Yes! That's exactly what I thought of the game! It has rough edges, of course (and that's all the reviews seem to target), but the gameplay is gold. Personally, I like the 2D plane movement- it's unique and makes for an interesting gameplay style. Another game I thought seemed awfully similar was one of the old Space Empire games... I think it was Star Fire or something. Had a sorta open world style with a 2D plane movement.

Wasn't there a freeplay mode in SPG? It's been awhile, but I thought I remembered a patch activating one. But it would be nice to see a more random and unexpected universe, as well as a linear storymode.

LGM Games has been very silent and Dorijan hasn't answered any of my PM's so I guess we might have to wait and see what comes of SPG 2.

http://www.malfador.com/starfury.html

ya spg seems like a slight clone of this - although they have one very big improvement : no extremely loud and annoying equipment-install-sound that makes your ear bleed.

could not find anything on ssc on it - or is search broken...

that game has even a storyline on a random created galaxy !

mmm my modded battlecruiser with a few 360degrees guided capital-ship missilles did not have to use strange movement - it was very similar to the movement in starfleet command

though i miscalulated several times the deceleration and crashed into planets / asteroids.

yea would like to see SPG2 too and preferably with a no-story sandbox mode - and a less bright and colorful starbackground (black with some with dots .. call it retro)

Hi guys!

Sorry for the extreme silence. We've been working tirelessly on the sequel. I wish I could dish out some screens, but cannot at the moment. I will as soon as possible, you have my word. We're VERY eager to see what you guys will think of it.

1.in the works

2.agreed and implemented

3.while we don't have exactly that, this time proper side quests will be included. Besides faction-oriented quests, you can also hunt for "heroes", help ships in distress, collect bounties etc.

4.how about smuggling routes across the entire star system? From a far-away outlaw station to an urbanized industrial planet, all the while trying to keep away from security forces scanning passing ships in search of illegal goods and at the very end of the route having to bypass planetary customs? Oh, did I mention, a commodity can become illegal in some regions? <img src="' http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//wink3.gi f"' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' />

5.I'm not going to give you empty lies by saying "of course, multiple branching storyline that spans some 4000+ gameplay hours"... I'll keep it honest instead and say "sorry, branching main campaign is still a no, but we're supplementing that with a whole lot more different random missions and a whole bunch of faction-related side quests to pump up sandbox gameplay

6.we've got some very nice improvements in that department. We've got "local" events (we might call them accidents actually; flying around in a radiation-filled dust cloud can be fun, unless your shield generetor suddenly starts malfunctioning <img src="' http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//wink3.gi f"' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' /> ) and we've got global events. Global events can influence anything from pirate activity, military skirmishes or all-out faction-on-faction wars (region alignment changes as well depending on who wins); price changes, commodity shortages etc.

And all that in nice full 3D space... with no loading points... and direct movement controls and aiming

There isn't a single part of SPG1 that wasn't reviewed to see what needs to be done to make it better.

Yep guys, we are perusing SSC and soaking in all opinions. And we thank you for those opinions. They were invaluable. <img src="' http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//icon_e_smile.gi f"' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

PS Gemini star system got darker since SPG1 <img src="' http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//icon_e_biggrin.gi f"' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' />

YAY me luvs that ! <img src="' http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//yahoo.gi f"' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':yahoo:' />

Are there "custom-game" start options like in Majesty Gold HD ?

ie. like

-no rogue-crates (or whatever those easy to find easy moneymaker are called)

-size/number of systems (if they are generated)

-no rpg-like abilities (well iam a proponent of player skills and experience instead of some grinding-based-success-factors)

-mod directory to use: ie. i want this and this and that other mod that are changing several aspects together and run them (that is if modding is again possible)

-starting faction, ship

-starting amount of different factions , their power and state of peace/war (just the starting state - see last point)

-option for the easy content tourist or really peaceful trader/explorer

Also would love to see some 4xdynamic in game - like

-peace: good for trading/exploration/surveying/colonizer escort and pirates looking for loot (bonus points if player can do that)

-cold war / economic war: good for smuggling/privateer and covert ops

-total war: participate in surgical strikes, fleet battles, up to full scale glassing of planets (well bad for economy so less shiny and big stuff - maybe even a regression of technology and amount of ships)

oh wait that remembers me slightly of sid meiers pirates - well you can leave the marriage part...

i better stop now...

before i write something like:

boarding switches you to a tactical scape and you have to duke it out xcom-style <img src="' http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//icon_e_biggrin.gi f"' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' />

Good luck and success with your new game !

To the Gemini Team,

AWESOME!

I am definitely looking forward to this...everything you outlined above sounds absolutely fantastic.

Thank you for responding with such a detailed update!

First I would like to say that I just found SPG yesterday and must say that I *love* the game. It has been a while since I've played a game like this and have been looking for something to fill the void since Freelancer. I trully hope that SPG2 is still on schedule, I've read that the release date is supposed to be sometime in Q4 2012, I hope it's not been pushed back too much. From what I know of SPG1 and reading these posts, SPG2 seems like it will truly be an awsome game. Is there a pre-order for it? I'll pre-order it now (paid in full) if I can (on Steam?? or retail - GameStop??)!

Sorry to add my suggestion so late:

I would like to see levels in trading and in mining. If you trade or mine enough you should get 1) bonuses 2) chances for better and more rare loot. 3) unlock new trading/mining content.

Reason is this: There was no real reason to EVER trade or mine or search derelicts in SPG1.

I like the new idea for SPG2 where you get a chnce to bring the derelict back online. However, Unless you can find rare and unique ships and get a real gain out of them if you ever manage to get one online, there will be little use for this new function (except as a source of money). In other words, you should be rewarded for spending the time searching or trading. Not just wish you had done missions or story mode instead and be twice as far ahead.

Same with mining. Maybe rare items ONLY to be gained by mining would be necessary for certain offshoot missions....or to create or purchase unique weapons.

hope you read this, btw, love the work youve done so far in upgrading from SPG1.

oh one more thing. I loved the EXP leveling in the last game, but i had issues with the ability leveling. mostly with the ability cap thing at 3 or 4 ability upgrades then you could not upgrade anymore and there werent enough useful abilities to want to spend points elsewhere.

I really do hope they put a lot of innovation behind the salvage and mining aspect of the game, because I actually did this a lot and it helped me build quite the wealth fairly easily and quickly. Adding more levels, loot types and equipment options for these specific areas would be nice to have. Now with the exp, I thought it was too easy to level so I found myself sporting a high end ship with a lot of the campaign left to go and I felt that game got easier, yeah it was a bit my fault for not progressing the story quicker, but the game should adapt the difficulty of the missions depending on level/equipment. Because if I was supposed to be lvl10 and I was lvl20 then there is a mis-match here.

I really do hope they put a lot of innovation behind the salvage and mining aspect of the game, because I actually did this a lot and it helped me build quite the wealth fairly easily and quickly. Adding more levels, loot types and equipment options for these specific areas would be nice to have. Now with the exp, I thought it was too easy to level so I found myself sporting a high end ship with a lot of the campaign left to go and I felt that game got easier, yeah it was a bit my fault for not progressing the story quicker, but the game should adapt the difficulty of the missions depending on level/equipment. Because if I was supposed to be lvl10 and I was lvl20 then there is a mis-match here.

AI leveling in SPG2 is a definite yes precisely due to the issue you described. Randomly generated vessels will have certain restrictions however. A range if you wish. Example: Sentchuk Barony region in Baeldor Republic will have a limitation on AI levels from 15 to 25. That means that randomly generated vessels will be at least level 15 when spawned and can never be a level over 25. Their level will depend on the player's Exp level, but doesn't necessarily follow it level-by-level. Scripted vessels (main missions) will not have the restriction, and will level-up more closely to the player. Again, not necessarily exactly the same level, but closer. If you roam around and start mission 3 when you're level 40, enemies will not be stuck on exp level 5 so you can blast them to bits in seconds.

Some regions will be easier than others, some will be very hard. All regions are accessible from the start of the game, but if a region spawns ships lvl 30-50, and you're level 10... you're gonna have a bad time ;).