Romanians in Space

The third game from Romanian developer 2Bad Design is a 3D space simulator called Romanians in Space (or "Romanii in Spatiu") and is scheduled to be released towards the end of the year. An alpha build was available for play until recently and I had a chance to learn more about the project.

Story

It is the year 1988 and our saga begins when Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu sets out to conquer the United States of America. Only ten years later, he is proclaimed emperor over the whole known world, and since history remembers only the strongest, Romanians become the chosen people to inherit the land. One hundred years of oppression pass under Romanian dominion over the Earth, but prospects are bleak since there are none left to fight against. Hope is restored once the new emperor, Traian Basescu, promises to conquer the galaxy within the next thirty years. War and suffering are all over the news as the army is massed into space. The intergalactic war rages on as Romanians quickly subdue every alien race they encounter, but now the threat comes from within. Remnants of the former republic of Hungary have formed a new nation on a recently-conquered planet, claiming independence and a chance to live freely. Several squadrons were ordered to destroy the separatists, yet failed to achieve victory.

Gameplay

I played the alpha version, a build taken from the rather early stages of game development. It contains one playable independent mission that, story wise, is a prequel to the game itself. You are assigned to join the 88th fighter squadron, of the 3rd Romanian Fleet, dubbed "Cacanarii". You will provide cover for larger, less maneuverable cruiser type vessels in their attempt to overpower the Hungarian forces.

I can't help but notice the great space ambient music presented from the first second you enter Romanians in Space. Surely music is important in all games, but space simulators are a different breed, because here sound can either make or break the game on account of immersion issues. The interface is fairly simple, as you can switch the mouse to serve separate functions, for manual piloting and targeting, or navigation between the three different control panels. One deals with your ship's statistics, such as the state of your shields and weapons. The second shows various information about the currently selected item, be it an enemy fighter, friendly cruiser of a very large asteroid. Lastly we have the radar, a very important tool to keep players from getting lost. On occasion, transmissions from your superiors will flood the upper part of the screen in a new window. Since the mission is scripted, somewhat in the way tutorials usually are, you will gradually have to perform certain tasks in order to advance. First off, you fly around aimlessly in order to accustom yourself with the controls. With aid from of your wingmen, you'll have to engage an enemy squadron. Initially, targeting might seem hard to those unfamiliar with this type of game, but with a bit of practice it all works out fine. It's pretty much a dogfight as you need to get behind the enemy ship and blast it into pieces with either your common lasers or the new and improved mass strike (some sort of missile). If you get into trouble with the four weapon platforms and are being hit by all lasers at the same time, you could ask your companions for assistance. Allies can be ordered to attack the closest target or the one of your own choice, as they're pretty efficient (maybe too efficient). Once you've dispatched the enemy, orders are to go on automatic pilot and reach the asteroid home base. Journeys through space can be very time consuming and to avoid the unnecessary waiting, developers have implemented a warp feature, the boost of speed that will help you travel from planet to planet. There is a time acceleration feature as well, to advance game time to 16x while uneventful flying occurs.

In the rather blunt and stereotyped way of today's appraisal of non-value, the dialogues often are a measure of sophistic intent. With wit and cynicism, pilots can easily argue: "If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure", "We're going to have the best educated American people in the world", "I stand by all the misstatements that I've made", "The future will be better tomorrow". In fact, the whole game concept relies on sarcasm, irony and intended exaggeration as the only way to pass clich? for reality.

Concerning graphics, Romanians in Space is an implementation of 2Bad Design's own Zamolxe beta engine. It makes use of DirectX 9 functions, supporting dynamic lighting, full anti-aliasing, Pixel Shader technology, high resolution textures (4k x 4k) and detailed models. We have yet to see them all in action, as the alpha version is still lacking in content and was designed only as a teaser. Overall, the game looks fine and you'll have the chance to explore the universe in either first person or third person view, with the added bonus of the custom camera option, which enables free camera look, independent of the ship's movement.

Conclusion

Keeping in mind that 2Bad Design's games are non profitable efforts, I can only congratulate them on the continuous struggle. The game shows potential, although it will never become a cult like the high budget counterparts of the space simulation community. The game is due for a full feature release in September. Missions will include insurgency into unknown systems, defense of home planets, low-orbit dog fights and high-orbit patrol. Several fighter class ships and heavily armed destroyers are being implemented, in a universe that lets you move freely, exploring everything you want.