Sound

The Silence is Deafening

Remember all those lectures you got in physics class (or will, someday), that sound needs a physical medium to travel? Be it air, water, or any material, so long as it can convey the energy waves by particles bouncing into each other to pass the wave? Well, since space is a near vacuum, you shouldn't be able to hear anything outside. Starlancer is probably one of the first space action games to implement that. Pump a ship full of swarmer rockets, watch them explode, tearing its hull apart - in silence. See as the ship rotates out of control then explodes in a massive blast - again, silently. Even hits from your gunfire are silent.

That freighter's under attack

Better get to him fast

Once we noticed it, it took a bit of getting used to, but we actually don't mind it that much. In fact, it lets the radio chatter (which is an essential part of the game) get through a lot more clearly, not having us shake our heads in frustration at missing an important conversation.

That said, the effects you can hear are very good so far. Guns have a powerful oomph without drowning anything out. HUD commands all have the proper noises, which is pretty useful as you don't want to look off your target to see if you really did hit 'c' for communicate to call in reinforcements.

Just about got missile lock

Ship launch - another angle

Speech

The voices are way better than the typical game effort has been the past two years or so. They manage to convey accents and emotion without overdoing it at any moment. If anything, their fault is underacting, which is much easier to deal with than some overacting zealot. The inclusion of professionally acted voices is definitely something we can appreciate, especially in a beta. This is a trend we've noticed is getting solidified in the industry, which is a Good Sign.

Home Sweet Neptune

Jump Exit, again

The speech is clearly meant to add authenticity to the war, much like the darkness of space or its silence. It's also going to be a vital aspect of the game. In-flight commands, the chatter between pilots, the briefings and even news broadcasts are all speech. Nearly every single element of the plot is conveyed by voice, so the teams behind Starlancer have clearly done their best to make sure it measured up.