Star Control: Origins - Fleet Battles Beta 3 Releases Today

Today, Stardock released the beta 3 of Fleet Battles for the highly anticipated science-fiction adventure game, Star Control ® : Origins™. The beta is available to anyone who pre-orders Star Control: Originsand includes the ability for online and local play with others.

In Star Control: Origins, you explore the galaxy, investigate new worlds, contact new civilizations, and battle hostile aliens in Star Control: Origins. You are the captain of Earth's brand new, state-of-the-art ship, The Vindicator. Your mission is to gather together allies to fight an ancient alien menace that threatens to annihilate the human race.

Fleet Battles is a mode within the main game that allows players to assemble different ships in a fleet and engage in battle with fleets controlled by either the computer, humans via the Internet, or even friends sitting at the same PC. Players are also able to use the integrated ship crafting system in Fleet Battles to create vessels of their own and share them online via Steam Workshop.

Beta 3 sees several new additions to Fleet Battles, including two new ships: the Arilou Observer and the Kzanti Intimidator. Each ship comes with its own loadout of new weapons, like a cloaking device that provides temporarily invisibility, an octomator that fires in eight directions at once, a repulsor that damages enemy ships and propels them away, or proximity mines, which blow up when an enemy ventures too close.

A feature called "scavenging" has also been added in this update. At the start of every battle, wreckage from destroyed ships will be scattered across the arena. Scavenge the wrecks by flying over them and gaining acceleration, health, energy regeneration, and speed bonuses. These bonuses not only apply to the ship currently in battle, but also to every other ship in the fleet waiting to get in on the action.

Each match starts with a random number of wreckages. Every time a ship is destroyed during the match, it leaves behind another wreck for the next match. New end match screens detailing fleet conditions and battle readouts have also been added.

Several other additions accompany the Beta 3 release, including two new maps and improved multiplayer performance. Players can also now press the 'tab' key to highlight their ships on screen so that they're easier to locate when a match begins. An AI v.s. AI mode and updated fonts and UI polish have also been included.

Stardock has also released alien content packs as part of Star Control: Origins. The first of these are available early for anyone who pre-purchases the base game. In addition to concept art and lore, each content pack features new music by Mason Fisher and Riku Nuottajärvi, an original composer for Star Control II. Many packs will also feature the original alien tracks by Star Control II composer Dan Nicholson.

The first sets released include the Arilou™, the Chenjesu™, and the Mowlings™. These are available for download today from the Stardock store and via Steam.

The final version of Star Control: Origins will release on September 20, 2018. Users can pre-order the game now at a discounted price and receive instant access to the Fleet Battles beta.

Star Control: Origins is available for pre-order from Stardock, GOG, or Steam for $34.99.