I'm no shoot 'em up nutter - or "shmutter", as I understand they prefer to be called - but some of the first games I remember playing are shmups. Games like Maelstrom, Ambrosia's Macintosh clone of Asteroids, and the proto-shmup Crystal Quest from Patrick Buckland, who would go on to make Carmageddon. Little did I know that the humble premise of a small 2D spacecraft shooting baddies on a wrap-around screen would reach the glittering heights of Nova Drift. Had you shown me this game back in 1995, I dare say I'd have shmupped myself.

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I'm no shoot 'em up nutter - or "shmutter", as I understand they prefer to be called - but some of the first games I remember playing are shmups. Games like Maelstrom, Ambrosia's Macintosh clone of Asteroids, and the proto-shmup Crystal Quest from Patrick Buckland, who would go on to make Carmageddon. Little did I know that the humble premise of a small 2D spacecraft shooting baddies on a wrap-around screen would reach the glittering heights of Nova Drift. Had you shown me this game back in 1995, I dare say I'd have shmupped myself.

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Spaceship likers, come hither. Long-running space sim Elite Dangerous has just unloaded a new interstellar vessel into its universe, and she's a beaut. The new Type-8 Transporter is a medium freighter capable of hauling a maximum of 406 tons of cargo. It's got a default jump range of 17.55 light years and two big prongs sticking out of its face like a sci-fi forklift. Cool. The catch is that this ship can only be bought with real money for now, say the developers. This is part of Frontier's new strategy of having paid-for ships in the game. I don't really play Elite Dangerous anymore, so I don't have strong feelings about that. But I do have strong feelings about the space trucker advertisement the developer has put together for the new ship. Come watch it with me.

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Spaceship likers, come hither. Long-running space sim Elite Dangerous has just unloaded a new interstellar vessel into its universe, and she's a beaut. The new Type-8 Transporter is a medium freighter capable of hauling a maximum of 406 tons of cargo. It's got a default jump range of 17.55 light years and two big prongs sticking out of its face like a sci-fi forklift. Cool. The catch is that this ship can only be bought with real money for now, say the developers. This is part of Frontier's new strategy of having paid-for ships in the game. I don't really play Elite Dangerous anymore, so I don't have strong feelings about that. But I do have strong feelings about the space trucker advertisement the developer has put together for the new ship. Come watch it with me.

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Edwin spotted this game called Beta Decay that's not got a release date yet or anything, but looks very cool. It's being developed by Rotoscope Studios and it's a low-poly, 90s-inspired mix of dystopian RPG, survival, third and first-person shooter, with some roguelike bits slapped in there, as well. Whew, that's a lot. Potentially too much. But hey, I am here for something ambitious and interesting, of which it ticks both boxes.

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Edwin spotted this game called Beta Decay that's not got a release date yet or anything, but looks very cool. It's being developed by Rotoscope Studios and it's a low-poly, 90s-inspired mix of dystopian RPG, survival, third and first-person shooter, with some roguelike bits slapped in there, as well. Whew, that's a lot. Potentially too much. But hey, I am here for something ambitious and interesting, of which it ticks both boxes.

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Happy May 3rd, Battlestar Galactica fans! Remember what John Dune said about living long and prospering? He said: Oh, look, objectively excellent dogfighter Star Wars: Squadrons is under two quid on Steam. As Edwin pointed out to me, that’s about the price of a third of latte, although he does pay London prices. Also, Edwin, are you going around trying to buy the dregs of people’s lattes? I cannot judge. Were it in short supply, I too would debase myself for caffeine in an instant.

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4X-meets-real-time-strategy game Sins Of A Solar Empire 2 will finally launch on Steam this summer, Stardock and Ironclad Games have announced, a couple of years after going into technical early access on Epic Games Store. I loved the first Sins and so did Kieron Gillen (RPS in peace) whose 16-year-old review dwells appreciatively on the spectacle of cruisers and frigates bouncing to hyperspace on the very edge of a solar system. We don't seem to have written about the second one - time to change that, I guess. Here's the Steam release announcement trailer.

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The sequel to The Ur-Quan Masters has more than tripled its Kickstarter funding goal in four days. Free Stars: Children Of Infinity, which is a sequel to the series formerly known as Star Control, has so far raised $332k (£268k), although it's still shooting for several stretch goals - including one as high as $4.4 million.

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