As promised, here is a quick summary of Ascent - The Space Game, where it's up to, and what's next.
I've been developing Ascent for almost a year full time now and it's fast approaching a PC version release on desura.com. It is available to play through the Unity3D web player at our website, http://www.thespacegame.com/
So far the completed features include:
- Space combat - manual control fighter to fighter dogfighting, scales up to big ship broadside duels - in space!
- Farming and mining on planet surfaces - players can build their own planetary bases for resource harvesting. City simulation style play.
- Personal starbase construction - players can construct their own starbase to their own design. This becomes your home in space, and your centre for heavy zero-g manufacturing and research
- Trading - dynamic local NPC markets, player to player global market
- Dynamic NPC mission system - combat, trade (supply/demand), passenger transport, courier and salvage missions
- Asteroid mining - manual control of ship and axial mining beam. Player and character skill based.
- Research - blueprint fragments attainable from salvage missions allow the player to research forgotten and new ships and components, as well as enhancements to their buildings
- Manufacturing - every ship, weapon and utility module in the game can be manufactured by players and sold or used to customise their ships (which can also be given a custom paint scheme)
- Gas giant harvesting. (because sometimes you need things like hydrogen and oxygen!)
- More than 200 billion solar systems (not a typo!). This is now live for exploration - we are now in the process of adding planetary settlement and starbase construction features to these new systems
- EVA (land, get out and walk/run around in an EVA suit)
- Advanced exploration now under development - you can take and analyse soil samples and core samples, next stage is core sampling drones for grid data and then settlements on the new systems
We have a greenlight campaign going, need a few thousand more votes to get it over the line.
Video and some screenshots are on the front page of the website. Actually I really should update those screenies they're a bit dated now.
Regards,
Kuloth
Is it multiplayer only?
update: nevermind, just read the Greenlight page.
I'll answer anyway, because I know a lot of MMOs really force you to group up etc. Yes, it's MP only, but there is currently no content that you can't solo, i.e. play by yourself.
Also, due to the wide open spaces (>200bn star systems now) you will always be able to find a quiet area and not be bothered by other players. You can even turn chat off and there is no way for them to contact you. So you can in fact play it like a single player game, that happens to talk to a server a lot and store your "save game" there. That's been the design from the outset.
Two of the biggest frustrations I've had myself with MMOs are not being able to stop play to answer the phone or talk to a human, and having to deal with other players' crap when I don't feel like it. So A-TSG, not surprisingly, is designed to solve both of those problems. That said, our little community is fun to talk to and play with.
Added mouse control (right click in first person view) by popular request today.
Also added a new quest-line moving towards advanced exploration and a bunch of bug fixes.
Looks pretty impressive. I'll have to stop by and have a look.
Two of the biggest frustrations I've had myself with MMOs are not being able to stop play to answer the phone or talk to a human, and having to deal with other players' crap when I don't feel like it. So A-TSG, not surprisingly, is designed to solve both of those problems. That said, our little community is fun to talk to and play with.
Same here. Even though I do not usually play on line games (with the unique exception of World of Warplanes ), I am going to give it a try .
Impressive feature list, can't wait to try it!
How is it with all the space game coverage and enthusiasts no one has posted about this before. Makes me believe there may be other gems out there!
Cruisin you can try it at the website using the unity3d web player.
As to why you haven't heard of it... I have had a lot of trouble getting _any_ press coverage for it. I've actually now hired PR firm to help. I would guess that yes there are a lot of games out there that get no coverage at all and nobody hears about them.
Press are dorks who only back big games from big companies for stipends...just like anything else.
PC version is finally available for pre order. The link is on our main page at http://www.thespacegame.com/
might go take a lookie does the desure version give u access to premium features ?
might go take a lookie does the desure version give u access to premium features ?
They are still extra - however the Desura client is not what you would call expensive...
As to why you haven't heard of it... I have had a lot of trouble getting _any_ press coverage for it. I've actually now hired PR firm to help. I would guess that yes there are a lot of games out there that get no coverage at all and nobody hears about them.
Just been looking on Youtube to see if their was any gameplay videos and the only one I can find is your own one you did for Steam.
It might be worth your time sending some invites to the youtubers who do game reviews.
I believe the PR firm plans to contact many of these after the April 2nd PC client release 😎
the big issue i have is if i buy a game i expect to have full access to all features of the game
So six bucks should cover everything including planetary production, combat and manfuacture which are a big part of the game, if they allow u to have access to all the features of the game for free ( after purchasing the client for six bucks im in) otherwise its a hybrid free to play, pay to play which really is not something a lot of serious gamers go for, it feels like a ripoff despite being a good looking game
They are still extra - however the Desura client is not what you would call expensive...
its reasonably priced, but if u want to sell more copies and not lumped ito the pay to play * beyond the initial outlay* and be taken as a serious game the whole model needs revisiting i dont mind pay 10 dollars if i get access to the full game and not just a restricted % of it even after putting money down
its reasonably priced, but if u want to sell more copies and not lumped ito the pay to play * beyond the initial outlay* and be taken as a serious game the whole model needs revisiting i dont mind pay 10 dollars if i get access to the full game and not just a restricted % of it even after putting money down
I hear ya, I will find a way to work the premium into the price (the hard part is activation once per bought copy but it's doable), however this will have to be for a limited time, e.g. two months. Servers cost money to run and an online multiplayer game has other ongoing costs that need covering too.
the big issue i have is if i buy a game i expect to have full access to all features of the game
So six bucks should cover everything including planetary production, combat and manfuacture which are a big part of the game, if they allow u to have access to all the features of the game for free ( after purchasing the client for six bucks im in) otherwise its a hybrid free to play, pay to play which really is not something a lot of serious gamers go for, it feels like a ripoff despite being a good looking game
This sounds pretty funny in light of the way Star Citizen has conducted its business, where followers are constantly milked for more money, and there's still no MMO game in sight. Six bucks plus premium features pales in comparison.
I've been playing Ascent TSG for a while now and really having fun. The recent updates have added colony building/domes etc, more new content coming along too.
Sinstrite has produced an excellent 5 part ASTG introduction on YouTube
I would recommend checking the game out!
TransZen
I discovered this game back in Feb, of this year. At first, the game was pretty bad, not much to do, and very fresh. I later found out that a single guy had been, and still is, developing it a year later after he started.
Today, this game is awesome. You can do all the other things that space games provide like mining, trading, combat, and such. This game lets you scoop gas from gas giants. This game uses procedural generation to make new solar systems, with a capability to 200+ billion. You can settle in any system you explore, and build large colonies. There's a lot of science in the game, and you'll have fun interacting with your on-board ship computer. I want to emphasize that while at the moment, the game focuses a lot on PVE and industry, we do have "red-zones" and there is a lot of thought going into how PVP would be possible while being fun, and not discouraging, as well as 100% your choice as a player. If you want a fresh game give it a try, it's very fun!
Jam is the developer, and he's updating every week, if not every day. There is a PC client on Desura to buy which performs much better than Unity on web. Jam is a friendly dude, so if you see him, say hello!
http://www.desura.com/games/ascent-tsg
Game is free to play. You can pay .99 USD a month and get a premium. There are three different types of premiums, so even with all three, you only spend 2.97 USD monthly. When you get premium, you get Stellar Credits, which allows you to build, and upkeep the domes for colonies. Right now, colonies are the premium content for paying players, and all players know or discover fast why that is. We have a great community, and are trying hard to get the game 100% for Steam Greenlight.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=194109407
Feel free to ask for me in game if you need any help, but everyone is great and will offer you all the help you need. There's also a wiki. IGN: Sinstrite
Here are some introduction videos I did just to give people a sense of what the actual gameplay is like:
http://www.thespacegame.com/videos.html
I'm not the dev or a PR guy, I just really want to help get this game going, because it is a fantastic space MMO for a single guy to be developing. Cheers.
Just moved your post here SinStrike as we already have a thread on Ascent.
July 2014 Development Update Video 😎
Great game
Ok three news items for you:
1. Our KickStarter campaign to hire our artist full time has at last kicked off. Rewards are crazy good value... want a planet named after you, a cloaking device or a terraforming device?
2. The August update video is out, and I forgot to post it here
3. The first player made gate pair has completed construction and is now usable:
Latest Post: game crash ... Our newest member: for4dscatterpink21 Recent Posts Unread Posts
