Stars Reach

For German Version scroll down TL;DR I really wanted to like Stars Reach because of Raph Koster and my love for Star Wars Galaxies. But while I can accept unfinished content and bugs in Early Access, basic things like movement, exploration, and the world design simply aren't fun for me right now. Long version: I really tried to give Stars Reach a chance. But by now there are so many problems and red flags that unfortunately, my review isn't going to be a positive one. First of all, I find it problematic that my playtime from the closed beta counts towards my Steam playtime for the Early Access version. In my case, the two-hour refund window had already expired when I installed the EA version, so I couldn't refund the game anymore. The graphics are really outdated. If the overly colorful worlds à la No Man's Sky don't already put you off, you'll probably start getting frustrated with the character controls. On the planets, you constantly have to overcome mountains and steep slopes. There is no flight mode, and the grappling hook only works reliably on steep mountain slopes some of the time. This makes even simple exploration unnecessarily tedious. You also have to like the puzzles for opening loot chests. They may be somewhat interesting at first, but after a short while I found them lacking any real challenge. Having an ugly loading screen when traveling between planets and having invisible walls limiting the planetary maps are things I could normally overlook. But when you add them to all the other problems, the overall package is simply far too weak for a modern MMO. The fact that Raph Koster had to take Stars Reach into Early Access in this state unfortunately gives me the impression that there is financial pressure behind it. The few Raph Koster fans who, like me, gave the game the benefit of the doubt are now putting it aside in disappointment. And that's particularly problematic for an MMO: it makes the world even emptier. This is not how you launch an MMO. I can forgive lag, unfinished skill trees, and missing features in an Early Access game. That's what Early Access is for. My biggest problem is probably the editable planets. In my opinion, they make the worlds look unfinished and, at times, downright ugly because players are digging holes everywhere, into mountains and into the ground. At the same time, the terrain is difficult to navigate properly in its current state. To me, these aren't minor bugs or missing quality-of-life features. These are basic fundamentals that make simply moving around and exploring the world a frustrating experience. And that's exactly what worries me. I currently don't get the impression that these problems can simply be fixed during the course of Early Access. Even if they eventually manage to solve the technical and gameplay issues, it might already be too late by then. The player base an MMO needs to survive may have given up by that point — and those players may never come back. I really wanted to like this game. That's exactly why the current state of Stars Reach is so disappointing to me. German Version TL;DR Ich wollte Stars Reach wegen Raph Koster und meiner Liebe zu Star Wars Galaxies wirklich mögen. Aber während ich unfertige Inhalte und Bugs im Early Access akzeptieren kann, machen für mich grundlegende Dinge wie Bewegung, Erkundung und das Weltdesign aktuell einfach keinen Spaß. Lange Version: Ich habe wirklich versucht, Stars Reach eine Chance zu geben. Aber es gibt inzwischen so unendlich viele Probleme und Warnsignale, dass meine Rezension leider nicht gut ausfällt. Zunächst einmal finde ich problematisch, dass meine Spielzeit aus der geschlossenen Beta bei Steam auf die Spielzeit der Early-Access-Version angerechnet wird. Bei mir waren die zwei Stunden Rückgabefrist deshalb bereits mit der Installation der EA-Version aufgebraucht, sodass ich das Spiel nicht mehr zurückgeben konnte. Die Grafik ist wirklich nicht mehr zeitgemäß. Wenn einen die quietschbunten Welten à la No Man's Sky nicht bereits abschrecken, verzweifelt man spätestens an der Steuerung des Charakters. Auf den Planeten müssen ständig Gebirge und steile Hänge überwunden werden. Einen Flugmodus gibt es nicht, und das Seil funktioniert an steilen Berghängen nur selten zuverlässig. Dadurch wird bereits das einfache Erkunden der Welt unnötig mühsam. Auch die Rätsel zum Öffnen der Lootkisten muss man mögen. Anfangs sind sie vielleicht noch ganz interessant, aber schon nach kurzer Zeit fehlt mir dabei die Herausforderung. Dass man beim Wechsel zwischen Planeten einen hässlichen Ladescreen sieht und die Planetenkarten durch unsichtbare Wände begrenzt werden, könnte ich normalerweise verschmerzen. In der Summe mit all den anderen Problemen ist das für ein modernes MMOG allerdings einfach deutlich zu schwach. Dass Raph Koster mit Stars Reach in diesem Zustand in den Early Access gehen musste, lässt bei mir leider den Eindruck entstehen, dass finanzieller Druck dahintersteht. Die wenigen Raph-Koster-Fans, die – wie ich – dem Spiel einen Vertrauensvorschuss gegeben haben, legen es nun enttäuscht zur Seite. Und genau das ist für ein MMOG besonders problematisch: Die Welt wird dadurch noch leerer. So startet man kein MMOG. Lag, unfertige Skilltrees und fehlende Funktionen kann ich einem Early-Access-Spiel dagegen durchaus verzeihen. Dafür ist Early Access schließlich da. Mein größtes Problem sind vermutlich die veränderbaren Planeten. Sie führen meiner Meinung nach dazu, dass die Welten optisch unfertig und teilweise regelrecht hässlich wirken, weil die Spieler überall Löcher in die Berge und den Boden bohren. Gleichzeitig lassen sie sich in diesem Zustand nur schwer vernünftig mit dem Charakter begehen. Das sind für mich keine kleinen Fehler oder fehlenden Komfortfunktionen, sondern grundlegende Basics, die einem den Spaß an der Fortbewegung und Erkundung vermiesen. Und genau das macht mir Sorgen: Ich habe momentan nicht den Eindruck, dass sich diese Probleme im Laufe der Early-Access-Entwicklung einfach beheben lassen. Selbst wenn es irgendwann gelingt, die technischen und spielerischen Probleme zu lösen, könnte es dann bereits zu spät sein. Die für ein MMOG notwendige Spielerbasis könnte bis dahin längst aufgegeben haben – und möglicherweise nicht mehr zurückkommen. Ich wollte dieses Spiel wirklich mögen. Gerade deshalb enttäuscht mich der aktuelle Zustand so sehr.

Jogo mal otimizado, nitidamente esta incompleto. Falta muito para valer esse valor, atualmente não da para fazer muito sem se estressar ou sofrer com lag.

I went in fully anticipating what Early Access would be like, and honestly that's the right mindset for this one. If you're going in with the idea you're playing a completed product, that's going to massively impact what you think of this game short term. Yes, there are rough edges. There are supposed to be. That is all part of the process. I am genuinely having fun in the few hours I've played so far. Terraforming is genuinely neat, and I've lost more time than I'd like to admit just poking around finding new plantlife. Also was blown away with being able to jump out into space and fly around towards a floating rock and mine it and then drop through a wormhole into a planet I've never seen before. That's awesome. It's fun right now, and it's only going to get better. I'm glad I'm here for the early part of it. Also, just a fun fact, I am playing the game fully in first-person and it feels great that way. :)

So bad on so many levels. Should change the name to Stars Reach Around.

I know, i only have 2h behind me, and usually never write nor even read evaluations for such a short time as it is often motivated only by emotions unchecked and frustration or blinding sparky powder. But as right now, the game is not in a playable state. Too much missing, very messy, buggy, performances are terrible (and i mean it), graphics are not even engaging (i can't even say poor inspiration because it's not inspired) and i don't care very often about graphics. What i care about the most are smart and repeatedly engaging game mechanics, the sense of taking part of a new kind of adventure, and being able to immerse myself in a given universe. The funny fact is this game project is all about it. That's why i bought it, knowing in advance it wasn't ready. I chose to support the devs, because i was a first hour SWG player back then, and i saw this old game do what no other never managed to approach with such pertinency. A truly huge and living universe, where player stories and social adventures were [i]the story shaping cities, planetary politics and personal drives. [/i] The items in the game could only be made by players leading to an economic world completely handed over to the players. It was truly unique. Stars Reach is set to explore the exact (yeah alright with some differences, but everyone from SWG recognize without a doubt a lot of planned mechanics extracted directly from there) same architecture. I'm so into it ! Yay ! But holy cow, this is not it, and nowhere near it. I don't neither think it's in a "early EARLY ACCESS" state. It's not. We are still on a barren alpha with nothing fun to play with. So, let it be clear : If you buy this game, do it to support devs, not to get a game (at least not today). I strongly believe the mechanics they want to resurrect can be a blast even after 20 years of burrial. I will change my review to switch from a roadsign warning to a proper review when there will be "a game" reviewable.

no