Descent is being rebooted as a MOBA on Kickstarter
UPDATE: Makes it, just.
UPDATE 13/4/15: Descent: Underground has squeaked past its Kickstarter funding total of $600k (£412k) with a finishing total of $601,773.
The project didn't make any of its stretch goals, but funding will now continue via the Descent official site, where the game's campaign is now aiming for the $625k milestone.
"Amazing!" exclaimed Descent Studios in a new Kickstarer post. "We want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to each and every one of our community members who backed, helped spread the word, offered ideas and feedback, and just MADE THIS HAPPEN! You are incredible, and we are humbled by your support, your passion, and your trust in us. DESCENT IS BACK!
"Now the real work begins! We're diving directly into a fast, tight production cycle (after a much-needed weekend of rest), and moving ahead with building this awesome game. Of course, you will all be along for the ride every step of the way."
Watch a new trailer below:
ORIGINAL STORY 10/3/15:
Ship-based FPS Descent has launched a Kickstarter for a modern-day reboot, Descent: Underground.
Former Star Citizen president of production and development Eric "Wingman" Peterson is heading up this campaign at his new Austin-based Descendent Studios. Peterson also worked on Conquest Frontier Wars, Starlancer, Wing Commander 4 and Freelancer. Descent IP-holder Interplay has partnered with the new studio on this, making it an official entry in the series that kicked off in 1995.
According to Peterson's Linkedin, Descent: Underground is a "six degrees of freedom MOBA type of combat game." Indeed the Kickstarter is focused multiplayer matches of up to 16-player teams as they compete across several game modes. There's standard Deathmatch, the collection-race Capture the Ore, the CTF-riff Mining for Minerals, and the territory control Capture the Asteroid.
There will be eight different types of ships available along with four maps, each full of secrets and power-ups that can be mined.
Descent: Underground is being developed in Unreal Engine 4 and it's looking better than the impressive-for-its-time 2012 Descent fan remake developed in Unreal Engine 3.
Assuming Descent: Underground reaches its $600K goal, it's aiming for a March 2016 PC release.
Early birds can guarantee a copy of the game for $25, though the price will go up to $30 then $35 for those who catch on later. The Kickstarter runs until 10th April.