14 DAY TRIAL // Recently, the space strategy genre has really received a shot in the arm. On the one hand, we have the excellent TBS that is Galactic Civilizations, together with its expansion Dark Avatar. On the other hand, the recent release of Sins of a Solar Empire has offered players a "spiritual" successor to the Homeworld series, creating a sandbox game in which tactical movements and strategical thinking are required for success.
Now, a new player wants to capture a slice of this market with an altogether novel idea. Clear Crown Studios have recently revealed a game called Shattered Suns that makes customization the main attraction to the game. At some moment in time, all the players have longed for the ability to change the pre-defined units, that strategy games let the player use, with new and strange creations that he feels are best for one task or the other. Shattered Suns allows the player to be the main unit designer. As there are no pre-defined units, you'll have to analyze the situation you're in, evaluate the resources you have and design the best unit to reach your goals within these limitations. A balance mechanism will be in place to ensure that it's not really possible to create a design that's outright invincible. On paper the concept works rather nice, as it offers a whole new perspective on the battlefield and a whole new challenge for the RTS player.
The story is mainly predictable as in any space opera. The last free republic in the universe, ironically named the Statians, falls before the combined might of the Qalan and Trexon empires (who comes up with these names?). You're that rebellious captain in the far away sector that does not bow to defeat and goes, with his rag tag militia fleet, against the aforementioned empires. That being said, it's a relief to find out that the standard linear campaign has been dropped by the people at Clear Crown Studios, in favor of an open universe which you can freely explore and conquer in your own fashion.
Another innovation in the game is that all economies are local. That means that resources which are not available at one construction facility need to be shipped from mining installations in real time, with the real threat that the resource and the ship carrying it could be lost to the enemy. Combined with the realistic movement of planets and asteroids relative to the star they orbit, this should add another layer of factors that can affect the player's economy and military.
Although the game has recently been announced, the people at Clear Crown Studios aim for a release date within the first quarter of 2008. When more details become available, we'll be sure to bring them to you.