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Nexus: The Jupiter Incident
by Jolex Del Pilar
Sunday, September 26 2004
The next Homeworld? With these visuals, we certainly hope so.
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Title:
Nexus: The Jupiter Incident
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Platform:
PC Windows
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Publisher:
HD Interactive |
Developer:
Mithis Entertainment |
#
of Players: 1 + online play |
Genre:
Real Time Strategy
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Origin:
Hungary
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Expected
Release:
November 2004 |
Grapevine:
Nexus reminds me more of Star Trek, and Babylon 5, where lumbering, powerful, Starships maneuvered for position. |
When Sierra released Homeworld 6 years ago, most gamers were enamoured with the visual scale, and art direction the game was taking. Imagine the space battle above Endor in Return of the Jedi, and that was the same feeling you got while playing Homeworld. Nexus is not completely different from Homeworld, but it defintely has a different feel in the way it handles combat, and motion. Nexus reminds me more of Star Trek, and Babylon 5, where lumbering, powerful, Starships maneuvered for position (Nexus does feature fighter aircraft though). It has a different scale and feel than Homeworld does in my opinion.
Mithis is planning to make Nexus a campaign/mission based game that attempts to mix strategy elements into its fold. The game's plot centers around a failed extra-solar expedition, a menacing discovery at the edge of the solar system, and some really bad alien villians. Sure it's not exactly original, but for now, I'm sure many gamers are willing to let plot be secondary in favor of gameplay. With over 26 missions planned (inside a 350 planet universe), Nexus seems on paper to be long enough to display it's intriguing gameplay. The missions will run the gamut from espionage, combat, to scientific in nature.
Nexus is being called a "fleet combat simulator" by its creators, and it looks like they are accomplishing just that. Mithis is planning to include up to 50 different ship types, with over 90 different devices, as well as 10 different types of fighter aircraft. That should make for a very expansive fleet simulator. Your crews will be equally as important as your ships in the game. They gain experience for every successful mission/engagement that they are involved in. So make sure you protect that veteran battleship crew, and use them only when you need to. Units will grow valuable over time.
Your mission objectives will be delivered to you by an important sounding officer.
One thing that will stick out immediately about Nexus is the game engine. Called "Black Sun", the engine is capable of some spectacular lighting, and particle effects. When I first saw the engine in motion, I was surprised at how well everything looked. It literally reminds you of an episode of Babylon 5, and in many ways, I think Nexus may look better (I like the more inorganic look personally). Each laser shot feels like it has some power behind it, and will impact on sheilds with a dazzling energy effect. Once the lasers penetrate shields, the damage models will become very specific. Textures will change to show burned hull plating, and exposed circuitry. Debris will begin to break off in response to especially vicious hits. An amazing detail that I witnessed while playing the demo included what happens when a ship's crew decides to bail. You can see tiny escape pods launching from a burning ship if you zoom the camera in enough. The physics engine that Mithis has employed has made for some believable movements in the game environment. A 66,000 ton battleship won't accelerate very fast, nor will it stop on a dime. It takes an enourmous amount of power to even get something like that moving in space, and I believe Mithis has captured this in Nexus. In contrast, speedy fighter craft will zoom and zip around the screen like flies against cattle (capital ships).
The ship models are detailed and really give an impression of "mass" when in motion.
Multiplayer is an issue that Mithis has promised to flesh out before release, and though I haven't seen it in action, Nexus does have internet and LAN modes planned, as well as mission based objectives, which if pulled off correctly, could make the game even more intriguing. Voice support is planned as well.
Nexus is due for an October/November launch, and the game recently finished Alpha, so gamers won't have to wait too long to see Nexus: The Jupiter Incident on their PCs. Until then, we must patiently wait for the heir apparent of the space strategy/combat genre.
--- Jolex Del Pilar
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