Multi-player space combat game on Kickstarter http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1899720312/red-shift-modern-space-combat?ref=live

Looking for $19K probably have to change the name as I am sure there is something else which uses the title of Red Shift.

Red Shift brings space combat to a new level with sophisticated teams, unique flight mechanics and a wide array of ship types.

Red Shift is a massively multiplayer, free to play space shooter currently in development. This project was born from a series of disappointments experienced by a group of gamers who just wanted to be star fighter pilots. Current games in this genre are lacking in scope, and Red Shift aims to change that. Inspired by the vastness of games like Homeworld, we are developing a combat game that allows you, the pilot, to fly your way in a wide variety of ships, from tiny high speed scouts to massive capital ships, on maps that take advantage of the unique elements of space flight.

Ship Variety

In general, games allow you to fly fighters and not much else, especially in the multiplayer world. Our designs include a number of hull types, each one featuring radically different game play and flight mechanics. Fighters are fast moving, with an arcade style physics that focuses on forward motion and high speed maneuvers- perfect for joystick and keyboard control. We want to really emphasis the speed that fighters will have; picture Luke's X-Wing in the Death Star trench and you'll have an idea of the feel we're going for. At the same time, these ships are built to feel weighty, similar to flight simulators featuring current military jets. Something quite a few steps beyond the cartoon gameplay offered elsewhere.

On the other end of the spectrum, massive capital ships- such as Destroyers and Cruisers- will feature more Newtonian physics, drifting and lining up their shots while fighters zip between them. These movements are largely inspired by Homeworld. Flying a Destroyer is something closer to a naval battle, fitting for mouse and keyboard and allowing for a completely different type of gameplay. In between are Corvettes, Frigates, and Bombers, all of which have unique flight characteristics and roles in the battle. Ships can also be customized through a variety mods, allowing you to fly the way you want- as a quick scout, heavy hitting gunship, repairing engineer or anything in between. This is something we haven't seen in other games, and the feeling of zipping between titanic ships blasting each other with heavy weapons is why we started working on this game.

Large Scale Battles

Conquest style fights will take place over systems consisting of multiple planets, stations and other objects. Gaining control points allows your team to gather resources and takes spawn points from the enemy. Some points also provide unique team bonuses, or provide extra spawn points. More resources allow you to utilize your larger ships, load up on powerful consumables - such as the tactical nuclear missile - and escalate the combat. Players are able to drop in and out of battles as needed, allowing these fights to continue on for extended sessions. This is similar to what you would see in a game of Battlefield. Scale extends to more than just the maps; we intend to design maps that utilize all three dimensions, adding in a style of tactics that only works in space.

Shorter battles will also be available in deathmatch and objective game modes. More details on the various game modes will be shared later on.

No More Waiting

Matchmaking systems generally rely on player level as the sole deciding factor for setting up games. Our system takes many more factors into consideration. These include kill to death ratio, friends also waiting for games, available players and personal preferences. You will tend to stick with players of your skill level, but will have enough wiggle room to allow better diversity in game play. Further, joining a squad will ensure that you fly with them, even if you have different experience levels. The ability to join fights already in progress means that you won't have to wait ten minutes to start shooting. And the lack of player-level based purchases means that you can start developing your ship and fitting it to your style faster.

Player Based Development

Updates will be continuous to keep up with player demands. Our forums will be regularly watched to find out what people want, and ideas the developers might have will be discussed with the community. This is an era of user based content, and we plan to embody that ideal to its fullest.

Factions

The war in Red Shift takes place between two distinct factions. The United Earth Protectorate seeks to dominate the stars in a rebirth of Manifest Destiny. Their ships are generally harder hitting and can take more of a punishment, largely thanks to shield technology. Standing in their way are the Apex, former humans who were exiled for going too far with genetic engineering. Their technology mixes organic and mechanical systems. They tend to move faster and excel at approaching unnoticed. While this is not an open world campaign, we plan to keep the storyline engaging and the factions distinct.

Development State and Plans

We have been slowly building the framework for this game, and have made progress through some of the more difficult portions. As of now the code has been written for a unique flight model that we can be proud of. Some smaller elements have also been written or are currently in development.

This project is absolutely in its infancy. Right now most of our graphics are simply untextured polygons, as we decided to focus on mechanics first. Proper funding is required to get the new models we need created and in place, and to gain additional help for the programming still left to be done. Our goal, if we reach our funding target and don't surpass it, is to release a very basic alpha version of the game, which can then be used to get the resources needed for a proper release with the help of our fanbase.

The Team

Our team is made up of a handful of programmers and artists with a passion for science fiction. We are a new group, and have not yet released any games on our own. Some of our members have experience assisting with software development, though only a portion of that is in game design. The core team is doing this for equity only, rather than pay. The funding will be used to hire or otherwise attract more team members who will be able to give us the boost we need to finish the project. While we don't have a long track record of game deliveries to show, we have enough diverse experience and enough passion for the project to make it happen.

The Plan

Our goal, if we reach only our funding target, is to create an alpha version of this game. It will feature one of each class of ship, a few limited loadout options, team combat scenarios and graphics of such quality that the game will be playable, but probably won't be the next benchmark for graphic rendering. It will likely be third person view for the initial release. We will then use our proof of concept alpha version to obtain the funding needed to move on to the next stage. If, however, we exceed our goal, all funding will be put right back into the game. This means high quality graphics at release, 3D cockpits for at least some of the ships (we intend to have cockpit view be very important by final release), wider variety of ship modifications, more and better servers, enhanced team and squadron interaction and a number of other improvements. The level of development you'll see in the final release is entirely dependent on those of you reading this.

Risks and challenges Learn about accountability on Kickstarter

The biggest risk, of course, is not getting funding. Our team has collectively invested a large amount in this project, both in cash and time, and if we reach our funding goal we are prepared to match it ourselves between savings and credit. That's part of why we are able to ask for such a modest amount. Even then, there is a chance that our funds will run out before we end up with something useable. As detailed above, our first goal is to create a basic alpha version of a game. If we end up in a situation where finishing the game to our desires isn't feasible, we fully intend to release the source code so that the gaming community can make the project their own and, hopefully, create the game we weren't able to.

The other major risk is that the game simply doesn't come out very good. Maybe because we didn't have enough funds, maybe because we relied on the wrong people for the wrong code. We find this to be unlikely, however, due to some team members having a large amount of experience with project leadership and realistic goal setting. If the game fails to live up to expectations, then likely no one will play it or pay for premium content. If that's the case then, once again, we will open up the source code and encourage the community to make the game they want. We will never shut down our servers and leave the gamers in the dark.