Star Wars Outlaws Devs Talk Designing the Trailblazer

Designing ships for any space-based game is an intense process. It’s building a home base, a fragile thing in a dangerous place. It can also be designing a weapon, a means of travel, and in a way designing a character as well. For Star Wars Outlaws, Kay Vess’ ship Trailblazer has to be all those things and more.

There’s no question that ships in Star Wars are iconic and Star Wars Outlaws is no different. From more general designs like X-Wings, Tie Fighters, and N-1 Starfighters to legendary named ships like the Razorcrest, the Millennium Falcon, and the Ghost, each design is recognizable and fits broadly within the aesthetic of the galaxy far, far away. The Best War Games spoke to creative director Julian Gerighty, narrative director Navid Khavari, and game director Mathias Karlson about the process of designing something that fits in with that legacy.

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By J. Scott Thurlow

Kay Vess Blazes a Trail in Star Wars Outlaws

Space is vast, dangerous, and lonesome. A ship is a home, a vehicle, and the only thing between its crew and a rapid, painful death. A ship’s design in any form of fiction has to keep these things in mind, but in Star Wars there’s also a long legacy to follow. Gerighty explained both the gravity of that and the excitement Massive had taking on the challenge.

"Starships in Star Wars are iconic and all immediately recognizable due to their striking silhouettes and it really was very exciting to create not only a new ship design but also a backstory for this ship, too—it really has had quite a journey of its own before Kay permanently borrows it."

It’s incredibly important that a ship central to a story, a hero ship, be well-thought-out and given character and flair to keep the setting, often revisited and relied upon by protagonists, engaging for viewers or players. These ships have to radiate a personality all their own. Star Wars has traditionally done this to great effect; even when a Star Wars hero ship is a generic model, like Ahsoka Tano’s T-6 Jedi Shuttle, it will typically be personalized, and of a model rarely seen elsewhere in the franchise.

That’s a tight needle to thread even before considering that without the presence of the Jedi or the Force, the Trailblazer is one of the most important ways to establish the Star Wars feeling for players. That was a primary consideration when crafting the worlds and story in Outlaws, said Khavari:

"For us, the journey of Kay, Nix, and ND-5 navigating the criminal underworld through cities bustling with scoundrels, an open world filled with exotic wildlife, or jumping into dogfights with the Trailblazer brings an immersion into the Star Wars galaxy that we feel players will have never experienced before."

The Trailblazer looked for shapes in its design that would be both practical for a starship, but also cut an iconic shape and feel against the starry background. Gerighty said Massive looked to turtles and armored trucks for inspiration, drawing on the shell plating design. It also incorporated elements of toy design from the 1970s and 1980s to try and evoke the feeling of the classic Star Wars trilogy which debuted in that era.

That was an important touch of character for the Trailblazer, as Star Wars Outlaws takes place between original trilogy movies The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Despite taking place distant from those grand battles, Vess’ story is set against that backdrop, so her ship needed to represent that snapshot of the galaxy far, far away.

A Girl, A Merqaal, and a Starship

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Ultimately, the thing that drives Vess forward is a simple dream. She wants to live on her own terms, flying the galaxy with her pal Nix by her side. She doesn’t so much want to tear down the system as be unbound by it. Like in the cult classic show Firefly, the ship symbolizes freedom for a downtrodden Vess. For Karlson, that was the core fantasy Star Wars Outlaws wanted to give players.

"Of course, it all started from the fundamental fantasy of having a starship you can call your own, as an outlaw in the Star Wars galaxy. A ship nimble and armed enough to hold its own in intense dogfights, yet sturdy and capable enough to explore treacherous areas and take on contracts from the syndicates. Say hello to the Trailblazer.

It was really important to us that space was seamlessly part of the open-world experience. You decide when to go there and what to do."

Flying through the night isn’t uneventful. There are Imperial patrols, syndicate ships, and even the occasional pirate for Vess to deal with. That’s where the Trailblazer shines both as a means of travel and a weapon itself. The dogfighting is somewhat evocative of Star Wars Battlefront’s design, possibly due in part to Battlefront veterans working on Outlaws.

Karlson delved into the philosophy of dogfights in Outlaws, saying that Massive leaned in on a more intuitive experience than hardcore space sims like the upcoming Starship Simulator. He also explained the scale of space combat Vess may encounter.

"First of all, it was key for us that both flying and fighting with the Trailblazer was really approachable and immediately gratifying, while still offering depth and challenge to grow over time."

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"In terms of encounters, it can range from small one-on-one dog fights to significantly bigger battles with multiple and much larger ships."

Players may be wanted and chased by the Empire, or earn a reputation by lending aid to a syndicate ship. Vess might also fly into a pirate ambush in an asteroid field. Each of these moments will be driven by player choice and actions, and each will have dangers and opportunities. As for flight itself, Podlesnigg assures players that there’s no feeling quite like pushing the sticks forward and jumping to hyperspace for the first time.

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