6 ms·

Star Control II

148 points by doppp 8y ago

beart 8y ago
I recall being a small child and constantly bothering my older brother to play Star Control II so I could watch. I tried playing it myself but was too young to figure out how to exit the starter station. As I grew older, I could finally get to the point of crashing into planets.
Illniyar 8y ago
Star control II is one of my favorite games of all time. I hate it that Toys for Bob lost the brand, and even more that stardock would take the name and use it for something completely unrelated to the original story.
- withinrafael 8y ago
  Stardock rebooted using a different timeline reportedly to leave room for Toys for Bob to expand with their own related eventual sequel. Sounds like a win-win for gamers to me. (I've also completed the new Star Control reboot and found it hyper-faithful to everything we loved and remember about Star Control II, with similar controls, UX, and even remixed music.)
  - pavlov 8y ago
    Stardock rebooted simply because they didn't have rights to the original Star Control universe, not out of benevolence. It's very much the opposite in fact. Stardock has sued the original creators on frivolous grounds, is trying to prevent them from using the characters they created, and is actively spreading false information about who created the Star Control universe. More information here: https://www.dogarandkazon.com https://www.dogarandkazon.com
  - setr 8y ago
    I think gp is referring to the current lawsuit between stardock and toys for bob, in which stardock is trying to claim total ownership over the star control trademark/universe See: https://www.dogarandkazon.com https://www.dogarandkazon.com Also of note — they’re requesting $2m in gofundme donations to fight it, but have only gotten 40k in 6 months. My hopes of ever seeing a proper sc3 is vanishing. https://www.gofundme.com/help-fred-amp-paul-save-the-universe?member=333940 https://www.gofundme.com/help-fred-amp-paul-save-the-univers...
    - withinrafael 8y ago
      Yup, I'm very aware of the ongoing legal battle. I was trying to side-step discussion around it as Paul/Ritchie appear to present a very warped view of history/reality via their blog. (For example, available data suggests P/R didn't actually substantially contribute to SC1/2.) A slightly better armchair take can be found at the UQM wiki [1] with actual lawyer commentary [2] Not taking any real sides here, I feel everyone involved is greater than I regardless of outcome, but do hope folks keep an open mind. [1] http://wiki.uqm.stack.nl/Stardock_Systems_Inc._v._Paul_Reiche_III_and_Robert_Frederick_Ford http://wiki.uqm.stack.nl/Stardock_Systems_Inc._v._Paul_Reich... [2] http://wiki.uqm.stack.nl/Stardock_Systems_Inc._v._Paul_Reiche_III_and_Robert_Frederick_Ford#Commentary_from_Lawyers http://wiki.uqm.stack.nl/Stardock_Systems_Inc._v._Paul_Reich...
      - setr 8y ago
        I mean, the wiki page itself notes that multiple involved in making it support the idea they were creative leads in section 4.2[0], and they’ve been the front of every interview and on the game’s splash... if they weren’t actually doing much, this would’ve been in a controversy beginning in 1992, not today But I haven’t taken a look at the lawyer commentary. (I don’t know that I care enough to). But outside of the lawyers and stardock’s ceo commentary, I haven’t seem anything to imply they weren’t in charge of the whole thing. But anyways, I didn’t care for the stardock’s game, so it doesn’t matter what the truth is for me. I just want a proper sc3 (though I’m expecting they’ll still try to “modernize” itand toss out all the fun with it, as most decade-apart sequels go; but a man can dream, can’t he?) [0] http://wiki.uqm.stack.nl/Stardock_Systems_Inc._v._Paul_Reiche_III_and_Robert_Frederick_Ford#Why_does_it_matter_if_Reiche_and_Ford_call_themselves_the_.22creators_of_Star_Control.22.3F http://wiki.uqm.stack.nl/Stardock_Systems_Inc._v._Paul_Reich...
      - lixue 8y ago
        "For example, available data suggests P/R didn't actually substantially contribute to SC1/2." That's a pretty wild claim to repeat. Not a single person on the original team agrees with it, and they've filed the copyright registration in court[1]. There's basically no evidence at all for that conclusion, except that Stardock made the claim (not supported it, not provided evidence of it, merely made the claim) Even if you do believe it, it's legally irrelevant as the team has signed the copyright over to them[2], and they released The Ur-Quan Masters back in 2003 using that copyright. I was a member of the community back in the lat 90s/early 00s and this was common knowledge even back then. [1] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6239751/71/6/stardock-systems-inc-v-paul-reiche-iii/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6239751/71/6/stardock-s... [2] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6239751/64/5/stardock-systems-inc-v-paul-reiche-iii/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6239751/64/5/stardock-s...
  - Illniyar 8y ago
    Faithful without any of the races, history or story? I mean the mechanics were not really groundbreaking even back then. The game won it's place in history due to it's great characters and wonderful story. You can't be faithful to the game without building on it's story. If nothing of the story is used they could have just made the same game with a different brand and it would be exactly the same. The use of the Star control name is simply a marketing tactic to get people who heard and liked SC to buy a game they would otherwise not - I.E. they wanted to milk the brand.
catern 8y ago
>One solution might have been to tie the evolving galaxy to the player’s progress through the plot rather than the wall clock, a technique pioneered in Infocom’s Ballyhoo back in 1986 and used in countless narrative-oriented games since. It can convey the impression of rising danger and a skin-of-the-teeth victory every time without ever having to send the player back to square one. In the end, the player doesn’t care whether the exhilarating experience she’s just had is the result of a meticulous simulation coincidentally falling into place just so, or of a carefully manipulated sleight of hand. She just remembers the subjective experience. Ugh, I've played many games like this, and while it's true that they do have advantages, I think they're a poor choice in open-world games like Star Control II, where there are many different things you can do at any one moment. If I can just ignore the world-ending threat and mess around with side quests with zero consequences, it really makes me not take the threat seriously. Plus it's much less immersive when the evolving galaxy doesn't evolve independent of my actions - it's easy to perceive games that only progress the world when I hit some specific milestone in the main story. IMO, "the world only moves when you do" is the safe and boring choice when it comes to stories. A truly independently evolving world like Star Control II's is radical and much more interesting - and if it was more common for games to evolve in wall-clock-time, you wouldn't have this issue of players having their playthrough unexpectedly ruined.
- aidenn0 8y ago
  I think the second option of selecting your own deadline is probably much better, though it might lead to players never discovering quasi-space.
  - tptacek 8y ago
    It's a little weird reading about people not catching on to quasi-space, not just because I'm not an especially good gamer and I got it no problem, but also because I cannot fathom how anyone could actually place SC2 for any length of time without it. Travel in SC2 is a slog.
    - aidenn0 8y ago
impendia 8y ago
I loved this game, and Ur-Quan Masters is a 100% faithful remake for anyone wanting to give it a try. My favorite moment: when the Ilwrath tell you exactly from where, and on what radio frequency, their evil gods communicate to them. You immediately think: Wait, surely you can't ....? Ah, but of course you can.
- astazangasta 8y ago
  Argh! now I must...
- mrob 8y ago
  >Ur-Quan Masters is a 100% faithful remake It's based on the 3DO version, which has different dialogue in some places. This makes the game noticeably more difficult, because you are only told the general area of a certain mandatory quest item, not the exact location as in the original PC version. This also makes it IMO more boring, because the only way to find the item without spoilers is repeatedly checking planets at a time when you probably have enough minerals already.
  - impendia 8y ago
    Oh. I'd played both (15 years apart) and didn't notice any differences... guess I just overlooked them! I stand corrected.
setr 8y ago
Just to make sure its known, the game source code was released to its fans in 2002. It has since been maintained under the subtitle The Ur-Quan Masters, and plays on everything. It is freely available here: http://sc2.sourceforge.net/ http://sc2.sourceforge.net/ Play it.
- aidenn0 8y ago
  Nit pick, it's based off of the source code for the 3DO port rather than the original PC game. It's also curious that TFA claims it never had a console port, and then later on mentions that the open source version is based off of the 3DO source.
  - trynewideas 8y ago
    Specifically from TFA: > Star Control was ported to the Sega Genesis, but, as it happened, Star Control II would never get the same honor, perhaps because its sales didn’t quite justify the expense and/or because its complexity was judged unsuited to the console market. I think in context, they mean it never got a port to the Genesis as SC1 did. TFA does also mention the 3DO console port in the context of the Crystal Dynamics acquisition, a few paragraphs before talking about the source code.
  - setr 8y ago
    according to the urquan master (UQM) site, the 3DO port was only half-finished when it was publicly released. Wiki implies there was a full release on the 3DO? It's on the available platforms list anyways, but so is OSX, which would imply they're including UQM-supported platforms
  - afterburner 8y ago
    The experience is indistinguishable (apart from maybe some better sound) from my first play through when it came out on PC.
danso 8y ago
I think SC2 may be my favorite game from childhood -- I discovered it, of all places, in a Barnes and Nobles which had a playable 3DO console and had a playable demo of the Melee mode, which is still a blast to play because of the creative design of the ships. But what I remember most was how brilliant the writing and humor was. Not just the hilarious alien races and their depictions/dialogues, but the creative drama of the overall plot and universe, in which humans were seemingly just a minor character in a conflict between warring centipedes. I don't think there's a game from that era that I want more to be remade/rebooted (with Fallout 3/4 being disappointments). Unfortunately, it seems to be mired in a intellectual property dispute between the original creators and Stardock [0]. [0] https://www.polygon.com/2018/6/25/17501084/star-control-creators-ford-reiche-stardock-lawsuit-campaign https://www.polygon.com/2018/6/25/17501084/star-control-crea...
- logicfiction 8y ago
  Stardock released their own spiritual successor already, so give that a try if you want. And as far as I'm aware the original creators are still working on their own successor.
  - Para2016 8y ago
    The original creators of SC2 are in a legal battle with Stardock.
evdev 8y ago
Yes, it's my favorite game of all time. No, I'm not sure you can really "get" the experience today. One thing older games were able to do was use time and boredom(!) for effect in a way that mostly doesn't exist nowadays with so many more well-made games with "optimized" reward systems. I think of Grim Fandango, where a lot of the effect of the narrative comes in the way scrounging for clues by trial and error makes it feel as if you really were stuck in that town for a year. Play through quickly with a strategy guide and you won't actually get the effect of the environment. Or take the difference between the original Zelda and the later games: I'd say the fact that the original completely lacked the well-marked trail of where you were supposed to be going and what you were supposed to be interacting with made it seem as if you had "found" a smaller part of a wider world, and you were reacting to its logic. Star Control II did both of these things as well as any game has. The reasons for your actions were always intrinsic (not to make "1/5" go to "3/5" and then "5/5", quest completed!) and your course through the game was meaningful because it took place in an economy of choice, effort, and time that was consistent and weighty. Beyond navel gazing, I think the real upshot is when something like Breath of the Wild is so universally adored, part of what you're seeing is all the potential being left on the table by the current paradigm of gerbil wheels with scrolling backdrops.
- tptacek 8y ago
  I replayed Star Control II a few months ago and felt it held up surprisingly well. If you get bored, the whole game has already been mapped out, so you can easily speed-run it.
  - DamnInteresting 8y ago
    > the whole game has already been mapped out I bought Star Control 2 in a retail box, and it came with a big fold-out map of all of the stars, which I still have in a box somewhere. Granted, the map didn't tell you exactly what you would find at each star system, but it did subtly mark points of interest (which I failed to notice until after I had completed the game the first time).
    - 8y ago
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
sevensor 8y ago
I have such fond memories of playing the melee mode at a friend's house, with a shared keyboard -- he would always pick the little alien that shouted insults. "Jerk! Idiot! Fool!" And the soundtrack, the soundtrack was so good you could just let it spin while you did other things.
- Para2016 8y ago
  The Pkunk!
- r00fus 8y ago
  “Hallelujah”... damn, not AGAIN
- caf 8y ago
  Play enough melee mode against humans and you can soundly beat the computer, even with insane matchups like playing the Slylandro Probe against the Ur-Quan Dreadnought.
  - prawn 8y ago
    The secondary option for the Thraddash was surely the most devastating option among the cheaper ships. 10 points in Melee yet could take down as many of the "big four" as needed.
- gregopet 8y ago
  No joke: I put the SC 2 battle song on infinite loop when I'm dealing with some serious shit, like a production server that crashed and the phones started ringing.. helps to keep me in the zone.
trynewideas 8y ago
Dipping into https://mastodon.social/@orz https://mastodon.social/@orz works for me when I'm nostalgic but don't feel like spinning up dosbox.
- eeZah7Ux 8y ago
  Happy campers!
XorNot 8y ago
I had such a weird relationship with this game. My godfather got me a pirated disk (5 1/4"!) from Malaysia when I was about 9 or 10, which included the full manual. The disk was completely corrupted - I was able to get it to play just the intro and then the game would crash. I devoured that manual though - the full future history of Earth and the Ur-Quan War story had me totally hooked. Fast forward 15-years or so to when I discover the whole game is open-source now as the Ur-Quan Masters story, and I was giddy to finally be playing it (and getting to listen to the glorious Hyperspace music scores), while my kitten at the time had to be distracted from clawing my monitor because he wanted to chase the blue-spaceship across the screen. It's an amazing game, that just goes all the places you want it to.
heyjudy 8y ago
C. 1996 I was about 17, I remember interviewing for a job at Accolade in the old former Apple HQ black triangular building off I-280. SC3 just came out. PS: That triangular building is somewhat "cursed" in that it can't seem to keep tenants. Is the space too expensive, is it too unusable by being shaped as such or do risky ventures pick it?
heyjudy 8y ago
Boxer on Mac, a wrapper for DosBox, is a great way to play DOS games. http://boxerapp.com http://boxerapp.com
gavanwoolery 8y ago
Star Controll II, unlike any other game of its time, fired almost perfectly on all cylinders. - Excellent storyline, for the most part - Well written humor and dialogue - Creative dialogue options - Unique personalities for every species - A sense of vastness in mystery in the universe that rewarded exploration. - Great artwork - Fun mini games, especially the "Super-Melee" combat - Interesting RPG/upgrade element as you acquired new ships and parts for your main ship. - Did I mention the music was both ahead of its time (tracker format when everything else was midi), and amazing?
- prawn 8y ago
  Loved Melee and the music especially. I remember each ship having a points rating in Melee, and we'd play lowest vs highest. There were some cheap ships (Spathi, Androsynth, Thraddash, Arilou, Orz, VUX, etc) that could thoroughly torment the big slugs with the right tactics. Teleporting the Arilou into the planet/moon though was infuriating.
malkia 8y ago
My experience with SC and SC2 goes back from high-school, we've got some "beefy" PC-XT and PC-ATs with CGA graphics, and the thing to do was to find a keyboard where two players can play hold 10 keys simualtenously and play against each other - choice of keyboard was critical, and there was an APP allowing to find these keys. Played MELEE mostly from the game, and bit of the Adventure, but to be fair - MELEE for me was the best part - endless plays, much like we've played ARCHON, and ARCHON 2 before that - in fact these were the two most played games at school (somewhere ~1991-1993). Then around this time my other favourite game came to be Heroes of Might and Magic 1, 2 and later 3 - and much like the ones above it - "multiplayer" was really people taking turns, and promising to not see while the others are playing - some sessions ended up being more than 24hr, after which the girlfriend back then of my best friend, had to kick us out (we drank, and not showered for whole day...) Then the same experience in the army (mandatory service back then, where I came from), lol. So much fun... And I've never really played much multi-player network game myself - PC clubs, or nowadays internet (with the exception of Hearthstone - nothing else). I do miss the funky, weird, games of old times...

148 points by doppp 8y ago

I recall being a small child and constantly bothering my older brother to play Star Control II so I could watch. I tried playing it myself but was too young to figure out how to exit the starter station. As I grew older, I could finally get to the point of crashing into planets.

Illniyar 8y ago

Star control II is one of my favorite games of all time. I hate it that Toys for Bob lost the brand, and even more that stardock would take the name and use it for something completely unrelated to the original story.

withinrafael 8y ago
Stardock rebooted using a different timeline reportedly to leave room for Toys for Bob to expand with their own related eventual sequel. Sounds like a win-win for gamers to me. (I've also completed the new Star Control reboot and found it hyper-faithful to everything we loved and remember about Star Control II, with similar controls, UX, and even remixed music.)
- pavlov 8y ago
  Stardock rebooted simply because they didn't have rights to the original Star Control universe, not out of benevolence. It's very much the opposite in fact. Stardock has sued the original creators on frivolous grounds, is trying to prevent them from using the characters they created, and is actively spreading false information about who created the Star Control universe. More information here: https://www.dogarandkazon.com https://www.dogarandkazon.com
- setr 8y ago
  I think gp is referring to the current lawsuit between stardock and toys for bob, in which stardock is trying to claim total ownership over the star control trademark/universe See: https://www.dogarandkazon.com https://www.dogarandkazon.com Also of note — they’re requesting $2m in gofundme donations to fight it, but have only gotten 40k in 6 months. My hopes of ever seeing a proper sc3 is vanishing. https://www.gofundme.com/help-fred-amp-paul-save-the-universe?member=333940 https://www.gofundme.com/help-fred-amp-paul-save-the-univers...
  - withinrafael 8y ago
    Yup, I'm very aware of the ongoing legal battle. I was trying to side-step discussion around it as Paul/Ritchie appear to present a very warped view of history/reality via their blog. (For example, available data suggests P/R didn't actually substantially contribute to SC1/2.) A slightly better armchair take can be found at the UQM wiki [1] with actual lawyer commentary [2] Not taking any real sides here, I feel everyone involved is greater than I regardless of outcome, but do hope folks keep an open mind. [1] http://wiki.uqm.stack.nl/Stardock_Systems_Inc._v._Paul_Reiche_III_and_Robert_Frederick_Ford http://wiki.uqm.stack.nl/Stardock_Systems_Inc._v._Paul_Reich... [2] http://wiki.uqm.stack.nl/Stardock_Systems_Inc._v._Paul_Reiche_III_and_Robert_Frederick_Ford#Commentary_from_Lawyers http://wiki.uqm.stack.nl/Stardock_Systems_Inc._v._Paul_Reich...
    - setr 8y ago
      I mean, the wiki page itself notes that multiple involved in making it support the idea they were creative leads in section 4.2[0], and they’ve been the front of every interview and on the game’s splash... if they weren’t actually doing much, this would’ve been in a controversy beginning in 1992, not today But I haven’t taken a look at the lawyer commentary. (I don’t know that I care enough to). But outside of the lawyers and stardock’s ceo commentary, I haven’t seem anything to imply they weren’t in charge of the whole thing. But anyways, I didn’t care for the stardock’s game, so it doesn’t matter what the truth is for me. I just want a proper sc3 (though I’m expecting they’ll still try to “modernize” itand toss out all the fun with it, as most decade-apart sequels go; but a man can dream, can’t he?) [0] http://wiki.uqm.stack.nl/Stardock_Systems_Inc._v._Paul_Reiche_III_and_Robert_Frederick_Ford#Why_does_it_matter_if_Reiche_and_Ford_call_themselves_the_.22creators_of_Star_Control.22.3F http://wiki.uqm.stack.nl/Stardock_Systems_Inc._v._Paul_Reich...
    - lixue 8y ago
      "For example, available data suggests P/R didn't actually substantially contribute to SC1/2." That's a pretty wild claim to repeat. Not a single person on the original team agrees with it, and they've filed the copyright registration in court[1]. There's basically no evidence at all for that conclusion, except that Stardock made the claim (not supported it, not provided evidence of it, merely made the claim) Even if you do believe it, it's legally irrelevant as the team has signed the copyright over to them[2], and they released The Ur-Quan Masters back in 2003 using that copyright. I was a member of the community back in the lat 90s/early 00s and this was common knowledge even back then. [1] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6239751/71/6/stardock-systems-inc-v-paul-reiche-iii/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6239751/71/6/stardock-s... [2] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6239751/64/5/stardock-systems-inc-v-paul-reiche-iii/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6239751/64/5/stardock-s...
- Illniyar 8y ago
  Faithful without any of the races, history or story? I mean the mechanics were not really groundbreaking even back then. The game won it's place in history due to it's great characters and wonderful story. You can't be faithful to the game without building on it's story. If nothing of the story is used they could have just made the same game with a different brand and it would be exactly the same. The use of the Star control name is simply a marketing tactic to get people who heard and liked SC to buy a game they would otherwise not - I.E. they wanted to milk the brand.

catern 8y ago

>One solution might have been to tie the evolving galaxy to the player’s progress through the plot rather than the wall clock, a technique pioneered in Infocom’s Ballyhoo back in 1986 and used in countless narrative-oriented games since. It can convey the impression of rising danger and a skin-of-the-teeth victory every time without ever having to send the player back to square one. In the end, the player doesn’t care whether the exhilarating experience she’s just had is the result of a meticulous simulation coincidentally falling into place just so, or of a carefully manipulated sleight of hand. She just remembers the subjective experience. Ugh, I've played many games like this, and while it's true that they do have advantages, I think they're a poor choice in open-world games like Star Control II, where there are many different things you can do at any one moment. If I can just ignore the world-ending threat and mess around with side quests with zero consequences, it really makes me not take the threat seriously. Plus it's much less immersive when the evolving galaxy doesn't evolve independent of my actions - it's easy to perceive games that only progress the world when I hit some specific milestone in the main story. IMO, "the world only moves when you do" is the safe and boring choice when it comes to stories. A truly independently evolving world like Star Control II's is radical and much more interesting - and if it was more common for games to evolve in wall-clock-time, you wouldn't have this issue of players having their playthrough unexpectedly ruined.

aidenn0 8y ago
I think the second option of selecting your own deadline is probably much better, though it might lead to players never discovering quasi-space.
- tptacek 8y ago
  It's a little weird reading about people not catching on to quasi-space, not just because I'm not an especially good gamer and I got it no problem, but also because I cannot fathom how anyone could actually place SC2 for any length of time without it. Travel in SC2 is a slog.
  - aidenn0 8y ago

impendia 8y ago

I loved this game, and Ur-Quan Masters is a 100% faithful remake for anyone wanting to give it a try. My favorite moment: when the Ilwrath tell you exactly from where, and on what radio frequency, their evil gods communicate to them. You immediately think: Wait, surely you can't ....? Ah, but of course you can.

astazangasta 8y ago
Argh! now I must...
mrob 8y ago
>Ur-Quan Masters is a 100% faithful remake It's based on the 3DO version, which has different dialogue in some places. This makes the game noticeably more difficult, because you are only told the general area of a certain mandatory quest item, not the exact location as in the original PC version. This also makes it IMO more boring, because the only way to find the item without spoilers is repeatedly checking planets at a time when you probably have enough minerals already.
- impendia 8y ago
  Oh. I'd played both (15 years apart) and didn't notice any differences... guess I just overlooked them! I stand corrected.

setr 8y ago

Just to make sure its known, the game source code was released to its fans in 2002. It has since been maintained under the subtitle The Ur-Quan Masters, and plays on everything. It is freely available here: http://sc2.sourceforge.net/ http://sc2.sourceforge.net/ Play it.

aidenn0 8y ago
Nit pick, it's based off of the source code for the 3DO port rather than the original PC game. It's also curious that TFA claims it never had a console port, and then later on mentions that the open source version is based off of the 3DO source.
- trynewideas 8y ago
  Specifically from TFA: > Star Control was ported to the Sega Genesis, but, as it happened, Star Control II would never get the same honor, perhaps because its sales didn’t quite justify the expense and/or because its complexity was judged unsuited to the console market. I think in context, they mean it never got a port to the Genesis as SC1 did. TFA does also mention the 3DO console port in the context of the Crystal Dynamics acquisition, a few paragraphs before talking about the source code.
- setr 8y ago
  according to the urquan master (UQM) site, the 3DO port was only half-finished when it was publicly released. Wiki implies there was a full release on the 3DO? It's on the available platforms list anyways, but so is OSX, which would imply they're including UQM-supported platforms
- afterburner 8y ago
  The experience is indistinguishable (apart from maybe some better sound) from my first play through when it came out on PC.

danso 8y ago

I think SC2 may be my favorite game from childhood -- I discovered it, of all places, in a Barnes and Nobles which had a playable 3DO console and had a playable demo of the Melee mode, which is still a blast to play because of the creative design of the ships. But what I remember most was how brilliant the writing and humor was. Not just the hilarious alien races and their depictions/dialogues, but the creative drama of the overall plot and universe, in which humans were seemingly just a minor character in a conflict between warring centipedes. I don't think there's a game from that era that I want more to be remade/rebooted (with Fallout 3/4 being disappointments). Unfortunately, it seems to be mired in a intellectual property dispute between the original creators and Stardock [0]. [0] https://www.polygon.com/2018/6/25/17501084/star-control-creators-ford-reiche-stardock-lawsuit-campaign https://www.polygon.com/2018/6/25/17501084/star-control-crea...

logicfiction 8y ago
Stardock released their own spiritual successor already, so give that a try if you want. And as far as I'm aware the original creators are still working on their own successor.
- Para2016 8y ago
  The original creators of SC2 are in a legal battle with Stardock.

evdev 8y ago

Yes, it's my favorite game of all time. No, I'm not sure you can really "get" the experience today. One thing older games were able to do was use time and boredom(!) for effect in a way that mostly doesn't exist nowadays with so many more well-made games with "optimized" reward systems. I think of Grim Fandango, where a lot of the effect of the narrative comes in the way scrounging for clues by trial and error makes it feel as if you really were stuck in that town for a year. Play through quickly with a strategy guide and you won't actually get the effect of the environment. Or take the difference between the original Zelda and the later games: I'd say the fact that the original completely lacked the well-marked trail of where you were supposed to be going and what you were supposed to be interacting with made it seem as if you had "found" a smaller part of a wider world, and you were reacting to its logic. Star Control II did both of these things as well as any game has. The reasons for your actions were always intrinsic (not to make "1/5" go to "3/5" and then "5/5", quest completed!) and your course through the game was meaningful because it took place in an economy of choice, effort, and time that was consistent and weighty. Beyond navel gazing, I think the real upshot is when something like Breath of the Wild is so universally adored, part of what you're seeing is all the potential being left on the table by the current paradigm of gerbil wheels with scrolling backdrops.

tptacek 8y ago
I replayed Star Control II a few months ago and felt it held up surprisingly well. If you get bored, the whole game has already been mapped out, so you can easily speed-run it.
- DamnInteresting 8y ago
  > the whole game has already been mapped out I bought Star Control 2 in a retail box, and it came with a big fold-out map of all of the stars, which I still have in a box somewhere. Granted, the map didn't tell you exactly what you would find at each star system, but it did subtly mark points of interest (which I failed to notice until after I had completed the game the first time).
  - 8y ago

deleted 8y ago

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sevensor 8y ago

I have such fond memories of playing the melee mode at a friend's house, with a shared keyboard -- he would always pick the little alien that shouted insults. "Jerk! Idiot! Fool!" And the soundtrack, the soundtrack was so good you could just let it spin while you did other things.

Para2016 8y ago
The Pkunk!
r00fus 8y ago
“Hallelujah”... damn, not AGAIN
caf 8y ago
Play enough melee mode against humans and you can soundly beat the computer, even with insane matchups like playing the Slylandro Probe against the Ur-Quan Dreadnought.
- prawn 8y ago
  The secondary option for the Thraddash was surely the most devastating option among the cheaper ships. 10 points in Melee yet could take down as many of the "big four" as needed.
gregopet 8y ago
No joke: I put the SC 2 battle song on infinite loop when I'm dealing with some serious shit, like a production server that crashed and the phones started ringing.. helps to keep me in the zone.

trynewideas 8y ago

Dipping into https://mastodon.social/@orz https://mastodon.social/@orz works for me when I'm nostalgic but don't feel like spinning up dosbox.

eeZah7Ux 8y ago
Happy campers!

XorNot 8y ago

I had such a weird relationship with this game. My godfather got me a pirated disk (5 1/4"!) from Malaysia when I was about 9 or 10, which included the full manual. The disk was completely corrupted - I was able to get it to play just the intro and then the game would crash. I devoured that manual though - the full future history of Earth and the Ur-Quan War story had me totally hooked. Fast forward 15-years or so to when I discover the whole game is open-source now as the Ur-Quan Masters story, and I was giddy to finally be playing it (and getting to listen to the glorious Hyperspace music scores), while my kitten at the time had to be distracted from clawing my monitor because he wanted to chase the blue-spaceship across the screen. It's an amazing game, that just goes all the places you want it to.

heyjudy 8y ago

C. 1996 I was about 17, I remember interviewing for a job at Accolade in the old former Apple HQ black triangular building off I-280. SC3 just came out. PS: That triangular building is somewhat "cursed" in that it can't seem to keep tenants. Is the space too expensive, is it too unusable by being shaped as such or do risky ventures pick it?

heyjudy 8y ago

Boxer on Mac, a wrapper for DosBox, is a great way to play DOS games. http://boxerapp.com http://boxerapp.com

gavanwoolery 8y ago

Star Controll II, unlike any other game of its time, fired almost perfectly on all cylinders. - Excellent storyline, for the most part - Well written humor and dialogue - Creative dialogue options - Unique personalities for every species - A sense of vastness in mystery in the universe that rewarded exploration. - Great artwork - Fun mini games, especially the "Super-Melee" combat - Interesting RPG/upgrade element as you acquired new ships and parts for your main ship. - Did I mention the music was both ahead of its time (tracker format when everything else was midi), and amazing?

prawn 8y ago
Loved Melee and the music especially. I remember each ship having a points rating in Melee, and we'd play lowest vs highest. There were some cheap ships (Spathi, Androsynth, Thraddash, Arilou, Orz, VUX, etc) that could thoroughly torment the big slugs with the right tactics. Teleporting the Arilou into the planet/moon though was infuriating.

malkia 8y ago

My experience with SC and SC2 goes back from high-school, we've got some "beefy" PC-XT and PC-ATs with CGA graphics, and the thing to do was to find a keyboard where two players can play hold 10 keys simualtenously and play against each other - choice of keyboard was critical, and there was an APP allowing to find these keys. Played MELEE mostly from the game, and bit of the Adventure, but to be fair - MELEE for me was the best part - endless plays, much like we've played ARCHON, and ARCHON 2 before that - in fact these were the two most played games at school (somewhere ~1991-1993). Then around this time my other favourite game came to be Heroes of Might and Magic 1, 2 and later 3 - and much like the ones above it - "multiplayer" was really people taking turns, and promising to not see while the others are playing - some sessions ended up being more than 24hr, after which the girlfriend back then of my best friend, had to kick us out (we drank, and not showered for whole day...) Then the same experience in the army (mandatory service back then, where I came from), lol. So much fun... And I've never really played much multi-player network game myself - PC clubs, or nowadays internet (with the exception of Hearthstone - nothing else). I do miss the funky, weird, games of old times...