"The last major update to Guardians of Orion was in December 2016. I wanted to go into that a bit and then more importantly talk about the future of the game, including a brand new update dropping this year."
GOO PHASE 2, DEVELOPMENT VIDEO #001
This behind-the-scenes development video recaps Guardians of Orion Phase 1 and dives deeper into what is in store for the upcoming and announced Phase 2.
https://youtu.be/3HrNQLJnebg
00:12 | Video Summary
00:25 | Phase 1 Recap
01:15 | DANKIE
01:49 | Learning Lessons
02:40 | Honor/Reward
03:05 | The Reality
03:42 | We Are Proud
04:00 | Phase 1 Closure
04:22 | Perfect Timing
05:03 | Our 3 Goals (v2.1, v2.2)
05:34 | Long Term Goals
05:48 | Version 2.1 Early Preview
08:32 | The Team
09:02 | Our New Core
11:12 | Ending Segment
DANKIE
During this time me and Frankie formed a new focus group called DANKIE which we are working on migrating everything towards. For future products this will allow development to be more internal/localized and focus on new technologies and frameworks. In addition to this we’ve also had a lot of former talent from both SPIRAL and TREK come aboard to assist us on current and upcoming productions, acting as a reunion of sorts.
To celebrate development starting back up for Guardians of Orion we wanted to discuss a bit more about our first attempt (Phase 1), what we learned and where we hope everything is headed from here on.
PHASE 1, RECAP
Phase 1 of Guardians of Orion lasted from December 2015 (Early Access, v1.0) to December 2016 (Official Release, v2.0).
There were some problems with Guardians of Orion development Phase 1 due to my Hiring, Design, Political and Communication aspects. Other issues had compounded from these problems.
The communication problem stems from using models or platforms such as: Indie, Crowdfunding and Early Access where you need to talk about a games direction, future/possible content and more. There were a variety of these types of discussions all over Social Media, Kickstarters and on Steam Updates.
While this is usually (mostly) fine as either the project is successfully funded and fans hold them accountable based on funds received/stretch goals hit OR the project fails to fund and typically vanishes out to never be heard from again.
HONOR
We made the "interesting" choice of continuing to fund the game regardless, going so far as to even reward the pledges we had never received on Kickstarter to thank those that came out.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/orionprelude/guardians-of-orion/posts/1395367
We believed in this game and so we continued the development and released in December 2015 followed by a full year of massive and free updates to all owners. You can see what was added during that entire year of progress (2015-2016) as well as things we still have hopes of adding:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/orionprelude/orion-sci-fi-open-galaxy-mmorpg-shooter
Guardians of Orion is back in development. Phase 2 has been announced!
Full details are located here:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/407840/announcements/detail/1652136246491216093
@GUARDIANS OF ORION
If you enjoy, please feel free to check out the PIONEER and ELITE EDITION's of the game for some amazing exclusive content like LootCrate XP (play to unlock), Elite Armor Set, Elite Helmet, Elite Trench Coat, 200 inventory slots, a custom Pet and more!
http://store.steampowered.com/app/493610/
@ORION PRELUDE
If you enjoy, please feel free to check out the ULTIMATE EDITION which unlocks all 210 Levels of Progression, Weapons, Skins, Taunts and so much more!
http://store.steampowered.com/app/538190/
If you enjoy ORION please leave a Steam Review with your thoughts (like/dislikes) and feel free to recommend to a friend for some cooperative fun!
http://store.steampowered.com/app/407840/
http://store.steampowered.com/app/104900/
Guardians of Orion (GOO) is back in active development. Full details:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/407840/announcements/detail/1652136246491216093
VERSION 2.1
GOO Version 2.1 will focus primarily on Quality of Life and Polish Updates, nothing really in the wake of new content.
This doesn't mean there won't be new experiences though as I am going back and doing a bunch of tweaks and adjustments to most if not all existing maps in the game as of 2.0.53.
https://youtu.be/nsVO3HhI-2w
This includes not only visual tweaks and enhancements but also gameplay updates and a bunch of optimizations that will hopefully help you run it better than you currently already do.
PHASE1 / PHASE 2 COMPARISON
In the video above we discuss how with Version 2.1 we are tweaking, polishing and optimizing content already there. This next video showcases a side-by-side comparison of the 'Raupi WarZone' and 'Eden Jungle' region on Version 2.1 (in development) and Version 2.0 (publicly available):
There are a few things going on here comparison wise that will be covered way more in depth in some upcoming dev diaries but I wanted to talk about some goals with the new changes:
[ 1. Readability ] Eden was one of if not the worst offenders in this category. The bushes and trees were largely all the same size creating "sameness" everywhere. More so it was very difficult to locate certain enemy types, more so than desired.
[ 2. Less General, More Specific ] This somewhat ties into readability but basically taking each hot spot on the map and giving it an overall different feel/view.
[ 3. The Foliage ] There is actually more foliage than before, just used completely differently. In v2.0 it's all the same size and roughly the same distances. In v2.1 we've added multiple layers of contrast with sizing and color creating a much more pleasant/easy-to-read render.
[ 4. The Colors ] This is probably the biggest change and involves a wide variety of tweaks including the Lighting, Post Processing, Sun Position and more. The weapon is way more legible and the scene is much more friendly and inviting with colors that pop instead of a grey/brown coverage. The sun position out of the face allows for less light bleeding which was dominating the scene/colors before in 2.0.
We've had some great questions come in with the recent announcement of continued Guardians of Orion development and we wanted to address them here. If you have any others feel free to ask in the comments below!
(Q) HAVE YOU CONSIDERED STEAM INVENTORY API/TRADING/STEAM MARKETPLACE?
(A) This is something we've begun looking into the past week or so. No details or announcements yet.
(Q) CAN YOU ADD COSMETIC APPEARANCE (ARMOR) ITEMS?
(A) Cosmetic/Particle armor parts is a neat idea and something we could definitely look into adding alongside already-existing systems.
(Q) CAN YOU ADD A FRIENDLY FIRE OPTION?
(A) This is something we could add but would take a bit more work than meets the eye due to our personal requirements with it. If and when we add a Friendly Fire (FF) option to the game it'd also come coupled in with a server-side setting (on/off), a vote/kick system (player democracy for any abuse) and of course the FF system itself.
(Q) CAN YOU ADD A "RANDOMIZE APPEARANCE" FEATURE USING ALL THE COSMETICS YOU OWN?
(A) This is a really neat idea. We'll definitely look into something like this.
(Q) LEVEL 600 REDIK IS GETTING PRETTY EASY TO SOLO DUE TO SOME ASPECTS, CAN YOU ADD A NEW MODE BEYOND THAT?
(A) Overall gameplay is going to be affected by a bunch of tweaks/adjustments and remasters coming soon alongside many other scheduled/planned ones. With these each mode will be rebalanced in various ways including a more challenging REDIK.
(Q) CAN YOU ADD ANYTHING ELSE FOR HIGH/MAX LEVEL PLAYERS?
(A) Once v2.1 (Quality of Life) and v2.2 (New Content) are released we will be able to better evaluate the product performance and gauge what we get to do and when. We have big plans for future versions beyond this including reworked Crafting, Inventory, Gear & more. There are talks of bringing in Crimson and item level 700 as well as a "Prestige" mode which will allow you to take Guardians much further than you presently can.
(Q) MAP CREATOR?
(A) This is something planned.
(Q) WITH THE GUARDIAN GAMEPLAY REMASTER, WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THEIR ORIGINAL WEAPONS? (Burst Rifle, Auto Shotgun, Carbine)
(A) There are a few designs we are currently considering but the most popular so far is tentatively labeled 'Universal Weapons' where we simply give them out to all players/all guardians.
IE more Guardians will have more gameplay customization right out of the gate, including a Level 1 Assault who can use the Auto Rifle (or freely select from the Auto Shotgun, Carbine and Burst Rifle).
Then the Flame Thrower, Rocket Launcher and Grenade Launcher actually become unlockable weapons towards other owned Guardians once you hit Level 50 with each.
For more details on Guardians of Orion Phase2 please read the official announcement:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/407840/announcements/detail/1652136246491216093
[UPDATED] ELITE EDITION (90% SALE ENDS TODAY)
Already own Guardians of Orion? Upgrade to ELITE!
90% Sale, Ends April 9^^
http://store.steampowered.com/app/493610/
Guardians of Orion (ELITE EDITION) unlocks game content via Progression in addition to (1) Increased Inventory, (2) Melee-based Warrior Guardian, (3) Corvette Spaceship, (4) Trench Coat, (5) ELITE Armor Set and more!
https://youtu.be/VYaIlnuT00k
Although development on Guardians of Orion wrapped sooner than we would have preferred it's still an incredible title to own and we were able to accomplish a ton of things we had wanted or were stretch goals initially. What started as a Top-Down, TwinStick Shooter evolved into so much more and now there are great features such as weekly/daily events, gear/loot/progression and of course much more varied gameplay than what it initially began with.
TL;DR, Guardians of Orion is an incredible game for $1 and the Elite Edition at $5 is a no brainer for content/value^^
http://store.steampowered.com/app/407840/
http://store.steampowered.com/app/493610/
A FUTURE FOR GOO?
It's been commented that if GOO1 were to become self-sustaining there would be talks of organizing one last hurrah but nothing has been announced or cemented yet so upgrades or purchases like such would attribute to something like that :)
LOYALTY DISCOUNTS
If you own ORION: Prelude or Guardians of Orion on Steam you can become eligible to save up to 75% on future products such as Guardians of Orion 2 and ORION: Prelude 2. Join the Official ORION Discord for more information:
https://discord.gg/RykWMpC
See you in space!
FREE GAMES! GIVEAWAYS (SteamGroup)
We are giving away 24 copies of Guardians of Orion (aka #GOO) away including one copy of the ELITE EDITION!
( WIN FREE GAMES! )
Register for your chance to win with #FREE #GAMES! #GIVEAWAYS!
https://steamcommunity.com/groups/freeegames/discussions/0/1696043806561990261/
https://youtu.be/fuYiupQ8fhY
THIS GIVEAWAY WILL END: April 8th, 2018 @8:00 pm EST
#ORION is also celebrating a 90% Steam Sale, ending April 9th. This is a great time to upgrade to ORION: Preude ULTIMATE EDITION or Guardians of Orion ELITE EDITION!
http://store.steampowered.com/app/493610/
http://store.steampowered.com/app/538190/
( JOIN THE DISCORD )
https://discord.gg/RykWMpC
A Chat with David Prassel; Developer of Guardians of Orion and Orion Prelude
Now that David Prassel is back and is officially working on two sequels, we decided to talk to him.
This interview will cover their new projects and some advice about game design." If you want to talk to Prassel or any of the fans of GOO you can check out the Discord here:
https://discord.gg/RykWMpC
Source:
http://gamelust.com/news/chat-david-prassel-developer-guardians-orion-orion-prelude/
1. Since Guardians of Orion, what have you been up to game development wise?
Ultimately we grew tired of other peoples actions effecting our names, products or communities so me and Frankie, my main creative partner, split and took most of 2017 off to figure out what we wanted to do next and how we wanted to do it.
We’ve evolved our skill sets to handle more things locally or directly and we’ve assembled around 10-15 really neat prototypes of various games, genres, IP’s throughout 2017 to figure out what project we wanted to do next. Ultimately it came down to us wanting to deliver the experiences we’ve always wanted and that is where sequels to both ORION: Prelude and Guardians of Orion derived.
https://youtu.be/7Xp-DPu13Pg
Guardians of Orion 2 will be our first video game product as DANKIE (Davey+Frankie). We are going to deliver what we initially wanted before the drama, the BS and before the bloated industry-related ambitions. I had made some bad hiring choices and some bad design choices and this product will hopefully help rectify that for me and also for fans of the first game. Owners of the first game will have a significant launch discount and more details about this and any other potential rewards/programs will be announced as aspects are cemented down.
https://youtu.be/HZVvc4IVg1M
It is being built on brand new technology and will better support hardware and other platforms. It’ll be privately developed (no crowdfunding or early access) but we will have ways for players to get into possibly Alpha or Beta sessions with details to come later.
https://youtu.be/Eox8rPyOBAg
Mechanically, fundamentally and ethically GOO2 will be a night and day difference compared to GOO1:
• No Loot Crates
• No Micro-Transactions
• No Double Currencies
• No Early Access
• No Crowdfunding
• No online-focused infrastructure.
It’ll be a premium game and extremely polished at release.
We want to deliver this for fans of Guardians as we want something that lasts through time as we cannot control player counts and this is something we learned, understand and have factored into future projects. We expect to have Guardians of Orion 2 available for sale as early as summer 2019.
2. What would you say has been the biggest lesson you’ve learnt since the start of developing games?
The most important thing I learned is definitely who you surround yourself with. Because no matter what pulling off any creative or collaborative production is extremely hard, but pulling it off when you have anchors on your ankles with things anywhere between theft or delays makes it that much more impossible. Who you acquaint is who you are, sort of thing.
https://youtu.be/lF6U0bT0Vxo
I don’t want to scare off any aspiring developers as I’ve met hundreds of amazing people, but it only takes a handful to poison the well. Ultimately it’s about finding the right balance with how we go about making future projects. It’s very much the same as designing a game. The culture behind the production dictates the game and it’s just as important if not more so.
The other aspect is you’ll definitely want to focus on a social outlet (Twitch, Amazon, Blog/Vlog/Website, Facebook, Twitter, etc) wherever you have the most or where you’re most comfortable. Do regular updates, start to build up some community around that. Do that for a bit of the early pre-production and production then with that audience go for a crowdfund or early access release that can snowball.
Other options are using a team as a service to generate skill based income. If you’re a 3D artist you can sell on market places. Same holds true for things like VFX, Programming, UI, SFX, 2D, etc. Find a way to generate supplemental income. It’s all about the snowballing effect, whatever small ounce of anything you can get you’ll have to snowball into bigger and better.
In addition to that if you’re able to get to any expos or conferences you can meet lots of partners and fans there and that’s a great crowd as they’re just hardcore enough to the point to even go to those things, so truly passionate and really fun to meet.
3. As a company you are very open with what you have planned. Do you think this is something more game devs should do?
To a degree, it’s a really hard thing to balance that we’ve even failed at this in the past. In ways we will be a bit more reserved than we were in the past and in ways we will be a bit more involved due to the private production of these upcoming video game projects and not using public domains like Crowdfunding or Early Access. We’ve worked hard over the last year re-developing how we will do go about this moving forward.
https://youtu.be/VYaIlnuT00k
4. Will any of your upcoming games be coming to console?
We will always love and support the PC which is where our roots are and most of our fan base but I think you’ll definitely see some ORION on consoles in addition to Linux and Mac support. Accessibility is one of or top priorities and we are very excited to explore platforms in addition to Steam. Frankie and I are huge fans of consoles and the mentality behind them. I grew up with Xbox while she grew up with Playstation and so its a really nice mix.
5. You’ve mentioned a table top video game set in the Orion universe. Do you think you will carry on experimenting with using the same IP in different genres?
We are super excited for the Orion table top game. While Guardians of Orion 2 will be a great local and singular experience the true offline and local gameplay is, was and always will be table top games.
This is our first rodeo with table top games and its very different than anything I’ve seen. We think fans of the ORION games will appreciate how fast-paced and over the top it is and we think it fills a really great spot for fans who already enjoy table top games and board games.
Beyond that VR and AR are fascinating as well as Cinematic Stories which would really be full circle as ORION was originally a screenplay before it became a game adaptation.
6. Do you think you will go back and make improvements to GOO and Prelude? Or perhaps let others create mods?
ORION: Prelude was officially wrapped in 2015. Guardians in late 2016. Each for their own unique reasons. Prelude ended up doing great via post-release and so we were able to add a lot to that game, more than ever imagined with things like DUEL, VITAL and 10 playable Dinosaurs.
We do often wish we could update it but the truth is the technology is so old (nearly 10 years at this point), the engine is so old, it’s very messy and ‘freshman’ with many developers having tinkered with it and to be honest it’s very difficult to update even small things at this point.
One of the great learning lessons of Guardians of Orion is that we really cannot control player count at all. We have control over Product, not Player Count and its why you’ll see some big changes in our focuses and designs for Guardians2 and Prelude2.
Ultimately we are pleased with how many users each game reached and Guardians was only disappointing due to how much was invested up front for years and it never recouping that. It has a lot to grow but I’m personally hopeful that we can figure something out where it can hopefully evolve towards self-sustaining and then profitable where I could put a dev or two on it to do a few (smaller) things but the main crew is on other things now, some of which are public and others that are not.
7. Prelude 2 is now officially in development. Will you use vehicular combat just like in the first game?
Player drive-able vehicles WILL be in Prelude2. There are even strong designs of some enemy vehicle units. Guardians2 is also scheduled to have a few vehicle missions which we’re very excited to produce. We have a lot to share as things become more cemented and developed and are also reviewing tons of old user feedback and new user feedback. If you want to share or discuss anything make sure to join the new Orion Discord Channel we’ve set up to do so in addition to meeting other fans, winning prizes and learning game development.
https://youtu.be/w2r7dbKFhJs
8. What would be your number one tip for any game dev trying to release their game on Steam?
Don’t forget to take breaks. It is so important for mental health and just overall well-being. Once release hits so many things snowball and it can be really overwhelming and personally I often put priorities in the wrong place. As a result a better quality you is a better quality product.
9. GOO or Prelude?
I’m really appreciative of both. Even though I wasn’t able to deliver or integrate everything I wanted into both I accomplished so many things that I wanted to learn or experience. I learned a lot from both and there were parts that I very much enjoyed. I still have a blast playing both of them but if I had to pick one it would be Prelude just because I am a huge FPS fan.
10. Out of the three projects you’re working on, which one are you most excited to be working on?
Guardians2 and Prelude2 are going to be very special games and I believe they are going to hit my original expectations for each in wonderful ways.
But I have to go with the board game. It was something so different and new to us that it feels like it did 20 years ago when I first got into modding.
Working on the video game projects is always exciting as its so creative and collaborative but it no longer really has a fear or anxiety associated to it as especially with what we are doing now where production is such a night and day difference than what we did in the past. We have a great idea of how smooth these are really going to go.
The board game is something so fresh and we think we have a really unique offering for fans of table top games that will also be really appealing to fans of the Orion video games that enjoy that over-the-top, fast paced action.
You’ll be hearing a lot about the upcoming board game as it’ll likely be released before either of the two announced projects and it’ll have some really neat behind the scenes showing how the characters are printed, coated and treated, painted and how we actually are going to go about bringing this physical product to life.
GUARDIANS OF ORION ELITE EDITION (90% SALE, ENDS APRIL 9)
Already own Guardians of Orion? Upgrade to ELITE!
90% Sale, Ends April 9^^
http://store.steampowered.com/app/493610/
Guardians of Orion (ELITE EDITION) unlocks game content via Progression in addition to (1) Increased Inventory, (2) Melee-based Warrior Guardian, (3) Corvette Spaceship, (4) Trench Coat, (5) ELITE Armor Set and more!
https://youtu.be/VYaIlnuT00k
Although development on Guardians of Orion wrapped sooner than we would have preferred it's still an incredible title to own and we were able to accomplish a ton of things we had wanted or were stretch goals initially. What started as a Top-Down, TwinStick Shooter evolved into so much more and now there are great features such as weekly/daily events, gear/loot/progression and of course much more varied gameplay than what it initially began with.
TL;DR, Guardians of Orion is an incredible game for $1 and the Elite Edition at $5 is a no brainer for content/value^^
http://store.steampowered.com/app/407840/
http://store.steampowered.com/app/493610/
A FUTURE FOR GOO?
It's been commented that if GOO1 were to become self-sustaining there would be talks of organizing one last hurrah but nothing has been announced or cemented yet so upgrades or purchases like such would attribute to something like that :)
LOYALTY DISCOUNTS
If you own ORION: Prelude or Guardians of Orion on Steam you can become eligible to save up to 75% on future products such as Guardians of Orion 2 and ORION: Prelude 2. Join the Official ORION Discord for more information:
https://discord.gg/RykWMpC
See you in space!
ORION Discord Channel
Join the Official ORION (Dankie) Discord Channel!
https://discord.gg/RykWMpC
We also wanted to share some behind-the-scenes from the Discord via this Preliminary Cinematics (Real-Time) video:
https://youtu.be/HZVvc4IVg1M
Very excited about the new technology that will be powering all of our foreseeable projects at DANKIE (David+Frankie) and how dynamic, optimized and efficient it is.
This technology allows us to do more, make things prettier and tackle more aspects of development including areas we haven't been able to in the past, such as Cutscenes+Cinematics like these early preliminary tests are heading towards.
This is behind-the-scenes and very work-in-progress and we hope you enjoy^^
Join the Official #ORION Dankie Discord Channel
This new hub is for gamers, aspiring game developers, chat progress, rewards, prizes and more!
https://discord.gg/RykWMpC
If you own either Guardians of Orion or ORION: Prelude you are eligible for loyalty discounts on upcoming projects. More information via the Discord!
GameLust Guardians Giveaway (Ends 3/9/2018)
Win a FREE copy of Guardians of Orion for you or a friend! Competition ends March 9, 2018:
http://gamelust.com/news/win-copy-guardians-orion/
"Guardians of Orion is Halo meets Destiny in one of the best dino shooters on Steam. Want to kill some weird robot drones? Go ahead. How about shoving a lightsaber up a dinos ass? Sure."
