Looks like a sequel to Freelancer. Consider me intrigued.

So it is a Space Sim. More info: http://en.akella.com/Game.aspx?id=17

I love big space battles, especially with huge ships to take down. But the combat looks like a mouse orientated, 3rd spaceship (person?) shooter. That does not make me hopeful. I want my space sims 1st person inside the cockpit for full immersion, not twitchy at all, and with a joystick. Like Tie-Fighter, well maybe it's an option.

Thanks, Edwin. I wants it.

How about a LucasArts remake of the X-Wing/Tie Fighter series - introduce a new generation of gamers to why we have joysticks with PC's these days. They can even include the new movies starchips in a separate campaign, but bring me back my classic B-Wing. Oh and the game looks nice, but I agree with Lobster Akella's stuff is terribly buggy.

Oh yea, and the A-wing. Suprisingly though flying one into a Star Destroyer never seemed to hurt it much.

From the Wargamer(www.wargamer.com):

'...
Paradox Interactive announced today that their space action title, Tarr Chronicles, has gone gold. The game is to be published in North America by CDV and will hit store shelves on September 17 and land in Europe on September 28. It will also be released simultaneously on the download portal GamersGate.

About Tarr Chronicles
Torn by years of strife and bloodshed, the universe lies dying, with humanity struggling to survive. Suddenly, hope shines again, as the Battlecruiser Talestra uncovers an ancient, forgotten city within which rests salvation for an entire solar system. Hostile alien forces have other plans for the artifacts found within the city, and begin their assault on the Talestra.

Lost in space and deep behind enemy lines, the player must don an elite fighter pilot's uniform and defend the galaxy's last hope in Tarr Chronicles, a gripping arcade-style space combat simulation in development by Kvazar Studio and Akella. At your disposal are dozens of detailed high-tech fighters bristling with cannons and rocket launchers, yours to fly against an unstoppable alien menace - the De'Khete. Intelligent squad mates with unique personalities will assist you in frenzied white-knuckle space battles between vast fleets of fighters and massive capital ships. From fully-customizable equipment to collectible badges and fast-action combat encounters, Tarr Chronicles will keep you pinned to your seat.

Key features
Instant Action – A user-friendly interface ensures immediate "jump in and play" gameplay for all skill levels

Lush 3D Visuals – Dazzling star fields and massive orbital battles spring to life on your PC

Expansive Storyline – Defend the galaxy throughout nine sprawling missions, each with up to 15 quests

Endless Variety – 60 customizable ships and more than 150 individual parts and weapons

Adaptive AI – Intelligent allies provide advice and cover, seeking out and annihilating targets without prompting

Living Universe – From glowing nebulae to glistening asteroid belts, outer space's remote reaches are yours to explore

Constant Rewards – Earn unique badges, ranks and honors as you single-handedly save mankind

...'

I can only imagine what kind of copy protection they are using.

There is a trailer listed there called Lonely Space trailer that actually shows a few seconds of the cockpit. So you can fly first person not just 3rd person. Looks like the sequel I've always wanted for Wing Commander or Tie Fighter or any of the space sims.

Trailer looks very cool. The ship customization screen (very brief glimpse in the trailer I watched) has me especially intrigued, and even a bit hopeful.

Perhaps this could finally be the decent space sim I've been longing for...

I'll be trying the demo tonight before I jump into TF2.

I went trawling through the companies development titles and found Jagged Alliance 3! I adored 1 and 2 and still knock out the odd map now and again. It had its flaws but Jaysus I love those games.

Edwin, I want to have your babies.

Tarr Chronicles is available at Gamers Gate, if you are the downloading sort. $30. Just FYI.

I will still pick it up - just in case it proves to be a gem or even (most likely) a diamond in the rough. Any game that even remotely has potential to be a Wing commander or (be still my heart) a Tie Fighter is worth the chance.

The ship customization looks cool. The combat sometimes worries me that the ship is going to fly like the Lair dragon. I wonder if we can use the sixaxis control with it?

Early customer review on Gamersgate says that the game is, indeed, buggy. Nevertheless, fixes are already announced.

I put a little over an hour into the demo tonight and came away feeling that this is a competent, if buggy, space sim that might have potential. Some impressions...

Good:
The ship customization seems deep, even at the beginning. You choose different hulls, each of which can accommodate a different amount of weight. You can then pick your armor type, shield type, engine, generator, guns, missiles, etc. but have to balance everything so that you don't exceed your maximum weight. Some equipment gives you bonuses in addition to their base stats (like engines that provide energy boosts or better shields.)

When new tech becomes available between missions the hangar mechanic describes it in a little cinematic window so you have some idea of its strengths and weaknesses without needing to read the stats.

Control (I was using a mouse) seems straightforward and was easy to pick up. It felt a little like Freelancer but the ships I tried weren't as maneuverable as the ships in that game.

Meh:
The combat wasn't thrilling but was interesting enough that I wasn't bored.

Missions are composed of several objectives, you have to finish all of them to advance. The game auto saves between missions but not objectives. You get partially repaired between objectives (armor is repaired and ammo replenished but if a piece of your ship was destroyed, like your missile launcher, its gone for the rest of the mission.)

Bad:
The writing / translation is okay most of the time but then someone will say something that sounds really bad. i.e. "We escaped. Like puppies from a burning cauldron, which the system had become." or "I do not know how to explode people, commander!" (I wrote these down while playing, this isn't from memory )

The cinematics are buggy. During the first few cinematics from my wingmen, the audio didn't activate. Luckily there were subtitles. After mission two, the sound for the between mission cinematic started but not the video. And during one wingman cinematic, russian speech played instead of english.

The personalities of your wingmen aren't very distinct. They all seem pissed off and the voice acting ranged from decent to completely unbelievable.

The game feels very linear. Between missions you can read your journal and some history on the different races, etc. but that's all. Maybe at some point the plot branches but I didn't see that.

Overall, if they patch this game, it might be worth picking up during a dry spell. If it wasn't for the ship customization I would totally write this off. I may put some more time in the demo but don't really feel compelled to.