Conquest 2 Q&A with Eric Peterson: Refitting the Fleet for a Relaunch…

Conquest 2 Screenshot

Returning to the Front Lines!

When I first heard that Conquest 2 – Vyrium Uprising had arisen like a phoenix from the ashes, and had appeared on Kickstarter, I was insanely excited. I immediately used the contact form on the Kickstarter page to make a press inquiry…and received a reply from Eric Freaking Peterson (Note: Freaking is not his middle name….I hope…).

You know, the guy who worked on the original Conquest: Frontier Wars, as well as Wing Commander IV, Privateer 2 and Starlancer? ;) To say I was starstruck was an understatement. ;) Despite my fanboyish excitement — or maybe because of? — Eric agreed to do a little Q&A with me, and you can read it after the cut, as well as look at two exclusive screenshots from Conquest 2. Enjoy!!

(more…)

Gemini Wars Q&A: Taking the Fight to The Stars…

Gemini Wars Screenshot 14

Oohhhhh...Pretty...

Gemini Wars — an upcoming fleet-based RTS from Camel 101 — is coming out in just a few weeks. While the team are busy putting the final touches on this story-driven RTS, I was able to get some time with Camel 101′s Bruno Cesteiro to answer some questions I had about the game. I hope you’ll enjoy my answers below after the cut. :)
(more…)

Artem Bank Q&A: Scoring the Music of Space and Beyond…

Fading Music

Music to Fill the Expanse of Space...

A little while back, after the Kinetic Void Kickstarter began, I got an email from one Artem Bank about doing the music for the game. This immediately got me excited as Artem had also done the music for Star Ruler, which was a great game with a fantastic soundtrack. I therefore contacted Artem and asked if I could do a Q&A, the results of which you can read below. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did. :)

(more…)

BorderSpace Q&A – Playing in an Awesome Sandbox

BorderSpace Screenshot

I Am LOVING The Look of This...

In the wake of Jumpgate’s closure, one of the former GMs of the game, Steve “Istvan” Hartmeyer, clued me into a fan-based game in the works called BorderSpace that not only looks similar to my beloved Jumpgate, but looks to improve and enhance it in many important ways. Thankfully, Istvan was able to put me in touch with the game’s creator and lead designer, Chris “Teeleton” Regan, to discuss the game further. Therefore, please enjoy my Q&A with Chris below. :)

(more…)

Starlight Inception Q&A – Creating a Fresh Space Sim

Starlight Inception Screenshot

Y'all Can Make This Happen Today...

So today is the last day of the Kickstarter campaign for Starlight Inception, and they still need a bit more than 20% of their funding to meet their goal. To hopefully help with promotion, I sent the folks at Escape Hatch a Q&A and just got it back, so please enjoy my Q&A with creator Garry Gaber, and if you like what you read, kick ‘em a few bucks. Enjoy!

(more…)

Endless Space Q&A: A Child of Civilization, Master of Orion and Total War?

Endless Space Exploration Screenshot

Onward Toward Questions and Answers! ;)

Update: Endless Space is now available for pre-order on Steam, so have at it! There’s also a new trailer as well.

A little while back, I was made aware of an upcoming called Endless Space, which looked like a pretty cool 4X concept. I followed up with the creators of the game, and they were gracious enough to do a Q&A — because I totally had questions — the answers to which you can read after the cut. My questions were answered by Romain de Waubert, the Creative Director of Endless Space, who also included a personal message as well, which you can read after the Q&A. Enjoy!

(more…)

Squad Wars Q&A: Learning from The Past, Preparing for The Future

Squad Wars Banner

Learn More with Our Q&A!

A little while back, I received work of a new space game being put together by some of the same minds behind my beloved Jumpgate, such as Scott Brown, one of Jumpgate’s creators. This new game, Squad Wars, looks to be similar in a lot of ways to Jumpgate, so of course I wanted to know more. I was therefore delighted to be given the opportunity to have a Q&A with Mr. Brown, and you can read the answers after the cut. Enjoy!

(more…)

“Project Space” Q&A – What Could Have Been, What Might Yet Be…

Project Space Concept Shot

This Would Rock if It Were an Actual Game...

A little while back, I discovered a prototype game called “Project Space” that looked to be a mix of Freelancer and Elite, at least according to that awesome YouTube video anyway. I therefore took it upon myself to contact the folks at the company behind it, Sidhe, to find out more about this sadly canceled game that might again see the light of day if there’s enough interest. Managing Director Mario Wynands got back to me, and was open to doing a Q&A. You can read the results after the cut. Enjoy!

(more…)

Ring Runner – Flight of The Sages: RPGing in a MOBA in Spaaaace! :)

Ring Runner Procedurally Generated Background

Preeeeeeeeeeeetty...

Around a week ago, I posted a news piece about an upcoming space arena combat RPG game called Ring Runner – Flight of the Sages. Shortly after that post, I contacted the folks at Triple B Titles for more information. After a pleasant email exchange with Enrique Dryere — one of the creators of the game — I asked if I could do a Q&A with him about this interesting looking game. After the cut, you can read the Q&A with Enrique, as well as see a new video of one of the game’s archetypes. Enjoy!

(more…)

Beyond Beyaan Q&A: Lofty Goals, Passion and Ambition

Beyond Beyaan Screenshot

Could This Be the Next Master of Orion?

I was engaged in an email conversation with the creator of Beyond Beyaan, Brent “Zeraan” Patterson, about his upcoming game, when he hit me with the following statement — which he said I could quote — after asking me if I like Master of Orion 1 over MoO 2 (don’t worry, I love ‘em both):

Yeah, both have its pros and cons. Here’s a secret: My plan is to kick MoO 1/2 off of its pedestal, and have BB be the new 4X TBS game to be compared to :) But in order to do this, I have to have all the best elements from both games available in BB. So this means that BB must be very moddable so if people want to “recreate” MoO 1/2, they can do so in BB. This means that I will add “options” that you turn on or off in a config file, such as single ships (MoO 2) or stacked ships (MoO 1), leaders on/off, buildings on/off, etc. However, I won’t be limited to just the best features of MoO 1/2, I plan on adding my own features. There’s already one such feature, the planet management screen where you can manage all of your planets from one spot. Neither had that, and as a result, suffered from tedious micromanagement issues (MoO 2 more so).

My plan for BB is similar to Dwarf Fortress, keep on maintaining and adding new features long after release. It’s more of my hobby, something that I enjoy doing in my free time, than an attempt to capitalize on the game. However, it’s very helpful to have support from the community (balancing, finances for artwork/sounds, etc).

One thing that I’ve noticed is that after the game is mostly playable, it’s easier to work on it. The hardest part was setting it all up (pathfinding, galaxy generation, turn processing, etc). This is where most projects failed, but I’m now past that point. I can now focus on the fun stuff, such as space combat. It’s easier to stay motivated now, because now I can go “Oh, what fun feature can I add?” and work on items that I want, instead of being overwhelmed with necessary features that I need to implement to make it playable.

It’s kinda like when you create a FPS, the hardest part would be setting up the engine, creating a level, implementing a weapon, adding collision detection, etc. Then once you have a functioning game, you can add new monsters, new weapons, new features that’s not necessary to make the game playable, but adds fun factor.

Impressively awesome, huh? He then offered to answer more questions, so I asked him a bunch, the answers to which you can read by clicking below. Enjoy!

(more…)