I've been following information about Starbase for a while. When the June 17 early access date was announced, I joined Discord and the forum. So far, I've just been lurking to get a feel for what is going on, but I think now it is time I introduced myself.
I'm a retired programmer living in Wisconsin. I am very fond of games that involve building, especially space ones. My favorites have been Starship Evo, Empyrion and Space Engineers, switching between them as new features are released. I was in the alpha test for Dual Universe from the beginning and for a while, I enjoyed it very much, but I lost interest when they introduced their skill system. I have also done a lot of building in some non-space games, mainly Atlas and Rust.
What attracted me to Starbase was the level of detail it depicts in building. In the games I have already played, shipbuilding has been essentially snapping blocks together. Some games have made this more flexible than others, but in none of them has it involved creating a framework, then wiring, piping and plating it as in Starbase. I feel the Starbase approach will be more challenging, more immersive and offer more opportunities for creativity.
As I learned more about Starbase, I found other things that made it even more appealing. I especially like the openness of the developers. Many developers claim to want this, but Frozenbyte has actually been posting weekly reports on what they are working on. That is one of the things that disappointed me with Dual Universe. Initially, they seemed very open, but as the game progressed, I felt the developers were isolating themselves more and more from the players.
I also like the approach Frozenbyte is taking to make a game that is balanced for different types of players. One example of this is the division of capital ships into civilian and military ones. While I am sure it will not satisfy players at either extreme, to me it seems an excellent way of providing security to those who want it while still rewarding those who take risks. While they will undoubtly need to make adjustments as the game is tested, as someone who does not have enough interest in combat to ever become proficient, it is encouraging to know they want civilian ships to be a viable option.
Like many people, I am waiting with anticipation for my chance to play Starbase.
I'm a retired programmer living in Wisconsin. I am very fond of games that involve building, especially space ones. My favorites have been Starship Evo, Empyrion and Space Engineers, switching between them as new features are released. I was in the alpha test for Dual Universe from the beginning and for a while, I enjoyed it very much, but I lost interest when they introduced their skill system. I have also done a lot of building in some non-space games, mainly Atlas and Rust.
What attracted me to Starbase was the level of detail it depicts in building. In the games I have already played, shipbuilding has been essentially snapping blocks together. Some games have made this more flexible than others, but in none of them has it involved creating a framework, then wiring, piping and plating it as in Starbase. I feel the Starbase approach will be more challenging, more immersive and offer more opportunities for creativity.
As I learned more about Starbase, I found other things that made it even more appealing. I especially like the openness of the developers. Many developers claim to want this, but Frozenbyte has actually been posting weekly reports on what they are working on. That is one of the things that disappointed me with Dual Universe. Initially, they seemed very open, but as the game progressed, I felt the developers were isolating themselves more and more from the players.
I also like the approach Frozenbyte is taking to make a game that is balanced for different types of players. One example of this is the division of capital ships into civilian and military ones. While I am sure it will not satisfy players at either extreme, to me it seems an excellent way of providing security to those who want it while still rewarding those who take risks. While they will undoubtly need to make adjustments as the game is tested, as someone who does not have enough interest in combat to ever become proficient, it is encouraging to know they want civilian ships to be a viable option.
Like many people, I am waiting with anticipation for my chance to play Starbase.