Stars Reach – Raphael Koster (Star Wars Galaxies) announces Stars Reach, the “most alive MMO ever made”

Raphael Koster is one of the great figures of the Western MMORPG industry, having significantly contributed to the development ofUltima Online or of Star Wars Galaxiesthen to a lesser extent the license EverQuest. We remember that in 2019, he announced the creation of his own development studio, Playable Worldsin order to create its own MMO and today, the game is officially announced.

Baptized Stars Reachthe game in question intends to more or less bring together all the main ambitions defended by Raphael Koster for years for the massively multiplayer genre: an MMO based on a truly persistent and evolving universe, designed to encourage player interactions.

“Cellular automata” to generate a vast open world procedurally

More concretely, Stars Reach immerses players in a vast world of science fantasy composed of multiple planets: these worlds are generated procedurally, assisted by a generative AI oriented by the development team. The developer says it relies on a technology called “cellular automata” (in the biological sense of the term) which consists of providing each small fragment of the game universe with specific characteristics, which allow both these fragments to coexist together harmoniously and players to interact with the environment. This mechanism must notably allow players to modify the game universe in real time, and these modifications will be lasting – if a player digs a hole, this hole will remain as it is until another player has filled it in, for example; if players cut down all the trees in a region, this region will permanently become a desert region; if players build cities, all the players around them will be able to invest in them and make them live.

The same goes for wildlife: animals live on these worlds and have behavior controlled by the AI, allowing them to migrate or reproduce, depending on the collective actions of the players.

According to the developer, “cellular automaton” technology makes it possible to generate unique planets, whether in terms of climate, seasons or even in terms of resources, in order to renew the notion of exploration. Raphael Koster specifies that players will be able to travel quickly from one planet to another to facilitate travel (the character can take possession of clones available on each planet), but resources will take longer to travel from one planet to another. other, in order to enrich the commercial mechanics between players.

Open gameplay

What about Stars Reach's gameplay? According to Raphael Koster, PvP is planned, but initially, the developer will focus on PvE – based on melee or ranged combat, via technologies or magic, all built around skills to develop (but without class constraints).

Above all, we remember that if combat is very present in Stars Reach, players will also have access to many other activities: exploration or harvesting of resources and trade between worlds (including contraband) but also more activities. social such as the terraforming of the game universe, the creation of cities and the management of territories – notably via taxes and even diplomacy mechanics between guilds or between “nations”. The developer also announces “pacifist professions” such as farmer, scientist or artist which will contribute to the overall economy of the game universe.

A quest system is also planned, but again, it is at least partially player-driven. The game world will house story-driven quests that explain the history of the game world – the disappearance of the “Ancients” who previously occupied this world. However, the studio also plans for players to be able to propose their own missions, which nearby players can respond to in exchange for rewards.

An alpha test starting this summer

We understand, Stars Reach promises particularly rich fun mechanics – according to Raphael Koster, his MMO is inspired by the references which laid down the main principles of the massively multiplayer genre (Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies, but also Eve Online Or RuneScape), but without trying to reproduce the past, on the contrary looking towards the future of the MMO and restoring its letters of nobility. We will judge on piece when the time comes and undoubtedly more quickly than we imagine: given the resolutely open concepts of Stars Reach, the development team intends to involve the players as soon as possible in the design of the game. The launch of the alpha-test is therefore announced for this summer and for the curious, registrations are already open on the official website.

In the longer term, if no launch date has yet been formally established, Stars Reach aims to adopt a free-to-play model (the game is based on player interactions, the barriers to entry must therefore be as as low as possible), supplemented by an optional subscription and a strictly cosmetic store. The model does not integrate NFT or cryptocurrency.