2721

Game looks super cool for $13.

2722

From what I’m reading lately, Star Citizen will be the Duke Nukem [taking] Forever of this generation. We’re talking embezzlement allegations.

2723

Star Citizen didn’t exactly invent this stuff, even if it was a game and not an engine to sell pixels.

It reminds me a lot of the old and very troubled game Breed, but multiplayer focused.

2724

According to a dev in the Steam forum Angels Fall First should be getting its first post EA patch as soon as hours from now. They are waiting on the go ahead from Steam. One fix should be making recoil better. They admit that recoil was handled incorrectly at release.

2725

Is anyone here playing this, and is it any good? Looks fascinating, but also way too ambitious to possibly be any good, right? I mean it’s pointless buying it so close to the release of Rebel Galaxy, but it can go on my burgeoning wishlist.

2726

A friend did a video or two of AFF, and it looks super buggy and incomplete right now, sadly.

2727

Yeah, okay. Buggy? Yes. Unfinished? Yes. UI issues? Yes. Is the recoil from some weapons making them useless? Yes.

Early access alpha? Yes.

Am I still having fun? Hell yes.

I don’t know why their first patch hasn’t landed yet. But I expect it’s a Valve thing.

Personally I am 100 percent behind AFF. And so should you be too. Doo be doo be doo.

2728

Brian, I need a space shooter recommendation designed to addict an 11 year old boy with no prior space game experience. He’s played a bunch of flight sims and tools around a little with Space Engineers but finally expressed an interest in a space shooter. We have a good rig and a Thrustmaster HOTAS X. The only requirement is that it look good. Apparently kids these days judge everything based on looks.

My first thought was Freespace modded with FS2Open.

2729

Your first thought is correct, FS2 with the FSO mods look great, and it still has the best space sim combat to date. The tutorials in that game should also be very helpful given his lack of experience.

If that doesn’t click, another gorgeous space sim to try, though it’s a lot more detailed/complex, is Independence War 2.

Also, I’m jealous of him, he’s coming into this at an interesting time where he can dive into the history of the genre with TIE Fighter and such, if he wants, as well as play stuff coming out today like Elite.

I’m also jealous he gets to experience Freespace 2 for the first time. If I could somehow selectively lobotomize myself and remove all memories of FS2, I’d do it so I could experience it for the first time again. Sigh.

2730

Anyone know something about a space RTS called Foresight? 66% off for the next few days (I can’t see, but I guess it’s about $5 right now).

2731

I’d certainly also consider Elite: Dangerous, especially if he’s played a bunch of flight sims. Mastering the flight model is a decent challenge, there’s no campaign, and it’s up to you to decide what you’re going to do, but I remember the original Elite being the one that really cemented my love of space sims back in the day. For more popcorn fare, I’d also consider Rebel Galaxy when it comes out on 20 October; it’s not a space sim and you can put the HOTAS X away, but it does great 2d-plane battleships in space combat with an Elite-style structure on top. And if he doesn’t care for the bluesy music, he can slot his own music in there instead.

2732

Elite FTW.

2733

I probably should pick up Elite and check it out. Wasn’t a big Elite player back in the day.

I am all over Rebel Galaxy though for me. Picking that up on day 1!

2734

Here’s a video of Angels Fall First that seems to be linked a lot:

2735

Paging Brian again–wondering what your SGJ Podcast cohost’s (Jim’s) YouTube and/or Twitch channels are.

2736

Both are alienpickle I believe.

2737

slaps forehead

Of course, that makes sense given his in-game moniker in videos. Thanks!

EDIT: On further investigation it looks like the YouTube channel is called “Unusual Pickle” going by the videos he has uploaded.

2738

Besides Fallout 1-3 and New Vegas?

2739

(Cue Brian Rubin sobbing) Stars Without Reach is now a 2016 title. Here’s what Chris had to say:

. Trying to do a release of a new game like this in 2015 is just plain going to be a shortsighted grab no matter how you cut it. There’s no scenario that really truly makes sense if you look at things in a three or four quarter window and you say “oh yeah, they totally should have released in that horrible period at the end of 2015.”

  1. The point about “if the game is great, it doesn’t matter when you release” is somewhat taken, but I think that people do tend to overlook all the great “cult classics” that never caught on for one reason or another. In other words, this smacks a bit to me of being over-confident. Which I have certainly been many times, but am not really feeling in the spirit of right now. ;)
  1. So, one way or another, we come down to releasing something in January 2016, best case.
  1. When it comes to pushing on with Stars Beyond Reach at the moment, I am just not feeling like that is the wisest thing either. Let’s take away all other factors, and just look at money. If we keep on with SBR and go for a release of that in January, that means that we’ve put ALL our eggs into the one basket of this game. If it does poorly, then there’s a big uh-oh moment.
  1. But beyond just the money and eggs-in-baskets bit, I am personally just plain burned out with the game right now. I need time to regroup and collect my thoughts and take things in a more timely manner. I need time to work on the game without feeling constantly under the gun, and I need to not be SO emotionally invested in it. After 14 months of just being on this game and nothing else, it starts to intertwine with my self image to a dangerous degree. I need time to separate myself from that.
  1. I do still believe very strongly in SBR, though, and I think that buying ourselves time to then work on that in early 2016 and really finish that up with a flourish rather than a grunt of exhaustion is the way to go.

So all work has ceased for the next 3 months, including beta testing (Figures. I just signed up for the Beat yesterday). This could be smart decision, or a precursor to the game being canceled entirely. My money’s on the latter.

2740

Well, it’s a space game. Kinda. The Astroneer trailer looks intriguing.