To be honest, the huge success of the graphically overhauled HD-version of our popular sci-fi saga Galaxy on Fire 2 surprised us quite a bit, because we had never thought that even such a vast number of fans, who already own the regular version of the game, would still buy the HD-version as well to save the galaxy from the devious Voids on their iPad 2 or iPhone 4S once again. Apart from minor refinements such as the thrust control, which allows you to change the speed of your ship with little more than a swipe of the index finger, we’ve not added any new content or features on purpose, because in regards to the story and gameplay we did not want to favour any user group at all. At least in our opinion, a gamer, who plays GOF2 on his trusty iPhone 3GS, should experience the same thrill and excitement as a fan, who sets course for the final frontier on his brand-new iPhone 4S.
A Nemesis-Fighter by the Deep Science-Faction approaching the Kaamo Club
Nevertheless, the hardware capacities of the current generation Apple devices do indeed differ quite a bit from those of their predecessors and hence we’ve worked very hard to max out the powerful dual-core A5 chip of the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S and offer our fans a visual treat which is pretty much in a league of its own on mobile platforms! And the many raving reviews by the world’s leading gaming magazines on the one hand and the countless satisfied customer comments on the other have shown us that we’ve apparently done a pretty good job with GOF2 HD and hence it’s only been a matter of time until we’d optimize Galaxy on Fire 2 – Valkyrie, the first add-on for our action-packed space epic centering around the daredevil space war hero Keith T. Maxwell, for iPad 2 and iPhone 4S as well. Right now it looks like Valkyrie HD will be out in mid-February and we’ve decided to ease your waiting by publishing two developer diaries prior to the release and give you a little insight into the creation of the add-on’s spectacular new graphics assets!
Galaxy on Fire 2 HD - Valkyrie: S'Kanarr (HD vs. SD)
In the following we’d like to show you some of the new 3D models in detail and give you a little info on how they’ve been created and in what points they differ the most from the assets of the SD-version. For illustration purposes, our graphics department has not only provided us with a number of cool “HD vs. SD” images but also given us some interesting information on how the new space crafts, stations and other 3D assets have been brought to life!
Galaxy on Fire 2 HD - Valkyrie: S'Kanarr (HD vs. SD)
All in all, the creation of a space ship such as the S’Kanarr took about a week. First, the wire frame for the new fighter had to be created in 3DS Max 2012 and second, the detailed new texture sets had to be added. Compared to the SD-version of Galaxy on Fire 2 – Valkyrie, the assets of the HD-version feature four-times as many polygons and a four-time higher texture resolution. This results not only in slight changes in the ship’s body but also in a multitude of cool new details, such as extra lights on the bottom side or more sophisticated weapons systems in front of the cockpit.
Galaxy on Fire 2 HD - Valkyrie: Hangar (HD vs. SD)
Besides the ships, stations and heavenly bodies, the backgrounds of the stations’ interiors, such as the hangar, have been re-designed from scratch as well. The additional light sources and new structure elements on the ground and on the walls really aid the three-dimensional feel of the hangar and the vast number of added details makes it look more lively and colourful than ever before. As you can see, the graphics and overall look of the game have been improved a lot and we’re already looking forward to fill you in on the new special effects next week. Of course, we’re also gonna show you some spectacular “HD vs. SD” graphics again, because when it comes to the dazzling laser beams and thundering explosions of Valkyrie HD, an image definitely says more than a thousand words!
Tags: 3D graphics, assets, dev diary, Galaxy on Fire 2, models, new space ships, textures, Valkyrie HD
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Does this include work on Valkyrie HD for Mac OS X?
Hi Nick, yes it does. Valkyrie Full HD will be released shortly after Valkyrie HD. We’re currently aiming at a release in March 2012.
WOOHOO!!!
AWESOME!!
Isn’t the space surrounding Valkyrie station supposed to be orange?
I love this game ! Will we had the add-on supernova in HD too ?
Waiting for sgs2 release..
Cheers Captain Awesome (cool name, btw^^). Especially when you keep in mind how successful the latest generation Apple devices have performed on the market, it would be downright stupid if we’d not give iPhone 4S and iPad 2 users the chance to max out their smartphones and tablets’ capabilities and play the latest installments of our sci-fi saga with stunning HD-visuals. Hence we’ll surely release an optimized HD-version of Supernova as well. And this time you’ll even get it right away as we will release the SD- and HD-versions of Supernova simultaneously.
Hello Riodoank! Thanks for your interest in our game. We will release an All Android version of GOF2, which will also support the Galaxy S2, in the not-too-distant future and if the game performs fine on Android, we will surely release the add-on(s) on that platform as well… fingers crossed that all goes as planned and the Android crowd’s hot for GOF2!
any release date??
Nice to hear that Fishlab doesn’t want to leave customers “alone in the dark”.
But what about the THD (Android HD) version of Valkyrie ? Is Apple the only provider for mobile hardware ?
Regards.
i like that vossk ship i call it the tank and it’s more great in the hd version hope GOF2 and valkyrie realse soon for windows computer
any release date??
can you play galaxy on fire 2 on android tablet with game cotroller like from ps3 or xbox?
GOF2 HD is an amazing game. Looking forward to Valkyrie! Some cool stuff to add in the future would be:
-ability to become a pirate and enter pirate bases to buy contraband items, illegal weapons, etc. all factions would then be at war with you. You would have to pay huge bribes to get into a space station then find a diplomat to “erase your record”. This would add a whole new dynamic to the game.
-Friend or Foe settings on your next gen scanners. Allow the scanner to only lock onto enemies so we stop accidentally shooting allies when the scanner “jumps” after missile is fired.
-Friend or foe missiles. When fired, they precision target the nearest enemy. You can keep launching them and they will seek out the nearest enemy target. Would be a very cool missile.
-upgraded impulse engine that allows 50%, 100%, 150%, etc increase over standard engines.
-upgraded thrusters with longer duration burn.
-additional types of freighters with larger cargoes. Maybe allow us to purchase large corvette with 10+ turrets, heavy shields, huge cargo capacity, etc. could then become a merchant.
-additional void ships and bad guys. New and interesting weapons? Maybe a massive EMP devise that can be installed on your ship that can “zap” anything in a 5km radius? That would be cool.
There is so much you could do to keep expanding this game. The graphics are great. The controls and interface are superb….better than any similar space adventure game on the market. You guys have a winner here. I think a lot of us would be willing to keep paying for additional expansion packs if you keep them coming!
Thanks for your great work guys.
Relentless
As Arnaud mentions… What about the android THD version? I’ve saved the universe and am now building up cash while I wait!
Thanks for the cool suggestions, Relentless! I don’t wanna reveal too much but at least some of your ideas will indeed find their way into the next add-on Supernova! We’ll not only add an extensive new story line but also tons of new content such as ships, weapons, pieces of equipment, mission types, etc! It’s gonna be huge!
for when is planned GOF2 for Windows?
Hi guys ,really love this game ,I agree with relentless, but I love the wraith ship and the vol nor would love to see more like them,and in red that be cool,,please,please,please ,GREAT GAME keep it going guys 10*
Hi again ,it would also be nice to be able to own more than one ship maby even a station you could call home? I,d pay for that
@nourdin59: We can’t say it for sure as there are certain issues that need to be solved first. We’d definitely like to get it out this year (the sooner the better), so fingers crossed that all works out fine! As soon as we got any concrete news, we’ll surely let you know!
Hi Jester100. In fact, you will indeed be able to buy your own space station, the infamous Kaamo Club, as soon as Valkyrie HD is out. You can use it to store valuable goods and additional space ships, which you don’t need at the moment but also don’t wanna sell for good. You can either buy the Kaamo Club via in-app purchase for $0.99 or purchase it in-game for 30.000.000 credits.
Awsome game and great graphics. just finished story now going after gold medals.
cant wait for he valkyrie for HD. one thing i wanted whilst playing story was somewhere to keep old ships.
Cheers, ads! Valkyrie HD will be out this Thursday, so you’ll be able to experience a whole new story line and meet lots of new characters very soon. Together with Valkyrie HD we will also release a new update, which includes, among others, the infamous Kaamo Club in Shima system. You can either buy it in-game or via in-app purchase and once you’ve obtained it, you can use it as a storage place for your old ships. Good luck getting all the medals, btw! Some challenges are pretty tough but I’m sure you’ll beat ‘em nevertheless!
Not sure whether there’s a glitch but absolutely loving Valkyrie in HD, have completed it in SD, thinking about doing it again in HD.
Love the Kaamo Club, looks great in HD.
Thank you for all your work. Can’t wait for Supernova. When will the PC version be available and will this include Valkyrie with OpenFeint support?
Hi Colin! Glad to hear you enjoyed Valkyrie that much! Hope you’ll have fun playing the HD version as well… as for the PC version, due to a number of different issues, we unfortunately had to postpone it to Q3 of 2012. Open Feint and iCloud support should both work now and you should also finally be able to freely synchronize your save games between the SD and HD versions of the game.
Is there part 2 of Valkyrie HD Developers Diary? cuz I see there is part 1 at the title and its already release the Addon so far…
Hi Trubo_XL, here’s the link to the second Dev Diary for Valkyrie HD. Enjoy the read!
http://www.fishlabs.net/en/blog/valkyrie-hd-dev-diary-pt-2-maximum-firepower/?blog=1
Galaxy on fire 2 HD is an awesome game but it freezes in the first 10 seconds of starting the game up and want you guys , (fishlabs), to fix it and because of that i am starting to hate the game because i have not played the game in over about a month now!!!!!!!!!!!
Personally I think that you should be able to hire staff for you own station and maybe even a defense force. I just feel that it’s weird to be in a empty abandoned station. I would like some company to order around. I paid 30 million and 50t of buskat which cost at least 500k, I’d like it to be more than a storage shed.
JP
MGBY