Broken, otherwise good, but not what I expected.
From what I read about Rogue Star it seemed like a space sim that would fill the void left by Galaxy on Fire II, and the concept of controlling power flow between Weapons, Shields, and Engines suggested strategic depth. The game itself is an ode to a classic title called Elite, which Ive never played before, but the favoring of classic mechanics is where the game falls short.
You start as a new pilot, given a your first ship and told you can do anything you want. You encounter the first shortcoming in the dated flight mechanics. The flying feels jumpy and skittish, the ships all fly pretty much the same way: weightlessly. Combat does have its moments, but it comes out feeling like Sky Gamblers stripped of all the mechanics that provide the exhilarating sense of freedom, simulated flight. You will get four kinds of activities: Escort, Ambush, Blatant Piracy, and Cargo Haul. Buying cargo requires that you attend an auction, the auction mini game has greater strategic depth than the actual combat imo. You are presented with a random product out of the 3 or 4 the planet produces and in random quantity, you have to make a purchase at least ever third round or youll be eliminated, if you play your cards right you can eliminate the bidders with empty cargo holds, if your opponents are out of cargo space they can not bid, if all your remaining opponents are at hull capacity you are an uncontested bidder and practically steal yourself a big bonus. Missions so far have been dull affairs involving a visit to a particular station for a cash reward, package delivery. The game is not bad, its just dated, its worse than GoF II when it could easily have been better.
The game breaker is a bug which appears after a couple of light speed jumps, the game starts freezing on the output, but continues running. You glare at a frozen jerky frame for 8 seconds while you hear your ship being torn to pieces, the gameplay resumes for a couple of seconds, and then glitches out again the moment you try and steer. It is fixed by rebooting the game, but that gets pretty old when you have to do it every 12 minutes.
Pros: Soundtrack makes you want to fly a spaceship. Beautiful ship models and environment. Large battles feel chaotic in the best way. Auctions are fun.
Cons: You cant see your ship. Flying feels chunky, the ship responds to the controls by jerking the recital past the target, then back across it, trying to hit enemies that perform evasive maneuvers that never work when you try them. The ability to move power to systems has little strategic depth beyond the optimal presets for the three situations youll face in the game: Defensive (engagement, dogfighting), Offensive (have a target lined up), and Pursuit. The game is Broken at the moment.
Salem Smitherstone about
Rogue Star