Explore, negotiate, trade, research, and conquer to shape the fate of the galaxy in Lord of Rigel a grand space strategy game.
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Explore, negotiate, trade, research, and conquer to shape the fate of the galaxy in Lord of Rigel a grand space strategy game.
About this project
Lord of Rigel is a single player turn based 4x (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) space strategy game for Windows, Mac, and Linux where the goal is to build an empire and shape the future of the galaxy. Embarking in faster than light starships from your home planet, you will explore new worlds, seek out other civilizations and unlock the secrets of ancient species.
Our goal with Lord of Rigel is to provide the ultimate space opera experience as a strategy in the style of the science fiction of the 1990s. Our design keeps to the essentials of classic space strategy games, maintaining their core feature sets and gameplay balance while enhancing mechanics including: diplomacy, espionage, leaders, strategic resources, and a Galactic Cold War between two ancient species the Rigelans and Arcturans.
What do we consider as essential for our 4x space strategy game?
- Species: Choose from 10 playable races with unique characteristics, behaviors, and leaders. Play along side two elder races and protect or exploit minor species with unique resources and technologies.
- End Game: Shape the fate of the galaxy through conquest, diplomacy, or research the secrets of ascension. Players can create or destroy by harnessing strategic resources to build Dyson spheres, doomsday weapons or unlock evolutionary secrets.
- Diplomacy: Shape interstellar policy in the Galactic Council, by negotiating trade treaties, alliances, and create client states. Each species has unique leaders with personalities and cultural traditions that direct their choices.
- Espionage: Espionage that counts! Choose to run a shadow empire and benefit from the work of your spy network. Sabotage fleets or bomb infrastructure. Steal technology and use it as you see fit. Create the “right” political climate by inciting rebellions, and even assassinating leaders.
- Fleet Combat: Many recent space strategy games have simplified real time combat or only autoresolve. Lord of Rigel has turn based combat that rewards you for using good tactics. Use smaller ships to flank and target weaker rear armor on capital ships. Target subsystems and disable: weapons shields, engines, computers, and other systems. Use onboard marines to raid enemy ships or capture them. Turn based lets you be methodical or aggressive; play the game to your own style.
- Menaces: Defend yourself from intergalactic invaders and research how to respond to devastating alien probes. Gain prestige with the galactic council by defending the galaxy against those who would destroy it!
To Kickstart Lord of Rigel we've released our tactical combat demo that showcases the skirmish mode of Lord of Rigel. Skirmish mode allows you to customize ships and determine your own battle atmosphere. This demo includes two species (Humans and Katraxi), medium level technologies, and up to cruiser sized ships. Backing Lord of Rigel at any tier above $5 will grant you access to two additional species and battleships in the tactical demo at the end of the funded campaign.
Tacitcal Combat Pre-Alpha Preview Download
- $90,000: Initial goal to complete Lord of Rigel
- $100,000: Modding Tools: We'll provide modding tools to help better integrate custom species, technologies, heroes, and random events in the game.
More to be revealed as we reach goals.
We have developed a fully fledged universe for Lord of Rigel that we intend to expand upon with future content. We view downloadable content and expansions as ways of introducing new mechanics to the game building on a solid foundation. We have already begun to plan for expansions we intend to add new species that provide unique strategic challenges. Downloadable content packs will be smaller in scope, adding thematically tied sets of technologies, heroes, music, and game mechanics. The directions we go with the future content of the Lord of Rigel universe we hope will be informed by the support and feedback of you, our backers!
Rhombus Studios is an independent game studio based out of Bellingham, Washington. Our team has been involved in the development of projects including Diaspora: Shattered Armistice, Battlestar Galactica Online, Russian Front, and The Monolith. Our first major release will be Lord of Rigel, an epic space strategy game.
For more information about our team, please visit the Lord of Rigel team page.
The game we want to create is very small scale by modern blockbuster game standards, but highly ambitious for a start up company. Our Kickstarter has three purposes: first it is to help fund completion of the project. Second, we wish to fund additional features above and beyond the initial scope of the game, but ones that can be completed in a timely manner. Finally, it is to be able to offer game content to you, our community and players, at a reduced price. Your contribution helps to ensure that our team of professionals are able to devote all of their time to completing Lord of Rigel in a timely manner. We hope this look at Lord of Rigel inspires your inner Lord to help us fund and complete the game, and we thank you for your consideration and support!
- 10% Kickstarter community fees
- 10% Licensing fees (Unity pro and any other middleware needed)
- 45% Artwork
- 30% Programming
- 5% Marketing and backer items (includes budget for extra art or music for the soundtrack, art book, and universe fiction book)
Stretch Goal Budgets:
To ensure a quality product every dollar received after our initial goal will be wholly dedicated to our stretch goals after Kickstarter fees.
Risks and challenges
The biggest risk Lord of Rigel will experience is funding, while the Rhombus Studios Team has decades of industry experience, this will be our first major release. Our largest challenge is one we've already made strides to overcome. Looking at other successfully funded space strategy games we've noticed a trend of 2-5 years to fully develop. Since the inception of Lord of Rigel, we've developed; full galaxy generation, ship design, and tactical combat modes. With Lord of Rigel, we are making the space strategy game we've wanted to play for nearly 20 years and we know this is release that will appeal to fans of space strategy games. However, without your support there is the risk of this game not being able to complete development. With your support we will be able to complete it within a year of development!
Learn about accountability on KickstarterFAQ
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Yes, we will have a DRM free version for backers that we also plan on releasing through Good Old Games. We also plan on a Steam release.
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Yes. Since some of our backers may not physical items or shipping we can send high resolution digital copies of the artwork of the physical items instead upon request.
Rewards
Funding period
- (36 days)