Yesterday's news that the Homeworld-meets-Freespace space combat sim Enemy Starfighter had been renamed to House of the Dying Sun was interesting, but also very out-of-the-blue. Today, though, it makes a little more sense. The game is now on Steam Early Access, it's set to come out next month, there's a new (and very hot) trailer, and some system requirements, too.
House of the Dying Sun offers 14 combat scenarios (and possibly more on the way) with both first-person cockpit combat and a tactical overlay from which you can give orders to other ships in your fleet, or even assume control of them directly. Controllers will be supported along with mouse and keyboard, as will the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and 21:9 monitors. Interestingly, the developers “highly recommend” using a dual-analog controller to play, such as the DualShock 4, adding, “Don't buy a HOTAS specifically for this game!”
I've blasted through the training scenario and first mission, and even though that's not nearly enough to render a judgment of any sort—I didn't play around with the tactical command system, for instance—it felt good, as if it might just live up to my hopes for it. Which are, let us be clear, sky-high. The new trailer is pretty fantastic too. I especially like how the object here isn't to bring peace to the galaxy, but to bring war. That truly is what's best in life.
The system requirements:
Minimum:
- OS: Windows 7
- CPU: 2.4 GHz Quad Core
- RAM: 4 GB
- Video: DirectX 9.0c compatible with 2 GB VRAM
- HDD: 2 GB
Recommended:
- OS: Windows 10
- CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 equivalent or greater
- RAM: 4 GB
- Video: Nvidia GTX 970/AMD 290 equivalent or greater, DirectX 11 required for SteamVR
- HDD: 2 GB
Note: As VR hardware improves and resolutions increase, recommended system requirements will increase as well. A release date hasn't been set, but Steam is calling for it to come out in June.
“Almost all features are in place, so our intention is to close out the game and leave Early Access sometime this summer,” developer Marauder Interactive said in the Early Access notes. “The final version will have a complete balance pass, a fleshed out stable of upgrades and weapons to unlock, and a carefully-tuned set of combat scenarios. It will also include a custom wave-clear mode for even faster pick-up-and-play sessions.”
Find out more at the newly-updated House of the Dying Sun website.
