IN THE BLACK is the new name for Starfighter Inc

Yet another kickstarter project (as Star Citizen was) a totally physics-based space-shooter IN THE BLACK from Impeller Studios comprises a team drawn from such luminal titles as the original X-Wing and the original Crysis... maybe this means it'll be a more mature title delivered by these old(er) game-industry veterans. Something with a bit more confidence and assurance in what it is capable of bringing to the saturated space-sim gaming arena. No quantum jumping no FTL... so, question-marks on the size and scops of the gaming arena?

The Up-sides: at least they're using Unreal Engine 4 to render it all, so it'll look GORGEOUS. If done well, In The Black is utilising RAY-TRACING throughout and will make a foundational feature of BOUNCED LIGHTING (aka global illumination) for this game that the cockpits of, say, Star Citizen are sorely lacking a.t.m. Good thing is, it's closed beta is due by end-year 2019 i.e. this year! I want to see how In The Black brings orbiting planetary physics into the gameplay....



The Down-sides: not keen on the laser-based fighting unless it's gonna be boolean-heavy slice-n-disable gameplay and the explosion fx just suck like a huge gangling rope of donkey lard.

Ed: just got some live feedback from my post, from Imipeller Studios, to the effect that (and I quote):

Regarding combat, lasers are not the primary weapon and certainly don't dominate. Conventional cannons, coilguns and railguns, as well as missiles are also in the mix. All have their strengths and weaknesses.

Another aspect worth discussing is the  MILITARY FUCKING INTERFACE. Saddens me how uninspired game design has become, it's all so samey. Any eidetic-info-heavy military-graphic-overlay interface diminishes the 3D effect by putting too much info on the read plane. There are ways round such a text-drenched interface. You could have still a 'meatbag in the pilot's seat', just redesign the cockpit space to be an inertialess neo-fluid environment or somewhere the pilot is cradled then all the lovely g-intensive flying will make sense. Here's another quote from the feedback:

One upside of this (meatbag in the pilot's seat, ed) decision is that we can introduce mechanics having to do with disabling and capturing enemy ships: ransom rewards!

In fact, while there's no FTL or quantum jumping in the game, something like a SCALE ENGINE could be a way to 'get around the gaming universe' but Impeller Studios ain't gonna go down  the altered resonant frequency of your ship means it can scale up  route.

Or are they?

a Scale Engine allows normal flight
across the vastnesses of space...