Star Traders: challenging space strategy RPG [App Store, Android]

Tube

Star Traders RPG is a complex turn-based strategy RPG, set in a vast, dynamic, and complex galaxy torn apart by war, betrayal, and the shifts of commerce. In this epic space-opera, you play a Captain of a space ship, traveling the Quadrant in search of fame, riches, infamy or death. As a Star Trading captain, must balance the complicated politics of the Great Houses and Syndicates , maintain and upgrade your fleet of ships, keep your crew paid, fed and loyal, and most importantly, survive.

Want to see it now? Watch the Epic Adventure on YouTube!
http://youtu.be/cpBiH7eUPas

Warning: Star Traders RPG is not a casual game. This is a complex space simulator and strategy game with a real difficulty scale. If you like deep games with a lot going on and endless replay, try Star Traders. We have gamers on our forum who have been playing this mobile game for more than 2 years! That's anything but casual. Think you can handle it, captain?

As a captain of a spacing machine, you may choose many paths, from being a loyalist to your faction's military, plying the interstellar lanes of commerce, exploring lost and forgotten planets and ruins, bounty hunting targets, blockading, spying, or pirating your way to riches. Your command of the ship is under constant threat, both internal and external. Can you manage your resources, crew, officers well to enough to turn a profit on your contracts and trades? Those that do will be among the Faction's elite Star Heroes -- and those that fail will be branded bandits and Crimelords.


Star Traders RPG is inspired by classic games like Pirates!, Space Trader, Eve, Elite and is in the genre of Firefly, Serenity, and Star Wars (not Jedis -- think Hans Solo, bounty hunters, and all the rest).


As a Star Trading Captain, you will:

• Pick sides in a shifting war between 6 unique Factions.
• Buy, Sell, Battle and Pilot over 450 unique space craft.
• Create your own path, playing as a Merchant, Assassin, Explorer, Warlord, Pirate, Bounty Hunter, Smuggler or choosing from one of the many ways to play.
• Travel and immense and expansive galaxy
• Discover, Explore and Quest on more than 140 planets

Where can I get Star Traders RPG?
Star Traders is available on the App Store for your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, and on Google Play and the Amazon store for your Android device.

Who are the Trese Brothers?
The Trese Brothers are three brothers on a mission -- to build the best RPGs for mobile devices, to build games that you love to play, and that we love to play. We can’t compete with big game shops and big graphics, but we take our productions in a different direction. We produce and faithfully support deeply complex and challenging mobile games that go far, far beyond “casual.” We listen closely to our community of fans, gamers, and critics on how to improve the games and continuously keep pushing new updates and improvements on all our games. We have literally shipped hundred of game updates to our three games over the last two years. And we have fans who have played our games for two years and still love them. Trese Brothers are also the makers of Templar Assault which is set in the Star Traders world, and Cyber Knights.

fallen

I'm the dev, and this space is reserved for my updates!

fallen

I'm the dev and the Trese Brothers love community discussion. Please feel free to comment and discuss!

Zenfar

Looks Epic!!! Love these types of games will download immediately. Keep coding indie devs 4 ever!!!

fallen

@zenfar - thanks for the encouragement, and hope you enjoy the challenges of the Quadrant. Trese Brothers is just two brothers on our late-night hours, so ... indie to the end!

Zenfar

Does one of you do the coding and the other the art? Wish my brother had some artistic talent, I am a one man indie shop myself, good luck with Star Traders.

fallen

@zenfar - both of us are programmers, but I picked up art about two years ago to support our game development. In Star Traders, the ships, officers flags, resources (etc) are my work while many of the backgrounds are sourced elsewhere. If you were to play Cyber Knights or Templar Assault [], it's 100% my art work. It's been a real challenge to learn to draw, as its new to me. Thanks for the complements!

kime

This does look cool, and I downloaded it. Unfortunately not sure if I'll be able to play for the next few weeks, but if you're still around then I'll let you know what I think

fallen

@kime - awesome, glad you pulled it down! I look forward to hearing your feedback once you get you Captain a ship a few times!

Rius

Ooh, I'm going to check this out very soon. Hopefully it runs decent on my HTC One V.

Elvenshae

So, I grabbed this on my 3GS iPhone; runs well!

This game could really benefit from a better-integrated in-game tutorial (like an example combat after you make the first delivery); flipping back and forth between the game screen and the help manual pages is somewhat cumbersome.

Having upgrades to the same system that are +Constant and +Percentage seems odd; it means you need to review what you've already got before you can decide whether spending the additional money on the +% actually gets you more than the +Constant. Also, I didn't see a way to uninstall an upgrade, and it looks like you can only pick one per category?

I've been in two space battles and lost both - in the first, I was kicking the ass of a pirate and then he rammed me and my ship blew up; in the second, a Space Runner just ran away (oh well) - but I like the basic ideas present.

Trading is pretty standard - buy low, sell high, for a minor amount of profit on top of the contract payouts (which seem to dwarf, so far at least, the payout from trading) - but it works, and I like the ability to quickly review the buy and sell price of each commodity at planets you've visited recently. The UI seems a little elongated (i.e., things take up two or three lines when they could be compressed into 1) which limits the amount of data you can see at a time, but it's definitely all there!

This is an actual game, with actual player decisions driving the flow and affecting the outcome, unlike so many other "games" at this price point (e.g., the Blood Brothers "RPG" which I wasted some time on has you pick a squad loadout and then, essentially, press the "Move Forward" button while the game plays itself). I really appreciate this!

So, that's my "I've played for 10 minutes" commentary. I'll let you know more as I get deeper into it.

fallen

@elvenshae - thanks for the great feedback. I'll run through your response to answer a few points.v
-Ship upgrades are permanent and you only get one per major system. An upgrade like that is built into the super-structure of the ship and cannot be removed. The capabilities to own multiple ships and dry-dock them are on their way to the App Store, so soon your captain can own multiple ships and customize them each differently. It forces you to make some tough choices as a Captain!
-When you are trying out trading, make sure you watch carefully for conflicts (Spy War, Trade Bans, etc) because this can get you in a ton of trouble, or be used massively to your advantage. For example, if a certain conflict is on, trading certain goods into the markets can generate positive reputation, Records (to re-sell) or really get you a better price. Also, watching Rumors becomes critical as you play in the higher difficulties, and can lead to some major profit via trading if you can exploit economic Shortages and Surplus!
-Combat can take some getting used too. Pirate captains are famous for being dangerous if they are desperate (losing badly) and you allow them to get close. Ram is the move of a desperate captain who has no other choice. It's a major risk (he could have ruptured his own hull).

Glad you are enjoying it. We have a big line of upgrades, new features, awards-and-unlocks, multi-ship dry-docking, etc that is all on its way to the App Store over the next few months. We hope you will share Star Traders RPG with your friends and network.

fallen

Thanks to pokerjunky on our forums who has contributed and hosted this amazing Star Traders charting tool which allows you to compare and contrast all of the ships within the Star Traders Quadrant. You can see the app here: http://charts.startradersrpg.com/

Please check out this amazing resource. Not all of these ships are currently available in the App Store version of Star Traders, but they will be soon.

Pokerjunky explains his process on the forum:
http://startradersrpg.prolboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=rules&thread=3121&page=1

bamjo

I am so glad there are complex games like this on the android. The trend seems to be for simpler games these days (for me simple = boring) so its great to see more interesting mobile games. Having a lot of fun with this one.

fallen

@bamjo - thanks for the great feedback. We definitely focus on complex gaming--for some people, that is a turn off, glad that you find it engaging! Any chance you have tried out Templar Assault (set in the Star Traders universe) or Cyber Knights. Both are in the realm of complex, challenging RPG if you are looking for that!

minirhyder

Downloading right now.
Really looking forward to it!
I've been looking for a space trader-esque functional game for a while.

fallen

@minirhyder - welcome to the club. I hope you will post your feedback here. Enjoy the Quadrant, Captain! Do you mind if I ask if you are App Store or Android?

minirhyder

App Store, on my iPod touch 3G

Zenfar

On my iPod Touch 3GS, great game really like the old-school difficulty and feel, well done!

fallen

@zenfar and @minirhyder - thanks for the posts! Hope you are enjoying the game. One thing Star Traders does amazingly well is post up a -real- difficulty scale. Impossible is very, very hard... a brutal fight to see how long you can survive.

kime

Elvenshae wrote: »

This game could really benefit from a better-integrated in-game tutorial (like an example combat after you make the first delivery); flipping back and forth between the game screen and the help manual pages is somewhat cumbersome.

This was my only thought. It seems like a fun game and a nice concept, but it really just throws a lot at you without enough of an explanation. I like deep strategy games, but I don't have enough time to try to figure out the intricacies on my own.

Still though, wish you luck! I may get back into it later if I get more time or if a good tutorial gets put in

fallen

We are very excited to announce the latest release of Star Traders to the App Store, featuring Unlocks, Awards, captain professions and new Starting ships!

What's New in Version 3.1.1
- Added 29 New Achievement Awards
- Added 18 New Elite Only Upgrades
- Added 17 Achievement Unlocks
- Added Starting Ship Aperio Caliga
- Added Starting Ship Neutiquam Erro
- Added Starting Ship Serpent Tooth's
- Added Starting Ship Picky Beggar
- Added Starting Ship Tempus Fugit
- Added Starting Ship Aeternam Vale
- Added Starting Ship Fidei Defensor
- Added Starting Ship Vark Mordi
- Added Starting Ship Danti Cautela
- Added Starting Ship Mortifer Telum
- New Captain Profession: Spy
- New Captain Profession: Zealot
- New "Hall of Records" in Palace
- Fixed iPad Dry Dock Issues
- Improved Alien Space Rumor
- Fixed Issue with Alien Ships/AI
- New Game Option "Longer Notifications"
- Improved Open War Space Rumor
- Improved Merchant and Refugee Rumor
- Improved Valuable Shipment Rumor & Contracts
- Enhanced Economic Rumor Effects
- Improved Combat Performance
- Updated First Mate Officer Artwork
- iPad Screen Layout Improvements
- Fixed Map Bugs (the Star 'Wolfe Dhas')
- Fixed Bugs Reported on Forum
- Text and Typo Fixes

fallen

Hello team - I am really interested to hear if anyone has any feedback about IAP vs. paid games. We are getting ready to release a paid version of Star Traders RPG (same price as the IAP, same features) because we have had so much feedback that people don't like Free games + IAPs. What's you thought and why?

kime

If the free game is a legitimate game and has IAPs for extra stuff, that's cool. The IAP could be things that don't effect the gameplay (cosmetic, etc), or things that do as long as free players aren't getting screwed. A good example of doing it right is Hero Academy. You can buy new teams for real monies, but that just gives you more options, if you stick with the original it is still fair and fun. Or you can buy avatars, etc, which don't really do anything.

IAPs that handicap a free use while still trying to get them to play (then pay) are annoying.

If you consider a free version of the game to be a demo or such, and you have to pay to unlock the full features, that's also ok.

L Ron Howard

So I went Elite some time ago, maybe a year or so, from the Android store. I saw that you guys were regularly updating it, but weren't begging for money, and I enjoyed it, so I thought it was easily worth the money.
I gotta say, I love the game and would recommend it to anyone. I would also seriously suggest people pay for it.
I also love the regular updates.

I actually like how you did it. You get the base game for free, and a bunch of the stuff isn't locked down, per se. I think that anyone that sees how much you guys like it, and how much time you spend updating it and making it better, I think will help sway people. So, I would say keep doing what you're doing.

Malkor

Gosh. Basically this is what I've always wanted for Android. Drug Wars stopped cutting it after the millionth play-through.

fallen

@LRonHoward - we try to do that with all of our games. The basic sandbox and 90% of the game play is available (but not the game content). You can play a lot and really get a feel whether or not you like the game. If you find that you enjoy playing the game, then you can pay us a little bit of money and unlock the rest of the game's content. It really helps us avoid customers who feel like they paid to get something else. Thanks for the feedback and we hope you will share with your friends or join us on our community forum.

There is also a major 3.3.1 upgrade coming that will fix a lot of the 3.1.1 bugs and leverages in a ton of new content for all!

fallen

@malkor - thanks!!! glad you are enjoying it. Hope you will tell your friends and network. One of Star Trader's best qualities is that it has some serious replay value. Enjoy!

fallen

Star Traders 3.3.1 is now available on the App Store! If you like the update, we hope you will add a comment to this new version. This release has fixed the bug with the Elite upgrades, so hope that helps everyone!

This is the free version with the IAP. The paid version (Elite) is still in the approval queue, but will be released at version 3.3.1 (as shown below).

What's New in Version 3.3.1
- Fixed Elite Upgrade Bugs
- Fixed Invalid Contract Destinations
- Balanced Contract Payments
- Fixed Spy Contracts vs. Indy
- Fixed "Rearm" Torpedo Looting
- Fixed Contracts to the Star 'Wolfe Dhas'
- Fixed Destroy Contract Failure
- Fixed Pirate Looting Defeats
- Fixed Harvest Results and Messages
- New Ship Artwork: Naval Cruiser
- New Ship Artwork: Razor Wing
- New Ship Artwork: Hieroglyph
- New Ship Artwork: Escape Shuttle
- New Ship Artwork: Basalt Carrier
- New Ship Artwork: Ironclad
- New Ship Artwork: Corsair
- New Ship Artwork: Skimmer
- New Ship Artwork: Guardian
- New Ship Artwork: Sloop
- New Ship Artwork: Ridgeback
- New Ship Artwork: Bladeliner
- New Ship Artwork: Longwing
- New Ship Artwork: Lancewing
- 50 New Ship types including:
Merchants: Star Lifter, Ridge Liner, Jump Lifter
Smugglers: Skip Jammer, Corsair Cutter, Dragoon, Steel Lazar
Pirates: Blightcruiser, Shortbow, Executioner, Corsair
Military: Solar Cruiser, Harbinger Carrier Mk2, Dreadnought
Bounty: Vlax Interceptor, Carnivore, Cobra, Predator, Saber
Hives: Derelict, Templar, Drifting
Alien: Xrangg, Jyeetax, Bollish
Narvidian: Stalker, Hexor, Hive
- Improved Performance
- Fixed Reported Issues and Memory Leaks
- Artwork Cleanup and Graphics Optimization

fallen

I know its a bit off subject -- but for anyone who wants to support Trese Brothers or Star Traders, we have just launched a KickStarter for our newest indie game, Heroes of Steel. Sharing, backing, or supporting our KickStarter will help insure that this small indie shop of 2 brothers can keep making games like Star Traders and keep updating. We appreciate your support and willingness to share!

fallen

Excited to say that Star Traders Elite has just been released to the App Store. We have had a ton of feedback that users don't like IAP (In-App Purchases) and that they wanted a simple, paid game! So, Star Traders Elite is the exact same game, for the exact same price ($1.99). Just no IAPs!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/star-traders-rpg-elite/id597751360?mt=8

ANTVGM64

Downloading the free version now, and congrats on hitting your Kick-starter goal, too!

Thus far my impressions are Star Flighty. Awesome.

fallen

@antvgm64 - glad you are enjoying your first days and years as a captain! Let me know your feedback and thoughts once you have played a bit more.

fallen

Star Traders 3.5.1 has just been released to the App Store!

What's New in Version 3.5.1
- Fixed Restricted Good Trading Rules
- Display Coordinates in Rumor Status
- Fixed "Hardcore Captain" Awards
- Improved "Reinforced Prow" Upgrade (+2)
- Improved "Aft Lance Battery" Upgrade (+4)
- Improved "Rear Lance Battery" Upgrade (+4)
- New Ship Artwork: Vollin Hull
- New Ship Artwork: Outrigger Hull
- New Ship Artwork: Linerunner Hull
- New Ship: Vollin Liner
- New Ship: Linerigger Freighter
- New Ship: Solar Jammer
- Fixed Dark Nemesis
- New Ship: Pirate Lifter
- New Ship: Knight Cruiser
- New Space Hives: Drifting, Vast and Hulk
- New Ship: Tiberia Hawk
- New Ship: Excellus Cruiser
- New Ship: Paladin Interceptor
- New Ship: Guardian Dragoon
- Fixed Issues with AI Gun Moves
- New Ship: Obliterator Cruiser Mk2
- New Ship: Naval Freighter
- New Ship: Victory Lifter
- New Ship: Victory Liner
- New Ship Artwork: Blue Victus
- New Ship: Strike Fighter
- Update Tiberia / Obliterator Arts

fallen

We just released updates for all three of our Android games in one night! Huzzah! Star Traders v5.0.9 hit the market with a new set of ships and some extremely challenging new Alien Killer awards. Can you complete them all?

Please support Star Traders RPG By Leaving a Review
v5.0.9 - 3/12/2013
- New Ship Artwork: Steel Mast
- New Award: Alien Killer I
- New Award: Alien Killer II
- New Award: Space Hive I
- New Award: Space Hive II
- New Award: Alien Flagship (Heela)
- Two New Merchant Ships
- New Ship: Royal Lifter
- New Ship: Royal Liner
- Message when Exploring with 1 HP

fallen

We've had a couple of exciting release over the last month. Check them out!

Please support Star Traders RPG By Leaving a Review
v5.0.17 - 3/26/2013
- New Ship: Vegax Cutter
- New Ship: Cutter Star
- New Ship: Pirate Spear
- Added Current Credits to Startrader
- Fixed Several Performance Issues
- Enemy Smuggler AI Updates/Tweaks
v5.0.15 - 3/22/2013
- Fixes Map / HUD Button Crash
- New Ship: Logicus Liner
- New Ship: Technar Lifter
- Added New Low Health Warnings
- Improved Upgrade Screen Performance

fallen

A new Star Traders release has landed on the Android markets, bringing more UI enhancements and fixers as well as a complement of new ships!

Please support Star Traders RPG By Leaving a Review

v5.0.19 - 4/7/2013
- Replaced ship on zoom map with standard ship icon
- Fixed Stash Labels for Water-Fuel
- Fixed Records Labels for Stash Lists
- Fixed Indy Captain Award Unlocks
- New Merchants: Naval Hauler, Naval Merchant
- New Smuggers: Darkness Cutter, Darkness Jammer
- New Pirates: Blood Raider, Blood Savage
Google Play "Star Traders RPG" Free
http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.corytrese.games.startraders

Amazon "Star Traders RPG" Free
http://www.amazon.com/Trese-Brothers-Software-Star-Traders/dp/B004UBM7Z6

Google Play "Star Traders RPG Elite" ($2.99USD)
http://play.google.com/store/apps/detail....tartraderselite

Amazon "Star Traders RPG Elite" ($2.99USD)
http://www.amazon.com/Trese-Brothers-Software-Traders-Elite/dp/B004SCN2F6

fallen

Apple rushed our newest version through, so it is already available for Star Traders RPG (the one with the IAP) and Elite is pending! If you enjoy, please leave a new rating with this version!

What's New in Version 3.7.1
- Pilot Protects against Radiation Storms
- Fixed Issues with Alien Faction Flags
- Fixed Steel Song Starting Contract
- Fixed 'Request New Bids' Button
- Fixed Star Trader Bonuses
- Improved number of Ships for sale
- Fixed Issues with Cargo Overflow
- Display Current Credits on more screens
- Added more than 40 new ships
- 530 total ship designs in Star Traders
- Fixed 'Knife Alien' Bugs
- Fixed 'Templar Lifter' Bugs
- Added 'Ships of Power'
- Added 'Ships of Honor'
- Improved Escape Shuttle Rules
- Better Map and SFX Performance
- Improved Combat SFX Playback
- Fixed "Take Ship" issues with Cargo
- Fixed Highlight Bridge for Spy/Blockades
- Fixed Harvest HP Messages
- Fixed Explorer Result Messages

Free with IAP ($2.99)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/star-traders-rpg/id528949262?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo=4

Elite ($2.99)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/star-traders-rpg-elite/id597751360?mt=8

Read more: http://startradersrpg.proboards.com/...#ixzz2Qlbp9n69
__________________
Challenging Turn-based RPGs - Trese Brothers Games
On Google Play
On Amazon
Space-opera | Cyberpunk | Tactical Combat Squad

fallen

Star Traders 5.0.23 introduces an all new theme for the user interface -- from buttons to the sliding bars for selling and exchanging goods, to drop downs for selecting captains. The new sleek look matches the HUD and also puts more visual emphasis on highlighted buttons for training or contract completion.

Packaged with a set of bug fixes and new ships, the 5.0.23 is a exciting new update to the long standing space RPG favorite.

Google Play "Star Traders RPG" Free
http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.corytrese.games.startraders

Amazon "Star Traders RPG" Free
http://www.amazon.com/Trese-Brothers-Software-Star-Traders/dp/B004UBM7Z6

Google Play "Star Traders RPG Elite" ($2.99USD)
http://play.google.com/store/apps/detail....tartraderselite

Amazon "Star Traders RPG Elite" ($2.99USD)
http://www.amazon.com/Trese-Brothers-Software-Traders-Elite/dp/B004SCN2F6

Please support Star Traders RPG By Leaving a Review

v5.0.23 - 4/21/2013
- New Button Artwork and Game Theme
- Fixed Jyeetax and Bolllish Aliens
- Fixed Travel to Top Edge of Map
- Fixed Travel to Left Edge of Map
- Fixed Space Hive Awards
- New type of 'Templar Space Hive'
- New Ship: Callus Freighter
- New Ship: Callus Hauler

Elvenshae

*applause*

You guys keep adding good stuff to this.

[EDIT: Not sure why I signed that like an email. ]

fallen

@elvenshae - thank you very much! WE are dedicated to building new games AND updating our classics. Speak of which ...

Please support Star Traders RPG By Leaving a Review

v5.0.25 - 4/28/2013
- Revised New Button Artwork
- Fixed Combat Button Highlight
- New Artwork: Pao Core Hull
- New Ship: Core Heavy Lifter
- New Artwork: Pao Vector Hull
- New Ship: Core V-Cutter

Google Play "Star Traders RPG" Free
http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.corytrese.games.startraders

Amazon "Star Traders RPG" Free
http://www.amazon.com/Trese-Brothers-Software-Star-Traders/dp/B004UBM7Z6

Google Play "Star Traders RPG Elite" ($2.99USD)
http://play.google.com/store/apps/detail....tartraderselite

Amazon "Star Traders RPG Elite" ($2.99USD)
http://www.amazon.com/Trese-Brothers-Software-Traders-Elite/dp/B004SCN2F6

Read more: http://startradersrpg.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=updates&action=display&thread=4102#ixzz2RtxMUE5e