After the release of the Stargate Network v4.0 teaser last week, we get back to you in order to shed light on the upcoming events:
The v4.0 will be equivalent to the v2.3, but with huge visual improvements.
However, note that this version will be limited to Abydos regarding the planets you’ll be able to visit.
We reserve the right to add some surprises to it anyway, but we won’t disclose any of those for now...
As Unreal Engine 4 allows us to develop a much more beautiful and much more optimised game than UDK, there will be no possible comparison between the v4.0 and the v2.3!
Currently in private Alpha, we will shortly release the game in public Alpha to allow you to enjoy the game at its current stage of development as soon as possible.
Next Alpha and Beta of 4.1, 4.2, ..., versions will however be offered to a few "Beta testers" only.
So, what will this public Alpha contain?
Obviously, you can easily guess that it will not be the complete and final 4.0 version.
This Alpha will only allow you to visit the SGC’s Control Room in which you will be able to interact with some elements, as well as dial the Stargate.
On the way from Alpha to Beta, then from Beta to the final v4.0, new areas of the SGC will be opened, especially the Gate Room, which will allow stepping through the Gate to reach Abydos.
All those updates will be automatically downloaded and installed through a new Launcher, that we tried to keep as simple as possible.
Furthermore, this new Launcher will be available for both Windows and macOS platforms!
Indeed, for the first time ever, Stargate Network will also be available and playable on macOS.
We are very pleased to offer you this first Alpha very soon as a foretaste and we thank you all for your numerous encouragements and congratulations!
Among your feedback comments, here are some questions which we think deserve an answer:
Why did you go from 2.3 version to 4.0 version, and not simply 3.0?
Theoretically you’re right, this version should have been the 3.0, but for several reasons, we’ve decided to direclty release version 4.0.
Historically, each major version of SGN corresponds to a complete overhaul of the project. The first version was coded using flash, the v2 brought 3D using UDK, and we did promise a v3 with UE4, next-gen engine, as we originally planned to simply import our existing assets into it.
But we were not satisfied with the result at all, it did not live up to our expectations and our ambitions.
We were not able to optimise the game neither, and performances were obviously not good. We could simply not release that.
It was consequently decided that this version 3.0 should never be released, but it allowed the team to go into UE4 in depth, and to push the accuracy of the game to the limits of what is possible, through a huge research work, which was then more than useful in the making of all our new assets. From this moment on, version 4.0 for UE4 made perfect sense.
Some could also claim this version skipping is a reference to a well known Microsoft product...
What about Atlantis?
The most faithful of you have surely noticed that Atlantis was pretty well advanced in our last video with David Hewlett, but unfortunately the person who’s in charge of it has been sorely lacking time and has hardly progressed. But we hope to be able to include it in a version close to 4.0.
Will I need the world’s most powerful computer to play the 4.0 version?
No. It requires some power of course, but it does not need a competition configuration. The game itself is now well optimised.
If your computer is already running greedy games, this should not be a problem.
As well, we have thoroughly refactored the settings menu, allowing you to reduce or increase the quality of the game to best suit your configuration.
During the Alpha and the Beta phases, we are however not safe from various issues or optimisation problems that will be corrected by future updates. And after all, isn’t it precisely the point of those test phases?
Do you have any contacts with the MGM?
Not at all, Stargate Network is still an unofficial video game, free and made by fans for fans. Our (star?)gate is of course totally open to the MGM if they want to reach us.
The Stargate Network team
