'Sid Meier's Starships' takes on space combat

Strategy game designer Sid Meier is sticking with outer space for his next game, "Starships," which will have players designing and deploying their own spacecraft and is due early this year.

Strategy game designer Sid Meier is sticking with outer space for his next game, 'Starships,' which will have players designing and deploying their own spacecraft and is due early this year.

'I was intrigued by the idea of exploring the next chapter in the story of 'Civilization: Beyond Earth,'' Meier explained, referring to the November 2014 continuation of the 24-year-old 'Civilization' series as part of the game's first announcement.

'My goal was to create an experience that focuses on starship design and combat within a universe filled with interstellar adventure, diplomacy, and exploration.'

Where the 'Civilization' series has focused on computer games, with the occasional foray into console gaming ('Civilization Revolution,' 2008), social networks ('Civilization World,' 2011) and smartphone ('Civilization Revolution 2,' 2014), 'Starships' is identifying Mac, PC and iOS as its target platforms from the off.

It's a synergization of Meier's recent mobile interests, as evidenced by the two turn-based WWII 'Ace Patrol' games, his studio's long history with computer games and publisher 2K's penchant for porting full-blown retail releases to tablets, as with 'X-Com: Enemy Unknown.'