Stardock Devs -
I remember a long time ago (I think 2008) when Stardock commented that they would LOVE to get the rights to Star Control to continue that saga. When I read those words, I hoped and prayed for FIVE YEARS this day would come. And it finally has!! To which I say, CONGRATULATIONS!!! There's not a game more near and dear to my heart than SCII. I remember making my own, hand-drawn strategy guide with my best friend back when I was 11 and had nothing to do all summer except just that. Star Control encompasses some of the best moments of my gaming-life and reigns as THE masterpiece in gaming. Make me happy, and I will buy every game you guys put out for the rest of my life - I SWEAR IN BLOOD! *cuts palm*
That being said, I don't want you guys to fuck it up! So I want to start a thread of bullet-points on what were the most important aspects of Star Control that can hopefully let us fans help guide you guys towards a modern masterpiece. So without further ado, these are what I feel are the most important things you guys and girls MUST keep in mind when rebooting SC.
*SPOILERS AHEAD* (though if you haven't played SCII in the last 20 years, shame on you)
Anybody else have any bullet points to add?? This is now the best place to help nudge Stardock along to making the game we've been waiting 20 years for!!
-cuorebrave
I thought the Urquan Masters remake of SC2 is good enough.
Star Control 2 holds your hand for the first 10 minutes. As you may recall, you approach earth and must get them radioactives from Mercury and bring it back to the space station by Earth. That lasts easily 10 minutes.
My view is that Star Control 2 / Ur-Quan masters are classics that stand on their own. A new Star Control game should adhere to the points you make in your original post -- it's an open ended adventure where your decisions have consequences.
Also, don't forget the spirit -- humor. The amazing writing and spirit of the game will be a major challenge and one that we'll want to work with others to ensure we capture that aspect.
One of the great things about SC2 for me when I was a kid was the variety of alien races. The Mycon, a pseudo-sentient fungus. The Ur-Quan, a species of giant spider-worm things when a tormented history. The Chmmr, a union of a crystalline species and a race of robots. The Slylandro, a species of gaseous beings who can only explore the galaxy with poorly-coded autonomous robotics.
Weird, strange life forms are very compelling. I don't want to interact with a bunch of human-shaped aliens who have normal human-type motivations. I want to explore and learn about radically different worlds, and struggle to make discoveries and forge alliances that can make a difference in the galaxy. Honestly, the most important element of that world building was the writing. I'll happily accept worse graphics for a better story, and better dialog.There's so much creativity and imagination in the Star Control universe, and it was some of the most fun I've ever had gaming. My Dad and I played through it together the first time, when I was 6 or 7 years old. Now as an adult, I'm excited to be able to share that experience with my own kids.
Yes! Good call! On top of all the seriousness, there was a sense of not ever taking anything TOO seriously! And there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments!
And I wholeheartedly support making this a brand new game, a "reboot" as has been stated (love both the old AND new XCOM), as long as y'all stay true to what made Star Control Star Control. So with these very basic guidelines in mind, you guys have the entire galaxy to create!
Finally, you're right, I should have said "for MORE than 10 minutes"... and while there was SOME guidance in those first ten minutes, along the way you were free to obliterate the robots on the abandoned moonbase, meet the Spathi that had landed on... um... Uranus was it? And get that ONE drop of exotic sitting there, ripe, on Pluto! And you could do ALL this without them forcing you to land on Mercury! So "guidance" in the beginning? Yes.
Anybody else have some points that MADE Star Control II the game it is???
Let's hear it!
This is an AMAZING point!!! Ugh, I'm so sick of Mass Effect type aliens - ALL of them were 2-armed, 2-legged humanoid aliens (with slightly weird faces) who acted like humans and spoke perfect English. Give me *happy campers*!!
I never played StarControl. What kind of game it is? I mean, genre? Checked the videos and it seems a bit like Weird Adventures in Infinite Space...is that right?
There is absolutely no reason that aliens must be humanoid. Star Control made that clear.
You can imagine the first contact between the Earthlings and the Chenjesu:
Genre...genre....genre...........? Uh, a little help here? What GENRE would Star Control fall into? We'll have to combine a few: Epic Space Opera Role-Playing Exploration Open-World Point-and-Click (with no points or clicks) Resource-Gathering One-on-One Spaceship Dogfighting Adventure Game.
I really hope you guys delve deep into this thinking-outside-the-box alien development! If I see one more sexy, blue human-shaped alien with boobs like the Asari from Mass Effect, I'm going to scr-... oh wait?!?! Star Control INVENTED THAT CONCEPT WITH THE SYREEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, aliens are rarely anything other than humans +strange skin, hair, ears, forehead or insects/talking rocks/energy blob. The best thing is that Star Control already has a ton of races to pick and choose from.
I wonder if Stardock will pull the cast out of ONLY the existing races? Or if some will be new? Or what the ratio will be - mostly new races, or mostly existing?
It depends on what Paul and Fred (the original creators) are up for. We've started discussing the possibilities. I should have more news soon but things are looking good.
3D GRAPHICS is a big bullet point for me for a new Star Control game.
I'm fine with a top-down view, and I liked the art-style in SCII, but I would love to see a StarCon game in glorious polygons!
Star Control 4: The Spathi Masters
I think Brad has it well in hand. Look forward to a cliff notes version of your design doc in the future when you've fleshed things out. Also expect some whacky and cool merchandise to come along w/ my StarCon reboot
ALIEN DATING SIMULATOR
Hmm.. what sort of interesting junk, err... collectibles... will we get in a limited edition collector's box of the SC reboot.
As long as we DONT have a spathi "claw on a stick" with a bad Brooklyn accent. Ill be a happy camper. Laugh out loud moments yes. Facepalm moments NO.
It's been so long, I can barely remember. I played, I think the Genesis version when it came to consoles. Will it be turn based, real time and or paused..?
SC1 had a turn based strategic game, and tactical combat (melee). No story, or campaign. Just lore. Much like Sins.
SC2 (IMO the best of the franchise) went real time, and leans more story based RPG. However it is open world. You can explore at your leisure, and deal with events your own way. The lore is fleshed out greatly, and the game is worth many replays to accomplish different results, and discover things you missed in your last play through. If you really want to know more get The Ur-Quan Masters, and play it.
SC3 Described best in two words... Epic Fail. The original developers had nothing to do with this one. They used "Claymation" for the interactive sequences. Story was horrible. Combat was horrible. Dialog was horrible (especially with the Spathi, and his infamous "claw on a stick"). Basically i would consider SC 3 non canon.
I don't care what the game is like as long as it explains why the bridge turns purple.
THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME.
A game called Star Control that plays like MoO2 would be great.
StarControl's genre is "arcade". It was after all built up around their own version of the arcade classic "Space War".
SC1 was arcade/strategy
SC2 was arcade/adventure
SC3 was arcade/adventure... but SC3 had issues. Claymation races, what looks like an aborted attempt to add 4x elements which they never expanded on, and that annoying timer based event system.
SC4 would have been different had it been completed... more like a flight sim and the first real abandonment of the game's arcade roots.
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