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Star Control II creators working on a sequel - "Ghosts of the Precursors.
- Thread starter blackw0lf
- Start date
The Illiterati
Member
I poured so many hours into Star Control 2. I loved it so much. I always took too long and lost to the Ur-Quan, but I'd explore a new area each time. It has slipped out of my consciousness until now, but I'm glad to be reminded of it!
So this is another Descent situation where someone not involved in the originals is making the named follow up while the original devs are making the real deal without the license?
Well if it means more Star Control it can only be a good thing, and with 2 games being worked on it doubles the chances of one of them being good.
Well if it means more Star Control it can only be a good thing, and with 2 games being worked on it doubles the chances of one of them being good.
Weltall Zero
Member
Star Control II is one of my favorite games of all time. A sequel by Fred and Paul is quite literally a dream come true.
Well, as you could guess from my avatar, I'm really excited about this! 
November is the 25th anniversary of Star Control 2...been thinking of doing a writeup.
So Stardock's game is not positioning itself as a sequel per se, and Ghosts of the Precursors is a true sequel that directly continues SC2's storyline. There isn't exactly a glut of SC-like games, so it's good to have an extra as you said.
Whatever other faults Stardock's Brad Wardell may have, he's been respectful of FF/PR. He seems to have good relations with them and to view this announcement as a positive for his own game.
November is the 25th anniversary of Star Control 2...been thinking of doing a writeup.
The legal situation is a little complicated, but basically Stardock owns the Star Control name but Fred Ford and Paul Reiche still own most or all of the actual SC1/2 storyline and universe (I think Stardock owns SC3 completely, but who cares). Out of some combination of respect and legal constraints, Stardock is not messing with the original storyline like SC3. They've declared Star Control a multiverse - SC1/2 is the original timeline which Ghosts will continue, SC3 is an alternate branch from the first timeline (effectively decanonizing it). Stardock's new game will be a completely new timeline using completely different alien races and universe, starting with first alien contact.
So Stardock's game is not positioning itself as a sequel per se, and Ghosts of the Precursors is a true sequel that directly continues SC2's storyline. There isn't exactly a glut of SC-like games, so it's good to have an extra as you said.
Whatever other faults Stardock's Brad Wardell may have, he's been respectful of FF/PR. He seems to have good relations with them and to view this announcement as a positive for his own game.
platypotamus
Member
I just want to reiterate my position that Star Control 3 didn't suck, and I will continue to like it.
Well, I don't think SC3 is really a bad game. If it hadn't been in the Star Control universe it would probably be remembered as a pretty good (though not great) SC-inspired game that is worth playing for fans. There aren't a lot of games of this type out there besides SC2 and Starflight, after all.
As a sequel to Star Control 2, though, it's an awkward (at best) fit that doesn't represent the original creators' vision for the story at all. Accolade pulled some pretty shady stuff to get it made without Fred Ford and Paul Reiche too, after having tried their hardest to force SC2 to release unfinished. Colonies were a good idea in theory but executed poorly. It's also just sort of ugly in a mid-90s-wannabe-realistic kind of way, especially those awful FMV puppets.
s_mirage
Member
Don't forget the music. SC2 had awesome mod based tracks, while SC3 was all MIDI, and not particularly good MIDI at that. It was such a backwards step
The Orz
Member
I don't know why, but this level of quibbling makes me smile. They could have called it Star Control 2: It's Not Star Control 3 and I still would have been happy.
Having said that, I agree. To an extent. Legend's writing was solid and the main villain was interesting, but the game absolutely left me disappointed. I gave the game a chance--hell, I beat the damn thing--but the forgettable MIDI soundtrack, the subservient Ur-Quan, the boring melee mode (or, if you're a masochist, the boring and confusing melee mode with the weird perspective), weak exploration options, and the broken strategy segments robbed me of the Star Control sequel I really wanted.
While we're at it, let's never forget:
"Now let us drink tranya!"
Or this magnificent creature:
When Snapchat filters go too far.
I actually like the game, I do. Despite my issues with it, It isn't a bad game by any stretch of the imagination. It's just not a very good sequel to Star Control 2.
Star Control 3 got released on Steam. Looks like Gamer Gate's Brad Wardell renamed it to "Star Control: Kessari Quadrant" to uh... trick people into buying it? I dunno.
Anyhow, the crazy thing is that Star Control 3 has a 89 on metacritic. Both Gamespot and PC Gamer gave in a 9/10 back in the day... what the hell! I always thought it was universally panned by critics. It was awful.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/358930/Star_Control_Kessari_Quadrant/
Anyhow, the crazy thing is that Star Control 3 has a 89 on metacritic. Both Gamespot and PC Gamer gave in a 9/10 back in the day... what the hell! I always thought it was universally panned by critics. It was awful.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/358930/Star_Control_Kessari_Quadrant/
platypotamus
Member
Star Control 3 was better than any Mass Effect game or just about any non Star Control space game I can think of?
piratepwnsninja
Member
Also released, Star Control: The Ur-Quan Masters on Steam. Why in the flying fuck would anyone buy it when it's open-source?
I bought the pack when it was on GOG, and before it was owned by those GG-supporting bellends.
I also have the Star Control Collection on CD, but that was from around when Accolade still existed.
doctorcdcs
Member
I think the open-source version is based off the 3DO version of the game, not the original DOS version (which the original developers (Ford & Reiche III) will get royalties from the purchase if you buy it from steam/gog).
It's because they don't believe the original SC3 is actually canon/in the same universe as 1 + 2, so they gave it a different name, so that when Ghosts of the Precursors eventually comes out, that will be considered Star Control 3. Not everything is due to some evil intent. Jesus christ.
But Brad Wardell is clearly evil. So there must be some sort of malicious intent as to why he's allowing these guys to use the IP he owns to work on a Star Control II sequel. It can't be because he genuinely appreciates the Star Control IP and wants to see an authentic sequel. Like he clearly decided Stardock shouldn't use the aliens in their Star Control game so he could screw over the original creators and their vision.
Because he's evil.
Did I mention he was evil?
The Orz
Member
Huh. It's only, like, four bucks. I wonder how well it runs. I ripped my original disk a while ago and have the game running through a virtual drive and DOSbox, for better or worse. I actually played it a little bit last night and the star field was spinning way too fast. I thought about trying to fix it but then I thought, hey, it's Star Control 3 and shut it down.
And, uh, I have to admit that I found the Spathi puppet kind of cute. I'm sorry ;_;
Wait, what? Why would you...? Does it come with the 3DO videos? The extra music? The extra everything that, as you mentioned, happens to be FREE?
Oh, it also comes with Star Control 1. I guess that's something. Oddly enough, the only version I own is the chunky Genesis port.
This is interesting. I seem to recall the original DOS release had a bug where you could infinitely remove landers from your ships inventory, netting you infinite cash. I wonder if that's still there.
Renaming SC3 actually pretty smart: Stardock has said SC3 is now considered to take place in a parallel but separate universe to SC1/2, which is how most fans already treated it. Plus the intro cutscene makes this an easy retcon anyway. Treating SC3 this way also makes it easier to judge it on its own merits instead of an SC2 sequel, by which it's a flawed but decent game with some good ideas IMO. And it sets the precedent that Star Control is a multiverse, while Stardock gives their game a completely separate alternate story with all-new aliens.
You can get SC1 along with the DOS version of SC2 on the Steam/GOG bundle, so there's that. SC1 is actually pretty neat for what it is - turn-based strategy/arcade action hybrids are rare. I think half of the handful that exist are developed by Paul Reiche! The main problem with it is that it's a mostly-multiplayer game with no online (single player is just multi vs. AI), so good luck finding a *happy camper* to play it with nowadays.
Besides that, there's not much reason to play the DOS version outside of historical interest. UQM incorporates almost all the best parts of both DOS and 3DO, and adds bug fixes and other improvements. For those who prefer to play without voices or other 3DO things it can almost all be toggled off in settings. (The one problem with UQM is that a very small amount of dialog was changed in the 3DO version for some reason and there is no VA recorded to easily slot them back in...but only two lines are important and you can easily get information to fill those gaps). Reiche and Ford do get royalties from it though.
You can get SC1 along with the DOS version of SC2 on the Steam/GOG bundle, so there's that. SC1 is actually pretty neat for what it is - turn-based strategy/arcade action hybrids are rare. I think half of the handful that exist are developed by Paul Reiche! The main problem with it is that it's a mostly-multiplayer game with no online (single player is just multi vs. AI), so good luck finding a *happy camper* to play it with nowadays.
Besides that, there's not much reason to play the DOS version outside of historical interest. UQM incorporates almost all the best parts of both DOS and 3DO, and adds bug fixes and other improvements. For those who prefer to play without voices or other 3DO things it can almost all be toggled off in settings. (The one problem with UQM is that a very small amount of dialog was changed in the 3DO version for some reason and there is no VA recorded to easily slot them back in...but only two lines are important and you can easily get information to fill those gaps). Reiche and Ford do get royalties from it though.