Space rogue

Space rogue
Studio	Origin Systems
Publisher	Origin Systems Wave Brain (PC-98 / X6800)
Senior Developer	Paul Neurath
Erstveröffent- lichung	1989 1990 (PC-98 / X6800)
platform	Amiga , Apple II , Atari ST , Commodore 64 , DOS , FM Towns , Mac OS , PC-98 , Sharp X68000
genre	Space flight simulation , role play
Game mode	Single player
control	keyboard
medium	Floppy disk , CD-ROM
language	English

Space Rogue (in Japan ス ペ ー ス ロ ー グ ) is a science fiction computer game, developed and published by the US developer Origin Systems in 1989; the game designer was Paul Neurath . Space Rogue combines elements of space flight simulations with the genre of computer role-playing games . The game was originally released for Apple II and Commodore 64 , later it was ported to the MS-DOS , Mac OS , Amiga , Atari ST , PC-98 , X68000 and FM Towns platforms. Space Rogue is considered the spiritual predecessor to Origins Wing Commander series.

action

The player takes on the role of a crew member aboard the spaceship "Princess Blue", which was sent out to investigate an abandoned floating spaceship named "Jolly Roger". Although the background of the player character is largely omitted in the game itself, he is referred to in the game's manual as Neil Shapiro, the only son of a famous jeweler from the so-called Far Arm. While he is boarding the “Jolly Roger”, a group of aliens called Manchis attack the “Princess Blue” and destroy her. As the only survivor on the Jolly Roger, with little money and on his own, the player now determines the course of the game. He can work as a pirate, bounty hunter, and interstellar trader, or get involved in interplanetary politics.

Gameplay

The game alternates perspective between the traditional overview perspective in role-playing games (e.g. Ultima ) and several different 3D perspectives in space flight simulation (see Elite ). You can choose from a first-person cockpit view , a third-person perspective from behind the spaceship and a so-called cinematic perspective.

The player travels to spaceships, space stations, distant outposts and planets in the course of the game. To travel, he uses the system of the wormhole- based Malir Gates. The journey is staged in the form of a mini-game that the player must complete successfully, otherwise the journey through the wormhole is interrupted. In the space bars is another mini arcade game called Hive! built-in. It is a top-down shooter in which the player has to shoot emerging Manchis aliens. If the player survives five rounds, he receives credit units in the game currency that he can use for the rest of the game.

development

In a press release Origin Space Rogue described as "the first of its kind in the field of science fiction / 3D space flight simulations". The company, known for its role-playing games, indicated that Space Rogue was planned as the beginning of a series ("Ultima in Space"), but instead the highly successful Wing Commander , published a year after Space Rogue , was continued. Developer Paul Neurath left Origin in the year of its release to set up his own development studio Blue Sky Productions (later known as Looking Glass Studios) and create an RPG with real-time 3D graphics that was released in 1992 as Ultima Underworld .

The game was published by the Japanese company ウ エ ー ブ ト レ イ ン (Wave Brain) in Japan for various home computer systems . Some adjustments were also made. For the FM Towns version, the intro has been re-created, with weaker animations and new illustrations, and in Japanese script. This version also has CD quality background music.

reception

The game received mostly positive reviews. In the role-playing game magazine Dragon # 153, the testers Hartley, Patricia and Kirk Lesser gave 4.5 out of 5 stars. The US game magazine Computer Gaming World described Space Rogue as “ an interesting blend of arcade action, role-playing interaction and economic strategy ” (German: “[…] an interesting mixture of arcade action, role-playing interaction and economic strategy”). The computer magazine Compute! ruled that " the best of flight simulation and role-playing come together in Space Rogue [...] believably and with style " (German: "[...] the best flight simulation and role-playing game in Space Rogue credible and stylish comes together [...]. ").

"I Thought Elite could never be beaten as the greatest ever space game, but after playing Space Rogue for hours on end I've changed my mind. This totally outclasses Elite and is the best Space Game for any machine!"

“I thought Elite could never be superseded as the best space game ever, but after hours of playing Space Rogue, I finally changed my mind. This beats Elite across the board and is the best space game for any machine! "

- Zzap! 64 , issue # 58, 1990

The game also received good ratings in the German gaming press. The 64er awarded 8 out of 10 points, the ASM 7 out of 12, and the Power Play 73%.

Web links

• Space Rogue at MobyGames (English)
• Review of Space Rogue

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ス ペ ー ス ロ ー グ (Space Rouge) for the PC-98, published by ウ エ ー ブ ト レ イ ン (Wave Brain) ( Memento of the original from February 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. PC-9801 Database Archive 
2. ↑ 8-Bitters Archive. ス ペ ー ス ロ ー グ (Space Rouge) for the X68000, published by ウ エ ー ブ ト レ イ ン (Wave Brain)
3. ^ A press release of Space Rouge.
4. ^ Paul Neurath: The Story of Ultima Underworld . Looking Glass Studios. June 23, 2000. Archived from the original on March 9, 2001. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
5. ↑ Space Rogue FM Towns Gameplay. youtube.com
6. ↑ Hartley Lesser, Patricia Lesser, Kirk Lesser: The Role of Computers . In: Dragon . No. 153, January 1990, pp. 76-79, 102.
7. ^ Omar DeWitt: Life in the Fast Frame . In: Computer Gaming World , December 1989, p. 38. Retrieved November 4, 2013. 
8. ↑ Bob Guerra: Space Rogue . In: Compute! . P. 132 December 1989. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
9. ↑ kultboy.com
10. ↑ kultboy.com
11. ↑ kultboy.com