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HerpicleOmnicron5
May 31, 2013

How did this smug dummkopf ever make general?




House of the Dying Sun is developed by Marauder Interactive, which is (as far as I know) a one man band: Mike Tipul, former Bungie developer and goon under the name of Kairo. It was first announced in 2012 under the name Enemy Starfighter, originally looking like Rainbow Six levels of planning crossed with Homeworld and a healthy dose of TIE Fighter, but with Roguelike style permadeath.



Fast forward to PAX 2013, and Kairo is showing off builds of the game featuring VR support. The game at that stage was a story of a dominant Empire on a penitent crusade wiping out all life in its way. April 2014 sees press outlets such as Rock Paper Shotgun and Scott Manley getting hands on with the game, and they enjoy a very different version than the one we got: A kind of node-based FTL style game, where you pick your targets and build up your forces by taking on bounties.

After that, a period of radio silence on gaming news websites. On Twitter, his streams and the Enemy Starfighter thread we are still kept up to date as to the state of the game. Kairo doubles down on the overworld, dynamic roguelike aspects, introduces hostile fleet patrols, stealth, a dynamic soundtrack by Olivier Zuccaro whose credits include Space Hulk Deathwing and Diaspora: Shattered Armistice (the Battlestar Galactica total conversion for Freespace 2). Notably, it has lost the Rainbow Six style pre-mission planning, but instead it now has in-battle RTS control of your forces. Enemy Starfighter looks to become a classic.

Then, radio silence again for a period of time. Kairo removes the overworld features, removes the roguelike aspects and the dynamic missions, a strictly scripted campaign is introduced that clocks in at most at a 4 hour playtime along with a wave-clear mode. Just as Enemy Starfighter was going to be a breathtaking game. House of the Dying Sun however, is simply good. Almost to match the change in scope, the narrative was also changed. Instead of a dominant empire's show of supremacy, this game is now about a vengeful remnant, here to drag the enemy into the ground with it.

There will be at least 3 playthroughs of the game: One on Normal, one on Harbinger (Hard mode) and one on Dragon (Fighters only). Dragon mode gameplay will be done in VR via the HTC Vive to show off the game's VR implementation.

Table of Contents:

Equipment

Part 0

Warlord - Part 1 (Video)

Warlord - Part 2 (Video)

Warlord - Part 3 (Video)

Warlord - Part 3 (Video)

Warlord - Part 4 (Video)

Warlord - Finale (Video)

Harbinger - Part 1 (Video)

Harbinger - Part 2 (Video)

Harbinger - Part 3 (Video)

Harbinger - Part 4 (Video)

Harbinger - Finale (Video)

Dragon (VR) - Part 1 (Commentary) (No-Commentary)

Dragon Mode (VR) - Finale (Commentary) (No-Commentary)

HerpicleOmnicron5 fucked around with this message at 20:04 on May 3, 2017

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HerpicleOmnicron5
May 31, 2013

How did this smug dummkopf ever make general?



INTERCEPTORS:

"...the personification of the Harbinger fleet, our Executors danced through the battlefield like angels of death, felling heretic fighters and capitals alike."

PRIMARY WEAPONS:

- AC-1437 AUTOCANNON: Fires fast moving kinetic slugs that possess average range and damage characteristics.

SECONDARY WEAPONS:

- DG-FLC BLUNDERBUSS: Flechette cannons are imprecise, savage weapons. Magnetically accelerating shrapnel using the vessel's drive engines is both simple and extremely dangerous.

- 6B-VII FURY MISSILES: Also known as the Yellowjacket, the 6B-Fury launcher delivers variable salvos of anti-fighter warheads to the intended target, chopping through shields but struggling against hull. Because of their renowned tracking ability, FURY MISSILES excel at dismantling enemy drones.

- 4985J ECM-PULSE: Imperial bounty hunters often equip their vessels with ECM Pulse cannons that disable their targets, preparing them for boarding operations.

HEAVY WEAPONS:

- DKE-SCARAB TORPEDO: Scarab torpedoes are designed to provide our fighters with situational heavy strike capabilities. They are old technology and easily countered by point defense systems.

- F4-PURIFIER BOMB: Purifier Bombs were the Empire's answer to the dense flak screens prevalent during the last insurrection. They are engineered to withstand heavy point defense fire, but are slow and possess no internal guidance systems.


DESTROYERS:

"...the wall of obstinate destroyers protected the Dominus while its engines were being brought back online."

PRIMARY WEAPONS:

- AR-GRE HEAVY AUTOCANNON: It is the larger, capital-sized version of the cannons equipped on our fighters.

- AF-2 TORPEDO: It allows the bearer to pummel shields from long range. They are ineffective against hull and extremely vulnerable to point defense.

SECONDARY WEAPONS:

- PR.MK4 POINT DEFENSE CANNON: A super heated element is suspended in plasma in the center of the round. Upon hitting light armor, the element ignites and severely burns the outer hull from the inside out.

- OMNIFLAK: Omniflak has been used for nearly two centuries to deter both pirates and missile-class weaponry.


FRIGATES:

"...the lances carved through even the hardest armor plating, like the Emperor's sword through the flesh of his enemies during the First Culling.

PRIMARY WEAPONS:

- DF-EMBER LANCE: A hundred stars. Their births, their lives, their deaths brought to bear at a target. Extremely effective against both shield and hull, provided the frigate can get within firing range.

- 00A-T HEAVY ARTILLERY: This allows our frigates to stay at range and deliver exceptional destruction to enemy hulls.

SECONDARY WEAPONS:

- PR.MK4 POINT DEFENSE CANNON: A super heated element is suspended in plasma in the center of the round. Upon hitting light armor, the element ignites and severely burns the outer hull from the inside out.

- OMNIFLAK: Omniflak has been used for nearly two centuries to deter both pirates and missile-class weaponry.

HerpicleOmnicron5 fucked around with this message at 14:16 on Apr 2, 2017

Mordja
Apr 26, 2014

Hell Gem
Still kicking myself for not buying that poster when I could.

Bloody Pom
Jun 5, 2011



:dance:

What a long, storied development process this game has been through.

Speaking of Diaspora, any plans on doing that one some day?

VolticSurge
Jul 23, 2013

Just your friendly neighborhood photobomb raptor.



It really is a shame-this game could've been amazing. But instead it's just :mediocre:

HerpicleOmnicron5
May 31, 2013

How did this smug dummkopf ever make general?


Warlord - Part 1

Reveille: The numbness in your mind is flushed away by a combination of stimulants and familiarity. Have you been here before?

The Miser: TRAITOR LORD THUL has been given charge of the frontier territories and is running inspections on the rich ore cluster he inherited. Purge him.

Raid at Su'Meer's Cloud: A new waystation is in the early stages of construction at SU'MEER'S CLOUD. Destroy the caches, purge the workers.

The Cartographer: INV LANCER has captured the TRAITOR LORD JOR, but it has been disabled in hostile territory. INV HANGMAN is being sent to recover the prisoner. Defend it.

10 TRAITOR LORDS REMAIN

Codex:

I:

"The Dragon arises only for war. It lives in a killing trance old as the Emperor Himself.

When the Emperor is troubled, the Dragon awakes.

When the Emperor is satisfied, the Dragon sleeps.

-Errika of Rydirr, Imperial Skald

#

"NNI-8860 Imperial-grade transmission halo with soul shunt.

Superconductor carapace flushed with condensed superfluid helium.

Quantum stasis system. One occupant. Permanent seal."

-Specifications of the Dragon's Cask.

II:

Rhaal'tum Prime is the Emperor's throneworld.

From the Thousand Palaces the Imperial elite controls all trade.

Whoever controls Rhaal'tum controls the Empire."

-Errika of Rydirr, Imperial Skald

#

"The Indifferent Stroke: strike, succeed, withdraw, the enemy quivers to know that she was wholly ignored, might never have existed at all.

Supersensibility. How can it be? The Dragon proceeds exactly where it must, as if it has practiced the fight a hundred times before this first.

The Bone Road. One executor bears the Dragon, now another, now the first again: death from many points, turning like a pulsar, and you cannot find one body to kill."

HerpicleOmnicron5 fucked around with this message at 19:21 on Mar 30, 2017

HerpicleOmnicron5
May 31, 2013

How did this smug dummkopf ever make general?


Bloody Pom posted:

Speaking of Diaspora, any plans on doing that one some day?

Probably only if I do Freespace 2, which would mostly be a blind playthrough. It's a bloody good game but I've just never gotten around to playing past 'Slaying Ravana'.

Bloody Pom
Jun 5, 2011



Freespace 2 is an excellent game, but it can be incredibly unfair at times. It definitely still subscribes to the same 90's trial-and-error playstyle of games like TIE Fighter.

Blue Planet might be another good mod to cover some day.

Quicksilver6
Mar 21, 2008



VolticSurge posted:

It really is a shame-this game could've been amazing. But instead it's just :mediocre:

From what I understand, the reason it changed so drastically was that while they wanted to implement the roguelike and planning stuff, they had trouble making it fun. Testers repeatedly singled out the planned missions as being the most fun so they made the focus on that. Still, I wonder if that was an accurate assessment on their part.

PurpleXVI
Oct 30, 2011

Spewing insults, pissing off all your neighbors, betraying your allies, backing out of treaties and accords, and generally screwing over the global environment?
ALL PART OF MY BRILLIANT STRATEGY!

Bloody Pom posted:

Freespace 2 is an excellent game, but it can be incredibly unfair at times. It definitely still subscribes to the same 90's trial-and-error playstyle of games like TIE Fighter.

I have to admit I never really found it challenging, mostly a lot of the trick was in ignoring the suggested fighters the game throws at you(Freespace 1 Herc is superior to most other fighters until the endgame, due to the massive main cannon batteries and heavy armor, that's the trick. That's the ONLY trick. Fly a brick with guns instead of those other fragile ships.). Really only the "secret" missions had a severe case of the "gently caress you if you haven't played this before"-syndrome.

JamieTheD
Nov 4, 2011

LPer, Reviewer, Mad Welshman

(Yes, that's a self portrait)
Ah, House of the Dying Sun. Regardless of whether the roguelike elements being dropped turned out to be for the best or not, there is something about this game I will always, always point to and say to aspiring gamedevs "THAT'S how you do it!"

Sound and visual design. Notice how the audio's kinda muted when the gun's firing, and weapons fire isn't making a sound until it actually hits or gets really close? SPACE. The radio effect is also good. Visually, thought went into those ship designs, to the point where, when I was streaming this (Having bought it for my birthday), I was somewhat shocked to discover holy poo poo the fighters have thrusters placed where they would be if you were banking or rolling in space. Tiny retros. Hell yes.

Good physics. Good sound and visual design. And let us not forget the writing, which is at least okay for being the bad guy. Purge the workers.

I'll be watching the heck out of this. :D

Samovar
Jun 4, 2011

I'm 😤 not a 🦸🏻‍♂️hero...🧜🏻



Is there a way to reduce the crackle on the radio chatter? Finding it difficult to understand.

Teledahn
May 14, 2009

What is that bear doing there?


Samovar posted:

Is there a way to reduce the crackle on the radio chatter? Finding it difficult to understand.

That is mostly intentional.

ManxomeBromide
Jan 29, 2009

old school

quote:

Supersensibility. How can it be? The Dragon proceeds exactly where it must, as if it has practiced the fight a hundred times before this first.

This line works far better now that it isn't a roguelike, I must admit.

quote:

Quantum stasis system. One occupant. Permanent seal."

Brrr. One does end up wondering what the candidate review process for that looks like.

nweismuller
Oct 11, 2012

They say that he who dies with the most Opil wins.

I am winning.
Yeah, the fate of becoming the Dragon is... deeply creepy. The Empire is not a nice institution.

Bloody Pom
Jun 5, 2011



These codex entries are going to get me to make the Empire in Stellaris once the DLC is out, I just know it.

nweismuller
Oct 11, 2012

They say that he who dies with the most Opil wins.

I am winning.

Bloody Pom posted:

These codex entries are going to get me to make the Empire in Stellaris once the DLC is out, I just know it.

What are your initial thoughts on how to build it? I'm looking forward to the Stellaris expansion myself.

CommissarMega
Nov 18, 2008

THUNDERDOME LOSER

nweismuller posted:

What are your initial thoughts on how to build it? I'm looking forward to the Stellaris expansion myself.

Dunno about the Empire in this game, but in my Utopia playthrough I will make sure to eat as many sentient species as 'morally possible', i.e. Fanatic Xenophobes or Utopia's equivalent (eat them before they eat you!), uplifted-from-presentience aliens (is it really wrong if they believe that being your food is a moral imperative?) and uplifted primitives (see Point #2). A growing Empire needs a healthy, well-balanced diet, after all :unsmigghh:

nweismuller
Oct 11, 2012

They say that he who dies with the most Opil wins.

I am winning.

CommissarMega posted:

Dunno about the Empire in this game, but in my Utopia playthrough I will make sure to eat as many sentient species as 'morally possible', i.e. Fanatic Xenophobes or Utopia's equivalent (eat them before they eat you!), uplifted-from-presentience aliens (is it really wrong if they believe that being your food is a moral imperative?) and uplifted primitives (see Point #2). A growing Empire needs a healthy, well-balanced diet, after all :unsmigghh:

Meanwhile, my plan is a Pacifist/Egalitarian/Materialist democracy with Beacon of Liberty. For freedom and prosperity! If this sounds familiar with things I've done previously, this is probably not a coincidence.

PurpleXVI
Oct 30, 2011

Spewing insults, pissing off all your neighbors, betraying your allies, backing out of treaties and accords, and generally screwing over the global environment?
ALL PART OF MY BRILLIANT STRATEGY!
I saw the first video and was instantly, "wow, I have to get this!" then I saw "4-hour playtime" and that killed that plan quick.

Section Z
Oct 1, 2008

Wait, this is the Moon.
How did I even get here?

Pillbug
I can understand the after the fact letdown over the trimmed down to the nub scope, and how super short the game ends up. But still I'm glad I got it and played it. To be fair, mission structure gave me more of a shot at beating the game ever than always roguelike :v:

The game on it's own merits is sweet as hell, but over too soon. Even if I were good enough to beat Dragon mode yet.

PurpleXVI posted:

I saw the first video and was instantly, "wow, I have to get this!" then I saw "4-hour playtime" and that killed that plan quick.
Like, I can't tell people they are wrong to react that way. As much as it hurts because of how cool the gameplay is when it lasts.

John Charity Spring
Nov 4, 2009

SCREEEEE
The game is definitely short but incredibly satisfying while it lasts. I'm also not good enough to do Dragon mode but I had a ton of fun with the 'regular' difficulties and it absolutely nails space combat, I think.

ModeWondershot
Dec 30, 2014

Portu-geezer
I will say that this game's art style and presentation had me sold (I'm hoping for an OST release), and the gameplay is quite solid, but you do want to go in expecting a fairly short runtime.

I would also be curious about how it plays in VR mode.

Veloxyll
May 3, 2011

Fuck you say?!

This does look pretty great. May have to pick it up.

HerpicleOmnicron5
May 31, 2013

How did this smug dummkopf ever make general?


Warlord - Part 2

The Cleric: The CLERIC's firey sermons were left unchecked and now the traitor cannot help but gloat. Silence him and his defenses so we may loot his outpost later.

The Builder: DUCHESS MORVO didn't build the traitor flagships, she built the hidden factories that did. Spies report she is setting up a new factory in Koth. Bring her back alive, but do not spare the crew.

The Masters At Arms: COUNT AND COUNTESS URSUUL are taking possession of their bribes. Find out what they were owed, then eliminate them both.

6 TRAITOR LORDS REMAIN

ENEMY STARFIGHTER - GUNSIGHTS

The original website for the game is gone. Everything before August 2013 was wiped. However, I distinctly recall a blog post in March 2013 discussing different types of aiming. The first is the standard "Point here to hit" lead indicator, which we've seen in a variety of games before including Freespace 2. But in the post, Kairo mentioned a superior alternative: a tracking sight.



This is not the original comparison gif, that was lost to time. However the sight is visible in this early gif. The way it works is that you aim by placing that sight over the target. It was said to be superior to the alternative lead indicator because it leads to players looking at the target vessel rather than an indeterminate space ahead of the target. The same concept applies to modern day radar assisted gunsights. Sadly, this appears to have been removed in favor of the Sidewinder style growl when on target, which leads to random aiming in a general direction until you hear the growl, similar to searching for the green "on target" light in TIE Fighter. A shame.

Also, you can use your own names in-game: Navigate to the Dying Sun folder, dyingSun_Data > StreamingAssets > callsigns. As such, I'll take submitted callsigns for the following classes of vessel: Interceptors, Destroyers and Frigates. Include your class and callsign, and be aware that Frigates are rarer than Destroyers which are rarer than Interceptors.

HerpicleOmnicron5 fucked around with this message at 21:35 on Mar 30, 2017

thetruegentleman
Feb 5, 2011

You call that potato a Trump avatar?

THIS is a Trump Avatar!
Do the Traitor Flagships count as bonus objectives? Do you get anything cool for killing them?

Tythas
Oct 3, 2013

Never felt at home in reality
Always hiding behind avatars


thetruegentleman posted:

Do the Traitor Flagships count as bonus objectives? Do you get anything cool for killing them?

Yes they do, you get achievements for killing them on harbinger difficulty

wiegieman
Apr 22, 2010

Royalty is a continuous cutting motion


Each mission has a flagship bounty, I think it gives favor.

thetruegentleman
Feb 5, 2011

You call that potato a Trump avatar?

THIS is a Trump Avatar!
Thanks to both of you; I hope we get to see some get whacked!

HerpicleOmnicron5
May 31, 2013

How did this smug dummkopf ever make general?


thetruegentleman posted:

Thanks to both of you; I hope we get to see some get whacked!

They'll all be taken down on the Harbinger run, which we'll do upon completion of the Warlord run.

nweismuller posted:

Yeah, the fate of becoming the Dragon is... deeply creepy. The Empire is not a nice institution.

At this point I doubted the existence of the Dragon, and thought it was a creation of future myth, similar to a certain other story from a certain other jet fighting game.

ModeWondershot posted:

I will say that this game's art style and presentation had me sold (I'm hoping for an OST release), and the gameplay is quite solid, but you do want to go in expecting a fairly short runtime.

Wait no longer.

Veloxyll posted:

This does look pretty great. May have to pick it up.

Unless you're into horde mode or have VR, wait for a sale. The game's great, but I would not recommend it without VR due to how limited the playtime is. We're two updates in and at a rate of 3 missions per video we're already down to 6 Traitor Lords left. It's been about 50 minutes, and would be faster if I weren't cocking up or talking over it. My first run was 2 hours and ten minutes long, and going back and doing everything on Harbinger added on just an hour and a half more.

PurpleXVI
Oct 30, 2011

Spewing insults, pissing off all your neighbors, betraying your allies, backing out of treaties and accords, and generally screwing over the global environment?
ALL PART OF MY BRILLIANT STRATEGY!
Aw, you don't get to pilot the Destroyers?

wiegieman
Apr 22, 2010

Royalty is a continuous cutting motion


PurpleXVI posted:

Aw, you don't get to pilot the Destroyers?

You only ever pilot the Interceptor. It's basically a bunch of guns with engines on the back though, so you're not lacking in firepower.

Section Z
Oct 1, 2008

Wait, this is the Moon.
How did I even get here?

Pillbug

wiegieman posted:

You only ever pilot the Interceptor. It's basically a bunch of guns with engines on the back though, so you're not lacking in firepower.

My biggest wishlist item for Interceptors would be allowing at least ONE of them to have a separate loadout.

Whether it's so you can use niche modules without it feeling like a waste or detriment on the rest. Or so you could keep the guns the AI sucks at using to a single ship you will focus on using personally, etc.

I know I'd use the Kamikaze module way more if it wasn't required I make ALL the ships -80% hull kamikazes :v: With the ironic bonus that the AI has always been pretty garbage at kamikaze/torpedo firing at what I explicitly order them to do it against.

ManxomeBromide
Jan 29, 2009

old school

HerpicleOmnicron5 posted:

"NNI-8860 Imperial-grade transmission halo with soul shunt.

...

The Bone Road. One executor bears the Dragon, now another, now the first again: death from many points, turning like a pulsar, and you cannot find one body to kill."


If I'm understanding the interaction here right, from here on out I dub the Map Screen "The Bone Road."

HerpicleOmnicron5 posted:

Also, you can use your own names in-game: Navigate to the Dying Sun folder, dyingSun_Data > StreamingAssets > callsigns. As such, I'll take submitted callsigns for the following classes of vessel: Interceptors, Destroyers and Frigates. Include your class and callsign, and be aware that Frigates are rarer than Destroyers which are rarer than Interceptors.

As mentioned in the last thread, you literally got me back in an Interceptor cockpit, so I'll offer myself up as "Manxome Bromide" as an Interceptor pilot, and with INV Bandersnatch and INV Jabberwock for Destroyer and Frigate respectively.

Samovar
Jun 4, 2011

I'm 😤 not a 🦸🏻‍♂️hero...🧜🏻



With regards to the futility and mindless vengeance implicated in the game, might I suggest a destroyer being called the Mutually Assured Destruction ?

Veloxyll
May 3, 2011

Fuck you say?!

Sign up Velo for interceptor.

And the Totally Legit 'Mperial Space Krooza for a starship.

Bliss Authority
Jul 6, 2011

I'm not saying it was witches

but it was witches

If one callsign is Cairo, there's a theme in the making for Interceptors:

Beijing, Taipei, Edo, London, Bamako, Paris, Berlin, Jerusalem.

Kaboom Dragoon
May 7, 2010

The greatest of feasts

I think we need a Frigate named the More Gravitas Than A Black Hole

HerpicleOmnicron5
May 31, 2013

How did this smug dummkopf ever make general?


Warlord, Part 3

The Broodmother: PRIESTESS HARA has been spotted training prototype drones in the Firelands. Purge her.

The Quartermaster: The insurrectionists offered LORD VOL the contents of the Julheim Vault for looking the other way, and he became obscenely rich. Instruct him on just how poor his choice was.

The Templar: The TEMPLAR from Koth is running repairs at OUTPOST GHOL. We have a limited amount of time before her carrier's systems are brought back online.

INV ZEALOT has been dispatched to assist you in eliminating the heretic.


3 TRAITOR LORDS REMAIN

Codex:

III

"Most faithful friend, most dangerous foe. My Dragon.

Do you remember when we were not ourselves? Who else remembers that I was ever not the Emperor?

I remember when you were not yet my Dragon. I am the only one.

Do you ever wish that you could die?

Or do you wish, my Dragon, do you pray instead that the war will never end?"


V

"In the beginning, all things were equal. One thing, ylem, and one force, unity.

Because all things were the same, nothing could want anything. So ylem became matter, and unity divided into four parts.

Our Emperor is the culmination of the universal tendency towards inequity. It is proper and good that He should rule."

— First Axiom of Praise

#

"O Dragon, once you called me a slaver. But would you fight so well if you left your hosts any will of their own?

You possess my warriors and fly them to victory. I possess my citizens and guide them to the future."

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Samovar
Jun 4, 2011

I'm 😤 not a 🦸🏻‍♂️hero...🧜🏻



What's the exact mechanics of the warp out ability?

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