Starflight

Starflight the first of two commercial was space flight simulation - computer games , which in the 1980s by Electronic Arts published. The sequel Starflight 2 - Trade Routes of the Cloud Nebula followed , which was based on elements of the predecessor. A third part, Starflight 3 , is being developed by volunteers. This with the support of some developers of the original games and with permission to use the name Starflight . Another part, Starflight - The Lost Colony , is also in development by volunteers. Greg Johnson, one of the programmers of Starflight and Starflight 2, began to develop a successor himself in 2018. For this he started a " Starflight 3 Universe" crowdfunding campaign together with his company HumaNature Studios on Fig . This ended on September 28, 2018, however, without reaching the desired minimum amount. The project has been suspended since then.

Starflight

Starflight
Studio	Binary Systems MicroMagic, Inc. (Amiga, Atari ST, Mac)
Publisher	Electronic Arts
Senior Developer	Greg Johnson, Alec Kercso, Bob Gonsalves, TC Lee and Rod McConnell
Erstveröffent- lichung	1986 1989 (Amiga, C64) 1990 (Atari ST, Mac) 1991 (Mega Drive)
platform	DOS , Mac OS , Amiga , Tandy , Atari ST , C64 , Mega Drive
genre	Space flight simulation
Game mode	Single player
control	Keyboard and mouse , gamepad , joystick
medium	3.5 " diskette , 5.25" diskette , download , module

Starflight is a computer game developed by Binary Systems and published in 1986. The player is used as the captain of a modern spaceship to save the dying homeworld.

action

The action of the game begins on the planet Arth, whose inhabitants are of different races, but live together peacefully. The company had, after a bomb attack forced them to leave the underground dwellings, now back to spaceflight developed. Excavations revealed the remains of the NOAH-2 colony that carried out the initial colonization of Arth. The superphotonic drive and the fuel endurium are also discovered and lead to the construction and transmission of interstellar spaceships.

These spaceships, one of which is under the command of the player, are sent out to find new races, new technologies and other colonizable planets. During these journeys, which take the player through innumerable solar systems, it is discovered that the sun orbiting Arth will soon become a nova and destroy Arth. In the course of the story, the player discovers that not only his own sun becomes a nova, but many others too. This leads to the discovery of the Crystal Planet as the trigger for this novae. The player's task is now to destroy the Crystal Planet before his own system dies.

Gameplay

The control of the game is possible with both mouse and keyboard (Amiga). On the Sega Mega Drive, control is only possible via the gamepad, on the C64 via a joystick. In general, the player cannot move the spaceship completely freely, but can only choose between eight directions for navigation in the two-dimensional galaxy or on the planet. Cruise control can be activated for longer flights or movements , which avoids prolonged pressing of the buttons.

The spaceship can be controlled directly in interplanetary or interstellar space from any of the available stations. However, some actions are carried out separately according to the individual areas of responsibility on the ship. This means that you can only leave the orbit of a planet via the station of the navigator , but only the captain can initiate a landing .

Binary Systems created Starflight in such a way that the initial storyline initially appeared very one-dimensional. The end result, however, is a space opera of epic proportions with surprising twists and turns and mysteries. The moderately role-playing game consisted largely of mining and diplomacy . A subtle sense of humor was also included, manifested in encounters with the Starship Enterprise , chat messages from two smugglers, or a race whose binary messages revealed the developer's phone number.

development

According to the company, the development of Starflight took a total of 15 man-years . The game used a revolutionary system in Forth for the creation of solar systems and their planets, which made it possible to have hundreds of explorable planets in the galaxy and to save this on two 360 kB floppy disks (PC).

Electronic Arts initially released the game for DOS and Tandy . The Amiga version followed in 1989, the Atari ST version in 1990 and finally a revised version for the Mega Drive in 1991. Versions for Apple Macintosh and Commodore 64 were also released.

reception

In his test for Happy Computer, Heinrich Lenhardt counted the game playfully " among the best that is currently available for personal computers " and described the gameplay as fascinating. He gave a rating of 89%. Bernd Zimmermann from the magazine Aktueller Software Markt described the game as proof of the gaming suitability of the IBM PC. He praised the graphics as exceptionally good and the gameplay as well thought-out and sophisticated. In the US magazine Computer Gaming World , tester Mark Bausman also highlighted artificial intelligence , which means that encounters with alien races differ depending on their behavior. He called Starflight the best science fiction game currently available for computers. The American role-playing game magazine Dragon rated the game in its issue # 116 from December 1986. The testers Hartley and Patricia Lesser described both the play and the presentation of the game as impressive. In PowerPlay , special issue 4, the mega-drive version received a rating of 84%. Starflight , like its successor, influenced the development of Star Control 2 . Paul Reiche, the developer of Star Control , helped with the development of Starflight . Starflight developer Greg Johnson created various dialogues and ship designs for Star Control 2 . In addition, the game had a significant influence on the development of the role-playing game Mass Effect by BioWare .

Starflight 2 - Trade Routes of the Cloud Nebula

Starflight 2 - Trade Routes of the Cloud Nebula
Studio	Binary Systems MicroMagic, Inc. (Mac, Amiga)
Publisher	Electronic Arts
Erstveröffent- lichung	1989 1991 (Mac, Amiga)
platform	DOS , Mac OS , Amiga
genre	Space flight simulation
Game mode	Single player
control	Keyboard , mouse
medium	Floppy disk , download

Starflight 2 - Trade Routes of the Cloud Nebula was published in 1989 by Electronic Arts for MS-DOS . In 1991 the versions for Amiga and Apple Macintosh followed .

action

After the continued existence of mankind was secured in the first part, another part of the galaxy becomes accessible through a space flow . An Interstel outpost will be established in this new area. In the meantime, however, the spemins already known from Part 1 have received technologies that enable them to subjugate other races. An ultimatum sent to Interstel is about to expire and the player, as the captain of an Interstel spaceship, is sent out to find fuel and a technology that matches the Spemin. Due to the events around the Crystal Planet in the first part, the new fuel Shyneum is used, which also gave the name to the new currency with Shyneum pennies .

Gameplay

Compared to its predecessor, numerous innovations have been built into the game. So the spacecraft can not only with cargo - modules to be upgraded, but also with two other species:

• the jump pod enables a jump to any destination within the mapped area.
• the blasto-pod represents a torpedo which, when fired in combat, inflicts considerable damage on the enemy.

Other artifacts can be purchased on inhabited planets, which give the ship additional functions. These include the encounter scan , which shows other ships in the area, the flux scan , which locates spatial currents, or a teleporter for the terrain vehicle used to explore the planet.

The player must buy such artifacts or other trade goods from other intelligent creatures in trade stations. Both buying and selling are not tied to fixed prices. The player can trade, downright haggling , by proposing a new price. Since some goods are more desirable than others, the player can gain an advantage by satisfying such a demand. Only this enables him to buy valuable goods, mostly artifacts, which he was previously denied.

In addition to such innovations, there are also many known ones, including the chat messages from the smugglers 'Xenon' and 'Borno', which appeared in the first part.

reception

In issue 12/1991 of the Amiga Joker game magazine , tester Joachim Nettelbeck praised the atmosphere and the dense plot of the game, but at the same time complained about the outdated look, clattering sound output and minor innovations compared to the predecessor. The editorial rating was therefore only 69%. The US RPG magazine Dragon rated the game in its issue # 165 from January 1991. The testers Hartley, Patricia and Kirk Lesser gave 3 out of 5 stars.

Web links

• Starflight series at MobyGames .
• Starflight 3 project homepage.
• Starflight Resource Pages - background information, tables, cheats etc.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Starflight Central - Project information. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on July 26, 2010 ; Retrieved July 26, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ^ Nicholas Lavroff and Binary Systems: Starflight Manual. In: manual of the game. Electronic Arts, Langley England, 1986, accessed June 30, 2020 . 
3. ↑ HumaNature Studios: STARFLIGHT 3 UNIVERSE FIG CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCEMENT. In: fig.co. Fig, September 28, 2018, accessed June 30, 2020 . 
4. ↑ Electronic Arts: Starflight. Game Manual - 1986
5. ^ Heinrich Lenhardt : Starflight . (Article scan) In: Happy Computer . 01/1987, January 1987.
6. ↑ Bernd Zimmermann: Starflight . (Article scan) In: Current software market . 09/1987, September 1987.
7. ↑ Mark Bausman: Escape from Planet Arth: A Review of Starflight . (Article scan) In: Computer Gaming World . 03/1987, No. 35, March 1987, pp. 34-38, 51.
8. ↑ Hartley Lesser, Patricia "Pattie" Lesser: The Role of Computers . In: Dragon . No. 116, December 1986, pp. 69-76.
9. ↑ Interview with Greg Johnson on SEGA-16. Retrieved July 26, 2010 . 
10. ^ Greg Kasavin : Gamespot Presents The Greatest Games of All Times - Interview with Paul Reiche III ( English ) In: GameSpot . CNET . June 27, 2003. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved October 7, 2011: “ In terms of games, Starflight was a very strong influence, in large part because the designer of Starflight, Greg Johnson, was one of the most significant contributors to Star Control II. "
11. ↑ Casey Hudson: Tweet from Casey Hudson ( English ) In: EP of the Mass Effect series . Twitter. Retrieved May 16, 2011: “Yep, Starflight was a key inspiration for the ME series. It's now older than some ME3 team members! "
12. ↑ Starflight 2 Handbook - Electronic Arts 1991
13. ↑ Nettelbeck Joachim: Saddle up the plasma torch! . (Article scan) In: Amiga Joker . 12/1991, December 1991, p. 44.
14. ↑ Hartley Lesser, Patricia Lesser & Kirk Lesser: The Role of Computers . In: Dragon . No. 165, January 1991, pp. 47-55.