Chris Roberts is responsible for some massive milestones in PC gaming. As the man behind the Wing Commander and Privateer series of games, as well as other notable titles like Strike Commander and the more recent Freelancer, he can rightfully be called the father of the space combat simulator genre. Unfortunately, he hasn't produced a game in nearly ten years. During that time, the market for such games has sadly dried up, and real stick-and-ethereal-rudder aficionados have been left without any flagship titles, turning their attention instead to community efforts like the Freespace 2 Source Code Project to keep their skills sharp.

We might soon be in for an exciting change. Ars alumnus Ben Kuchera recently posted a link and a short message over on the Penny Arcade Report: "Type in '42' and get very excited." The link points to a website named "Roberts Space Industries," and after a short animation, typing "42" into the site's secret code entry form yields a message from Roberts himself.

"I always said the moment I became interested in making games again was when I was going to come back," says the note. "My new endeavor is still in its early stages but I invite you to take the journey with me."

To access the site further, you must register with a username and password; once you do this, there are several additional things to explore. The first thing you see upon registering is a "Golden Ticket":

The ticket suggests that there will be more information released about the project at 10am on October 10, at the Game Developers Conference Online. The ticket also indicates that by registering at the site now, you'll be able to "participate in the game's development over the next 24 months," and that you'll receive "a very special equipment package" in the game when it is eventually released.

There is plenty more to read on the site, including several messages from Roberts discussing why he has chosen to start coding again and several small mood-setting in-universe blurbs. There's also a countdown timer on all the pages, which currently stands at 27 days and some change—the amount of time until the apparent GDC Online announcement.

"My name is Chris Roberts," concludes the site's welcome message, "and if you would indulge me I would like to create a world for you."

It has been years since I've had occasion to plug in my CH Combatstick and tell my wingman he's clear to attack; whatever Roberts' new world turns out to be, it can't arrive soon enough.