Iceberg Interactive sent over this press release on Starpoint Gemini 2:

The gateway to Gemini will open once again in Starpoint Gemini 2!

Publishing deal and six exclusive new screenshots revealed

Haarlem, The Netherlands – 15 January 2013 – Videogames publisher Iceberg Interactive and Croatian game developer Little Green Men announce that they have struck a publishing agreement for Starpoint Gemini 2 (PC). Starpoint Gemini 2, like its predecessor Starpoint Gemini (2011), is an open-world 3D space simulation that combines powerful RPG mechanics with the frenzy of space combat, creating a particular blend that sets itself apart from all other games in the genre.  [...]

Iceberg Interactive is aiming to release Starpoint Gemini 2, including in several localized versions (a.o. German), at the end of Q3-2013; both as a boxed retail edition and on worldwide digital platforms.

Six exclusive new screenshots accompany this press release to give players a first glance at the Starpoint Gemini 2 universe. The full pack can be downloaded on the Iceberg Website.

More news and information about the game can be found on the official Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/StarpointGemini2

Worthplaying has reviewed the space-faring RPG, Starpoint Gemini. The score is 6/10 with the author finding things complex and the production values low:

Starpoint Gemini isn't all exploration and peace, though; you'll spend a fair amount of time hunkered down in space combat. The combat takes on a naval approach in that you're constantly trying to position your shields against enemy firepower. The shields for your vessel are divided into four sections: back, front, left and right. There are a number of visible layers that peel away with every shot, and once your shields are dropped completely, it's not long before you'll explode and restart at your previous save.

Combat is challenging, perhaps a little more so than I'd like. It's borderline punishing at the onset of the game, so you're forced to pick your battles wisely. It involves a bit of trial and error to see how tough some opponents actually are. The game puts some emphasis on potential diplomacy by giving you the option to hail opposing ships, but more often than not, they'll just shoot at you. The controls can get a little aggravating since you're restricted to 2-D space; the way your ship turns isn't always the way you intended, whether you opt for mouse control or the WASD keys.

Little Green Men let us know they are working on Starpoint Gemini 2, for a release in Q4 2012. The major highlights are a more open world and direct-control of ships - I'd list the features but the announcement came as a .pdf and I can't extract the text at this point.

Little Green Men contacted us last week to say they would be releasing a free DLC pack for Starpoint Gemini titled Gladiators. We expected a press release on Thursday that we didn't see and I can't find news on their site but it has indeed been released at GamersGate (and possibly other digital vendors). Here is the feature list:

Gladiators is seemlessly integrated into the original game, both the campaign and the free roam scenario and can be accessed at any time during the game, though reaching higher experience levels are suggested before attempting to pass Gladiators.

The DLC features

*4 new ship designs add to the already large number of unique vessels

*50 new special ship systems that can only be awarded for victories in Gladiators

*Outer Horizon, a new sector of Gemini where the special tournament is held

*series of difficult combat situations like Free-for-all and Team fights

*completely free-of-charge as a big thank you to everyone who supported us in developing and improving Starpoint Gemini

Little Green Men sends word that Starpoint Gemini has advanced to v1012 - including re-mastered voice-overs and preparation for their first DLC:

*implemented re-mastered voice-overs

*implemented preparations for DLC Gladiators

*fixed numerous glitches and bugs in scripts related to the main quest

*fixed several glitches and bugs related to main quest cutscenes

*fixed some glitches in in-game texts

*fixed various smaller issues

 

The key part is the preparation for the soon to be released free DLC „Gladiators“.

The patch can be downloaded from our server through this link:

www.inter-corona.com/downloads/StarpointGeminiPatch_v1012.zip

It will also become available for download directly from our distributors in the following days.

There's a new patch for Starpoint Gemini, offering a handful of bug-fixes as per this press release:

Haarlem, The Netherlands – 09 June 2011 – Today a small update has become available for Starpoint Gemini (PC), the tactical space RPG from game developer LGM Games. The patch (v1.0.1.1) is free to all players and will feature the following updates.

V1.0.1.1 Patch notes:

• Fixed text-related errors on various panels
• Fixed errors related to dialog voice-overs
• Fixed numerous script-related issues
• Fixed several issues in in-game cutscenes
• Fixed several database errors

You can download the full patch (4.58 MB) on www.iceberg-interactive.com

The German-speaking players of Starpoint Gemini can download a German language patch here. Haarlem, The Netherlands – 09 June 2011 – Today a small update has become available for Starpoint Gemini (PC), the tactical space RPG from game developer LGM Games. The patch (v1.0.1.1) is free to all players and will feature the following updates.

V1.0.1.1 Patch notes:

• Fixed text-related errors on various panels
• Fixed errors related to dialog voice-overs
• Fixed numerous script-related issues
• Fixed several issues in in-game cutscenes
• Fixed several database errors

You can download the full patch (4.58 MB) on www.iceberg-interactive.com

The German-speaking players of Starpoint Gemini can download a German language patch here.

A site called IronHammers has a review of Starpoint Gemini. The score is 3/5 and here's a sample:

The story is roughly 30 missions long but will probably get a bit tedious if you simply hammer through these missions one after another as there’s a lot of travel time. I think Starpoint Gemini can be best enjoyed if you punctuate the missions with what the game really does best — customising and adventuring with your ship. Starpoint Gemini offers a fantastic array of perks, upgrades and additions for you to check out on your ship. For example, as the captain, you level up and unlock different combat manoeuvres and stat upgrades, you can hire crew who each come with their own plus points, you can upgrade all the features of your ship (weapons, sensors, grappling beams etc) or you can trade in your old ship for a shiny new one ( I believe there’s in excess of fifty different ships available). Another nice thing about adventuring with your ship is you can choose how you wish to earn your credits  and afford the upgrades you’re after. There’s money to be made mining from asteroids, salvaging from debris, completing side quests from the space stations scattered about the galaxy or even engaging in a little inter-galactic piracy. All in all a lot of little things that you can try to figure out which suits you best.

Iceberg Interactive has released the retail version of Starpoint Gemini in the UK, Scandinavia and Benelux:

Captains Ready for Starpoint Gemini Launch?

Haarlem, The Netherlands – 25 March 2011 – Starpoint Gemini (PC), the tactical space RPG from videogames publisher Iceberg Interactive and game developer LGM Games, is available starting today at retail stores across the UK, Scandinavian and Benelux. Pre-orders in the Iceberg Webshop (http://www.iceberg-shop.com/starpoint-gemini.html) have all been shipped last week.

Five new screenshots accompany this press release to celebrate the launch. They can also be downloaded at http://www.iceberg-interactive.com/.

Little Green Men let us know they have released a demo for Starpoint Gemini with Iceberg's retail release just around the corner. You can get it direct from the official site (direct link, 775Mb), or Iceberg has a list of mirrors.

The Starpoint Gemini demo includes the introduction, tutorial mission and first two campaign missions. On top of this, players can free roam two of the sectors and step aboard a selection of the ships that will be available in the full game.

Starpoint Gemini is a tactical space RPG, in which players are free to travel the rich sci-fi universe and fight, trade and research as they go. Ships can be upgraded with state-of-the-art technology and players can increase their own experience and rank to become more powerful. All of this will be used in large scale battles with other fleets of hostile ships, the outcome of which will shape the fate of Gemini.

The boxed version of Starpoint Gemini will arrive from 25 March 2011 in retail stores across the UK, including GAME, Play.com, and Amazon.co.uk.

Looks like my email ate a couple of submissions but better late than never. Little Green Men sent us this news about the Euro retail release of Starpoint Gemini and a new trailer:

The English retail version of Starpoint Gemini will be hitting the stores in the UK, Scandinavia and Benelux on the 25th March. To celebrate this, our Iceberg partners and us have released a new trailer which can be found on the official Iceberg Interactive YouTube channel or here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzUZfZpmVLA

There's a new v1.008 patch for Starpoint Gemini:

*Credits panel can now be closed by pressing the Esc button
*Special ability shortcut now works as it should
*Tweaked starting reputation with Gemini League in Starpoint Gemini scenario
*Toggle firing arcs shortcut now toggles that panel properly
*Fixed bug where pressing the Esc button while choosing a TDrive destination would lock up the game
*Overview map shortcut now works during Active pause
*Fixed several smaller bugs with Active pause
*Quicksave shortcut now works as it should
*Selecting a Ship system on the (Station) Available list, now marks appropriate slots on your ship
*Fixed several issues with shortcuts not working in all occasions
*Transport shortcut now works as it should
*Active pause is no longer available while docked
*Fixed several issues with multiple panels opening at the same time
All previous updates are included. Get the update here:

All previous updates are included. Get the update here:
http://www.inter-corona.com/downloads/SPG1008.zip

Iceberg sent over this press release, announcing their retail Euro release of Starpoint Gemini has gone Gold:

Standing out from the sci-fi crowd

LGM Games interviewed about their Tactical Space RPG/Simulation Game Starpoint Gemini (PC)

Haarlem, The Netherlands – 3 March 2011 – Videogames publisher Iceberg Interactive today presents an interview with Mario Mihokovic, one of the three brothers and co-founders of Little Green Men Games, the development studio behind tactical space RPG/simulation game Starpoint Gemini (PC).

What has inspired LGM Games to develop Starpoint Gemini, how have they made the combination of tactical RPG/simulation gameplay and the sci-fi space setting work, and what exactly about this game will absorb players into it? This and much more can be learned from this intriguing interview. The full interview including a picture of Mario Mihokovic can be downloaded here.

Press that would like to sit down with the creative masterminds of LGM Games with their own questions please contact Iceberg Interactive at pr@iceberg-interactive.com (full contact details provided below).

Starpoint Gemini can be pre-ordered in the Iceberg Webshop (http://www.iceberg-shop.com/starpoint-gemeni.html) with free shipping up until the release on 25 March 2011.

Little Green Men sent us an email to say the latest patch for Starpoint Gemini is up adding, among other things, the much-requested active-pause.  Here's the full list:

*Implemented turning by using the keyboard*Implemented active pause
*Docking cutscene can now be skipped by pressing the Spacebar
*Ships docked on stations are now invulnerable
*Panel scrollbars can now be scrolled with the mouse wheel
*Fixed issue with AI ships going outside map boundaries
*Fixed an issue where an ability couldn’t be fired due to a false “No target” warning
*Fixed a bug with Cargo hold values while in space being different than those while docked
*Doubling a shortcut in the options menu deletes the conflicting shortcut
*Empty shortcut fields in the options menu are now marked
*Fixed a bug where mining beam effect was left floating in space when the miner ship was attacked
*Fixed a scripting issue with Sector Zero TGate in Junction sector where the Gate would lock up when loading game
*Updated shortcut section in Options with added functions
*Weapons now shut down or detonate when leaving their maximum range
*Fixed several issues with GUI panels
*Fixed an issue with camera position when opening and closing Gemini Map
*Fixed several graphical issues
*Added "Sell all" button on the Commodities Trader screen

Grab it here or from SpaceSim Central.  Thanks also to Von Paulus for similar news.

LGM also let us know that while the active-pause patch was a major addition, they are still working on further updates, free DLC and mod tools.

There's also a new review at ComputerGames.ro, with a score of 80%:

The fun comes from the freedom of exploration. We can ferry merchandises from here to there for profit, mine asteroids for their valuable minerals, or we can chose to complete missions for the various factions: the Nyxian Consortium, Baeldor Republic and the Korkyan Triumvirate. These missions – rather limited in complexity – can help improve the approval you have with the said factions, although it’s pretty easy to get on their good side without them as well. Besides, once you own a capable spaceship, you can pretty much make the law with the fist in every system, hostile or not.

Speaking of which, there are almost 60 such sectors that are accessible via the so-called T Gates, each system having its own tiny universe. There are plenty of traders, usually stalked by pirates, rogues, and of course, the local police force. As a result, the game’s universe feels alive and although it does not rival the one in Space Rangers, is pretty well-designed.

We received a press release from Iceberg Interactive, who are new to me, who announce they have secured a retail publishing agreement for Starpoint Gemini in Europe:

Reaching for the Stars with Starpoint Gemini (PC)

European Publishing Agreement for Tactical Space RPG Announced

Haarlem, The Netherlands – 25 January 2011 – Videogames publisher Iceberg Interactive and game development studio Little Green Men are over the moon to announce their publishing agreement for the Tactical Space RPG Starpoint Gemini (PC). The deal includes both non-exclusive digital rights as well as the exclusive pan-European retail publishing rights. Iceberg plans to release the English as well as the German localized boxed version of Starpoint Gemini in April 2011.

This press release is accompanied by four brand-new screenshots. These can also be downloaded at www.iceberg-interactive.com.

Iceberg Interactive CEO Erik Schreuder says: “We’re really thrilled to have signed Starpoint Gemini, as this is an excellent title that will further establish Iceberg as a publisher with an eye for quality indie games for PC. In this exciting new entry in the tactical space RPG genre, players are in charge of their own space vessel, cruising the secluded Gemini galaxy where they’ll fight, trade, research, upgrade and level up. Players can roam around or play one of the 30 missions to advance the storyline. Now, who doesn’t want their own ship to create havoc in a galaxy far far away? At Iceberg we look forward to playing and publishing this game in equal measure.” [...]

Rock, Paper, Shotgun has some early impressions of Starpoint Gemini from Jim Rossignol:

Your capacities in the world are a mixture of the nature of the ship you are in, and the character you play, and the range of possibilities for that combination is enormous. There are fifty ships in total, and each of these can fitted out with a huge range of modules – sensors, shields, grapples, blasters, railguns, torpedos, mining equipment, and on and on. A host of menus provide you with the capacity to fiddle with all kinds of variables and aspects of your craft. This variety should give you a hint of the kind of game Starpoint Gemini is trying to be: a real-time space captain RPG, essentially. Combat reflects this level of complexity by being a tactical game of naval-style positional engagement. Getting the enemies on the optimal side of your shields, and avoiding being blasted to bits because you were outflanked, is at the heart of the fighting part of the game. There’s a strong whiff of Star Trek in the options here – having to send power to shields, or engines, and so on. This is very much a game about you being at the helm of a complex starship, and that theme is reflected throughout the possible activities that the game presents you with. For example, you can occasionally scan, board, and loot a derelict spacecraft. This all happens with you watching your starship, but a little video of your crew exploring the ship and find the cargo plays out in the corner of the screen. You are not alone.

Little Green Men sends word they have updated Starpoint Gemini to v1.006.  The big item for this update is a free rotation camera, which I know a lot of people have been waiting for.  A bunch of fixes are also included as well as all previous updates.  Patch notes here at Space Sim Central and grab the file here.

Dorijan from LGM also notes they haven't forgotten about an Active Pause feature and continue to work on implementing this functionality:

Here's also a snippet of news on the active pause front. We're working on it, but aren't there yet, unfortunately. That feature will require more work and time. It changes a lot (and I mean A LOT), since active pause was never on the original feature list. 

Thanks also to Von Paulus for a similar submission.

LGM has pumped out another bug-fix and balancing patch for Starpoint Gemini - patch file and notes are available at Space Sim Central.

Starpoint Gemini has been reviewed at Out of Eight, with a generous score of 7/8:

Another high point of Starpoint Gemini is the tactical combat. Before you can make space dust out of the enemy, you have to enter combat mode, a completely unnecessary requirement that harkens back to Star Trek (the only thing missing is the sound effect). The combat revolves around weapon arcs: you must orient your ship towards the targeted enemy vessel. Another consideration is shields, which are divided into four quadrants (front, back, two sides): once the shields are removed on a specific portion of the ship, any additional hits cause damage to the hull. So Starpoint Gemini becomes a matter of positioning, much like combat naval simulations. The interface should do a better job indicating which weapons are ready and available to fire: there is a subtle increase in brightness, but that’s not enough in the heat of battle. You can target specific systems of the enemy ship (weapons, engines, shields), taking out their strength first and leaving them vulnerable. To accentuate the combat, each ship comes with one of twenty-one special abilities, including jamming, disable engines, reduce speed, instant movement, and an array of special powerful weapons. You can also board vessels if you have invested in perks and abilities geared towards that specific strategy. The AI is pretty good at combat, attacking vulnerable sides, maneuvering out of position, and using special skills; disabling their engines makes them less crafty. The tactical combat of Starpoint Gemini rounds out a compelling package that, despite some limitations, offers great features for a space adventure title.

LGM has unexpectedly pushed out another quick update for Starpoint Gemini, fixing some additional urgent bugs.  From the Space Sim Central forum post:

Here's the new update. I won't babble on so here's the fix list:

*Fixed a bug with being unable to dock on TGates and stations
*Fixed a bug where pressing the home key during the opening sequence caused the game to crash
*Intro sequence can now be skipped by pressing the spacebar key
*Fixed an exploit with Research freelance missions (multiple scans)
*Slightly rebalanced AI maneuver usage
*Fixed a bug where passing through a TGate would spawn the player off the map boundaries
*Fixed a bug with player bouncing off obstacles in TDrive
*Game can no longer be saved during docking or undocking
*Updated Activity recording

and the link to the download area is here:
http://www.spacesimcentral.com/downloads.php?view=detail&df_id=344

This update already contains the previous 1003 update.

I'll be opening up a new topic "Game-stopping bugs". If you encounter such issues, please post them there and we'll jump on fixing the problem ASAP. This is the second in line, and hopefully the last quick-fix update to get the game working for everybody. Now we'll take a bit more time to pack a larger update.

You can also grab the file here.

In their email, LGM wanted to say "we would appreciate if you could send our big thanks and appreciation to the gamers who bought SPG for their support and patience. We'll continue to work on the game until every bug is lifted and all additional content gets out."

The first real patch for Starpoint Gemini has been released, addressing some urgent issues before they tackle a more ambitious update:

The first update is here. The fixes it involves are listed below. This is a smaller update we made to address some issues quickly. The following update(s) will include quite a lot more. We’re constantly looking over the issues you’re all vigorously posting (and an honest thank you for it goes from us ) and we’re adding them to the bug list. Tomorrow we start anew with v1.004 in focus. You can download the update here:

http://www.inter-corona.com/downloads/SPG1003.zip

*Fixed issue with not getting full ship control after loading
*Initial Perk now saves as it should. Does not revert to default anymore.
*Player can no longer fill all station docks by repeating Dock command
*Increased chance of freelance mission reactivation on entering sector
*Transferring command to a captured ship now works as it should
*CTD due to missing video codec is now logged in the ActivityRecord.txt
*Player can no longer repeatedly sell a captured ship
*Fixed a bug with not being able to close in-game menu when info or trade panel was open
*FIxed level requirement for campaign missions issue
*Fixed numerous smaller glitches

It turns out the Securom added by Gamersgate was causing Starpoint Gemini's woes, so the devs have released a DRM-free main executable to fix the problem and, of course, remove Securom at the same time.  You can get the file at Space Sim Central:

This exe fixes the entire crash issue. To explain things:
DRM was in conflict with our own exe file and that caused everything. We came to an agreement with GG to drop the whole protection and release the unprotected version. Here's the exe file. GG will be releasing the unprotected version tomorrow.

This is a quick fix. It is rudimentary but simple
*unzip the folder
*copy the exe to your game root directory over the original exe file
*play and have fun

Thank you once again for your patience and help. Thank you!

Gamersgate has also released v1.002 but note this does not fix the crash issue itself.  It's not clear if you should download v1.002 plus the .exe, or just the fixed .exe.  Alternatively, apparently Gamersgate will release the DRM-free version in the next day or so.

Starpoint Gemini has been released on GamersGate (thanks Michi), though I'd suggest holding off for the moment because there appears to be a versioning issue, with players (including myself) reporting crashes and some debug commands are still active.  LGM are investigating and we'll let you know any further news.

We catch up with Little Green Men to discuss their upcoming "space RPG tactical sim", Starpoint Gemini, which is due for release in only a couple of weeks.  Here's a snip from the conversation:

RPGWatch: One of things I enjoy most about the best "space-trading" games is the sense of  a living universe.  How important is this element for Starpoint Gemini and can you describe some of the things players will encounter that add life to the gameworld?

LGM: A living world is very, very important. No sense in making a free-roam game if you streamline and script everything and it all plays out the same way. The world has to live on its own, driven by AI. Traders dock on stations to trade, miners go deep into asteroid fields to search for ore, scientists roam the sector looking for anomalies to research, police squadrons go on patrols and deal with pirates, military fleets round up and attack enemy fleets... all of that and more goes on regardless of where the player is. The AI doesn't act only when you're nearby... they live their own lives. That was our basic setup and we continued building on top of that through scripted events to liven things up even more. Players will also notice that when you're playing through the main campaign Gemini will change depending on what happens in the storyline. When two factions go to war, they really go to war even outside the scripted missions. That's one of SPG's strong points.

Read it all here.

I've been following this one for a while (well, as best you can with the limited information).  Little Green Men's space-faring tactical RPG Starpoint Gemini will be released on December 15 via GamersGate.  If you don't recall the game, head to the website and here is the feature list:

Starpoint Gemini is a role playing tactical simulation, set in a unique and diverse science fiction universe. Smart use of your upgradable skills and vessel is the key for success. As a player, you’re free to roam the rich and living Gemini star system and advance your avatar the way it suits your playing style the best. When you’re ready you can tackle the challenging campaign and discover what secrets this troubled system is hiding. Sift through the massive selection of ships and ship systems and create that perfect battleship you always wanted. To aid you in your quest, is a large selection of capable officers you can hire and gain special bonuses. Get ready to embark on an unforgettable journey into the depths of space.

• Freedom – Experience the full freedom of Gemini. Explore, fight, mine and trade in a rich and stunning free-roam universe.
• RPG – Gain experience and Rank to unlock over 30 skills and over 15 special passive bonuses.
• Armada – Spend Credits to buy one of over 50 powerful ships and upgrade them to fit your unique playing style.
• Upgrade – Choose from over 300 unique ship systems and assemble your very own tool of destruction.
• Narrative – Embark on a deep and thrilling journey into the political plots plaguing Gemini, spanning over 30 large campaign missions.
• Change – Every action provokes a reaction. The universe changes according to your actions.
• Crew – Enlist officers to help you survive in space, where every wrong move could be your last.
• Mercenary – Hundreds of side missions. Search and destroy, Rescue, Salvage, Anomaly research, mining… something for everybody.