House of the Dying Sun

Enemy Starfighter

Released

Release Date: November 1, 2016

A science-fiction tactical space simulator shooter. It is the debut title of Marauder Interactive – a studio founded by Mike Tipul, one of the designers of Halo: Reach. In the game, the player assumes the role of one of loyal commanders of dead Emperor, who is tasked with punishing the traitors which caused the monarch’s death.

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Plot
Mechanics
Technical aspects

House of the Dying Sun is a science-fiction tactical space simulator shooter. The production (which used a working title Enemy Starfighter), released for PC, is the debut project of one-man studio, Marauder Interactive, founded by Mike Tipul – one of the level designers of Halo: Reach.

Plot

The game takes place in the distant future, in which the grand emperor dies and his royal guard is broken. Due to a treason, a new, self-appointed ruler sits on the throne of the galactic empire. The player assumes the role of one of loyal commanders of the rightful emperor, who is tasked with fulfilling the emeperor’s last will – finding and punishing the traitors responsible for his death. In order to do it, player takes control of one of the deadliest fighter jets named Executor Mk II, and he takes command over the remains of the defeated fleet. Together with his few allies he will face numerous enemy squadrons.

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Mechanics

Gameplay mechanics in House of the Dying Sun are inspired by classic space simulators such as Descent Freespace: The Great War. The story campaign consists of 14 scenarios in which player’s main objective is to the fight, complete various requirements and escape before enemy is alarmed and the giant enemy flagship s the combat. Each mission has many optional objectives as well. For completing them, one is awarded with new weapons and other modifications for the armada. Three difficulty levels can be selected and the combat is rather fast. However, agility alone is not enough to win – tactical mind and the ability to plan strategically is required as well.

The main feature with which Marauder Interactive distinguishes itself from other typical arcade simulators is its advanced tactical options. Despite the fact that during the game, only a single ship is directly controlled by the player, in order to win, a cooperation of the whole squadron is required. The squadron can be managed by giving orders in special tactical window (with active pause option and the possibility to take control over any of the fighting units). The tactical option combines a planning mode known from first installments of Homeworld series. The fact that game takes place in three-dimensional space where there are no environmental covers (except for rare asteroids) gives great strategic possibilities to all players.

Technical aspects

House of the Dying Sun for PC was created by using the popular Unity engine and it has colorful, sometimes slightly cartoonish visuals. The game s the modern virtual reality sets like HTC Vive, but it works on traditional monitors as well. It offers to various screen resolutions (including the rather rare 21:9 format).

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