Awesome news!
Given how Iceberg has been on a tear with space strategy games the last couple years, this feels like a very good fit. I can't wait to see more!
Woot for the publishing deal and release date!!
Woot for the publishing deal and release date!!
"Evil is easy, and has infinite forms." -- Pascal
Re: Woot for the publishing deal and release date!!
That's what's brought me here. I'm the chap who's given some 1st impressions Feedback on the official Facebook page. Iceberg encouraged me to direct my constructive enthusiasm (similar to my love of StarDrive) over here. So here I am..
I love a good 4X game I do. The genre sincerely needs another good turn based 4X space game, and I like what I see!
I love a good 4X game I do. The genre sincerely needs another good turn based 4X space game, and I like what I see!
Re: Woot for the publishing deal and release date!!
Welcome to the forums Saracen! Your enthusiasm, also welcome!
I'm hoping good guy iceberg helps to get the ball rolling in these forums, it'd be nice to have ourselves a little bit more traffic.
I'm hoping good guy iceberg helps to get the ball rolling in these forums, it'd be nice to have ourselves a little bit more traffic.
Re: Woot for the publishing deal and release date!!
maybe if there was more info posted there'd be more traffic >:)
alpha video captures of gameplay anyone? >:) look at the hype ffxiv -RR is making >:)
alpha video captures of gameplay anyone? >:) look at the hype ffxiv -RR is making >:)
=(^.-.^)=
" A person can look for their one true love and find them, but could they look like the one true love for the person they find. " - Fairin
" A person can look for their one true love and find them, but could they look like the one true love for the person they find. " - Fairin
Re: Woot for the publishing deal and release date!!
If it's anything like StarDrive then it'll take a little time. You'll have around 100-250+ people I'd say who set up shop through finding this game on their own accord. A nice tight knit community of earlier adoption faithful like you and me. Then it'll take something like a teaser, a closed Beta with a few lucky members doing a let's play on YouTube, and maybe a solid amount of press to really start pushing up the numbers.
StarDrive's community didn't explode at all until it appeared on Steam as a Pre-Order. Now there's so much going on, there's a lot for the one man development team and his few trusty forum moderators to get through. I'd expect a similar thing to happen here.
I was sold on the UI. How crisp, clean and simple it was. The placement within the Planet View Screen for example are straight to the point and accessible. Not an over-complicated mess like some 4X games. That always helps. Although I'm a sucker for complicated games,it is good to see a developer who is willing to make that extra effort to keep things simple, but keep the 4X complexity within the gameplay. It's that essential balance that really hits home with people.
The only early critique I would have at this point would be the larger size of the UI along the bottom, especially within the tactical combat screen. But I can't make any complaints on an Alpha.. So much is due to change yet and the road is still quite long, and it'll be streamlined and refined several times over without a doubt.
But it is good to see that from a consumer standpoint, not much of the initial design would need to change in my eyes. The general theme is there and it already appears solid and very polished. As such, it is a rarity amongst Alphas I've seen (and played) over the last 10-15 years for the UI to look as Gold standard ready as it does now.
StarDrive's community didn't explode at all until it appeared on Steam as a Pre-Order. Now there's so much going on, there's a lot for the one man development team and his few trusty forum moderators to get through. I'd expect a similar thing to happen here.
I was sold on the UI. How crisp, clean and simple it was. The placement within the Planet View Screen for example are straight to the point and accessible. Not an over-complicated mess like some 4X games. That always helps. Although I'm a sucker for complicated games,it is good to see a developer who is willing to make that extra effort to keep things simple, but keep the 4X complexity within the gameplay. It's that essential balance that really hits home with people.
The only early critique I would have at this point would be the larger size of the UI along the bottom, especially within the tactical combat screen. But I can't make any complaints on an Alpha.. So much is due to change yet and the road is still quite long, and it'll be streamlined and refined several times over without a doubt.
But it is good to see that from a consumer standpoint, not much of the initial design would need to change in my eyes. The general theme is there and it already appears solid and very polished. As such, it is a rarity amongst Alphas I've seen (and played) over the last 10-15 years for the UI to look as Gold standard ready as it does now.
It's not actually as simple as that my friend... Whilst that will help, a lot of people got burned by a rather Shallow Endless Space, and a rather awful Legends of Pegasus. The 4X genre, requires some redemption and many people have a sour taste in their mouths because of those 2 games alone... I've seen it on the official StarDrive forums where so many people have come in saying that before last year, they'd of snatched the game up straight away.. But instead there's numerous threads asking "Is it any good?".. Bearing in mind this is after they've seen enough YouTube videos of the Beta to keep anyone busy for an entire day or 2.Fairin wrote:maybe if there was more info posted there'd be more traffic >:)
alpha video captures of gameplay anyone? >:) look at the hype ffxiv -RR is making >:)
Re: Woot for the publishing deal and release date!!
It's always nice to hear positive comments and constructive feedback (thanks for that). The team did spend a lot of time revisiting and simplifying the Planet View (long before I joined the team). I'm sure there will be refining to do during the stretch before release though!
As for content, it will come!
As for content, it will come!
Re: Woot for the publishing deal and release date!!
Excellent news...very happy!
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DevildogFF
- Voyager
- Posts: 5
Re: Woot for the publishing deal and release date!!
Yes, congrats to all!
Are you going to be opening up the beta at any point?
If so, COUNT ME IN
Are you going to be opening up the beta at any point?
If so, COUNT ME IN
I founded and run https://www.eXplorminate.co - a 4X, Strategy, and Tactics Fansite
Re: Woot for the publishing deal and release date!!
Congrats on the publishing deal! And a release date as well? My my.
I tend to check weekly and usually find very little in the way of posts from the people on the boards but this relative explosion in traffic to the site is great to see!
I tend to check weekly and usually find very little in the way of posts from the people on the boards but this relative explosion in traffic to the site is great to see!
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HectorOfTroy
- Voyager
- Posts: 2
Re: Woot for the publishing deal and release date!!
Good luck with the game, hopefully it's great.
Can we maybe see a short video of gameplay?
Can we maybe see a short video of gameplay?
Re: Woot for the publishing deal and release date!!
Thank youHectorOfTroy wrote:Good luck with the game, hopefully it's great.
Can we maybe see a short video of gameplay?
We will be making time for a game-play trailer soonish, likely when we're a tad closer to release (or whenever the marketing phase happens)
Re: Woot for the publishing deal and release date!!
Hi,
I know Horizon from at least ten years, since the days of Orion Sector
. I'm glad you finally decided to publish it, and can't wait to have it on my hd.
Good luck!!
I know Horizon from at least ten years, since the days of Orion Sector
. I'm glad you finally decided to publish it, and can't wait to have it on my hd.Good luck!!
Re: Woot for the publishing deal and release date!!
Thanks and welcome to all! We will be working to give you guys updates as much as we can throughout the next few months so ask us anything you want to know and we will be happy to give info as much as we can.
We are just starting the external QA process this week being arranged by Iceberg. This is the first step to finding any bugs we haven't internally. At some point in the coming months there may be the possibility to invite some of you to participate in the beta process. I want to preempt any requests at this time by saying when and if we can make it happen we will announce it here (in the forums only) and priority will be given to those who are or have been most involved and interested in the game as a small token of our gratitude.
We are just starting the external QA process this week being arranged by Iceberg. This is the first step to finding any bugs we haven't internally. At some point in the coming months there may be the possibility to invite some of you to participate in the beta process. I want to preempt any requests at this time by saying when and if we can make it happen we will announce it here (in the forums only) and priority will be given to those who are or have been most involved and interested in the game as a small token of our gratitude.
Horizon - Lead Designer | a.k.a. Raf
Re: Woot for the publishing deal and release date!!
**Spams like a lunatic**
But seriously though, that would be a great gesture of goodwill considering you wouldn't have to.
I think what Devildog is speaking of though is not so much about wanting to just play the game. (But it's a bonus)... I could probably say the same thing as he would and that is we are quite keen testers of StarDrive for example and have posted highlights of many bugs.
I've seen the Prison Architect Alpha be released on Steam, that's another game I've been looking forward to.. But I'm happy to pay upfront and get access to Game Breaking Bugs. But from the outset, I'll let the developers know what's going on. Even though the game isn't complete, and it will (and usually is) be a very frustrating process.
But there's a certain satisfaction when you discover something that's less uncommon, that no other tester or developer has picked up on yet. When it gets fixed, it feels that you've given a personal contribution to the game and are actually helping the game become the best it can be. I've Alpha and Beta tested around 25 titles in the last 10 years, (eg. C&C franchise, Empire at war, Universe at War, Battle for middle earth 1 & 2 etc.) and it has been a very good experience.
Out of those I probably haven't purchased about 5 of the 25 titles. Not because of the bugs, but more the experience of poor development and lack of communication. Best example was 'Tryst' released last year. I was in from closed Beta on that game, and despite the feedback I gave about how certain mechanics could be tweaked to balance the core gameplay (as did many others) it fell on deaf ears. In the end it was just a rather average, slow paced, unpolished and still very buggy Starcraft Clone with nothing unique going for it.
Still, I didn't back out at any point, I did my work and then left it alone when it went gold... and the reviews that came out for it were accurate. Much of what the reviews described are what we testers pointed out. But the developer, despite acknowledgement, did nothing about it... It almost felt like they could just invite enough people to at least like it enough, and spread the word. But it backfired on them...
So long as communication is effective and things are actioned, even if it is just a small band of people testing, it can make all the difference for a product. And I'm glad you have that philosophy from the outset... Even if we only get to just see the work that you're doing, and understand the mechanics etc. It can still be valuable feedback that can lead to improved change.
But seriously though, that would be a great gesture of goodwill considering you wouldn't have to.
I think what Devildog is speaking of though is not so much about wanting to just play the game. (But it's a bonus)... I could probably say the same thing as he would and that is we are quite keen testers of StarDrive for example and have posted highlights of many bugs.
I've seen the Prison Architect Alpha be released on Steam, that's another game I've been looking forward to.. But I'm happy to pay upfront and get access to Game Breaking Bugs. But from the outset, I'll let the developers know what's going on. Even though the game isn't complete, and it will (and usually is) be a very frustrating process.
But there's a certain satisfaction when you discover something that's less uncommon, that no other tester or developer has picked up on yet. When it gets fixed, it feels that you've given a personal contribution to the game and are actually helping the game become the best it can be. I've Alpha and Beta tested around 25 titles in the last 10 years, (eg. C&C franchise, Empire at war, Universe at War, Battle for middle earth 1 & 2 etc.) and it has been a very good experience.
Out of those I probably haven't purchased about 5 of the 25 titles. Not because of the bugs, but more the experience of poor development and lack of communication. Best example was 'Tryst' released last year. I was in from closed Beta on that game, and despite the feedback I gave about how certain mechanics could be tweaked to balance the core gameplay (as did many others) it fell on deaf ears. In the end it was just a rather average, slow paced, unpolished and still very buggy Starcraft Clone with nothing unique going for it.
Still, I didn't back out at any point, I did my work and then left it alone when it went gold... and the reviews that came out for it were accurate. Much of what the reviews described are what we testers pointed out. But the developer, despite acknowledgement, did nothing about it... It almost felt like they could just invite enough people to at least like it enough, and spread the word. But it backfired on them...
So long as communication is effective and things are actioned, even if it is just a small band of people testing, it can make all the difference for a product. And I'm glad you have that philosophy from the outset... Even if we only get to just see the work that you're doing, and understand the mechanics etc. It can still be valuable feedback that can lead to improved change.
Re: Woot for the publishing deal and release date!!
Good to hear you got a publisher.
Can't wait to see some video on gameplay
Can't wait to see some video on gameplay