Ring Runner: Flight of the Sages Windows game

Five years in development, Ring Runner: Flight of the Sages combines all the deep customization and rich storytelling of an RPG with the palm-moistening action of a space shooter.

STORY
You awake from unelective brain surgery to find key memory centers of your brain missing. They've been replaced by Nero, your peanut-butter-craving neuro-Hud, that'll be your guide to the universal super-highways known as The Rings. If you survive fiery trench runs, flail-swinging gladiators in intergalactic arenas, and feuding trash moguls, you'll discover that you're a Sage, capable of rewriting the physical laws with your thoughts.

Exploring the quantum space beneath atoms has made most Sages rather eccentric, but relatively harmless. Yet The Consortium of the Inner Rings deemed that anyone capable of destroying a world with a thought will never be bound by its laws. In the interest of peace and order, they've slated the Sages for extermination. So began The Extinguishing, a universal war with casualties measured in galaxies. You'll play a pivotal role in this terrible battle... if you can find out who you are.

FEATURES

• Over 300 Unique Abilities - no abilities are redundant or made obsolete by better versions
• 60 Fully Customizable Ships - five archetypes, with many hybrids to choose from
• 20-Plus-Hour Story-Driven Campaign - universe based on a full-length Sci Fi novel
• At least 5 Online Multiplayer Modes - Wave Survival, Gladiator Mode, Base Battle, Zombie Horde Survival, and Deathmatch
• Procedural AI - billions of possible enemies
• Procedural Backgrounds - all of the backgrounds you see are procedurally generated, billions of possibilities.
• Classic Arcade Inspired Mini-games - earn Sage abilities by conquering challenges in The Subrostrum
• Local Coop - "Duo" ships allow a friend to act as a copilot, usable in multiplayer modes, second half of campaign, and some challenges
• Original Soundtrack - 20 tracks of music and hundreds of sound effects
• Hundreds of Hours of Game Play - with 300+ abilities and 65 customizable hulls, the options are endless; use them in PVE or PVP

ARCHETYPES

• Arsenals - When it comes to raw firepower, Arsenals are number one, calling down cruiser strikes, firing off salvos, and deploying fields of mines and turrets. But their massive payloads come at the cost of mobility. While other archetypes flee at the sight of an incoming barrage, Arsenals can stand their ground with a wealth of defensive abilities. Watch the video: Youtu.be
• Casters - Casters are a well-balanced class. They've got good mobility and most of their weapons are area of effect, which makes them excellent in group combat. They can bat away would-be attackers and incoming rockets with their force-wave generators. Their caster drive offers a wide variety of algorithmic weaponry, and their unique technology allows them to manipulate the forces of gravity and space-time. Watch the video: Youtu.be
• Fighters - They may have the weakest shields of the archetypes, but a Fighter pilot will tell you that you don't need shields if you don't get hit. Fighters have unparalleled agility and speed. Their precise laser cannons can equal the firepower of any other archetype in skilled hands. But Fighters are not just barrel rolls and laser beams; they excel at pool management, turning the heat generated by their powerful engines into their best advantage. Watch the video: Youtu.be
• Grapplers - Grapplers can pull, push, hold, and even throw enemies. Their main weapon is an adapted mining rig. It only took minor modifications to turn the beams and drills once used to free ore from rock into devastating weapons. The range of their weapons is limited, but Grapplers have plenty of abilities that help close the distance. The only easy way out of a Grappler's clutch is as scattered atoms. Watch the video: Youtu.be
• Rogues - Rogues have cloaking devices, which make them nearly invisible, but if they're spotted, they can deploy powerful decoy abilities that misdirect opponents Rogues can swap places with these decoys, use them as shields, or turn them into explosives. But a Rogue's main weapon is their Gemini Beacons, which once placed on a target can be consumed to sabotage key systems or unleash a swarm of homing missiles. Watch the video: Youtu.be

GOAL
With Ring Runner: Flight of the Sages, my brother and I are trying to create a game that captures the best elements of RPGs and shoot 'em ups. Although we have all the customization and strategy presented by an RPG, we have no critical strikes or "misses." We've minimized luck-driven mechanics, and in MOBA terms, every weapon is a "skill shot," requiring you to actually hit the opponent to deal damage.

The fluid, Newtonian-physics-based movement grants us the opportunity for many abilities and attacks that are just not possible in more traditional RPGs. But it's not all "twitch" skill either. Customizing your ship takes great care and consideration. You can build ships that minimize the dependency on fine aiming and movement skills, replacing them with timely execution as with most RPGs.

There is a degree of "vertical" improvement, but most of the gains that occur after the completion of the campaign are "lateral." Mathematically speaking, players at this point will be nearly on equal footing with veterans. But this game is meant to be like a musical instrument or a sport, meaning that there's a great deal of depth to its learning curve. There's always some way to improve, whether it be the refinement of your favorite strategy, or learning an entirely new play style as presented by a different hull or build.

LINKS
Official Website: Ringrunner.net
Support us on Kickstarter: Kickstarter.com
Like us on Facebook: Facebook.com
Follow us on Twitter: Twitter.com
Watch us on Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/TripleBTitles

Media Responses to Ring Runner:

Originally posted by Nate (Gear-Fish via IndieGamerChick):It took me about 20 seconds of the trailer before I stood up and hit my sister’s cat with an uppercut fueled by the pure, uncut excitement that was coursing through my veins.

Originally posted by Chirs Priestman (IndieGameMag):...with several ship archetypes with variations inside of each, a multitude of game modes and the fun of a shmup; Ring Runner has impressed us from the very start.

Originally posted by Chirs Priestman (IndieGameMag):Ring Runner is a fairly unique action RPG, but its best selling-point is just watching it in action.

Originally posted by Craig Pearson (Rock, Paper, Shotgun): Ring Runner’s biggest boon is a willingness to take fantasy archetypes and space-fy them.

Originally posted by Craig Pearson (Rock, Paper, Shotgun):It's a mix of influences, from DotA to MMOs, with RPG archetypes battling in space under Newtonian movement rules.

Originally posted by Cassandra Khaw (IndieGames):Ring Runner is a pretty 'stellar' looking action-RPG that apparently has more in common with Mythic's Silent Death than your average SHMUP. I'm not complaining.

Originally posted by Brian Rubin (SpaceGameJunkie):It looks to me like a successor to Subspace with RPG elements using archetypes from Fantasy RPGs, which isn’t a bad thing.