My new game, Space Impossible

Hi guys,

I've been working on this since Nov 2012, and have recently been joined by my old roommate (who made the video and done a bunch of other stuff). We've just released the prototype, a proof-of-concept to showcase the technology and gameplay concepts.


The game is calledSpace Impossible. It's made in Unity3D. The basic idea is terraria-in-space-with-spaceships, except instead of a landmass, objects are composed of tiles, which can be split/destroyed. So you can cut a moon in half, or cut the engines off a ship, etc. Creating objects/placing tiles is not yet in, but a repair mechanism can return player controlled ships to default state.

Right now, there's one star system, which is seed based, and consists of (usually) 1 star, 1-6 planets, 0-3 moons per planet, asteroid belts and asteroid clusters. The player always starts a new universe at a space station with several nearby asteroids, which is near a moon. Total objects in the star system averages around 50,000 (mostly asteroids). Four space ship models, with one AI model. Manufacturing (our version of crafting) is in for some simple items, and ships.

The goal is to have a nearly infinite universe (star systems in a grid fashion), and lots of things to do. Multiplayer will be added some time in the future, though we really want to get a single star system and single player working tight first before adding anything else. We want to make it more action-y/adventure-y like Terraria is to Minecraft, with "boss fights", fleet battles and things to do/technology to acquire via specific routes.

We hope to do an alpha funding model (think Minecraft; $X for alpha, $X*2 for beta, $X*3 for release), but nothing is set yet. Prototype is free of course. We're preparing for Alpha now.

Any questions or feedback are welcome. I especially love to talk shop.

Thanks for checking it out!

It's been a challenge finding the right balance between allowing objects to push, and damage. It'll still be tuned as things progress. But the general principle is, if they're of similar size, they should be able to interact at low speeds without big explosions. We want scale to really matter, so that a) ships can be the size of moons or even planets and b) a ship that size will be able to alter the position/rotation of that moon or planet. There might be a few exceptions to that, like black holes and neutron stars, but we'll see how it feels when those are added.

As for combat, the starter ship (Venture) and the green guys (Tarux) both have one bridge and one reactor. Destroying all of the bridges (via their tiles) of a ship render it uncontrollable, and in the case of the player, triggers the respawn message. Hitting the reactors will cause a big explosion and collateral damage to tiles nearby, which in the case of these small ships, will almost guarantee bridge destruction. You can see the ship's layout via the inventory panel (I) or if its not your ship (U) to figure out locations.

Accuracy really matters, and it's quite possible to take out opponents with just two tiles destroyed. The AI does repair usually once, and that's something I want to change, since it's too predictable right now. We are also going to be increasing the number of tiles that can "take and hold" damage from one to probably eight so it'll make things much less frustrating for people without perfect aim.

Hey Kleenex,

Glad you liked it, thanks. There is a very basic manufacturing (aka crafting) system in place right now. Here's a cheat sheet for the recipes (http://i.imgur.com/GK6RW74.png). The next stage will have actual ship component upgrading via manufactured and "dropped" components found in ship wrecks scattered through the system.

If either of you are having trouble with the controls, try out WASDQETab (Forward, Rotate CCW, Backwards, Rotate CW, Strafe Left, Strafe Right, Turbo). It's much more fun IMO. We're going to be taking LMB to fly out as it's just too cumbersome without an easy to use reverse thruster. It'll also allow us to make LMB contextual based interact, instead of needing U, I and other keys.

Kharza-kzad_sl said:

This is a nifty concept, keep building on it! The control feel is good, but the firing is a little strange. Sometimes I would see a beam and sometimes I wouldn't.

I destroyed the guns on a green enemy after about a 15 death bind rush. Maybe I don't understand how the guns work.

The music is a little odd. I did the same thing for my game, and people told me (after it was out of course) that it was a little out of place.

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I'm not sure how I missed your reply. Sorry!

The firing arc seems to be one of the biggest issues with players. We're planning on improving feedback (adding a visual arc indicator as well as an audio cue) to hopefully help alleviate the issue for most people, but we'll have to wait and see. The basics however are these: 1) Every weapon has a firing arc in degrees 2) Every weapon has a default orientation on the ship 3) Going outside the arc will deactivate the weapon, or never allow it to be activated at all.



As for the music, you're the first person to mention an issue with it. I'm a big fan of Stanley Kubrick and specifically 2001, so I wanted to try something a bit more elegant and stately than what most space-y games do (usually "ethereal-y" electronic pieces). It's a style choice, and I know not everyone will like it (it can always be muted)! I definitely agree it can be a bit tiresome after repeated loops, and we plan to add music pieces to correspond with events (e.g. entering a nebula plays a subdued, slightly tense piece to accompany reduced visibility, while a large space battle might be accompanied by a rousing piece), so we'll see where it goes.

Thanks so much for trying it out and sharing your thoughts. I hope the Alpha will be more to yours, and everyone else's, liking.

Hey Guys, thanks for sharing your thoughts!

We're still working on this every day, and Alpha is coming along pretty well. We've got a long way to go, but I'm pleased as punch that people are liking it and seeing the potential that I've felt is there.

Szeth, we're definitely planning for persistent servers. Not MMO or centrally hosted ones, but we're both fans of the idea of dedicated servers configured and run by the community to allow them to really get their own unique feelings. It will be later in the project though, and we don't want to promise on any details until we're sure we can pull it off.

Astral, the music is definitely a strong point of contention. I will admit I'm not a fan of chiptunes, but that the music has a long way to go. I also think advancing the role of the music in the game will help tremendously. I really want situationally appropriate music to act as the first cue of the environment changing.

The weapon arcs will play a great role in combat due to exactly as you said. Different ship types will have their specific configuration, so you'll have ships with all forward facing weapons, others with dual side facing, some single side only, some with weapons pointing in all directions. It will, hopefully, make ships play quite differently and players will find a style they like and get really skilled in. Add in component swapping, so one battleship might have 6 beams, 4 particle cannons, 2 tractors and 2 torpedo launchers, and another with the exact same hull might be a straight up beam boat, or missile platform.

The controls have already been changed so LMB now acts only as a context-sensitive "inspect/open/activate" and movement will strictly be WASD realm. And the configurable controls go without question, just a matter of when it'll be added, probably Beta.

A visual highlight/outline (beyond changing mouse cursor) is an interesting idea, one we actually hadn't considered before. We're going to add that to the list. Thanks!

Herdsman_sl said:

I've tried my hand at making a few games over the years and wonder how others handle their time management. I imagine you have a job and/or other responsibilities and interests.

How do you keep motivated?

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Thanks man! Motivation is something that can be tough. I've been modding/level editing since I was 12 and programming since I was 18, so my computers over the years are strewn with half finished ideas and projects. It's come down to experience; being able to really decide if a project or idea is something worth pursuing and something I think I'll be interested in beyond the initial infatuation period. That same experience also helps me to determine if it's something that can actually be pursued due to technical or artistic constraints.

Then there's just that drive that you either develop or you don't, as a person. The type of drive that makes you do push ups in the morning every day even though you don't want to, or finish a college paper on a Friday night so you can enjoy your Saturday, eating a salad instead of a burger because you want to lose a few pounds, etc. I actually am doing this thing full-time, split between this project and an iOS game due in December, and after having worked and saved for five, almost six years with an industry job, my savings are on the line, and that's a big motivator. Thankfully I have a fantastically supportive girlfriend and a development partner so they both really help to bolster my spirits when motivation is low, and I know if I don't do the work I'm letting not only myself down, but them as well.

Additionally, having seen enough positive, though small in-scope, feedback so far -- that really helps, because that's additional people I'd be letting down.

So my advice, surround yourself with positive non-bullshitty people. Share your ideas with people (avoid complete strangers or forums on the internet until you're ready for some possibly harsh responses), who even if they can't help directly, will be able to say "Oh man, that's cool!" or even "I'm not sure about that" because that feedback helps to trigger a loop of renewed interest. Spend the first couple of time periods, before you make a single piece of art, code or other, write down what you want to do and how you plan to do it (I keep a journal filled with pages of half baked ideas, that, if I can't write a four sentence paragraph describing what I want to do and how to do it, it doesn't go further than that). Finally, just make yourself do it. Sit down at your computer, close ALL NON WORK tabs/programs (reddit/SA/Fark/4chan/porn/rerolled/cnn/foxnews/b.net/steam etc), if you have a TV/Xbox/PS3 etc in the room, unplug it, and make yourself do 1 hour of work every day. You will either hit your stride and hours will fly by, or, worse case, you will have 1 hour of work to build off for next time. Non distracting music/radio is the only ok thing to have going on in the background.

And, lastly, if you're the type of person who falls madly in love with something, spends 18 hrs a day doing it, then wake up one morning disgusted with the project; you've got to stop doing that. Pace yourself, MAKE yourself step away from the computer after 8 or 10 hours. Make sure you take a break every two hours to get a glass or water or look out the window. Don't neglect the other things in your life. This all takes practice, and don't be discouraged if it doesn't happen overnight.

What was the last project you were working on?

Ah ok. Well it sounds like you know your situation well and understand what's going on. You've just got to commit to a choice. The only thing I can really suggest that you haven't mentioned is finding someone to share the load with, so you don't have to do it all by yourself. The difficult thing there is nearly everyone have " great ideas", so finding someone who will truly work with you and believe in whatever is laid out (especially if the only motivation is just for the love of it) is going to be tough. But it's possible.

I believe there's sites out there where you can share RPG settings, rules, etc. Perhaps that can provide an avenue for sharing your work, and it may even open up some possibilities that you haven't thought of.