Leroy Chiao advises Owlcat Games.
Owlcat Games, known for Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, has released a new developer diary for The Expanse: Osiris Reborn.
The video focuses on how the team strives to make the experience in space as authentic as possible, without turning realism into a hindrance to gameplay. To this end, the studio has enlisted a real space veteran — former NASA astronaut and ISS commander Leroy Chiao.
Chiao helped the developers understand the real-life aspects of living and working in outer space and find compromises between realism and player convenience. One striking example is working outside the ship. In reality, astronauts are constantly tethered by long lines, but in Osiris Reborn this would look clumsy and annoy players. Instead, Owlcat introduced magnetic boots: they provide smooth and natural movement across the hull, while maintaining the main danger — the possibility of accidentally detaching and flying into outer space.
