CACSC INVITE YOU TO THE MAIDEN LAUNCH OF UFSC MAURETANIA, THE FINEST VESSEL IN THE NEW BRITISH FLEET. YOUR SECRECY IS REQUIRED. THE LAUNCH PAD IS NOT CURRENTLY OPERATIONAL. THERE IS NOT YET A DATE SET FOR BETA LAUNCH. WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE.
www.StarCadet.com
STAR CADET is an ambitious new project set aboard a space ship.
It's aims are to throw the concept of an MMORPG on it's head. No more shall the world of online gaming be about the lone player. A storyline will form on it's own around every member of the vessel Mauretania on it's journey through space. Every player will take a role on the ship, beginning as a minor character - a technician, a cadet, a medic or an ensign. Throughout their career they will obtain experience: not EXP Points, but actual knowledge of the ship and of the world around them. Rising through the ranks they will each take a vital role in the overall storyline.
What is Star Cadet?
Star Cadet is an upcoming MMORPG set aboard a space ship. It is created in two parts, the server and the client. The game client is a smart dummy with most processing taking place on the server. The server is created currently in Ruby, although this may change as the game progresses. The game client is created using RPG Maker XP and RGSS.
And what do you do?
The majority of game play is based around missions. Missions may take place aboard the ship, helping around in the day to day maintenance of the vessel, which is really quite huge. Otherwise these missions are away trips to the various planets visited by the ship on it's journey through space. These may be solo, or more likely will involve multiple players working together to complete each mission. The role a player takes within their team defines how they progress through the game.
Graphics
The game currently uses mainly placeholder graphics. At current, the game uses my own graphics, graphics edited from the RGSS RTP, and graphics from the Half Kaizer Construction Project including the Half Kaizer templates.
Setting
Star Cadet takes place in a Science Possible setting, i.e. a setting using real science as a basis for how the world could end up in the near future. Set two hundred years after the present day, the only science which will really be skimped on is journey times (as it would be boring to have to wait a few months between each planetfall).
Mauretania is a British vessel, Britain having left the European Union becoming itself a federation (The United Federation). Various empires have grown and fallen, with the European Union eventually becoming a global Federation of Earth, the largest civilisation on the planet by far.
Many empires have either grown, or fled, to the stars. China took Mars quite early on. After failed terraforming projects, India eventually took Venus. There are small outposts of the FoE on Mercury, and mining colonies throughout the Gas Giants.
Britain is a latecomer to the space race and one of the last civilisations of Earth to actually head into the stars. It's interstellar craft, Mauretania, is an ambitious move to explore far beyond the reaches assumed of humanity.
Current Development: Beta Client
The current focus is on creating the client for an open beta test of the game in the near future.
Current systems and features developed:
> Login and register systems
> Character customisation using paperdolled graphics
> Placeholder graphics for ship interior and characters
> Ability to connect to a room or "map"
> Other players displayed in the same room with walking sequences created using Pathfinding
> World chat system, allowing communication between players
> Server side collision detection, hack protection, and virtual player movement
> Server storage of coordinates and direction, and individual player looks
Basically what has currently been formed is a room that other players can connect to, see other players, and talk to them, each with their own custom created graphical looks.
Beta Release
The Beta Release, planned for the near future (no current date), will take place entirely onboard the ship, in the bridge level. Mauretania's bridge is not like that of many TV sci-fi ships: the window is not a window, it is merely a screen (logical really). As such the layout isn't so much based around the bridge room. The bridge level contains various areas: the Captain's office and quarters, quarters for their immediate staff, the Chief of Security's office, the officers' mess and a swimming pool / gym, as well as some conference suites.
An early look at the Beta area:
If more than I expect want to turn up to the Beta, I will significantly increase the size of the explorable ship by adding an extra, larger floor.
The plan is to have one mission for each starting job in the Beta.
Teaser Screenshots
Support
If you want to support the game you can either:
- Spread the word!
- Post criticisms and comments here, on the forums, or on social media
- Donate a little: http://starcadet.com/?p=fundraiser
