KickStarter Free Stars: Children of Infinity - upcoming Star Control 2 sequel from original creator Fred Ford

[Infinitron]

https://pistolshrimpgames.com/2024/02/steam-launch-party-with-bikeman/

Steam Launch Party with BikeMan​

To celebrate the Steam launch of Free Stars: The Ur-Quan Masters, Fred and Dan will be joining BikeMan live on Twitch on February 19th! We’ll talk about the history of the game, the future of Free Stars, and get to watch BikeMan playing along. We anticipate starting around 5pm PT, so be sure to follow us and BikeMan on Twitter where we’ll announce when we’re live!

Be sure to join us on Reddit, Patreon, and Discord to support the Alliance of Free Stars and be part of the community!

 

[Infinitron]

https://pistolshrimpgames.com/2024/02/free-stars-the-ur-quan-masters-available-to-play/

Free Stars: The Ur-Quan Masters Available to Play​

LAUNCH FIGHTERS! Free Stars: The Ur-Quan Masters is now available to download, play, and celebrate on Steam! If you’ve never experienced the award-winning space saga before, it’s now easier to play than ever. If you know someone who hasn’t, now it’s even easier for them too. BikeMan will be hosting us on a special stream tonight to celebrate and play the game.

But our mission has only begun. The Alliance of Free Stars still needs you!

Get The Word Out​

We don’t know how to tell you this, but there are real, live people out there – some of which who may naively claim to know true happiness – who have not experienced The Ur-Quan Masters. We know… we know. We’re shocked, appalled, and turgid too.

Captain, those people need your help! They need to know we are out here, they are not alone, and they are not only welcome in our mighty fleet, but a key to our success in the journey to come. We must task you with an important mission: spread the word and inform those who are unaware of Free Stars: The Ur-Quan Masters!

Priority Override: Contact Alien Species​

The universe is vast, and fans of amazing games inhabit their own spheres of influence. Venture forth, spreading word of Free Stars: The Ur-Quan Masters. Share the Steam page, our website, and articles others may write about it!

• Share online on social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit.
• Post in gaming communities like forums you’re a part of.
• Distribute video content you record on Twitch and YouTube as live streams, lets-plays, or deeply thoughtful video essays on Juffo-Wup.

If you know content creators you love in any of those spaces, like other streamers, writers, or people who like sharing information about games, tell them about the game too. They, too, can be powerful allies!

New Behavior Dictated: Full Steam Ahead​

Being on Steam is the most special part of our new release, and you can participate there too. In the vastness of gaming space, anything that helps us stand out will help new players be excited to pick it up.

• If you’ve played it, leave a review so your friends and enemies can know how you feel. The more reviews we get, the more everyone will know just how many people have gotten to play this game. Even Darwin would agree: one thumb goes a long way.
• Help other players find the game by tagging the release with your favorite tags. Steam doesn’t have a “best game of all time” tag, but perhaps something like Cult Classic will do.
• Participate in the community hub by sharing guides, fan art, and screenshots you love.

More to Come​

As a reminder, we are also out there helping to spread the word of Free Stars: The Ur-Quan Masters with you and giving you things you can share with your communities beyond just the game too! Last week, we shared our discussion with Tim Cain, who also is a big fan. We have plenty more to come, and we’ll be sharing another chat with Ken Levine on the 20th. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to catch all the goods as they emerge, or join us on Patreon to get early access to even more.

We’re excited to have you as part of our mission, and this is just the start. We have more to come soon for our current project.

Join us on Reddit, Patreon, and Discord to support the Alliance of Free Stars and be part of the awesome community!

 

[Zombra]

Huh? Star Control 2 finally released?

 

[Infinitron]

Another big name:

Fred and Dan chat with Ken Levine about his leadership on the BioShock series, plus his storytelling on System Shock 2, Freedom Force, and Thief: The Dark Project. Ken shares his love for The Ur-Quan Masters and Super Melee, and explains the subtle art of game feel and centering the player's story.

0:00 - Theme music
0:14 - Introductions
1:52 - Super Melee
5:06 - UQM combat and story
15:15 - Ken and Unholy War
16:40 - Game feel
25:50 - Player feedback
30:05 - Canon in BioShock and UQM
35:52 - Graphics and the audience
40:04 - Quality assurance
44:26 - Ken's start in the game industry
49:57 - Freedom Force

 

[udm]

https://pistolshrimpgames.com/2024/02/steam-launch-party-with-bikeman/

Steam Launch Party with BikeMan​

To celebrate the Steam launch of Free Stars: The Ur-Quan Masters, Fred and Dan will be joining BikeMan live on Twitch on February 19th! We’ll talk about the history of the game, the future of Free Stars, and get to watch BikeMan playing along. We anticipate starting around 5pm PT, so be sure to follow us and BikeMan on Twitter where we’ll announce when we’re live!

Be sure to join us on Reddit, Patreon, and Discord to support the Alliance of Free Stars and be part of the community!

With absolutely no idea who this BikeMan is and with some time to kill before work starts, I decided to check out his Twitch channel.

Oh hey, looks like this is the video that features SC2: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2067911737

Clicked on it. Went to 1:10:40 randomly because it shows a 3D printer and 3D printing is cool.

Ear immediately gets raped by a gratingly high, low-T faggoty voice. Holy shit. Never before have I felt such a strong urge to stab someone in the throat.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Admit it, you only posted this video because you're in it.

 

[Baron Tahn]

Wot is going on here then? Has anyone actually given this a go? Is this a sequel to SC2 or a remaster? I heard ages ago about the drama between Star Control (which got released, was ok/average) and this team and then forgot all about it.

Edit: Okay so Free Stars: Ur-Quan Masters is a straight re-release (for free) of SC2 and probably inferior to Ur-Quan Masters HD (also free). Free Stars: Children of Infinity is not released and not on steam.

 

[Infinitron]

Fred and Dan talk with Chris Remo about designing and writing Firewatch, his ongoing work at Valve, and getting his start at Double Fine. Chris talks about his love for The Ur-Quan Masters and Super Melee, and shares his creative experience across music, writing, and game design.

0:00 - Theme music
0:14 - Introductions
1:55 - Super Melee and battles
6:47 - Retro gaming
11:00 - Chris and game music
13:02 - Generalists vs specialists
18:15 - Creative process at Double Fine
21:27 - Writing for games
29:18 - Firewatch as a reactive world
32:05 - The hero's journey in games
35:05 - Chris's career in games
36:11 - Narrative design
42:30 - Game genre expectations
50:40 - Chris and UQM

 

[Infinitron]

Fred and Dan chat with Mark Darrah about his career at BioWare, including his work on Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Baldur's Gate, and more. Join the veteran game devs as they discuss the art of storytelling in an open world, and highlight the influence of The Ur-Quan Masters on the Mass Effect series.

0:00 - Theme music
0:14 - Introductions
1:54 - Ur-Quan Masters and Mass Effect
4:14 - Exploring open worlds
10:25 - Storytelling in open worlds
12:18 - Multiplayer storytelling
23:27 - Main content vs side content
25:14 - What do fandoms like
30:30 - Storytelling techniques
34:18 - Making games in teams
43:25 - Conflicting visions and Dragon Age: Inquisition
53:23 - Making a satisfying sequel
1:10:56 - Mark and UQM

Roguey Might be something interesting here.

 

[Infinitron]

Fred and Dan talk to Henrik Fåhraeus about his leadership at Paradox Interactive, including the game design of Stellaris and the Crusader Kings series. Henrik explains how artificial intelligence can bring a game world to life, and how The Ur-Quan Masters influenced the story and universe of Stellaris.

0:00 - Theme music
0:14 - Introductions
1:18 - Henrik and UQM
3:07 - Influence of UQM
6:40 - Science fiction and Stellaris
12:54 - What is creativity
16:05 - Games with living worlds
21:23 - Storytelling in games
27:17 - Artificial intelligence
29:19 - UQM as a living world
33:33 - Producing meaning with AI
45:58 - Future of games
50:28 - Replayability at Paradox
55:14 - Crusader Kings
58:04 - Emergent storytelling
1:01:58 - Playing games you made
1:06:35 - UQM alien races
1:11:05 - Sandbox vs. story
1:17:50 - RPGs with systemic worlds
1:24:02 - UQM2

 

[Infinitron]

Crowdfunding on the way: https://pistolshrimpgames.com/2024/03/upcoming-livestream-channel-44-discussions/

Upcoming Livestream & Channel 44 Discussions​

Big Things Coming in April​

Last week, we shared a message with our supportive Patreon community giving them some teasers, information, and a request for feedback. For everyone, we wanted to announce that we will be hosting a live stream this Friday, March 22nd at 11am PDT on Twitch to have a discussion about the near future of Free Stars: Children of Infinity and how we’ll be planning to take it to completion.

In short, we’re preparing to launch a crowdfunding campaign next month that is focused on one-time payments for people who just want the game. We’re talking about it live because we enjoy it, my birds miss getting free attention on camera, and we want it to be more of a discussion than us just telling you all of our plans. Your input and questions matter too!

We know everyone has a life, a schedule, and maybe even a different time zone than ours. For those who can’t be there live, there will be a recording and notes shared afterward, so don’t worry if you can’t make it.

We model ourselves after the Crimson Corporation.

Channel 44 Continues on YouTube​

If you haven’t been following Channel 44 on our YouTube, now is the time to jump in! New episodes will be released tomorrow, March 19th. As before, Patreon supporters will get access to all of them immediately. They will also be available in audio form on the Pistol Shrimp Podcast.

Here’s the schedule for the next round:

• March 19th: Christine Love from Love Conquers All Games (Digital: A Love Story, Get in the Car, Loser!, Ladykiller in a Bind)
• March 26th: Andrew Hume and Richard Clifford from MinMax Games (Space Pirates and Zombies, Clanfolk)
• April 4th: Chris Taylor from Kanoogi (Total Annihilation, Dungeon Siege, Supreme Commander)
• April 9th: Richard Cobbett from The Curiosity Engine (The Long Journey Home, Sunless Sea, Nighthawks)
• April 16th: Mac Walters from Worlds Untold (Mass Effect Series, Jade Empire)

Join us on Reddit, Patreon, or Discord to be part of the conversation, and we look forward to seeing you this Friday! We have a lot of exciting stuff in store.

From the way he describes it ("focused on one-time payments for people who just want the game"), it doesn't sound like they actually need it to fund the game's development. I hope that's the case.

 

[Infinitron]

Fred and Dan chat with Christine Love about indie game development, including her work on Digital: A Love Story, Get In the Car, Loser!, and more. Christine shares her love of science fiction, and her insights on writing a memorable game story.

0:00 - Theme music
0:14 - Introductions
1:24 - UQM and science fiction
4:50 - Alien characters
9:17 - Indie game development
15:58 - Writing for games
24:07 - Immersing the player
30:56 - Early game and tutorials
41:17 - Challenge and accessibility
49:28 - Stories with comic relief
53:04 - Game balance
54:56 - Mysteries in UQM
59:48 - The UQM sequel
1:10:26 - Making a great sequel
1:13:48 - Fiction that sticks with you
1:18:47 - Cynical vs. authentic remakes
1:33:00 - Satisfying the superfans

 

[Infinitron]

Fred and Dan talk to Andrew Hume and Richard Clifford of MinMax Games, creators of Space Pirates and Zombies. The duo talk about building an indie game studio, the power of procedurally generated content, and the influence of The Ur-Quan Masters.

0:00 - Theme music
0:14 - Introductions
3:03 - Influence on Space Pirates and Zombies
10:14 - Discovering a game's focus
17:17 - Building an indie game studio
24:05 - Finding an audience
33:37 - Space combat
40:17 - Procedurally generated content
48:04 - Retro gaming
51:05 - The feeling of UQM

 

[Infinitron]

Fred and Dan talk to Chris Taylor about leading a game production, including Total Annihilation, Dungeon Siege, and more. Chris talks about running a game studio, engaging the audience, and why it's sometimes better to be an employee than a leader.

0:00 - Theme music
0:00 - Introductions
1:16 - The UQM Team
11:48 - Chris's start in games
16:42 - Industrial Light & Magic
20:58 - Running a game studio
31:37 - Finding the fun
34:40 - The "Rock War" RTS
43:24 - Writing sci-fi factions
47:19 - Creating for an audience
56:54 - Fan feedback
1:05:35 - Making Dungeon Siege
1:21:24 - Development tools and multiplayer
1:42:20 - Nostalgia and classic games

 

[Cohesion]

Looks like poor man's Tim Cain videos. They should make games not wallow in nostalgia fishing youtube subsciptions. Where is my Star Control 3??

 

[Zombra]

Looks like poor man's Tim Cain videos. They should make games not wallow in nostalgia fishing youtube subsciptions. Where is my Star Control 3??

Already available.

Star Control 3 is better than Star Control 2.

 

[Infinitron]

Kickstarter on April 16th: https://pistolshrimpgames.com/2024/...-infinity-comes-to-kickstarter-on-april-16th/

Free Stars: Children of Infinity comes to Kickstarter on April 16th​

Free Stars: Children of Infinity is coming to Kickstarter on April 16th!

We are excited to finally share some of our work with you and showcase what we’ve been up to in our Kickstarter trailer. Our Kickstarter preview page will be live soon, and more details will be available then.

In the meantime, the alliance still needs you, Captain! Spread word of this message, that there is life still out there, that adventure awairds, and that we’ll need all the support we can get.

Join us on Reddit, Patreon, or Discord to be part of the conversation.

The game has a more retro look than I expected, nice.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Two snippets of conversation and already the writing looks promising.

Looks OK overall.

 

[DesolationStone]

Someone need to update the Wikipedia pages of the series because right now with all these changes it's a mess.
BTW, it seems surprisingly good.
I don't know about you, but I'm getting ready for articles with the title "'Free Stars: Children of Infinity' the RPG that wants to attempt to combine Starfield and Mass Effect in 2D"

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Infinitron will the thread be moved to General RPG if game self identifies as one?

 

[Baron Tahn]

Coming to kickstarter? This has already been on my radar for godawful eldritch amounts of time. When is it coming out!?

 

[Infinitron]

https://pistolshrimpgames.com/2024/04/kickstarter-launch-incoming/

Kickstarter Launch Incoming!​

On April 16th at 7am PT, we are excited to launch our Kickstarter for Free Stars: Children of Infinity. Sign up now to be notified when it goes live and help us garner more support! The more attention you can help us get and the more backers who join us, the more successful we will be with our entire campaign. Haven’t gotten a good look at the game in a while? Be sure to check out our Kickstarter trailer.


We’re using Kickstarter to raise funds which will help us see our game to completion and create the sequel to The Ur-Quan Masters that we dream of. There might even be a few things in it for you too…

Backer Rewards​

Beyond some unique digital rewards, we’re also creating some cool physical collectibles. Whether you want to immerse yourself in our handmade art and stories, long for a beautiful starmap to hang on your wall, or simply wish to don your Captain’s regalia with pride, we have a variety of treats we think you’ll enjoy.

We’ve entered full production mode only with the confidence that we can finish what we started and that we think we have something really cool. After nearly three years of self-funding, along with the help of our Patreon community we’ve assembled, we are asking for your support to take this project across the finish line and make it the best it can be.

We are grateful for all of you helping to keep the Free Stars universe alive all these years. We hope you’re as excited for this as we are, and we can’t wait to launch our campaign on the 16th. Hope to see you all on Kickstarter!

 

[Baron Tahn]

Isn't this the guys that did Toys for Bob? Guess the kickstarter is just for production cash as they certainly don't need it.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Kickstarter is live.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Here are stretch goals: