Hey there, thought I'd pop in and cover a few questions. Thanks for all the positive comments. It's great to see so many interested space folks out there! As Pete mentions, Rogue is fairly old skool non-linear. You're left up to your own devices in how you go about increasing things like your notoriety and bank balance via trading, escorting, hunting, scavenging etc. I wouldn't describe Rogue as being missions based but there are missions which offer straight forward ways to ease progress and provide intriguing story information. These take the form of delivery type missions from station to station. I won't say too much more, but there are also 'other' mission types which good players may find they're offered at some point.. The intention with Rogue Star has always been to prove that this genre can be/still is, a compelling experience for modern audiences. If we can gain a little momentum on release, I intend to build and expand the title in other exciting areas. I deliberately kept Rogue's design as tight as possible, to ensure it would eventually be released. Too many projects end up failing due to over complication and ambition and I didn't want that to happen. Of course the irony is that it still ended up taking almost 5 years..! Don't forget to check out and like our facebook page and twitter. I'm doing my best currently to cover all bases and keep everyone informed. Right now it's all about getting the word out there, especially in big markets like the States. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roguestargame Twitter: @roguestargame Thanks again!
I've been looking forward to this one for a long time. Not only will it be a day one purchase for me, but you better believe I will not only be recommending this to all of my friends but also posting screenshots and excerpts on Stupidbook. I hope you boys and girls at RedBreast make a TON of money on this!
As promised, the control layout. The three coloured squares are the power for the shields, weapons and engines, altered on the fly (literally!) at any point by simply holding the appropriate cell. The largest circle is the analogue stick with the smallest circle allowing you to roll when held in conjunction with the analogue stick. The medium circle fires your lasers and the arrows along the bottom handle automatic docking at friendly space station (the schadenfreude of watching my Dad crashing while docking in Elite when I was young will always be with me!). Finally, the blue bar on the right is your thrust; you swipe up or down to alter it. It might seem a little complex but it's really not and honestly, I'm more surprised it as simple as that given the nature of games like this. I've played a small bit further, accidentally delivering contraband in the meantime! Just wanted to point out something I noticed that I love; there seem to be no loading times whatsoever between FTL travel to other planets. It's possibly very discreet but the jumps between ship contacts on the way to locations is totally seamless and keeps the gameplay fluid which really impressed me.
Pete or Devs, is it possible to say some to the balance between trading and combat? I mean, i'm way more into the active flying/shooting/defending and some more shooting-, rather than the (for me) boring but necessary trading/harvest/text-walls-stuff. Judging from the great video alone, i could get lucky with this game. Will i get lucky ?
How many player ships are in the game? Wich classes (fighters, traders, cruisers, capital ships, corvettes...)???
@Qwertz I'll let Pete give his opinion too, as it's always great to get others thoughts who've played the game! However from my point of view, Rogue was designed foremost with a strong combat element. What always attracted me to this genre was the possibility of proper dogfighting. By that I mean close-up fire fights, manoeuvring against skilful foes. I've never much liked ranged (one button press) combat which, for me, takes away much of the fun and challenge of playing games such as this. This is why it was crucially important to provide comprehensive (rather than dumbed down) controls for players to fly competently and grow good at. Trading wise it was important to strike a good balance between offering depth but also not over complicating a portable design. Therefore, the trading aspect of Rogue is there to provide a diverting and possibly rewarding alternative to constant risky combat. You won't however have to participate if you don't wish to. I'll be covering trading on the fb page but it revolves around 2 main mechanics. Scavenging cargo pods dropped from defeated ships. Or joining station auctions and bidding against other sneaky pilots for cargo. @Truncana I wanted Rogue to reflect a diverse and interesting system, which would reflect an area of space that has been populated for hundreds of years. Therefore, there are 30 different types of ships, of all sizes, and of those 30, 9 can be piloted by the player. They are broadly split between fighters, traders and multi-role vessels. The ships' designs themselves were incredibly important to me so it was crucial to make sure I got them right. Player controllable ships are limited to small to medium(ish) sized ships currently. Corvette class and above are off-limits but that might change if I get the chance to support the game how I'd like.. Again, you can file that under me consciously not wanting to push too far too quickly, and jeopardise the games development.
I can't answer much better and you're already interested so it's a little redundant but I enjoy talking about enjoyable games so I'll indulge myself! There is no need to get involved in trading whatsoever. I've picked up a lot of cargo from destroying pirates (I'm yet to try my hand at piracy myself) and it's as simple as finding a merchant and selling it straight to them for instant profit; like you would any valuable loot in an RPG. Sure you could hoard it and make sure you're getting the best price, but if that's not your thing then don't do it at all. It's wonderful! I like to experience everything one section of a game has to offer before exploring everything else (ie. finishing single player campaigns before touching the multiplayer) so I've been focused on combat and mastering all the dogfighting techniques. It's difficult to compare to another game on iOS as there are so few (part of why I'm so excited!) but it's handled as well as it could ever be. It's also great that, like the trading, you can completely ignore fighting if it's not your thing. There's a lot of room to grow into with Rogue Star and these kind of games offer almost infinite possibilities. If any additions to the game are handled as slickly and professionally as the core game then it can only get better!
@Captain Jim @PeteOzzy Have any of you played Galaxy on Fire 2? That game is my only reference to space trading games, sorry. If you have, how does this game compare to GoF2? Things that are done better/worse in this game, features that one game has, but the other doesn't etc. Is the space divided into "areas" as in each area has one station and you travel between those, or is it more "open-world", something like Drifter is attempting, or is it something else? I know it's probably the former, but it's just worth asking. Combat controls seem pretty interesting and the graphics are quite unique, looking forward to this.
Fantastic game (as was the first GoF) think I managed to tripple-dip on that one (SD/HD/PC versions!) GoF is primarily a space combat sim. To make it more of a space trader you would: - Allow complete freedom of movement including some method of fast travel - Allow for more interaction between pirates/traders/mercenaries/etc on planets/moons/stations/ships - Create a larger space, hopefully more dynamic (non-static markets make for a much more realistic game) I'm probably just rambling. Seriously though, look into Elite, the granddaddy of them all and watch how it's played. It is still a great game, despite it's age. This guy's got a nice set of videos on YouTube:
GOF2HD is an iOS game that was so far ahead of its time. I still keep it on every single iOS device I own and still fire it up a couple times a week to this day. I've got every secret blueprint and hidden system in the game, every single best in slot weapon and equipment, and I've almost got every ship in the game parked in my hanger. If this game is even half as good as GOF2HD, I'll have another permanent staple on my iOS devices. Developers, I understand that the app has already been submitted to Apple, any indication as to whether we'll be able to get our hands on it this week or are you expecting it next week?
You should also look into Deep: Submarine Odyssey, if you have an old phone laying around that can play java games. It's a much better game than GoF was as it is set in a much more original world. The fishing mechanic was simply... perfect in that game. No other resource collection in GoF and even GoF2 is anywhere near as fun as that was. Then you also had to worry about radiation and water pressure and so forth, which added a lot to the whole experience. My second favourite pre-iOS/android era mobile game (the first one being The Elder Scrolls: Shadowkey, of course). Magnificent game, I really wished they had ported Deep to iPhone, but now it's all over with Fishlabs. *There was fast travel in GoF2. You got a device later on in a story mission with which you created wormholes (basically, there was no limit to the range you could have traveled when you had that device). I thought that factions mattered quite a bit. Your payment was higher for friendlier factions and there was also that pirate black market and so forth... It wasn't dynamic enough though, I'll give you that. And yes, Elite really does look fun. I should look into it. Forgot to ask. Is there a cockpit view in Rogue Star? Or at least a front facing camera?
I'm an original eliter! Had the original, played it about 15 hours a day at times.. Made charts n books too with planet trade prices... Love it. Elite frontiers was amazing too... How they fit if all onto 3.5 inch discs Looking forward to this. Galactic phantasy and galactic prelude was good games on iOS too
@Dsmgsx916 All I can say currently regarding the release date is, stay tuned! It won't be long.. @Primoz Do you mean interior cockpit graphics? If so there are none currently. I know many people like them but during development I found that they added very little/nothing to gameplay other than adding slightly to a feeling of immersion. They also weren't suitable for the smaller screen sizes of tablets and phones. Basically, they look great in websites and magazine screenshots but in practice I found that, after the inital novelty wears off, players ended up turning them off. In favour of an uncluttered screen. A good example to cite is Lucasarts fabulous Tie Fighter. The cockpit graphics were wonderful and certainly added to the games atmosphere. However, after a short time (in my experience) players turned them off so that they could fully concentrate on what's happening around them. The cockpit tests I had working however did look great, so who knows, if things go well I may end up adding them back. I do have some interesting gameplay ideas to support their inclusion now.
Argghhhh!!! The anticipation is KILLING me! I've been following this one for a long time now, it's getting purchased the moment it touches down on the App Store
Wow, this manages to look a bit cartoony, yet epic at the same time. Kind of reminds me of Lego Star Wars in that regard.
