12/28/09 - Beta #4: http://groups.google.com/group/starflighttlc/web/download11/01/09 - Beta #3: http://groups.google.com/group/starflighttlc/web/download

10/16/09 - Beta #2: http://groups.google.com/group/starflighttlc/web/download

Starflight - The Lost Colony is an epic science-fiction adventure game that spans the galaxy, giving the player free-roaming gameplay in and around star systems with unique planetary systems filled with planets and asteroids that can be landed on and explored in real time.

Starflight - The Lost Colony is a 2D free-roaming game that attempts to cater to the cerebral gamer with semi-realistic space travel physics, with semi-realistic fuel consumption through hyperspace, inter-planetary star systems, in planetary atmospheres, and on planet surfaces. Many different types of planets are modeled, with Perlin-generated textures that are converted into tilemaps for old-school tile-based gameplay in a terrain vehicle. Players will interact with lifeforms (some hostile!) and mine minerals in order to raise capital for ship upgrades and fuel.

The plot takes place in a small portion of the galaxy with several hundred star systems comprised of planets and asteroids that the player can land on. Numerous alien races populate the galaxy, and will engage the player in both a richly interactive dialogue as well as combat (when the need arises). The combat simulation takes place in real time, with some realism and arcade-style fun combined for a balanced gameplay. Powerups and debris from destroyed alien ships can be picked up by the player.

The player may choose from three professions, each with different abilities and a unique starship. A complex quest system takes the player through a tour of the starport, into the home system to explore planets, and then out into deep space to explore other star systems and ultimately encounter alien civilizations.

This project was developed over a period of three years, starting in 2006, and was based on a complete design document It was intended to be released as freeware all along as a sponsored project by the University of Advancing Technology in Tempe, AZ. It is now going open source with the hope that other talented people will help take it from beta 2 to completion.

Joining: If you are interested in contributing to the project, please send an email to wirsz@hotmail.com or arthling AT starflightgame DOT com with "Starflight Open Source" in the message title.

The domain www.starflightgame.com will redirect to the GoogleGroup soon, as the original web site and forum are going down. It just isn't worth maintaining, and using the Google services keeps the project more accessible, less tied to a single person.