A Kickstarter campaign that is developed on Linux
and will be released on Linux FIRST.
Features
- Hard science fiction
- Tactical, turn-based combat
- Destructible terrain
- Combat turn-switching
- Procedural & random elements
- Voxel-based world
- Real-time exploration
- Item crafting
- Classes & occupations
- Single & multiplayer
- Extensive lore
- Open Game License mechanics
- Light reactive entities
- Linux focused
Lodestar: Stygian Skies is being developed as a tactical, turn based role-playing game for Linux and Windows. Players will lead a group of experts in exploring the hostile planet of Protos as they uncover clues to an ancient secret that has shaped the fate of humanity for millennia. By using a mixture of procedural content and an emerging story, Lodestar: Stygian Skies gives the player the freedom to choose a non-linear path through the game and progress at their own pace, ensuring that no two games will play out the same.
In the distant future, a solitary ship lands on the desolate surface of the planet Protos, carrying remnants of survivors from an interplanar attack on Earth. Saved by a benign alien force, these humans have embraced new biomechanical technologies and integrated them into their own bodies. After landing, the ship buries itself deep under the surface of the planet and releases pods of paraterraforming nano-constructors to create pockets of life protected from the searing radiation of the world’s suns. Generations pass until it is deemed safe to move people into these areas. After the initial probe returns positive, the colonists begin moving to the surface in hopes of creating a new home. When contact with these colonists is lost, the player is chosen to lead a small team to the surface in order to discover what has happened to the other colonists as well as creating a secure base from which to continue exploring these new territories.
Gameplay consists of real-time exploration and turn-based battles featuring destructible terrain and unit turn-switching. These features create a rich tactical experience by giving the player access to more options while engaging in the struggle with a mysterious force that seems intent on keeping the humans under close control. Raw materials can be gathered from the terrain as well as from defeated enemies to create new items through a robust crafting system. Each unit is assigned an occupation and a set of classes which advance over time and lend the player bonuses and new skills both in and out of combat. Although a single player may enjoy the game through to completion, multiple players can join together on a small, private server to work together in defeating the enemy and saving the last of the human race.
Lodestar: Stygian Skies is being funded through Kickstarter, which allows for more freedom in creativity and exploration of new game concepts than the traditional method of recreating past games with different graphics. Lodestar is being developed on Linux, for Linux, with open tools, and if interest is high enough, the source code will be released to all Kickstarter backers six months after the game is complete. There will be a Windows version following the Linux release. There will be no invasive DRM, and modification is greatly encouraged. This is not a community developed game, but a game developed for the community.
Videos
Tech demo of particles with light
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq_EqeSWbN4?rel=0&w=480&h=360]
Tech demo of player movement
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMfdfUZ0QkY?rel=0&w=480&h=360]
This project will be participating in Kicking it Forward!
