Blue Dot, Black Void

[Ray F]

Hey guys, I hope this doesn't come across as spamming but I would like to let fans of the 4X space genre know about a project I am working on called Blue Dot, Black Void. It's basically a standard 4X space game with a MOO1 mindset with regards to gameplay. In other words, there's an increased focus on strategic play but with tactical ship combat.

I am fully aware that every year or two there's always a new attempt to pick up this banner and I hope to break the mold, but there's always reason to remain skeptical. I attempted a Java-based clone of MOO1 a few years ago as a spare-time project and had a functioning AI and ship combat, but simply could not devote the time to finishing it while keeping a real job. But this is the kind of work I love, so now I am doing it full time

Anyway, what I would like is feedback on the user interface and feature sets as they fall into place. While I do have a clear vision of where I am taking this game, I also realize that constant feedback from other fans of this genre can only make the game better.

You can see some of the screenshots on my developer blog at http://bluedotblackvoid.blogspot.com. Anyway, thanks for reading and in advance for any feedback!

 

[vmxa]

I remember an attempt to replicate Moo1 to work in windows, rather than DOS by a Ray a few years back. It had a great start. I suspect that was you, anyway as always I look forward to any game of that genre.

 

[Ray F]

That was me

It was a spare-time project and conflicts with other priorities (job, mainly) forced me to cut a lot of corners to make any kind of progress. And since it was a non-original clone, I could not justify increasing the effort involved in what was a volunteer project. Neither of those constraints apply this time around

 

[morchuflex]

All I can say is: keep up the good job!
Job and GF permitting, I'll keep an eye on your progress.

 

[Murky]

I think MOO1 was developed as an "Indie Game" so something on that scale should be doable. It would appeal mostly to the moo purists who loved the original.

To develop something akin to MOO2 would probably take the combined skills of a talented development team in order to make it a high quality game.

You would need to have the skills of a game designer, graphic artists, sound effect specialist and a music composer. You'd especially want a programmer familiar with developing game AI and multiplayer networking code. It wouldn't be cheap but it would be less expensive to make than a lot of other games.

 

[Zed-F]

Good luck Ray!

 

[Ray F]

Thank you! The portion I am about to start working on is ship design and combat. I have a lot of interesting ideas on how to make ship combat fun without it being bogged down with too many ships to control.

 

[Aabraxan]

Ray F, you're right. Every couple of years, someone pops up trying to "pick up the banner" of MOO. Ya know what, though? I keep hoping they'll succeed! Good luck!

 

[Ray F]

Ray F, you're right. Every couple of years, someone pops up trying to "pick up the banner" of MOO. Ya know what, though? I keep hoping they'll succeed! Good luck!

Well, I have a new screenshot upload of the Ship Design screen as a work-in-progress. I'm also in touch with a writer, an artist and a sound guy for other work that will need to be done

 

[Ray F]

A newer "alpha" of Blue Dot, Black Void has been made available. Details of what's been added since the previous version are listed here .

It's coming along.

 

[vmxa]

Hey Ray, glad you are still working on the game.

 

[Ray F]

Thank you. It's not a part-time project this time, so nothing should get in the way of finishing it.

 

[Zed-F]

Hope things are still going well, Ray!

 

[plasmacannon]

Thank you. It's not a part-time project this time, so nothing should get in the way of finishing it.

Ray, it's been 14 months since your last post.
How is it going?

I'd sure like to see where you are now.

 

[vmxa]

MIA, another brave soul that found it is a lot of work.