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“Starfall Tactics” is an RTS Space Wargame that is currently in its Alpha phase. Snowforged Entertainment gave us a key for us to participate and while a bit late here’s our preview from the recent build during the second test weekend.

There are three factions to choose from: the totalian military Vanguard, the interstellar corporate entity Eclipse Inc., and the descendants of those left for dead-on Earth that make up The Deprived. Aside from character cosmetics and ship designs. And each faction has different strengths and weaknesses, such as The Deprived having slow structure and armor regen. However, some of the weakest structures of the factions. So each faction will have a different feel to them. And you can build at least three fleets from different factions so you can try all of them once you have the resources needed to do so.

Sometimes you send the pawns in before you move the anyone else.

“Starfall Tactics” is similar to war games such as “Warhammer”, as you can customize your ships. When customizing your fleet you can add armor, weapons, and shields though you start off with the basic blueprints (requiring you to find more) and will cost some credits. Credits shouldn’t be a problem since you can earn them from either battles or selling ore from “Discovery” mode. It is possible to find equipment during a session of Discovery so it will knock down the expenses a little. When you have enough to work with you can build a ship or customize one as long as it’s within the limits. You can also give them a paint job with the plethora of colors to choose from so you can run those of your favorite military like the Hiigarans. Eventually, a fleet can feel unique enough to call your own.

The Alpha test had a few modes to play with. Discovery is a sort of campaign MMO mode where you travel between systems and search planets for ore to sell (and maybe some spoils of expedition). If you discover an unexplored system, you can name it and the planets (I am yet to find Bob). There are more features to come. So, what about dangers then? Well, the only thing that’s more dangerous than players from another faction or pirates in this mode are the random chances of navigating into an asteroid field. Next is “Conquest”, a PVP mode that jumps into battle with One vs. One or Two vs. Two co-op options. Set up the fleet and capture stations for your strategy to take down the enemy’s mothership. It’s exciting to face off against a human opponent, but if you’re not ready for some “one-on-one” action. Then you could just wait for an ally to come by and help you slap them right back in the face.

I may not have better gear, but my ships could at least look fabulous.

The last available mode is “Survival”, which can be taken on solo or co-op. The objective would be to survive the waves of enemies while ensuring that your captured stations isn’t harmed during the session. It’s a fun mode to play, and it’s easier with another player (though some chat options would make things more convenient). There is a PVE mode in the game, And it´s called “Extraction” where the players collect resources while fending off pirates, but it’s still in the works.

“Starfall Tactics” is one of the most colorful space frontiers that I’ve seen for quite some time. As the universe the game resides in has enough vibrant and bright colors, to keep players drawn in while they explore what’s out there. The ships and structures have their faction uniqueness of course, but they’re designed for space: big, bulky, and sturdy (unless you’re playing Deprived). And when playing the “Discovery” mode you’ll encounter different types of planets and stars while exploring the systems. And there are plenty of them to see.

“Space is big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemists, but that’s just peanuts to space.”

The music department takes a note from space operas and made the soundtrack fit the theme. Music doesn’t get over dramatic or underplays it. As the music fits the situation when it´s called for (such as exploring the unknown or approaching an enemy). And while having sound effects in space isn’t realistic, battles in this game would be awkward (and boring) without them. Nevertheless, the sounds match the weapons, clusions, and explosions with the feeling of something hitting the ships really hard.

Controls are something you would need to learn as soon as you load the game for the first time. All the ships move like they’re navel vessels: they need to be navigated carefully while rotating them in the proper position so you won’t have one of your units ram into another (or shot at). Since there is no Z-axis in this game maneuvering is an important lesson to learn because they will run into each other and take damage if carelessly navigated.

starfall tactics space is very beautiful

There are plenty of things to do in space. A word of advice though, be careful out there because death lures everywhere.

Fortunately for me (and you), recklessly flying large warship is a legitimate tactic against smaller units, and it encouraged in the basics tutorial. Speaking of tutorials the only one that was available was basics, which covers rotating, flight paths, manual firing, and fun facts about collision damage. There are more tutorials to come but with the mouse and keyboard, and a strategy gamer should be able to get this down.

So, what about my thoughts about “Starfall Tactics” in general then? Well, the game is starting to look really good. And I think that there will be one more Alpha test before we can get to Beta. And some improvements are needed before the next test. However, there is one particular issue (in my opinion) that is a pretty big offender. And that would be the fact that there are no system menus outside the game modes. So in order to adjust the audio, video, and gameplay (let alone quit when you want to end the session) you have to enter a game mode access the system menus. In other words, whenever I wanted to end my session or adjust the settings. I have to enter the Discovery mode to do any of this without annoying anyone else playing. Aside from that (and one crash during my playthrough) though, “Starfall Tactics” is off to one hell of a good start.

Pros:
+ Bright and color universe to explore
+ Customize ships to your liking.
+ Expansive Discovery mode for you to farm for loot and battle it out with other.
+ Conquest and Survival modes for instant battles.

Cons:
– No system menus outside of game modes.
– Controls have a bit of a learning curve.
– Game can be intimidating when starting off.