Starmasons

PLOT

In the distant crevices of our galaxy, the Starmasons shaped and meticulously placed a small planet in between twin stars, hidden in plain sight. Atop its vast ocean surface lies a miniscule island – scattered with ruins bearing peculiar resemblance to familiar cultures and architecture. Bathed in the ever-changing sunlight, the island statues stare lifelessly into the aether.

But once every cycle, a glowing artifact emerges on the island waking some of the statues from their slumber. Only one can claim the artifact and become the next traveler.

GAMEPLAY

Starmasons is an online PVP shooter for 2–12 players playing matches lasting 2–12 minutes. The game plays as a minimalistic FPS on a confined map, but promotes a stealthy, patient tactical approach as a viable tactic alongside the standard fast-paced dynamics of most shooters. But zoning out while listening to the soft breeze watching the sunsets is not a long-term option. If someone picks up the artifact, with prospects of an instant victory, a scramble towards them is inevitable, so the intensity could flip from meditative to chaotic in an instant.

Without features like weapon choices, pick-ups and builds to pursue to stay competitive or gain an edge, all players start and remain on equal footing throughout a match. Learning the game takes no time, and even players lacking in FPS experience could find themselves refreshingly competitive from the get-go by choosing a more cunning approach. After all, one precise shot is all it takes to get the kill. This makes Starmasons a great game to invite any of your friends to play – not just your usual suspects.

TECHNICAL PLATFORM

The game requires about 2 GB of storage capacity, a decent PC and, obviously, a fast internet connection. With LUFTSKIP being a small studio and all, the game does not run on dedicated servers. Instead, the host player will serve as the game server for your session. If the hardware or internet connection of the host is inadequate, this could affect the game experience for all players in the session. Keep this in mind and consider joining rather than hosting sessions if your setup is sub-par.