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Topic: NEWS: Toys for Bob go for a new Star Control and need your help (READ!) (Read 140226 times)
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Deus Siddis
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UQM2 sounds like a fork of UQM, or at least something based on its code, which might be more confusing.
A big naming question is has TFB bought back the rights to the name "Star Control" or does it plan to try. If it does, they should call it Star Control 3, if it is indeed a sequel. They should also allow the UQM project here to use the name Star Control 2.
If not, then the name will probably be very different, like Captain Fwiffo's Downhill Jam, Ilwrath ER, Resident Orz, or Frungy Championship 2008.
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Novus
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Fot or not?
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I guess the whole naming thing boils down to whether "The Ur-Quan Masters" has replaced "Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters" as the name of the game in your mind or not. A game called "Star Control 3" will almost certainly be confused with this (I'm sorry if I've accidentally let out some carefully repressed memories), while "UQM2" wouldn't.
Sequels may or may not be based on the same engine, so using "UQM2" would hardly give a strong impression of being a fork or new game in the same engine except to those more familiar with open source than with games. It could be confused with a future UQM v2.0, but at this rate, we have about a decade until that becomes a problem.
However, I do agree that the name "Star Control 3" works better than "Ur-Quan Masters 2" if the Ur-Quan don't play a signifact role (note, however, that the Star Control organisation plays a minimal role in "Star Control II"!). For example, "Return of the Dnyarri" would be a plausible title for one potential UQM2 plot.
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guesst
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Ancient Shofixti Warrior
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How about "Ur-Quan Master 3". Sure people will wonder what happened to Ur-Quan Masters 2, but that can be fixed by re-releasing all the games under the new nomenclature.
Honestly, I've given up hope on this project. It's been ages since we've heard any official news, I don't think they got the volume of e-mails they were hoping for. I just don't see it happening any more.
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RTyp06
*Smell* controller
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"Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam ".. *sigh* Have skateboarding games ever been cool? Obviously they must have some appeal, but to who? Fat kids too lazy to get a board and head to the local park? I guess all gaming platforms must have their obligatory skateboard game..For cripes sake I can play Tony Hawk on my cell phone! /vent
Perhaps when I get out of jail for strangling Tony Hawk and his agents, I'll come back for a starcontrol inititive update...
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Lukipela
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The Ancient One
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My take on a prequel notion - a prequel could be cool, but we already know what happened during the crucible of sentience (1st hierarchy/alliance war). Before that wasn't too interesting and between the crucible and the liberation war (in SC2/UQM), well, everybody was either slaveshielded, roaming around aimlessly waiting for their masters to think up something for them to do - or entertaining themselves killing pkunk, killing themselves, getting psychically enslaved and so on. Pretty blah. It was only after the flagship appeared that things got interesting again.
Not necessarily. A prequel based on pre-millieu times could deal with the precursors in some way, or with other totally unknown races.. A prequel based on the Millieu could deal with all the minor races of the Millieu, and their desperate battle against the enthralled Quan. A pre SC1 prequel could deal with any number of conflicts in our own quadrant. between arising intelligent species. A pre SC2 prequel could deal with final days of combat, undercover missions and secret resistance bases.
History holds plenty of interesting stories.
I'm also not too certain that we should be talking about the eternal1s and the events of sc-not-3 as if they are canon when everyone agrees they are not. I concede that for reference/theory purposes sc-not-3 does have some value, slight though it is.
Are we?
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« Last Edit: August 21, 2006, 02:54:25 pm by Lukipela »
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What's up doc?
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Deus Siddis
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That's pretty much what I've been suggesting all along (the commercial releases get to keep their names for clarity), but here's a small improvement: if "UQM2" sounds too much like UQM v2.0, you could use "UQM II" instead; nobody ever uses Roman numerals for versions (I hope), and "II" pretty much implies a sequel.
You still have the problem that a sequel could just as easily not be about the UQ at all, and I'm sure they would not be masters, either way. I think that unless they buy their name (Star Control) back from accolade, they will just have to call it something like "Free Star," followed by its sequel "Free Star 2: The Orz Masters." 
A prequel based on pre-millieu times could deal with the precursors in some way, or with other totally unknown races..
I think that would be dull unless the precursors played an active role, themselves, and I don't think they should be "revealed" unless it is a sequel (because that's where they'd make the biggest bang.) This could be a good presequel to be made later though, with the Precursors fighting the Orz and eventually losing. Unless you are thinking this could be a prelude to a sequel, setting the stage of an ancient conflict like this, whose climax plays out in post SC2 events.
A prequel based on the Millieu could deal with all the minor races of the Millieu, and their desperate battle against the enthralled Quan.
That's not a bad idea. You'd want to make this before a sequel though, if said sequel did not revolve around the conflict with the UQ.
A pre SC1 prequel could deal with any number of conflicts in our own quadrant.
That might be a little dull.
A pre SC2 prequel could deal with final days of combat, undercover missions and secret resistance bases.
That'd be okay, though it might not be as much fun fighting a battle whose outcome is already decided. Unless you are a big WWII shooter fan.
BTW, for those who really want to know what would have happened in the TFB SC3 that didn't and has not yet come to be, I'd suggest playing Starflight 2: Trade Routes of the Cloud Nebula. Given the parallels I've seen between Starflight and Star Control 2: the Ur-Quan Masters, I think there would have been some similarities. Just whenever you hear the name "Uhl," replace it in your head with "Orz." 
Speaking of which, I don't think any future games in this universe would be much good unless Greg Johnson is on TFB's team for them. The Starflight and Star Control universes would not be what they are without his creative flare and colorful characters. Just imagine what Archon or Star Control 1+2 would have been like without PR3's gameplay design talent. Be it a sequel to a movie or game, each original creative talent you lose makes that production less of what it used to be, and thus less of what you have come to love it for.
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« Last Edit: August 23, 2006, 03:53:05 pm by Deus_Siddis »
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Neutrino 123
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[ A prequel based on the Millieu could deal with all the minor races of the Millieu, and their desperate battle against the enthralled Quan. That's not a bad idea. You'd want to make this before a sequel though, if said sequel did not revolve around the conflict with the UQ.
...or better yet, push the time period foward a bit, and have the protaganist be Kohr-Ah! It's what everyone has always wanted!
Fight mind-controlled enemies in ground combat, while preventing your health from getting too high!
Formulate and discover the awesomness of the Eternal Doctrine!
Build a fleet!
Cleanse the Yuptar!
Finally, battle the Kzer-Za! You can't win this battle, but you need to do well enough to convince the Kzer-Za that the Eternal Doctrine might be right!
It would be a best hit for sure!
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-Neutrino 123 (pronounced Neutrino One-Two-Three)
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Reven
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"The Ur-Quan Masters" was always meant as a subtitle. It sounds like a subtitle - it doesn't give any hint at what's behind the game. Sure it works for name recognition, and I suggest keeping it for that reason. But I would strongly suggest moving it back to that status and creating a new overtitle name. The community is large enough that a new "franchise" name won't hurt recognition. GalictiQuest (GQ makes a cool set of initials) perhaps. "GalactiQuest: The Ur-Quan Masters". Sounds catchy in a 1980's sort of way.
Sequels, prequels, anything you like can be made with numbers. GQ 2, GQ 0 for a prequel (or -1 if you like). Don't have to worry about whether or not the Ur-Quan are in the game or not.
Of course "GalactiQuest" is just my own toss-out after a half second's thought. Use ir or not, whatever, the main point is to come up with an overall franchise name that's new and unique. This community has accomplished a lot on its own. No need to be tied down with other people's names any more. Come up with your own - you deserve recognition in your own right, not just as game cloners.
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bruttoid
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A pre SC2 prequel could deal with final days of combat, undercover missions and secret resistance bases. That'd be okay, though it might not be as much fun fighting a battle whose outcome is already decided. Unless you are a big WWII shooter fan.
Not necessarily. Look. If you make a "prequel" whatevwer and however you call it, one could make it look like if you were an Ur-Quan captain, trying first to defeat the Kohr-Ah and the the whole Allance of the free Stars, of course after summoning the Battle Thralls - this could be a whole treasure-chest of ideas, quests, battles and interesting situations. Just think about it. It could be not at all hard to reproduce the UQM-engine from the Ur-Quan perspective (who knows)! And you win there by default (the final point would then be the Power-shield appearance over Earth - just a few years before the point where SC2 starts). I would really like to see that.
What you could also do is even make a "prequel" about (as said above) Sentient Milieu, new (for SC2) races as Taalo, etc., Kzer-Za and Talking Pets. You could reproduce (again from the Captain Talking Pet's perspective) the happenings of the Kzer-Za enslavement, destruction of the Milieu by Kzer-Za and the splitting (by Pet) of their race to Kohr-Ah and Ur-Quan.
And the naming ... oh this problem...
Why not leaving possible new games from Toys for Bob (i'm sure the'll call the next one as SC4) alone, the SC1 and SC2 originals also, and just keep calling new prequels & sequels so:
the current finishing project - Ur-Quan Masters: The Eternal Doctrine (or Alliance of the free Stars)
the other prequels/sequels - for example Ur-Quan Masters: The Sentient Milieu
or Ur-Quan Masters: The Battle Thralls
The point is to give no version/episode number - only the name, and the name should always contain the Ur-Quan Masters: part. One will always find a way to put Ur-Quans into the story. And it doesnt really matter which episode will a player play first. If he'd like the modd, he would find out the real order of them in the internet.
I hope i made my point clear. What do you think?
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Novus
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My original point was that we need an unambiguous shorthand for a (so far hypothetical) sequel to SC2/UQM, and calling it "SC3" will just confuse everyone. "UQM II" seems to be the best suggestion so far (naturally, since it's mine  ); thinking up long and fanciful titles is better left to whoever develops the game (hopefully TFB), since they'll probably have a clue as to what it's going to be about.
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