994 at the very earliest) that developers started moving away from this line of thought.

Speaking of thought, UI design was barely one in the late 1980s. I look at that mess of buttons on the Populous screens, and I can see at least four different ways to cut down their numbers. I'm fairly certain the Bullfrog devs had similar thoughts, but since there was no need to "compress" the UI (quite the opposite, in fact), they pretty much left it as-is. Today devs are free to create and implement any UI they see fit (unless they're developing on mobiles) but people prefer to use minimal, non-intrusive, practical easy-to-use UIs. People do not want to be reminded that they're playing a game, stating otherwise is a lie.

If we go back to the original Star Control games, you'll see that they kept the right-hand sidebar throughout because it saved on computer resources. Only with Star Control 3 do we start to see people trying to apply the thought of situationally appropriate UIs, like a computer screen-esque border during dialogue scenes with aliens.

Most of this article just feels like UI devs blowharding about how cool and awesome their job is. It's an important job, but this is over the top.

 

[Life of the Party]

 

[talan]

Wow, they trademarked "demigod" and "clairvoyance"? Surprised they didn't trademark "human" and "spaceship" while they were at it.

Demigod is a game they published close to a decade ago: https://store.steampowered.com/app/202710/Demigod/
Maybe the trademark is about that.

 

[Cael]

"By Any Means Necessary"... How appropriate, coming from stardick...