Star Control: Origins is set in the year 2086. The good news: the signals from Earth have been received by an advanced alien race. The bad news: they are looking for the source of the signals in order to annihilate them. As Captain of the most advanced starship the human race has ever constructed, the player's mission is to prevent the impending destruction of the Earth through any means necessary.

To that end, Star Control: Origins allows players to land on planets that are now represented as spherical entities with the gameplay updated to allow the lander to jump obstacles, rotate their lander’s cannon and deal with hostile environments and creatures.

Like the classic series, Star Control focuses on the player’s interaction with alien races.  Star Control: Origins introduces a new cast of aliens for the player to learn and deal with. Using the game’s dynamic rendering system, the aliens and their speech are rendered in real-time.

For the music, Stardock has been working to reunite the musicians worked on the previous games. For example, Riku Nuottajarvi, composer of much of the music for the original series, has returned for the new Star Control series.  Meanwhile, for the writing, Stardock has tapped Cracked.com columnist, Chris Bucholz to lead the story and writing effort.

Star Control: Origins is now available for pre-order on GOG and Steam.

"Of course, 'advanced' is relative," said Brad Wardell, President & CEO of Stardock Entertainment. "What your ship looks like and what it can do by the end of Origins won't resemble what you started with. Your ship is, in essence, your character."

Star Control: Origins won't be released until next year. However, starting today, players can pre-order the game at a discount and gain access to next month's Super-Melee beta.

In Super-Melee, players create a fleet of ships where each ship has its own unique powers and abilities. Players can play against the computer or against each other in ranked or unranked multiplayer. In addition, the Super-Melee beta includes the Ship Crafter, which allows players to design their own Super-Melee ships and share them with others. Players not only control what weapons, defenses, engines, and thrusters ships have, but what they look like as well.

"If you've ever wanted to design your own starship and see how it fares against other people's ships, you're going to love this," said Wardell.

Star Control: Origins is available for pre-order from Stardock, GOG, or Steam for $24.99. The bundle, which includes Star Control: The Ur-Quan Masters and Star Control: Kessari Quadrant, can be purchased from Stardock, GOG, or Steam for $29.99.