Shadowcat on 3/12/2012 at 09:20
(
http://www.digital-eel.com/) Digital Eel recently launched a web site for all things related to their Infinite Space computer games, and the various table-top spin-offs:
(
http://www.infinitespacegames.com/)
It seems like they've cut their ties with Shrapnel Games for whatever reason (I wonder if that means "Eat Electric Death" is genuinely dead now?), with Desura seeming like the new primary source for their games.
Right now there's a four-day pay-what-you-want sale on "Weird Worlds" at (
https://indiegamestand.com/), after which the game will be available on Desura for a new standard price of US$10. Pay more than the average at IGS and you get the original "Strange Adventures in Infinite Space" among other things. Steam and Desura keys are included (it's definitely new to Desura, but I don't think Weird Worlds was on Steam prior to this, either?)
It's actually a new version 1.30 of Weird Worlds, with the OpenAL sound code replaced with their own EelMix software (as used in their last couple of games), some graphical tweaks (apparently the ships are now a bit brighter), and at least one minor bug fix. I haven't spotted a patch for prior versions, but I imagine that'll be available in due course.
I picked up both the "Diceland: Space" sets recently, coincidentally, although I've yet to play it. I'm also curious about "Infinite Space Explorers", but not entirely convinced... has anyone here bought it?
twisty on 3/12/2012 at 11:03
I'm not into board games myself but picked up Weird Worlds on Steam to show my support.
Here's hoping that there might be another pc/ipad SAIS release one day now that they have a site solely dedicated to the SAIS universe.
Shadowcat on 26/1/2013 at 09:41
Quote Posted by Shadowcat
It's actually a new version 1.30 of Weird Worlds, with the OpenAL sound code replaced with their own EelMix software (as used in their last couple of games), some graphical tweaks (apparently the ships are now a bit brighter), and at least one minor bug fix. I haven't spotted a patch for prior versions, but I imagine that'll be available in due course.
That patch is now available:
Quote:
Customers who have obtained Weird Worlds through Desura or Steam will receive updates to the game through the vendor. Those who bought the game on a CD or as a download from Shrapnel Games can download the following file to upgrade their copy of the game. Note that you will need to tell the self-extractor the folder where the game (weird.exe) is located.
(
http://www.infinitespacegames.com/download/weirdworlds_v130patch.exe)
Shadowcat on 3/5/2013 at 00:57
It reached it's fairly modest target already, but hitting a stretch goal would be nice. If you were on the fence, now's the time.
(
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/digital-eel/infinite-space-3-sea-of-stars)
Quote:
However, what will really set this game apart from its predecessors is what we are going to do within this expanded universe. The Sea of Stars will be more alive than before, both reacting to the player's actions and acting on its own. Locations like star bases will be real places with more to do than just trade items, and you may have to attack or defend one in combat. Individual NPCs as well as alien war fleets will go about their business that may or may not be aligned with your interests, and you will have to pick sides. Technology available to you as well as others will advance as time passes, including larger ships showing up.
Of course, we won't forget the mod creators who helped make Weird Worlds great. Not only will all the content use standard file formats so you can use any editor of your choice, we will actually release tools to make things easier. This will ultimately evolve into a full-fledged mod editor within the game that will help you put it all together.
ZylonBane on 3/5/2013 at 01:05
Hopefully the coding for the quest system won't be so freakishly opaque this time.
twisty on 1/10/2013 at 09:21
I like the sounds of this: “There are some cool systems already operating that will allow the aliens (as well as Terrans) to develop new technologies over time, and upgrade their ships.”
Shadowcat on 18/10/2013 at 02:46
Woah. Eat Electric Death is being released (after six years).
(
http://www.infinitespacegames.com/eat-electric-death-lives/)
(
http://www.printplaygames.com/product/eat-electric-death)
(
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/29677/eat-electric-death)
The Digital Eel site has a bunch of info, but no permalinks, so I'll just quote it:
Quote:
If you like old school, hex mapped, tactical battle games, Eat Electric Death! is right up your star lane while providing new wrinkles to keep things fresh. EED! is a "beer & pretzel game." It isn't difficult to play. Rather than being loaded down with details, the game plays lean, fast and deadly, more like the way dramatic and explosive movie and TV starship combats look.
Weapons and items from Weird Worlds appear and function similarly, including the dreaded/coveted Particle Vortex Cannon. Also replayability is provided for. Many scenarios are included, both goal/mission oriented and straight up head to head, and since the game isn't overly complex, new scenarios can be devised by players very easily.
Here's how we're going to do this. Right now and until November 1, this special release of Eat Electric Death! assembled by Andrew costs $40. After that, the price will increase to $45. We're not sure how long the game will be available this way but we'll see how things go.
In the meantime, check out the description, component details and game images on the EED! order page (here's the whole kit and kaboodle in one image and there's more on the EED! Boardgamegeek page too), and please pass the word. (The word is Zap!) We hope everyone who likes to roll dice and blow stuff up will really enjoy making their friends Eat Electric Death!
Shadowcat on 26/10/2015 at 08:43
New trailer for IS3:SOS (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O9CrJH5M84)
Due for release this Thursday (29/10), initially on Steam and the Indiegamestand store "with more portals to follow".
Quote:
Infinite Space III: Sea of Stars is in sight! After several release candidates, the game is now polished and ready for prime time. Among the most exciting late developments, we received some last-minute art help from the one and only Denis Loubet. He really gets the feel of the Infinite Space universe. Thanks Denis!
Shadowcat on 7/3/2016 at 10:10
"Weird Worlds" now has a Linux version. Hurrah! It works very nicely on my Lubuntu box. I spotted it the other day in my IndieGameStand collection, and it turned out to be a brand new addition:
(
http://www.infinitespacegames.com/linux-space-gamers-engage/)
I ought to write something about Sea of Stars. My first game of SOS seemed to confirm all of my fears about using 3D for this kind of game, and I really didn't like it. I played it again a few days later, though, and tried to open my mind a bit to what it was doing differently from its predecessors, and enjoyed it a lot more.
It's a much longer game, for starters. Gone are the selectable galaxy sizes of Weird Worlds; you only get one option, and it's pretty packed, so there's no option for a short game unless you conclude matters prematurely. SAIS also only had one galaxy size, but it was comparable to the smallest of the three galaxy sizes in WW. To me, this is a really significant change -- SOS is in no way the coffee-break game the series started as, and it loses a bunch of its appeal as a result. Maybe that's ok -- I can still play WW after all -- but this more than anything is why I've only played about a dozen games of SOS since it was released (whereas I probably played more than a dozen games of WW on the first day I got it).
In my first game of SOS the 3D interface annoyed me no end. Instead of seeing everything at a glance on a 2D map, I was forced to rotate and zoom and spend a bunch of time just working out which stars were actually close to me (and to one another). After that, I decided I needed to treat it as a different kind of gameplay... and now I kinda <em>like</em> playing with the star map -- I can enjoy what it is, rather than being irked at what it's not.
For the rest of the interface, some bits are great, and other bits are a bit cumbersome (inventory management and trading is more fiddly than in WW), but on the whole it's pretty decent. (And I'm definitely not sorry that the tiny tiny text of the earlier games has been given the heave ho!)
Graphics are nice. I imagine Iikka is probably single-handedly responsible for all of the neat star and planet rendering in the game (which are easy to not pay much attention to, but really very nice when you do). The mix of different 2D art styles is a bit odd -- there were a bunch of different artists, and it looks like it (but I presume the sad loss of original artist Phosphorus was the reason for all that). I think the game gets away with it more than it might on the basis that the art in the Infinite Space games has always been decidedly odd.
I want to say that the audio is good as usual from Digital Eel, but I've not actually heard much of it -- headphones have mostly been off when I've been playing. I must remedy that.
Combat still seems a bit lacking. I'm not sure I have my head around it the way I did in the previous games, but right now I don't feel it's up to the standard of Weird Worlds (and they are comparable -- this aspect is played very much on a 2D plane). On the one hand you get more direct control over your ships' manoeuvres than ever before; but I still feel less in control than I did in either of the previous games. I may be missing some things here.
That'll do for now. All in all I like Sea of Stars. After getting past my initial concerns, I think it's a nice variation for the series, and I look forward to playing it more. I don't think I'll ever finish a game of it and think "just one more", though -- it simply takes too long to play for that. So whereas SAIS and WW were major addictions for me, I feel like SOS will just be a game I like playing now and then.
p.s. Oh, there's no native Linux version of SOS (at least for now), but it plays just dandy via Wine.
