Fan-Made Battlestar Galactica Sim Finally Launches

[Andy Chalk]

Fan-Made Battlestar Galactica Sim Finally Launches

​

Diaspora: Shattered Armistice, the Freespace-powered, Battlestar Galactica-based space combat sim, is out the tube and looking hot.

It's been awhile since Battlestar Galactica [http://www.amazon.com/Battlestar-Galactica-Complete-Series-Blu-ray/dp/B0036EH3U2/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1346904889&sr=8-5&keywords=battlestar+galactica] ended its run, but game development takes time, especially when it's an amateur, fan-powered project. But after four years in development, Diaspora: Shattered Armistice is finally here, and amateur or not it looks very impressive. Powered by the Freespace 2 engine, which may very well be the most remarkably durable game engine of all time, Diaspora puts players behind the stick of the Viper MK VII, the MK VIIe strike variant and the Raptor in massive battles against the rampaging Cylon forces.

The single-player campaign takes place alongside the events told in the Battlestar Galactica pilot, as the Battlestar Theseus, cut off from the rest of the Colonial fleet, struggles to survive and fight back. Everything is voiced acted, and the game boasts an all-new, original soundtrack inspired by the show; despite the age of the engine, it looks great too, with resolutions as high as you care to go and plenty of eye-candy options on tap. Multiplayer is supported, allowing gamers to go head-to-head as either Colonials or Cylons, and in case that's not enough, a full-blown mission editor is included too.

I've played through the first few missions, and my experience thus far has been nothing short of fantastic. It's immediately recognizable as Freespace, but it looks and sounds and feels like something lifted straight out of the hit BSG remake. The biggest flaws, like so many other fan-made games, are bad voice acting and occasionally clunky writing, but in every other way it's absolutely pro; it's still the early hours of the "Fall of Man" but so far, this looks like the Battlestar Galactica game we should've had years ago.

Diaspora: Shattered Armistice is available now for Windows and Linux-based PCs, and the Mac. More information, download links and even a remastered soundtrack can all be found at hard-light.net [http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=81859.0]. If you're a Battlestar fan or any kind of joystick jockey, you don't want to miss it.

Thanks to TheBlackKnight [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/profiles/view/TheBlackKnight] for the tip.


Permalink

 

[evilneko]

The biggest flaws, like so many other fan-made games, are bad voice acting and occasionally clunky writing,

So its biggest flaws are also the biggest flaws of many pro and even AAA games.

Who'da thunk it?

 

[Andy Chalk]

So its biggest flaws are also the biggest flaws of many pro and even AAA games.

Fair enough, but they're particularly pronounced in fan projects. And voice acting at the triple-A level is usually pretty solid; writing can be clunky anywhere (and often is) but the gulf between pro voice actors and enthusiastic fans is very wide.

 

[Narcogen]

The Mac version is already out; I've downloaded and played it. The announcement merely notes that Mac *system requirements* have not been written yet, but would be roughly similar to the PC system requirements.

 

[NLS]

The Freespace 2 modding scene is so damn awesome. Continuously supporting a game that is over 12 years old with engine upgrades and mods that makes it look like something released yesterday, in addition to keeping it nice and open source plus multiplatform.

 

[chozo_hybrid]

The Mac version is already out; I've downloaded and played it. The announcement merely notes that Mac *system requirements* have not been written yet, but would be roughly similar to the PC system requirements.

What are the controls like, do you have to use every button the on keyboard (classic wing commander style) or is it a bit simpler, because the million button control schemes always put me off these games.

Also, is there any kind of multiplayer, as I know a ton of people who'd love that.

EDIT: My bad, I missed the multiplayer mention.

 

[adamant_2001]

So its biggest flaws are also the biggest flaws of many pro and even AAA games.

Fair enough, but they're particularly pronounced in fan projects. And voice acting at the triple-A level is usually pretty solid; writing can be clunky anywhere (and often is) but the gulf between pro voice actors and enthusiastic fans is very wide.

Sorry to hear that you don't like the VA work. Several of the voice actors are professionals with rather long CVs who are also fans of the show (such as the CAG). Takes unfortunately were limited due to time and scheduling constraints but we also tried to work it so more stilted performances were earlier on and more natural ones were later. I know that sounds a bit counter-intuitive since many would want the best VA work early on for a good first impression, but the idea was the characters at first were literally "reading from a script" and then later sounding more natural, stressed, and sleep deprived.

There's a few cases where early lines for other characters are a bit hammy on purpose (Turbo the pilot in M1 and Hammer your ECO in the Raptor mission) in earlier missions and more grim later on.

Overall though we tried to minimize the overall "cringe" factor from many fan works (and trying to avoid repetitious bad dialog that would be overt meme fuel "arrows in knee" or "cloud district" style) and this is really the first negative feedback we've seen on the voice acting in the press. So we'll double our efforts on future releases to get it right.

Edit- I would also like to correct something in the article, Mac OS X and Linux builds have been available since launch since it is erroneously stated that Mac builds have not been released yet.

Mac Torrent
http://diaspora.fs2downloads.com/Diaspora_R1_Mac.dmg.torrent

 

[fix-the-spade]

Sweet a space combat game. Flying fighters in spaaaaccee!

In the absence of a new Colony Wars, this will more than do. In fact, downloading now...

 

[Andy Chalk]

Edit- I would also like to correct something in the article, Mac OS X and Linux builds have been available since launch since it is erroneously stated that Mac builds have not been released yet.

Mac Torrent
http://diaspora.fs2downloads.com/Diaspora_R1_Mac.dmg.torrent

Thanks for the heads-up, and to the other guys who pointed it out. I would've sworn I saw a "coming soon for the Mac" last night. In my defense, "Snow Leopard or higher" looks kinda like "coming soon," right guys?

As for the voice acting, "bad" might be a bit harsh, but it really struck me as flat. That's at least in part because the rest of the production is so damned professional (love that music), so my expectations may be elevated somewhat - and keep in mind that I've only played the first few missions, so my sample size is small.

Whatever you want to call it, my overall position stands: holy shit, get this game!

 

[Rainboq]

My excitement just went passed critical levels, now I just need to find a way to stop jumping for joy and get this game.

 

[Irridium]

Well, suppose this is as good a reason as any to bust out the ol' joystick.

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

voice acting at the triple-A level is usually pretty solid

I put forth every fully voiced Bethesda game, counting new vegas, as a counter example.

Come to think of it I can't think of any game in the last decade that had voice acting above the level of "tolerable". In fact over my gaming "career" I think the only one where the voice WoWed me was Planescape Torment.

Actually I take that back, Kotor 1 and 2 were both good. So yeah there were a couple in the last decade but I can't imagine the voice in this fan game being any worse than the relatively mediocre voice in other big games.

 

[Seneschal]

Already downloading it.

In the meantime, I'm browsing their site, but I can't seem to find info on how much of a "sim" it is. From the trailer, I'd say it uses realistic newtonian movement, but I've yet to see a spaceflight sim that didn't overcomplicate the controls for it - like, controlling your ship with QWERASDFYXCV, one key for every thruster (?). I'm sure they've got something more elegant.

 

[juffeee]

Finally! ;D

 

[Ed.]

Already downloading it.

In the meantime, I'm browsing their site, but I can't seem to find info on how much of a "sim" it is. From the trailer, I'd say it uses realistic newtonian movement, but I've yet to see a spaceflight sim that didn't overcomplicate the controls for it - like, controlling your ship with QWERASDFYXCV, one key for every thruster (?). I'm sure they've got something more elegant.

If its anything like BTRL (Precursor to this long story) you have WASDQE the mouse and a glide button that toggles if turning your ship should affect the direction of travel or simply rotate you around.

 

[Chrono212]

Oh, god, this is so much fun yet I'm so fraking bad at it! XD

What would be a good joystick to use with this game?

RE: The voice acting
There has been a lot worse and it only occasionally sounds like a fan made thing.

Plus the story has legitimate peril in some parts and multiple outcomes(!)

 

[saintdane05]

Battlestar Galactica?

Instant download.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Bloody brilliant. I think that pretty much covers this news. Gonna have to download this gem. Space game + BSG + Free(?) = Orgasm.