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I-Novae explains Infinity: Battlescape Kickstarter rationale
Last month I-Novae Studios posted an update that summarized 2012 and laid out future development plans for its long-running Infinity project. Among those plans were a focus on a multiplayer combat version of the original sandbox concept called Infinity: Battlescape. This caused a bit of an uproar in the game's community due to a desire to see the devs move forward with the larger sandbox instead of what some fans see as a combat prototype. This week I-Novae's Keith Newton published another post to make the case for Battlescape and illustrate why it's important for the larger project. He draws several comparisons to EVE Online and says that "we would have to have one of the most successful campaigns in the history of Kickstarter for us to be able to build a minimally viable Infinity." Newton points out that CCP raised $2.6 million in the year 2000 for initial EVE development, which equals about $3.4 million today. Infinity is "a bit more ambitious than EVE was at that time," Newton explains, which means that I-Novae would require more than $3.4 million to make it a reality. Infinity: Battlescape is the best compromise, he says, and the team is optimistic that such a first step will provide the needed foundation "to properly pursue a project as large and ambitious as Infinity."
Hell yeah, it's an Infinity update
Being a fan of Infinity is an exercise in delayed gratification. The sci-fi sandbox MMO has been in development for-seemingly-ever, but given its nerdgasm-inducing feature set (which includes seamless transitions from space to planetary flight and huge, procedurally-generated heavenly bodies in a physics-based universe), the wait will likely be worth it. Today is a great day for fans, though, because developer Keith Newton has published a new update on the game's website for the first time in six months. Newton states that his team is getting "ready to increase our communication significantly," and he also says that he is leaving his regular job to focus full time on I-Novae Studios and Infinity early in 2013. Finally, there's a Kickstarter project in Infinity's near future, and Newton also fills us in on various technical details including terrain engine updates and something called pre-computed atmospheric scattering. If you're unfamiliar with Infinity, check out the pre-alpha tech demo videos embedded after the break.
