A Look at Stardrive
and Stardrive 2
Stardrive is
an indie 4x space combat strategy game and passion project from Daniel Diccio
of Zer0 Sum Games. It is his first attempt at creating a commercial videogame.
Most art assets that were made by Ariel Chai and the music was composed by Jeff
Dodson. Developing a game is a huge task, usually done by whole teams of people
with specific skills. DiCiccio however has done it almost entirely for himself
thanks to the financial help of a Kickstarter back in December of 2011. So how
did it work out?
The
crowdfunding was very successful, and DiCiccio received $17,676 for the
project, more than doubling his goal of $7,500. The features listed on the Kickstarter
included race customization, module-based ship design, ground combat, a
research tree, diplomacy, and most importantly: multiplayer.
Stardrive
finally released on Steam April 26 of 2013. The core gameplay of module based
ship construction and real time combat was available in its entirety and very
much in depth. The 2D and 3D art was wonderful and dialogue with the other
races immersive and entertaining, at least for the first time playing. The
music was also very well done and stands on its own as a composition. Being
able to control your own flagship in massive real time battles was so
satisfying of a mechanic that it could have been made into a game by itself.
Planetary governance, research trees, and artifact discovery were satisfactory
and functioning. With open mod support, though inconveniently not through Steam
Workshop, the game was extremely replayable.
Unfortunately
it quickly became apparent that the game was not exactly everything that was
promised. Aside bugs the most glaring issues were a seemingly unfinished
ancient alien side-quest that ended abruptly, and the absence of the
multiplayer components promised in the kickstarter. The ground combat and
espionage systems were also fairly bare, though they were functional. For every
feature that was engaging and had depth, there was another that was either
missing or unpolished.
Some
features, such as the ancient alien questline, have eventually been finished
through ongoing patches but what has caused the most issue with players is that
the game remains without any multiplayer component whatsoever, despite the
kickstarter promising it. Does this make the money from the kickstarter
ill-gotten? Were all the backers taken advantage of? It certainly isn't the
first time a kickstarter has gone rotten, and this is not nearly the worst
case. With nearly 200 hours played, I can advocate that the game as it is is
fun enough, though I would like to play with friends. However, is “fun enough”
enough for DiCiccio?
On February
25 this year Stardrive 2 was announced. Zero Sum Games claims in a
GamingShogun.com article that: “It will bring [players] back to the golden
age of 4x gaming with familiar strategic gameplay while using the power of the
Unity engine to push AAA visuals.” When asked on twitter for hints about
the ground combat DiCiccio replied: “It's what it should have been the first
time.” On whether multiplayer will be in the game, DiCiccio would only say
that “I've learned the hard way not to make promises about multiplayer.
Suffice it to say that it is a distinct possibility.”
Owners
of the current Stardrive will be given a 33% loyalty discount for a purchase of
Stardrive 2, which may be available as early as September.
