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Battlecruiser 3000AD - Remake Worth Doing?


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So I have been thinking about this for sometime now. Then this discussion on Steam forums - which you should go read right now - sparked my interest again.

I know that most of you oldies have scattered to the wind due to the fact that, well, I stopped making these kinds of games. In fact, below is what I recently said on the aforementioned Steam forum topic.


The reason that I stopped making those sort of complex games when I last did Universal Combat CE in 2009, is because there is simply no market for them anymore. These days gamers are geared toward more simpler games and nobody wants to read a game manual if it spans more than 2-3 pages.
Also, my install base all grew up as well. Times change, life moves on. So I changed with the times as evidenced by the fact that not only did I just recently do a multi-platform mobile game, I am also about to release a more accessible all-aspect PC game, Line Of Defense, the hybrid-MMO due out later this year.
At some point in 2010, I was in fact tempted to build a new Battlecruiser (focused on a single carrier and crew - like in the old days) title, but I decided against it and just went with LOD instead due to its more wider appeal in terms of genre.
In fact, the Starguard carrier you see shots of in LOD was built for that proposed game and I just ended up putting it in LOD. It is a full blown Engstrom class carrier, with three complete decks - fully built. The idea was that you could pilot it right from the bridge - same as you used to do in Battlecruiser 3000AD - but in 3D this time. And as before, you'd get the full crew with their awesome AI - complete with Resnig's shenanigans, dealing with boarding intruders etc.
Also, I'm not inclined to spend a couple million on a game, only so that people can attack me or the game for it being complex and all that because there is no way to do that game without it being complex.
If I ever come back to doing that game, I'll probably try to crowd fund it. So if it funds, it means there's a demand for it. In which case, I'll build it. If it doesn't fund, then I was right not to do it with my own money in the first place.

Wow, talk about making your case. That was, well, interesting and amusing. :)
I agree with your points. But to be perfectly honest, the reason that I don't even want to do another complex game is because, well, I'm too old - and bored - to be dealing with the fallout of a33hats who don't appreciate those games. Look at all the hassles I've had to deal with here on Steam from two games I released in the past month alone. I remembered why I stopped even coming to my games forums here on Steam since 2010!!
Doing a complex game these days requires a lot of post-sales education effort because a LOT of people are going to "want in", then cry foul when they don't find what they expect.
For one thing, if I ever make this game, it will be a 1:1 re-imagination of the original Battlecruiser:3000AD game which, if you recall, only featured control of a single carrier and it's complement of 4 shuttles, 4 fighters, 4 ground vehicles. The Universal Combat series expanded way past that and just made the game way too big by giving control of over 50+ assets (carriers, transports, shuttles, fighters, vehicles) etc
I think that by starting off with that single vision, it could work. Then I can just add new assets in future DLC releases.
Anyway, in the Summer I will start putting something together then go from there.

To be perfectly honest, I don't want to do it. At all. And even if I did do it, it would be because it would take me back to my roots and give me the chance to do some things differently, while also harnessing the power of modern day technology and dev tools to do the game and its world justice.

As you all know, while the games in the series (Battlecruiser, Universal Combat) weren't perfect, they are the definitive capital ship simulations that, thus far, nobody has even bothered to match, let alone produce. There is a very good reason for that.

Due to the massive size of my game universe, as well as the diverse characters, races and castes in the IP, these games can't be done any other way. These are complex games, through and through - and with zero compromise in this regard. If you are new to my games, please don't take my word for it, instead, take a look at the Universal Combat CE v2.0 game manual, tutorial and game commands.

While the later games that came after the original Battlecruiser 3000AD expanded on the game's feature set, by the time Universal Combat series rolled around, I had gone completely overboard with the feature set. That series in particular, gave access to a heck of a lot more assets and features than previous games in the franchise. So if I did remake this Battlecruiser game, it would be with a view to keeping it as close as possible to the original in terms of core features.

To that end, this is what I am thinking in terms of feature set.

  • Focus on a single player controlled carrier with its complement of four fighters, four shuttles and four ground vehicles. However, unlike the original game, these support crafts will all have different types e.g. instead of the four Interceptor MK1 fighters like the original, each of the four fighters will be from super, heavy, medium, light class.

  • Build the entire carrier, complete with fully articulated interiors. If you've seen the shots of inside the GCV-Starguard (not player controlled) in Line Of Defense, then you know what to expect. In order to save time, I may base the game on that already created Engstrom class carrier, instead of spending six (!) months again building another carrier from the ground up.

  • As in LOD, you will exist in full 3D inside the entire game. You will be able to sit in your commander's chair, pilot (or command your ship AI or AI controlled Navigations Officer, grab a weapon and combat intruders (the bane of every capital ship commander in my games), run down to the docking bay, enter a fighter and combat in space or on planets, take a shuttle on trading runs, take a ground vehicle and a team of marines on a planetary raid etc - all in first person perspective mode. Imagine running from the bridge (or somewhere on the ship) to the armory to grab weapons, grenades etc due to an intruder incursion somewhere on deck 2.

  • You will have full access to and control over your entire ship crew; still powered by high-end AI. Now you get to either shoot Resnig (if you know who that is, then you're as old as you think you are) in the head for incompetence (sadly, he may be even more nuts when he's cloned and comes back) or kick him out of an airlock (btw, these are fully functional in LOD as you will see in a new movie being released on Monday through our YouTube channel. As with the previous games, you will still be able to monitor personnel activities via PerScan computer. e.g. if the Nav Officer gets up to head for food in the galley, you will either see her get up and leave her seat on the bridge or run into her in the corridor as she makes her way to the galley.

  • You will still have access to all high-end subsystems including TacOps, Navitron, Logistix, Tactical, PerScan, Commlink.

  • All of the carrier's powerful systems, including fully automated weapon systems (which handle PTA and FATAL sub-systems), cloaking, hyperspace jump, tractor beam, advanced shield systems, probe launch and monitoring etc will be intact.

  • You still be able to dock and trade with space stations and planetary bases.

  • You will still be able to mine for minerals using mining drones on planets. There may be support for asteroid mining.

  • You still be able to do combat in your capital ship, fighters, ground vehicles or in first person mode alongside your team of marines deployed either by shuttles or transporter. There won't be any first person combat in space - so no space walk. This feature introduced in latter games but served no purpose other than doing it just because I could.

  • You will still have to battle intruders, take on guests, take prisoners etc
  • You will still be able to capture stations and planetary starbases, bringing them under GALCOM control
  • As you progress, you will still be given fleet command and control over other GALCOM ships
  • The game will be a full-blown sandbox. No missions to follow. All you have to do is follow your GALCOM directives as you have done in previous games. For example, intercepting transports carrying contraband, intercepting pirates, raiders and insurgents, escorting diplomats through hostile territory etc. In fact, if you read the UCCE manual (see link above), aside from the multi-career (you can only play as a Commander in this game), you will be able to do the same things in that game, since those features were derived from the original 1996 Battlecruiser and improved and enhanced over the years.
  • The entire game world will be featured; not some section of it as was done in games like Line Of Defense, All Aspect Warfare, Angle Of Attack, Echo Squad.
  • All the assets (ships, weapons, vehicles, stations etc) featured in LOD will be used as-is. And since that game does not feature all of these assets, the rest will be done at the same quality level.
  • There won't be any multiplayer as that would be too complex to do properly. Those of you who were with us from when we first put in multiplayer in the Battlecruiser and Universal Combat games, already know how much hassle that was - and it still didn't work quite right. I will, however, consider co-op multiplayer in which other players can fill in the slots of AI crew e.g. you could have your friend be the Navigations Officer, one of the marines or fighter pilots on board the ship etc. And if you wanted guest who just mingle on your ship and not have any meaningful function, then they can fill in the guest slots. In short, if I do this, then any personnel slot on the carrier can be filled by human players.
  • In previous games, technology prevented us from doing the planetary bases justice. If you have seen the bases in LOD, then you should know what to expect. Though only four - on a single planet - are featured in that game, this new game will feature a base of the same size and complexity on all planets that have them. This means all forty-six planetary starbases will be built. The same goes for all the station types, all of which will be built to the same quality levels as those (which will be used as-is) seen in LOD. So no more sparce and boring planetary bases.
  • The graphics and tech will of course be top notch. However, as with LOD, I will not be building engines from the ground up for this game. Instead, I will have to choose between Unreal4 (I already have a full unused license), CryEngine or Unity5 for this game and make a custom engine out of whichever one I go with. My one concern would be that I am not certain if those engines can in fact work correctly as a node-based world system, given the size of my game world. For LOD, we used a custom engine based on Havok's Vision Engine (was Trinigy). We're never doing that again. Big mistake.
  • If I do this game, it will be exclusive to the PC. It will come with a "Do not buy this unless you're slightly mad and/or off-center" warning label. At least then the person who is going to buy this, then come bitch at me for its complexity, is going to get all they deserve. A numb brain.

In other words, anyone expecting a 1:1 remake of Universal Combat, but with modern tech and graphics, is going to be disappointed. I'm not remaking that sort of game this time around.

And no, as I stated earlier, I'm not going to fund it because I will most likely lose my money because I don't believe that a market for this type of high-end niche game exists anymore.

Plus, I'm tired of making "games for assholes". Sadly there are now more unrepentant assholes than there are true gamers. So I would much rather leave my money in equity and stock investments - where it belongs. I can get by just fine by never making another game ever again, once the planned ones are out.

So, if I do decide to make this game, I will crowd fund it. This way I know that whoever wants it, can express that by pitching in. If it doesn't get funded, it doesn't get made. Simple I think.

Given what my other games cost to make and given the sheer amount of stuff that needs to be created, even with the mitigated expense of using a third party engine, I figure that this game will cost upwards of $4m and two years to make. And as I did with LOD Tactics, I would have to put together a separate team to work with me on it since my other teams are busy with other projects (e.g. LOD, LODTactics etc)

Discuss!!

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The niche needs a wake up call. Greed, lack of creativity, and incommunicado with the playerbase is ruining the genre, and probably the entire market in general (Stardrive, Horizon, XRebirth, etc). Many developers are so concerned about having their product(s) appeal to the largest crowd possible that they end up alienating a lot of people with their 'casual' little games, more specifically, hardcore gamers. If anything, I believe a modern day remake of BC3K, if done properly, could sway a large majority of the remaining hardcore gamers towards your game. The only problem imo is that you might have to compete with Star Citizen for players.

That being said, I would love to see a remake of such a fascinating game. Although, I do have some questions;

1) Will there be a large amount of testers (beta/alpha test access, etc) or only a handful?

2) How heavily will you weigh player feedback, and would you consider doing project changes through polls if enough people felt a certain way?

3) Will there only be 1 capital ship (DLC excluded) that you can choose from commanding?

4) Do you have any "stretch goals" in mind? Do you even believe in stretch goals?

5) What does the 4 million entail specifically (wages, art, etc)?

6) Would you consider lowering your crowd funding goal under any conditions?

7) What stocks are you investing in that are working out really well for you? :ph34r:

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I've been around a long, long time and haven't scattered to the winds and don't plan to anytime soon. :) I've been hoping for years that the original Battlecruiser 3000AD would be remade and it sounds like you have a solid start with your plan if it's done. Crowd-funding would probably be the way to go so you are not totally financing this from your pocket. Plus, I think it would also give you an indication on whether or not it should even be done by the amount of pledges you would get and if it's a successful gig. If it doesn't work out, LoD will be keeping you busy anyways. The feature set for the remake looks to be very interesting.

I, for one, would definitely love to see this project done. But if it doesn't get done, you will not hear me complaining about it because I would understand why. :)

Just my two cents, short and sweet!

-Sho

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canshow, on 22 Mar 2014 - 3:27 PM, said:
The only problem imo is that you might have to compete with Star Citizen for players.

I don't think so. They are completely different types of games. If you read up on what that game is and does, I think that should be evident.
1) Will there be a large amount of testers (beta/alpha test access, etc) or only a handful?

It will be as we have done in the past. A handful of internal and a bunch of external. If I do the game and it does fund, I would probably also throw it up on Steam Early Access so that we can get quality testing feedback.
2) How heavily will you weigh player feedback, and would you consider doing project changes through polls if enough people felt a certain way?

My development process is not a democratic one. My game. My design. My rules. This is never going to change.
Obviously, as I have done in the past - as you very well know - I will listen to constructive feedback and make whatever changes I deem necessary in order for the game to remain true to my vision.
3) Will there only be 1 capital ship (DLC excluded) that you can choose from commanding?

Yes. That's clearly what I said above. One capital ship and the support craft which you or your AI crew command. Just like in the original Battlecruiser 3000AD game.
And depending on how the game does, other capital ships and support craft can be added and funded through paid DLC. It is an exceptional amount of work to build these ships inside and out. In fact, just wait until you see the GCV-Starguard in Line Of Defense, then you'll understand the scope of what we're talking about.
4) Do you have any "stretch goals" in mind? Do you even believe in stretch goals?

You are assuming that I have decided to even make this game. I have not. And if/when I do, I may not bother with stretch goals because that's just going to lead to feature creep and unfounded expectations.
5) What does the 4 million entail specifically (wages, art, etc)?

No. I was planning on taking the money and buying an island somewhere. What do you think? :puh:
Here is something to think about, it cost over $50K to build the GCV-Starguard through its various iterations. Think about that for a minute. And that's just the art and modeling, not counting all the additional support work that goes into it. e.g. lighting, adding functionality to things like panels, t-shafts, airlocks, DJP, docking etc
6) Would you consider lowering your crowd funding goal under any conditions?

No. Because then I'd have to fund the difference if it falls short. I have absolutely no intentions of putting any of my money into this game. Whoever wants it, gets to pay me to build it. It's not like I need the money or that I don't have better things to do with my time and money.
7) What stocks are you investing in that are working out really well for you? :ph34r:

That question is out of scope. You should probably be talking to a financial advisor :)
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Well, I can see the caution and your point fully SC, but I guess after a round of dumbness there are people who see those kind of games as more rewarding and more fun.

I can't say that there is a market for them, it's a niche as it has been but just cutting consoles out of the deal refine the playerbase a lot IMHO.

Crowdfunding seems the right way to go to avoid getting a hit from the lack of demand and to monitor interest and relevant infos.

All in all, I hope all this thing takes off as those where some of the games I enjoyed the most.

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I have scattered many times but I show up form time to time. I would love to see a modern remake. I just skimmed the topic as I am in the middle of something else so If I missed a point I apologize. I am not sure if there is enough interest among the general PC gaming community for this but if you start this, I will be along for the ride for sure!

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  • 2 weeks later...

For what is described, I'd pledge something between $100 and $200 (assuming your normal level of post-release support). That leaves only something between 39,999 and 19,999 more people to go. :puh:

With enough interesting and really neato screen shots, I might go up to $300 but the cheap bastard side of me would be whining a lot.

If you ever do this, please re-train the marines so that they will throw grenades that go boom at a structure (such as a GDN-7) when you tell them to attack it. They forgot how to do that in the AAW series. I never played the original game, so maybe there weren't any scenarios where you did a ground assault.

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  • 2 weeks later...

True to my lurker ass self, I try to only post when I feel like I have something to say :puh:

Please give this a try Derek. Your games are second to none and Battlecruiser is your masterpiece...I'd love to see what the old girl could do with modern technology. To echo Sho above, I would understand if you decided not to but what an awesome opportunity it would be.

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  • 2 months later...

I'm just going to bump this topic...because... we want it.

Also,

Are any construction features being considered? And is the remake itself still being considered?

I mean...we don't want to wear you out...but...if you're going to call it quits after GCO, you might as well allow us convince you to do this. Consider it the ultimate "Fuck you" tribute to Derek Smart's Desktop Commander. Besides, more free advertising to you and your games if you officially announce it. You can issue a press release saying you have hemorrhoids and every damn PC gamer website is going to hump your leg for an interview. You are the buzz of the industry, unlike that Kris Robhards dude, or whoever that scam artist is. You are pretty much off-setting the costs by increasing interest in your previous titles. If anything it might net you another 100 million! Surely at the very least someone will google your name and read the wikipedia article, and maybe even go dig a little deeper and get some biographical information. Does it not become all worth it when you are known by the ordinary man and scrawny teenager? When you have the ability to absorb the life force of another human being and merge it with your own? When you constantly dream of a massive pyramid on a distant planet with a mysterious voice saying, "This is your home now."?

Sack anybody on your payroll who is advising you to not do this. They are tools and can never hope to comprehend your existence. If you don't do this remake, I will exhale loudly through my nostrils. You have been warned.

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I am not planning any construction or new features. Any remake would be true to the feature set up to UCCE v2.0.

The only radical change that I may do is that if I remake this game, you would probably be restricted to commanding a single carrier in first/third person mode with your entire crew - in full 3D - existing in the ship and still taking orders as before. It would cost too much and take too long to build the internals of all the cap (carrier, cruiser, transport) ships in the game. Not to mention the stations.

If you've seen the GCV-Starguard carrier (you cannot control it in the game) in the upcoming Line Of Defense game, then you already have an idea of the detail level.

And if I go this full-3D route, depending on sales, I would consider building the other cap ships and stations, then releasing them as paid DLC to cover the costs. Which is why I was thinking of Kickstarting it. But with all the recent gaming fiascos on Kickstarter, I don't need the hassle or the shit storm that usually ensues.

Anyway, it's still all up in the air.

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  • 2 months later...

So I have been thinking about this for sometime now. Then this discussion on Steam forums - which you should go read right now - sparked my interest again.

I know that most of you oldies have scattered to the wind due to the fact that, well, I stopped making these kinds of games. In fact, below is what I recently said on the aforementioned Steam forum topic.

The reason that I stopped making those sort of complex games when I last did Universal Combat CE in 2009, is because there is simply no market for them anymore. These days gamers are geared toward more simpler games and nobody wants to read a game manual if it spans more than 2-3 pages.
Also, my install base all grew up as well. Times change, life moves on. So I changed with the times as evidenced by the fact that not only did I just recently do a multi-platform mobile game, I am also about to release a more accessible all-aspect PC game, Line Of Defense, the hybrid-MMO due out later this year.
At some point in 2010, I was in fact tempted to build a new Battlecruiser (focused on a single carrier and crew - like in the old days) title, but I decided against it and just went with LOD instead due to its more wider appeal in terms of genre.
In fact, the Starguard carrier you see shots of in LOD was built for that proposed game and I just ended up putting it in LOD. It is a full blown Engstrom class carrier, with three complete decks - fully built. The idea was that you could pilot it right from the bridge - same as you used to do in Battlecruiser 3000AD - but in 3D this time. And as before, you'd get the full crew with their awesome AI - complete with Resnig's shenanigans, dealing with boarding intruders etc.
Also, I'm not inclined to spend a couple million on a game, only so that people can attack me or the game for it being complex and all that because there is no way to do that game without it being complex.
If I ever come back to doing that game, I'll probably try to crowd fund it. So if it funds, it means there's a demand for it. In which case, I'll build it. If it doesn't fund, then I was right not to do it with my own money in the first place.

Wow, talk about making your case. That was, well, interesting and amusing. :)
I agree with your points. But to be perfectly honest, the reason that I don't even want to do another complex game is because, well, I'm too old - and bored - to be dealing with the fallout of a33hats who don't appreciate those games. Look at all the hassles I've had to deal with here on Steam from two games I released in the past month alone. I remembered why I stopped even coming to my games forums here on Steam since 2010!!
Doing a complex game these days requires a lot of post-sales education effort because a LOT of people are going to "want in", then cry foul when they don't find what they expect.
For one thing, if I ever make this game, it will be a 1:1 re-imagination of the original Battlecruiser:3000AD game which, if you recall, only featured control of a single carrier and it's complement of 4 shuttles, 4 fighters, 4 ground vehicles. The Universal Combat series expanded way past that and just made the game way too big by giving control of over 50+ assets (carriers, transports, shuttles, fighters, vehicles) etc
I think that by starting off with that single vision, it could work. Then I can just add new assets in future DLC releases.
Anyway, in the Summer I will start putting something together then go from there.

To be perfectly honest, I don't want to do it. At all. And even if I did do it, it would be because it would take me back to my roots and give me the chance to do some things differently, while also harnessing the power of modern day technology and dev tools to do the game and its world justice.

As you all know, while the games in the series (Battlecruiser, Universal Combat) weren't perfect, they are the definitive capital ship simulations that, thus far, nobody has even bothered to match, let alone produce. There is a very good reason for that.

Due to the massive size of my game universe, as well as the diverse characters, races and castes in the IP, these games can't be done any other way. These are complex games, through and through - and with zero compromise in this regard. If you are new to my games, please don't take my word for it, instead, take a look at the Universal Combat CE v2.0 game manual, tutorial and game commands.

While the later games that came after the original Battlecruiser 3000AD expanded on the game's feature set, by the time Universal Combat series rolled around, I had gone completely overboard with the feature set. That series in particular, gave access to a heck of a lot more assets and features than previous games in the franchise. So if I did remake this Battlecruiser game, it would be with a view to keeping it as close as possible to the original in terms of core features.

To that end, this is what I am thinking in terms of feature set.

  • Focus on a single player controlled carrier with its complement of four fighters, four shuttles and four ground vehicles. However, unlike the original game, these support crafts will all have different types e.g. instead of the four Interceptor MK1 fighters like the original, each of the four fighters will be from super, heavy, medium, light class.

  • Build the entire carrier, complete with fully articulated interiors. If you've seen the shots of inside the GCV-Starguard (not player controlled) in Line Of Defense, then you know what to expect. In order to save time, I may base the game on that already created Engstrom class carrier, instead of spending six (!) months again building another carrier from the ground up.

  • As in LOD, you will exist in full 3D inside the entire game. You will be able to sit in your commander's chair, pilot (or command your ship AI or AI controlled Navigations Officer, grab a weapon and combat intruders (the bane of every capital ship commander in my games), run down to the docking bay, enter a fighter and combat in space or on planets, take a shuttle on trading runs, take a ground vehicle and a team of marines on a planetary raid etc - all in first person perspective mode. Imagine running from the bridge (or somewhere on the ship) to the armory to grab weapons, grenades etc due to an intruder incursion somewhere on deck 2.

  • You will have full access to and control over your entire ship crew; still powered by high-end AI. Now you get to either shoot Resnig (if you know who that is, then you're as old as you think you are) in the head for incompetence (sadly, he may be even more nuts when he's cloned and comes back) or kick him out of an airlock (btw, these are fully functional in LOD as you will see in a new movie being released on Monday through our YouTube channel. As with the previous games, you will still be able to monitor personnel activities via PerScan computer. e.g. if the Nav Officer gets up to head for food in the galley, you will either see her get up and leave her seat on the bridge or run into her in the corridor as she makes her way to the galley.

  • You will still have access to all high-end subsystems including TacOps, Navitron, Logistix, Tactical, PerScan, Commlink.

  • All of the carrier's powerful systems, including fully automated weapon systems (which handle PTA and FATAL sub-systems), cloaking, hyperspace jump, tractor beam, advanced shield systems, probe launch and monitoring etc will be intact.

  • You still be able to dock and trade with space stations and planetary bases.

  • You will still be able to mine for minerals using mining drones on planets. There may be support for asteroid mining.

  • You still be able to do combat in your capital ship, fighters, ground vehicles or in first person mode alongside your team of marines deployed either by shuttles or transporter. There won't be any first person combat in space - so no space walk. This feature introduced in latter games but served no purpose other than doing it just because I could.

  • You will still have to battle intruders, take on guests, take prisoners etc
  • You will still be able to capture stations and planetary starbases, bringing them under GALCOM control
  • As you progress, you will still be given fleet command and control over other GALCOM ships
  • The game will be a full-blown sandbox. No missions to follow. All you have to do is follow your GALCOM directives as you have done in previous games. For example, intercepting transports carrying contraband, intercepting pirates, raiders and insurgents, escorting diplomats through hostile territory etc. In fact, if you read the UCCE manual (see link above), aside from the multi-career (you can only play as a Commander in this game), you will be able to do the same things in that game, since those features were derived from the original 1996 Battlecruiser and improved and enhanced over the years.
  • The entire game world will be featured; not some section of it as was done in games like Line Of Defense, All Aspect Warfare, Angle Of Attack, Echo Squad.
  • All the assets (ships, weapons, vehicles, stations etc) featured in LOD will be used as-is. And since that game does not feature all of these assets, the rest will be done at the same quality level.
  • There won't be any multiplayer as that would be too complex to do properly. Those of you who were with us from when we first put in multiplayer in the Battlecruiser and Universal Combat games, already know how much hassle that was - and it still didn't work quite right. I will, however, consider co-op multiplayer in which other players can fill in the slots of AI crew e.g. you could have your friend be the Navigations Officer, one of the marines or fighter pilots on board the ship etc. And if you wanted guest who just mingle on your ship and not have any meaningful function, then they can fill in the guest slots. In short, if I do this, then any personnel slot on the carrier can be filled by human players.
  • In previous games, technology prevented us from doing the planetary bases justice. If you have seen the bases in LOD, then you should know what to expect. Though only four - on a single planet - are featured in that game, this new game will feature a base of the same size and complexity on all planets that have them. This means all forty-six planetary starbases will be built. The same goes for all the station types, all of which will be built to the same quality levels as those (which will be used as-is) seen in LOD. So no more sparce and boring planetary bases.
  • The graphics and tech will of course be top notch. However, as with LOD, I will not be building engines from the ground up for this game. Instead, I will have to choose between Unreal4 (I already have a full unused license), CryEngine or Unity5 for this game and make a custom engine out of whichever one I go with. My one concern would be that I am not certain if those engines can in fact work correctly as a node-based world system, given the size of my game world. For LOD, we used a custom engine based on Havok's Vision Engine (was Trinigy). We're never doing that again. Big mistake.
  • If I do this game, it will be exclusive to the PC. It will come with a "Do not buy this unless you're slightly mad and/or off-center" warning label. At least then the person who is going to buy this, then come bitch at me for its complexity, is going to get all they deserve. A numb brain.

In other words, anyone expecting a 1:1 remake of Universal Combat, but with modern tech and graphics, is going to be disappointed. I'm not remaking that sort of game this time around.

And no, as I stated earlier, I'm not going to fund it because I will most likely lose my money because I don't believe that a market for this type of high-end niche game exists anymore.

Plus, I'm tired of making "games for assholes". Sadly there are now more unrepentant assholes than there are true gamers. So I would much rather leave my money in equity and stock investments - where it belongs. I can get by just fine by never making another game ever again, once the planned ones are out.

So, if I do decide to make this game, I will crowd fund it. This way I know that whoever wants it, can express that by pitching in. If it doesn't get funded, it doesn't get made. Simple I think.

Given what my other games cost to make and given the sheer amount of stuff that needs to be created, even with the mitigated expense of using a third party engine, I figure that this game will cost upwards of $4m and two years to make. And as I did with LOD Tactics, I would have to put together a separate team to work with me on it since my other teams are busy with other projects (e.g. LOD, LODTactics etc)

Discuss!!

Are you kidding me? You're one of the 'originals', you need to stamp your 'brand' on the massive resurgence of the indie space sim happening!

With Elite: Dangerous, Star Citizen, Limit Theory etc reawakening the genre it only makes sense for the guy who paved the way for these newer games to come in and push the boundaries further once again.

All the new space sims coming out over this next couple of years have copied ideas from BC/UC.

Freeroaming a massive universe with unexplored territories and alien races, colonies with their own AI personas, trade, combat, diplomacy, mining, one game even has an option of setting up a colony on unexplored planets and starting farms etc. But you can tell where they got the idea from with the mining drones etc.

A Derek Smart remake and stamping your brand on the resurgence would be awesome. Would be interesting to see your old ideas combine with the new ideas with new technology. Bet you'd blow us all away!

I'd support on Kickstarter. I'd like a space sim with more diplomacy involved, a little more contact with alien races. No other space sim really provides that, Limit Theory heads slightly towards that direction.

But think of games like Civilization, where you can talk, form friendships/alliances, trade.. backstab, threaten, steal. Etc.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Not gonna lie, I was thinking about how cool a BC3K v2 remake was made the other day while playing the Elite: Dangerous beta (popping a cap in Resnig's back is a bonus). I would love to see the piloting complexity of Elite combined with the command complexity of Battlecruiser. Still, will people buy it? No idea. BC has always been niche and a pain-in-the-ass to play/learn. Still, can't help but wonder what the game would be like with the soul of the original and the lessons to be learned from some of the newcomers.

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OMG!! Look what the cat dragged in!! Where have you been mate?!? Long time no hear!

Anyway yeah, one of the reasons that I may never make this game is precisely what you just said; not enough people will buy it.

I mean, Star Citizen has raised $61m - and still no game. I'm not terribly happy with how ED turned out (they are releasing next month, but its' still not a fully-fleshed game) and there so many half-arsed space combat games out there. To me, it's simply not worth putting money into it. The only way that I would ever do a core BC type game, is if I crowd-funded it. I am not going to put $4m+ into such a niche game, when I can put that money into continued work on LOD.

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Usually you can find me on the golf course these days. :D

You're right about both Elite and Star Citizen. Elite I think they spent a ton of time fleshing out the sandbox but forgot to include the sand. The beta is fun, though, and the flight dynamics feel good. Just not sure the multiplayer aspect is going to pan out how they like.

As for Star Citizen ... you took the words out of my mouth. All that money, no game yet. I feel like I've been following the development for years at this point. Everyone here knows that delays in game development are inevitable (hell, I think some are planned parts of the hype machine) but it's mind-boggling to me how Roberts can be so consistently lagging his own time lines with that kind of dough.

I haven't had a chance to try LoD yet, btw, but I'm very happy you're still making games, Derek. I hope all is well with the family. :)

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Finally, my hopes are becoming true, or at least a possibility to see a Battlecruiser remake.

Thumbs up

my money are ready to leave my wallet heading to 3000AD

my pc is ready to finally take off from this planet.

:jam_on:

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My two cents? BC3K is one of the best damn space sims ever created and deserves an updated engine, and a 2014 reboot!

Still a niche game though.

You'd definitely have to include an interactive in game tutorials.

I think you'd more than make you're money though.

Just no usenet flamewars this time.

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Universal Combat/BC has no equal in space combat, it appears,when I looked at youtube videos of rebel galaxy and starpoint gemini 2. The capital ships stay in the flat xy plane when firing at other ships-whereas in bc/uc they dive/climb and turn while firing their passive turret arrays. The resource management is also second to none- I bet. The plutonium for shields runs out quickly and you can not have it on for long- or you will deplete your plutonium. Not to mention cloaking, and counter cloaking to see cloaked ships once you progress far enough into the game.

Also, the missions go way beyond just destroying things. You have to read them twice to understand what to do. Because of the above, capital ship combat in bc/uc is in a class by itself. You have the best star trek like experience in this game than any other-so it is definately worth an upgrade.

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