Category: Starfighter Inc

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Virtual Reality Weltraumshooter Starfighter Inc. Kickstarterprojekt erfolgreich

Das Spieleunternehmen Impeller Studios hat über Kickstarter für ein Crowdfunding Projekt über 150.000 USD gesammelt. Für den Titel dieses Projekts Starfighter Inc. sind somit alle nötigen Ressourcen zur Fertigstellung vorhanden. Das Spiel sollte somit in naher Zukunft erscheinen, auch wenn es zwischenzeitlich knapp wurde.

Starfighter Inc.: Weltraumschlachten in der Virtual Reality

Das Spiel Starfighter Inc. bietet Multiplayer-Weltraumschlachten in der Manier von Wing Commander. Die beiden führenden Gamedesigner David Wessman und Jack Mamais leiten das Projekt. Ersterer ist bekannt aus Spielen wie X-Wing & TIE Fighter. Letzteren kennt man aus Titeln wie Far Cry und Crysis. Den Mittelpunkt des Spiels bilden teambasierende PvP-Kämpfe. Diese werden taktische Elemente sowie Shooter-Elemente enthalten. Dabei befindet man sich stets in der Perspektive eines Piloten innerhalb des Weltalls.

Die Umgebung soll dem Weltraum entsprechend angepasste Gravitations- und Physikeffekte besitzen. Dadurch werden die taktischen Manöver realistisch gehalten. Weiter sollen die Spieler in der Lage sein, alles entsprechend ihrer eigenen Vorlieben anzupassen. Dies gilt für den Antrieb des Raumschiffs bis hin zur Einrichtung des Cockpits. Zudem sollen zukünftige Updates entsprechend den gesammelten Daten der vergangenen Matches entstehen. Dadurch soll das Gameplay stets an die Wünsche der Spieler angepasst werden.

Das Erreichen des Spendenziels wurde knapp übertroffen

Die 150.000 USD sind für die Entwicklung eines solchen Projekts vergleichsweise wenig Geld. Dennoch stand das Erreichen des Ziels innerhalb der letzten Woche noch auf der Kippe. Letztlich konnte das Unternehmen die fehlenden Geldbeträge jedoch innerhalb von fünf Tagen einsammeln, womit 40 Stunden vor Spendenende blieben. Der führende Designer David Wessmann bedankte sich dafür glücklich bei mehr als 2.700 Spendern mit folgenden Worten:

„Das gesamte Impeller Studio ist extrem glücklich und sehr dankbar für eure Unterstützung. Wir können es kaum erwarten unser Spiel vorzustellen und werden die Community regelmäßig mit Updates versorgen.“

Innerhalb der verbleibenden 21 Stunden wurde demnach das Ziel zu einem neuen Meilenstein von 200.000 USD erhöht, um weitere Elemente ins Spiel zu integrieren. Dadurch könnten die Entwickler alternative Piloten- oder Raumschiffskins ins Spiel integrieren. Außerdem sollen ein neuer Spielmodus und viele weitere Features eingeführt werden. Das Hauptziel ist aber bereits erreicht. Derzeit konnte das Projekt 170.000 USD von 3.141 Unterstützern einsammeln.

Starfighter Inc. wird für die HTC Vive, Oculus Rift und OSVR kompatibel sein. Das Spiel soll im April 2018 erscheinen.

(Quellen: Kickstarter | Impeller Studios | RoadtoVR)

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Impeller Studios Hits $150,000 Funding Goal for Starfighter Inc.

Last month Impeller Studios took a second chance at Kickstarter success with its space combat simulator Starfighter Inc. Today that gamble proved to be worth it as the funding campaign achieved its goal of $150,000 USD.

Attracting pledges from just over 2800 backers, the current amount sits at $154,830 with 28 hours to go. With just over a day until the campaign closes the studio will now be looking to hit some of the stretch goals. These include a pilot skins set, adding two alternative options if the team hits $155,000. While at $160,000 there will be more skins for each ship. The stretch goals go all the way up to $200,000, so with the time left some of these might be achieved.

Starfighter Inc ship design teaser

To celebrate the achievement Impeller Studios has released a teaser image for a new ship design (seen above). Currently there are no details on the class of ship or where it fits into the roster with the other three, a Shrike-Class light fighter, a Pegasus-Class assault transport and the Hyperion-Class heavy fighter. From the image the ship does look massive with some sizeable guns attached, so it could well be a Dreadnought class design.

Starfighter Inc. has been developed as a spiritual successor to the X-Wing series, with players able to engage in various forms of deep space warfare. The ships feature both single and multi-crew layouts, with a myriad of weapon choices available, ranging from lasers, railguns, and missiles, to electronic and cyber warfare capabilities.

Full virtual reality (VR) support has been included, with Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and OSVR head-mounted displays (HMDs) all able to run the videogame when it launches in 2018.

Head on over to the Kickstarter page for loads more details on the gameplay Starfighter Inc. will feature, including skill-based PvP multiplayer, component-based damage, ship customization, drones and more.

Funding tiers start from $10, and go all the way up to $10,000. The most popular has been the $25 tier, which includes a digital copy of the Kickstarter Founder’s Edition of Starfighter Inc. There’s also a new $50 Founder’s Recuit Digital-only Pack now available, adding some extra goodies.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of Starfighter Inc., reporting back with the campaign’s progress.

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‘Starfighter Inc.’ Promises VR Space Combat Sim Built on a Hard Sci-Fi Foundation

Starfighter Inc., said to be the spiritual successor to X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter (1997), is one of the most interesting space combat simulation projects currently in development. Recently relaunched on Kickstarter, developers Impeller Studios’ new crowdfunding campaign has a smaller goal but much more to show.

Impeller Studios formed in 2013, launching their initial Kickstarter campaign for Starfighter Inc. in 2015, looking to raise $250,000 to assist the development process. Unfortunately, the campaign failed to reach its goal, stopping just 10% shy of the required funds. The team had already committed to completing the project, so development continued as promised, and now the project is back on Kickstarter, with a modest $150,000 goal, and a “stronger, clearer, and more detailed vision”. This time, the campaign’s path to success looks much more likely; with a healthy 21 days remaining, the project is nearing the halfway point of its fundraising goal.

Starfighter Inc. Kickstarter

The renewed appetite for space-based cockpit games over recent years has been partly fuelled by the resurgence of virtual reality technology, demonstrated by the success of Elite Dangerous, Star Citizen, and EVE: Valkyrie (2016). But Starfighter Inc. intends to tread a unique path, aiming to be the most realistic space combat simulation ever created.

Set in the year 2230, every piece of future technology has been imagined and extrapolated from a logical, engineering perspective, meaning “no stealth, no artificial gravity, no force fields, no FTL drives,” according project designer David Wessman, in an interview with The Escapist. Involved with all four iconic X-Wing games, Wessman leads a team of industry veterans at Impeller, alongside Jack Mamais, lead designer on Crysis (2007).

“Pure, unadulterated tactical simulation combat” is how Starfighter Inc. is described by the studio, with its gameplay focused around real Newtonian physics and heavy component damage simulation. The game aims to be more realistic than Star Citizen or Elite Dangerous, yet its PvP multiplayer space warfare centres around dogfighting, something that would be far more approachable with arcade-style physics, as found in EVE: Valkyrie. A brave combination, one that could be overly intimidating for the casual gamer, but Impeller’s hard science objectives are set in stone.

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“All the game rules are based around hard science fiction, we’re not going to cater to a mass market, we’re going for a specific type of game”, insisted Mamais in a 2015 developer Q&A session. “When you finish our playing game, I think you’ll be able to really fly a ship in space, let’s put it that way.”

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Perhaps it will ultimately pay off, as virtual reality and simulation go hand in hand; experiencing realistic physics while using a VR headset intrinsically feels correct, so there’s no doubt that VR will be the recommended way to play the game. VR support is comprehensive, covering all the major PC hardware – the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and OSVR. Whether the unforgiving combat systems, frictionless flight model and dedication to hard science consolidate into a compelling product remains to be seen, but Impeller Studios’ boundless enthusiasm suggests they’re onto something they believe in deeply.

The post ‘Starfighter Inc.’ Promises VR Space Combat Sim Built on a Hard Sci-Fi Foundation appeared first on Road to VR.

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Starfighter Inc.’s second Kickstarter campaign goes live

Earlier this week VRFocus reported on Impeller Studios announcing at PAX East it would be taking a second shot at Kickstarter success for space combat simulator Starfighter Inc. Its first campaign almost succeeded in 2015 having reached $226,831 USD out of $250,000. Now the studio aims to hit $150,000.

Developed as a as spiritual successor to the X-Wing series, Impeller has still been working on the project over the last couple of years, improving and fine tuning the experience. Starfighter Inc. will allow players operate a variety of nuclear-powered single and multi-crew fighters, reconnaissance ships, strike craft, and support ships, with weapons ranging from lasers, railguns, and missiles, to electronic and cyber warfare capabilities.

Starfighter Inc screenshot 1

The team has planned on full support for virtual reality (VR) hardware, partnering with Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and OSVR. Starfighter Inc. not only supports the aforementioned head-mounted displays (HMDs), but for further immersion the title will be playable with a range of joysticks.

For the initial release – expected in April 2018 – the studio plans to feature three weapon classes, three game modes, three maps, three playable ships, and 3v3 PvP play. Currently the three ships have been revealed; a Shrike-Class light fighter, small and light weight, the fighter can evade enemy fire, darting in and out of combat in order to carry out its mission; Pegasus-Class assault transport, a large, sturdy ship that can be configured for a range of roles such as Combat Search and Rescue, Drone Operator, Heavy Strike Ship, Missile Defense Boat or Tanker; lastly there’s the Hyperion-Class heavy fighter, designed to unleash devastating firepower on its enemies.

For those interested in backing the campaign funding tiers start from $10, and go all the way up to $10,000. Most will likely want to go for at least the second, $25 tier, which includes a digital copy of the Kickstarter Founder’s Edition of Starfighter Inc.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of Starfighter Inc., reporting back with the campaign’s progress.

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Starfighter Inc. to launch new Kickstarter campaign

Veteran developers behind the acclaimed X-Wing videogame series are set to launch a new Kickstarter campaign for its space combat simulator Starfighter Inc.

Starfighter Inc. was devised by developer Impeller Studios as spiritual successor to the X-Wing series, a multiplayer online space simulator with highly customisable ships, realistic physics and a hard-sci-fi feel. The studio had previously launched another Kickstarter in 2015 which did not meet it’s funding goal, but they announced at PAX East that they were launching a new campaign for the game alongside Kickstarter themselves. Luke Crane, Head of Games at Kickstarter said: “This game looks fantastic, and we’re really excited to support it on Kickstarter’s platform.”

starfighter inc 3

Virtual reality (VR) support and fully-playable PvP was demonstrated for the first time. “We’ve shown that we know how to create an intense and immersive combat experience,” said Lead Designer David Wessman. “But we’re also passionate fans of the genre. We wanted to do something different with Starfighter Inc that makes it even more compelling. We want it to feel like the real deal – to make realistic space combat fun and believable. A cockpit sim utilizing both VR and PC is the perfect fit for our vision. With the incredible experience and talent of our team, we are thrilled to offer what we believe is the most exciting space combat game on the market to date.”

This may be the first game that Impeller Studios has worked on, but the team is comprised of experienced industry figures who have worked on projects such as Crysis, Saints Row, Far Cry, MechWarrior 2 and the Star Wars space combat series X-Wing. The main writer is Rusel DeMaria, who is known for work on tie-in fiction in the Star Wars universe associated with the X-Wing and TIE Fighter games.

starfighter inc1

“Our greatest challenge was to keep everything as realistic as possible,” said Senior Art Director Tim Hoffman. “We have done enormous research on everything to do with a realistic portrayal of space, and using the Unreal 4 engine we have been able to realize truly stunning game visuals. I’m quite delighted with the results.”

VRFocus will keep you updated with news on Starfighter Inc. and it’s Kickstarter campaign.