Teaser: Interstellar Marines

By: Derek Yu

On: February 26th, 2011

This is a teaser for an ambitious FPS called Interstellar Marines, which has been in development since 2005 by the Danish studio Zero Point Software. According to a recent interview with Rock, Paper, Shotgun, the focus of the game is on cooperative play, tactics, and character growth.

It’s interesting to note that the game started out in UDK, but is now being developed with Unity, allowing Zero Point to release small “slices” of the game that are playable in browsers. In a move inspired by Minecraft, Natural Selection 2, and Overgrowth, the four-man studio is counting on players to support the game’s progress by pre-ordering.

Posted in FPS, Multiplayer, Previews | Tags: ZeroPointSoftware

http://twitter.com/DorkbotGames John Sandoval

The game looks fairly interesting from what I've seen (though the demos doesn't get more than 10 fps on my laptop). However, the title “Intersteallar Marines” is really, really generic. They should probably come up with a better one.
cce

Generic spaceshooter goes Minecraft. No thanks :(
aw yea

this looks pretty cool but there is way too much abuse of the fade transition button
lugburz

How about “fags on parade?” The game can be about puppies.
http://twitter.com/DorkbotGames John Sandoval

I've not said anything bad about the game itself. I'll reserve judgment until release. All I'm saying is that if Zero Point wants their game to be as unique and different as they claim, having the word 'marines' (which is probably one of the biggest (or at least well known) FPS tropes) in their title does not make the title itself stand out in a good way.
alastair_jack

The guy sounds like JANGO FETT!
DragonSix

Very generic (space marines setting with CoD gameplay), but polished. I wonder how they wouldn't get a publisher to fund this, seems easy enough to pitch with no compromise, and their skill is proven.
DragonSix

Well, not to say that being indie in itself doesn't have its advantages (self-publishing can be very sustainable too and you wouldn't have to deal any shenaningans from a parent company). So I guess that's it.
joehonkie

Man, these guys sure love sharks!

Although the shark monsters are pretty rad.
joehonkie

Holy crap, that Unity 3D engine runs like a dog.
Karmadon

It's a recruiting tool for the Empire, a la The Last Starfighter.
Good luck getting it to run though.
http://twitter.com/vegasthedead Will Hubbell

Though very generic (in story, atmosphere and gamplay), I think it's technically impressive. It's cool to see a quality FPS like this running through a browser, makes you realize how close technically proficient cloud gaming is.
hissingfauna

Yeah, cause i'm a fag so naturally i want my games to be about puppies.
lain

looks nice, but the guy talkin is a bit heavy handed eh? i couldn't help but laugh when he said something about where reality stops and the game starts at the end. ughhhhhhhhhhh.
Guest

It does seem very generic, so many shooters out there, I don't see this one standing out in the crowd.
alastair_jack

lol, you could say that about any genre you don't like. This game looks awesome.
Guest

no, it doesnt look awesome, it looks like many other space s hooters
cobodo

I actually like the title. It's bold and to the point. Game itself looks cool too.
A rabbit

Not to say the game can't still be good, but it basically just looks like Modern Warfare in space (the space Picatinny rails and space EOTech sights everywhere don't help). But I won't repeat what pretty much everyone else has already stated at this point. I will, however, say that there is an unforgivable amount of grey in that video; as if someone went into the future and sucked out all of the color.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000300182950 Xavier Henneberg

Ok, so you say it looks generic and like modern warfare 2. To tell you guys something, the makers of the game probably take this as a compliment, things you need to think about: These guys only work with what they've got! i mean, they are using personal pocket money and pre-order money, where as the good fellows at Infinity ward had most likely millions to work with, these guys don't have much. Second, how is it generic? sure it is in space, and may be a first person shooter, but have you even tried the game out? i mean, the video doesn't even show much, it is actually a pretty awesome game if you try out their stuff.
Guest

I dont get your point. You don't need more money to make something look/behave less generic. You need more creativity. You seem to have answered your own question already/ How is it generic? “it's in space, it's first person shooter”. Add to that: graphics don't seem to have a particular defining style, and the game focuses on co-operative play and tactics. Hmmm, because there are very few games with those characterics? No. I'm not saying is a bad game, maybe is good, but just that it doesn't seem particularly interesting. I guess I'm trying to say I'm failing to see what the selling point is.
Guest

What he's saying is that you guys comparing an indie game to a “AAA” (and I say that with quotes) game like MW2 and saying that they are alike. For another matter, there's plenty of other FPS games out there better than COD. I guess this shows how bad this poison from Activision has spread. Well played Kotick.
Theon66

That's Miner Wars :] (And it's not a bad thing!)
This is simply Indie goes consolefaggotry.
-Okay, That' might be abit harsh, but it just looks so fucking generic :/

Anyone understand their pre-ordering system, though? It's really confusing.
Theon

No.
bjohndook

Runs very smoothly for me, my machines a bit old though no slouch.
Q6600 and a Geforce 9600.
DragonSix

Except this absolutely not cloud gaming, it's downloaded and running on your machine.
Vania

The running man demo was nice, but didnt have anything new.
Looks like just another FPS.
Greg

sharks in space? im sold.
pkt-zer0

They cite System Shock 2 and Deus Ex as inspiration, and people complain there's too many games of that sort already? What the hell.
Kevbo

This game has been around for quite awhile and has been asking for pre-order support for at least 2 years (it seems like it). So I wouldn't say they are 'inspired by OG, NS2' but yeah they are doing the same thing. I also like their AAA Indie concept, its the same idea but packaged in a nice format.
Ubrasaur

I loled at the final line. The tech is very impressive, but wow those drones were dumb. I think improved AI should be their top priority.
Devain

There are more space shooters?! Point me to them!
Beau

You guys are pretty harsh considering they're a 4 man crew. Its very impressive for what they're working with. And its also tough to judge how run of the mill it is prior to having the game itself out. The story could be mind blowing for all we know.
Ubrasaur

It is just my oppinion that they are doing things in the wrong order. I'm a big believer in getting solid gameplay going before polishing graphics to this level.
Loserhands

And I guess SMB is consoles go indie-faggotry cause its a platformer? xD
saluk

Not awful, not awesome. I could definitely do with a generic sci-fi shooter, after all of these generic modern warfare shooters, and anything that hearkens to system shock/deus ex is a good thing in my book. I remember when every shooter was a doom clone, and I didn't complain, I ate them up :)

Still, they have a long way to go from what they've shown. Graphics are good enough, environments are tedious, level design boring, ai stupid. I hope they do turn it into a good game, it sounds like at least the team believes in it, which is the first step in making a good game :)
http://twitter.com/vegasthedead Will Hubbell

Well, I said that it was close, not that it was here.
Dillweed!

How is it “interstellar” if they've only colonized the Solar System?
Slather

I assume the game becomes interstellar when the sentient aliens come into play? I think immersion “happens” when you care enough about a game to immerse yourself . Nothing seems unique about the gameplay, so I don't care enough to buy, or even try the demo. sorry :(
Max Locher

I can’t help but think that this could be a set up. Generic yes, but the overall tone is a bit mysterious. The music, the voice, and the generic gameplay leave you no hook. They talk about immersion as if it is one of the most important aspects and yet I have not really seen anything terribly immersive. I hope that they are waiting to release a few important details.