Improvements on the WhaleX engine: Part 1

In the new Starpoint Gemini 3 development diary, we are shifting our focus to improvements on the technical side of the game. Our proprietary engine, WhaleX Engine has seen a lot of improvements since our last game, Starpoint Gemini Warlords; especially in the rendering aspect.

Check out what lies under the hood of Starpoint Gemini 3 in the first part of our technical development diary.

This development diary is also an entry to the first Starpoint Gemini 3 gameplay video, which is coming very, very soon!

Explosion System Improvements

Before, explosions used to be growing, glowing blobs that were meant to dazzle. Unfortunately, getting hit by numerous missiles meant that the player would quickly be coated in a potato-shaped glow. The game suffered from a limited visual variety and the details were hardly visible.



We've added support for high-fidelity explosion animations, with frame-blending support, local light casting (looks far better than simply stacking screen-space glow) and supported the creation of these effects via the game's new Editor.



What we're planning in the near future:
We've already had small debris flying into space when hitting or destroying spaceships. It gave the impression of actually fragmenting the enemy's hull during combat. This however, was never fully apparent (mostly due to our ambients being very dark), so in addition to improving those effects we're considering a more robust hull damage model as well as hull-bending during the ship's explosion to really sell the destruction effect.


Environmental Cloud and Particle system Improvements

Previously, the environmental particle system has undergone smaller changes from Starpoint Gemini 2 to Starpoint Gemini Warlords. The art team added more variety to the system and appropriately colored particles were used in various environments. The clouds, however, never underwent any changes. While traveling through space, the player would come across some flag-shaped clouds that would periodically appear and behave in a wave-like manner. This was present in every environment.

With Starpoint Gemini 3 we decided to add more variety and depth to those clouds. Artists can now craft cloud density, depth, color, add a variety of different shapes and animations. All in an effort to make nebulas, industrial areas and open space feel unique.



Tiled Forward Rendering (Forward+) upgrade to the Graphics Pipeline

Even though Starpoint Gemini Warlords featured local dynamic lights, they were never actually used because of their crippling limitations (up to 4 lights could be cast on any individual object in the game), so instead we focused our efforts on making the Gemini Suns cast impressive volumetric shadows.

The only other place we used an additional light was at the finale of each planetary battle – the moment when you fire the doomsday beam at your adversary's planet.



Starpoint Gemini 3 has had its graphics pipeline upgraded with Tile Based Light Culling technique known as Forward+ rendering. It's widely considered the best of both worlds when it comes to taking advantage of both Forward Rendering systems and Deferred renderers. Forward rendering systems typically use less memory, and are the preferred choice in games with less objects on the screen (such as games set in space). They are, however, a lot less performant when it comes to rendering lots of dynamic lights. That is, unless you sort them out in volume tiles before drawing lit objects.

We're still deciding on the final light limit but it soon became apparent that objects can now handle 100+ lights without noticable framerate drops.

Local Reflections for interiors via Reflection Probes

We've had dozens of interiors in Warlords and managed to make them look pretty good, but we've had to limit the amount of reflective surfaces. Starpoint Gemini 3 will bring significantly more interiors which means that a good variety of surface materials is mandatory. We've developed a known technique for capturing and displaying local reflections via Reflection Capture probes and added both box and spherical projection sampling to the mix to properly render reflections of both linear and curved spaces.


The World and Material editors are now one

Our engine uses two main ingredients to visualize most of the content in the
game – 3D models and particle emitters. The material editor was previously mostly used for composing such ingredients into objects known as "assemblies". When such an object was dynamic or potentially interactive (such as a spaceship) we'd add a subsection in the editor to be able to visualize all the data that comes together to form that entity.



The world editor was a separate app that we tried to use for level design, but given the way that space was partitioned in Warlords made it difficult to load and display those assets in real time, so we mostly neglected it and the app fell behind as we moved the tech forward. For Starpoint Gemini 3 we've decided to keep all the functionality in the same app and managed to port most of the world-building UI into the new monolithic editor. It would work properly this time around because we had one less parallel rendering system to worry about and we've built the level partitioning system from the ground up.

The Cutscene Editor

While the cutscene system in Starpoint Gemini Warlords was feature rich (the camera could follow, orbit and zoom in on objects or paths, move and jump between several curves in space at different speeds and etc...) it was designed to be controlled via scripts where we figured most of the action was happening anyway. In the end, it proved too cumbersome to actually use in its entirety because there was no way to visualize the way the camera would behave before actually playing the cutscene, ramping up cutscene development costs.



This time we figured we should invest more development resources to upgrade our toolbelt to avoid similar resource sinks in the future. The new Editor features a robust cutscene creation tool with a keyframe control UI that supports chaining multiple sequences within a cutscene, new camera features like camera shake and real-world depth of field camera controls (Focal Length, Focus Distance and Aperture).


New Ship Control Scheme

All playable Ships in the Starpoint Gemini series had similar movement functionalities, mostly inherited from the first entry in the series which mimicked movement in naval combat. The only changes in controls came when we moved on from fighting on a 2D plane to full 3D movement in Starpoint Gemini 2. We added pitch and roll... and that was it. You'd still only move forward at various speeds and align your 4 shields to best cover your weakspots. It didn't bother us at the time because we expected capital ships to be a lot less maneuverable, and it added to the significance of careful
movement during battles as players were expected to commit to a course once they've set it.



Alas, with Starpoint Gemini Warlords it became clear that smaller capital ships such as gunships, corvettes and frigates needed more maneuverability to stay alive in large fleet battles, so we did our best to reduce their weaknesses by boosting their angular velocity and acceleration. With those ships taking the center stage in Starpoint Gemini 3 it was finally time to add lateral, vertical and backwards longitudinal movement to the mix, as well as improved camera behavior to properly convey such complex movement to the player. This will allow ships to traverse narrow paths in minefields, giant asteroids or derelicts with ease as well as simplify navigation during battles.

Mechanical Ally

In Starpoint Gemini 3 we're finally adding a manually controlled drone into the mix. This miniature player-controlled character has additional functionalities oriented towards expanding base gameplay as well as the opportunity to enter and retrieve resources from smaller derelicts and cave formations.

Hi everyone!

In recent days, we got a number of questions regarding the timeline lore of all games from Starpoint Gemini series. Since each sequel had a different perspective on the events in the SPG universe, but they are all linked, we've decided to make a quick rundown of all major events dating back to a period even before the original Starpoint Gemini took place.

Hope you'll like this little chronology, as it puts things in a linear, easy to follow chain of events.

Just to give you a heads up - timeline stops just as Starpoint Gemini 3 is about to begin. We wouldn't want to spoil it for you...

Btw, if you have any comments, questions or simply want to chat with some like-minded players in a more direct manner, feel free to join our OFFICIALLY VERIFIED DISCORD server:

https://discord.gg/starpointgemini

But, back to our ancient story of what really happened in Gemini (and beyond)...



First human expedition arrives on the planet Mars and establishes several permanent outposts

Construction of the first Martian city and a planetary shipyard

Colonization from both Earth and Mars spreads further to other planets of the Solar system

Horrible tragedy on Earth during testing of an advanced new ship propulsion for extra-solar travels. Main governments and corporations evacuate to Mars

Colonial Alliance is founded and includes all colonized planets of the Solar system

Colonial Alliance returns to Earth and starts a war with the remaining population in order to establish a new social structure

War on Earth ends, new Earth Alliance is established and it includes the planet Earth and six Solar colonies

Construction of the first Starpoint, a gateway to Sirius system

First scientific and military vessels enter Sirius system. A new colonization begins

Colonized planets in the Sirius system in open rebellion against Earth Alliance. State of emergency is declared

Earth Alliance crushes the Sirius rebellion. First Colonial Directorate is established in Sirius to maintain order

Foundation of the Earth Empire, all emergency jurisdiction is permanently in the hands of High Governor and his Council

Colonization of Orion system begins, second Colonial Directorate introduced

Science vessel „Nostromo“ investigates newly discovered wormhole and reaches the Gemini system, very unusual and unstable system with large number of habitable planets

Starpoint Gemini constructed, colonization begins rapidly, third Colonial Directorate founded

Empire begins the Orion Project, the creation of enhanced humans based on uncovered alien technology

First uprising erupts in now very populated and wealthy Gemini system



Enhanced human clones in Orion start an open rebellion. Imperial Command attempts to shut down the project

Colonial Directorate defeated in Gemini, the Starpoint incident closes the Starpoint and Gemini remains separated from the Empire

Empire makes the first contact with a presumably extinct alien species in the Orion system. Aliens help human clones in the rebellion

Imperial forces are driven out of the Orion system. Project Eulogy begins with great haste.

First two Leviathans cross to Orion system, both get destroyed in heavy battles

Human hybrid clones invade Imperial main space with the alien support

Empire is losing grip on its main space. It is driven to desperate measures. Two Leviathans travel to Sirius system but are lost without a trace. Spread out imperial armada abandons search

Starpoint Gemini is reopened, second Gemini war ends. Empire suddenly commands full withdrawal of all remaining forces to Gemini system, including the remaining Leviathans. Earth in the Solar system is no longer the foothold of humankind.



Battered Empire seizes a small territory in Gemini and attempts to regain its strength as it becomes apparent that the A'Shriari aliens stopped advancing into this system

Last remnants of Colonial Directorate in Gemini are destroyed. Secret alien incursions committed by a faction that goes by the name „Brotherhood“ begin

Many Gemini factions, united by the fear of the Empire returning to power, start a relentless campaign to drive them out of Gemini.

Empire crumbles completely and disappears. Starpoint gateway is operational again.

Last refugee group to arrive in Gemini from former imperial main space, establishes a unique faction called Solari Concord. Other Gemini factions see them as the Empire supporters and attack them immediately.



Concord scientists and engineers assemble first Proxima from the old imperial Leviathan blueprints, a planet destroying weapon that turned the tide of war.

Solari Concord survives the attacks from other Gemini factions and manages to coexist with them. They lead more and more frequent expeditions through the Starpoint to other forgotten imperial systems. News finally arrive about the developments there and the aliens’ intentions now that the war is over.

A'Shriari race declares they have no desire to eliminate the human race, and that their goal was to bring the Empire down. They sign a peace treaty according to which they are to return to their space but keep their presence in the former Empire systems to oversee the situation there.

After almost half a century, human factions Nexus and MultiOps send their colonization ships from Gemini to repopulate and rebuild the old imperial territory in the Sirius and Solar systems. They meet a new faction called Liberland. The Empire is no more, but it’s legacy lies in the Templar faction that is secretly working to restore it.



...... to be continued...

History lesson over, thanks for reading!

Everything starts with an idea

Starpoint Gemini is a journey that started ten years ago, and with each installment of the series, we tried something new in our attempt to provide a better experience for our players. We knew all those years ago, when the original setting was created, that it would take us several installments to tell the Starpoint Gemini story.


Let’s fast forward a little bit. Starpoint Gemini Warlords, at the time our largest and most ambitious project, combined several different genres and play styles. However, it lacked developed characters and a compelling storyline and our players had mixed feelings about the spin-off. With different reactions swarming the forums, it was clear that big decisions had to be made. And so, a new idea was born.
We decided to thoroughly analyze our previous installments to learn about their strong and weak points. Our research also included examining other space games to flesh out the idea of a gameplay that our fans would find most immersive. It goes without saying that this “research” was also a very fun one.


Public opinion


Starpoint Gemini series has a big fan base and it was important for us to take their suggestions into consideration. We received hundreds of ideas, many of which were not possible to apply to our previous games or were simply ludicrous, but entering a new development cycle, we were able to give them another go. Even though we faced many different ideas from our fans, their feedback was, as always, very helpful in deciding what kind of gameplay experience we wanted to create. Most people wanted to add the cockpit view, making the controls more intuitive for the players, and to enrich the Starpoint Gemini universe with interesting characters and an immersive story. The idea of turning one of our spaceships into a flying pink pony came up again, but, sadly, didn’t quite fit in with the general concept of the game 😊.


The solutions are closer than you think…

We decided to make an even better single player experience with a great story and developed characters. We knew that our newest installment should tell a story about a space adventurer whose journey takes him all over the vast universe we have been creating for all these years. We also knew that the players should experience that universe firsthand as they visit different locations, interact with characters, and get pulled into conflicts between factions.


And to tell that story, we needed a writer who would put it on paper in the form of a game script. Funny how things happen in life, but the solution to that problem happened to be in our very own neighborhood. And no, we don’t mean that we gave the scriptwriting job to a waiter from our favorite coffee shop, but to a professional writer with years of experience in the sci-fi genre: Darko Macan, known for his work with the Star Wars and Marvel series, lives and works practically next door. We contacted him and presented to him our idea for the new Starpoint Gemini installment. Macan liked the idea of working with us on this project and we got ourselves a writer.


A picture is worth a thousand words


A compelling storyline is only a part of creating an immersive world inhabited by interesting characters. Our artists took on the great challenge of coming up with ideas for the characters, spaceships, stations, and other elements that would enrich the Starpoint Gemini universe. For the first time, players will be able to interact with other NPCs and get face to face with the aliens who were ever present in the previous installments, but never seen before. The aliens did their own little Blitzkrieg on the Empire. They were always known as a mysterious force that manipulates everything in the universe and now the players will have the opportunity to meet them and find out more about them.


This situation with the aliens perfectly depicts the progress that Starpoint Gemini 3 has made, and why. For the first time in the series, players will get to experience all the aspects of living in Gemini and get a better understanding of how that universe works.


What’s next?

In our next blog post, we will shed more light on our project so that our fans would get the impression of what they can expect in Starpoint Gemini 3. All of our previous installments made big shifts from the original concept and this one is no exception. The new approach we are taking will give to our players an opportunity to experience our universe like never before.
Starpoint Gemini Universe is such a rich, complex, intricately detailed world. But to genuinely experience these details, you’ll have to land on a planet, find the nearest bar, and try ordering Liberland Temptation from a sarcastic Exteran barman…

Until next time!
LGM Games crew

Commanders!

While you await further news on the recently announced Starpoint Gemini 3, an awesome chance just emerged - a unique opportunity to experience how everything started!

Every piece of the Starpoint Gemini franchise is now on gargantuan sale. The 80% discount is valid till the end the of weekend. Please, don't hesitate to grab everything, our stock can handle it :)

https://store.steampowered.com/app/419480/Starpoint_Gemini_Warlords/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/236150/Starpoint_Gemini_2/

We've launched the store page for the next epic story from Starpoint saga. Entire LGM Games team welcomes you here.

As you'll notice, Starpoint Gemini 3 is something new, and we're excited to offer you fresh and different experience this time. It will be a chance to "know" and "feel" our Universe like never before.

Dear space captains, you're invited to join us on this journey, wishlist the game, and talk to new and veteran space enthusiasts in our community

We're back!