Frequently asked questions
These are some of the questions that interested users have posed to us of late; if you have questions of your own, you may send them to us under the contact tab!
Is "Sticks & Starships" going to be single or multiplayer?
Both! We want the player to have as much freedom in how they choose to play as possible, and so while we picture the main experience to be in multiplayer server play, single player is also an option, and a viable play style.
What platforms are you releasing on?
We are doing our initial launch on PC and Mac OS; if we have enough funding, we will also develop a Linux version, and even an Oculus Rift version. Console versions are not currently planned, but may become possible if the title is successful enough.
How can I purchase the game?
Our Kickstarter campaign will provide a backing tier at the $20 USD level; supporters at this level will be given the digital download of the full version of the game, and all future updates and versions on their platform. These supporters will also have full access to the Alpha and Beta versions of the game in development. At the time of first stable alpha release, we will also begin to accept sales on this site. Our projected price for the title is also expected to be around $20 USD.
Steam distribution is also being considered at this time.
When will the Kickstarter begin?
The Kickstarter campaign is expected to begin in late April or May, and will likely run for 35 days. The determing factor will be when we determine there is enough exposure and interest demonstrated to support our goals.
How long has this title been in development?
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The title was initiated in August 2013, and has been in continuous development since that time. The first phase is mostly asset- complete in terms of art, and the engine is being finsihed. Currently, we are focusing on generation and navigation, and will begin to implement mechanics soon.
What engine is the game being developed with?
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The game is being developed with an in-house proprietary engine. The game is also being developed in parallel with the Unity game engine as a design tool.
The project seems ambitious. How do you intend to complete it?
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The game is indeed ambitious, but we are splitting the development into 4 distinct phases. Each phase has a content component, and a background engine component, and they coincide to the 4 major divisions our players will progress through. The first development phase consists of building the engine, giving it all its core features, and stabilizing it. This phase release will bring the "classical age" content to our players. This is the phase we intend to fund, and it will conclude with our players having access to a playable alpha with a feature complete experience, and possbily server play already integrated. We plan on the project becoming self-sustaining after this phase.
Future phases will be the industrial era, where we integrate the engineering content, and expand and polish the physics system, as well as expand the animation modules. The information era will bring modern age assets, and will introduce a sophisticated newtonian model solar system in motion. We will also being doing some aerospace engineering consulting to help us get the rocketry physics spot on. The final phase will integrate interstellar gameplay assets, and will possibly include support for massive server play.
When will the public be able to play it?
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Our first demo is projected to come out around June-July. It will feature generations, player navigation and world interaction, and some HUD.
Will this game be moddable?
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We are very strong believers in emergent gameplay. Players do all sorts of things with games their creators never pictured, but which redefine the nature of the games. Because modding is a huge part of that, we are designing our engine around easy moddability from the very start.
This game looks cool. You should add X, Y, and possibly Q.
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We have a holistic vision for how the game's development will play out. We are not poking around in the dark (mostly). The game has a determinate story, and a well-defined scope. Some things fit within that scope, and some things don't.
But we also want our community to have input! A lot of you will think of features or assets that fit the game perfectly, that we didn't think of. We are very open to suggestions like, "I love tool X! you should add tool Y, because it does things tool X doesn't!", or, "The interface may be improved to meet players' preferences by adding an 'X' button", or, "Chromium doesn't come from emeralds, silly. You should have made Chromium extractable from Rubies for more accuracy."
This game looks really complicated. How are we meant to figure it out?
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The game is indeed complex. That is intended, for several reasons. We want our players to have a sense of accomplishment. If the game wasn't complicated or difficult, then completing it would be meaningless. We want to produce an experience that will challenge our users so much that they may gain new skills, and gain confidence for overcoming it. In addition, we want to provide our players with a diverse toolkit of assets which they can assemble into unlimited emergent ways.
Fear not though; we are providing the player with ingame resources for things like crafting patterns, tool and station uses, and material properties. We feel that the player shouldn't need to look outside the game experience to learn to play, because this breaks immersion.
