Pioneer – A space game

By: Lorne Whiting

On: May 11th, 2009

Pioneer is one of them space shooter games. Like, uh, well, all those space shooter games from Asteroids onward.

The game has some charm, with interesting characters and some nice art, but it’s kinda held back by little flaws.
The game is hit-or-miss, the ships look good, as you can see in the screenshot, but everything sort of lacks impact, the lasers don’t feel so much like weapons as pea-shooters, and the game is very slow paced, which makes playing it feel kind of like a chore, which is a shame because it seems like there’s an interesting narrative behind the game. Speaking of narrative, the characters, from what I saw in the demo, are kinda two-dimensional, but their portraits are interesting, with a unique pixelly style. So the gameplay is kinda slow and not as good as games like Moonpod’s Starscape (but what is, huh?) it’s got a stronger plot than most of these space shooters.

Anyway, try it out, as I said, it’s hit or miss, so I’m sure some people will like it, and some won’t, but either way it’s a small download at 60MB.

Posted in Action, Windows | Tags: thephorse

Vallen

Man, I remember when a “small download” was anything you could fit onto a floppy.
Hiacynt

Quote:
“So the gameplay is kinda slow and not as good as games like Moonpodâ€™s Starscape (but what is, huh?)”

True…so true…:)
Gr.Viper

Is it half as much fun as Melee?
Vincent

60MB is NOT a small download.

In my opinion, Mr. Whiting’s is a bit sluggish.
Vincent

* post
Flamebait

Everything I experienced playing this game was decent except, to a curious extreme, the pace. It’s at most 1/3 of what it ought to be. Judging by the music, the pace is supposed to contribute to a serene feeling. But the game’s too patience-destroyingly lethargic for that to happen.

By the way, Whiting’s post *is* flawed, especially its run-on sentences.
Lyx

@Vincent:

Didn’t you know? In the year 00’s, inefficience is measured in Gigasteroids.
Vincent

:)
sinoth

This post is a chore to read, it has a lackluster intro and doesn’t get any better, the sentences don’t ever seem to stop, the reviewer seems kinda sort of kinda unsure of his views, which means I don’t like this review much, which is unfortunate because the game looks like it is worth playing, comma comma comma comma comma.
Thanks for the review

Remember Solar Winds? I miss those old shareware DOS games.

Oh, and I think the post is fine. Why are some people so bothered by everything that they have to go on the attack? Does tearing down others make you feel better about yourself?
sinoth

Thanks for the review: No, but I do honestly want him to improve his style since it’s likely we’ll be reading more of it.
MrLollige

Opacus’s pixel ships are still the best part of it I believe. Game takes a bit long to get into, or at least the demo did.
Paul Eres

I loved Solar Winds. I bought it on floppy, it was awesome.

And I think inane (the reviewer) is like 16 years old or something, so come on, give him a break. If you want literature-quality writing in your reviews you could always read the PlayThisThing blog :)
Flamebait

@Gr.Viper:

Who made this so-called “Melee”? Can’t find it anywhere.

@Thanks for the review:

Thanks for the review of the reviews of the review, but I think those comments are fine. Why are some people so bothered by criticism that they have to go on the attack? Does delegitimizing all criticism make you feel better about yourself?
ShawnF

I think he’s talking about Star Control melee. Two decent ways to check it out these days:

The Ur-Quan Masters (freeware “port” of the original game):
http://sc2.sourceforge.net/

Timewarp (fan-made update with a bunch of random new ships and shit):
http://timewarp.sourceforge.net/
Jotaf

Right, now I don’t know *who* too join in today’s debate! Thanks Flamebait.

The review is ok. I just hope it doesn’t stem from the recent discussion about patting every developer in the back — I’ll have to go check out the game I guess :)
Lorne Whiting

BWAHAHAHA.

Thanks for the criticism ya’ll. I admit the writing here sucks, but I get instantly stupider when writing a front page article (I just can’t handle the pressure, or something!)

uh, as for ‘patting every developer in the back’, I probably have gone easy on it, but this is a game that’s gotten pretty much no coverage anywhere, so I feel kinda sorry for the dev, I guess. :0
Vincent

Lorne, just be self-confident. We would feel kinda sorry for the Whiting otherwise. :D

Well, the main goal is to present fresh and interesting games.
You achieved that. Now, we just need a nice package. Wrap it up nice for Mum!

If you feel too much pressure, then just take your time. Since the post is not published, we can not comment anything.
Flamebait

^ Dunno, my impressions of the game are very similar to yours. I don’t think you went particularly easy or hard on him. But Jotaf might’ve meant that you were excessively critical.

I believe some of the other points, such as the weapons feeling like “pea-shooters”, and everything “lack[ing] impact” are true, yet they stem from the primary flaw (which you stressed): the pacing. When you compare the aesthetics of action in the game to other space shooters (say, Subspace), they’re not overtly bad, they just happen too slow to elicit any real feeling in the player.

Anyway, good on you for being so secure and accepting of criticism. Keep writing, just check your with more vigilance, and adopt a more confident tone.
Flamebait

^ Double-upcarat that one, obviously.

“I think heâ€™s talking about Star Control melee. Two decent ways to check it out these days:”

Ahh right, already tried and got tired of it before. It is a good game though.