Those of you unfamiliar with video game development should temper your expectations a little. It's unusual for a game to be announced before development even has begun. Most games are announced only in the last year, or even last 6 months, of their full development cycle. This means that only a short time will pass between the announcement and people getting their hands on the game, which is what we've all come to expect after many years of seeing this behavior. 

However, Stardock had to purchase the rights to the Star Control license, and that inevitably ends up being common knowledge sooner rather than later. With a passionate and fanatic fanbase for Star Control watching their every move, it was in Stardock's best interest to announce that they were doing a game in the series and to describe their overall strategy for it, quelling fears and putting everyone on the same page.

The backside to their approach is that the announcement comes unusually far ahead of the game itself. We're talking anywhere between 2 to 4 years here. Game development takes several years, and it's a back-heavy process where you usually don't have anything that is good enough to show off until the very end. This puts Stardock in the unfortunate position of having their game look like vaporware, or worse, coming off as uncommunicative to fans. 

Just be patient, everyone. You learned about this game far earlier than you really should have. Stardock will probably have lots of cool information for us eventually, but you should expect it to take quite some time for us to get there. 

For the record, I don't work for Stardock. All the above is based on my own knowledge and experiences with the game industry.

Hi All - I'm new to the forum - signed up specifically to discuss the new SC game.  I like many people on here am a mid 30's guy who spent my formative years playing SC1 and 2 (and 3... sigh), and I'm massively looking forward to a new game.  I've not kept my finger on the pulse of gaming, so i've no idea of Star Dock's reputation or the games that keep getting listed as examples of why Star Dock and Star Control are a good fit.  I hope it is true.

I know that it is unreasonable for us all to expect too much so early in the development cycle of a game, but I've just bookmarked this page, and will likely check it for updates daily.  That's how excited I am.  So, Frogboy - please keep us in the loop regularly.  Even regular "no news is good news" posts just touching base and letting us know the project hasn't been derailed.

My only other comment is that this game needs the SC1/2 aliens/ships to to work.  Not necessarily every single one, but a reasonable majority, definitely.  I understand the trepidation of playing with such important things and not wanting to step on Fred/Paul's toes, but I think it's time we stop lying to ourselves.  If they desperately wanted to participate, they would, full stop.  Skylanders is very successful and Paul and Fred could simply sell up their stakes in TFB and give themselves a nice little retirement fund, and would then have the freedom to jump on board and have an official role in this, all while de-risking themselves by not having a financial stake in the game.  But, they aren't here.  They are comfortable where they are, and they have every right to keep feeding the goose that is laying their golden egg.  I've no qualms about that, whatsoever.  BUT... we, as SC fans, shouldn't have to suffer a second-rate game (AGAIN) because other people keep caring about Fred and Paul's legacy.

So, my message is to Star Dock.  Stop being pansies.  You bought the rights to SC, and if you want it to be truly successful and pay off for you, you need to nut up and stop worrying about stepping on anyone's toes.  Make the best game you can with what you have to work with, including the full suite of IP... alien races, ships, story arcs.  That is the only way to live up to all of our expectations and have a cracker of a game.  The fans don't need Fred and Paul at the helm, as long as whoever is at the helm is willing to throw their full weight behind making this the best game it can be.

Peace