Space Rangers HD: A War Apart Announced!

[Sneaksie]

We are proud to announce the development of Space Rangers HD: A War Apart. The legendary series returns in full HD glory and with new material offering a pirate’s point of view with new storyline.

This new title remasters the universe of Space Rangers 2: Rise of the Dominators and Space Rangers 2: Reboot and allows players to revisit those games or take part in a thrilling new story.
Space Rangers HD: A War Apart takes place in 3300AD. Our galaxy is invaded by the Dominators, combat robots that come under the influence of an alien technology. The player finds themselves in a living, breathing world where they can engage multiple activities: fight in space and hyperspace, buy and sell goods, accomplish government missions, liberate planets from the Dominators in 3D RTS battles and complete text adventures leading to unique plot twists and rewards. The game ending is not set and players may find a victory of either side at the end. Everything depends on the actions taken in this developing world where anybody can live the life of a pirate as well as that of a hero.
Space Rangers HD: A War Apart features a dynamic game world where the balance of power between the Dominators and the Coalition can shift at any minute and can be tipped to either side by player actions. A wise criminal will wait before plundering the Coalition if it is losing the war. Additionally, the game has been updated including new upgrades for spaceships, new planetary battles, text quests and hyperspace engagements available to pirates and law abiding rangers. This enhanced edition brings full widescreen support up to 1920x1200 complete with updated graphics and interface. Subtle improvements like the ability to play hyperspace battles outside of the story mode help to provide the unique experience for which Space Rangers was revered.

For more information please visit http://www.spacerangershd.com and http://www.facebook.com/SpaceRangersHD.

[jake21]

Is this the same team who did space ranger 2? I've not followed space ranger lore (though I really really liked space ranger 2 reboot and was hopeful there would be a space ranger 3).
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I kind of sucked at the rts; but hopefully there will be 1000's of text puzzles instead of only a few as in the previous game :) (I know this is not realisitc but i liked that aspect and sapce combat a bit better than the rts).

[Sneaksie]

Not the same team, but some of its members did work on SR2.

[Puce Moose]

Fantastic news! I didn't think we'd ever see more Spacer Rangers content, so this is a pleasant surprise. This appears to be more of an expansion than a full game I guess; same original galaxy with mostly the same items/weapons/ships, but with some new graphics and some new content.


Here's the biggest changes from the "interesting features" section:

New pirate subplot. After completing any one of the story branches a player can either end the game, or continue playing to complete another branch. the player’s actions influence the entire Galaxy, while the balance in either of wars may be tipped not only by the player, but by AI actions as well. No two playthroughs will be the same.
Major technical overhaul. Display resolutions up to 1920×1200, multi-core processors, Windows® 7, and anti-aliasing in 3D planetary battles are now fully supported.
Extended soundtrack means you’ll hear more than 15 completely new musical themes specially created for deeper immersion into the amazing Space Rangers universe.
Other improvements include more than 10 new text adventures, 15+ planetary battle maps, 20+ government missions, unique non-story events, new equipment and micromodules, access to all hyperspace engagements from the main menu and more!

I hope we get some new ships, but I didn't see it listed.

This is exciting! Day One Purchase.

[Tryan]

Was hoping for SR3 but this will do just fine =)

Sneaksie, a couple of questions:

(a) will there be any improvements to the AI? Or will this aspect not be touched;

(b) will the additional materials developed for the Revolutions expansion / mod be incorporated into A War Apart? They have done alot of work (but its in Russian) so it would be great if that could be included as well;

(c) will we see this by the end of this year or will this be a 2013 release?

Cheers.

[nutranurse]

Holy crap this is awesome. :D You guys are awesome.

[Sneaksie]

a) What aspects of the AI behaviour need to be improved in your opinion? It's pretty advanced already.
b) Yes!
c) We're aiming at Q4 2012.

More interesting details will be revealed later, along with the development progress.

[Tryan]

a) What aspects of the AI behaviour need to be improved in your opinion? It's pretty advanced already.
b) Yes!
c) We're aiming at Q4 2012.

More interesting details will be revealed later, along with the development progress.

On the AI, I am not so much referring to the space fight AI which I agree is great but the fact that within a relatively quick period, all Rangers are wiped out save for yourself. If that could be tweaked (so that the world feels a bit less "lonely"), that would be great.

Awesome news on revolutions! I've read many great things on that front.

Really looking forward to this!

Development blogs would be a great way for fans to follow the progress and spread the word around.

[ru_maniac]

I told you so, good news are on the way :)

[jake21]

I too am looking forward to this release; though please do add more than 10 new text adventures ;)

[Tryan]

I told you so, good news are on the way :)

Yes you did! Great news for you guys as well.

The features list provided so far does not seem to capture everything from Revolutions based on the descriptions of Revolutions I have found online which are as follows:

"Revolution" adds:
• unique scripted situations, which make game more interesting and deep (read below).
• additional equipment with unique characteristics.
• 42 new micromodules, some of which canonly be installed on dominators' equipment.
• text quests and planetary maps (43) and arcade fights (5).

Scripted situations:
• there will be a possibility of election. Very interesting situation, but it's better to see and participate once, than to read hundred enthusiastic responses.
• destroying of military base by pirates. Arrival of fleet of military fighters to protect MB is mandatory.
• player gets the opportunity to participate in experiments on science base "Annihilation".
• computer rangers generate artifact once in 1-3 years.
• destruction of the annoying creditor by the name of business center by the ranger-debtor with the quark bombs.
• talks of computer dealers about purchase of drugs, and, actually, purchase and sale of the dangerous goods.
• and another heap of cheerful and original jobs, adventures and innovations which impatiently wait you in addon.

Since Sneaksie mentioned that Revolutions will be incorporated, I would assume that these features will be announced later?

In any case, all the best!

[Sneaksie]

Yes, and much more because the developers didn't stop after making the mod.

[jake21]

Yea! Please support English ! I would learn russian but my brother studied it for many years and was still not very good. I think it would take me too long to learn :(

[Tryan]

Yes, and much more because the developers didn't stop after making the mod.

Great news! Do keep us updated. Any chance we will get to see a developer's blog or something similar?

[Valis]

Great news! Will this new release have a better English translation? Some text adventures really need re-doing.

[misahalfar]

what about windows 8? ;) and make it more touch comfortable pls!!! It would be awesome game for tablet pc's!!! dont you think? ;)

[DRNewcomb]

One of the things I would like to see is an updating of the text missions to be less 1980sish and more like Myst or Riven.

[Puce Moose]

One of the things I would like to see is an updating of the text missions to be less 1980sish and more like Myst or Riven.

Yes, agreed! Bare minimum, I'd like to see an option to increase font size. I love the text adventures and think that just a bit more polish could really make them shine.

[ru_maniac]

The game works great on Win8.

As for the other question about portable version, I have to say that at the moment we do not plan to port game to any mobile platform like iOS or Google Android. Our top-priority is the PC version.

Someone asked about text adventures? We've planned about 15 new text quests, and yes, there'll be an option for big fonts while playing :)

[misahalfar]

so any clue why it does not work for me at all? :/ only in window mode...it closes itself after start... (win 8)

and my brother has instead of menu blank black screen! (win 7)

http://www.gogwiki.com/index.php?title=Space_Rangers_2:_Dominators
that 2 problems below! :/ black screen and closing after start...

[ru_maniac]

You misunderstood - "A War Apart" will work great on Win8, though "SR2 Reboot" may not work so good due to some architectural features of the engine.
Suffice to say, HD version of the game won't have this problem. As of temporary solution for the "Reboot", you may try using DxWind or something similar.

[code99]

This is great news, im a fan of sr2, awesome game, spent countless hours on it. Was sad tho that there were no sequels or other expansions, until now tho, cant wait to play this :)

[JamesB]

Any plans to make this Space Rangers challenging, like Space Rangers 1? I felt you were trying to target a more mass audience with Space Rangers 2 by making it much easier.

[Pheace]

Sheer joy when I read about this HD remake. Thanks a lot guys. Glad to see you got your hands on the Source code this time Ru_maniac ;)

Assuming this game stays true to what it was I'll be there day 1 to buy it most likely. (on Steam I hope)

[modo]

Just to be sure, did you actually get the source code ru_maniac?
If so, can I ask something that only the code can answer? I'm refering to this -> http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?t=27575

If you can help with it I will praise you for the rest of my days :)

[omegaweapon]

i dunno why but i have a bad feeling about this (specially not working the original team)

well lets hope for the best :)

[cairn]

I kind of sucked at the rts; but hopefully there will be 1000's of text puzzles instead of only a few as in the previous game :) (I know this is not realisitc but i liked that aspect and sapce combat a bit better than the rts).

The secret is that the option to personally command one of the robots is not an option. You have too if you expect to win most of those scenarios. But you have to figure out where you're the most effective, and work that into the rest of the strategy. For example, I found I'm best in one on one attacking enemies from range where either they can't catch up to me before I can destroy them as I'm backing away or I draw them into an ambush before they're ready for it. A lot of times, controlling one personally, you can be a lone scout who takes lightly guarded resource points because while the AI is too stupid to maintain range while attacking, you aren't. And you can do this while the rest of your group is doing whatever you told them too. It is essential that you be capable of switching in and out of a robot quickly because sometimes you only have seconds to do what you need to do in that robot before you need to pay attention to something on the other side of the map. A lot of times it becomes a one step back two steps forward kind of thing. Sometimes you just have to regroup, and you controlling that robot is literally the only thing that keeps the enemy robots from getting critical resource points before you're built up enough to fight back take them, and defend them.

Oh, and BTW, the RTS element was a very nice addition. In fact, they were amongst my favorite missions. It was all those text missions and delivery missions that annoyed me the most. I hated running from system to system and back again just to get paid pennies. I mean those missions take up a lot of time you need to defend a system, and there are just so many of them it's just absurd. I'm telling you, at one point it was like 90% of all the missions were delivery missions that had me running all over timbuktu. And you have to do them because the likelihood you'll get another mission anytime soon isn't. You can spend half an hour or more looking at every planet you come across through 3 or 4 different systems, and never get a single mission, not even a delivery one. And if the Dominators have taken all but 3 or 4 systems, you're pretty much relying on trade because you're not getting a mission but maybe once every so often.

[cairn]

Any plans to make this Space Rangers challenging, like Space Rangers 1? I felt you were trying to target a more mass audience with Space Rangers 2 by making it much easier.

You obviously haven't played Space Rangers 2 with everything on it's hardest difficulty have you? It's nearly impossible to beat. In fact, I haven't been able to yet, and I didn't even have it all the way. The Dominators inevitably take over too many sectors, leaving you with only 1 or 2 systems to defend. Then it gets a little easier to maintain defenses, but research is so slow, and often the Dominators manage to take out critical stations, and Dominators seem to always be too far ahead that you can't even escape when you need to run away.

However, I will admit this little annoyance, if you can last long enough defending at least that one last system, eventually, for some reason, near the end of the tech tree, but not quite the end, the coalition forces start to slowly gain the upper hand and gain systems back periodically until they reach a point where you're pretty much not even needed anymore because the coalition is winning at least a tenth of the systems they attempt to take back and no longer losing more than a couple every so often. At that point you might as well just do whatever because anything you do against the Dominators will only expedite the inevitable victory of the coalition and end your game. In fact, if you wait long enough, you aren't even needed to take down the final bosses. Eventually the coalition will happen to take each one down.

[omegaweapon]

You obviously haven't played Space Rangers 2 with everything on it's hardest difficulty
i think he didnt play on reboot in reboot dominators are much more aggressive and way faster (i saw 1000 speed shtip and actually its is why in reboot dominators are harder)
it's nearly impossible to beat. In fact, I haven't been able to yet, and I didn't even have it all the way. The Dominators inevitably take over too many sectors, leaving you with only 1 or 2 systems to defend.
coalitions systems must goes down to atleast of 5 systems so blazer and terron dont attack u or u definitly die, actually this is what u should in hardest diffictuly


However, I will admit this little annoyance, if you can last long enough defending at least that one last system, eventually, for some reason, near the end of the tech tree, but not quite the end, the coalition forces start to slowly gain the upper hand and gain systems back periodically until they reach a point where you're pretty much not even needed anymore because the coalition is winning at least a tenth of the systems they attempt to take back and no longer losing more than a couple every so often.
well this is sad but true only the first 5-10 years of game is chalanging

At that point you might as well just do whatever because anything you do against the Dominators will only expedite the inevitable victory of the coalition and end your game. In fact, if you wait long enough, you aren't even needed to take down the final bosses. Eventually the coalition will happen to take each one down.
its impossible for AI to take down any of the bosses in hardboil difficulty even players have hard time to take them down (u can do it with rock with 5 vertixes and just use auto attack hopefully your weapons dont fail in the middle of battle) u are definitly needed to end the game (by using the programs), well i forget about keller that is impossible to beat out of hyperspace

[Joofl]

Really excited about the announcement of this game, as I thoroughly enjoyed the previous releases. I do, however, have one question I'd like to ask.

Upon browsing the website briefly, it was immediately clear that whoever was responsible for most of the written content doesn't have a particularly firm grasp on the English language. Will a translator/interpreter be at hand to write/proof read the dialogue for the final release? I find that in text-intensive games it becomes really distracting and somewhat irritating if the writing makes little sense.

Sorry if this offends anyone, I was just curious.

[Thraka]

I'm excited too. I wish I could buy it now. It would be great if they also released any tools they use. The only reason Space Rangers 2 HD is coming is because of all the fans who keep buying different versions when they are released, and keep suggesting it to friends. I wish there was a SR3...

I never play the planetary battles though.

[rawmilk905]

I am looking forward to this release and hoping to see it on GOG.com! Perhaps the English (and other?) translations will be improved, as the poor translation was something of an obstacle, especially with text based, logic puzzle missions.

[Caesim]

I can't believe, it's really.
I hoped it and prayed for it, but i didn't believe it.
New graphics seem to be very good for this.
And now I hope first, that I can get this game as
fast as possible.
And I hope that the solds of this game will be enough
to produce a sequel of SR2 or a prequel of SR1.
Both would be very epic.

But now I'm very excited of what is promised of
SRHD :)
:)

[Puce Moose]

There's a new batch of screenshots over on the official game site (http://spacerangershd.com/shots/).

[Mike21Daisu]

WoW! I was waiting for this whole my life and now I can finally download the game and it's in HD! I remember playing this game 4-5 years ago when I was a child.

I want to ask something: Can you play online? And how many people are playing this game?
And do cheats still work?

[Sneaksie]

You can't download it yet, unless you're speaking of a pirated version that contains anti-piracy checks that may the game unplayable after a while. The only version available now is Steam one and it doesn't have English localization yet.

[Chemezov]

New screenshots available!

http://spacerangershd.com/2013/08/25/new-screenshots/

[jake21]

Yea. Thanks for the link; sez they hope for q4 release; hopefully early q4. Kind of surprise it took so long but perhaps there is some difficulty between english and russian translation. Hum. Maybe that is why the diplomats have so many issues :(

[misahalfar]

IS there any update of release date?

[jake21]

Kind of wish they did a better job on the PR front :)
-
I heard the game was previewed recently at one of the game conferences (2 weeks ago?) and there was a very brief mention in rpgwatch - they commented on this game along with AOW3.