Starpoint Gemini 2

[Dorijan]

Finally I can officially announce that we at LGM Games are proud to show first screenshots from our upcoming space sim RPG Starpoint Gemini 2. YOU have made it possible for us to continue creating games that we enjoy. SPG website has also been updated to serve as the SPG2 homepage. SPG1 website can still be reached through the link on the Home section. It is also with great joy that I can announce that we have secured a publishing agreement with Iceberg Interactive. Their knowledge and experience in general and with the SPG franchise will be of immense help to get Starpoint Gemini 2 to interested gamers.

[CaptainKal]

Great news Doriijan. And I really like those screenshots. 

[Dorijan]

Oh and I completely forgot to say something else. It's been hectic this last month and today especially so forgive my poor memory. I'm sure you have figured it out on your own that obviously SPG2 won't be coming out just yet. As the official PR states release date is Q3 this year. I apologize for not releasing that info earlier, but I simply couldn't get ahead of myself and well... legal obligations . Starpoint Gemini 2 is a large game, a very large game. We've got a whole solar system to fill with interesting locations, random events, AI ships... And an important thing is that we want to avoid, or to say it more precisely, fix all the bugs we can, only this time before release so everyone interested can have a more enjoyable and stress-free experience of Gemini. Once again, a big thanks to everyone for their support and patience! We really do appreciate it immensely! That said, Starpoint Gemini 2 is progressing nicely. We'll do our best to update the website as often as possible with news shots and short stories. Cheers!

[Pinback]

Excellent news Dorijan :biggrin: Even better I see that Iceberg say they will be releasing the boxed edition at the same time as the digital game. :biggrin: :biggrin: Love the new look of space as well

[Dorijan]

Glad you like the visuals. It can only get better  Yep, it will be a proper coordinated release .

[darksmaster923]

my body is ready

[True]

Iceberg Interactive will be the Publisher. They already published the previous Starpoint Gemini and also Endless Space.Good publisher, I assume. =)

[Dorijan]

Iceberg Interactive will be the Publisher. They already published the previous Starpoint Gemini and also Endless Space.Good publisher, I assume. =)We have only the best to say about them. Honest, direct, no BS

[Geraldine]

Hi DoriijanThis is great news indeed, I've already updated the SPG thread on the Frontier Forum about it. Nice artwork, one of the ships reminds me of the Vaygr Command ship, nice!. :girlsmile:

[Dorijan]

Thanks Geraldine! We appreciate it! We'll post more shots, art and stories as we go along .

[Dorijan]

A short update:We've started the Starpoint Gemini 2 facebook page and you cal also follow us on Twitter[twitter]@LGMGames[/twitter]

[Marcello]

Just checked the FB page. There are some new shots posted and they look amazing. Gap between this game and previous one is as wide as Grand Canyon

[Pinback]

Same just had a look at the Facebook page.

[XenonS]

In the Feature list, they say: Direct ship controls in full 3D environment create complete immersion I really hope we are getting away from the 3rd person view for ships which doesn't create any immersion. 3rd person view gives me only an Arcade feeling,There are only 2 games where I accept 3rd person view: Starwars Battlefront II and Salvation Prophecy. This view must fit together for a movie show and not for realistic ship maneuvres etc. XenonS

[Dorijan]

The "complete immersion" bit refers to the big difference from SPG1. SPG1 was planar, you could only steer the ship left-right, whereas SPG2 features complete 3D environment and controls. In SPG2 you steer the ship manually, no more "point and click" for direction . Considering the main camera in the game. It is still 3rd person. The idea is to have an overview of your surroundings, so you can position your ship properly. It's very important to set your ship well in the sense of turrets and shields. As was the case in SPG1, turrets have their firing arcs, so a strictly 1st person camera could be problematic on large ships that have turrets facing all sides. We do have 1st person camera in the game, but the main camera is 3rd person. There are several reason. Some I mentioned above. And here are some more. There are 70 different ships in the game. We'd like nothing more than to have a bridge view for each of those, but that's simply out of our scope for the time being. That said, we plan on keeping the FPS camera in the game, and it should be useful for smaller ship classes, that rely heavily on front facing turrets. That coupled with perks related to smaller ships should make smaller ships quite capable in combat even against larger ships . I hope that answers your questions XenonS, even if it is deal breaker for you .

[XenonS]

Thanks to elaborate. As long as the gameplay is interesting and challeging, i don't mind for a 3rd person view, I didn't make that very clear (I played the 2 games mentioned above were this was the case). Seen the great diversity of missions proposed in SPG, I'm pleased to hear about a sequel  XenonS

[Cruisin1500]

really looking forward to the game Dorijan

[XenonS]

Gameplay suggestion:It would be very nice to make the collision system with asteroids more consistent in SPG2. In SPG enemies fire through asteroids which harms the gameplay. There are not many objects to hide to recover shields, so it would be good if asteroids (or any other objects) can be used as natural shield, hiding or lurking places.This means a different and more complex AI routine, of course: If I'm hiding behind an Asteroid, the enemy can not blindly fire at my direction, but must come around the object to kill me. As an addition to asteroid fields, debris fields would also be welcome and should have the same functionality: using them for hiding or harm enemy fire. XenonS

[Dorijan]

Well then... guess we're in luck as asteroids ARE an obstacle this time. Any weapons fire that hits an asteroid, stops in that asteroid. After taking enough beating, the asteroid will "burst" into pieces, and each piece serves as an obstacle too. That should provide sufficient cover . And besides, why should a behemoth dreadnought maneuver around smaller asteroids when it can simply blast his way through .

[XenonS]

It is surely much simplier to do objects with no collision system, if their only purpose is for pure decor. But if they can be used in the game process, the question is if it's interesting or not. By reading reviews of SPG, most people complain that combat is rather uniform and always the same, over and over. So, the more variables for action, the better. Also ships with less powerful upgrades will get some chance. As a reference, look at the game Ad Astra: very beautiful planet landscapes, but no collision system. That leads to unsatisfying game experience when it comes to combat (the core activity): it's nice to look at the surounding, but for combat, the planet may as well not exist at all. Not an immersive combat experience, because the player realizes that much more could be achieved.II realize of course that changing such an aspect is a behemoth work and must fit in "how much" you want to do. Because I'm not a coder, I can only feedback on what's my gaming experience in a given situation, hoping to help.XenonS