Development Info Michael McCarthy's 'Dropship'

DarkUnderlord · Dec 22, 2006

Tags: Dropship; Laidback Gaming; Michael Sean McCarthy

<a href="http://rpgcodex.com/content.php?id=130">Remember that game we dubiously dubbed Project T-BAR 3/4</a>? Well it has a name now. It's called "Dropship" and Michael sent along some screenshots of their work-in-progress with a promise that more is to come.
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<table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="5"><tr><td align="center" colspan="2"><a href="http://rpgcodex.com/screenshot.php?file=dropship/Dropship_Screen_12-20-06.jpg"><img src="http://rpgcodex.com/images/screenshots/dropship/Dropship_Screen_12-20-06tb.jpg" border="0"><br />In-game Screenshot</a></td></tr><tr><td align="center"><a href="http://rpgcodex.com/screenshot.php?file=dropship/test%2040437%201.jpg"><img src="http://rpgcodex.com/images/screenshots/dropship/test%2040437%201tb.jpg" border="0"><br />Cutscene</a></td><td align="center"><a href="http://rpgcodex.com/screenshot.php?file=dropship/Dropship%20tear%20apart_2.jpg"><img src="http://rpgcodex.com/images/screenshots/dropship/Dropship%20tear%20apart_2tb.jpg" border="0"><br />Dropship prototype</a></td></tr></table>
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... and if any of that intrigues you, you can sit and wait for the "coming soon" website: <a href="http://www.laidback-gaming.com/">http://www.laidback-gaming.com/</a>.

denizsi · Dec 22, 2006

Laidback Gaming, isn't that the dev company Warren Specter founded after leaving Ion Storm?

Atrokkus · Dec 22, 2006

Dropship, huh? Reminds me of Starcraft and SlayerS_Boxer (korean progamer legend) he named his strategy book "Dropship".

That's a good name because if the game turns out crappy we can always call it "Dropshit" or something.

Laidback Gaming, isn't that the dev company Warren Specter founded after leaving Ion Storm?

Where did you hear that?

MountainWest · Dec 22, 2006

Ah, Deepshit, now that's a promising title. Wonder what M.M's plans are for Laidback-gaming, to prevent a deja vu de Troika. More mainstream (which doesn't seem likely with the "coming soon"-text in mind)? Lesser budgets? Better decisions?

And what constitutes as a turn-based action/rpg? XCom?

Atrokkus · Dec 22, 2006

DU, see PM.

ixg · Dec 22, 2006

Hehe, I like the temporary website.

Elwro · Dec 22, 2006

Iiiit's aliiive!11!

don_tomaso · Dec 22, 2006

Yay.. Thought this was gonna be vapourware for sure.. Good to know they got their shit together

Claw · Dec 22, 2006

Those platforms remind me of Syndicate.

Is it a tactical game where I can send a squad of pimped-out cyber soldiers into battle? I am all for that.
How about flamethrowers? Does anyone know if there'll be flamethrowers? I like flamethrowers.

spacemoose · Dec 22, 2006

is it going to be mission based? because that would suck

Bradylama · Dec 22, 2006

I can't wait to see how decompression works.

Dhruin · Dec 22, 2006

denizsi said:
Laidback Gaming, isn't that the dev company Warren Specter founded after leaving Ion Storm?

Junction Point Studios.

Shoelip · Dec 22, 2006

That guy in the first pic makes me think of Darleks for some reason. Either that or a deep sea diving suit.

denizsi · Dec 22, 2006

Dhruin said:
Junction Point Studios

Ah yes. I must've been burnt out while writing that. Thanks for the correction.

Jim Kata · Dec 23, 2006

Claw said:
Those platforms remind me of Syndicate.

Is it a tactical game where I can send a squad of pimped-out cyber soldiers into battle? I am all for that.
How about flamethrowers? Does anyone know if there'll be flamethrowers? I like flamethrowers.

That syndicate music started up the second I saw that.

sheek · Dec 23, 2006

Hmmm...

Jason · Dec 23, 2006

It's nice to see Bioshock is still on track.

FrancoTAU · Dec 23, 2006

Screenshots look fine (really good for basically an indy). I'm more psyched to hear that the project is still active. I liked what I was hearing from the original Codex preview. I just hope Mike gives the soldiers some personality like in Jagged Alliance.

Atrokkus · Dec 24, 2006

It still makes me wonder how will the game fare in terms of roleplaying value... It's still unclear how will the PC communicate with his superiors or other people OUTISDE the aforementioned interface (that is, through his team). And how serious are the repercussions of his actions, and how extensive are the choices affecting larger issues than just the availablility of reinforcements and the like.

Roqua · Dec 24, 2006

What would it matter? Its a TBS, not a rpg. Did any of what you ask apply in terror from the deep? This isn't JA, from the interview he isn't trying to add personality to the soldiers. You direct, they obey, like in the ufo/x-coms.

Deacdo · Dec 26, 2006

I'd be happy with a quality X-Com clone, even if UFO: E turns out well.

That said, I'd rather have a JA2 clone (I'm affraid I don't have much hope for JA3).

OccupatedVoid · Dec 26, 2006

Roqua said:
Its a TBS, not a rpg.

Then why the hell is it on the RPG Codex?

sabishii · Dec 26, 2006

Uh...

5. What can you tell us about your planned action-RPG, such as what kind of setting will it take place in?

...

On the RPG end, all communication with people you encounter comes from you. Any member of your team can fire up the communicator and you can speak through it to NPC's in the field. What you say, who you kill or who you let live, how you handle the mission, etc., all play into what missions you receive, what kind of help you have during your missions, available equipment, and a number of other factors that will reveal themselves as the game progresses.

FrancoTAU · Dec 26, 2006

Roqua said:
What would it matter? Its a TBS, not a rpg. Did any of what you ask apply in terror from the deep? This isn't JA, from the interview he isn't trying to add personality to the soldiers. You direct, they obey, like in the ufo/x-coms.

The impression I got was it was more of a RPG with a tactical combat system. I could be wrong since Mike hasn't really gotten too much into detail about the game yet. Do I need soldiers with fantastic personalities? No, not really. It's a nice little extra perk thrown in though. I liked Fallout enough and it didn't exactly have interesting party members.

Atrokkus · Dec 26, 2006

Its a TBS, not a rpg.

Read the interview first. It's not a clean TBS like, just like Hammer & Sickle isn't (in fact, I consider H&S a true CRPG).

I liked Fallout enough and it didn't exactly have interesting party members.

Well, FO1 sure didn't have a lot of interesting party memebers, but FO2 did have those. In fact, tehy were some of the best I've ever seen. That's perhaps one of the few advantages of FO2 over FO1.

Development Info Michael McCarthy's 'Dropship'

Professional Throne Sitter

Arcane

Erudite

Scholar

Erudite

Erudite

Arcane

Liturgist

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Erudite

Arcane

Liturgist

Arbiter

Arcane

Arbiter

Arbiter

chasing a bee

Cipher

Erudite

Prospernaut

Liturgist

Arbiter

Arbiter

Cipher

Erudite