Predestination is being developed by indie game studio Brain and Nerd based in Belfast, Northern Ireland and is one of the latest in a string of games to receive their funding through Kickstarter, smashing their original goal of $25,000 with a total sum raised just shy of double that at $49,899 in December last year. Since then they have been constantly releasing news to their fans with development updates. Speaking of which, an update of progress made in April is now available. We’ll do our best to summarise this colossal update for you.
New Race Concept Art:
Character artist Connor Murphy has completed the final core race for the game, the yet-to-be-named Aquatic race.
Updated artwork for the Starforged, the steampunk-inspired robotic race.
Updated Combat Resolution:
The system which decides what type of engagement will take place has been one of the primary focuses of the team over the last month. When two fleets meet in Predestination, both controlling players will have several options to choose from that decide how the battle will play out. If in a system with an enemy planet, the attacker may choose to assault the planet. Either player can choose to sit where they are and defend. If a defending fleet is in orbit of a planet, they may receive aid from planetary bonuses and orbital defences. If both players defend then no combat happens. Fleets may also attempt to intercept enemy fleets in open space, cutting them off before they can reach a world to attack it or flee in terror. Speaking of fleeing in terror, fleets can retreat, bravely running away to fight another day. You know, if cowardice is your bag.
Updated Battlefield Generation:
The battlefield generation system has been updated, and will now take into account the star system you’re in. Battles in systems with asteroid belts are likely to take place inside the belt, while battles inside a nebula will be filled with nebular gas clouds. Battles over a planet will also display the planet in the background behind the defending fleet, and orbital cannons and starbases will be placed on the battlefield.
Wrapping Things Up
So there we have it. We’re big fans of the 4X Space genre here at VGU and take a keen interest in upcoming games. After the success of StarDrive (watch this space for our review), can Predestination continue the trend by producing a cracking 4X game from a Kickstarter background. Also in case you missed it, that ‘watch this space’ comment was a pun, it’s OK it was an easy one to miss.
For more details on this month’s Predestination update, including an explanation of the fleet combat system, head over to their website.
Are you a fan of 4X games? Have you been keeping up with Predestination’s development? Let us know in the comments below.
