Get the Evochron Legends [PC] v1.088 Demo off WP (48mb)

Evochron Legends is a freeform mercenary space-sim that focuses on 'lone-wolf' survival gameplay. Players advance in the game in a variety of ways and can complete many activities including objectives like spying, racing, escorting, transporting, mining, exploring, hiring crew members, ship-to-ship trading, and clearing paths through asteroid fields. Evochron Legends is a technical simulation, not a character based simulator, so players are not limited by pre-selected character roles, skills, or attributes. The player's decisions and actions define their role in the game and establish their reputations, wealth, progress, and ranking. The game also rewards players who devise their own gameplay strategies and 'think outside the box'. With diverse optional objectives and many paths to choose from, including a seamlessly integrated objective based story quest, Evochron Legends offers an amazing level of freeform gameplay.

Version 1.088 is ready for download. This update adds the following:

• New 'War Zone' added to upper Sierra solar system.
• Race course boxes for ship-vs-ship races doubled in size.
• Message text better highlighted and moved for improved legibility.
• Positioning options added to cusomizing kit for message text system.
• Support for rear and above camera views added when TrackIR is enabled.
• Repair costs are now included in ship trade-in values (instead of damage transfer).
• Default joystick deadzone increased to better accommodate less precise devices.
• Support for multiple texture images added for background nebulae option.
• New command line option added to directly launch the multiplayer menu.
• New reward to discover at the end of the 'Arvoch Artifact' beacon quest.
• Support for using custom cockpits for each ship frame type added.
• 'Cinematic' style shaky camera view option added (default Alt-).
• Ice accumulation effect on cockpit glass reduced.
• Wider range of movement available for TrackIR.
• Improved planetary atmosphere haze.
• Improvements to AI combat tactics.
• Several minor bug fixes.

The game now supports Saitek rudder pedals along with many other secondary control devices. The instructions included with the game provide information on the new control options in addition to the new gameplay options. Also, I plan to offer one or more training flights for new players interested in trying out multiplayer and who may have questions about gameplay or options. An announcement will be posted in advance and players who subscribe to the multiplayer notification thread will receive an e-mail when the announcement is posted.

All travel and activities in the game take place in a vast seamless universe without system 'walls' or 'rooms' that require a warp gate 'door' to access. There are no required warp gates or trade lanes to restrict travel and hold players back. A player can travel anywhere with or without jump drives and gates, as long as they have the fuel and time to get there. The seamless environment also lets players descend into planet atmospheres to land at city trade stations, mine valuable materials, or explore for hidden items while occasionally contending with weather effects like rain, snow, lightning, and wind turbulence. Players are free to fly where they want, when they want, with open space navigation and onboard jump drives. The game's environment interaction also goes far beyond the genre's typical 'background wallpaper'. Nebula clouds, asteroid fields, atmospheres, stars, moons, caves, and planet rings all provide unique options for shelter and strategy. The game simulates changes for various environments that include gravity, fuel consumption, physics, sensor range, and visibility.

Evochron Legends features unified gameplay profiles, allowing players to keep the upgrades, ships, equipment, money, and commodities they earn to use in both single player and multiplayer (including connecting to different multiplayer sessions). Players can also save virtually anywhere without docking requirements.

The component based shipyard gives players the ability to customize the appearance and capabilities of their ship. They can optimize their design for defense, exploration, combat, racing, or transporting. They can also further enhance their ship by hiring specialized crew members, upgrades, and equipment.

The realistic zero gravity inertia based 'Newtonian' style flight model includes complete freedom of movement (3-way rotation and 3-way direction control) with optional variable input. An advanced inertial dampening system helps keep flight control simple in space, atmospheres, and gravity fields.

The game includes support for NaturalPoint Inc.'s TrackIR head tracking system. A PC with TrackIR connected knows exactly where the player is sitting and looking, by capturing their head motion with all six degrees of freedom. Evochron Legends uses TrackIR’s unique input to control the view from the pilot's cockpit perspective, independent of keyboard, mouse, or joystick inputs.

Evochron Legends continues the SW3DG tradition of feedback based development. Players are encouraged to become involved in the updates to the game as their requests and suggestions will help guide future updates. Players are also invited to become part of the forum to share custom modifications, exchange tips, and to stay informed of updates.

Evochron Legends runs on the Windows PC platform, including Windows XP, and Vista. The recommended minimum system configuration for the game includes a 2.0 GHz processor, 128 MB 3D video card, and 1 GB of RAM (1.5 GB for Vista). The game supports keyboard, mouse, joystick, and gamepad control options with remapping capability.