Space Siege

[Gary Whitta]

Now this I'll play.

SAN FRANCISCO & LONDON (July 6, 2007) – SEGA® of America, Inc. and SEGA® Europe Ltd. today announced the development of Space Siege™ for the PC. Developed by Gas Powered Games, SEGA has tapped Chris Taylor’s creative prowess to create this engaging action-RPG title. Space Siege features a deep and compelling storyline, intense combat and a dynamic character development system. Space Siege is scheduled to ship for the PC in North America and Europe in Q1 of 2008.

Space Siege takes place in the confines of the Armstrong, one of the few remaining colonization ships carrying the last bastions of human civilization after a devastating attack on Earth from an unknown alien race. Players will take the role of Seth Walker, a cybernetics engineer suddenly thrust into a struggle to save humanity from extermination. As the adventure progresses Seth is offered opportunities to sacrifice pieces of his humanity for cybernetic upgrades that will assist him in his mission to preserve the human race. But what price will he pay to save his own humanity? Only the player can decide Seth’s ultimate fate.

“Chris Taylor and his talented team at Gas Powered Games are recognized as leading innovators in the industry,” said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of Marketing, SEGA of America, Inc. “Space Siege promises to be a compelling and innovative successor to the very popular Dungeon Siege franchise.”

Incorporating innovative cybernetic augmentations into its storyline, Space Siege explores the dilemmas faced while keeping one’s humanity in the face of adversity. Cybernetic augmentations can be performed on every part of Seth’s body. On the extreme end, players will be able to outfit Seth with cybernetic upgrades that will leave little or none of his original humanity intact. But this choice comes with the risk of alienating Seth from the people he’s trying to save. Players can also insist on preserving Seth’s humanity by not using upgrades, instead forging ahead clearing the Armstrong of its alien invaders with natural human ingenuity and strength. Such a decision will increase the difficulty of completing his mission of uncovering and eliminating the alien menace that’s bent on destroying the human race.

Space Siege features a dynamic storyline based upon the decisions the player makes throughout the course of the game. Based upon the cybernetic modifications the player chooses to make on Seth’s body, NPC’s will react and interact with the player differently and, ultimately, different story resolutions will be reached. Space Siege will feature a separate immersive co-op multiplayer mode allowing up to four players to create and experience a completely unique mission structure.

For more information on the game, please visit www.sega.com/spacesiege.

[nixon66]

Space Siege will feature a separate immersive co-op multiplayer mode allowing up to four players to create and experience a completely unique mission structure.

Now this sounds fun. Color me interested.

[Shadari]

Woohoo, Dungeon Siege with rayguns!

[Andrew Mayer]

Like it wasn't hard enough to siege a dungeon. Now I've got siege all of space?

Seriously though, it sounds good. I'll assume that Sega's involvement means we're talking consoles here

[Gary Whitta]

Like it wasn't hard enough to siege a dungeon. Now I've got siege all of space?

Seriously though, it sounds good. I'll assume that Sega's involvement means we're talking consoles here
I dunno about consoles but it is definitely a PC title.

[Balasarius]

Dungeon Siege 1/2 weren't that great. After a while, they were pretty boring.

If this is Dungeon Siege in space, pass.

[Matt Perkins]

Dungeon Siege 1/2 weren't that great. After a while, they were pretty boring.

If this is Dungeon Siege in space, pass.
It doesn't really sound like DS at all, much less in space, but it's really hard to tell from a press release.

Me, I'm interested in anything GPG makes.

[forgeforsaken]

What was that Diablo clone that came out about a year or two ago that took place on space station in the habitat domes, it sounds like that.

Space Hack, that's it, though I suppose Harbinger also qualifies.

[Rob_Merritt]

Woohoo, Dungeon Siege with rayguns!

Hope so. I loved the first DS and perfer scifi over fantasy. Didn't care for the second DS.

[Jolor]

What was that Diablo clone that came out about a year or two ago that took place on space station in the habitat domes, it sounds like that.

Space Hack, that's it, though I suppose Harbinger also qualifies.

Yup... I played those. I'll expect more from GPG, of course, and I doubt that this will be bargain-priced.

I'll likely give this a go as it's in my genre.

[Slainte Mhath]

This sounds very interesting. GPG has excellent production quality, and while DS 1&2 got a bit repetitive they were still fun games. I'm in.

[Matthew Gallant]

Space Siege is a pretty awful name. We've got the universe surrounded, now we just have to wear its defenders down!

[Saxman_72]

Man, this was one of the few times that I was able to deduce from the subject line exactly what the post was going to be about - (from Whitta, no less)

[AndrewM]

Not to be confused with Starsiege.

[spiffy]

I don't know how anyone reads that description and thinks of Dungeon Siege. To me it sounds more like SystemShock2/DeusEx with Fallout-style npc interaction. Whether of course it could possibly be that awesome is to be seen, I suppose.

[Drastic]

What was that Diablo clone that came out about a year or two ago that took place on space station in the habitat domes, it sounds like that.

Space Hack, that's it, though I suppose Harbinger also qualifies.
Space Hack's title was actually renamed to Space Hack, which was an error. It was originally the wonderful Maximus XV Abraham Strong: Space Mercenary. What they should have done was just added another colon and then appended Space Hack to that.

I'm hoping Space Siege does okay, but my ulterior motive is in looking forward to Siege Tycoon.

[Drunkagain]

Awesome news to me. I loved the Dungeon Siege games. Played thru both in co-op and had a wonderful time with both. This sounds like even more fun. And there are never enough co-op games!

[Jolor]

Space Siege is a pretty awful name.

I agree. What about Siege Sieging?

[AndrewM]

I agree. What about Siege Sieging?

Siege Siege 2: The Sieging.

[AndrewM]

I don't know how anyone reads that description and thinks of Dungeon Siege. To me it sounds more like SystemShock2/DeusEx with Fallout-style npc interaction. Whether of course it could possibly be that awesome is to be seen, I suppose.

It sounds exactly like it could be Dungeon Siege in Space, with perhaps a minor addition of branching storylines. So instead of running down a corridor, you are running down a branching corridor. Disclaimer: I enjoyed DS2.

[balut]

Siege Siege 2: The Sieging.

You misspelled "The Siegening".

[Reed]

Dungeon Space? Space Dungeon? Space Dungeon Siege?

At least it's not Divine Divinity...

[Kalle]

I'll assume that Sega's involvement means we're talking consoles here

I wouldn't rule it out, but Sega has been publishing PC games for a couple years now. The Total War games are Sega published for instance.

[Matthew Gallant]

MySpace Siege, now there's a title.

[routlaw]

1Q2008 seems sort of a weird timeframe for the game's release. That's just a year after Supreme Commander shipped, and only a few months after Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance will ship.

Doesn't quite fit with my (perhaps erroneous?) thought that GPG was only big enough to be a one game at a time shop, unless they were able to bang out a full game in a little over a year (which would be an incredible feat indeed).

[NowhereDan]

I'll assume that Sega's involvement means we're talking consoles here

The end of the press release I got was slightly different from the one posted here:

For more information on the game, please visit www.sega.com/spacesiege. Space Siege is also featured on the cover of PC Gamer Magazine’s September 2007 issue.

MySpace Siege, now there's a title.
Love it.

[Ergo]

MySpace Siege, now there's a title.
Matt wins.

[Rock8man]

Woohoo, Dungeon Siege with rayguns!

But wait, Dungeon Siege already had rayguns, don't you guys remember? There was a whole scifi tileset in the middle of the game, featuring a scifi setting where you fought robots using laser beams and rockets and such? Am I hallucinating? Does no one else remember that part?

[Drunkagain]

But wait, Dungeon Siege already had rayguns, don't you guys remember? There was a whole scifi tileset in the middle of the game, featuring a scifi setting where you fought robots using laser beams and rockets and such? Am I hallucinating? Does no one else remember that part?

The goblins underground if I'm not mistaken. Yeah, we had fun with those. =)

[Rob_Merritt]

But wait, Dungeon Siege already had rayguns, don't you guys remember? There was a whole scifi tileset in the middle of the game, featuring a scifi setting where you fought robots using laser beams and rockets and such? Am I hallucinating? Does no one else remember that part?

Yeah and that part rocked!

[TomChick]

Best case scenario: I can imagine a sort of Bioforge meets Crusader vibe. Given how unimpressed I was with the Dungeon Sieges, I'm not holding out hope.

But, yeah, Dungeon Siege was already a stupid name. Was Dungeon Plunder already taken, or did no one at Gas-Powered know what the word 'siege' actually means? Space Siege is even worse.

-Tom

[Robert Sharp]

I don't know how anyone reads that description and thinks of Dungeon Siege. To me it sounds more like SystemShock2/DeusEx with Fallout-style npc interaction. Whether of course it could possibly be that awesome is to be seen, I suppose.

I suppose....but read this from the article:

“Space Siege promises to be a compelling and innovative successor to the very popular Dungeon Siege franchise.”

[spiffy]

that.. that is pretty explicit isn't it.

[Andrew Mayer]

Best case scenario: I can imagine a sort of Bioforge meets Crusader vibe. Given how unimpressed I was with the Dungeon Sieges, I'm not holding out hope.

But, yeah, Dungeon Siege was already a stupid name. Was Dungeon Plunder already taken, or did no one at Gas-Powered know what the word 'siege' actually means? Space Siege is even worse.

-Tom

At least Dungeon Siege sounds vaguely cool in a high school heavy metal kind of way.

Space Siege notsomuch.

[KristianV]

Run through the press release and replace "Seth" with "Baldur" and "Space Siege" with "Too Human" and you'll make Denis Dyack cry.

[Skipper]

Any of you old farts like me remember SSI's Star Command RPG? Not a bad game back in the day. It's nice seeing more than just fantasy based RPG's lately.

This project sounds interesting, hopefully we'll get more info about it soom.

[Destarius]

Any of you old farts like me remember SSI's Star Command RPG? Not a bad game back in the day. It's nice seeing more than just fantasy based RPG's lately.

This project sounds interesting, hopefully we'll get more info about it soom.

I loved that game, and how trying to take on the robots early resulted in ignominious defeat.

[Robert Sharp]

Or how about Sundog? Actually, there are several old RPGs that used space that are just dying for an update.

[Mikail]

I don't know how anyone reads that description and thinks of Dungeon Siege. To me it sounds more like SystemShock2/DeusEx with Fallout-style npc interaction. Whether of course it could possibly be that awesome is to be seen, I suppose.
I'm afraid you're hopelessly naive.

[roguefrog]

I bought Dungeon Siege day one, and boy did it disappoint. Fortunately the payoff several years later with the release of Ultima V: Lazarus. Hopefully Ultima 6 gets gets finished too.

If Space Siege turns out the same way, we'll have a crap base game, but a stellar remake in 5 years.

[McBain]

I suppose....but read this from the article:

“Space Siege promises to be a compelling and innovative successor to the very popular Dungeon Siege franchise.”

Welp, I think that's all we needed to see here.

Move along.

[Mordrak]

Yeah, I was about to say... isn't Dungeon Siege boring?

[Eightball]

Any of you old farts like me remember SSI's Star Command RPG? Not a bad game back in the day.

I loved that game. Lots of character customization, places to explore, etc.

The only silly thing was the use of 1990's era projectile weapons in space, but even still that didn't bother me a whole lot. The CGA graphics kinda did though.

Or how about Sundog? Actually, there are several old RPGs that used space that are just dying for an update.

Another great game. Spent many hours on my Apple IIe playing it.

[Equisilus]

It's definitely something to watch. Whether it'll be a buy for me will depend on what I hear in the time leading up to release. I liked the Dungeon Siege games quite a bit for what they offered (although I hated the LoA expansion and didn't bother with the DS2 expansion).

[Brendan]

Has anyone heard anything else about this?

Q1 2008 has come and gone and still no Space Siege : The Space Siege.

[AndrewM]

Rock Paper Shotgun had a little overview in January (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/?p=928), including some gameplay video. OMG DUNGEON SIEGE WITH GUNS.

[Slainte Mhath]

IGN and Gamespot both seemed to concur that September 2008 was the new release date. There is nothing I can find on www.spacesiege.com to confirm nor deny this.

In space, no one can hear you siege.

[RepoMan]

I have a friend who's an artist on the Space Siege team and he's churning away, so it's definitely still in active development.

[Rob_Merritt]

Sgt. Siege's Lonely Space Club Band.

I'm still interested in the game. Although now I'm kind of hoping it isn't a $50 game.

[Bahimiron]

I donno about you, but I'm hyped for Uwe Boll's In The Name of the Admiral: A Space Seige Tale.

[RepoMan]

"Tonight, we gouge evil from its hull!"

[Desslock]

I've never heard less about an upcoming RPG.

[Rob_Merritt]

Is it really an rpg though? It seems like a liner action game with some character customizations.

[AndrewM]

If there are numbers that increase, it's an RPG.

[Desslock]

Is it really an rpg though? It seems like a liner action game with some character customizations.

Yes, that's probably true, like most action/RPGs. But action/RPGs emphasize/include RPG elements to different degrees -- an action/RPG like Divine Divinity featured deeper RPG elements than Dungeon Siege 1, for instance. But even Dungeon Siege 2 stepped up the RPG elements compared to the original game, so maybe that's a tread GPG is sticking with...or not. That's what I meant - I haven't seen enough info on this game to even know what to expect.

[Miramon]

Or how about Sundog? Actually, there are several old RPGs that used space that are just dying for an update.

Sundog, rah!

The best game ever -- for the tech level at the time. While the space combat scenes were admittedly kind of silly, even for the tech, the balance of sandbox versus directed play was great, and the assemble the ship components thing was fun, too.

[Equisilus]

Wow, I had almost forgotten about Space Siege...which isn't a good sign for a game arriving this year. They really need to keep the info flowing a bit, unless they plan an all out blitz. September is getting a bit crowded and I'll choose Sacred 2 over Space Siege any day.

[MonkeyPunky]

If there are numbers that increase, it's an RPG.

I can't resist increasing numbers! Now back to Ikariam!

[SpoofyChop]

Was Dungeon Plunder already taken, or did no one at Gas-Powered know what the word 'siege' actually means? Space Siege is even worse.

-Tom

Let's assume for a moment that space is an almost infinite expanse of 99.9999999999% emptiness that spans almost 100 billion light years and contains on the order of 10^22 stars.

Given these statistics then clearly it is trivially easy to lay siege to Space simply by constructing about 100 quadrillion giant catapults that can hurl enormous boulders 50 billion light years at one billion times the speed of light. You can then position these catapults to the edges of space by using one of the catapults to catapult the catapults where you want them. You then send a threatening letter (using the catapults) to every single star system insisting that unless they immediately give up their women and horses you will destroy their suns with giant boulders.

Then you just sit back and watch the women ride in on space horses.

[Jason Lutes]

Or how about Sundog? Actually, there are several old RPGs that used space that are just dying for an update.

Kerberos is working on a sci-fi RPG (http://sots.rorschach.net/Category:NorthStar) supposedly inspired by Sundog.

[John Sansker]

Yes, that's probably true, like most action/RPGs. But action/RPGs emphasize/include RPG elements to different degrees -- an action/RPG like Divine Divinity featured deeper RPG elements than Dungeon Siege 1, for instance. But even Dungeon Siege 2 stepped up the RPG elements compared to the original game, so maybe that's a tread GPG is sticking with...or not. That's what I meant - I haven't seen enough info on this game to even know what to expect.

The official web site (http://www.spacesiege.com/spacesiege/index.php) has some decent info.
From what I've heard, it sounds like a cross between the games Space Hack and Restricted Area.
The trailer looks pretty cool too.

[unbongwah]

But action/RPGs emphasize/include RPG elements to different degrees -- an action/RPG like Divine Divinity featured deeper RPG elements than Dungeon Siege 1, for instance.
Dungeon Siege 1 wasn't an action RPG, it was Myth for Dummies. As I would've liked Myth more were I not so stupid, this meant DS1 was right up my alley. Non-stupid people looking for an action RPG, OTOH, were disappointed.
Then you just sit back and watch the women ride in on space horses.
Dear GPG: please hire SpoofyChop to work on Space Siege, as he clearly knows what makes space games awesome.
From what I've heard, it sounds like a cross between the games Space Hack and Restricted Area.
Space Hack (http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/929455.asp) + Restricted Area (http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/914566.asp), you say? That doesn't exactly sound like a winning "chocolate + peanut butter" combo to me.

[Rock8man]

Dungeon Siege 1 wasn't an action RPG, it was Myth for Dummies. As I would've liked Myth more were I not so stupid, this meant DS1 was right up my alley. Non-stupid people looking for an action RPG, OTOH, were disappointed.


For me, Dungeon Siege suffered from the same phenomenon as Black & White. When it was first released and we bought it, we were completely fascinated with it for about a week, about 25-30 hours of play time. And then suddenly, the interest dropped to zero.

I never played the single player campaign. The game also shipped with a bigger "multiplayer" world and that's the one we went through with a party of four. We had a lot of fun for a while, but after about 30 hours of play, it suddenly started seeming pointless one day for some reason. The moment that desire to acquire better stuff, to fighter different monsters goes away, it never comes back.

The funny part is that I re-installed it recently to play the fan-made mod Ultima V remake. But I just found the Dungeon Siege engine with its weird real-time combat so off-putting, I couldn't even play the mod, since the combat was essentially the same as it was in Dungeon Siege, as far as I could tell. It made me think "I can't believe we used to like this game".

[ravenight]

Let's assume for a moment that space is an almost infinite expanse of 99.9999999999% emptiness that spans almost 100 billion light years and contains on the order of 10^22 stars.

Given these statistics then clearly it is trivially easy to lay siege to Space simply by

1) constructing about 100 quadrillion giant catapults that can hurl enormous boulders 50 billion light years at one billion times the speed of light.
2) position these catapults to the edges of space by using one of the catapults to catapult the catapults where you want them.
3) You then send a threatening letter (using the catapults) to every single star system insisting that unless they immediately give up their women and horses you will destroy their suns with giant boulders.
4) ???
5) Profit

Then you just sit back and watch the women ride in on space horses.

fixed. Also, wouldn't steps 2 and 3 take 50 years? I think you'd want catapults that can fire faster than 1 billion times the speed of light.

[Sarkus]

For me, Dungeon Siege suffered from the same phenomenon as Black & White. When it was first released and we bought it, we were completely fascinated with it for about a week, about 25-30 hours of play time. And then suddenly, the interest dropped to zero.

I never played the single player campaign. The game also shipped with a bigger "multiplayer" world and that's the one we went through with a party of four. We had a lot of fun for a while, but after about 30 hours of play, it suddenly started seeming pointless one day for some reason. The moment that desire to acquire better stuff, to fighter different monsters goes away, it never comes back.

I had the same experience with DS1, but DS2 was actually a lot more fun.

If nothing else, there are a lot of RPG's where I wish the "mule" innovation had been adopted.

[John Sansker]

Space Hack (http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/929455.asp) + Restricted Area (http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/914566.asp), you say? That doesn't exactly sound like a winning "chocolate + peanut butter" combo to me.

Well, most people were comparing it to Space Hack,and I don't think many had heard of Restricted Area.
I'd heard of it from a guy I know that used to work at one of the Gamestops in the area and he said it was kinda like "Diablo with guns".
I'm just saying it has elements of both of those games.

Diablo and Diablo 2 both existed before Dungeon Siege came out and it was still a good game.So Space Siege has some potential.
Though, some of the stuff I've seen on the web site doesn't exactly inspire me.

[unbongwah]

If nothing else, there are a lot of RPG's where I wish the "mule" innovation had been adopted.
Personally, I thought the Transmute spell was a bigger innovation: why make me schlep useless crap to town to sell off when I can just turn it into gold in the field?

But since one of my big complaints about RPGs is playing Magick Janitor, it kinda addressed one of my personal pet peeves.

[jellyfish]

Dungeon Siege 3 is coming...
"There will be some things that are very much like Dungeon Siege 1 and 2, but some things will be simplified"
Simplified, hehe.
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/06/chris-taylor-talks-dungeon-siege-3/

[Brad Grenz]

Will it buy, install, play and resell itself now?

[Equisilus]

I've pretty much dropped Space Siege from my list of games to get, but I'll add on a DS3. Only there's some concern there because I liked the party-based gameplay, and I certainly don't care for "simplified" (unless the simplified = one character).

[Mark Asher]

Will it buy, install, play and resell itself now?

Heh. I didn't play DS2 -- did it add complexity? I can't imagine anything in DS1 being simplified. They could drop the books that had the storyline and get rid of about 90% of the loot since the loot was worthless for the most part, but what else?

[jellyfish]

I've pretty much dropped Space Siege from my list of games to get, but I'll add on a DS3. Only there's some concern there because I liked the party-based gameplay, and I certainly don't care for "simplified" (unless the simplified = one character).
"I am done with multi-character parties; I really think that it's all going to be about a single hero. It's too much to manage."
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/06/chris-taylor-talks-dungeon-siege-3/

[krayzkrok]

Once you lower the bar, it's very hard to put it back up again.

[Kareem]

The new Space Siege trailer that's out is so much better than the last one it isn't even funny. The game now actually looks more like a Marvel Ultimate Alliance clone, at least in terms of the melee combat. Someone should have been fired for making the initial trailer seem so boring.

Flash version of the trailer here:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/34562.html?type=flv

[AndrewM]

Heh. I didn't play DS2 -- did it add complexity? I can't imagine anything in DS1 being simplified. They could drop the books that had the storyline and get rid of about 90% of the loot since the loot was worthless for the most part, but what else?

I didn't play DS1, only DS2, but I read that they decided that in DS1 too much was done automatically, so they required more player input. I really enjoyed DS2 (though I didn't feel the need to buy the expansion).

I'm looking forwarding to more *Siege games! Space Siege, Dungeon Siege, Nazi Siege, whatever. Sometimes, totally mindless killing is a nice way to relax.

[Equisilus]

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/06/chris-taylor-talks-dungeon-siege-3/

Sorry, my point was that if "simplified" only meant one character, then that was one thing, but if "simplified" meant that and additional changes, then that's something else entirely.

[thamer]

The new Space Siege trailer that's out is so much better than the last one it isn't even funny. The game now actually looks more like a Marvel Ultimate Alliance clone, at least in terms of the melee combat. Someone should have been fired for making the initial trailer seem so boring.

Flash version of the trailer here:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/34562.html?type=flv

they need to give that guy a lightsabre.

[Sol Invictus]

It looks like Space Siege will actually require the player to click and actively play the game. That's a big improvement from watching Dungeon Siege play itself.