News Editors' Note: This press release was posted the day Steam Next Fest concluded. Keep an eye out for the title by wishlisting it on Steam here!
Showing posts with label space. Show all posts
Showing posts with label space. Show all posts
Uncover New Mysteries in Galactic Civilizations: Tales of the Arnor February 27th!
January 23rd, 2025 | Uncover mysteries from the darkest reaches of the galaxy in "Tales of the Arnor," a new DLC for 4X grand strategy game Galactic Civilizations® IV available on Feb. 27, 2025. This new content allows players to explore the history of the Arnor civilization, introducing new narrative and gameplay elements. In Galactic Civilizations IV, players build empires and engage in space battles, and "Tales of the Arnor" will add new content to create new opportunities for players to gain valuable knowledge and all new tech to gain galactic supremacy.
Available Today: Free v2.94 Update
Galactic Civilizations IV has received a free update including new content for all players! Update v2.94 features a map generation update with improved player placement and Fog of War system; better UI for the planet, ship designer, and shipyard screens; and better gameplay balance with improved combat, citizen specialties, colonization, and many other changes.
Key features of Galactic Civilizations IV: Tales of the Arnor include:
- Explore the Legacy of the Arnor Campaign
- Take on the Legacy of the Arnor campaign to uncover the history of the Arnor and the foundations of galactic civilizations. Discover how different species and empires evolved through distinct paths shaped by their environments and cultures.
- Investigate New Anomalies, Relics, and Artifacts
- Unearth hidden treasures and challenges that add depth to exploration. These discoveries provide opportunities to gain valuable resources, expand your knowledge, and trigger unique events.
- Address Late-Game Crises
- Face new late-game crisis events tied to the unfinished projects of the Arnor. These challenges will test your leadership skills as you navigate the consequences of their actions and the ripple effects across the galaxy.
- Develop Unique Technologies
- Access a distinct tech tree for the Cybernetic phenotype, unlocking exclusive planetary improvements, ship components, and early-game events. These advancements reflect the unique characteristics and strengths of your civilization.
- Enhanced Civilization Creator
Available Today: Free v2.94 Update
Galactic Civilizations IV has received a free update including new content for all players! Update v2.94 features a map generation update with improved player placement and Fog of War system; better UI for the planet, ship designer, and shipyard screens; and better gameplay balance with improved combat, citizen specialties, colonization, and many other changes.
Starpoint Gemini 3 Offers Goodies for the Holidays!
Just before the holiday craziness kicks in, we've reached the third milestone for Starpoint Gemini 3. That means we're offering, just in time, some fresh new ways to expand your experience of the game and fill any free days you might have coming.
This update looks exactly as a December gift basket is supposed to look – a little bit of something for everyone!
You've already explored the available game areas? Good – now you have new ones to check out, including some pretty familiar planets (EARTH anyone J ). Or, you've mastered the combat system and you're unmatched out there? Awesome – Boss mechanics will make sure there is something out there you haven't seen yet and that WILL be an adequate challenge! Also, if you're bored of your everyday bartender – new businesses have opened onboard new stations and planets.
Check out our Steam page here!
Article by Susan N.
Rebel Galaxy Outlaw - PC Review
Rebel Galaxy Outlaw is the pseudo-prequel to 2015’s Rebel Galaxy and is an absolutely stellar example of franchise evolution and studio growth. With few true faults, Rebel Galaxy Outlaw has firmly cemented itself in the Game of the Year running, with its phenomenal sound design, spectacular flight model, gorgeous visuals, and massive array of objectives which include an excellent story. Though it might throw a bit too much shade at other franchises at times, it is still a wonderful romp in a space-western-meets-space-simulator game that pulls out all the stops. Well done, Double Damage Studios, well done indeed.
While I may not have had the best of times with Rebel Galaxy back in 2015, Rebel Galaxy Outlaw was one of my more anticipated titles of 2019. With the first franchise I ran into issues with graphical pop-in, uninspired ship design, and a bit too much hype by friends and colleagues. It was consistently touted by reviewers and YouTubers as the best Firefly game out there; everywhere I turned I saw Rebel Galaxy being compared to the laudable television franchise and when I jumped into the verse, Rebel Galaxy was disappointment after disappointment. Rebel Galaxy Outlaw? Well, it does something few games have done … it is better than the hype. So good that you all need to go pick it up like, right freaking now. You can do so here.
To start, the sound design. Holy crap. Now, I liked the sound design of Rebel Galaxy, especially how aliens spoke alien languages, as it helped with immersion, then add to it the spectacular soundtrack and on an aural level, it was excellent. Rebel Galaxy Outlaw ups the ante in all respects but one; for some reason they seemed to drop the very Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic-esque aliens-speaking-alien-languages feel and that sort of bummed me out as it was one of the more immersive elements in both Rebel Galaxy and KOTOR. However, the music, sound effects, and quality of voice acting make up for it in a multitude of ways. From the various weapons (the missiles sound glorious) to the flaming wrecks left in your rear-view camera, every element of audio is wonderful to behold.
Now, I feel it important to point out that I have been a long-standing fan of space simulators like Elite: Dangerous, the X franchise, and more recently, Star Citizen. Why is it important? Because most of the titles that I have massively enjoyed in recent months/years have been utterly huge in scale and scope, and those titles are from studios or teams with a long history in making expansive titles. With Rebel Galaxy Outlaw it is clear that you do not need a long pedigree game development or an extensive list of titles under your studio’s belt in order to make a game that is giant, full of life, extraordinarily detailed, and possessing some of the best audio design in any game outside of the horror game genre. With scope and scale come bugs and confusing gameplay loops, and a reduction in scope with regard to stories or primary quest content. RGO? Not. At. All. While there are some bugs and confusing elements here and there, the story is great, loops are fun, and scope is maintained from start to finish with little struggle. In fact, I think one of the best terms to describe Rebel Galaxy Outlaw is “tight.” Everything is tightly developed, controlled, and executed, and it is an absolute breath of fresh air, something the space genre needs.
Where Rebel Galaxy Outlaw’s few flaws come into play are with its strongest point; the audio. As mentioned, the dropping of alien languages is a little sad, but there are also weird audio volume variances that happen with little explanation. While it is nice that music or effects will slightly mute when spoken audio appears, when it rights itself it can be louder than before, or audio will be at a volume that is perfectly fine, then you will explode a ship and it will be ear-splittingly loud, or the strange discrepancy between game volume and the gorgeous hand-drawn, cartoon-like cutscenes, where the game sounds great and the cutscenes are able to be heard as far out as Io in orbit of Jupiter. Headphone-using gamers beware. There are other little issues, such as incredibly “busy” ship interiors, with all their stunning neon lights twinkling, distract the eye from what might be important. The interiors are awesome, mind you, but with the incredibly neon and flashy colors, it can be almost-nauseating at times.
Speaking of colors, this game is full of them. Ship explosions are gorgeous, neon lighting in signs and the aforementioned cockpits, and blend incredibly well with the Titan A.E.-like grunge design. From simple asteroids to the wide array of space station designs to debris just floating in space, everything just looks right. In Rebel Galaxy I was unimpressed with ship design, as they felt uninspiring and slow but in Rebel Galaxy Outlaw each ship feels unique, responsive, and tailormade for purposes found throughout the game. In that respect it feels like a tighter, more interesting title than juggernauts like Elite: Dangerous or X4: Foundations. One thing I like, too, is that these ships feel more like the single-seat nimble craft that they are, whereas the original Rebel Galaxy was exclusively (if by intention or not) large-scale ships (hence the broadside combat, I believe?). The snappy, more agile craft, better flight model, and wide selection of weapons and armor help drive home that this is no lumbering RPG-like space simulator like its predecessor, but rather a fully fleshed arcade-y space combat game with tons to do. With minigames like pool (seriously, I could spend days playing 8-ball in RGO), the slot machines, or dice, combined with numerous side missions like scanning sectors, trading content, or bounty hunting, all while on a very personal mission of revenge, there is no end of entertainment in Rebel Galaxy Outlaw.
Double Damage Games has nailed it out of the park with the near-perfect evolution of Rebel Galaxy Outlaw. With its stunning graphics, detailed universe, and stellar gameplay, it is an upgrade in every sense of the word from the original Rebel Galaxy, but it has not lost touch with the core of the original title. Strong quests, side missions, customization options, and scope will firmly land RGO as the best space game of 2019. Take dozens of hours, thousands of customization options, and one of the best ship customization tools I have ever seen, and package it with stupendous audio design, a soundtrack to make Cowboy Bebop jealous, and a story that is touching at times, riveting at others, and you have Rebel Galaxy Outlaw. It is a damn shame they felt a need to throw shade at other developers or titles (including their own), as it came off as petty and unreasonably haughty; let the game speak for itself, especially Rebel Galaxy Outlaw, because it is worth it.
Just a damn shame I could not get out of my ship for some FPS combat goodness, nor could I build my own station and trade empire…
Game Information
PC
Developer(s):
Double Damage Games
Publisher(s):
Double Damage Games
Genre(s):
Action
Simulator
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
Sony PlayStation 4
Nintendo Switch
Source:
Provided by Publisher
Article by Robert
Sneak Peak at Warp Nexus by Developer Wyrmbyte
DENVER - March 29, 2019 | Independent studio Wyrmbyte is getting back to their roots this year with the announcement of Warp Nexus - the spiritual successor to the cult classic space MMO Jumpgate. Launching first into Steam Early Access this summer, Warp Nexus will also be cross-platform on consoles and mobile, with cross-play enabled when it launches later this year.
Be whatever kind of pilot you want to be, take whatever kind of job you want, and reap the rewards in a space-flight MMO that takes the emptiness out of space by making sure your next job is just a quick warp away.
“Warp Nexus is the evolution of the ideas we all started with years ago when we made Jumpgate”, said Scott Brown, CEO of Wyrmbyte and Design Lead on Warp Nexus. “The technology and systems we’re building for Warp Nexus will make it a truly unique MMO that you can play on any device anywhere, and we can’t wait to show off more.”
What is Warp Nexus?
Warp Nexus is the spiritual successor to the Jumpgate Franchise. But it's taking the suck out of the vacuum of space. In most space games, there's a whole lot of endless flying to get to somewhere where the action is. Warp Nexus, on the other hand, posits that the universe has been made instantly traverse-able and humanity now takes advantage of this speedy network of warp points for profit and glory... but so do pirates and a whole host of seedy characters. Warp Nexus is also an MMO that runs itself. While the player spends time in their own hangar and around their ship between missions, an advanced server tech is constantly churning several Space Stations against each other. Economies shift and thrive on what they need, driving a constantly changing list of missions for players to work on. Some are solo, some are co-op, some are PVP, and each player has different types of licenses (think of them as classes) that result in different types of content - mining, escorting, bounty hunts, surveillance, etc. There's even a s competitive sport in the Nexus that let's players fight it out in a scale-able Battle Royale combat mode, earn rewards, prizes, gear, and currency.Players can also hop into conquest mode where it is no holds barred combat as players try to control the known Nexus stars for their side. And even more is that players can actually create their own missions and issue them to the highest bidder. Need a resource but don't have the time or ability to get it done? Make a quest. Need some pirate player taken out? Mark them for a bounty. It's all customizable, and ensures that the players and their stories are at the center of the missions and quests. Heck, they can even make a mission for themselves if they don’t like what’s on offer, which will be intelligently tied into the economy of the many different Space Stations.
For more details about Warp Nexus, please visit the official teaser site here. We’ll be taking appointments at PAX East, so please reach out!
Social Media: Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Site
About Wyrmbyte
Wyrmbyte is focused on games where players play a role in the story. With over 20 years development background in online games, Wyrmbyte uses this experience to focus on games with strong player experience with its MOBA Dragons and Titans, the immersion of DragonWingsVR, and the strong stories of Ashes of Oahu.
Article by Susan N.
Star Valor - Sunday Bites
I have a soft spot for top-down space titles. About a thousand years ago, when I was a wee young lad, I spent oodles of hours at the old PC we had playing Asteroids. On the console side of things I would spend an obscene amount of time with the original Wing Commander and later graduated to titles like Elite, Descent, Tachyon Fringe, the X franchise, and a great many others, but that initial time spent with Asteroids set alight a small flame that has forever burned. As I have gotten older I have come to look for more than a simple "press spacebar to shoot" mechanic in my gaming and Star Valor ticks a lot of those expectations and desires.
Star Valor, like many indie titles, is the lovechild of a single developer and though still a work in progress, it is a solid and ever-evolving experience that stokes that little flame that was lit oh-so-long-ago. The top-down perspective and near-Newtonian physics plays right into my space-loving ego; the mining, plundering, warp-gate travel, galaxy view, trading, everything just fits into a category of games I will leap at the chance to play. Even being Early Access, Star Valor is a tightly made space exploration title that has an absolutely amazing array of features and options. It looks amazing too!
In your quest to control the galaxy you will be able to trade and quest to gain allies or simply hire mercenaries as you plunder the hard works of spacefaring traders. For something that seems so simple, Star Valor really shines and shows the expertise of Rafael, the lone developer.
From the variety of starships to the procedurally generated galaxy, Star Valor just bloody works. I hope that, in time, Star Valor continues to evolve and work on balancing the in-game market, adds even more spacecrafts with more customizable assets like massive cruisers/carriers/frigates/capital ships, etc. (as if 40+ crafts to choose from were not enough), a wider selection of weapon types, and I would love to see growth in the factions.
To see massive wars being taken place between two larger parties, or heck, even coalitions consisting of multiple "players" in game, would be a dream come true … and with what I have seen so far in Star Valor, it may have the capability to, pending the development path, eventually turn into something very much like the X franchise.
Star Valor makes me feel something I rarely have in the past with video games and that is … greedy. There is so much potential, so much skill behind Star Valor that it truly could become a cult classic. Time will tell, but with the developer's commitment to community outreach and the near-constant stream of updates, both for the game and those in the community, goes to show that not only is Rafael's heart in the right place, but so is Star Valor's presence in a difficult market.
Game Information
PC
Developer(s):
Rafael Burgos
Publisher(s):
Rafael Burgos
Genre(s):
Action
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
NA
Source:
Provided by Publisher
Article by Robert
Dead Space - Xbox 360 review
I have a soft spot for horror. Horror movies, horror stories and yes - horror games. Horror obviously comes in a lot of different shapes and sizes, whether it's a 'killer car' in a Stephen King novel, or a chainsaw wielding movie maniac or battling the zombie hordes in a video game. Probably my favorite horror series from the video game world was Tecmo's amazingly atmospheric Fatal Frame series. I have played plenty of other games that find ways to build tension as well - Eternal Darkness, Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Clocktower - and my recently purchased Amnesia for the computer. One that I bought some time ago and only recently played through was Dead Space. It got uniformly excellent reviews from both critics and gamers.
This is certainly more 'Aliens' horror than 'Texas Chainsaw' - you wind up as part of a spaceship crew that lands on a space station. What starts as a fairly routine maintenance run turns into a quest for survival against an unknown horror. In some ways, the backdrop sort of reminded me of Doom - the science fiction setting and sense of isolation oozes throughout the game, though instead of a hardened marine with automatic weapons, you're a repairman with a suit that helps keep you alive, and a plasma cutter that's going to do more than slice pipes.
You get separated from your crew early on, and find yourself surviving different horrors throughout this ransacked space station. There are bits of audio and video evidence everywhere, helping you to piece together what happened during the station's final hours. In some places the electrical is fine, in others you wind up moving through dark passages with just your suit's flashlight to guide the way. With part 2 coming out soon, it was past time I gave the original a play-through, and here's what I found:
Graphics - 9:
Almost a 10. I'm just stingy on 10's, and there were some moments of slowdown/stutter during a few of the more frantic moments. But so close to a 10. Where to begin - for starters, I loved the hud and overall layout. Seeing your health represented by bars on the back of your suit's spine, and your ammo on your weapon were slick design choices that kept me immersed in the game instead of looking off to the corners of my screen for other data. The lighting is fantastic throughout. In some places you're bathed in light, giving the scenery an appropriately science fiction feel, but most of the time lighting works against you, hiding enemies and making you wonder (sometimes aloud): was there something moving over there?
The antagonistic necromorphs look cool - and often gruesome. They move toward you in varied fashion, using unique attacks that are well represented (and often grotesquely so) onscreen. If you blow one's leg off (more on that in a bit), it crawls toward you along the floor. There are also some really cool scenes where you are outside of the space station that I want to take a moment to give special mention to. Several of them were strikingly beautiful, and I found myself pausing (which is something of a mistake because you're on a timer) and really appreciating the view that looked like it was pulled from a great movie.
Sound and Music - 10:
Going with a 10 here. Bits of music compliment the scenes beautifully. There is also a lot of voice acting that's very well done and helps to advance the story, both through audio files or interactions with other characters. The story is good, but this really goes the extra mile in helping to sell it. The sound effects however, are the best part of the overall presentation. This game delivered a lot of genuine scares, and while the lighting and the unique monsters certainly did their part, it was the sound effects that had me nearly jumping off of the couch (who am I kidding? There were times I did startle quite a bit physically). Whether it's electric buzzing, monsters scraping along nearby, conversations cut short by an attack - the atmosphere was incredible and the sound track was one of the primary reasons for this.
Gameplay - 8:
Aiming works well, the puzzles in the game work well within the context of the story and environment. Combat feels a bit unique because in most games - you're looking for the headshot. Here? Sure, that's going to work on some creatures - but the fact that you can blow off limbs to alter their movement and attacks as well as maybe finding other more vulnerable spots on them than the head, really adds a nice layer of depth to the combat mechanics. There were some mini games that added variety to the gameplay, but they never felt quite as polished as the primary game. Puzzles work well within the context of the game. There's also a currency system, which is cool for purchasing ammo, weapons and suit upgrades. Beyond that, you can modify equipment and armor at work benches, using nodes to customize it a bit - do you want more power, higher ammo capacity, better rate of fire? Up to you. There is a lot of fetch quests and backtracking, which works within the storyline but does sometimes feel a bit repetitive. There are a couple of neat environmental situations built into the primary objects as well as you find yourself walking outside of the airlocks to reach sections of the station maybe not otherwise accessible. You have limited oxygen and there's a neat sort of vacuum of sound while you do so. It also exposes you to some beautiful space backdrops in the game Anti-gravity sections provided some nice change of pace, but felt a bit clumsy at times and the objectives were not always obvious to me in there as my perspective would prone to change based on which surface I was walking on. I was not a big fan of those sections, and felt like they could have been more fun.
Intangibles - 8:
Great game. Very spooky. It was really well-made. I've heard a lot of mixed opinions about multiplayer, and I'm on the fence there. I think it's great when a game offers online multiplayer, because once you have done everything you can with a solo campaign, there's not much more reason to hold onto the game if you can't go online and play it with friends in some way. I've heard that's a big part of what EA is doing with part 2. Then again, a bit part of what makes Dead Space so effective is that sense of isolation. I get the feeling that multiplayer may be fun, it just won't feel like 'Dead Space'. Either way, this game doesn't have it, and while you can play through a few times, and look for things you may have missed initially, the game does not change a great deal on subsequent playthroughs. You get carry over of currency and enhancements, and this access to new gear is cool, though I didn't find the next playthrough nearly as intense. Maybe because I was overpowered from the new game plus, or just because I knew my way through the levels, but I blew through my second round pretty fast compared to the first.
Overall - 8.75:
Simply put - this game was amazing. I remember reading about it in Game Informer well before it was released, and there were things that caught my eye, but I was far from sold. If you enjoy third person action games, science fiction storylines or strong horror elements, this game is definitely worth a look. Especially since it can be found fairly cheaply now. I'm glad I tried it out, and am now very anxiously awaiting the release of Dead Space 2.
This is certainly more 'Aliens' horror than 'Texas Chainsaw' - you wind up as part of a spaceship crew that lands on a space station. What starts as a fairly routine maintenance run turns into a quest for survival against an unknown horror. In some ways, the backdrop sort of reminded me of Doom - the science fiction setting and sense of isolation oozes throughout the game, though instead of a hardened marine with automatic weapons, you're a repairman with a suit that helps keep you alive, and a plasma cutter that's going to do more than slice pipes.
You get separated from your crew early on, and find yourself surviving different horrors throughout this ransacked space station. There are bits of audio and video evidence everywhere, helping you to piece together what happened during the station's final hours. In some places the electrical is fine, in others you wind up moving through dark passages with just your suit's flashlight to guide the way. With part 2 coming out soon, it was past time I gave the original a play-through, and here's what I found:
Graphics - 9:
Almost a 10. I'm just stingy on 10's, and there were some moments of slowdown/stutter during a few of the more frantic moments. But so close to a 10. Where to begin - for starters, I loved the hud and overall layout. Seeing your health represented by bars on the back of your suit's spine, and your ammo on your weapon were slick design choices that kept me immersed in the game instead of looking off to the corners of my screen for other data. The lighting is fantastic throughout. In some places you're bathed in light, giving the scenery an appropriately science fiction feel, but most of the time lighting works against you, hiding enemies and making you wonder (sometimes aloud): was there something moving over there?
The antagonistic necromorphs look cool - and often gruesome. They move toward you in varied fashion, using unique attacks that are well represented (and often grotesquely so) onscreen. If you blow one's leg off (more on that in a bit), it crawls toward you along the floor. There are also some really cool scenes where you are outside of the space station that I want to take a moment to give special mention to. Several of them were strikingly beautiful, and I found myself pausing (which is something of a mistake because you're on a timer) and really appreciating the view that looked like it was pulled from a great movie.
Sound and Music - 10:
Going with a 10 here. Bits of music compliment the scenes beautifully. There is also a lot of voice acting that's very well done and helps to advance the story, both through audio files or interactions with other characters. The story is good, but this really goes the extra mile in helping to sell it. The sound effects however, are the best part of the overall presentation. This game delivered a lot of genuine scares, and while the lighting and the unique monsters certainly did their part, it was the sound effects that had me nearly jumping off of the couch (who am I kidding? There were times I did startle quite a bit physically). Whether it's electric buzzing, monsters scraping along nearby, conversations cut short by an attack - the atmosphere was incredible and the sound track was one of the primary reasons for this.
Gameplay - 8:
Aiming works well, the puzzles in the game work well within the context of the story and environment. Combat feels a bit unique because in most games - you're looking for the headshot. Here? Sure, that's going to work on some creatures - but the fact that you can blow off limbs to alter their movement and attacks as well as maybe finding other more vulnerable spots on them than the head, really adds a nice layer of depth to the combat mechanics. There were some mini games that added variety to the gameplay, but they never felt quite as polished as the primary game. Puzzles work well within the context of the game. There's also a currency system, which is cool for purchasing ammo, weapons and suit upgrades. Beyond that, you can modify equipment and armor at work benches, using nodes to customize it a bit - do you want more power, higher ammo capacity, better rate of fire? Up to you. There is a lot of fetch quests and backtracking, which works within the storyline but does sometimes feel a bit repetitive. There are a couple of neat environmental situations built into the primary objects as well as you find yourself walking outside of the airlocks to reach sections of the station maybe not otherwise accessible. You have limited oxygen and there's a neat sort of vacuum of sound while you do so. It also exposes you to some beautiful space backdrops in the game Anti-gravity sections provided some nice change of pace, but felt a bit clumsy at times and the objectives were not always obvious to me in there as my perspective would prone to change based on which surface I was walking on. I was not a big fan of those sections, and felt like they could have been more fun.
Intangibles - 8:
Great game. Very spooky. It was really well-made. I've heard a lot of mixed opinions about multiplayer, and I'm on the fence there. I think it's great when a game offers online multiplayer, because once you have done everything you can with a solo campaign, there's not much more reason to hold onto the game if you can't go online and play it with friends in some way. I've heard that's a big part of what EA is doing with part 2. Then again, a bit part of what makes Dead Space so effective is that sense of isolation. I get the feeling that multiplayer may be fun, it just won't feel like 'Dead Space'. Either way, this game doesn't have it, and while you can play through a few times, and look for things you may have missed initially, the game does not change a great deal on subsequent playthroughs. You get carry over of currency and enhancements, and this access to new gear is cool, though I didn't find the next playthrough nearly as intense. Maybe because I was overpowered from the new game plus, or just because I knew my way through the levels, but I blew through my second round pretty fast compared to the first.
Overall - 8.75:
Simply put - this game was amazing. I remember reading about it in Game Informer well before it was released, and there were things that caught my eye, but I was far from sold. If you enjoy third person action games, science fiction storylines or strong horror elements, this game is definitely worth a look. Especially since it can be found fairly cheaply now. I'm glad I tried it out, and am now very anxiously awaiting the release of Dead Space 2.
