So... are there going to be updates to this game?

[Drilhos]

I was pretty hyped about Spacebase Startopia, but it seems it is not quite reaching the same charm that this one did. Moreover, it seems the publisher on this game changed (now MyLittlePlanet instead of Eidos) and the updated website about this game has this message:

The game is currently available through Steam (and hopefully soon returning to GOG), with any proceeds being actively ploughed back into refreshing and updating the original game.

http://www.startopia.co.uk/history.html#header4-d

So does anyone know something about this?

[Kunovega]

Spacebase Startopia is from a completely different and unrelated company that has absolutely nothing to do with this game.

This game has not been getting updates in nearly 20 years. The company that made it went out of business, the company that adsorbed the license after that, was purchased and dismantled.

The company that owns this now (Square-Enix) has shown no interest in updating it or doing anything with it, it's just one of many old games in their back catalog that they acquired when they went around buying up dead or dying studios 10+ years ago.

[Drilhos]

Originally posted by Kunovega:

Spacebase Startopia is from a completely different and unrelated company that has absolutely nothing to do with this game.

This game has not been getting updates in nearly 20 years. The company that made it went out of business, the company that adsorbed the license after that, was purchased and dismantled.

The company that owns this now (Square-Enix) has shown no interest in updating it or doing anything with it, it's just one of many old games in their back catalog that they acquired when they went around buying up dead or dying studios 10+ years ago.

According to the steam page, it changed publishers. And on steamdb this happened on june.

And the store links to a twitter page with the name Startopia 2020:
https://twitter.com/Startopia2020

https://steamdb.info/app/243040/history/

[Kunovega]

Originally posted by Drilhos:

Originally posted by Kunovega:

Spacebase Startopia is from a completely different and unrelated company that has absolutely nothing to do with this game.

This game has not been getting updates in nearly 20 years. The company that made it went out of business, the company that adsorbed the license after that, was purchased and dismantled.

The company that owns this now (Square-Enix) has shown no interest in updating it or doing anything with it, it's just one of many old games in their back catalog that they acquired when they went around buying up dead or dying studios 10+ years ago.

According to the steam page, it changed publishers. And on steamdb this happened on june.

And the store links to a twitter page with the name Startopia 2020:
https://twitter.com/Startopia2020

https://steamdb.info/app/243040/history/

My Little Planet LTD is listed as a UK holding company for licenses founded 16 years ago and labeled as a consulting agency

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/05028317

There's one registered active employee
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/05028317/persons-with-significant-control

[Drilhos]

Didn't know about that, thanks.

Even then, I found it a little strange this recent movement with the IP. Thought it could be something a little more interesting :P

[My Little Planet]

My Little Planet LTD is listed as a UK holding company for licenses founded 16 years ago and labeled as a consulting agency

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/05028317

There's one registered active employee
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/05028317/persons-with-significant-control

Hi Kunovega and Drilhos,

I'm one of the Mucky Foot founders and original Startopia developers. My Little Planet (MLP) is the company I used for consultancy work a few years back, and having finally got the rights to Startopia and Urban Chaos returned to me, I've transferred those rights to MLP, hence the switcheroos happening around here recently.



Guy

[Drilhos]

Woah never expected a response of a dev from one of my childhood's favorite games. :p

Thanks for clearing that up though, it was strange seeing all that movement suddenly.

[My Little Planet]

My pleasure Drilhos!

With regards to updates, I'm hoping to get some bug fixes out soon. Beyond that I'm not sure, but there are certainly loads of things I'd love to do with the game...



Guy

[Film11]

Originally posted by My Little Planet:

My pleasure Drilhos!

With regards to updates, I'm hoping to get some bug fixes out soon. Beyond that I'm not sure, but there are certainly loads of things I'd love to do with the game...



Guy

Hi Guy, thanks very much for taking on the mantle of Startopia. I'm sure it's no small task negotiating the transfer of publishing rights on the various platforms and otherwise maintaining things. I assume from the above that you have access to the full source code? Great news if so!

I'm just checking if I were to buy Startopia on Steam that the money would come to you (as opposed to an old publisher or something like that)?

[My Little Planet]

Originally posted by Film11:

Hi Guy, thanks very much for taking on the mantle of Startopia. I'm sure it's no small task negotiating the transfer of publishing rights on the various platforms and otherwise maintaining things. I assume from the above that you have access to the full source code? Great news if so!

I'm just checking if I were to buy Startopia on Steam that the money would come to you (as opposed to an old publisher or something like that)?

Hi Film11,

So yes, basically any money from the sales of Startopia now goes into My Little Planet's pot, where it will be used to fund all things Startopia, hopefully including some updates to the game. However the extent of any updates depends entirely on how much money comes in, and who's available to do the work.

Regarding the source code, I've had that ever since we closed Mucky Foot's doors, and have maintained it over the years to keep it compiling and running under the latest iterations of Visual Studio and Windows. My plan is to find someone to take ownership of the codebase though, as I'm not free to look after it myself nowadays.


Guy

[-V-]

It's perfect just the way it is... please don't retcon my childhood.

[Jimbo]

Originally posted by My Little Planet:

My pleasure Drilhos!

With regards to updates, I'm hoping to get some bug fixes out soon. Beyond that I'm not sure, but there are certainly loads of things I'd love to do with the game...



Guy

I'm hoping you will be doing loads of things with this game, as i'm assuming it will be new content for the game, in the form of DLCs? if so fair enough, as I will probably buy them all since I've always liked this game since the early 2000s.

I also have a few suggestions here for the game if you would like to have a look down below here.

Startopia improvements and bug fixing

• Stop the Ai leaving and trying to open hardplan creates etc. on the biodeck

• Teach the Ai to plan out and build all the buildings in a much smarter way

• Stop the Ai from building a few of the same buildings. For example... 4 recyclers in the same sector when only one is needed, which I saw in one of my games.

• The ability to chose different logos and colours when we play the game.


Extra features and probably DLCs

• Space pirates of various different types and aliens beaming themselves onto the station and start stealing supplies from your cargoholds and energy from collectors and then disappear

• A feature for the hostilities certain aliens have between each other. For example... The Kasvorgorians and the Kamarama, and for full scale fighting to break out between each other. To prevent this from happening, you would have to have a certain number of security scuzzers on your station to keep the law and order at all times between them.

• Extra missions I think is another good one, and should probably be a continuation from when you finally met Arona Daal at the end of the last mission.

[-V-]

Originally posted by Jimbo:

Originally posted by My Little Planet:

My pleasure Drilhos!

With regards to updates, I'm hoping to get some bug fixes out soon. Beyond that I'm not sure, but there are certainly loads of things I'd love to do with the game...



Guy

I'm hoping you will be doing loads of things with this game, as i'm assuming it will be new content for the game, in the form of DLCs? if so fair enough, as I will probably buy them all since I've always liked this game since the early 2000s.

I also have a few suggestions here for the game if you would like to have a look down below here.

Startopia improvements and bug fixing

• Stop the Ai leaving and trying to open hardplan creates etc. on the biodeck

• Teach the Ai to plan out and build all the buildings in a much smarter way

• Stop the Ai from building a few of the same buildings. For example... 4 recyclers in the same sector when only one is needed, which I saw in one of my games.

• The ability to chose different logos and colours when we play the game.


Extra features and probably DLCs

• Space pirates of various different types and aliens beaming themselves onto the station and start stealing supplies from your cargoholds and energy from collectors and then disappear

• A feature for the hostilities certain aliens have between each other. For example... The Kasvorgorians and the Kamarama, and for full scale fighting to break out between each other. To prevent this from happening, you would have to have a certain number of security scuzzers on your station to keep the law and order at all times between them.

• Extra missions I think is another good one, and should probably be a continuation from when you finally met Arona Daal at the end of the last mission.

Aliens are free to come and go and suffer a happiness penalty while the port is shut down (should you not want them leaving simply close the port)

Droids build what's closest.

YOU open hardplan crates, not AI.

Maybe that AI gaming buddy was running a space trash service. You took over THEIR base, so you get what you get.

Aliens that encounter a race of alien they dislike will suffer happiness penalties, which can lead to them becoming criminals or leaving your station.

There used to be loads of user missions, but all that's left now are dead pages and empty links. It's like an internet graveyard out there. -shudders-

The game is inherently moddable.

[ChemicaL Ali]

wtf is did with controls?...

[Comrade Sky]

Originally posted by My Little Planet:

My pleasure Drilhos!

With regards to updates, I'm hoping to get some bug fixes out soon. Beyond that I'm not sure, but there are certainly loads of things I'd love to do with the game...



Guy

If you make a 30 mission pack for like 15 dollars, I'd totally buy it. It would take a lot of time for the planning, voice acting, and maybe adding a few buildings and adjusting the options, but I think there is a big enough base willing to buy that to make it worth while.

I am not the best at texturing, but I have gotten pretty good at modeling already. If there was a workshop and easy way to do it, I might add a building or two. I'd like a restaurant or drug bar.

I think it would also be great to rebalance the economy. Cold climate plants should grow slow, but produce more expensive items, and hot climate plants should produce very fast, but cheap items (mostly food). Maybe even a "processing plant" that turns "herbs" into "black market goods" and "medical plants" into "medical supplies" to help with balancing.

[-V-]

Originally posted by Comrade Sky:

Originally posted by My Little Planet:

My pleasure Drilhos!

With regards to updates, I'm hoping to get some bug fixes out soon. Beyond that I'm not sure, but there are certainly loads of things I'd love to do with the game...



Guy

If you make a 30 mission pack for like 15 dollars, I'd totally buy it. It would take a lot of time for the planning, voice acting, and maybe adding a few buildings and adjusting the options, but I think there is a big enough base willing to buy that to make it worth while.

I am not the best at texturing, but I have gotten pretty good at modeling already. If there was a workshop and easy way to do it, I might add a building or two. I'd like a restaurant or drug bar.

I think it would also be great to rebalance the economy. Cold climate plants should grow slow, but produce more expensive items, and hot climate plants should produce very fast, but cheap items (mostly food). Maybe even a "processing plant" that turns "herbs" into "black market goods" and "medical plants" into "medical supplies" to help with balancing.

The plants do seem to grow at different rates. Frostarian snappers take for-freaking-ever while Liliths grow like weeds.