Starflight 3 Crowdfunding Campaign Launches on Fig

Humanature Studios are seeking funds for Starflight 3 on Fig

While I've never played the original Starflight games we apparently owe a lot to this series of games when it comes to sci-fi RPGs: Star Control, Mass Effect, and even Borderlands are either directly or indirectly inspired by the Starflight series (well, in the case of Borderlands it was more that Randy Pritchford, CEO of Gearbox Software, wouldn't have become a game developer if he wasn't inspired by the original Starflight). The first Starflight was released way back in 1986 and was the first game to go platinum, selling over a million copies; in the game, you are a starship captain on a mission to save the galaxy by discovering the secrets of its past. You apparently get to explore over 800 unique planets in 270 star systems in an open-world space exploration game mixed with RPG elements.

Starflight 2 is apparently bigger and better, and both of these games are sitting on my Pile of Shame in my GOG library. I'll eventually get around to playing them but the premise sounds promising enough that I'm tempted to back this project for the following reasons:

• The game is being developed by Humanature Studios, an indie development studio lead by the original creator of Starflight, Greg Johnson.
• You need to assemble a crew from a bunch of alien races, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The crew members can also earn skill points along the way which will have a noticeable impact on gameplay (e.g. a newbie communications officer will not understand many of the aliens talking to you).
• Interacting with aliens isn't just about understanding their language but also understanding their perspective on life, the universe and everything; I'm sure any fan of "Star Trek" will find this particular feature appealing as the show is all about understanding alien cultures and it seems this game is too.
• The game also promises to have all the usual things you'd expect from a big sci-fi exploration/RPG game such as a huge galaxy to explore, planets to land on and exploit, and ship combat.

Sounds pretty good and I'm definitely getting a Star Control 2 vibe which isn't a bad thing (I do realise Star Control 2 came out later, but it's also probably the oldest game from this particular genre that I've played). Well, if you want a copy of the game and your name in the credits, all you got to do is pledge $20; if you want the soundtrack included as well as a digital art book and treasure map, then that'll set you back $40. If you really want to make your mark on the game though, this starts at the $200 tier where you get to name a planet and a star system.

Humanature Studios are hoping to get $800,000 in funds and currently are 17% of the way there with $137,278 pledged or invested.

LINK:
[ Fig: Starflight 3 ]