Colony Ship - Early Access Version released

HiddenX

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The Early Access version of Colony Ship: A Post-Earth Role Playing Game is now available:

ABOUT THIS GAME

It is the Year of Our Lord 2754...



You will never feel the sun's warmth under a blue sky, never hear the wind in the branches of a tree, and never swim in the ocean, all because you had the misfortune to be born on the Ship, chained to a fate you didn't choose. You have never seen Earth and you'll never see Proxima Centauri either. You're doomed to live and die on the Ship in the name of the Mission, like your father before you, like his father before him.

The Ship is old. She had already been twenty years in service when she was rechristened Starfarer - a pretty name for a retrofitted interplanetary freighter. No one is certain the Ship will actually reach its destination, and nobody much cares, since no one alive now will live to see it. Might as well get on with your life and try to make the best of it.

Features:

Colony Ship is an isometric, party-based RPG inspired by Heinlein's Orphans of the Sky. Your character's world is a "generation ship," a massive spacecraft on a centuries long voyage to colonize a distant planet. The Ship's original government has been disbanded following a violent mutiny and you must negotiate a treacherous path among your fellow passengers and the contentious factions striving to dominate the Ship. Your choices alone will determine who your friends and enemies are.


  • Skill-based character system, with feats and implants.
  • Tactical turn-based combat, featuring standard, aimed, and weapon-specific attacks.
  • Multiple quest solutions, mutually exclusive questlines, and a branching main storyline.
  • 10 recruitable party members with different personalities, agendas, and beliefs (only 3 available in the first chapter).
  • 3 main factions and a score of lesser factions and groups
  • A large arsenal including melee weapons, firearms, energy pistols, grenades, and futuristic gadgets like the Energy Shield, Reality Distortion Generator, and Cloaking Field.
  • Different environments to explore, from the Engine Room and Hydroponics to the dystopian cities of the Habitat and the Mission Control ruined decks (only the Pit, Armory, and Hydroponics are available in the first chapter)
Thanks Henriquejr & Pladio!

More information.
 
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Any first impressions?
 
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Not from me, I always play my games years (literally) after release...
 
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Bought it via GoG. Seems awesome. I've read Bova's 'Exiles' trilogy recently and the mood seems to be a little bit similar. Though it's not easy to discern the situation on the ship, faction-wise, from those initial screens of text...
 
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Nice. That was fast. :)

I'm interested in Colony Ship, but I've got too much on my plate right now. Glad I can see what it's like though.

Well, Release is in 18 Month earliest. I estimate more like 2 or 3 years. So I guess you got plenty of time. ;)
 
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Wowza…that long? I was thinking next year.



Good luck with that. By the time you play this, you might actually be on a colony ship. ;)

Remember that Age of Decadence was developed for over 10 years.
 
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UI is surprisingly good! Portraits are best. 3D graphics is excellent. Can't rotate the camera = faster to do 3D assets that are only have to look good from one viewing angle. Still camera rotation not a thing in a 3D game, this has to change..
Music: not fitting, ruins the atmosphere.
Engine: not optimized for speed, of course for EA.
Writing: too many FCKNG text. Only read some short answers, because they were in different color, than the omnipresent long Walls of Text.
Combat: Ugh.. game ran too slow on my old PC, didn't get to combat, too large distances to walk. So tomorrow maybe..
Hype: Unfortunately not feeling much inclination to continue exploring, but this is still EA and commendable work!
 
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UI is surprisingly good! Portraits are best. 3D graphics is excellent. Can't rotate the camera = faster to do 3D assets that are only have to look good from one viewing angle. Still camera rotation not a thing in a 3D game, this has to change..
Music: not fitting, ruins the atmosphere.
Engine: not optimized for speed, of course for EA.
Writing: too many FCKNG text. Only read some short answers, because they were in different color, than the omnipresent long Walls of Text.
Combat: Ugh.. game ran too slow on my old PC. So tomorrow..
Hype: Unfortunately not feeling much inclination to continue exploring, but this is still EA and commendable work!

I think you either need to like the text or the game is not for you. Age of Decadence is also heavy on text. And you can do most stuff in the game without having any combat. I found the dialogues and text to be good though. Also in difference to games like Shadowrun Hong Kong the text actually matters. You need to be aware what you answer as your answers will have very different outcomes and consequences.
I actually liked the music.
Regarding the performance: I somehow doubt that much is going to change till release in that regard. What machine do you use?
I am using a 6700k and GTX 1070 and I am only playing on 1080p. While this setup is already 4-5 years old, I would expect it to run fine, which it does.
However scrolling and the blur were not super great and I adjusted this (slightly reduced). Also make sure to reduce the settings in the game (which to me were all set to Ultra, which was fine)
 
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Remember that Age of Decadence was developed for over 10 years.
We worked part time and had no experience or tools. In comparison it took us 8 years to get to this point with AoD.
 
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I decided to purchase it in EA to help support development, but I probably won't play it until the full release. Kind of treating it as a Kickstarter.
 
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