I don’t get hyped much about future releases but HYPE:
Developed by Blue Manchu who consist of former Irrational and Looking Glass devs. Either way, this looks and sounds fantastic. Due out 2019.
Inspired by BioShock and System Shock 2, Void Bastards is a revolutionary new strategy-shooter that will test your wits as well as exercise your aim.
Can you lead the misfit prisoners of the Void Ark through the derelict spaceships and myriad dangers of the Sargasso Nebula? Will you make the right choices about what to do, where to go and when to fight? Master combat, manage ship controls, scavenge supplies, craft improvised tools and much more!
On board derelict spaceships you’ll plan your mission, taking note of the ship layout, what hazards and enemies you might encounter and what terminals and other ship systems you can use to your advantage…
Move carefully through the dangerous ships, searching for supplies and manipulating control systems. React to what you find - will you detour to the generator to bring the power back online or will you fight your way into the security module to disable the ship’s defenses? Choose carefully when to fight, when to run and when just to be a bastard.
I found out just now that Ryan Roth, who did the sound and music for Cryptark, is working on this. Even more excited now. I’ve been hammering the Cryptark soundtrack since I played the game and it’s one I hope to feature in the game music thunderdome at some point, assuming there’s another!
I am well aware of this game’s requirements for proper 3D hardware (actually, Cryptark did too), which put it beyond the range of my RADAR, sadly!
Cryptark’s soundtrack is amazing, although it is so perfectly tailored for its game, I bet the melody snobs at the thunderdome’s will bash it!
Oh yes, the bitterness is still here.
Heya, Jonathan! Thanks for the video link. Wow, this looks fantastic in motion. I don’t play a lot of shooters, but this looks fantastic. Kind of wishing it was coming to PS4 as well, since I just got one.
I really enjoyed Wireframe’s interview with John Chey, especially his response to the secret behind developing SS2 on such a tiny budget:
System Shock 2 cost around $700,000 to make. What’s the secret to making the most of a budget like that?
Part of the secret to making System Shock 2 was some pretty insane crunch. We don’t do that anymore so we have to find other ways to make a limited budget work. There are probably two keys for us: one is that we have a revenue sharing system so everyone draws less salary but looks forward to making money from game sales. The other is that the team are in a position where they can handle a relatively long project cycle: people set their own hours and generally aren’t full-time, so the whole thing proceeds at a relatively leisurely pace. This allows us to be very efficient with the actual hours that we do bill to the project.
Yeah, it’s procedurally generated. I played the game a little at GDC, and this was the biggest thing that rubbed me the wrong way. You just didn’t feel like you had a great goal. Maybe it’s a problem they’ve solved, or maybe with more handholding I would have understood better what I should be doing. But the game looks really neat and has a unique sense of humor.
