Stardust Exile

[Martok]

This one looks a bit different: 


https://store.steampowered.com/app/1858900/Stardust_Exile/

[Martok]

The premise is that you're playing as one of multiple Human factions, and you're all exploring & fighting your way across the Milky Way, so as to eventually return & reclaim the Sol system.  It obviously has a bit of a Homeworld vibe. 

Looks like one of the game's big selling points will be that stars & planets are "procedurally generated based on currently known data".  Personally, that's not going to make it a must-buy, though it certainly sounds cool (if true). 

Similarly, it also sounds like galaxy maps could be enormous:  I can't imagine they'll actually consist of hundreds of billions of star systems -- I'm guessing that would almost certainly make even the most powerful gaming PC beg for mercy and/or commit suicide -- but who knows?  Maybe the developer found a way around that problem. 

The other major aspect of Stardust Exile I find interesting is that apparently it's intended to primarily be an MMORTS game, though exactly how that might work is currently unclear.  Fortunately, however, it sounds as if the game will also release with a singleplayer mode when it goes int Early-Access (which looks like will happen later this year. 



I'll be honest -- I'm not sure what to make of this one.  I have a feeling it could end up not being my cup of tea...but it also could be, too.  At the very least, I appreciate the dev is trying something a bit different with the genre.  I have it added to my wishlist for the time being, if only so I can at least keep tabs on it.  Whether it ends up being a game I'd enjoy or not, it looks like an interesting one to watch. 

[bbmike]

I quit reading after "RTS" and "200,418,611,014 star systems".

[Huw the Poo]

Hmm very intriguing, good find Martok (as usual)!

There are two pain points for me: I absolutely H A T E designing my own ships in these games, it's far too distracting from the actual game. Also the graphics suck.

Other than that though, it's certainly different and I love the online aspect of it. I'm definitely keeping an eye on this one.

[Martok]

I quit reading after "RTS" and "200,418,611,014 star systems".

The number of star systems is a concern for me as well.  At this point, it's not clear whether the game will actually have that many or not -- and if so, how in the hell that's supposed to work.  I'm still guessing it won't be anywhere near that many, but we'll see. 

As for the RTS aspect, my experiences with Distant Worlds and Stellaris (and to a lesser extent, other games like Imperium Galactica II and Polaris Sector) have largely eliminated my aversion to it.  Sure, I still prefer my space 4x games be turn-based -- all other things being equal -- but I can no longer say it's a deal-breaker when they aren't. 

Hmm very intriguing, good find Martok (as usual)!

There are two pain points for me: I absolutely H A T E designing my own ships in these games, it's far too distracting from the actual game. Also the graphics suck.

Other than that though, it's certainly different and I love the online aspect of it. I'm definitely keeping an eye on this one.

Thanks, Huw! 

The dev mentioned he's planning to add an auto-design feature, so you shouldn't be forced to deal with that once the game is actually out.  I agree the graphics aren't great, although I'm mostly bothered by the ship models -- the stars, planets, galaxy map, etc. look okay to me.  But then, I'm generally not a huge stickler about such things.   

[bbmike]

I will say that games like Stellaris have made RTS much less of a pain and actually playable for me for the most part.