User blog:JAlbor/Galaxy on Fire Community Q&A

We reached out to you for community questions and you responded. After a long wait, at last we have your answers, direct from Fishlabs. Check out the interview with Kai Hitzer, Marketing Director for Fishlabds, below.

Will there be any other major updates for GoF2 before GOF-A or GOF3?

You should never say never, especially when you’re working in an industry where there’s always a good chance that today’s plans might be completely overthrown tomorrow. But right now, it doesn’t look as if there’s gonna be another content update for GOF2 anytime soon. The initial game is already more than two years old and we believe that it’s time to move on, and focus our efforts and energies on the next big step: The development of new titles rather than the expansion of old ones. Making Supernova effectively took as much time, work and resources as making a whole new title would have taken. Making another add-on of that scope and proportion would take several man years of work and right now we’d rather invest such efforts into new titles such as Galaxy on Fire - Alliances.



What were some challenges making GOF2?

Right from the start, it’s always been our main goal to offer our fans console-quality gaming experiences on their mobile devices. Creating games with the ambition of bringing the same kinds of graphics and production values that you find in a state-of-the-art PS3 or Xbox 360 title to a smartphone or tablet isn’t exactly an easy task, especially when you keep in mind that the mobile platform is evolving at such an incredible pace. Every half-a-year there’s a new generation of devices that needs to be supported and for which you game has to be optimized. So a lot of our work is actually an industry- and experience-educated look into the crystal ball. Anticipation is king. Hence, you’ll always have to have your finger on the pulse of the time and you’ll always have to keep your eyes and ears open to make sure that you don’t miss the latest trends and shifts in the industry, as well as the continuously updated specs of tomorrow’s mobile devices. Keeping a mobile game an undisputed reference title of its genre over a period of more than two years has been quite an ambitious undertaking, but I think we managed to pull it off and came up with a game that still qualifies to be ranked among the best and most engrossing mobile games out there.

What book/film/etc influences made their way into the GOF series?

Many of the major sci-fi classics found their way into the Galaxy on Fire universe – and this includes movies just as much as games. After all, we are all huge sci-fi fans ourselves and have played games like Elite, Wing Commander, Freelancer and the X series until our fingers bled. I believe that you have to be well-familiar with the classics of the genre, if you want to create such an immersive experience as GOF2. So I think it’s just natural that a lot of different influences ended up in GOF 3D and GOF2 as well.

As mentioned above, TV shows or movies also had a huge impact on the Galaxy on Fire saga. For example, if you take a close look at the major alien races in GOF2, you might find some of them slightly reminiscent of some of the major alien races in Star Trek, for example.

Which new ships/items are coming in future updates????(Wondering about a new stealth generator/Khador drive 2)

In Alliances there will, of course, not be as many different ship models as there are in GOF2. Rather than focusing on one particular ship and equipping it with all kinds of different weapons and power-ups, you will be able to build up an entire fleet consisting of dozens of different ship classes, such as Interceptors, Bombers or Command Ships. Furthermore, you will also be able to collect ancient artifacts, which can be used to boost your ships’ powers and capabilities by giving them additional hit points or increasing their speed, for example.The focus lies on being part of something bigger.



'''I have a suggestion that you may add an "All" button next to the arrows in hanger so we make the transfer in a batch... (Yes that would be nice. Especially when trading (when you have 500t of stuff in your hold that you want to sell). '''

You’re right, there’s indeed quite a bit of room for improvements in that field and we’ll try our best to incorporate as many learnings from the GOF 3D and GOF2 experiences into our upcoming games as we can…

Is it true that Earth is involved in GOF-A/GOF3?

To be honest, I don’t even know if Earth still exists in the year 3598 A.D. Maybe the Vossk, the Voids or some other belligerent alien race has already blown it to pieces a long time ago in order to make way for a hyper-room bypass. But if it’s still out there, I’m sure that Keith T. Maxwell is the only one who can find it.

Also, will Keith T. Maxwell be used in it, or has he faded away?

We’ve thought about including some of the major characters of the previous GOF games in Alliances as well, such as using Professor Moonsprocket as a General Advisor for the players. However, as cool as it sounded in theory, it wouldn’t really work in practice, because it would mean that thousands of players would all get their tips and hints from one and the same person. That wouldn’t make too much sense, especially since Moonsprocket’s working for the Terrans and a lot of players are most likely also going to play the Vossk or the Nivelians in Alliances. Hence, we’ve ultimately discarded the idea of including familiar faces as crucial characters in Alliances. But that doesn’t mean that Keith, Mkkt Bkkt & Co. are gone for good. I’m sure they’re still ready for an unexpected dramatic appearance.

'''Are they planning to make GOF3 or another add-on for GOF2? '''

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">As mentioned earlier, we currently don’t have any plans for another add-on. We think that this chapter of the GOF saga came to a more than noteworthy conclusion with Supernova and now it’s time to turn the page and open a new chapter with Galaxy on Fire - Alliances and its follow-ups. As with all goodbyes, it leaves a bittersweet taste in our mouths. However, at the same time it opens up the doors to the future. And believe me: We already got some really cool stuff up our sleeves for the GOF community!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; text-align:justify">Will we see a return of all spaceships from GOF2 in GOF - Alliances?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">Since Galaxy on Fire – Alliances is going to be an entirely different kind of game, we will not be able to take over all the assets from the old GOF games and incorporate them into the new title. All in all, Alliances will be less about individual ship models. Instead, you’ll be able to compile your fleet from different ship classes -- such as Fighters, Interceptors, Freighters or Command Ships, for example -- that will be perfectly tailored for the various missions you will be carrying out for your alliance on an interstellar scope.



<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; text-align:justify">'''In Galaxy on Fire - Alliances, what inspired the shift to the turn-based format? '''

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">Well, Alliances is not going to be turn-based, and that is good news in my opinion… and I guess that of most of our core users will think so as well. Actually, Galaxy on Fire - Alliances will be a fully-fledged open-PVP strategy MMO in real time. Actually, the true paradigm-change we all have to face is the Free-2-Play business model. For Fishlabs, a company that has always been defining itself through its hardcore premium proposition, the necessary transition from pure Pay-Per-Download to Free-2-Play has actually been the biggest challenge. However, we have accepted this challenge not only from the point of company-culture, but also in regard to the quality and design of our games. So part of our mission these days is to come up with an integrated approach of Free-2-Play mechanics that does not contradict our premium proposition. It is actually about redefining what premium means for us and for other developers of premium games. Our goal is to create a Free-2-Play business model for Galaxy on Fire - Alliances and still offer our fans and players a Fishlabs-style premium experience in regards to all aspects of the game. Hence, in terms of graphics, gameplay, story, scope and ambition, Galaxy on Fire - Alliances will be absolutely top-notch and we’re eager to prove even to the last skeptic that F2P and premium do not necessarily have to exclude each other.

We’ve already taken the GOF saga across platform boundaries in the past and now it’s time to take it beyond the next restriction as well. We’ve got an amazing franchise at hand here and in the long run we want to expand and evolve it as much as we can, without denying our roots and our passion for core mobile games. In our opinion, Galaxy on Fire - Alliances is the next logical step in the evolution of the GOF saga and we’re doing everything we can to make it a truly outstanding gaming experience for all GOF fans out there.

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