Startropy, a SC2-like game in development!

[Startropy]

Hi all,

My name is Dave and I've been working on making my own SC2-like for the past few years now. Ironically I originally started work on it as I just really loved SC2 and was kinda mystified that the genre it invented never really took off despite its praise. Now of course we have SC:O and the title formerly known as Ghost of the Precursors to look forward to, and in turn my game has slowly been morphing into my own spin on the genre.

It still has what I consider the core elements of what makes a SC2-like: That is the resource collecting, space combat, exploration, and interacting with interesting aliens, though those systems have taken on more of a RPG spin to it which I hope other SC2 fans here will enjoy.

Sample shots of the game so far:

Game map:



Orbiting planet:



Aliens:


Traversing across a planet:



Planet samples:




No definite release date as yet but I've been working full steam and hope to get it done by the end of next year. The game will be available on Steam and, I will apply for distribution on GoG as well.

[palmpet]

Interesting. I'll keep an eye out for this!

[Draxas]

Looks neat, though it's impossible to judge gameplay based on the screens of course. The cartoony art style is charming, though I would prefer to see the aliens in motion rather than the backgrounds. My only real complaint is that your lightning is striking upside down, which is annoying the crap out of me (for no real good reason).

[Stickman_king_28]

It looks great to me.

[Startropy]

Looks neat, though it's impossible to judge gameplay based on the screens of course. The cartoony art style is charming, though I would prefer to see the aliens in motion rather than the backgrounds. My only real complaint is that your lightning is striking upside down, which is annoying the crap out of me (for no real good reason).

I went with the upside down lightning for its surreal looking qualities. Its real world depiction is pretty mesmerising with an example here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jkfnIBJRBQ&t=0m20s

I'm planning to add more "normal" lightning as well. But for these promotional-type shots I wanted to emphasise how alien the worlds you visit can be.

[krulle]

Actually, down-upwards lightning is not uncommon.
Most lightnings are a combination of both, in the visible spectrum...

[Draxas]

Honestly, it's not so much the lightning striking upward (which I knew is a natural occurrence), it's more the fact that it is doing so so slowly. To actually be able to distinguish strike direction like in that video, you need to use some very fast motion photography. Seeing it just lazily trail across the sky like that (especially in the "wrong" direction) is definitely why it is bothering me.

[Startropy]

Hey guys, a small update of an example of a "hellworld" that you'll find ingame:

[Draxas]

The steam effects look pretty cool, though they might be looping a little too fast. Based on that description, though, I would expect something more... well, hellish. It looks like the aftermath of a volcanic eruption, and with the glassy black sheet, it's not even that recent. I would have expected flowing lava, erupting flames or ejections, possibly pillars or stalagmites of volcanic rock. This looks way too inactive for such an evocative term.