Hostile Space closed beta begins

InterAdventure has announced the start of beta testing for its online multiplayer persistent role-playing game Hostile Space. The game, which in its alpha stages of development was a finalist in the 2001 Independent Games Festival, sees players assuming the roles of spacecraft captains in a universe in which time passes whether they are playing or not.

Played from a top-down viewpoint, the game features simple graphics and open-ended gameplay. As players explore the vast game universe, they'll be able to complete specific quests offered to them, or spend their days battling non-player characters and players who have joined rival factions and clans.

The finished game will boast what InterAdventure describes as "unlimited quantities of items," because once players have learned the relevant skills, they'll be able to take items that they've found or purchased--such as alien weapons, cloaking devices, deflectors, computers, and the like--and engineer new, more powerful items.

No release date for Hostile Space has been announced at this time. We'll bring you more information as it becomes available.