Intergalactic party racing mayhem featuring brutal-cute aliens, absurd weapon powerups, and smartphone controllers for up to 16 players
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397
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$17,440
pledged of $128,000 goal
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Intergalactic party racing mayhem featuring brutal-cute aliens, absurd weapon powerups, and smartphone controllers for up to 16 players
About this project
Space Dust Racers is an intergalactic combat-racing party game for PC, Xbox One and PS4, inspired by classics such as Mashed, Micro Machines and Rock n' Roll Racing.
Set in a post-human future filled with cartoon aliens and exotic extraterrestrial worlds, you'll use fast reflexes and absurd weapon powerups to knock out the opposition as you drive around makeshift race courses on exoplanets far beyond the Milky Way galaxy.
Challenge friends and family in couch versus battles, dominate in online multiplayer, or race alone to win ancient artifacts from the long-expired planet Earth.
Lead the pack in frantic round-based combat where all racers share the same screen. Interfere with those still in play if you get knocked out for the round!
You'll learn the game quickly, with several party game modes and dozens of gameplay modifiers to mix things up later on.
Will you be eliminated along with the rest of the intergalactic riff-raff?
Or will you triumph, winning the entire stash of rare and mysterious Earth artifacts for yourself?
Watch the Space Dust Racers GDC 2015 trailer:
Use smartphones and laptops as extra controllers!
Space Dust Racers supports up to 16 local players by allowing iOS/Android smartphones, laptops and USB/Bluetooth gamepads to be used as extra controllers.
No smartphone app download is necessary. The game acts as a web server, allowing devices on the same wifi network to connect.
Daisy-chain up to 4 physical controllers to connected smartphones and laptops via USB, USB-OTG or Bluetooth. Also compatible with many smartphone gamepad peripherals.
We already have this technology working on PC, and any combination of controller devices can be used in local and online play. We plan to bring this technology to Xbox One and PS4 pending platform approval.
We want to get this technology into the hands of other indie devs too. Bring on the new genre of MMLs (Massively Multiplayer Local Games)!
Your alien speeder can perform a bunch of neat tricks:
- Collect weapon pickups to unleash your road rage.
- Drift around corners, holding for speed boosts.
- Jump over obstacles, like mines and the wreckage of your foes.
- Ram your competition off the road and into hazards.
- Stomp your victims from above to instantly eliminate them.
- Slipstream in their tracks to speed boost and catch up to the pack.
- Improvise shortcuts to cheat your way to the front.
- Drive backwards to fire your weapon in the other direction.
- Taunt your adversaries with wild gesticulations.
Taking out the competition has never been easier thanks to the high-tech alien weapon pickups at your disposal.
Play offense or defense. Choose your weapon according to the situation. Up your tactical game by recognizing pickups from afar.
In the far distant future, Earth has been rediscovered and its ancient artifacts are the archaeological find of the millennia. From every corner of the Varkian Empire, all manner of intergalactic riff-raff has descended to stake their claim!
To resolve the inevitable squabbling over these wonderfully mysterious curiosities, it is agreed that all valuable relics shall be won in a series of dangerous and highly illegal races on various alien home-worlds.
Mercenaries and miscreants are sent from exotic systems armed with ramshackle speeders and more bravery than they probably deserve – all with one goal in mind: to claim the stash of ancient artifacts for themselves, by any means necessary!
We've put the emphasis on party in our base game modes, with more to come from backer feedback.
- Knockout: Free-for-all deathmatch. Earn a point for every racer you take out. Rewarding aggression, this mode is complete mayhem and is great for beginners.
- Leader: Leader of the pack steals all kill points. As the leader, it's you versus everyone else! This mode rewards skillful driving.
- Survival: Be the last alien standing to earn a point. This mode involves many layers of tactics and countertactics, suiting experienced players.
All game modes can be played in different weather conditions which affect handling. You can also play tracks reversed and flipped to squeeze extra fun out of them!
You're in complete control of the gameplay with dozens of modifiers that can be bolted onto the game modes to mix things up. Save your favourite modifier combinations as presets. Here's a select few:
- Airstrikes: Allow knocked out players to mess with those still in the round.
- Defensive Shields: Defend yourself at the cost of dropping your weapon.
- Ramburglar: Steal weapons from other racers by ramming into them.
- Ice Skating: Slip and slide your way to the finish.
Unreal Engine 4 was the right choice for Space Dust Racers. We needed a bleeding edge renderer to achieve our vibrant art style, and a battle-tested networking solution to ensure a robust online experience regardless of lag or connection quality.
Graphics scalability was also of high importance as we're developing the PC, Xbox One and PS4 builds simultaneously. We can push the limits on top-spec PC battlestations without compromising performance on consoles or budget gaming rigs.
We're in total control of the player experience from fingertips through to underlying hardware thanks to full source code access.
The Space Dust Racers OST is an eclectic mix of modern electro-swing, big band, and bouncy world grooves. It's being curated by the talented folks at The Otherworld Agency, a global team of audio specialists dedicated to producing music and sound effects exclusively for video games.
We're enlisting some of the hottest indie gaming music talent, including Ben Briggs, Phonetic Hero, Jeremy Lim and w.flux (of Magicite fame). Here's a taster from w.flux:
Please note: If you are a backer of the TEST PILOT reward tier or higher, you are already receiving two copies of the game. The first is the PC alpha/pre-alpha copy (which will evolve into the final game), and the second copy is for whichever platform you prefer.
The Space Dust team of veterans have worked together for over a decade on AAA titles for Electronic Arts, Crystal Dynamics, Transmission Games and Atari Melbourne House. Here are a few of the games we've worked on:
Our passion is creating multiplayer sci-fi action games for PC and consoles, and we've designed Space Dust Racers from the ground up to play to our strengths.
Nathan Thomas Art & Creative Director LinkedIn
+17 years XP. Nathan has worked across nearly every aspect of game art, including art direction, concept design, 3D, lighting and UI. He has worked internationally for Electronic Arts and Crystal Dynamics, and his passion is working with great people to create worlds that are just as interesting as they are fun to play in.
Michael Davies Lead Gameplay Developer LinkedIn @butterparty
+12 years XP. Battlefield Hardline & 4, Need For Speed Rivals, Dead Space 1 & 3, Burnout Legends, Tomb Raider Legend. An all-rounder coder/designer with a Bachelor of Computer Science (University of Melbourne). He has worked internationally as lead gameplay engineer on all major platforms.
Grigor Pedrioli Senior Artist LinkedIn
+12 years XP. EA Visceral Games, Transmission Games, Atari Melbourne House. A multi-disciplined Senior Artist with broad experience in environments, vehicles, prop creation, lighting, VFX and level design. With an extensive background in quality assurance and film production, Grigor has a thorough understanding of all aspects of game development.
Glen Stuart Lead Technology Developer LinkedIn @GlenDStuart
+12 years XP. A seasoned software engineer with a passion for graphics, technology and optimisation, and the man behind the novel controller technology for Space Dust Racers. He has developed for all major platforms and for a diverse range of titles including those from the Battlefield, Dead Space and Heroes series.
Stephen Honegger Senior Artist LinkedIn @StephenHonegger
+11 years XP. A 3D modeller and texture artist, specializing in environments, characters and animation. Stephen has worked at EA Visceral Games, Transmission Games and has lectured at the Academy of Interactive Entertainment. He is also a renowned video and installation artist with prior exhibitions in Australia and overseas.
Our team of five have been funding development costs so far with personal savings and a few government grants to create the playable demo seen in the video, featuring just a tiny slice of the content we want in the final game.
Now we're at the stage of turning the small demo we've created into a fully fleshed out game with a rich universe of new characters, vehicles, weapons, tracks and game modes.
But we need your help to keep this show on the road! Turning to our fans for funding will allow us to continue work full-time on the game until release, and means you can give us valuable feedback to ensure Space Dust Racers becomes the game you signed on for.
Here's a breakdown on where the Kickstarter funding will go:
We're excited about working with a passionate community to bring the game to life, and we really appreciate your support!
Join the Space Dust Racers community: Facebook | Twitter | Forums
Help us by sharing Space Dust Racers with your friends!
Know someone who'd be excited about our game? Use the "Share this project" button at the top to tell them about it!
Risks and challenges
Space Dust Racers is already off to a strong start, and our schedule has remained on-track so far. We're sure there will be bumps in the road ahead, but our team of veterans are ready for them.
We've been working together in the trenches at AAA studios for the last decade, during which time we've optimised all aspects of our processes, from communication through to tools, management and scheduling.
We started Space Dust Racers with a prototype to prove out the core racing mechanics, playtesting to find the fun factor. Next we moved onto a playable demo to address big risks upfront, such as our smartphone controller technology. Now we're in a prime position to start making the full game with your support.
We guarantee there are unforeseen challenges ahead, but you have our promise that we'll be transparent with you on our journey together. We strongly encourage you to ask us questions, and hope our level of commitment to the project and dedication to our craft is apparent.
Thanks for giving us the opportunity to impress you!
Learn about accountability on KickstarterFAQ
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Yes! The single player story mode will allow you to choose a character and compete to win ancient Earth artifacts, long lost treasures of mystery and wonder. You’ll also be able to play versus battles against up to 15 AI bots.
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Rounds are short and intense in Space Dust Racers, so anyone knocked out won’t be waiting long until the next round begins. You can also turn on gameplay modifiers like airstrikes or ghosts to allow knocked out players to mess with others from beyond the grave.
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Yes, there are several ways to handicap players. With pickup or armor handicapping enabled, the current losing players automatically receive a free weapon pickup or extra armor on round restarts. We’re also planning on adding the ability to tweak settings for individual players, so not everyone on the field is equal.
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No. On PC you can play with 5 players directly hooked up (mouse/kbd + 4 XInput devices). If you have an Android device, you can also connect your smartphone to the game, then connect up to 4 physical controllers to that via USB/Bluetooth. Same goes for spare laptops and tablets.
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No, it’s free. And technically there isn’t even a smartphone app, it’s all browser-based. That’s our secret to supporting so many different devices.
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We’re aiming for early 2016 for all platforms.
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We have an ESRB rating in the U.S. and Canada of Everyone (E): Mild Fantasy Violence. Expect a similar rating in other territories.
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We haven’t locked it down yet, but there shouldn’t be any nasty surprises. We need to talk with our platform partners once the Kickstarter campaign has ended and we’re greenlit on Steam.
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Unfortunately not, sorry! We decided against this to reduce complexity when we launch. We're a small team of five, so we need to be selective about the features we include.
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It's not currently planned, but if there's strong community interest we will consider adding it later on.
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We would love to bring Space Dust Racers to all these platforms. Unfortunately due to our small team size we are unable to commit to anything just yet. Our initial release focus is on PC, XBox One and PS4. But if there is a strong community pull for a specific platform, we're listening!
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We intend to release a DRM-free version. Our current plans are to sell Space Dust Racers on multiple digital stores apart from Steam, some of which will be DRM-free. Specifics will come closer to release.
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We’re really sorry, but we spoke with a lot of other Kickstarter teams about their experiences managing physical rewards, and it’s a very large time drain with many hidden costs managing physical distribution for a few thousand people, especially for a small team such as ours. We also heard from a lot of backers that they didn’t really want this stuff anyway.
Our #1 priority is putting an awesome game in your hands as soon as possible, and we don’t want to add unnecessary obstacles in the way of that goal. Again, we’re sorry it means you miss out on swag, but we hope you understand our reasoning. Consider this a sign of how seriously we take your support: the game is going to be much better for it!
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We're aiming for the closed pre-alpha to begin in July 2015, with the closed alpha following in September 2015.
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Absolutely.
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Yes. The only way to obtain these goodies is by backing the INTERSTELLAR RACER tier or higher during the Kickstarter.
Rewards
Funding period
- (31 days)