Psi Rangers

So it has finally happened - Psi Rangers is getting its next major update! The combat overhaul isn't entirely complete yet, but I'm getting a bit busier with client projects, so I wanted to get this out now before adding the details of interactivity to the new combat system.

There's a lot here, so see the cross-referenced posts for more details, but here's a summary of what's new in 0.007:

I have received a number of requests for tutorials or better introductory material, but the mechanics aren't in place yet for tutorial missions and I don't really want to get into detailed prose tutorials until the game has solidified further.

So I added a sidebar displaying helpful tips instead.

While making my previous post on the game's origins, I dug up some online references to StarForce: Alpha Centauri which reminded me of my original intentions for Psi Rangers. One of them, which had been particularly vexing in my attempts to finalize the new combat design for the overhaul, was that combat was supposed to generally end up with the loser being displaced or randomized, not destroyed.

I realized then that I had lost my way and turned Psi Rangers into just another space trading and piracy game which happened to be a little different in that the technology was based around psi abilities instead of ship hardware¹. Done properly, the psi concept could be the basis for something truly Different, if only I hadn't gotten sucked into the familiar.

So I'm going back to first principles and redesigning from the ground up. This post will lay those principles out, which will also incidentally provide additional setting background and partially address the "Who are we? Why do we fight?" question. There are a number of concerns which I haven't fully resolved yet and, even where I have an answer, I'm open to better ones, so you are strongly encouraged to comment with suggestions, requests, or other feedback.

It has been brought to my attention that, now that characters' ship names have become more visible in the latest update, the AI pilots should have more interesting names for their ships.

I am absolutely in favor of this idea, but I don't actually know the history of the comedy teams the pilots were named after well enough to come up with good ship names for each of them, so I'm throwing it open for suggestions.

This post is a quick summary of game-specific terminology as it currently stands. As names change, this post will be updated to match. If you have ideas for better names on any of this, please add a comment with your suggestions.