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LOAF on Sol: Exodus
"Welcome to Sol Sector, Lieutenant!?" - Lieutenant Chris McCubbin, TCS Concordia
Sol: Exodus, the new space sim from Seamless Entertainment, will be available starting today on Steam for just $9.99. I was very kindly allowed to take a look at the finished product over the weekend and would like to share my thoughts with the Wing Commander community.
It should be no secret to longtime readers that I am something of a curmudgeon when it comes to space games that aren’t Wing Commander. The 1990s were rife with soulless imitators that sought to be nothing more than the last Wing Commander done cheaper with the benefit of the latest video card drivers. Then the last decade was a scattering of well-meaning attempts to recapture our favorite series’ glory that generally suffered from trying to do too much with too little money. Suddenly every attempt needed a Privateer-style open world, a Wing Commander cinematic story and years worth of “player wish list” bucket items involving overly complicated physics and off-putting gameplay options which scared away the casual fans. And don’t even get me started about shoehorning multiplayer into space shooters…
I’m happy to announce that Sol: Exodus is none of these things. This is a small game that’s aimed at giving a modern audience their first taste of how much fun a space shooter should be. The game forgoes all those pitfalls to give us something unique: a deceptively simple action game that should teach today’s gamers how awesome space combat is. Let me run through some of the highs and lows that I think will resonate with Wing Commander veterans:
What I Loved
- The game’s performance. I no longer maintain a cutting edge gaming PC and was a little nervous when I was asked to look at the game. I shouldn’t have been: it runs beautifully in Windows XP on the circa-2007 MacBook that I use for Wing Commander archiving projects.
- The art style.While I recognize that the ‘paintings’ the game uses for the introductory cutscene and the comm. Messages are a cost-saving method to avoid expensive cinematics that may come off as cheap to many people I think they’re just outright fun. They give the game a unique style and they get your imagination going in the same way the original Wing Commander did with its own unique look. (The paintings-to-set-the-scene intro reminds me of nothing so much as the strange, cool TV cut of David Lynch’s Dune.)
- The various locales of the Sol system are BEAUTIFUL. Big asteroids, battles set against the backdrops of massive planets and sprawling starbases. I’m reminded of nothing short of Freelancer, but where that game’s beautiful environs had an almost suffocating vastness, Sol: Exodus uses them to give each mission a particular immediacy.
- The controls. The game has a wonderfully simple control layout that is entirely customizable (which came in handy when the tutorial wanted me to use my Mac’s non-existent second mouse button.) More importantly, it easily supports both gamepads and JOYSTICKS! This is the ideal solution that Freelancer flubbed so badly: come up with an intuitive control scheme for keyboards (I had no complaints using my laptop’s keyboard and touchpad) and give players who happen to have fancier hardware the option.
- The price. Yes, the game has slightly fewer missions than a straight winning play through of the original Wing Commander… but it clocks in at under $10! For an old fighter pilot used to paying as much as $80 for a new game in the early 1990s that’s just incredible, unbelievable. I know it’s more common today, but part of me wants to rage against the idea of even reviewing a game that costs $9.99. Of COURSE you should buy it! That’s hours of entertainment for less than you’re going to pay for a sandwich… so it’s going to hurt, I think, watching the modern gaming media savage it as though it were supposed to be a thirty million dollar AAA affair.
- The sense of fun in the ship design. One thing Wing Commander III and IV introduced, which was great at the time, was the “modern military in space” style for their ships. This quietly replaced the more fantastic anime- and classic science fiction-inspired designers of the early games and then quickly spread to every space game imaginable. Sol largely drops this, giving us spacecraft designs which are more fantastic, fun and unique.
What I Didn’t
- Lack of cockpits. About fifteen years ago, developers decided that graphical “cockpit” layers in space games were unnecessary. I’ve heard a claim that they watched QA teams and found they turned off the cockpits within minutes of starting their games. I’ve also heard that they were embarrassed by the practice of including them in the first place, seeing them as a ‘hack’ to allow old computers to render the action in a much smaller area of the screen. Whatever the real story, future space sim designers need to suck it up and bring them back. A space sim is not a first person shooter and the goal is not to create an invisible HUD; rather, they should be trying to make us feel like we really are Buck Rogers… and seeing the inside of an awesome space fighter around the edges of the screen is exactly what you want to do. In Sol: Exodus, specifically, the “comm” messages are played at the top of the screen. You see the head of the character talking and then the associated text. How much more immersive (and frankly, helpful in hiding the fact that the lips don’t move) would it be to put this screen in a little VDU? Even do it in green-and-black or with some fuzzy signal interruption to obscure the speaker; it’s a case I don’t WANT everything to be perfectly clear.
- A few too blatant nods. Without spoiling too much, I was slightly bothered that one plot element in the prologue training mission was lifted directly from “Halo.” Certainly space sims SHOULD be a collection of familiar tropes (what’s Wing Commander but a game of Star Wars?) but this one bit happened to feel too close to me. Similarly, the game’s masthead/logo is a bit too identical to the one Electronic Arts uses for their Mass Effect franchise. And while it’ sort of funny that the bad guys’ faction’s acronym becomes “C-O-D,” the joke gets a little tired when you have to hear it spoken so many times (I would have absolutely forgiven the game this, however, if it were spoken like the fish rather than spelled out every time.)
- The lack of character animation. As I say above, I love the painted look for the character faces and for the introductory cutscene… but I would have been so much more impressed if they had borrowed the “talking head” style for the communications (or used that to create dialog cutscenes.) I understand and appreciate the lack of budget for cinematics, but I think they could have aped the original Wing Commander very well with the addition of a few different mouth shapes for the characters.
- The radar and the targeting systems took a little time to get used to. They work perfectly fine and will likely be easy to pick up for new players… but I really don’t understand why the game doesn’t just borrow Wing Commander’s simple system straight out (that said, targeting actually works just like Wing Commander, it’s just that the tutorial teaches it to you oddly. There’s a hotkey you will learn later for flipping through enemy targets.)
It should come as no surprise that Sol comes from a scrappy young development team in Austin, Texas—the city that first birthed the Wing Commander franchise twenty-odd years ago (for those interested, the core team does not include any Wing Commander veterans, although Marc Schaefgen and David Swofford, who did sound work and PR for classic Origin titles respectively, are both credited in the same roles as contractors on Sol.) I should stress that it’s a small game. No, the graphics aren’t as seamless as the latest BioShock or Call of Duty… but they’re fast and full of color and character. Yeah, cutscenes are done in-engine and in-flight, like Secret Ops. And yes, you’ll be playing only nine or so fairly lengthy missions for your $10… but in addition to being hours of fun for old hands it’s also the ideal game for introducing today’s players to the concept. You should gift Sol: Exodus to your kids, relatives, friends, well wishers and others in the hopes that they’ll realize space sims should be the next big thing.
As fun as it is, most of all what I want is for people to see Sol: Exodus as an important game, a new beginning for the game type. I want Electronic Arts to look at Seamless Entertainment and say hey, yeah, these guys have the right idea, maybe we should bring back space sims. Am I going to start the great Sol: Exodus community fan site? Probably not, but then I’m getting too old for that. I do truly believe that someone reading this today probably should. The game is great and its world has enormous franchise potential. I would not be surprised if we’re playing a massive Sol: Exodus sequel a few years from today… and if its success helps convince EA that there’s a market for a certain other space sim franchise, all the better!
[LOAF]
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Update published on January 25, 2012. View all news from that day.
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Official news, fan projects and topics of particular interest to Wing Commander fans.
- Technically It's Called The 'Lance'
- 2012-05-25 -- It's been a great week for fan-made pictures of Wing Commander ships, but it's been even better for real space ship action! The SpaceX Dragon capsule successfully docked with the International Space Station today. It launched into space on Tuesday and conducted a variety of practice maneuvers before becoming the first spacecraft launched by a private company to dock with the ISS.
- Some Ship Viewer Sample Shots Shown
- 2012-05-24 -- BoH_Havoc is continuing to move forward with his online ship viewer based on feedback he's received so far. Here are some new prototype images with the TCS Concordia rendered in the program. Pretty neat!
- Destroyer Destined for Guard Duty
- 2012-05-23 -- Kevin Caccamo's Ralari has taken a huge leap since the last time we saw it. The model has been plated with nice metallic textures that don't overdo the look. Running lights, windows, powered engines and intake glow all add significantly to the presentation here too.
- GOG Talks Space Sims
- 2012-05-22 -- centaurianmudpig spotted a new PlaySF interview with the folks at GOG.com. They discuss the state of the space combat genre and the possibility of releasing expansion packs for Wing Commander games.
- Enigma Mod Measures Out Confed Fleet
- 2012-05-21 -- Here's a new Confed showcase of capships for the Enigma 2666 mod. Each ship's length and scale is still subject to some potential tweaking to sync better with fighters, but the current lineup is displayed below. The TCS Concordia is very far along the design path, as is the Gilgamesh.
- "Sir, if we spot this ‘Fralthi’, should we engage?"
- 2012-05-20 -- Now we go from Fralthra to Fralthi WIP images. CMDBob's latest design is a classic Kilrathi light carrier/cruiser. His model has real clean lines and an animated WC1-style set of textures.
- Fearsome Fralthra Filling In Fast
- 2012-05-19 -- Red Baron has started to texture Cybot's Fralthra, and it's quickly turning into quite a work of art. The color scheme already does a great job of evoking Wing Commander 2. He's also scaled a Jalkehi as a point of reference and imagined what the entire fighter complement of the ship might look like.
- Wing Commander Saga Download Reminder
- 2012-05-18 -- If you haven't yet downloaded the long-awaited fan game, now is as good a time as any to get your hands on a copy! The Windows installer weighs in at a hefty 3.4 gigabytes, so we recommend some kind of download manager that can resume paused or failed transfers.
- New RPG Kicks Off
- 2012-05-17 -- The TCS Phoenix has launched and the game has begun in the Wing Commander: From the Ashes forum-based RPG. Some of the first characters have already been defined, and action in the Pentonville System is now in motion. There is also an out-of-character area where new players can ask questions and get situated before they begin role playing.
- Vega Sector Reinforcements Inbound
- 2012-05-16 -- Here's a preview of new designs that Klavs is working to bring to the Shapeways model factory. If all goes according to plan, this foursome may be available in a future bundle pack together. It's an interesting assortment of ships - Rapier, Super Wing Commander Rapier, Scimitar and Dralthi - and they all look fantastic!
- Academy Just Two Weeks Away!
- 2012-05-15 -- Wingnuts now have less than 14 days to prepare for the release of Wing Commander Academy on DVD! All thirteen episodes of the television series will be available in this set starting on May 29, 2012. Barnes & Noble and Deep Discount have some of the lowest prices, and there's still time to order from Amazon.
- Scimitar Prepares to Slice Up a Dralthi
- 2012-05-15 -- And to further get you in the Academy mood, here's another beautiful NinjaLA sketch. The CF-105 Scimitar was the workhorse of the cadets flying off the Tiger's Claw, and soon you'll get to watch them again in the new high quality release!
- Exotic Designs Hit the Spacelanes
- 2012-05-14 -- ScoobyDoo has put together several more concept renders inspired by a variety of sources. The first is a medium size capship with fighter-carrying ability, and it's followed by a beefier looking take on the Bearcat. The last design is a more unique idea that mixes Wing Commander elements with a Freespace ship.
- Fleets Increase Presence in Enigma
- 2012-05-13 -- Here's a big update for the Enigma 2666 mod. A handful of new pictures show off where the game is at today. Four different capship classes are pictured near a large Confed base, and all the fighters sport updated textures.
- Echo Sector Reopens
- 2012-05-13 -- The world's biggest website dedicated to the Crusader series, Echo Sector, has gotten a big revamp. New features include a streamlined menu interface and increased security. Not all of the links work yet, but more features will come online soon.
- Va ka Garga ka naru ha Garga
- 2012-05-12 -- NinjaLA has sketched a new fearsome Kilrathi. With his latest warrior, Ninja has done a good job of introducing menacing facial features, and this sinister look goes beyond just drawing a humanoid tiger. The armor is inspired by the classic WC2 style with a WC Movie headpiece.
- Kilrathi Destroyer Continues to Take Shape
- 2012-05-11 -- Kevin Caccamo is once again working on a Ralari model. Since we last saw the ship, additional detail has been added to the window areas and secondary structure. It appears to conform to the Claw Marks schematic quite well.
- Wing Commander Stories From The Fatman
- 2012-05-10 -- In recent weeks, Armchair Arcade has been conducting a series of interviews with famous videogame composer George Sanger. The newest issue talks about his and Dave Govett's work on the soundtrack for the original Wing Commander. Well worth a listen!
- Super Rapier Models Ready To Go
- 2012-05-09 -- Klavs has completed design and prototyping of another physical model. His Super Wing Commander Rapier is now available for fellow Wingnuts in 1/600 scale from Shapeways. The image below reveals that, although tiny, the ship packs some incredible detail - very distinctive hull markings and guns!
- WC Saga Soundtrack Released
- 2012-05-08 -- The WC Saga team has released the soundtrack to their Freespace mod. They are also working on a spinoff album based on George Oldziey's tunes from Wing Commander 3. You can grab the Darkest Dawn OST here (187 meg zip).
- Garriott DVD Drops May 15
- 2012-05-08 -- Richard Garriott's Man on a Mission documentary will be released on DVD next Tuesday! This charming film captures Lord British's successful dream to become the world's first second-generation astronaut. Most reviews have been quite positive and the documentary has come highly recommended.
- Paradigm Deployed to Enigma Sector
- 2012-05-07
- New WC Ship Viewer In Development
- 2012-05-06 -- BOC_Havoc has put together a very sharp 3D ship viewer. The program is still in the prototype stages, but you can try out the current build here. The unity web player plugin is needed to see the model.
- Still Worthy of an Honorable Mention
- 2012-05-05 -- There aren't as many gaming sites name dropping Wing Commander as there were a decade ago, but they still pop up all over if you look. Here's a couple from just this week: HotHardware ran a feature on gaming clichés. The story decries the linear nature of modern games that screech to a halt if any losing conditions are met.
- Warren Spector Revisits Origin Memories
- 2012-05-05 -- Yet another Wing Commander mention this week came from an interview with Warren Spector. Metro.co.
- A Trip to the WC Universe is Right
- 2012-05-04 -- PlaySF magazine has put together a wacky article on Wing Commander and Christopher Blair. From the perspective of an inter-dimensional time traveler, the author jumps back in time to the year AD 2700 within the Wing Commander universe. Once there, he encounters James Taggart and the TCS Midway.
- Everything's Ship Shape!
- 2012-05-03 -- In recent days WCPedia contributor Iceblade has worked on finalizing a layout for the ship articles on the project. After experimenting with the Broadsword article, and creating a great layout in the process, he's started to implement that layout across the Confederation fighters category. Currently, the F-36 Hornet article is the most complete.
- HUDdle Up and Check Out New Cockpit Displays
- 2012-05-02 -- Aginor is working on a new Wing Commander mod, and this game will be played from the Kilrathi perspective. Although there won't be full dashboard cockpit graphics, each ship will have a unique heads up display. Most games use the same targeting crosshairs and reticle for all ships, but here are some examples of how Wing Commander 4 differentiated its craft.
- Don't Miss an Infoburst!
- 2012-05-02 -- Are you linked up to get the latest Wing Commander news right as it happens? In addition to the main website and CIC Forums, dedicated Wingnuts can follow the CIC on various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and with RSS to stay in the loop as news breaks. In addition to hot stories, followers also see occasional special features and behind-the-scenes updates.
- Glance at Mod's Gwynedd Mission
- 2012-05-01 -- Here's some new shots from the Enigma 2666 mod that show off a fighter launch, autopilot fly-by and ship size comparison. Sharp players will quickly recognize the familiar Broadsword/Ferret pairing from the Fralthra Strike at the beginning of WC2 - a very fun mission, if you can keep the Broadswords alive! Here I used the Confederation Class from Klavs and the converted Broadsword from Standoff.
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