Communication Lost With Soviet Space Station; Outreach Planned

John Keefer

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Aug 12, 2013
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Communication Lost With Soviet Space Station; Outreach Planned


A Soviet military space station has abruptly stopped communication with ground stations, and a cosmonaut has been sent to find out why.

Having lived through the Cold War's space race with a father who worked with NASA for 30 years [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/features/10938-NASA-s-Tragedies-Remembering-Challenger-Columbia], I find a certain allure to explorative space games, especially those that mix a lot of historical fact with some creatively licensed fiction.

That's the angle of the upcoming space title Outreach from developers Pixel Spill, where a Soviet military space station has gone dark, and the player takes the role of a cosmonaut sent to find out what happened and why. The player will float through zero-G using hands and feet for propulsion, maintain systems in the station and find out what happened to the missing crew.

Producer James Booth said a lot of research has gone into the historical accuracy of the game. "That spacecraft in the trailer is an old model of Soyuz," he told The Escapist. "The whole space station is being created from references images of both the Salyut missions and MIR. We're going for a realistic representation and are planning to take as few liberties as possible. We want the game to show how it would actually have felt to be in space during the 1980s."

While the game is based in reality, the story in Outreach is fiction. "While the Apollo-Soyuz mission was in 1975, the Soviets were still sending up manned military stations under the Almaz program," Booth said. "It's this program that helped inspire the militaristic nature of the Outreach station, including its orbital defense capabilities."

[gallery=4712]

Yes, there is a historical basis for a space gun on the station. The Soviet Almaz-T Module [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salyut_3#On-board_gun]. This way, the environment and story tie in with real events that players can research on their own."

The game, which is targeting PC and Mac first by Q3 of next year and PS4 and Xbox One sometime later, will sell for $14.99. Booth said the PC version is exploring the possibility of Oculus Rift support, but it's too soon to commit to "full compatibility. I think we'll have more of a grasp on VR and the role it will play in the near future."


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Neurotic Void Melody

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So this will be the next logical step of evolution for the walking simulator; the hapless floating simulator? Looks intriguing, par the course. Perhaps the authenticity and extra dimension of movement freedom will be enough to convince some people that it is still a video-game.
 

thewatergamer

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Well I feel a little stupid, I read the title and thought that a real-life space-station had gone dark XD, maybe that's a sign that the name is a bit too generic? Anyway, can't say I'm too interested n the concept but I'll keep an eye out for videos of it from some trusted sources, I'm willing to give anything a far shake
 

Ironman126

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thewatergamer said:
Well I feel a little stupid, I read the title and thought that a real-life space-station had gone dark XD, maybe that's a sign that the name is a bit too generic? Anyway, can't say I'm too interested n the concept but I'll keep an eye out for videos of it from some trusted sources, I'm willing to give anything a far shake
I believe the word "Soviet" was meant to be the give away, since there is no Soviet Union anymore. That said, I had the same thought you did.
 

Hero in a half shell

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Xsjadoblayde said:
So this will be the next logical step of evolution for the walking simulator; the hapless floating simulator? Looks intriguing, par the course. Perhaps the authenticity and extra dimension of movement freedom will be enough to convince some people that it is still a video-game.
I never got the hate for "walking simulators" Sure they blur the line between movies and games, but why should that be a bad thing?
It's way under the standard asking price of most games as well, at $14.99, so it's clearly not been put out to complete with COD or GTA V.

Surely having more genres of videogames is a plus, it's not trying to challenge or replace more action orientated games, just provide a different type of experience. What's the harm in that?
 

Zontar

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Ironman126 said:
thewatergamer said:
Well I feel a little stupid, I read the title and thought that a real-life space-station had gone dark XD, maybe that's a sign that the name is a bit too generic? Anyway, can't say I'm too interested n the concept but I'll keep an eye out for videos of it from some trusted sources, I'm willing to give anything a far shake
I believe the word "Soviet" was meant to be the give away, since there is no Soviet Union anymore. That said, I had the same thought you did.
In all fairness, Soviet crap isn't exactly out of service at the moment, as the bulk of Russian military equipment is from the Soviet era, and the rockets they use are as well, as was their real life space station.
 

Major_Tom

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Jun 29, 2008
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Interesting concept, I wonder how the movement will be done and how interactive the environment will be.
Oh, and that's a Soyuz-T, right? I think it's missing the fourth solar panel.
 

Dango

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I thought this was a real life space station and story upon reading the title. The game not possibly live up that kind of expectation.
 

FalloutJack

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EndlessSporadic said:
And here I was expecting an actual news article. Come on, John. Don't make click-bait article titles.
It's not click-bait. It confused me too, for a moment, but we should've realized this wasn't an actual current event when it said Soviet space station.
 

busterkeatonrules

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FalloutJack said:
EndlessSporadic said:
And here I was expecting an actual news article. Come on, John. Don't make click-bait article titles.
It's not click-bait. It confused me too, for a moment, but we should've realized this wasn't an actual current event when it said Soviet space station.
Could be a Soviet - era space station. (In which case it wouldn't be that surprising to hear about some serious problem.)

This title was kind of misleading. No question about it.
 

Neurotic Void Melody

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Hero in a half shell said:
Xsjadoblayde said:
So this will be the next logical step of evolution for the walking simulator; the hapless floating simulator? Looks intriguing, par the course. Perhaps the authenticity and extra dimension of movement freedom will be enough to convince some people that it is still a video-game.
I never got the hate for "walking simulators" Sure they blur the line between movies and games, but why should that be a bad thing?
It's way under the standard asking price of most games as well, at $14.99, so it's clearly not been put out to complete with COD or GTA V.

Surely having more genres of videogames is a plus, it's not trying to challenge or replace more action orientated games, just provide a different type of experience. What's the harm in that?
Something I also never understood. There are plenty variations on video-game genres, some that I may not like much, but they are still games. The need to exclude a genre based on personal preference feels a bit elitist and arrogant. I like the relaxed experience of walking simulators and have no qualms using that term, they are nice, quiet, alone thinking games. In space, there looks to be a whole lotta quiet, alone thinky time!
 

Remus

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So long as one of the abandoned systems includes a bathroom that had an "accident", I might just check this out.
 

Lightknight

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Remus said:
So long as one of the abandoned systems includes a bathroom that had an "accident", I might just check this out.
So glad someone else enjoyed that series too. The same person also made Pushing Daisies and the first season of Heroes.
 

happyninja42

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Lightknight said:
Remus said:
So long as one of the abandoned systems includes a bathroom that had an "accident", I might just check this out.
So glad someone else enjoyed that series too. The same person also made Pushing Daisies and the first season of Heroes.
First season of Heroes? Well, that at least explains things. I really enjoyed Dead Like Me, but George really started to grate on my nerves. Her "I'm never happy about anything, either being alive or being dead" whiney behavior made me want to slap her around by like episode 5. The rest of the cast though were great.
 

RicoADF

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Jun 2, 2009
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FalloutJack said:
EndlessSporadic said:
And here I was expecting an actual news article. Come on, John. Don't make click-bait article titles.
It's not click-bait. It confused me too, for a moment, but we should've realized this wasn't an actual current event when it said Soviet space station.
Soviet era equipment is often referred to "soviet satellite " etc even today as it was made by that government regardless of who currently controls it.

Heck I'm into space etc and was fooled for a moment as I was thinking "wait is this some classified station? Russia doesn't have any current stations (atleast not officially)" once I saw the trailer embedded I quickly clicked and was pissed off at the misleading title. Escapist if you keep going this route I will continue to drift away. I no longer come here every day because of shit like this.
 

FalloutJack

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Nov 20, 2008
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RicoADF said:
FalloutJack said:
EndlessSporadic said:
And here I was expecting an actual news article. Come on, John. Don't make click-bait article titles.
It's not click-bait. It confused me too, for a moment, but we should've realized this wasn't an actual current event when it said Soviet space station.
Soviet era equipment is often referred to "soviet satellite " etc even today as it was made by that government regardless of who currently controls it.

Heck I'm into space etc and was fooled for a moment as I was thinking "wait is this some classified station? Russia doesn't have any current stations (atleast not officially)" once I saw the trailer embedded I quickly clicked and was pissed off at the misleading title. Escapist if you keep going this route I will continue to drift away. I no longer come here every day because of shit like this.
I was never aware that this was a thing. Poor practice, calling it so.
 

RicoADF

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FalloutJack said:
I was never aware that this was a thing. Poor practice, calling it so.
Yeah it probably is poor practise but it seems to be human nature and not just done with Soviet era stuff. People still think of Fosters beer as Australian when it is not, why? Because it used to be and that association is something which is hard to shake off.