[2695] in comp.os.os2.announce archive
VENDOR: Stardock's '97 OS/2 Plans!
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Brad Wardell)
Wed Mar 26 08:07:24 1997
To: os2ann.DISCUSS@bloom-picayune.MIT.EDU
Date: 25 Mar 1997 23:37:15 GMT
From: wardell@ibm.net (Brad Wardell)
Reply-To: wardell@ibm.net
Reply-to: wardell@ibm.net
---------------------------------------------------------------------
There will be specific announcements on each of these but I figure one post
that summarizes all of them should get people happy. :)
Not only is Stardock staying in the OS/2 market but in 1997 we plan to greatly
expand our OS/2 presence. I believe actions speak louder than words so here
goes some of the OS/2 plans from 1st Half 1997.
----------------------
On March 28, Stardock will release the first ever expansion pack for
Galactic Civilizations II.
The expansion pack will add a host of new technologies, ships, events, and
features to Galactic Civilizations II. New ships include ones that better
balance the game between fast ships, tough ships, and powerful ships. A new
type of ship called the "Odin" class ship can see all ships (cloaked or not)
in a given quadrant. Stealth ships have been made stealthier to conventional
ships.
A new optional Computer opponent has been added -- The Ominorians who are out
to destroy everyone. You can't reason with them, you can't beg for mercy from
them, they exist to destroy all others. The Ominorians ships also look very
cool.
New technologies for good and evil opponents have also been added such as
ships that have incredible durability in battle.
The graphics of the game have also been updated to improve the look of the
galaxy, the ships, and more.
New features include tons of little enhancements that no one will notice
probably all the way up to features that let players change all their ship
projects from one project to another without having to switch projects on a
per planet basis.
Plus lots of subtle game play changes to make the game more fun for long time
players as well as new players.
The GalCiv Expansion Pack will be made on Stardock's secure commerce server on
March 28 and will cost $14.95. The commerce server is located at
http://www.stardock.com/order.html.
---------------------
Also on March 28 Stardock will be releasing the first widely public beta of
its big game project Entrepreneur! Entrepreneur has been designed for OS/2,
Windows 95, and Windows NT. The wide beta will be open to users of any of the
3 OS's.
In Entrepreneur, players choose a market (in the beta, the default is the
computer market) and a specialty (engineer, marketer, laborer) and try to
conquer the world by creating products and selling them to the world. You
hire and fire employees who can improve the technology of your product, create
marketing programs (including FUD -- Fear Uncertainty and Doubt), as well as
try to make sure that you have enough products to go around.
Each region of the world has their own tastes so you have to be careful in
what direction you try to improve your products. So don't spend all your
technical resources trying to improve traits that no one cares about.
Your opponents in Entrepreneur can be other humans on the Network or Internet
as well as computer opponents such as Gill Bates who are out to destroy you.
While Beta 6 is not feature complete, it is far enough along to get a good
sense of where the game is going. Beta testers will be able to greatly
influence how the game progresses. Entrepreneur's general availability will
be in 3Q97. For a limited time, users can join the beta program by
pre-ordering the game in which they get the beta (either via mail or
downloading it) and getting the final version automatically shipped to them.
Beta 6 will be on Stardock's secure commerce server on March 28.
http://www.stardock.com/order.html
Entrepreneur is a trademark of Stardock Systems, Inc.
----------------------
In April, Stardock will release the second product in the PlusPak Series:
PlusPak: PMINews!
A powerful native OS/2 news reader that is the result of an long time on-going
collaboration between SouthSoft (PMNews) and Stardock.
PlusPak: PMINews has capabilities and conveniences that go well beyond what
users have seen in news readers before. Both Stardock and SouthSoft have been
on the newsgroups for years and have read and had their own "wishlists" of
what should be in the perfect news reader. The result is PMINews. In keeping
with Stardock's component strategy, PMINews will be priced very aggressively
-- $29.95. It will be available in the second half of April on Stardock's
secure commerce server (http://www.stardock.com/order.html) where users can
now order and download at the same time without having to pay
shipping/handling charges.
For those without access to the Internet, we will be making it available via
conventional channels in late May.
-------------------
Also in April, Stardock's collaboration with Solar Systems will bloom to bring
to you the first wide beta of Stellar Frontier!
With Stellar Frontier (SF) Stardock is hoping to woo players who are longing
for a real-time space action game that plays on the Internet as well as the
LAN. While it is a competitor of Virgin Interactive's SubSpace, Stellar
Frontier players won't have to pay a fee to play others on the Internet.
Servers will be free and Stardock will be working with other networks to make
sure SF servers are made available everywhere. Moreover, the game also
supports single player mode via a top notch AI that almost seems human in the
way it plays.
The AI and physics model, designed and written by physicists at the University
of California, creates an atmosphere of real space flight. The game plays like
a multiplayer version of Star Control Melee but with a much much larger
universe to play in.
Players choose to align themselves upon entering the game and must defend
their territory while moving up the ranks (to get access to better ships).
Exploration, warfare, and alliances are all part of the game.
For gamers who have been waiting for a game that combines some of the elements
of games such as Net Trek with the action of Star Control 2 and the
availability of SubSpace, Stellar Frontier mixes all of them nicely.
The Stellar Frontier wide beta (available for OS/2, Windows 95, and Windows
NT) will be available in mid April with a 3rd quarter 1997 general
availability.
Visit Stardock's webpage (http://www.stardock.com) for more details. (all
trademarks are held by their respective holders).
----------------
In May, Stardock will release OS/2 Essentials 2.0 (standard and CD version)!
OS/2 Essentials 2.0 will improve the existing set of components (though
FileBar and Havoc will not be included) and add a powerful and easy to use
Benchmarking program for OS/2 to allow IS managers and end users to ensure
that their system is running at speeds they expect.
OS/2 Essentials should appeal strongly to corporate OS/2 users (Stardock's
traditional customer base) as well as consumers and end users.
The CD ROM version will also include numerous "essential" things from the
Internet such as Fixpacks for OS/2, JAVA updates, JAVA programs, and a host of
other things. In short, instead of having to download megabytes of "stuff"
from the Internet, OS/2 Essentials will have them on the CD.
OS/2 Essentials also comes with DirMaster Pro, a powerful file manager for
OS/2, File Graph Pro, a convenient utility that graphics out how much disk
space each directory uses on your hard drive, Screen Saver Pro, a screens
saver with lots of features including green monitor support, as well as a true
"Trash can" for OS/2.
OS/2 Essentials 2.0 will list for $49.95. Users of OS/2 Essentials 1.0 can
upgrade to 2.0 for $19.95 by calling Stardock at 1-888-STARDOCK (or
1-800-672-2338) or emailing sale@stardock.com.
-----------------------------------
At the beginning of June as golf season nears its peak, Stardock will release
Links Golf for OS/2. Stardock and Access Software have teamed up to bring the
world's best golf game to OS/2 users.
The OS/2 version will include features not found on any other platform
including multithreaded rendering which greatly improves redraw performance,
multiple view windows at the same time, as well as support for running at very
very high resolutions.
Existing Links courses should run without modification under Links for OS/2.
Anyone who's ever played Links on any other platform or has ever wanted to see
what a state of the art golf simulation is like should check out Links for
OS/2.
Links will list for $49.95. OS/2 users can pre-order it from Stardock for
$39.95 until June 1 by calling 1-888-STARDOCK or 1-800-672-2338 or emailing
sale@stardock.com.
----------------------------------------
In July, Stardock will begin releasing components for the PowerSeries for
Object Desktop.
Instead of releasing an Object Desktop 2.0, Stardock instead will standardize
on Object Desktop 1.5 which has historically been the world's top selling OS/2
product.
Each component (or PowerUP) in the Power Series will add a new feature to
Object Desktop. The first component "Polish" will improve the look and feel
of OS/2. Other PowerUPs will include a Start Bar, enhanced object/program
control (such as being able to tell a program to start in a specific virtual
desktop), and more.
These components will be made available on Stardock's commerce server as well
as third party OS/2 resellers.
Because of the component sales model, OS/2 users will be able to pick and
choose each feature they want and each feature is expected to cost around $15
making it very affordable for both corporations as well as end users.
----------------------
That's about all for now.
Stardock will be in the OS/2 market as long as there are OS/2 users available
to buy our software. We think 1997 will be another good OS/2 software year
for Stardock and look forward to creating new and exciting software for great
OS's like OS/2 Warp.
Information on these products can be found:
On Compuserve: GO STARDOCK
On the Internet: http://www.stardock.com
By Phone: (313)/453-0328 (313)/453-1480 FAX
Toll-Free Order: 1-888-STARDOCK (or 1-800-672-2338)
-------------------
Brad Wardell Stardock Systems, Inc.
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