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Pulsar: lost colony

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Now this is an interesting idea here it bills itself as a starship simulator where up to five people can take crew roles like Artemis but cross it with FTL in a randomly generated galaxy.

 

Wed site

http://pulsarthegame.com/

 

Steam Greenlight

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=174118903&tscn=1377872277

 

 

 

 

 

YOUR OWN GALAXY TO EXPLORE AND CONQUER

At the start of every Voyage a unique randomized galaxy is born just for you. Each contains hundreds of points of interest that you will need to explore to find clues about the location of the Lost Colony. A Voyage can last anywhere from 30 seconds to 30 hours depending on the skill of the crew and the encounters you face. If your crew perishes, the galaxy dies with you and the save file is deleted.

JOURNEY ALONE OR WITH YOUR FRIENDS

Each crew in PULSAR consists of up to five members. You can play offline with bots as your crew, or play cooperatively with friends in Online + LAN modes. Alternatively, you could take a ship out by yourself and perform all tasks of the crew, although it’s quite a challenge!

EVERYONE PLAYS A KEY ROLE ON THE SHIP

Captain, Pilot, Scientist, Weapons, and Engineer. These are the five classes available in the game – each having their own unique responsibilities and roles during the journey. More info about the classes is available here.

CREW PERMADEATH

If your crew perishes on their journey (and your on-board respawner is destroyed) there is no coming back. This means if your ship is obliterated and your entire crew is on-board it’s game over. The game will delete your save file and you get to start over at the beginning. This adds a layer of strategy that we absolutely love – plus it makes each journey special.

JOIN THE AWAY TEAM

Your Voyage will bring you to unexplored sectors containing planets or space stations that can contain valuable resources imperative to surviving your journey. Use extreme caution as they also can also contain dangers to your crew – such as hostile ambushes and booby traps.

FIVE UNIQUE PLAYABLE FACTIONS (SO FAR)

The Colonists are unlocked by default. The other factions will need to be earned by playing the game and discovering the secret of each faction. You can play as anything from a ruthless weapons manufacturer such as the W.D. Corporation to an intergalactic biscuit delivery service: The Fluffy Biscuit Company.

ONLINE LEADERBOARDS

We are working on an extensive online profile system which will track and analyze each of your journeys, to see how you are improving compared to other explorers.

CHALLENGE MODES

PULSAR features multiple challenge modes for players who love to die. The Captain’s Challenge puts players in the Captain’s chair without any crew. That’s right! You and you alone will face the adventure ahead with your own personal starship (meant for a crew of five). You can do it!

 

 

Crew peradeath.


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Mmm, not bad 🙂 Keeping an eye!


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It reminds me of Notchs abandoned game.


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New video blog update for the game, looking good 😎

 


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SolCommand
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Very VERY interesting game here 🙂


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Nice!


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CaptainKal
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Very very interesting!!!


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Excellent news they have a Kickstarter. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/leafygames/pulsar-lost-colony with a $40K goal


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Fist update announcing paypal and a podcast on Space Game Junkie.

 

Hey guys!

You guys have been asking for a Paypal payment option and we've put one together for you. Just go to pulsarthegame.com/paypal and click on the appropriate pledge level.

We will apply the paypal funds to our stretch goals and keep you guys informed on how much we are raising through this service!

We are so very grateful for the support you guys are giving us. It makes even more excited (as if that was even possible) to make this game all it can be!

We will be posting some new music and sneak peeks soon, so be on the lookout for that!

We also have participated in the SpaceGameJunkie.com podcast talking about PULSAR and our plans.

Here's the link to the podcast:  http://www.spacegamejunkie.com/featured/sgj-podcast-32-pumped-pulsar-lost-colony/

We'll be posting updates as often as we can to keep you guys informed!

Also we are currently #14 on Steam Greenlight, you can check out our page by clicking here.

Thanks for the support and questions everyone, you guys are the best!

-Leafy Games

 


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Had this bookmarked for a while. Unless theres another colony game I know of.

 

Looks great. It should make way past the funding goal. Hopefully it delivers on the promises 🙂


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It has moved very fast for them as they are now over the half way mark and have been greenlit as well.

 

WOW! Just.. Wow. Things are happening so fast, and it's all because of you!

In case you haven't heard we've been Greenlit! We can now move further along the process and get PULSAR integrated into Steam for all to enjoy!  

Another huge piece of news: WE"VE HIT 50% FUNDING! Holy moly, you guys are so awesome!

As some of you may know, we've added a new reward tier to help even out that gap between $25 and $90. It is a $45 two-pack of alpha access at a slight discount from the normal rate. We are working on another reward in that range but we still have some work to do before announcing it!

We've also updated our stretch goals based on your feedback. 

We will now support modding before moving onto consoles! Modding support will be added at $180,000 and next-gen consoles at $250,000. If you are curious about these goals and why the money is necessary you can find more information under the stretch goals section of the Kickstarter page.

We've also added some more explanation under the funding pie chart that will hopefully help clarify what the Kickstarter funds will be used for.

Thanks again for the awesome support and questions!

-Leafy Games

 

 

I think it way too early to be talking about stretch goals always think Kickstarter  should  stick to updates about the game and only mention stretch goals when they are sure they will hit the target.


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There also The Mandate, which is a smilar game, but at $500k..

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1964463742/the-mandate


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Nice find Shadmar but we need to start a separate thread for it.

 

update 3

 

Hey guys,

We've participated in another awesome podcast: the Rev VR podcast by Reverend Kyle.

We talk about PULSAR with a focus on virtual reality and the Oculus Rift. Check it out here:  http://www.reverendkyle.com/index.php/articles/210-rev-vr-podcast-episode-15

We're 80% Funded! We never imagined it would go this quickly! You guys are the best!

We're also announcing that our console stretch goal will be replaced with a backer vote. We will be doing a backer poll to decide what it will be! We will be announcing all the options soon but the following options will be available:

  • A new game mode that will include ship-vs-ship combat and multiple player crew interaction. It starts out just like a normal game of PULSAR but there is a chance that any sector you run into will have another player crew! You can work with them on a common goal (in that one sector only) or attack them and steal their cargo/ship!
  • Next-Gen Console Support for PS4 and Xbox One. We are in the process of becoming a licensed Sony / Microsoft developer and will announce more on that soon! We can't yet guarantee that this will happen but we're getting in touch with the manufacturers to get more information and move us forward in the process!

If you have an idea for a feasible stretch goal not mentioned above, post it in the comments!

Thanks again for the amazing support! You guys are making our dreams come true!

Also a new music sample for you kind folks. This is the main theme for the Alliance of Gentlemen!

"Never Trust A Gentleman" - by Isaac Vail

 

 

Shame their is no disk option.


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That didn't take long. Already at target with 23 days to go.


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Done very well as they just have over a thousand backer so far, looks like they will be hitting some of the stretch goals.

 

New update.

Today we thought we’d show you a little bit about what goes on behind the curtain for the development of PULSAR: Lost Colony. As an artist working on an indie title, I had to let go of a few things – one of the biggest ones being perfection. To make a game of this scope, we need to pump out quite a bit of content. Making things that are modular is a great way to not only optimize the game, but also lighten the art load a bit. 

Each ship we produce will end up being used in a variety of ways (with a bit of tweaking). You could run into civilian ships or abandoned vessels, some lost or destroyed. Perhaps some could be led by rogue captains or are used as part of a ruse or trap. Thinking modularly and finding creative ways to reuse assets unconventionally will be one of our greatest strengths when it comes to making a game of this size and depth. 

This also applies to textures and materials. Creating modular textures that can be repeated or reused in a variety of ways will also allow us to make the game bigger and better! We will further explain our plans for tackling the development of this game in later updates for those who are interested! 🙂

Here is one of the modular textures I created for the W.D Corporation! (Normal map and very simple diffuse)

2d2835e8396c994ce5f7365258d44309_large.j

 Here are a few screenshots of the inside of the Intrepid. We affectionately refer to these as the juicy guts of the ship! Enjoy! (you may have seen these already if you follow screenshot Saturday)

712c52426d3636c30843b50ca7beb088_large.p

31e52c1820eda5301eace5cbafe694f1_large.j

If you enjoyed my ramblings or are interested in seeing me (the artist guy) host some kind of live stream art session, just let me know and we can do something during the campaign!

Also: We have reached over 1,000 backers! WOOO!

Thanks again guys!

Best,

The Leafy Games Team

 


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New pledge reward.

 

The Visionary reward tier ($40) offers some cool new things for you guys!

For starters, we will be assembling an art book chock full of sketches, concepts and in-game art! For those who want a real taste of what goes on behind the scenes, the art book will contain ideas that didn't make it into the game, illustrate various stages of development for certain locations, as well as go over the techniques used to create all of the in-game art. We will even throw in a whole section for glitches and messups!

The Visionary tier also includes another fun way to make your mark on the game. You will get to add a name of your choice to the “galaxy names list”! The game will select one of these names at random at the start of each playthrough, and there will be a chance that the new galaxy will bear your title!

We believe you guys have been asking for something like this, so we’re trying to deliver!

Thanks everyone for your feedback and encouraging words!  

By the way, we are thinking about ways to rework some of the stretch goals like you guys have mentioned. You can also expect some cool new art tomorrow!  

Best,  

The Leafy Games Team

 

 

Very tempting may upgrade but still waiting to see if they are going to do a disk version of the game.


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Short but impressive vid about space stations and you will be also able to go inside them.

 

 

 

 

 

We show off our new space station and talk about how stations will work in the game!

We've been crunching some numbers and we will release our updated stretch goals tomorrow as well as a new reward tier!

Best,

The Leafy Games Team

 


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New stretch goals, good chance of making the $60K one and still have 19 days to go.

 

Hello everyone!

We've been re-working our stretch goals a bit more and we believe these new goals will be to your liking!

$50,000 - Extended Soundtrack + Additional Playable Ship (Civilian Ship)

We are big fans of the Extended Soundtrack! We also threw in a new ship, for those who want an interesting challenge. We’ll create a playable civilian ship that is initially not well equipped for combat. You will need to use diplomacy and careful trading to survive for long! The crews who start in this ship will no doubt have the hardest time overcoming the challenges that await, this is definitely for those who want a bit of a challenge!

$60,000 - Sector Commanders

The galaxy is comprised of a multitude of sectors, we had the idea of having something similar to “Bosses” in certain sectors, equipped with above average systems and a very competent crew. Taking down these ships would be difficult but the rewards would be worth it especially the bragging rights! New players should probably avoid them but experienced crews will be able to take advantage of these encounters.

$75,000 - Custom / Mega Galaxies.

Players will be able to optionally create mega-galaxies to journey in. These will be up to 500,000 light years across consisting of 10,000+ jump points! You will also be able to change generation settings for galaxies so you can customize them as much as you want.

$80,000 - Two Additional Secret Ships

We will add two new ships that you will be able to unlock in the game. They are relics of the Old Wars and play unlike any other ship in PULSAR. 

$85,000 - Enhanced Item Interaction

This will allow us to add a feature we are very excited about. Players can pick up, rotate and closely observe nearly any item in the game. You will also be able to scan many items with your handheld scanner to learn more about its chemical properties and look up information from the galactic database. Furthermore this feature can allow us to add more depth to the gameplay, stuff like puzzle solving can become a lot more interesting if you can interact with your environment in various ways. 

$95,000 - New Hub “Small Town / City” 

We have something called "Hubs" in PULSAR, they are one of the things that doesn't change much from each play-though. They are basically small towns or cities where players can go to take on missions, repair their ship, make deals and all that jazz! 

This one will be decided by you guys! Is it part of a certain faction? Is it built in space? On a planet’s surface? Underwater? Built into an asteroid or giant glowing crystal? You guys will work with us to design this home away from home. 

$150,000 - Modding Support 

We will overhaul our asset creation system and create pulsarEdit so any user can easily create ships, scenarios, planets, gameplay changes and anything else you can dream of! 

We will also help facilitate the sharing of these mods through our mod sharing website:pulsarEdit.com. There will also be an in-game system for syncing / updating mods. We've started work on pulsarEdit although we probably won't be able to implement it without the extra support to bring on another programmer . 

We'd like to develop pulsarEdit and release it as open-source software for Windows/Mac/Linux. 

We're also going to work on making these mods compatible with Steam Workshop.

NOTE: This money will be used to acquire a source code license of Unity since it will be necessary to support modding. We are already in talks with Unity and have access to the license if we raise the money. We will also bring on another programmer to assist in the creation of the mod editor and in-game mod system. 

Let us know what you think about these revised (rejiggered) stretch goals, many of you have made some great points in the comments. 

Thanks again for all of your support!

Share this project with your friends! Lets shoot down of these stretch goals!!

Also we're still ironing out some of the details on a new reward tier so keep an eye out!

Best,

The Leafy Games Team

 


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Update from yesterday so will have probably missed it

 

The livestream will be online from 4 PM to 7 PM EST on twitch.tv.

Our artist George will be working on the interior of the new space station and invites everyone to join him as he makes it live! He's never done a livestream before so it should be fun to see him work in this new environment! 

Learn a bit about the process of creating art for games, and watch him make silly mistakes due to immense pressure! 🙂

Jenn, the mysterious writer for PULSAR's universe might swing by too if we are lucky! *Crosses Fingers*

Link: http://twitch.tv/GeorgeStoll

Hope to see you there!

Best,

The Leafy Games Team

 

 

Looks like the Kickstarter may have stalled a bit since hitting their target but they still have 16 days to go so I would guess it will pick up in the last week again.


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New update

 

Hello everyone! We have some interesting pieces of lore to share with you today!

Without further ado we present a sneak peek of The Infection (tentative name). The first announced non-playable faction that will be present in the ever expanding PULSAR universe!

The Infection

Little information is known about these organisms or their origin, but any encounters with them have wreaked devastation. The first recorded sighting occurred in 3400 U.E. when a civilian vessel discovered these organisms floating in a sector of space. The occupants of the vessel were completely annihilated, along with those of the two Colonial Union ships that responded to their original distress signal. These organisms – since known as ‘the Infection’ – were eventually subdued in the sector through the use of several nuclear devices. However, the resulting radiation destroyed the remainders of these organisms at a cellular level, so further examination proved impossible.

Since then, there have been a number of encounters with the Infection, each more frequent and devastating than the next. The Colonial Union has issued a protocol for any ship that crosses paths with the Infection – which states that the crew will not engage the life forms in combat or attempt to communicate with them. Furthermore, the only option for survival is to warp-jump as quickly as possible to escape the Infected sector, and the Colonial Union has specified that any contact with the Infection must be reported to the nearest base.

From survivor accounts and cautious observation, a few conclusions have been drawn regarding the organization of the Infected.  

They appear to be a group of organisms thriving together. Their main method of attack is to launch a multitude of massive spore-like pods which attach to nearby ships and release hundreds of smaller creatures upon contact. These smaller creatures then burrow into the ship, inducing severe hull damage. Once they reach the interior, they start to devour the guts of the ship, obliterating all of the vital systems. While the smaller organisms disable ship systems and eliminate crewmen, the larger one begins to overcome and absorb the ship entirely.  

The Infection has also been spotted on planetary bodies, delving beneath the surface and altering the planet on geological and atmospheric levels. The reasoning behind these behaviors is still heavy speculation.

The Infection have no warp capabilities, and they move rather slowly through space. Their method of locomotion is assumed to be some sort of gas-like propellant.  

Although the origin of the Infection is unknown and modern weaponry does little damage to the organisms, the Colonial Union has maintained order amidst the presence of this baffling new opponent. For the past 50 years, the Colonial Union has successfully eradicated every recorded incident of the infection to date.  

However, as the transmission on the Lost Colony has plunged the galaxy into a state of chaos, the Colonial Union is preoccupied with quelling other threats, and protocols regarding the Infection are not being observed.  

Ultimately, there is no longer any active agency to stop the infection.

bce6b4b422d42335147bc9fd5ca7460e_large.pAn early concept of an Infected Scout

Thanks for reading,

The Leafy Games Team

 


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New update

 

 

 

 

This week we show off some new ship mechanics: auto-thrusters and nukes. Plus we take you on a tour of the space station's interior while we talk Q + A - Part 2!

For those who participated in the live stream, you'll be able to see the cryo room in-game!

Best,

The Leafy Games Team

 

 

Looking good 😎 😎 still 12 days to go so you can still back it

 

Nuke em till they glow then shoot em in the dark.


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Finally made the first stretch goal although as they say they are counting the Paypal pledges as wll.

 

Counting PayPal pledges (which we do!), we have reached the first stretch goal for PULSAR: Lost Colony! 

This means the soundtrack will be quite nice and include even more awesome tracks by our talented composers! Plus, everyone receiving the soundtrack from the selected rewards will have even more reasons to be excited!

For those of you who want a challenge, "The Civilian Ship" has been unlocked! WOO!

Here are a few details on what it will feature:

  • Only one weapon slot.
  • Minimal hull integrity and shielding.
  • A fairly weak engine.  
  • Slightly deficient Atrium.  
  • And more!

This ship is by no means a military vessel. It's basically the mini-van of the PULSAR: Lost Colony universe. It's great for civilians though!

This also means that the players who start in this ship will have no consistent uniform and none of the advantages (or disadvantages) of the other factions. You and your crew are alone in a puny excuse for a space-faring vessel. Those who manage to complete the entire game without dying or stealing a better ship will have our undying respect – for this will not be an easy task.

We are really excited to watch all of you get crushed, torn apart and destroyed over and over again as you try to gain your glory! And we'll be listening to a great sound track while we do it!

ALSO: We are planning on doing another live stream tomorrow! It will be around 4pm - 7pm EST. We will be working on something really exciting! And we’ll try to record it this time too!

Best,

The Leafy Games Team

 


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It's a good day to biscuit.


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For US backer only.

Looks like we will not be seeing any disk version of the game although most Kickstarters just add $15 to the pledge level for any items to sent out.

 

Want some fancy gear? Well it's about time!

We have created two types of shirts to choose from, both are only available on Kickstarter through the $60 "Uniformed Officer" reward tier!

The Cryptic T-shirt is definitely for those who want to baffle the minds of those around them. It's a unique pattern of mostly vertical lines that often confuse onlookers.

716d15b3de80c6db18a51b3399513c19_large.p

74a0a525a52f411a97edae2c01c52810_large.pCloseup of Cryptic Message

We also have a simpler black version that illustrates how awesome you are but in a way that doesn't melt the minds of innocent by-standers! Will you join the dark side? 😀

ad7233a71f6297bd86825504f48871d8_large.p

PULSAR: Lost Colony will have you make many choices in the game, let this be the first one!

We will offer the shirts for both men and women in the following sizes: Small, Medium, Large, X-Large, and XX-Large. 

They will be delivered around Beta or before (April 2014).

Shipping is US only. Sorry international backers!

NOTE: The designs are not final we will be adjusting the placement and size to make sure they are as high-quality as possible. Also for those who have backed at the Scenario Designer tier and up, you will get to choose one as well!

Best,

The Leafy Games Team

 


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Successfully funded my only surprise  is that it did get more.

 

Thanks so much! You've given us the capability and resources to work on this game FULL-TIME and add as much content and gameplay as we possibly can!

We have received 145% funding (adding in the funds from PayPal)!!! We are just in awe of how much you guys have done for us. It's so exciting!

The end of the Kickstarter marks the beginning of a new stage for PULSAR! We are going to start ramping up development and launch our new website in the coming weeks. We'll be adding a way for people to pre-purchase the game from our website and continue working toward the stretch goals. In addition our forum will be opening soon and all our backers will be getting the appropriate badges on there as we sort out the pledge levels!

It's been a wild ride so far, but this is just the beginning! We will do our best to keep you all in touch with our progress and problems each step of the way! We've seen other projects go quiet after their campaigns but we aim to be a bit louder!

You can subscribe to our YouTube Channel, Twitter, or hang out in the forums (once they are up and running) to keep up to date on the latest PULSAR news!

These next two weeks we will start the transition to a full time work environment and once we get settled down we aim to work hard and bring you the best darn game we can make!

Seeing so many of you believe and support this project from such an early stage has really inspired us. We now have 1,812 more reasons to make this game awesome!

You all have given us the ability to LIVE our dream! We honestly can't thank you enough.

Best,

The Leafy Games Team

 


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