Ascent - The Space Game


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Core Design Principles

  1. New Direction, and More Fully Realised - we will be adding every classic space game feature to the game, but in each case we will take the feature in a new direction and aim to be a newer, more fully realised implementation. For example, lots of games do ship-based Asteroid Mining, but our version is the most active, interactive and "real" feeling (in our opinion anyway) to date.
  2. Easy to learn - The Space Game is designed so that anyone who can navigate a website can begin to play the game. The interface and design are not a valid source of difficulty
  3. Difficult to master - the more time and intellect spent on your play decisions, the higher the payoff
  4. Escalating difficulty - the basic trading game can be played by anyone, whereas the more complex and deeper elements in the space game (mining, manufacturing, combat) will provide steadily increasing difficulty as the player progresses
  5. Interruptability - Game play is designed so that, as far as possible, meaningful play can be had a session lasting only a few minutes, and the game can be closed at any time without serious penalty. This is not completely doable for combat, but for all other features it's a non-negotiable design parameter. Yes, it's an MMO you can play while still having a job, a family, a social life etc.
  6. The story is central to the game. All features and content follow and build on the central themes of the story - humanity on the brink of collapse in a true space age
  7. Features are complete when they're fun - We don't regard something as complete until it's fun - as defined by our players. Features and content that are unpopular will be revisited.
  8. No violence unless you seek it. The remnants of the military keep pirates and other bad guys out of the safe eight systems. Now we have the Janus binary system in game, there is an element of danger for players who seek it. When we add PVP sectors, they will come with a clear warning sign - a player will need to agree that they accept being attacked before they are allowed to jump in.
  9. Player input into design - even at this early stage, most of the content and features already in the game, were suggested by players. FKS takes player feedback very, very, very seriously. We want to make the game that you play and enjoy, and for that we want, and need, your feedback. At the moment we release a new version of the game each week, and every release contains player suggested features, fixes, or content.
  10. Quality, quality, quality. We fix bugs as our first priority. Not most of the time, EVERY time. If it can be fixed now, we fix it now. If it can't (as when the bug is in engine code for example), we escalate it to the people who can - immediately. We also rigorously test every feature before each release, and we test every line of code we change.
  11. Value for money - we aim our pricing so you consider the amount we're asking to be inconsequential compared to the amount of time and enjoyment you get from the content you are paying to access.