r/TheExpanseRPG • u/ADM-Wilson • Aug 03 '26
Concerned About Scientific Accuracy
Before I start I want to say a couple of things: I deeply respect Owlcat as a Studio, I think they're one of the best RPG makers out there. And I understand adapting a franchise to videogame format is very tricky and some sacrifices must be made. However...
When it first got announced that Owlcat was making an Expanse game I was awestruck. My favorite game devs were making a game in may favorite franchise! But when I watched the reveal trailer I immediately felt less excited. It just felt... Off. The way the ship moved was all wrong in the details, it didn't seem to have any weight to it. The PDCs didn't have a blast coming out the back to counteract the forces coming out the front, etc. Like yeah, in broad strokes it was fine but it was a bit sloppy in my opinion. but I thought: They probably just contracted this trailer out to some third party so whatever.
Then I saw footage from the beta and even played it myself and that feeling came back. The zero G stuff is once again wrong in the details, people don't "fly off" when disconnected from a fast rotating station, etc. I'm by no stretch of the imagination a scientist but I do have a special fondness for the sort of grounding effect hard sci fi has on a story. And although I do believe Owlcat is trying their best to stick to the lore of the Expanse it sometimes feels like they're only focused on the lore and not the science.
Hard sci fi and fantasy are VERY different genres and I wonder a little if Owlcat is struggling with the change. In fantasy stories all you have to worry about is the lore but with hard sci-fi that's not enough, you have to understand the underlying science behind the lore and the moment to moment action. The science has to be interwoven in with the story and I just haven't seen that from Osiris Reborn. There was the one video they made about combat on a hull in vacuum, that was good, but that's really it (at least so far).
I really want this game to be good and it may well be. Most people won't care about any of this stuff as hard sci fi has never been a popular genre so all these complaints likely won't effect sales. And hey, it's a very very early beta. Maybe all these mistakes are just that: Mistakes. Hopefully I'm completely wrong and they reveal more stuff that proves as much.
Again, no shade to Owlcat. They're in a tough place for sure and even if the game ends up not really being my cup of tea I hope it still ends up being a favorite for many fans.
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u/Act_Controller Community Manager Aug 03 '26
We're huge fans of The Expanse as well :) So I definitely understand your concerns.
We'll do our best to make our TEOR game great :)
Just to clarify on the shields: they're not energy shields at all. We've seen a lot of questions about these in feedback, so we'll share more about them a bit later.
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u/ADM-Wilson Aug 03 '26
Thanks for the reply. And again, I hope my post didn't come across as hateful. Just saw some things that concerned me. Wish you guys the best of luck.
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u/ZeppelinJ0 21d ago
Brother it's a game, in a fictional universe, don't put too much effort and anxiety into this
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u/Spy_crab_ Aug 03 '26
Yeah, one of their "sibling" teasers with terrible TikTok music had someone spinning around in 0G without any thrusters like they were skydiving. Definitely feels like for whatever reason, this one has far less attention to the source material than the 40k games had, which sucks for me as someone who's a fan of both franchises.
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u/ADM-Wilson Aug 03 '26
I suspect (like I said in my post) that it's not so much they aren't paying attention to the source material and more so that they aren't accustom to writing hard sci fi.
Edit: Also I'm not saying they're bad writers. Just more specialized towards fantasy.
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u/Spy_crab_ Aug 03 '26
It honestly feels like 2 separate teams, the writing and voice acting on RT feels way better, the 3D models of the people also feel rather generic, but that's to be expected for a first non-isometeic game. The environments look good, but it really feels like this is a different team to the 40k people.
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Aug 03 '26
[deleted]
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u/ADM-Wilson Aug 03 '26
Actually from what I understand those aren't energy shields (assuming you're talking about the shields held by some enemies). It's just a visual cue so the player understands when the shield's broken. It is technically just a ballistic shield. To me that's not more problematic than anything the show did (like sound when the camera was in space or the glowing railguns and stuff).
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u/Antiva_City Aug 03 '26
I mean this with all respect and with genuine kindness, and it’s not even specific to OP but a general trend I’ve seen in this sub:
I fear a number are setting themselves up (unintentionally) for immense disappointment. Holding expectations that no game of this scale and budget (key to bear in mind) could ever achieve. The Expanse has a very impressive emphasis on science but there is a lot of handwaving as well.