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Interstellar Pilot - Mobile Space Sim


georgeD
(@georged)
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Joined: 11 years ago
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Hello SSC community,

 

I would like to tell you about a new space game that I am developing and hopefully somebody will be kind enough to give it a try and provide some feedback. It is a mobile game for Android though it might appear on other platforms in the future.

 

The game I am trying to create is best described as a mix between Freelancer and Starfleet Command. It is a single-player game where you start as an unknown entity with a mediocre ship and a large universe is waiting to be explored. There will be a number of missions to play following an interesting storyline. Or you can break away and do your own thing. Here are some of the features I have implemented already or plan to in the future

 

Trading

There will be a world economy with various commodities to trade. Prices shift with supply and demand so there are no guarantees of making a profit. Computer-controlled traders are also competing to seek out the best prices.

 

Factions

A range of different enterprises have their influences from galactic mining corporations to religious cults. Performing positive actions for one faction will often have a negative effect with its enemies.

 

Power Management

Ships have a limited supply of energy which is used up by thrusters, weapons and shields. This leads to many tactical options when it comes to combat and ship upgrades. 

 

Customizable Ships

Change your laser turrets to missile launchers, upgrade the engine or increase the size of the cargo hold. Pretty much every ship part will be replaceable. Player can buy ships from small shuttles to large carriers (so long as you have saved up enough credits)

 

Combat

Combat will be intense and very tactical. Energy needs to be applied to the right areas and you must maneuver the ship well to succeed.

 

Much of this may sound very familiar - I'll admit I'm not trying to reinvent the whole space sim genre. Rather I'm trying to create a space sim that is more accessible than most and which has a unique story. It is an ambitious game especially as I am only one programmer. So instead of waiting for some unknown release date I have already pushed out the combat side of the game. This way I can also get more feedback. 

 

So here is the link if you wish to try it.

 

Google Play Store

 

It would be great to get some feedback, especially from those that are actually able to run it on a mobile. Being an Indie dev I don't exactly have the funds to test all the different devices that are out there. All comments are welcome however and thanks for your interest


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voxel
(@voxel)
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Joined: 14 years ago
Posts: 41
 

Just played a couple of mission on my nexus 4, and I'm astounded by the level of polish you've managed. This is really impressive stuff. Normally I really dislike space games that are locked to a 2D plane but this is really impressive stuff. 


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georgeD
(@georged)
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Joined: 11 years ago
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Hi thanks for taking a look and I'm glad you liked it. It was a difficult decision to fix it to a plane especially as once upon a time it was fully 3D. I'm hoping that the more tactical options I can put in will outweigh the restrictions on the movement


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Pinback
(@pinback)
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Joined: 7 years ago
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Welcome to the forums GeorgeD

 

Sorry I can't try it out as I have no compatible mobile, any video of the game could not see anything on Youtube.


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georgeD
(@georged)
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Thank you,

Are you able to try the web player version? it needs a small download but overall is quite lightweight. But if not a video is in the works.


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Pinback
(@pinback)
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I have been having problems with downloading with Firefox  but it work with no problems.

 

Agree with Voxel very polished game, I had no problems with the control on the PC and you can expanded it to full screen mode and use the cursor keys.

 

Played through the tutorials and the first mission where I was killed very nice ship explosions.

 

The only thing I would say about the tutorial is maybe you should use "Next" rather than "Skip" as I though pressing skip would take me back to the menu.


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georgeD
(@georged)
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One of issues I know exists is that it actually gets easier as you progress though the missions with the occasional difficulty spike thrown in. So don't feel too bad that you died early! Glad you could get it to work though and I agree with you about the tutorial skip button, I'll have a look at that


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auryx
(@auryx)
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Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 202
 

Hi GeorgeD,

 

Just tried this, downloaded and worked fine on my (2 year old) Sony Xperia Arc running Android 2.3. I just played through the four tutorials, but really impressed so far - sound and graphics are good, controls are easy to understand and use, and the plasma torpedo thing is very satisfying 🙂 Good work, keep it up!

 

Only odd thing I noticed was that "left" and "right" seemed to be reversed in the tutorial text in a few places? In Tutorial 1, the increase/decrease throttle buttons were on the opposite side that the text suggested; in Tutorial 3, the "tractor in container" button was on the right, not the left as in the tutorial text.

 

auryx

You look good through a crosshair.


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voxel
(@voxel)
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Tech question for you georgeD, did you build this with Unity 3? I'm using Unity4 for development and I can't target older Android devices like you seem to have done according to Auryx's post


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georgeD
(@georged)
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Topic starter  

Only odd thing I noticed was that "left" and "right" seemed to be reversed in the tutorial text in a few places? In Tutorial 1, the increase/decrease throttle buttons were on the opposite side that the text suggested; in Tutorial 3, the "tractor in container" button was on the right, not the left as in the tutorial text.

 

auryx

 

Good point, I think I was having a backwards day when I wrote the tutorial dialogs. Thanks for the feedback and good you like it so far!

 

Tech question for you georgeD, did you build this with Unity 3? I'm using Unity4 for development and I can't target older Android devices like you seem to have done according to Auryx's post

 

Hello voxel, do you mean you can't target them at all or have tried to and it didn't work? I have been using Unity4 and haven't needed to do anything special to make the game work on older devices. The game is really simple in terms of graphical eye-candy though, there's no fancy shaders or such (I wouldn't know how to write one anyhow)


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voxel
(@voxel)
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Hello voxel, do you mean you can't target them at all or have tried to and it didn't work? I have been using Unity4 and haven't needed to do anything special to make the game work on older devices. The game is really simple in terms of graphical eye-candy though, there's no fancy shaders or such (I wouldn't know how to write one anyhow)

 

Unity4 only targets armv7 devices and not armv6, which I assumed Auryx's phone was an example of. Guess there's more to the story


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Caleb
(@caleb)
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Joined: 11 years ago
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Hi!

 

I want to make an Spanish Translation of this game.... contact with me please 😀


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Vuzz
 Vuzz
(@vuzz)
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hi , wnant to DL the PC version , juste have that :

 

If you're the site ownerlog in to launch this site. If you are a visitor, please check back soon.


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georgeD
(@georged)
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hi , wnant to DL the PC version , juste have that :

 

If you're the site ownerlog in to launch this site. If you are a visitor, please check back soon.

I haven't maintained a PC version as it never really took off. I might at some point in the future get it running on pc again but for now it is just android. Oh and yes I need to rebuild the website too!


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georgeD
(@georged)
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Topic starter  

Hi!

 

I want to make an Spanish Translation of this game.... contact with me please 😀

I have messaged you


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Caleb
(@caleb)
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Thanks 😀


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Nanoki
(@nanoki)
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Joined: 10 years ago
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Hey! 

Looks fantastic - we must be kindred spirits - I'm a sole indie developer and I've just released my first game on Google Play (I won't hijack here, see my own thread if you're interested)...

 

I'm sure you'll laugh as we're both using the same Ship models from Angryfly! 🙂 They're great aren't they?

I am also a HUGE Starfleet Command fan - and Birth of the Federation... I just remember playing SFCIII multiplayer for hours on a 56k modem - you know the one with the hex galaxy map and you chose your side? I hope my next projec to be something more in that direction but I wonder whether such complexity is appropriate for mobile devices.

 

You'll be pleased to hear that it works flawless on my Google Nexus 7. 

 

I have left you a kind 5* review 🙂

 

take care!


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georgeD
(@georged)
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SFC was a big influence for me but I only ever played the first one. I had to buy a new machine to play the game as my 200mhz Pentium wasn't up to the task. I don't know what it was about it but I just thought it was great game, would still happily play it now if I had an old-enough machine!

Good job with WarSpace it works great on my phone (Galaxy SIII). Its a really impressive effort for a first game, not as simple as you might suggest. And I noticed the Angryfly models, you have some nice ships I wish I had in mine!

Cheers for the review and I'll be following the progress of your game


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