Turtle-Zone 3000
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The crowdsourcing campaign just turned up as a preview on Fig: https://www.fig.co/campaigns/starflight-3
Starflight was the first PC game to go platinum, selling over a million copies while also garnering huge critical success earning “Adventure Game of the Year”. Its sequel, Starflight 2: The Trade Routes of the Cloud Nebula went on to receive “Role-Playing Game of the Year”. We're building Starflight’s next incarnation under the creative direction of its original designer, Greg Johnson and we can't do it without your help!
- A sci-fi single-player, sandbox role-playing game that focuses on exploration, diplomacy, resource gathering and combat
- Hand-built planets and star systems to discover, mine, catalog new creatures and trade with locals
- Alien races with distinct languages and cultures that will test your diplomacy skills
- Ship and crew customization to suit your play style
- Mind-bending clues scattered across the stars that you must decipher to keep going in the right direction
- Random events that will make some of your decisions easier and at times… difficult
- A truly free-form experience allowing you to decide how to explore whenever you want to
About 30 years ago a tiny 5-person videogame developer, Binary Systems released Starflight and it set the bar for the space RPG genre. Starflight is a master class in blending procedurally generated exploration, crafted storytelling and deep world building to create a truly free-form player experience.
Most importantly, the DNA of Starflight can be seen in so many space RPG games of today. It had a direct influence on titles such as Star Control, Mass Effect and Dwarf Fortress. If there’s a space opera you love, chances are a good chunk of Starflight is in there!
Starflight 1
You’re a starship captain in the year 4620 and what’s left of humanity is under threat after scientists discover that nearby stars are flaring and destroying everything that orbits them. While searching for a solution you realize that the fuel ships use, called Endurium, is actually a race of living sentient beings! Their homeworld is a crystal planet that moves slowly through the galaxy causing the stars to flare up as it tries to stop humans and other aliens from using them as fuel. After planting and detonating an ancient artifact on the crystal homeworld you end the threat!
Starflight 2: Trade Routes of the Cloud Nebula
After the destruction of the crystal planet in Starflight 1 and the ensuing ban on using Endurium as fuel for starships, a new “super fuel” is discovered called Shyneum. The source of all Shyneum exists at a hidden location deep in the treacherous Cloud Nebula. This location is controlled exclusively by a race called the Spemin who now wish to enslave humanity. Therefore the player’s main mission is to find the source of Shyneum at all costs. During the player’s quest she travels back in time and retrieves an ancient data cube containing schematics for powerful weapons and armor. The player’s ship is upgraded allowing the player to enter into the Cloud Nebula defeating the hostile inhabitants and securing the source of Shyneum. The balance of power is restored and humanity is saved again!
Another chapter in the Starflight universe is here! Starflight 3 brings new alien races to encounter, completely uncharted star systems to discover, and never before seen planets to explore. All grounded in the same genre-defining gameplay mechanics of the original Starflight games. And, something’s not right, not with humans, not with aliens, not with the galaxy—not with the universe itself!
Build Your Team and Upgrade Your Ship
Nothing else matters if your crew and ship aren't up to the task! Starflight 3will require you to keep them healthy and functioning at all times:
- Assemble a crew from the brand new alien races in Starflight 3, each race with its unique strengths and weaknesses
- Earn skill points to train crew members along the way. Communications Officer still wet behind the ears? Well then expect to not understand a lot of what these aliens are saying to you! Navigator an old veteran? Then don't worry as you pop out of that wormhole into unknown space. He'll pinpoint your new location.
- Your ship is as solid as they come but it's got room to improve. In Starflight 3 you'll be able to upgrade almost every part of your ship: weapons, shields, engines, increased cargo space.
- Certain rare upgrades in Starflight 3 may even allow you to land and navigate high G planets or gas giants, traverse through wormholes unharmed, take quantum jumps in and out of space, and more!
Traverse the Stars
Starflight 3 is big, like BIG big. With new star systems to visit you'll need to keep an eye on fuel levels, avoid hostile territory (or not) and never EVER take an eye off your long range scanners.
Mine, Harvest, and Trade
In Starflight 3's all new planets you'll find trade centers like the one above. Of course you can trade minerals, plants and animals here but there's also the chance to find rare items or clues to what's going on. Don't discount the value of information!
Starflight 3's planets are extremely diverse:
- Mine rocks and minerals for repairs or to sell
- Harvest plants
- Log or capture animal specimens
- Barter with the locals at trade depots
- Get tips to locations containing ancient ruins or relics
- Land and hide out while a more powerful enemy passes on by
Alien Diplomacy is Essential
Interacting with aliens in Starflight 3 isn't just about understanding their language. You'll have to decipher their entire perspective on life, the universe, the whole shebang! One race may speak in colors, another may describe things through shapes. Translating their words is one thing but understanding what they're saying is the much bigger puzzle!
- New alien races from the previous Starflight games will be encountered, each with unique ships, weapons, attitudes and cultures
- Each alien encounter is part of a puzzle to solve that provides clues to the big picture
- Some will fear you right away, others will attack without hesitation, but ALL have something you need
Combat is a Fact
Try as you might there is no avoiding it. Words will fail, warm gestures will be ignored and "good vibes" never really worked to begin with. Ship combat in Starflight 3 breaks down like this:
- The armor, shields and weapons systems of your ship are upgradeable and in some cases interchangeable
- The weight of your ship and the power of your thrusters will affect your maneuverability
- Retreat is always an option and uhh... you might want to take it for your first few encounters
Save the Universe!
Aliens are gettin’ weird, humans are gettin’ crazy, and no one knows WHY! We can figure it out together in the Starflight universe but not without help out here in the real universe! So please select one of our awesome backer reward tiers or become an investor through Fig! Thank you!!!
Who better to set the vision for Starflight 3 than the guy who created the first two Starflight games!? That guy is Greg Johnson, Studio Head at HumaNature Studios. Since Greg released the first two Starflight games he has gone on to work on a ton more games. But in the back of his mind there's always been churning a third chapter in the Starflight epic. And now with your support it's time to bring that to life!
We’re in pre-production with playable prototypes for planetary exploration, star system navigation and ship encounters! Greg has the story planned out for the game and we’ve established early look-and-feel pieces that are represented in playable demos. On the Design front we’re starting to iterate on the fundamental gameplay systems (e.g. combat, planetary exploration, navigation). We’re beginning work on our dialog system, biome randomization and the alien species' languages and cultures.
The money we raise on Fig will allow us to keep our team very small and focused and continue to quickly iterate during pre-production.
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