Star Ruler

Star Ruler is a space 4X / RTS hybrid developed and published by American company Blind Mind Studios.[6]

Star Ruler
Developer(s)Blind Mind Studios
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Andrew Ackermann
Programmer(s)Lucas DeVries
Artist(s)James Woodall Michael Singleton
Composer(s)Artem Bank
EngineIrrlicht Engine
Platform(s)Windows
ReleaseAugust 21, 2010

Digital Releases
August 21, 2010[1] (GG, D2D)
August 23, 2010[2] (Impulse)
September 20, 2010[3] (Steam)

Boxed Releases

Genre(s)Real-time strategy / 4X
Mode(s)Single player Multi player

Star Ruler was first announced on July 5, 2009 in the Irrlicht Community Forums,[7] the game engine on which Star Ruler was based. It was released on August 21, 2010. The game was launched in retail outlets in the EU on August 16, 2011 via Iceberg Interactive and was planned to launch Mid-October in the US via Interactive Gaming Software (IGS). However this deal fell through and Star Ruler never launched in retail outlets in the United States.

Gameplay

Star Ruler features a 1 to 10,000+ star system count galaxy of configurable shape. The size of the in-game universe is only limited by the processing power of the user's computer. Generated systems may have orbiting planets, moons, asteroids, comets, or aggressive, capturable, NPC assets.[8] Gameplay occurs in a single space in real-time with the rate of time determined by the player. Star Ruler also features Newtonian mechanics in its ship movement.

Key differences from other games of the genre are: Detailed unit creation, behavior, and automation customization, physically modeled star systems and orbiting bodies, and a lack of traditional maintenance and unit count cap game mechanics.

Ship Building

One of Star Ruler's most impressive components is the ship construction. Each ship is built around a hull type. Different hulls will fulfil different purposes. For example, a Heavy hull is more resilient, but offers less space for components. A station hull is very resilient, and offers the most component space, but cannot mount engines. Each component can be scaled, and its effects scaled with it. For example, a 2.0 railgun will do half as much damage as a 4.0 railgun, which is the largest size, but will also consume half the power. Things like a bridge, life support, crew quarters, and power generators are necessary for most ships. The most unusual feature of Star Ruler's ship building system is the ability to scale ships. It is possible to build everything from a near microscopic scout ship to colossal dreadnoughts that are larger than a star.

Sequel

A sequel (Star Ruler 2) was announced on August 1, 2013[9] with a prospective launch date of late 2014. The sequel features systems novel to the 4X genre including its communal Diplomacy[10] and energy systems while also featuring new spins on economic management,[11] ship design, and research progression.

Star Ruler 2 was available on Steam, as part of Steam's 'Early Access' program.[12]

Development of Star Ruler 2 began in late 2011. On March 23, 2015, the game officially released its 1.0.0 release version.[13]

On July 22, 2018, Star Ruler 2 was released on GitHub as an open-source project, including assets (beside music) under a CC BY-NC Creative Commons license as Blind Mind Studios has ended activity.[14][15]

References
  1. Star Ruler System Requirements and Star Ruler requirements for PC Games. Game-debate.com. Retrieved on 2012-01-16.
  2. News : Pre-Order Star Ruler Today. Impulse Driven (2010-08-20). Retrieved on 2012-01-16.
  3. Star Ruler on Steam. Store.steampowered.com (2010-09-20). Retrieved on 2012-01-16.
  4. IGS & Iceberg Release 3 New Strategy Titles for North America « PCGamersWorld.com| PC Gaming, Period. Pcgamersworld.com (2011-07-05). Retrieved on 2012-01-16.
  5. Star Ruler. Iceberg Interactive. Retrieved on 2012-01-16.
  6. Star Ruler. StrategyCore (2010-08-21). Retrieved on 2012-01-16.
  7. announcement on irrlicht.sourceforge.net
  8. star-ruler-review on bit-tech.net (2011-09-23)
  9. http://facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=1295093
  10. diplomacy on starruler2.com
  11. the-galactic-economy on starruler2.com
  12. http://facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=1295093&p=44747577&viewfull=1#post44747577
  13. http://steamcommunity.com/games/star-ruler-2/announcements/detail/126438500983066427
  14. Chris Kerr (2018-07-24). "Blind Mind Studios releases source code for Star Ruler 2". Gamasutra.
  15. DeVries, Lucas (July 22, 2018). "Star Ruler 2 is now Open Source!". Official Star Ruler 2 discussion board on Steam. Archived from the original on July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
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