Rebelstar - Laser Squad/X-Com a-like for the GBA

[Naked]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/03/30/news_6121341.html

Seeing as this is being developed by the Gollop Bros at Codo, home of Laser Squad: Nemesis, I can't think of any reason why this won't be ungodly awesome. Shame it's not on the DS though -- wi-fi + stylus = turn-based squad combat goodness.

On a historical side note, Rebelstar was the Gollop Bros' first game, on the Spectrum back in the early 80's. Not surprisingly, it was a pretty spiffy turn-based sci-fi squad combat game, and was followed up a bit later by the equally awesome Laser Squad. From there came X-Com and, well, you know...

[Jason Lutes]

Awesome news. I am intrigued by the mention of "stealth skills" ...

[Peter Olafson]

Just FYI, Rebelstar wasn't Julian Gollop's first game. It came out in '86. The first, I think, would be Chaos from 1984.

Peter

[Sanjuro]

Is there a good GBA emulator out yet? :twisted:

[Jon R.]

There's been a near-perfect GBA emulator out for ages.

This should be great. If they follow their current LSN business model though, it will cost $80 per cart and multiplayer will require you to make and enter punchcards manually for each turn.

[Sanjuro]

Time to brush up on my FORTRAN.

[moss_icon]

Just FYI, Rebelstar wasn't Julian Gollop's first game. It came out in '86. The first, I think, would be Chaos from 1984.


i am pretty sure the first game was 'rebelstar raiders', which was the forerunner of rebelstar. i played it once, was pretty bad! it pre-dated chaos anyway.

rebelstar and chaos on the other hand are two of my favourite games ever.

[krayzkrok]

Just FYI, Rebelstar wasn't Julian Gollop's first game. It came out in '86. The first, I think, would be Chaos from 1984.

Peter

No, no, Time Lords, Islandia, Nebula and the original Rebelstar Raiders all came before Chaos and Rebelstar. Rebelstar was more of a RR remixed with larger graphics and new maps. Never played his first two games, as they were released on the BBC Micro, but Nebula was an excellent strategy game. And then, of course, came Rebelstar Raiders and he's never really looked back. Chaos was a little bit of a diversion, though still my favourite game of all time. [/geek]

[Kahlil Gibran]

This game looks awesome. I don't understand why they didn't do this sooner and on a beefier platform like the PS2...

[Naked]

I am pretty sure the first game was 'rebelstar raiders',

That's the one I was thinking of - for some reaons I mentally mixed the names and recalled "Raiders" as the prettier sequel - I remember playing that on my friends' Spectrum (in hotseat mode, of course, complete with complex "you must leave the roomb etween turns" rules) as a semi-wee nipper. Didn't realize that there were two BBC Micro games before that, as my only exposure to that machine came while sneaking runs on Elite in my secondary school computer room.

I remember how chuffed we were for Rebelstar in '86 but it was Laser Squad, of course, that blew all else before it away (especially the Atari ST version) as did the Chaos sequel from around the same time whose name I cannot quite recall.

[Peter Olafson]

That would be Lords of Chaos. :)

Peter

[Bren]

WTF GBA??? PSP!!!

[Naked]

WTF GBA??? PSP!!!
I'd imagine that it's probably cheaper to develop for the GBA, being a "last gen" handheld. Who knows though, maybe it's been in development for a while. Codo is a pretty small team.
That would be Lords of Chaos.
Thanks! Time to scour those "gray area" abandonware sites, see if I can find a Emulator friendly version. Man did I love that game.

[Squirrel Killer]

WTF GBA??? PSP!!!
I'd imagine that it's probably cheaper to develop for the GBA, being a "last gen" handheld.

*cough*installed base*cough*

[Rob_Merritt]

Villagers demand a PSP port.


(that or I have to sneak my son's GBSP away when he isn't looking)

[DrCrypt]

The Codo guys have been mentioning this, sans the title, on the LSN forums for months now. Since it's only like two guys and they are entirely self-funded, I assume this was the smallest bar to entry with the best chance of profits.

[Joel]

I love my PSP bunches, already, and while it would certainly be up to the task, if this game is half of what I hope it will be, I'll need the 12+ hour per session battery life of the GBA/DS.

Now I want screenshots.

[Backov]

I would love to do a GBA game.. I wonder if they've actually got a publishing contract.. That's the hardest part. The hardware itself is incredibly friendly and easy to dev for, for the most part. I wouldn't want to do Doom on it, but 2d stuff is really easy.

[DrCrypt]

Now I want screenshots.
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=58466

That is TOTALLY LSN for GBA.

[TomChick]

That is TOTALLY LSN for GBA.

Holy cats, it is! I am in love!!

-Tom

[John Many Jars]

Now I want screenshots.
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=58466

That is TOTALLY LSN for GBA.

So much so that if it were posted on a blog or other disreputable site I'd suspect it was a brilliant fake -- LSN terrain with big-head FFTA figures.

The box cursor and the selection of an aimed shot are pure X-COM, though. The Gollops are exceptional developers in not fixing things that ain't broke.

[Chowhound]

This looks great!

I miss my E-Mail X-Com though. Now that was awesome to play round upon round, game upon game throughout the work day.

[Brian Rubin]

WHOLLY CRAP! LSN Portable! I am so sold, a day one purchase right there!

[Chris Nahr]

So I guess we'll finally get a LSN version with a single player mode... they never did that for the PC, right?

[John Many Jars]

So I guess we'll finally get a LSN version with a single player mode... they never did that for the PC, right?

Yeah, they did -- the paid versions give you 20 missions (which I think were made by players). The AI performs pretty poorly, though, and the missions don't play much like real games of LSN.

[KieronGillen]

krayzkrok: Ditto. When anyone asks me the "Favourite game ever" question, more often than not go for Chaos.

KG

[Tyjenks]

This is going to suck. No one likes turn based strategy games anymore. Next thing you all are going to tell me is that someone is developing an online TBS game with tactical combat and a persistent world. Insanity.

(Thought we needed a little balance in this thread.)

[krayzkrok]

krayzkrok: Ditto. When anyone asks me the "Favourite game ever" question, more often than not go for Chaos.

And I still play it on a regular basis. 8 wizard battles against level 8 computer AI, with myself playing 2 of the wizards, is the only way to go. Only playing 1 wizard is just sado-masochistic.

JG mentioned some time ago in the LSN forums that Codo's next full project after LSN would be an LSN-like version of Lords of Chaos. It took me a while to put my eyeballs back in after reading that. Hopefully it won't be too much longer to wait, if he sticks by his promise.

[Jasper]

Next thing you all are going to tell me is that someone is developing an online TBS game with tactical combat and a persistent world. Insanity.
Actually, I'm doing just that (assuming that by online you don't mean Massively Multiplayer).

[Tyjenks]

Next thing you all are going to tell me is that someone is developing an online TBS game with tactical combat and a persistent world. Insanity.
Actually, I'm doing just that (assuming that by online you don't mean Massively Multiplayer).

Do tell?

And I actually had Tactica Online in mind. :) Which is, of course, MM.

The GBA which was the TBS oasis has become a desert as of late. Any news that something is coming is good.

[Jasper]

When you wrote "Tactica Online" I at first thought the name referred to the miniatures game "Tactica", but alas it's not. Sounds pretty interesting in a Jagged Alliance sort of way, although it's a different sense of the word tactical than I had in mind.

I don't have my website up yet, but as a short overview:
- Fantasy conquest game
- battle resolution along the lines of historical tabletop miniatures games
- card based trade and production
- variable and changeable magic rules
- puzzle based research mechanic (as opposed to shopping based)
- diplomacy
- randomly generated maps with a "hand drawn" look

It's "persistant" in that a given game is bounded by victory conditions other than "conquer everyone", with an economic fatigue from warfare that brings games to a natural conclusion. A new game can then be generated from the finished one at some point in the future when conflict resumes. The new game will resemble the old one to a varrying degree, depending on how much time passes and what events happen in the interim. If little time passes things may be much the same, just with borders somewhat changed and heroes a bit aged. If alot of time passes civilizations may be lost, their cities becoming lost ruins future empires sift through for forgotten knowledge.

The setting is reminiscent of the RPG "Earthdawn", with the power of magic waxing and waning over time, and the rules perhaps shifting. At "high tide" magical beasts ravage the world, and nations colapse as people retreat into isolated underground cities for safety. A series of games can take place at different points in this cycle with a continuing narrative connecting them, with the ultimate possibility of some player figuring out how to deal with the recurring catastrophe.

It's setup for online multiplayer, but on a scale more typical for the genre.
I suppose with a big enough map you could handle hundreds of players if you rigorously force hosted... My ultimate dream is to use this as the foundation for a world simulation style "Moderately Multiplayer" online RPG, with wealthy players controlling assets in the strategic game.

And I'll stop now, as that's already far longer than I'd intended!

[child of Thor]

Wow - it looks great. I'm playing an Xcom game at the momment 8)
And now i can get my first game to play on the GBA i bought as a pressie for my gf.
Its great that this classic stuff is getting done - all the mainstream effort is getting so stale these days :(

[Donald L.]

A little more information and larger screenshots, looks like it could be fun.

RebelStar Tactical Command (http://www.the-magicbox.com/0503/game050331f.shtml)

[Qenan]

Wow, takes me back to memories of X-COM. Definitely worth a shot, just for the retro appeal.

[Saber Cherry]

Looks nice! Too bad it's an August release, and I'm stuck in April...

[JeffJames]

Looks nice! Too bad it's an August release, and I'm stuck in April...

Looks very cool -- can't wait to get my grubby mitts on it!

The original X-COM is still one of the best games in the history of the universe...Nick and Julian Gollop should have been knighted by the queen years ago for their work. :)

[GuildBoss]

I don't have a GBA but I'll buy it for this. My wife will be sooo happy. :roll:

[Igor Muravyev]

I'm holding out for PocketUFO (http://www.smksoftware.ru/pufo.shtml), a true port of X-COM: UFO Defense for the PocketPC and Palm OS.

Hope it gets out of beta soon!

But for the *desktop* X-COM experience I think that UFO Extraterrestrials (http://www.ufo-extraterrestrials.com/) will turn out to be a fine game, it certainly looks better than the Aftermath one.

[Moore]

I play pocketufo without feeling bad because I own xcom, but I'm definately buying rebelstar because I want them to keep on making games like this, and it's nice to see a new one with the old style chunky graphics.

[Gendal]

Looks sweet, too bad it's not for the DS or PSP. Preferably the DS since the touch screen and two screens seem fairly suited for the gameplay type.

[John Many Jars]

I just idly checked for updates, and there are a few new screenshots. (http://media.gameboy.ign.com/media/738/738202/imgs_1.html)

There's a new kind of alien in there, but it's hard to say what it's supposed to be --- either a snakeman with a helmet or some kind of Segwaytaur.

[John Many Jars]

Dev diary part 1, more screens, some movies. (http://gba.gamespy.com/gameboy-advance/rebelstar-tactical-command/619957p1.html?fromint=1) Definitely X-Com meets FE/Advance Wars.

[Matthew Gallant]

They've abbreviated "Assault Rifle" to "Ass. Rifle".

[Gendal]

Played a bit of this at E3, which did nothing to lessen my excitement. Looks great and was pretty playable already, so I imagine they are just adding content and polishing it up.

[Tyjenks]

Well they are hitting all the right notes. He was able to mention similairities to Fire Emblem, Advance Wars, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Tactics Ogre all in the same diary entry.

Multi-levels and destructible environments were my two biggest features that I wanted tranferred to the GBA and it looks like they are a go.

Excellent!

[Donald L.]

Hadn't realized until now it was being designed by Julian Gollop.

[Draco]

Played a bit of this at E3, which did nothing to lessen my excitement. Looks great and was pretty playable already, so I imagine they are just adding content and polishing it up.

I also played this at E3 and was underwhelmed. I never played X-Com, but I was expecting something more. The mission I played had 3 humans (in something that looked like space suits) in a neighborhood and the aliens came in. I moved my troops in a typical FFTA/Advance Wars way and fired my weapons at the aliens. I could also use grenades, but more often than not ended up killing more of my own troops than the aliens. There wasn't must else going on periferally on the screen; the streets were deserted. I just didn't get the feeling of this being some sort of grand tactical game. Where was the unit growth? Where was the interaction?

Now that I've been able to play Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones, even that blows away what I played of the game. This has moved to my "wait and see" list.

[Robert Sharp]

Awesome news. I am intrigued by the mention of "stealth skills" ...

You know, I hate stealth games, but I think such skills would be very interesting in a game like this. They need to add some new dynamics to these games, especially for those that aren't based on spells and such (a la Disgaea, which is a great game too). Just shooting people can get pretty old, IMO, which is why I don't like Jagged Alliance as much as most people do.

Actually, a game that properly captured the psionics portions of Space Hulk would be nice too.

[Robert Sharp]

OK, Draco, but how complete was the build you played? They might add lots of other stuff.

[Draco]

It was complete enough for Nintendo to show it at E3 without a developer standing next to the game and explain to everyone that it's an early build, and complete enought to allow any E3 attendee to play the game and post their impressions on forums like this one. And based upon what I played, I was unimpressed.

In March it was announced it was to come out in August; now the release date on Gamespot is for November. I hope to God they use that time to make the game better.

[Gendal]

I never played X-Com

Which explains why you left your glaring shortcoming blinders at home. I only had time to play the short tutorial but I liked what I saw, the interface, etc all seemed to work well and give lots of options like kneeling and snap/aimed/burst/etc shots. Hopefully they will add in a bunch of different weapons and even some base building! to the final product.

[Draco]

I never played X-Com

Which explains why you left your glaring shortcoming blinders at home..

I'm sure many of the 10-15 year olds who will be buying this game never have played x-com either. :P

[Marcin]

New update with several screenshots and description of an alien race (http://www.etoychest.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1890&Itemid=2).

Neat.

[John Many Jars]

Also some shots from June showing green things with fangs. (http://www.gamespot.com/gba/strategy/rebelstartacticalcommand/screenindex.html?part=rss&tag=gs_game_boy_advance&subj=6127670)

[/edit]Actually, they look a lot like Spawn drones from LSN!

[Marcin]

Looks like it's gold (http://www.etoychest.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2115&Itemid=2). Some more screenshots too.

[Brian Rubin]

Woohoo! This is awesome. I saw on some site the other day (Gamestop or EB, one of 'em) that the release date had changed to October. I hope this is incorrect.

[DanielElliot]

I read this will have a linear or mostly linear campaign like Advance Wars, Fire Emblem, etc. and no strategic mode like X-Com. That doesn't bother me too much, but I know it will some people. Anyone know the truth of it?

[Matthew Gallant]

The press release announcing gold said it would be in stores in September.

[Brian Rubin]

Well, that's closer than October. September will be an awesome month...Rebelstar and Serenity in the same month...frigging great..

[Samurai]

I read this will have a linear or mostly linear campaign like Advance Wars, Fire Emblem, etc. and no strategic mode like X-Com. That doesn't bother me too much, but I know it will some people. Anyone know the truth of it?

Yeah I figured it was too much to hope that Rebelstar would have an X-Com strategic mode. At the very least I hope it has a skirmish/single mission type mode like Advance Wars has.

[Lunch of Kong]

They've abbreviated "Assault Rifle" to "Ass. Rifle".

heh. That reminds me of the beta release of the PS2 tuner software "Analysis Probe" in which the programmer had shortened the name in the title bar to "AnalProbe"

[Sten Friberg]

Well, that's closer than October. September will be an awesome month...Rebelstar and Serenity in the same month...frigging great..

Serenity?

[Jason Lutes]

Serenity?
Apparently Brian's appreciation of different forms of entertainment is ecumenical. I belive Serenity (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379786/) is the feature-length movie by that Buffy guy.

[Kool Moe Dee]

heh. That reminds me of the beta release of the PS2 tuner software "Analysis Probe" in which the programmer had shortened the name in the title bar to "AnalProbe"

Heh...if I remember right, the name "HiProfAnal" was also involved with CATS... :shock: Good times...

[DrCrypt]

A gameplay movie and a lot of cool screens are now up at the official site:

http://rebelstar.namco.com/screens.php

Looks great, though the animation looks a bit choppy in explosions and the like.