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Starship Rubicon Review

Azurephile gives this a solid "Rad" on the Ghost Scale

This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.

Azurephile gives this a "Rad" on the Ghost Scale

This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.

Review

Recommended :1:

Fun, retro-looking, good controls, similar to Asteroids

Pros: Fun, retro, great control scheme (and in-game reminders of how to control your ship).

Cons: I can't really think of any. The game's difficulty could go here, but it's not horrible. Many improvements have been made over the course of development to ease the game's difficulty.

Tips: Collect as many blue orbs as you can, they are currency. Repair ship in-between battles

Synopsis: Starship Rubicon is a fun and challenging game, which was inspired by Asteroids. This takes many players back to their childhood playing classic games, something that's missing from many modern day games. However,... Read All

Steam Postmortem

(Note: Valve has asked us to not share our exact sales numbers. I feel like that takes a bit of the teeth out of a postmortem, but there are still plenty of lessons to be shared)

STEAM POSTMORTEM

I was going to write a standard postmortem -- explain what we tried, show some stats, and pull out some lessons. I'll do some of that later, but I think I'm starting to realize that any specific tips I can share is less important than something else I learned.

Steam traffic is a gigantic morass -- having my game on the front page that first morning felt like timidly standing in the empty floor of the stock exchange moments before it opens. Suddenly, before I can take a breath,... Read All

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 07/31/2015 at 08:01pm

I appreciate you writing all this up. It's been very interesting watching the process develop and I hope you the best on Rubicon Tactics! Congrats on even making it to Steam! I hope eventual Bundles and Steam Sales continues to spread the Rubicon galaxy :)

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 07/31/2015 at 11:08pm

What an excellent post, Wick! I knew about this post yesterday, thanks to the spoiler you gave me in our email conversation. I'm really glad to hear your story and I think it's very exciting, especially since it's so close to us here at Cheerful Ghost. I'm looking forward to seeing what lies in store for the game and Wickworks. You may find some of your biggest fans and support right here. That's what that CG logo on your game means, I think. =)

I do need to post a review, as I've already mentioned to you. My suggestions for the game are actually directed towards players, in the form of tips, instead of you or the game. The game can be challenging, yes, but I think with the right tips, the difficulty level isn't too bad. Since I have a few different versions of the game, I've noticed things that have been added over time to make the game a bit easier.

Please keep us updated here and thanks for a cool game!

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 08/01/2015 at 07:09am

I've had some more thoughts that I'd like to share. First of all, even if Starship Rubicon doesn't turn out to be a blockbuster like Minecraft, you've still managed to get it on Steam, which I think is huge. I'm looking forward to seeing what you may have in store for the future of the game and other projects.

In this post, it seemed like you were kicking around a few ideas to try to get some more people playing the game, such as additions to make. I was thinking about a conversation I recently had with Travis about what mainstream gamers seem to insatiably desire in games today. They want FPS, zombies, and PVP, it seems. While Starship Rubicon isn't an FPS, I can imagine it containing the other two things. Because of the humorous nature of the game's story and dialogue, I can imagine zombies appearing some where, for some reason. Of course, they would have to be slaughtered.

But there's still one thing the game is missing that could make it more fun, that is multiplayer mode. This game does have a bit of difficulty, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, and one of the things that could ease that would be a multiplayer option. Imagine going through the game with a friend in co-op. I think that would be cool. Still, you could have some PVP in there, too.

My favorite YouTuber has an Indie Game Test Drive channel and is a curator on Steam. He has a discussion thread where you can suggest an indie game for him to try out. I guess if he likes it, he'll create at least one video for it showcasing the game. I think he is older than us and would perhaps enjoy this game, even though it doesn't seem to necessarily fit the type of games he plays. However, if he should pick it up and review it, that could create an explosion of attention for the game. So, I included a link to the Starship Rubicon store page on the channel and asked that he give it a try.

Wick Post Author wrote on 08/02/2015 at 02:41am

@GregoPeck
Adding zombies would get a little too close to SPaZ, and I'd like to think that I can be a little more original than adding stuff just to pander towards mainstream trends (unless I was subverting them somehow -- are there any games where you play as the zombies?).

Multiplayer has been on the todo list for a long time. Technically, it works (http://bit.ly/1LXCzzH) but it'd have taken a month or more of fulltime work to get it smooth enough to ship. My plan is if the game takes off and I can justify the development time, I'll do it. More incentive to help spread the word, I guess. :p Thanks for submitting it to IGTD, the more lets plays the better.

JaBo wrote on 08/06/2015 at 05:06pm

I, too, appreciate the time you spent typing out your experience. I do enjoy getting new perspectives such as this.

I have not yet purchased the game, but it's probably one I'd try later, I already have a 100 games I have never played that I purchased - just hard to lock in time, especially for a new game that I have to learn to play.

Something I can add to your thoughts about a store page in general (without me looking at your store page) is that for me, screen shots are probably my first hook. I will browse through screenshots to see if I see something that sparks my interest. If something does, I'll delve deeper, maybe watch the trailer if there is one. I'll read reviews, check the game's tags, check if there's a metacritic score/feedback, etc.

However, even then, if I have spent however long reading up about everything, sometimes I will be into the game, but still not purchase the game. Maybe I add it to my wishlist to follow for a sale, maybe I just like window shopping. So, I don't know if the steam stats tell you about wishlisting or following, but that's something to consider too.

I think getting out there and getting people to play a game you created is great, no matter the current numbers.

pilot_knows wrote on 07/15/2016 at 04:36pm

Thank you for sharing!

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All The Changes To Star Wars Comparison Series

Star Wars happened so long ago and so far away that it's strange we can't stop talking about it. Star Wars Episode VII is coming out this December and I have been seeing more Star Wars buzz and fan videos than I have in quite some time. It's as if the Internet exploded in fan glee and ... wasn't silenced. When George Lucas mentioned that he was going to re-release the special editions of Star Wars in the 90's I was excited. I watched each new version in theaters and really enjoyed the new cuts of the films. The extra stuff was great and, at the time, I really enjoyed the higher detailed effects and new scenes. That said, what I didn't know was that the original... Read All

Starship Rubicon Interview -w Wick & Beatscribe

I sat down with the people involved with the creation of Starship Rubicon, Wick and Beatscribe for a fun roundtable discussion. Cheerful Ghost published Starship Rubicon so it seemed like a good fit for us to talk about the game together.

Interview Notes:

www.starshiprubicon.com

Chesslike OST - https://beatscribe.bandcamp.com/album/chesslike-ost

The Story About My Uncle - http://gonenorthgames.com/games/a-story-about-my-uncle/

www.beatscribe.com

http://wickworks.tumblr.com/

Starcraft 2 Turns 5 - Celebrate For Aiur!

http://media.blizzard.com/sc2/media/wallpapers/wall061/wall061-2048x1536-standard.jpg

It feels like Starcraft 2 released 5 years ago and because of that, I can't wait to wrap up the trilogy with the upcoming final protoss installment, Legacy of the Void. Blizzard is marking the launch of Starcraft 2 with a free in game portrait drop by simply opening the game from now till August 3rd. So you know, grab that portrait... for Aiur!

http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/19831343

Upcoming Patch 2.3.0 Adds New Zone & Horadric Cube

Blizzard is preparing a hefty update to Reaper of Souls and aims to bring back something we all loved from Diablo 2, the Horadric Cube. You can find the new cube, Kanai's Cube in the new zone Blizzard is adding called "Ruins of Sescheron." The new zone was cut from the shipped version of Reaper of Souls and will be added back in the upcoming 2.3.0 update. I am looking forward to checking this out when it ships as one thing that always impressed me about the game is how beautiful and inventive the zones are. It also looks like it features some awesome new monsters as well, which should give high level players something fun to do.

What do you all think of these additions... Read All

Classic PopCop Game Zuma's Revenge Free On Origin

EA is giving away the classic PopCap "frog shoots ball from mouth to match colored balls game" Zuma's Revenge on Origin. If you haven't played any version of Zuma you should pick it up and give it a try. Zuma's Revenge on Origin works on PC & Mac.

Nasty Steam Exploit Causes Some to Lose Their Accounts

I've been following this waiting for some news source I could properly cite before posting it, but there was a Steam exploit that messed with a lot of people, slowly trickling the last week, but coming to a head yesterday. Using a fake password recovery page, nefarious folks could get into your account and change your password, without ever sending you an email. If you had Steam Guard or Steam Mobile Authentication enabled, it would send you the email like it should, and the malicious users wouldn't get access to your account, but they WOULD lock you out of trading on your account for five days. In fact, I have no indication in my email about anyone trying to sign... Read All

New Hearthstone Expansion The Grand Tournament Coming Soon!

Blizzard just let us know what big Hearthstone news is and it's a brand new expansion called The Grand Tournament.

"The Grand Tournament bolsters the expanding Hearthstone library with 132 new cards, introducing all-new spells, weapons, and a retinue of Azeroth’s most renowned Champions ready to join your cause. Here’s a taste of what you can expect when you step into this Grand Tournament!"

In the Stream Blizz highlighted 5 new cards that focus on a brand new ability called Inspire that is activated when you use your hero power. I like this new ability and the new cards they have shown off really look to add a huge new dynamic to the game that should be interesting to... Read All

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 07/22/2015 at 10:17pm

I can't wait for this! I've been saving up my gold for packs since I heard about it.

The new Inspire ability sounds like it's going to really change up the game. Sometimes I go through a game and realize I have hardly used the Hero Power.

(I sure hope there's some cards that have an Inspire that heal the Hero for my Warlock deck!)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/23/2015 at 12:22am

Yeah, that would be great. Have you thought about the 50 packs for $50 bucks+card back? That's about the price of a full game.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 07/23/2015 at 01:56am

I'm not going to buy any cards. I really like that everything is available with game-earned gold (other than Hero skins, but that doesn't affect gameplay)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/23/2015 at 02:53pm

Yeah, I appreciate the free part too. But on the other hand maybe I should toss them some money? Just my luck I'd drop the money and is get all the new set commons ONLY.

JaBo wrote on 07/23/2015 at 04:02pm

Glad you post and decipher the news lol. I just played a game and would be oblivious to new things if not for checking here and occasionally seeing news feed when I play from work PC.

This is a huge long awaited change:

Arena Reward Update

[i]Beginning with the launch of The Grand Tournament, the Arena will no longer award players only Goblins vs Gnomes card packs. Instead, players will have a chance to receive a Grand Tournament card pack, Goblins vs Gnomes card pack, or a Classic card pack whenever a pack is awarded.[/i]

I don't get what they mean by "chance" though. Is it random? Normally, I'd say they mean a chance to win any at all and it may imply you choose when you win, because you have a chance of not getting a pack at all, but you always win at least one pack from arena... so you don't have a chance of losing, so maybe it's a random pack now? IDK!

As far as $50 for 50 packs and card back... hmm maybe.

I actually just paid $10 for the new hunter skin. I've never really liked Rexxar and Alleria Windrunner is cool. I tried making an elves themed deck, but it sucked lol... I did end up making a killer hunter deck though (I actually made 4 versions before I got to one that worked well) and I got to rank 9 with her. So, having the new skin allowed me to enjoy playing hunter for some reason lol.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/23/2015 at 05:10pm

Check this news drop today. Want a better hero power? http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/blog/19819221/the-grand-tournament-hero-powers-7-23-2015

JaBo wrote on 07/23/2015 at 08:37pm

Hmm, I might run that. Getting harder and harder to narrow down the 30 cards for a deck!

JaBo wrote on 07/23/2015 at 08:39pm

Also, that Frost Giant is awesome! I already spam my priest heal until T6 or so and then still use it quite often... eventually he'll just be a free 8/8 (like the others have potential to be (molten giant and mountain giant etc)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/24/2015 at 03:22am

Someone reviewed a few of the new cards and I thought it was worth sharing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTrgyIaLnhk

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 07/24/2015 at 02:58pm

I haven't watched Jon's youtube link yet, but here's a photo album of the new cards they've announced so far:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.943363625706406.1073741875.498467596862680&type=3

JaBo wrote on 07/24/2015 at 05:20pm

Interesting cards spoiled so far. I should probably start saving my dust, I just had 1600 before spending 600 on some hunter cards.

https://www.facebook.com/Hearthstone/photos/a.943363625706406.1073741875.498467596862680/943364512372984/?type=3&theater

I like that one though. I'm really excited for getting different packs in arena though as I play a lot of arena and am sick of the GvG packs.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/24/2015 at 10:17pm

Blizzard has a site up listing all the new revealed cards. You can also vote on the next card to be shown.

http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/expansions-adventures/the-grand-tournament/

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/30/2015 at 02:34am

They dropped a few more cards to this point.

http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/expansions-adventures/the-grand-tournament/cards

The two bane cards are interesting. Not sure how much i'd use them or the Coliseum Manager. In fact, how is the Coliseum Manager something anyone would use?

JaBo wrote on 07/30/2015 at 03:54pm

Wow, Darkbane is insanely good! As far as the Coliseum Manager... I think it's an odd ability. A 2/5 for 3 isn't terrible, 7 stats for 3 mana and it has an awkward ability. Not all abilities are good ones, like Injured Blademaster has battlecry deal 4 dmg to itself. SO I guess this Manager is part negative ability on him, can't use hero power without returning him to hand, but it's also something interesting as you can return him to hand to recast him back at full life later if need be.

He's certainly not appealing and as a rare? ugg

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/31/2015 at 04:11am

I wish I had two Injured Blademasters. He's a 4/3 for 3 that can be healed and as such I bring him out early game in my Shaman deck. So if he is paired with a healing Totem or the card that heals and taunts for 0, it's a very cheap and effective card.

http://hearthstone.gamepedia.com/Injured_Blademaster

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/05/2015 at 06:08pm

New rare cards and JOUSTING:

http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/blog/19817948/the-grand-tournament-at-gamescom-8-5-2015

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/05/2015 at 06:26pm

Wow, that jousting mechanic is interesting. I wonder how much that will be played? Will people be stacking their decks with higher-cost cards and slow playing more to take advantage of it?

JaBo wrote on 08/06/2015 at 04:15pm

Super excited for ladder rewards! I am one that likes my golden cards so this is just so great! I made rank 7 last month, so it looks like I would have gotten 2-3 golden cards, a rare or epic one even. I love this addition!

Jousting is fine, my fav deck is already a slow control priest deck with 6-9 drop minions, so if there's any good jousters for me, it should be a good fit.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/06/2015 at 10:45pm

Wut? Wow, Aviana is the new card to get.

http://4d663a369f9f03c3c61e-870e77779efd63f7bd6c2ee08d8cfae6.r2.cf1.rackcdn.com/images/2-J41jdJ8_kk.878x0.Z-Z96KYq.jpg

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/06/2015 at 10:58pm

JaBo wrote on 08/06/2015 at 11:50pm

It's an awkward card. Ideally you'd want to be at 10 mana, play her and then play Ysera or Ragnorak for 1. But anything that requires OTHER cards to be good, usually doesn't work out well in the end. She's a 5/5 for 9. I don't think she'll be too big. Maybe a druid would mess around with her, just load up hand, wait til enough mana and innervates and then play her and 4-5 other 8-10 drops.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/07/2015 at 12:04am

That's exactly what I was thinking, playing her as a druid. Or you could knock down her cost with Emperor Thaurissan. Perhaps there are also new Inspire cards which might lessen mana costs as well.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/07/2015 at 05:53am

True But turn two (if she survives) that might be crazy. I agree though, 9 mana and a 5/5 but I imagine she will be used in some fun decks to start anyway.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/19/2015 at 03:13pm

Grand Tournament will be coming out August 24th! New brawl to test out some new cards comes out in an hour!

http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/blog/19843162/the-grand-tournament-arrives-august-24-8-19-2015

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/19/2015 at 05:21pm

Just played half a Tavern Brawl with the new Inspire mechanic. It was a lot of fun! (had to do work stuff so I had to concede though)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/19/2015 at 05:41pm

"had to do work stuff so I had to concede though"

Boooooo.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 08/19/2015 at 07:14pm

Seriously.

Played a few times during lunch. I'm not a big fan of the new Hunter cards, or the joust mechanic, but I've still only played a handful of the new cards. Looking forward to opening my 20-something packs when the cards are officially released!

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Terraria open beta for Linux/OSX launches with 1.3.0.7

The open beta for Linux and OSX is (almost) ready to go! Steam hasn't quite caught up, it seems some people are still having trouble installing it, but it's there.

For full info: http://forums.terraria.org/index.php?threads/terraria-1-3-0-7-mac-linux-open-beta.27418/

And to report bugs or provide feedback: http://forums.terraria.org/index.php?social-forums/official-terraria-mac-linux-open-beta-testing-feedback-group.690/