Hellion Early Access – What to Expect

My fears have been confirmed, Hellion has been delayed, but thankfully not for too long – it will now be releasing in 24th February 2017. It sucks that it got a delay, but hey, these things happen.

I’ve already covered Hellion a couple of times here and that’s because I’m pretty excited to play it and genuinely think it could be a pretty fantastic gaming experience. But what can we expect to see at the games launch in to Early Access? Well that’s why I’m here.

WHAT IS HELLION?

Hellion is a first person multiplayer space survival game.

It is a fusion of survival and space simulation genres that pits players against the deadly environment and one another. Survive the hard vacuum, extreme temperatures, deadly radiation and scavenge for basic resources like air, water, food and other items necessary for survival.

The desolate wasteland of Hellion hides many secrets, but to uncover them you will need to leave the safety of your station. The shuttle docked outside is severely worn and if you are to have any chance of success, repairing its failing systems must become your top priority.

Keep in mind you are not the only survivor out there. There are others but will they help or throw you to the void without a second thought? Remember, no matter how brutal space may seem, it cannot hold a candle to man.

THE ‘WORLD’ OF HELLION

Hellion is a fully modeled solar system featuring 8 planets and 10 moons, it will be 3AU is size, apparently 1AU is about 147 million kilometers, so it’s big. All objects are bound by realistic mechanics so everything will be constantly moving and orbiting around something.

Whilst you can’t land on the planets or moons, you will be able to ‘land’ on asteroids for mining purposes.

WHAT DO YOU DO?

Life starts in a small life support pod of a basic ship, from here on out you will need to scavenge for supplies and materials in order to keep yourself alive and your ship functioning.

All ships and stations have a multitude of systems that will need to be maintained to prevent them breaking down. You will be able to board derelict ships and stations to scavenge items from them, mine asteroids for resources and steal from other players should you find them.

Multiplayer is at the heart of Hellion and the game will be running servers with around a 100 player max count so the chances of finding other people is a real possibility and potentially a real threat to your survival – expect to fight and don’t forget to check your cargo holds for stowaways!

You will also be able to build fully functioning outposts, but they will take a considerable amount of time and resources to do. You can build them using salvageable station modules like reactors, hangers and life support units and connecting them. There is no limit to the number of modules you can have, meaning you could create some very large bases.

WHAT WILL BE IN AT LAUNCH?

With the game being early access, don’t expect to be playing a complete game without bugs and glitches. The are a number of areas still being worked on, but some are obviously already done, below is a list of the completed features that will be in at release.

Space based on real physics

• Realistic scale solar system
• Newtonian Physics
• Orbital mechanics
• Seamless transitions
• Persistent universe

Immersive sound

• Realistic sound propagation

Space survival

• Vacuum and decompression

Salvaging

• Parts
• Resources
• Station Modules

Resource gathering

• Asteroid EVA mining
• Refining

Piloting

• Piloting and Navigation
• Scanning
• Different propulsion systems

EVA

• Realistic zero gravity movement

Modular ships, stations and gear

• Base building

Complex maintenance

• Complex resource management
• Stations
• Ships

PvP

• Close quarters combat
• Boarding

Unrestricted multiplayer interaction

• Free multiplayer interaction

Multi-crew ships

There are also a lot more features being worked on and if you’d like to read up on them then head over to this post!

SHOULD YOU GET IT?

Well, I’m obviously a little biased because I’m very excited for it. But if you’re a fan of survival games but are tired of feeling weighed down by gravity then I think Hellion would be a great choice.

Yes there are a plethora of Early Access survival games out there, but there are some gems hidden amongst them and I think this is one of them. The core survival mechanics might not be all that different from other games, but with the setting being in space and having to deal with realistic zero gravity, space flight etc… it could be a really unique game with a lot of amazing sandbox moments.

No price has been confirmed yet, but it’s been said that it will be in line with the price of other Early Access titles, so £14-£20 I’d guess.

Remember that it is Early Access though and it is very much an incomplete game.

Hopefully see you in space!

UPDATE

It has been confirmed that VOIP and Private dedicated servers will be in from Day 1!

You ask we deliver: private dedicated servers and voice chat from day one! Team up with your friends and join us in #Hellion! https://t.co/eTqJVbmwZk

— Hellion (@playhellion) February 20, 2017

-Will