The First Council Adjourns.. and the Election Race Begins Anew!
22JUN10
The first council has finished their interim government tenure with some interesting debates. As well as investing in a lot of technology research, they also made a number of election reforms to make it easier for pilots with less money to run in elections.
A lot of discussion was held on the making the "Academy" faction a government run group - however, this was benched for the next council to work through.
They voted for the following items :
Changing advert fee's during election campaigns to 200k Credits.
Reduced the candidate fee for new elections to 500k credits.
Mandated that four votes were needed to impeach a president of the council
Salvage Cranes to be developed.
Cargo pods to be developed.
Invested 350million credits into the development of new space station technologies.
Invested 100million credits into the development of colony buildings.
Invested 300million credits into Jump Inhibitor technology development.
In total they spent all but 75 million credits of their budget which will be passed to the next councils buget making just under a total of 600 million credits to spend (due to market growth and spending on gvmt items during this time).
The new candidates for the next election are : Saripul, Image egamI, EVA Destruction, James Anthony, Doctor Zoidberg, Arya Astra, Void Ranger and Nick Succorso.
Check out their election posts on the Outer Empires forums and also their GNN adverts in game!
Galactic Election Results
19APR10
The last few days have seen the citizens of the Nyridion Galaxy voting for the new Galactic
Council.
The new Government Council will be able to set the direction of development within
Outer Empires - literally making choices as to how things will run in the Nyridion Galaxy
over the next few months.
The candidates voted in by electorate are as follows : Dirk Prefect, DoM inator, Razer Corvallis,
Stellar Aitann and Unfrozen Jon. Below you can see how the vote was distributed on the
ballot.
The new Council members will be given access to the government offices within the next few hours
so that they can begin the process of electing a president from amongst their number.
Please join me in congratulating everyone for taking part - the election process was excellent
and I can not wait to see how the new council refine and change the current process and to see
what decisions they make for the future of the galaxy.
iGameRadio Interview with Paul Hutson on the Elections
11APR10
Omaha Sternberg talks to Paul Hutson about the upcoming elections for iGame Radio
in their weekly Podcast.
Those of you who have listened to the latest episode of the
PodCast on iTunes will have some insight in to what will be happening in the elections over the next few weeks and what the new Government
will be able to do once they are elected.
The election process
There are three distinct parts to the election process...
The first is registering to be put on the ballot - doing so will cost 1.25 million credits in game, payable to OESupport Bill or OEDev Brandon
- they will be accepting registrations on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of April.
The second phase is the campaigning, every registrant will be able to purchase GNN news time - i.e. seen when people load into the game in the
news window. This will cost 500k credits for each advert you want posted - a maximum of two adverts will be posted per day, but slots can be
prebooked.
Lastly we have the voting which will happen on the 16th/17th/18th of April. Every character in game will get a vote to cast (so premium account
holders will, essentially, get two votes as they have two characters).
The Results
The votes will be counted, checked and recounted - then the results will be released on Monday 19th, the new Government council will be "sworn in"
and they can begin their sixty day term in office.
The President
The new council will vote on a new president amongst their number (i.e. they all get to vote on who will be the president). That president will
be able to set the votes for each week - up to two votes can be held in any one week on new developments/laws/etc. Votes will be passed on
a majority vote.
What the new council will do?
The council will have a budget - all the credits that are generated from the space stations, taxes and industry within the gvmt territory.
With that comes a list of things that the budget can be spent on (and the associated costs). These include Jump Gates additions, New Ship Designs
(from existing hulls and brand new hulls), Worker Pay Subsidies, Space Station Improvements, New ship Technologies (cloaking devices, scanners,
salvage cranes), Improved existing ship technologoes, Improved Colony flatpacks and new Colony Building flatpacks...
Needless to say, the budget won't stretch to everything and I'm sure that all of the council won't have the same priorities as to which should be
developed first.
So, there we have it - the GVMT will control all developments within the Nyridion Galaxy, they can change taxes (i.e. add extra tax to fuel, or
mechanics, or markets) to raise more credits to spend on the improvements listed above...
Will you step up to the challenge? How will you exercise your right to vote?
The second episode of the PodCast is out - it features the development team talking about the upcoming Elections for the new player government,
how they get elected and what they will be able to do when they have been elected. Ever wanted to be the president of a Galaxy? Your chance is
here!
You can find the PodCast Channel
on iTunes as a free download.
We'll be looking forward to candiates submitting their ballot fee's between the 1st and the 3rd of April...
Outer Empires Development Team
March Updates
26MAR10
Outer Empires Developer PodCasts :
OEDev Brandon and OESupport Bill have been pouring some time into creating a new Outer Empires developer PodCast - the first episode (in two parts) lasts for an hour
and a half, featuring interviews with lead developer Paul Hutson on the status of the game and future development, and also an interview with Stellar Aitann the leader
of the Iron Union. You can find the PodCast Channel
on iTunes as a free download.
Player Government - starting in April... :
The in game government is failing - has been failing for several months - and it's about to all come to a head, the citizens of the galaxy aren't happy with a near
non-existant government... so more and more are rioting in protest for a new elected Government. That's where you come in, five players will be voted in to office in game (via a voting
terminal) - they will decide how things develop through deciding where the vast galactic budget is spent, from new jump gates to more ships being developed - they
get to decide it all. Want to rule a Galaxy? Now's your chance! More on this in the second episode of the PodCast coming next week!
Patches and New Ships :
Today brought with it a big new content patch after last weeks combat browser enhancements. Today's patch brings yet more enhancements to the in game system and also
five new ships - three completely new ships, the Rapier, the Katana and the Sabre - each are hybrid ships featuring both cargo capacity and weapon slots.
In addition to that there are a few new lower level ships (the refueller and a new and improved freighter with a weapon slot)... we've got so much more planned in the
near future too!
New Team Members :
Last month saw the introduction of two new team members. OEDev Brandon and OESupport Bill. OEDev Brandon has been pushing along browser and app enhancements and
fixes (recently pushing out the new browser combat enhancements!) OESupport Bill has been in game every day (from 7am EST until *very* late) in the channel /j support
- answering peoples questions and support requests in record time. Drop by some time and say hello - or say hello in General chat, they're often around.
Not logged in for a Month or More?
Anyone who hasn't logged into the game for a month or more will find that they currently have five days free
subscription time applied to their account - so you'll be able to take advantage of 2 x XP and Credits for every job you take on.. and also start up that second
character.. ever wanted to be a Pirate? a faction leader? a market trader.. now's your chance!
Performance Improvements :
The game has had an overhaul and removing a lot of the early release issues with lag and crashes. Lag has virtually been
eliminated from the game and, as a result, a number of the crashes on the App version have also been removed (they were linked together). A number of patches have
been pushed out for the Browser version to fix combat issues, meaning that combat is easier and smoother than ever on App or Browser version.
See you in game soon!
The Outer Empires Development Team
Player Made Map
19MAR10
"AUS Roadie" has created an up to date map of the entire galaxy, it's amazing to see how far people have expanded from the original Government areas.
Yet, there are still 15000 systems that have never been visited by anyone - meaning around three quarters of the galaxy is still uncharted...
You can view the map in realtime on his website, here : ausrodie.com/map.html :
It's a large download (13 meg or so). Alternatively, you can view a 2.8 meg image version by
clicking here.
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer
Click on the Image for a larger version (2.9 meg)
Browser Patch V1.1 Released
17MAR10
A new browser patch out today brings with it a number of bug fixes and enhancements before we start on some of the bigger enhancements.
Over the past few weeks you will have noticed a number of changes, enhancements and fixes in the game which have
sped the game up as a whole.
This is due in a large part to two new people joining the Outer Empires team. OEDev Brandon and OESupport Bill (their in
game names, so you can say hello) - who are doing development, support and testing of in game items. At the same time I've
been doing a number of enhancements to the back end and middle layers of the game to fix a few of the lag problems.
You'll be seeing new patches for both the Browser and the App versions of the game in the very near future - starting with a
Browser patch in the next week or so, adding in some combat related fixes and a few enhancements (one click to start all
weapons, and one click to stop them all again).
The development is speeding along well with some of the promised enhancements being released soon (new ship hulls for pilots
of rank Heavy Class C 1 and higher) which are a cross between combat and transport ships so you can have a bit more
protection while in deep space.
The Development Team and I are still very committed to pushing Outer Empires ever forward - with the deployment of the game
on to the iPad when that releases (we're doing some work to the browser version shortly to work on the iPad and, of course,
the App will just work on the iPad straight off the bat).
See you all in game soon!
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer
News and the next part of the Background Story
04JAN09
Happy new year from all of us here at Ironwill Studios - I hope you've had an excellent holiday period... there are lots of new things
coming to Outer Empires this year - amongst them bug fixes, new game play additions and the much hinted at "Government Troubles" will
be coming to a head in the next little while...
... Leading up to that is the next part of the background story, part Six "Sympathy's Hope" which has been added to the website.
"I don't care how long it takes you, Jo’neil but I want that engine coupling cleaned and I want it done yesterday."
Jo'neil Tirris glared at the chief engineer of the Sympathy's Hope and swore under his breath. The chief was only six months older
than he was. Who was he to be giving orders like that? He scrambled up the access ladder that led to the coupling Chief Harris had
indicated. It would be clean enough, Jo’neil was sure. The chief just liked to keep him busy whether there was work to do or not. He
smacked the back of his hand on a ladder rung as he scrambled carelessly upward. Jo’neil swore again, this time loudly hoping the chief
would hear.
There will be several more in game news items over the next few weeks bridging the gap between this story and the next.
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer
Background Story - The Beginning of the End
04DEC09
The next part of the background story, part five "The Beginning of the End" has been added to the website.
"Not until I get what I came for, Jym."
Jeenee's voice was set in hard determination, a tone of voice her producer, Jym Fields, knew very well. There was little
to do except placate her at times like these and the worst of it was, she was usually right.
Jym looked around the civic square at the heart of Capitol City and idly played with his shoulder length queue of thick
black hair tied back in a short tail. The protesters were out in force. Some were milling about sharing horror stories with
the others, more onlookers than participants while the close group at the center, the agitators chanted and pulled their sheep
along with them. The group of ten or so men and women at the heart of the crowd carried signs a each wore a heavy flack
jacket and helmet with a thick darkened visor locked in the up position so their faces could be seen.
Great, Jym thought, now the rioters had riot gear.
Since the game released pilots have been doing transport, exploration and combat jobs to earn credits for colonisation, ship building, manufacturing
amongst a number of other things.
In fact, in total, 271 Million credits have been earnt over the last thirteen weeks. With a current in game circulation of just over
60 million, the rest - of course, spent on taxes, paying the gvmt for ships/goods and also a large amount of credits earned so far
have been paid to the workers of the galaxy (the most paid by any empire leader is 70000 credits a day (for 14000 workers)).
Of course, with the small 5 credit/day pay it take a worker a long time to match the personal fortune of Sammy del Fierro, the richest
person in the Nyridion Galaxy* with a whopping personal fortune of ~4.4 million credits... a member of the Iron Union faction,
who are currently the richest faction*.
Over the thirteen weeks a large amount of credits have been traded back and forth on the galactic market, as you can see in the graph to the right -
the economy has been continuing to grow, more so over the last few weeks... the graph shows the growth over time by week (with twenty
million credits traded over the last week) - the larger recent growth can be attributed to the new pilots in the galaxy... post App release.
Market Expenditure By Week
You will notice a new area on the website menu entitled "Economy" which has a number of different statistics for the sales of different product groups
(resources, flatpacks, blueprints and ship hulls/modifications) and also a list of the top sales in each group (and also a weekly sales list
too).
Visit the new economy area and please do leave comments in the
official forums about this news item. You will notice, of course, that there are only three days worth of detailed
information about market transactions - as we only started recording the data three days ago - it will continue to automatically update over time,
if anyone is interested in accessing the news feed for the market data click here to view
the webservice access (additionally, if you want a different type of statistic on there, please let me know!)
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer
* at the time of writing this article.
Territory Expansion Part 11 (Week 13)
18NOV09
The past few weeks have seen a lot of change with faction territory control - a lot of new factions have been established and have started colonising systems (be that near existing factions or in
open areas) reaching the required level (control of 20 system) to be shown on the faction territory map. In addition to that the Iron Union and Dark Matter appear to have swapped control
of a few systems between themselves, whether that shows some inter faction turmoil or not, time will tell.
With more and more factions becoming active we can only anticipate the map changing ever more quickly in the future.
To see the territory maps over time click here (also available by clicking the "Territory Maps" link in the menu).
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer
Outer Empires App Hits the App Store!
10NOV09
At last, the App has been approved and released on to the App store, we've already submitted the first update.. so a load of fixes and new enhancements are already on the way!
NOTE: The App store description is not showing properly on all stores (we've contacted Apple to get them to update it) however, you can see the full description below.
Description
Outer Empires is a space based massively multi-player online game created for both the iPhone/iPod Touch and desktop browsers.
Every player can create an online persona in a persistent galaxy; from that point on they can choose from a number of different careers to progress through the game.
The game is set up in a sandbox style, to allow players to choose how their character develops.
Players will have a variety of options, including:
- Fly missions (transport, freight, exploration, bounty)
- Set up colonies (Mining, Food Production, Manufacture, Refining and much much more)
- Run/join factions (guilds/clans) within the game.
- Take control of and fight for systems (either themselves or as part of a faction).
- Research new ship items from existing blueprints in the world to create your own product line.
- Buy/Mod/Build/Sell ships using a number of variable items that can be created from the manufacture plants players set up.
- Trade with other players and the system.
NOTE :
This game is an entirely online game and will require an internet connection (Wifi, 3G and EDGE recommended).
TouchArcade.com (Preview Quote) "The cool part about Outer Empires is that the game runs both in a browser on your computer, as well as in the app on your iPhone. Accounts are shared between both versions of the game,
and you can literally log out in your browser, log in with your iPhone, and be exactly where you left off with all the same functionality of the desktop client on the go."
PocketGamer.co.uk (Preview Quote) "It all begins quite innocently. You're given a small shuttle to flit between star systems allowing you to run odd jobs. Scanning systems and delivering the results to a space station, transporting goods, buying and selling ore as you travel - there are lots of ways to find your space legs and bring in enough credits to buy fuel and supplies." ... "The sheer scale is at once mesmerising and intimidating."
Some things our beta players have said :
"The first real MMORPG for the iPhone and iPod Touch."
- Soul
"A multi-faceted, in-depth game that continues to expand and it will hold your interest for many days, not hours due to its enormous size.
Complemented by a very attentive Developer team that never sleeps."
- Gaius Codex
"There really is no way to describe this game. It is huge. There is no set plan that you have to follow, You can follow your own path in this game. To under stand how big this game is you would have to actually enter it to see just how vast this universe is and how many different avenues there are to pursue."
- Blue
MEDIA :
Screenshots :
An in game shot showing a number of ships having a battle around a planet
the tactical computer screen, showing different people within a system and their locations, it's useful when planning attacks.
Showing the Nyridion Galaxy and the current GVMT space
Showing the Space Station home screen, from here you can add new parts to your ship, get new jobs/missions, clone, sell and buy things, amongst other things.
Showing one of the buildings at a colony, this is a mining facility mining Zinc Ore (ready for processing, selling, etc) - there are a LOT of different resources in the
game, each has a use!
This week shows the degredation of a number of of factions territory as uninhabited or undeveloped colony sites have been removed (if they're greater than six days old). This has shown
most notably in the FLEET areas - although both the Iron Union and Dark Matter have also reduce the size of their colonisable area. Overall, there are is a lot of new territory available
to newer pilots to claim.
To see the territory maps over time click here (also available by clicking the "Territory Maps" link in the menu).
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer
Territory Expansion Part 9
21OCT09
And so, another week has past which ofcourse means further exploration and expansion into the galaxy. This week sees the normal small changes take place
but it also shows a huge expansion effort from DARK.
If you havent checked out the new area on the website yet showing territory maps over time then you should.
view the territory maps (also available by clicking the "Territory Maps" link in the menu).
As part of the ongoing background story, part four "Angel One" has been added to the website.
With little searching he found what he was looking for quickly. Today was indeed the day. Merlinius Enterprises was launching their colony ship, after all. There had been setbacks, projects canceled, redesigns, and protests but the mega corporation run by Angus Merlinius had done it and were finally going to launch their ship. At the great expense, and some said hardship, of the tax payers of Leofmael, Angus Merlinius had pushed an entire system of people toward a future for Leofmael that lay outside government space. There, he had told them, they would find autonomy and freedom from the monetary burden of living within the bounds of Cinnhilif governmental control.
There is now a new area on the website showing territory maps over time (so you can see the progression of the territory updates from start to finish)...
view the territory maps (also available by clicking the "Territory Maps" link in the menu).
The patch yesterday saw a hike in the cost of Space Station flat packs due to terrorist actions in game, more price increases are expected as the attacks continue...
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer
Territory Expansion Part 7
07OCT09
As you can see from the below map FLEET have expanded their influence, not only around their main factional grounds (the Linavine sector) but also expanded into other regions as well - at
the same time Event Horizon has been expanding their area of control as well. More DARK colonies have been registered near the center of the Galaxy joining the IRON outpost in the same
region.
In other news, the Facebook version of Outer Empires has received a number of fixes for display problems
and should now work normally.
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer
Patch V1.0.10 and Freeplay!
06OCT09
As of today a new patch has been released, finalising all of the combat changes to the system - you're able to fight with rebels, bandits, pirates and marauders throughout the galaxy.
Every job terminal in a station will over you combat related jobs once you get to rank Light Class A4 (we didn't think people would be ready, ship wise, until then). As with all the other jobs
in game, combat jobs are generated for people based on their level - so someone who's a Light Class A4 rank will likely be pitted against a shuttle in combat, while a High Class B6 will probably
be facing several Dreadnoughts... bringing some faction members along for a fight has been found to be a good idea!
You can read the full patch note for V1.0.10 in this thread in the official Outer Empires forums
Outer Empires is now Free to play!
In addition to the combat jobs being added, there are lots of other enhancements and changes. One of those being that the subscription method has changed - you can continue playing to any level
in the game without having to subscribe. However, by subscribing you get twice as much XP and Credits for the jobs you do, you have access to the full range of ships and you can have as many
colonies in game as you can manage...
If you'd like to comment on this news item, please do so here.
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer
Territory Expansion Part 6
30SEP09
This weeks territory map shows that Iron have expanded and consolidated their hold on the central galaxy. At the same time, other factions have been pushing towards the edges in a slow manner. While the map hasn't changed a huge amount we are noticing a lot more of the planets within systems are being fully colonised now.
The combat patch has been released, combat jobs can be picked up from job terminals in stations as per normal.
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer
Lifetime Subscribers Get App Preview Copies!
23SEP09
Lifetime Subscribers now have the opportunity to get a preview version of the App for their iPhones and iPod Touch devices. Details can be found in the lifetime subscribers forum.
If you are already a lifetime subscriber but don't have access to the forum please PM "Paul Hutson" on the forums and I will organise you access (include your in game characters name
in the PM please).
Today saw Apple reject the App from their approval process - not to worry though, we've resolved the issue and resubmitted the App in quick order. The problem revolved around the
communication between the App and iTunes.
More details to follow, but for now rest assured we're on top of the process !
To comment on this story, please do so here in the outer empires forums.
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer
Territory Expansion Part 5
23SEP09
This weeks territory map shows that some of the larger factions have slowed down their expansion and have concentraded on consolidating their held territory - although both IRON
and DARK have established colonies in the central area of the galaxy.
In addition to that, a new faction has reached the required sized to be shown on the map, "The Firm" is shown to the top right of the government systems.
Additionally, Patch V1.09 is scheduled for deployment on Tuesday next week - this will include the new "combat" type jobs for ranks of Light Class B 1 and higher..
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer
Background Fiction - "Cracks in the Universe"
22SEP09
This week sees our second chapter to the background story unfolding in the Outer Empires Galaxy:
The glass ceiling above
the spacious, opulent meeting chamber was years in design and years
again in construction. It held at bay fifty meters of clear
blue water which refracted the the glowing outer lights creating an
otherworldly feel in what would have otherwise been simply another
monument to government vanity.
Another week of territory expansion and faction control has seen some major slowing down of colonisation from some of the bigger factions. At the same time
some of the smaller factions have enlarged their holding significantly.
The pirating faction DERP have had their system control reduced from 64 systems held to just 16, which is a major reduction around the Aurchan Zone leaving
a large area open to other colonisation.
On another note, a lot of work has been put into patch V1.07 which will include research, route finding and a myriad of other bug fixes. We estimate that the patch will be deployed on Friday.
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer
"GAME OF THE WEEK" at CasualGaming.biz
11SEP09
CasualGaming.biz has made Outer Empires it's "Game of the Week" :
In a single generation of machines networked gaming has evolved from a tech-heavy hobbyist pastime to
core principal of many modern releases. And whilst people have been playing together for years, the
impending arrival of Iron Will Studios’ space-themed MMO Outer Empires marks a true milestone in the
history of connected casual gaming.
Please do leave your comments either on the Outer Empires forums
or on the review linked above.
Now Available on Internet Explorer
11SEP09
After a long week of work the game now works on Internet Explorer as well as Safari, Opera, Google Chrome and Firefox.
If you find any bugs, please (as always) post them on the official Outer Empires forums!
To start playing now in your browser of choice, Click Here
Outer Empires : Territory Updates 3
11SEP09
This week the expansion of some factions has slowed down (things are definitely looking a bit more compact) other factions, however, have really stretched out across the galaxy to set up a long way off.
Click Image To View
In addition to the colonisation map, you can see a number of interesting statistics about colonies and faction spread :
Faction Name
Systems Spanned
Colonies
The Iron Union
316
1286
Dark Matter
157
534
Fleet
148
508
In Derek we Rust
64
153
Event Horizon
63
383
Strike Force 17
52
185
The Original
45
254
Appian Frontiers
13
83
Dacian Republic
13
51
iCoD
12
46
DaRk JuStiCe MoVeMeNt
5
49
Outlaw
3
9
Trader's Guild
3
5
The New Order
3
7
Ice Pirates
3
5
Steel Corp
3
9
Lords of Legend
1
1
Interesting Note: The largest population that any faction has (by colony) is 16493 (The Iron Union), which would cost approximately 82465
credits per day to maintain.
See you in game!
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer - Outer Empires
Patch V1.05 and also more background fiction!
10SEP09
Patch V1.05 has been released bringing with it a whole load of bug fixes and, more importantly, a number of new
enhancements including Colony Building Flatpack Blueprints, so you can manufacture your own flatpacks and sell/use
them and we've also included the ability to repair damaged colony buildings (after someone bombards your colony).
Today also brings the second part of our ongoing background story, taking you to a colony outside the government systems...
Hope and Despair
“Swamp Gas?”
Izzy’s guide nodded solemnly at her with an expression that certainly conveyed ‘I told you
so’. He looked down at the man lying on the ground covered in boils and then looked back at Izzy.
He nodded again, causing her to have the strongest desire to throttle him. Sure, he was a
settler and yes, they were known to be eccentric,
but after what she’d been through, Izzy did not feel it incumbent upon her to be so tolerant.
“You’re telling me that swamp gas did this to the man?” she asked cocking her head to one
side as she tended to do when exasperated. Her students knew that at these moments it was best to
give the doctor room, let her think and speak as she felt necessary. Arguing with Doctor Izzy
Ingerland was fruitless when her jaw set. Clearly the colony guide didn’t know as well as her
students.
“It is swamp gas, Doctor Ingerland. We here on Zeradral I are immune to the plague.”
The Outer Empires universe expands onto facebook. Play in the same universe as the existing browser version (and soon the iPhone/iPod touch versions) - only you can tell all your friends
about gaining rank, commissioning new ships and also founding colonies (amongst other things).
See you in game soon (and on facebook, with all your awesome Colony/Rank/Ship wall posts!)
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer - Outer Empires
Outer Empires : Territory Updates
02SEP09
Another busy week of expansion and colonisation for factions, as the map below shows, different factions have made more of a move to solidify their territorial claims.
In addition to the larger factions, a number of new factions have been growing too, several of which have reached the marker for being shown on the faction map updates.
Click Image To View
On another note :
We're still waiting on Apple to approve the Native App for the iPhone/iPod touch - we promise that as soon as we hear anything it is sure to be posted here, on the forums and in game.
See you in game!
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer - Outer Empires
State of the Universe
28AUG09
The Nyridion Galaxy has a long and distinct history, over the coming month we'll be posting a number of different articles and stories discussing it. As an introduction the first
piece entitled "State of the Universe" is below.
In a single generation, the ingenuity and curiosity of the Cinnhilif led them to leave the security of their green world and take root on
planets both alien and wondrous. Overcrowding and pollution were eased as the people of Cinnhilif spread themselves across over a hundred
systems and grew rich.
Their expansionist desire had only been more fueled by the past one hundred years expansion and colonization. When the first stable wormhole
was discovered in the Iniecace system, their natures drove them forward once more creating systems of systems in four remote sectors of
space. New jump gate technology harnessed this and four more such wormholes bringing the outer systems, once far too remote to contemplate,
as close as neighboring ones.
Comment on this story in the Official forums.
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer - Outer Empires
Two iPhone Version Reviews Posted
27AUG09
Two sites have posted new iPhone preview/reviews about the upcoming Outer Empires App for the iPhone/iPod Touch (currently with Apple for review). You can read the reviews by clicking on the below images.
Power On Sound Off Review
NoDPad.com Review
As always we love to hear your thoughts, comments and questions in the Official Outer Empires Forums - we read through everything on there!
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer - Outer Empires
Outer Empires : Politics, a Week on
26AUG09
A week and a half after release and the galaxy is starting to be colonised, battles have begun and alliances made. Below you can see the current political state of the galaxy - if you click on the below picture you'll be able to see who has colonised where.
The current political state of the galaxy is this :
The GVMT controls the main regions and jump gate end points, while many factions have started to colonise the regions around those areas of space.
A faction tagged DERP has begun pirating activities outside gvmt areas (where PVP is open) and is taking out larger factions vessels and colonies. They're also expanding their space holdings too.
At the same time, all of the larger factions have formed an alliance (these are IRON, DARK, FLEET and AF) primarily to provide protection against DERP and it's attacking and to actively attack back.
What is interesting is that both sides have started to use the in game news service as a tool to promote their own reasons for doing what they are.
Click Image To View
On top of that a number of spies have been foiled already... and offers of double agents agreed and rejected. All interesting to watch.
There are several other factions that are also gaining ground all over the galaxy (it's big... very big...) as you'll see from the picture.
On another note :
We're still waiting on Apple to approve the Native App for the iPhone/iPod touch - as soon as we hear anything it is sure to be posted here, on the forums and in game.
See you in game!
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer - Outer Empires
Outer Empires : The Age of Expansion Begins
17AUG09
The browser version of Outer Empires has gone live - you can create an account to log in and start playing now! Those of you in the beta test will have to recreate their accounts (and characters)
as everything has been reset back to start conditions.
In case you missed the last news post, the iPhone app has now been submitted to Apple and is awaiting approval so shouldn't be long now!
See you in game!
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer - Outer Empires
The Outer Empires App is with Apple...!
15AUG09
The Outer Empires App has been submitted to apple (after another few days of heavy testing). We're incredibly pleased about it and think you will all enjoy playing on it
(especially if you've played in the browser beta!)
Please do leave your comments on this news piece here
See you all on Monday in the browser version so that you can get a headstart on the App version... !
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer - Outer Empires
Beta Test Concluded - Live Opening Monday!
14AUG09
A big thank you to everyone who came along and helped test Outer Empires during the open beta! The team and I have been able to make loads of improvements based on suggestions and bugs raised,
making the game ever better.
Those of you who took part in the beta test will know that the "go live" date is Monday 17th August at 1200 BST (1100 GMT, 0700 EST) (or, in other words, three days time) where the galaxy
will have been reset and like new (albeit with the same stars in the same places). Everyone who took part in the test will need to create a new account on Monday to log in and get started.
In addition to that, our pricing has been set - as you will all know, the game is free to play up to level ten - you get everything in the normal game up until that point - then there is a subscription cost
per month which is as follows : $3.99 for 1 month, $10.99 for 3 months, $19.99 for 6 months, $37.99 for 1 year and finally, a special offer of $99.99 for lifetime subscription for the first month.
As always we love to read your comments, questions and ideas in the Forums so please post them up there! If you want to comment about this news
item please post your comments here
See you all on Monday! We can't wait to see what you do!
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer - Outer Empires
Outer Empires - Open Browser Beta
09AUG09
If you've been itching to get in to the beta testing but haven't yet got an invite, now's your chance to have a go! The open Beta has begun, to start, simply
click on the link below.
The biggest tip I can give anyone when starting the game, is to read the in game help (it comes up when you first log in) - it guides you through your first job
or two and also talks about how the other areas of the game currently work as well.
If you find any bugs, please post them in the Forums in the bugs area - the development team and I
do check them all out. If you have any thoughts on improvements, post them in the ideas area - several ideas submitted by people have been implemented already.
Lastly, have fun! The beta testing will finish on Friday 14th of August, with a general browser release happening on Monday 17th. Additionally, we will be selecting one person
from the list of people commenting on the Open Beta Testing thread to recieve a free copy
of the App from the Appstore... to enter, simply reply to the thread!
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer - Outer Empires
Website facelift, Beta testing and Outer Empires is nearly here!
28JULY09
Well, its been a while since our last update, but for good reason, It's been full steam ahead in the studio trying
to get the game ready for release and we've got loads to tell you about. As you can already see the website has
undergone a shiny new facelift ready for release, but its not only the cosmetic changes you will notice, we've
added a load of good stuff to it too.
A new OE Wiki page has been created which is full of just about everything there is to know about the game and will prove
invaluable to newbies and veterans alike.
Its now posible to see what is happening in game using the live galaxy map. This is always viewable in game but now it gives
everybody an idea of just how big the game is and how much is yet to be explored and colonised! You may notice that the
government controlled areas have now expanded significantly, this is because hyper gates are now fully funtioning in game
allowing players to warp through vast distances of space instantly.
Also you will notice the GNN News Flash box from in game which will update regularly when something big happens in the universe.
To give players that little bit more interaction with the game it is now possible for them to submit small news pieces themselves
and see GNN news run with it.
Recently the word has started to spread about Outer Empires and so the media are begining to pick up on it, any articles or interesting
reviews written about OE will be added to our Publicity section in the menu.
As per usual the screenshot section has had an update too, it now includes all the available civilian and military ships, the hyper gates,
updated spacestations and more up to date content from both the browser and i-Phone versions.
So there you have it, a nice new website with a ton of new features, but what about the game? The alpha testing finished a few weeks ago
and the closed Beta began, We currently have around 150 players exploring, doing jobs, fighting, colonising and joining factions together
and bugs are now becoming few and far between. We have gradually been adding in more players and hope to have the open Beta running in the
next week or so.
As always we'd love to hear your thoughts and comments regarding this update in the Forums.
Lastly, Paul Hutson - the Outer Empires Lead Developer - has a twitter page that he often drops information about Outer Empires on -
view it here
Jason Turner
Lead Artist - Outer Empires
iPhone/iPod Touch Gameplay Trailer
30JUN09
As promised, here is the iPhone/iPod Touch video trailed - this video shows some of the iPhone based game play for Outer Empires.
As you will be able to see from comparing this video to the last one, we've managed to condense what we have in the browser on to
the small screen display...
Anyway, on to the main feature today - Enjoy!
As per usual, we'd love to hear your comments and questions regarding this update in the Official Forums.
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer - Outer Empires
Updates and the Galaxy
18JUN09
Another month on and we're getting through the content patches with an alarming rate - setting our targets on a mid July release for the iPhone (and browser version).
Over the past few weeks people have been testing out a whole range of different ships, fighting each other (for no other reason than because, well, they can..) and setting
up their colonies in outlying systems. At the same time they've started to mine resources (using mines on the colonies) in a bid to get enough resources together to
start to build the different types of ship hulls, thrusters, sensors, etc that people would want.
While they've been expanding we've been mapping it all - to view the in game map (although not complete I might add) click on the link below... then zoom in to the gvmt
areas by click on the quadrant/sector/etc that you want to view. When you get to the locality level you'll see the gvmt systems in green and the colonised systems in
orange. As you can see from scrolling around the map there is rather a lot of room left for everyone else - in fact, looking at it you can see how truly vast the galaxy
really is.
Lastly, some of you will find you have testing invitations in your inbox - see you in game soon. For those who've not been invited this time, a furthur fifty will be added
next week as well.
Look out for an iPhone video next week and an indepth piece on factions and their function in game.
Regards,
Paul Hutson
Outer Empires - Lead Developer
Developer Article : A Galactic Economy
02JUN09
Paul Hutson, Lead Developer for Outer Empires, talks about Outer Empires Economic Model.
Introduction
The Economy of Outer Empires is huge in scope. The universally accepted galactic standard credit facilitates galactic
trade and transportation and is discussed below in more detail. I hope by the end of this article you have some more
insight into the way that the Outer Empires's economy works.
How do I make Credits?
There are a number of ways to obtain Credits in the game - the first and foremost is by doing jobs. Jobs can be found at any
station within the Galaxy and their function ranges from transporting a few goods to places, to exploring the furthest
reaches of space, to hunting down some criminals in an outlying system. The only downside to taking jobs is that if you
don't complete them you will have to pay a fee for defaulting on them.
Two other ways to make money in Outer Empires - bounties; if someone attacks another player in government
controlled space space they will get a bounty placed on them. Any person who can kill that character will get the Credits
added to their account; then there is the Galactic Market...
As always, we'd be interested in hearing your thoughts about this article in the official forums.
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer - Outer Empires
Alpha Test Browser Video
28MAY09
As promised, here is the first of many videos - this video shows some of the browser based game play for Outer Empires. A lot of the browser version is based around Jquery (Jquery.com) which is
awesome. One of the great things about Outer Empires is that there is no plugin required, you can point your browser at the site and away you go..
Anyway, on to the main feature today - Enjoy!
As you can see, we've been playing with the attacking and colonies recently.. more on that in the coming weeks. Look out for an iPhone based version of this same video in the next week or so.
As per usual, we'd love to hear your comments and questions regarding this update in the Official Forums.
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer - Outer Empires
Ship Mods, Buildings and yet more spaceships.
18MAY09
The month of April came and went and proved to be an incredibly hectic, but very productive one for the Dev team.
The Alpha testing has now reached V.04 and is going stronger than ever with yet more players connecting and enjoying testing out the new in game elements that we have worked so hard to create!
With the game now starting to take shape the Beta seems closer than ever. Players are now able to enjoy a new range of different tasks in-game, such as modifying and building new ships,
completing transport jobs and exploration jobs.
Those who have been invited for the next phase will have received information saying they've been selected and will receive their access codes just before the test - the next phase is likely to
be the beta test phase 1, so most (if not all) people who signed up for the testing will be added - this will be the browser only version at first.
Over the last few weeks we have set to work on some very exciting new features for the next testing phase. The best of these has to be combat. We are now Targeting, Firing, Shielding and
exploding, all from the comfort of our studio, its coming together nicely. As you can see to your right changes have been made to the way zooming works on the Browser version of the game.
Instead of zooming in and out the player can now jump to a tactical view computer screen which instantly enables a complete system view. We also have the in game chat areas fully working on
both the Browser and iPhone versions which equally look very cool.
From the feedback we have been receiving from testers it was suggested that we include a Government systems map. This made sense because the game is so vast, players are now having to venture
further a-field for jobs and are starting to get lost! This map solves that problem and now systems are easily located.
Our next Task is going to be getting the Colonies to work in game. To give you a sneak peak at what we are working on right now, check out both the Screenshots sections
here and the Colony Building sections here. Also in the screenshots area you will notice a load more
ships and ship mod screen grabs on both the iPhone and Browser versions.
Finally, we've got a new track for you to sample (although some of you will have heard it already if you've been looking around the forums), this music will appear when a player is docked inside a Space Station.
It's relaxing and mellow, but works well as background music for being in a safe place:
As always we'd love to hear your thoughts and comments regarding this update in the Forums.
Jason Turner
Lead Artist - Outer Empires
Music, Testing and a Galaxy to Explore
24MAR09
The last month has flown by for the development team with us pushing through a whole myriad of tasks getting the game ready for beta.
We've also had several alpha testing sessions with people from all over the world to see how the system holds up with multiple people connecting, moving around, using the market systems
amongst other things... with much more testing planned over the next few weeks. Those who have been invited for the next phase will have received information saying they've been selected
and will receive their access codes just before the test - if you've not received an email inviting you to the testing don't despair, there is going to be a *lot* of opportunity in the
near future!
As you can see from the screenshot to your right, we now have a generated version of the entire galaxy. Within it are 20k star systems hosting 179k Planets and moons.. each with their
own resources. The government systems (showing in the green area) each have between one and two space stations in them - all government stations buy and sell resouces (although only a
subset each) with prices fluctuating over time (depending on the amount of the goods they have available).
We've also updated the interface slightly at the recommendation of some of the testers to include an "object explorer". This allows a person to see the main static objects in the system
(spacestations and planets) and navigate to them directly - the interface is opened via a new "radar" button to the top right of the browser version and via a slide out button on the
iphone version.
Look out for some ingame video coming over the next few weeks showing you what Outer Empires looks like on both the iPhone and on the browser version. For now I've updated the screenshot
section with a few more ships and in game shots.
Finally, we've been working closely with the local university here in Ipswich Suffolk, with several students taking on jobs within the team (Programming : Andy Stennett and Dwane Gibbs;
Music and SFX : Steven Coltart, David Housen and Rob Gisbey)... and you can listen to one of the tracks from the in game music here :
It has both a quieter section, which you'll hear while flying around in space normally, and a louder crashy section (you won't be able to miss it..) which is layered on top for when
combat happens.
As always we'd love to hear your thoughts and comments in the Forums.
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer - Outer Empires
p.s. The first news letter has been sent out - you can read it here : Newsletter 01 : sign up to receive it via the link in the menu
to the left
Beta Test Signups, Newsletter and Screenshots
26FEB09
The last few weeks has been incredibly busy - Alpha is scheduled to start next week, some of you will be getting an email soon, don't worry if you don't get one next week, we will be adding
people slowly over time.
Next up - you can see eleven new screen shots from in game on both the browser and the iPhone area by visiting the screenshots
area in the menu to the top left of this screen. As you can see, we've been working on the market and space station area of the game..
The beta test and newsletter sign up's are now active to the
bottom left of this screen - please answer the questions as fully as possible so we can make the best choices for beta testers when the time comes.
For those of you who might be interested, we just got our new development server through - it would be able to host all of the KingdomGame worlds twice over .. and also host the beta for
OE without any problems.. so we're all systems go here!
As always, if you have any questions or comments about this news item, do post them in the forums here.
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer - Outer Empires
Update: Modelling the Scout Ship
10FEB09
As always, we're working hard in the office to get the Alpha version ready for it's first "outsider" trials - the space station has been all implemented and now we're working on
getting the ship modifications to work fully (so you can mod your ships to give them extra power, or better shields.. or more cargo capacity).
At the same time, Jason has been hard at work modelling a Scout Ship and has written up a short piece about how he goes about modelling a ship - from concept to completion.
If you have any comments on this news piece, please post them here or post other questions in the forums
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer - Outer Empires
Update: Clipper, Alpha Testing and Resources
02FEB09
Once again, we've been incredibly hard at work over the past few weeks, ploughing through the development goals and are nearing our first alpha tests.
Our first Alpha test will focus on ensuring the engine connects and works across all browsers in a multiplayer environment and it will also be testing the galactic economy (think a resource
trading game..) - those people who have been selected will hear in the next few weeks, if you don't get selected this time you'll have a higher chance of being selected in the next test!
We've also added a few new screenshots to the media list showing our new Clipper craft. The clipper is a low class merchant vessel, with a small cargo area to haul goods or resources around the
systems. As usual do let us know in the forums as to what you think of them.
Jason has also updated the resources area to show a list of all the (base) resources we have in game - you'll notice a few made up ones..
like "Jackianian - An abundant gas found almost everywhere in the galaxy in great quantities".
Lastly, thanks to everyone who is continuing to ask questions on the forums and also to those spreading Outer Empire information around other forums on the net..!
If you have any comments or questions regarding the above then please post them here.
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer - Outer Empires
Update - Space Stations
19JAN09
The last two weeks have been very very busy for us; Jason has been working through some of the new art components for the game (some of which you can see in the screenshot section) while Susie and I
have been working hard getting our little assault craft to fly around the home system (it looks rather good both on the iPhone and in the Browser) and interact with the backend.
In the next week or so a closed beta test sign up area will be opened on the website (along with a KingdomGame mailing list option) - please do check back and sign up if you're interested in beta
testing the game!
A big thank you to those of you who have been asking questions and having discussions on the forums. A huge thank you to Lord Cain for posting up an excellent FAQ in the forums -
read it here.
Now, on to the extra screenshots shown on the website. You'll notice two new screenshots in the screenshots area on the site. The first is a space station shown against a spacey back drop (more
artistically produced by Jason, but using in game elements); the second shows the three space station phases you can have...
... In game Space Stations can be built around any planet in any system (although cost a HUGE number of resources, so I doubt we'll see them everywhere...) - building a space station allows you to
have your own trade hub in a system which other people can visit. Additionally, it provides a location to get jobs and also market goods that you may produce at your colonies. The first phase of
a space station is the center area, this allows you to do what I have said above (trade, market, jobs) and allows smaller ships (small class - so anything below a Destroyer/Freighter) and all
civilian ships to dock. The second part is the "space dock" which allows any ship to dock at it (regardless of size) and the third is a "ship yard" which allows you to assemble the larger ships
in space from scratch (i.e. produce the hulls for components to be inserted into).
If you have any comments on the new shots, please do post them here.
Paul Hutson
Lead Developer - Outer Empires
Outer Empires Website Opened
07JAN09
Welcome to Outer-Empires.com - a dedicated website for Outer Empires, a new space based MMO for the iPhone/iPod Touch and Browsers currently being developed by "Iron Will Studios"
- a new games development studio.
Feel free to look around - please stop by the forums and introduce yourself and ask any questions you may have (mainly so I can update the content and the FAQ)!
The first council has finished their interim government tenure with some interesting debates. As well as investing in a lot of technology research, they also made a number of election reforms to make it easier for pilots with less money to run in elections.
The second episode of the PodCast is out - it features the development team talking about the upcoming Elections for the new player government,
how they get elected and what they will be able to do when they have been elected. Ever wanted to be the president of a Galaxy? Your chance is
here!
