Space Empires: Starfury Update New enhancements mean a little more time in drydock! Cary, NC, 16 July 2003 - Originally slated for a summer release, with a pre-release order phase through mid-July, Shrapnel Games regretfully announces that the eagerly awaited next chapter in the Space Empires saga, Space Empires: Starfury, will be delayed until early autumn. Gold status is currently projected as September 1st , and the five-dollar pre-release discount will now extend until July 31st. Very often in the industry a delayed release means that a game isn't quite ready for prime time ("What do you mean you forgot the AI? Can't we just ship it and call it an online multiplayer only game?") or the developers blew through their budget ("Surely lap dances are tax deductible!"). Thankfully neither applies to the status of Space Empires: Starfury. The game is coming along great, and Malfador Machinations have held back on the Ferrari's downpayment. So why the delay? Simple. The Space Empires series has always been a user-friendly series, with a huge debt owed to the wonderful fans, who after all the years might as well be called family. Aaron Hall and company have always listened to these individuals, and because of this every Space Empires game has been better than the one before. During recent beta testing a number of excellent suggestions were voiced (and no, this doesn't mean the requests are for more naked space chicks or the giant space cow that shoots plasma balls out of her udder) by the testers. In fact, great ideas continue to pour into Malfador's mailbox. To work these fantastic fan suggestions into Space Empires: Starfury though means more time is now needed. Hence, the slight delay. At Shrapnel Games we're gamers too, and we understand that the bitter fruit of waiting is not something you really want to bite into, but we think the fact that the delay is caused by trying to fit even more excellence into the game is a tasty sugarcoat. And for those of you concerned that perhaps not every good idea will make it in, don't forget that Space Empires: Starfury will be as mod friendly as Space Empires IV. For more information on the amazing world of Space Empires: Starfury please point your browser to: http://www.shrapnelgames.com/malfador/Starfury/