Stardock Devs -

I remember a long time ago (I think 2008) when Stardock commented that they would LOVE to get the rights to Star Control to continue that saga. When I read those words, I hoped and prayed for FIVE YEARS this day would come. And it finally has!! To which I say, CONGRATULATIONS!!! There's not a game more near and dear to my heart than SCII. I remember making my own, hand-drawn strategy guide with my best friend back when I was 11 and had nothing to do all summer except just that. Star Control encompasses some of the best moments of my gaming-life and reigns as THE masterpiece in gaming. Make me happy, and I will buy every game you guys put out for the rest of my life - I SWEAR IN BLOOD! *cuts palm*

That being said, I don't want you guys to fuck it up! So I want to start a thread of bullet-points on what were the most important aspects of Star Control that can hopefully let us fans help guide you guys towards a modern masterpiece. So without further ado, these are what I feel are the most important things you guys and girls MUST keep in mind when rebooting SC.

*SPOILERS AHEAD* (though if you haven't played SCII in the last 20 years, shame on you)

• Open-Ended Exploration - if the new Star Control holds my hand for EVEN 10 MINUTES and tells me what to do and where to go, I will flip. I understand modern games are required to give some information on what to do, but please let it be minimal and let us learn while PLAYING. Beyond that, I want to visit whatever star system I want in the entire galaxy from the very beginning. And there had better be a LOT of star systems.
• Permanence and choice with consequence - Some races you could never win over, other races it was almost automatic but the MOST IMPORTANT THING in that universe is that it could go either way! You kill that last Shofixti? The shofixti race was GONE FOR GOOD. You can't figure out how to fix the Ultron? The Utwig would NOT intervene to halt the Urquan war advance. You let the Pkunk go find their long lost Yehat brethren? Destroyed forever. Sell slaves to the Druuge? Crew would cost 10 credits instead of 3. And the opposite was also true - Bring the Syreen back and they bitch-slapped the Mycon. Convince the Ilwrath YOU are their dark god? The Thraddash get their ass handed to them and are permanently disabled. Bring the Shofixti back from extinction? Crew now cost 1CR instead of 3. Find the origin of the Slylandro probes and you got permanent self-destruct sequences! DON'T find it and they multiply! It's this kind of choice-with-consequence that REALLY made you feel like you're making a DIFFERENCE in the galaxy. It also encourages several playthroughs!
• MYSTERY, people! This is one of the absolute MOST important things that made Star Control so compelling! And the mystery can be placed in two categories - BOTH of which are insanely important: Mysteries you CAN discover the answer to - How do the Arilou pop up all over the galaxy? How was the Syreen homeworld destroyed? What's going on under the slave-shield between the Chenjesu and Mmrnmhrm? Who are the Dark Gods Dogar and Kazon? Why do the VUX hate us so much? Why are the Kohr-Ah on a Cleansing mission? And then there's mysteries you CANNOT discover the answer to, that are left up to your imagination.......... and literally I wonder about them to this day - What happened to the Precursors (discount stupid Star Control III's answer)? What happened to the Androsynth? Where did the Orz come from? Did they destroy the Androsynth? What is the purpose of the Rainbow Worlds? What is the Spathi's Ultimate Evil? Even the EXTINCT races are compelling and while you end up fleshing out their stories and extinctions a little bit, you never ever get to MEET one. WHY DOES THAT DAMN MELNORME BRIDGE TURN PURPLE?! I've spent countless hours daydreaming about these answers. And THAT is what makes Star Control special.
• Your SHIP exists in the exact role as a CHARACTER in an RPG - without the leveling. Your ship starts out WEAK. I mean, seriously weak. And that's the beauty of it - based on the things you discover throughout the universe it changes from a skeletal pew-pew invalid, to a hulking juggernaut of death that can easily take on several Urquan Dreadnaughts. But YOU get to customize it and build it up as your journey continues, and by the end? You've made it your own, and you're INFINITELY proud of your death-dealing machine. There is a sense of awe and power when you've outfitted your ship with the best technology in the galaxy and you go to face down the entire Urquan Armada. Same goes for the aliens you recruit along the way and their ships - they fill out your "party of adventurers" - fly alongside a CHMMR Avatar, an Utwig Jugger and even the lowly ZoqFotPik Stinger and you've got a custom party ready to take on the Universe. Make your ship your customizable, upgradeable avatar in the game and every Captain will be proud to go down with his ship.

Anybody else have any bullet points to add?? This is now the best place to help nudge Stardock along to making the game we've been waiting 20 years for!!

-cuorebrave