SpaceSimCentral

Sign up on the Star Sonata wed site for beta testing starting on September 10.http://starsonata2.com/

Thanks for posting our game here! We're also recreating the entire new player experience. If anyone has questions about Star Sonata 2 feel free to ask away.Star Sonata 2 is the new hybrid space MMO featuring the construction of massive empires, RTS- and action-based combat, RPG progression and the creation of your own story in the struggle against aliens from across the universe and beyond.The successor from Star Sonata, Star sonata 2 composes of a new graphics engine, producing beautiful 3D ships, effects and scenery. With the new graphics engine comes a much more stable client, greater support for custom UI modifications and a brand new musical score. Check out the beta release video below!Full screen and highest quality recommended. Star Sonata 2 also features:Over 120 skills to learn in order to improve your character.Over 2000 missions to complete as you make your mark in the wide universe.Over 4000 unique star systems to explore within the game.Eight individual combat classes to choose from.Sandbox-style empire building of bases, colonies, defensive drones and computer-controlled trading slaves.RTS-style controls of your bases, drones and combat slaves.Player versus player and player versus environment combat.A diverse, player-driven economy.Ability to claim the seat of Emperor of the Universe, and have a personally designed item.Events which can cause universal collapse and reformation to keep the game dynamic.[/hr]Sign up for the FREE beta at http://www.starsonata2.com

Hi SSBrentMI know when I tried playing Star Sonata a few years back I was turned off quickly to the game because of some of the players griefing and just being asses to the new players. I have read some similar experiences on other game forums/blogs. Is or will there be any improvements to help new players along and is there any sort of lvl restriction on attacking ships? I am a fan of open PvP, will everything be that way or will some areas be lvl restricted as well to keep everyone on similar level playing field?Definitely a nice make over and will try to play in the beta coming soon so I can see the differences that I remember from the original. Will Star Sonata continue to run when Star Sonata 2 is released? Or is there some type of player migration plan or phase out for the original?

DarkOne wrote:
Hi SSBrentMI know when I tried playing Star Sonata a few years back I was turned off quickly to the game because of some of the players griefing and just being asses to the new players. I have read some similar experiences on other game forums/blogs. Is or will there be any improvements to help new players along
Griefing in terms of PvP actions won't be possible in the areas where new players will participate. In terms of players being asses to new players I think in general it's a who you run into situation, we have plenty of players who are often happy to help out newcomers, get them started and offer tips but like every MMO you do have a few rotten eggs every now and then.We've been completely recreating and improving the new player area with story driven content to get them into the game, learn of what they can do in a safe environment and then when they're ready they can immerse themselves into the game universe. We're also working on improving our tutorial information, along with video tutorials covering a lot of the game features in the near future.
DarkOne wrote:
and is there any sort of lvl restriction on attacking ships? I am a fan of open PvP, will everything be that way or will some areas be lvl restricted as well to keep everyone on similar level playing field?
We already do have level restrictions on PvP ranges based on a variety of circumstances from player level, how far you are from civilized space and war relations between player organizations. Those aside, we'll also be having regions of space where PvP is not permitted and regions where it is permitted.PvP is probably the most difficult element to balance in a MMO, especially one as complex and diverse as Star Sonata. We want to allow both those that wish to participate in PvP conflicts and give them a few boons for doing so but we also understand that there are a lot of gamers out there that simply enjoy logging on and having a blast with their friends without having to worry about getting attacked.That said, a large amount of the PvE content will be in PvE only space. We will however continue to have persistent space station construction, system ownership and colonizing frontier worlds in PvP enabled regions. The lucrative opportunity for players to band together to form a empire and build up a sector of space comes with the difficulty of managing diplomatic ties with neighboring empires with the potential for powerful alliances or a conflict is a very important part of the game in my opinion.
DarkOne wrote:
Definitely a nice make over and will try to play in the beta coming soon so I can see the differences that I remember from the original. Will Star Sonata continue to run when Star Sonata 2 is released? Or is there some type of player migration plan or phase out for the original?
SS1 will run during the course of the beta period of SS2 however we plan to migrate the current player base to Star Sonata 2 on release.Overall we have been and will continue to work diligently on improving Star Sonata as a whole and we're always happy to work with our community on ways to improve in areas where we could use a bit of polishing.

Looks cool, but the graphics look kinda cartoony. Also, I heard that the server gets reset every few months?

darksmaster923 wrote:
Looks cool, but the graphics look kinda cartoony.
I wouldn't say they're cartoony but we do have a fairly unique art style. To each his own though.
darksmaster923 wrote:
Also, I heard that the server gets reset every few months?
Usually every 4 months we have a universe reset in which the universe layout is randomly generated. Players usually pack up their space bases and put away their trading fleets. Character data and assets are not lost.Upon a new universe everything is randomly generated except custom content zones. Thousands of new solar systems are added with variations, resources, alien artifacts and dangers. Individual players and player organizations can then go out fight the AI factions that reside in the systems to claim a piece of the pie for themselves.

It's the tiny planets and stars that bug me :POh snap, character data and ships aren't deleted?Definately going to try this out then. Too bad the layouts get reset, but it's probably preferable unless you're doing an MMO like Shores of Hazeron where there is literally billions of systems.

Tiny planets, stars. We've been thinking of increasing the scale a little bit but it's something we've not decided on yet. It wouldn't be anywhere near the size scale of a space flight sim though.I will note though that beta characters are slated to be wiped currently once the beta testing period is over. We don't currently wipe characters during normal 'universe resets' though and have no plans to do anything like that in the future.Any other questions, feel free to ask.

IMO, you should increase the scale. I know that actual planet sizes wouldn't be feasible, but it seems a little weird that my corvette looks like the size of russia. Probably 2-3x the size would look great.

Just wanted to remind everyone that the free beta period started as scheduled on September 10th and is on going. Anyone wishing to sign up still and jump into the game can do so at http://www.starsonata2.comFor anyone that has been on it and has been testing, thank you. We've gotten quite a bit of feedback and we're refining Star Sonata 2 further as more players test.

I have my beta key and will give it a spin later this week i've been a little busy.

Is there still going to be the level 20 limit for f2p?

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Is there still going to be the level 20 limit for f2p?
I am not quite sure how things are going to go in regards to that so as of right now I'd say to just enjoy the free beta for the moment and stay tuned for official announcements when they're ready to be sent out.When that information is available I'll be sure to post it up on the forums here.

Some thoughts:The planets are really small and they rotate extremely fast. I'm fairly certain that the police corvette/frigate ships are larger than Earth.Docking on moving space stations is extremely annoying. Trying to 'catch' a space station while maintaining docking speed is frustrating.I like the abundance of missions over grinding, makes the game far better than most other MMOs.For the popup menus, such as the inventory and the profile, really need an exit button to them.It would be nice to be able to zoom in and out with the mouse wheel instead of the minus and plus buttons