Matrix Games, the company publishing the award winning Starshatter space combat simulation game, gives us an update on what's been going on since they won a Spewgie and a recap of the recent game upgrades.

[Spewgilist.com] Give us a 15 second overview of Starshatter

[MatrixGames] Starshatter: The Gathering Storm represents the next generation of space combat simulation games. The Gathering Storm release is a major upgrade to the original version of Starshatter, with all new artwork, music, cockpit voice-over, and animated cut scenes. The Gathering Storm allows you to experience the world of Starshatter with more punch and excitement than ever before!

Starshatter extends the gameplay concepts of the classic sims by combining fighter and starship combat in a single game. You begin the game as either a fighter pilot or the captain of a small Frigate-class starship. As you progress through the game, you can earn promotions and awards until you are commanding a massive fleet carrier with three wings of fighters and a complete escort of warships. Starshatter also promotes airborne fighter combat to a first-class game component, allowing you to take-off and land at planetary bases, engage in aerial dogfights, and use air-to-ground missiles to destroy ground targets.

[Spewgilist.com] If you had to pick one thing that sets Starshatter apart in its genre, what would that be?

[MatrixGames] Flexibility. Starshatter supports a much wider array of play styles than most other space simulations. It's not so much that Starshatter adjusts itself for the player, as it is that it offers many different opportunities for the player to explore different scenarios. Within the dynamic campaign system, everything is going on all the time - there are strategic and tactical decisions being made at the fleet level, and there are intense battles between starship units, and dogfights between fighter units as well as strike and assault scenarios. The user interface is intentionally designed to allow the player to jump in at any of these levels and have some fun, provided that they have the experience and rank to merit the responsibility.
 
Another place where the game is really flexible is the flight model. I know some people who just like to set the flight model for arcade action, hop in a fighter, and have a good time blowing stuff up. Then there are other players who like to push the realism settings to the max, carefully plan out attack packages, and really prosecute the war. There are even some mod groups that are trying to create super-realistic Newtonian combat scenarios, like something out of an Alastair Reynolds novel.

[Spewgilist.com] Talk to us a little about how Starshatter has done versus your expectations.

[MatrixGames] In general, I’ve been more than satisfied. We have always had good word of mouth and mostly favorable reviews, especially considering the scope of the project. That has continued to this day.

[Spewgilist.com] How can people buy the award wining Starshatter game?

[MatrixGames] Starshatter: The Gathering Storm has been in gaming retailers for a while now. If you can’t find it at a store near you, it is also available online through the Matrix Games website (http://www.matrixgames.com)

[Spewgilist.com] Any update plans for Starshatter?  New edition, special edition, expansion, etc?

[MatrixGames] Actually, we’ve just released a new patch with enhanced support for TrackIR head-tracking. If you have the TrackIR equipment from NaturalPoint, this path will allow you to look around the virtual cockpit view just by turning your head. With the latest hardware, you can even move your head around to “lean in” or “sit up” for a better view.

[Spewgilist.com]  Thanks for the recap.  Starshatter was the first space combat sumilation game we'd seen in a long time that really fullfilled the promise of the genre.