Prosper Atari Corpse Looting: Stardock got Star Control, Wargaming got MoO and Total Annihilation

[Unkillable Cat]

So... pretty much as I feared.

Keep in mind that Star Control is pretty much as simple as they come, control-wise. 6 buttons do everything.

 

[Jeff Graw]

So... pretty much as I feared.

Keep in mind that Star Control is pretty much as simple as they come, control-wise. 6 buttons do everything.

The Star Control 2 formula would be pretty hard to dumb down the same way Firaxis destroyed X-Com. SC2 is after all a dumbed down version of Starflight mechanically.

Making a good Star Control game will come down to maintaining the quality of the writing and temporally dictated choices and consequences from the original, which has a good chance if they get Reiche and Ford on board.

Best case scenario, some of the depth from Starflight makes it's way back in, like the RPG elements and planetary exploration.

Just because Brad Wardell has no idea how to make a good 4x doesn't mean he can't make a good Star Control. Hell, I doubt any of you MoO 2 loving cunts would realize good 4x design if it hit you in the face either.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

The fan-based sequel to Star Control 2, Project 6014, already promises to retain a LOT of the charm and writing style of SC2. So while I will say it's POSSIBLE to pull off something SC2-wise in quality without Ford and Reiche, the odds are slim.

And I just realized that the DOWN key in SC2 isn't really needed, it's only used for the menus and the Supox Special attack (possibly a few others). There, I just dumbed down SC2 by 16.7%!

 

[warpig]

The Star Control 2 formula would be pretty hard to dumb down the same way Firaxis destroyed X-Com. SC2 is after all a dumbed down version of Starflight mechanically.

I think you underestimate modern developers' ability to further stupify games that are already quite simple and "dumb". I suspect that there will be a lot of handholding in the main quest and exploration will be optional, something resembling Mass Effect 1. Modern gamers hate when the game doesn't tell them where to go and what to do.

 

[DraQ]

I'm not sure how anything involving Atari's corpse can be a decline.

Save for maybe resurrection.

 

[Jeff Graw]

Brad Wardell's latest post on UQM forums:

I think a big part of the upcoming development fun is going to be including the communities in the development process.

One thing that's going to be helpful is that so many people here are already familiar with Star Flight. That's going to save us a lot of time in asking people to go play that game.

There is hope.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

More hope incoming:

Paul and Fred are actually the ones who have an ownership claim on the "Ur-Quan" universe. Toys for Bob isn't even mentioned in any of the agreements.

That clears up tons of legal crap, if true. However:

Assuming we get to use the aliens from Star Control 2, I would imagine a reboot taking place at an earlier time - like 2112 with the arrival of the Chenjesu (Star Control 2 takes place in 2155).

The millions of players we want to introduce the game to won't have the ability to load up Star Control 1 without effort and Star Control 2 starts off after the Ur-Quan slave war. So starting them at the first contact point with the Earthlings first going out and meeting all these amazing species for the first time I think would delight old time players who already "know" these aliens and be good way to create a compelling story for the first new game.

And development on the proposed prequel is this fall.

 

[Infinitron]

Unkillable Cat Source?

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Right, sorry. Here.

 

[IDtenT]

Speaking of, will the X reboot also concern first contact?

 

[pakoito]

http://www.polygon.com/2013/9/1/4684456/gearbox-homeworld-ip-hardware-shipbreakers

Gearbox lends Homeworld IP to spiritual successor Hardware: Shipbreakers developer

Wat

 

[Name]

http://www.polygon.com/2013/9/1/4684456/gearbox-homeworld-ip-hardware-shipbreakers

Gearbox lends Homeworld IP to spiritual successor Hardware: Shipbreakers developer

Wat

That's... good, right?

 

[:Flash:]

Does anyone know what happened to the Independence War franchise?

 

[DwarvenFood]

http://www.polygon.com/2013/9/1/4684456/gearbox-homeworld-ip-hardware-shipbreakers

Gearbox lends Homeworld IP to spiritual successor Hardware: Shipbreakers developer

Wat

That's... good, right?

It's now know as Homeworld: Shipbreakers.

Don't know what to make of it yet.

 

[Hellraiser]

Don't know what to make of it yet.

Pretty obvious:

 

[Infinitron]

So, this is old news, but after the release of Bloodnet on GOG, I noticed that the rights to some of the games that were internally developed at Microprose, which were formerly owned by Atari, now belong to an obscure publisher called "Tommo": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommo_Inc.

That includes Darklands and also some Sid Meier games that apparently weren't acquired by Firaxis or Take Two after the demise of Microprose: http://www.gog.com/games##devpub=tommo?as=1649904300

I suppose we can expect the release of more Microprose games that Atari was keeping squirreled away.

 

[Curious_Tongue]

http://tommo.com/

 

[:Flash:]

Does anyone know what happened to the Independence War franchise?