Starfighter Inc. Aims To Be The Next Hardcore Space Shooter | PAX East Preview

Impeller Studios is taking another stab at crowdfunding their online multiplayer space shooter, Starfighter Inc. We tried our hand at hardcore space warfare at PAX East 2017.

Tucked away in a side meeting room on the second floor of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center during PAX East was the Kickstarter Games Castle. This room was specially devoted to crowdfunded games, both digital and physical, funded and yet-to-be-funded. Right in the front of the “castle” was the new, hardcore space shooter Starfighter Inc. by Impeller Studios. Easily the newest of the bunch, the game did not even have a live Kickstarter campaign. They only just relaunched on Kickstarter March 16th, four days after the expo wrapped up.

Their first attempt at crowdfunding Starfighter Inc. attracted over 5,000 backers but fell a measly 10% short of their goal. But at the time, Impeller Studios was only pitching a concept: now they have a fully playable demo to show off. PAX East was actually the debut of Starfighter Inc.’s multiplayer combat. We met up with Impeller Studios to see for ourselves what “realistic” space combat is like.

Impeller Studio’s tagline on their website states that the studio “creates hardcore online multiplayer experiences for next-generation gaming and VR platforms.” Going into our demo at PAX East, we were expecting an immersive, virtual reality experience. Unfortunately, the playable demonstration at PAX was on a traditional PC setup instead. Lead Designer David Wessman explained that they were initially demoing with Oculus Rifts, but ran into unforeseen technical issues with the game’s performance. So they decided to ditch the headsets to not give off a bad first impression.

Understandable reasoning, but I was a tad disappointed nevertheless. Anything space-related AND in VR immediately raises my eyebrows. Regardless, the game visually looked impressive. The game is rendered using the Unreal 4 engine, and woah, is it stunning. The graphics are about as realistic as you can get, especially for such a small indie studio. Every detail of the ships, the hanger, and the cockpit are artfully designed. I can only imagine the immersion that wearing a VR headset will provide for Starfighter Inc.

The graphics are far from the only realistic aspects of this hardcore shooter, though. Have you ever watched Star Wars and wondered “what if space combat was real?” Impeller Studios’ goal is to not only provide an answer to that question but show you the answer in video game form. They are working to make this game as realistic as possible: everything is heavily based on actual, hard science. From the way you control the ships, to how your body floats in zero-g, to the explosions and special effects: it’s all based on realistic physics.

As intriguing as this may sound, this is a heavy departure from the type of space shooters most players might be used to. If you go into this expecting to zip around and blow things up left and right like Han Solo then you’re in for a big surprise. Even just moving your ship out of the hanger requires careful and precise controls. You have to balance the power of your ship’s thrusters as you move, which initially isn’t the most intuitive. The direction the camera is facing isn’t necessarily the direction the ship is moving either: it’s not an instantaneous turn. This all makes sense considering the physics involved, but it does take some getting used to.

After getting the hang of the controls and understanding the basic concept of the game, I was thrown into a one-on-one PvP match against another PAX attendee on the opposing computer. We each started in a fighter ship in our own bases on opposing asteroids floating in space. The goal was to be the first to blow up the enemy base with nukes (yes, nukes in space). You can also attempt to fight each other, which was my primary focus during the majority of the demo.

None of the equipped weapons on my fighter were auto-aim, however. And when you’re moving extremely fast in wide open space on a vast playing field, aiming became near impossible. It was hard to tell how far away my opponent was, or often times even where he was at all. The target indicator is an implemented feature, but it was not properly working, nor were my spaceship’s velocity indicators. My attempts at actual PvP were futile, and the match ended after we both ended up wailing on each other’s bases with nukes.

It’s clear from my experience at PAX that the game is still in a very alpha stage at the moment. There are still several features that clearly are planned, and should be included. But they either weren’t working properly or were just placeholders. The demo wasn’t without a few bugs and hiccups. But the team is made up of industry veterans, who have worked on the likes of the X-Wing vs TIE Fighter series, Crysis, MechWarrior 2, and Saints Row. This team clearly has experience: the game is just in early stages of development.

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I was surprised when Wessman explained to me that PAX East was actually the first time most of the team had even met in person. Most of them are working on the game remotely and part-time, and it currently is very much a side project for the majority of the team. Hence the crowdfunding effort via Kickstarter. The demo was admittedly rough around the edges, but I can see where Impeller Studios’ head is at. They have a solid foundation for what potentially could be a unique and beautiful title. But it’s going to take some work to get there.

Will Starfighter Inc. truly be “Counter-Strike meets World of Warships in Space” as they claim? It’s too early to tell. Impeller Studios has built a promising alpha, but they still have ways to go. Only time (and money) can provide the answer to that question. If you are interested in backing Starfighter Inc., their Kickstarter, which ends April 15th, has yet to be funded.