Nostalgic Game Design Focus - Star Fleet I: The War Begins
Would you like to micromanage a Federation starship in its exploration and hunt for enemy starships? In this game you get to do precisely that.
Welcome. This is 'Nostalgic Game Design Focus' a series where I get to think back and comment upon games that I had played when I was much younger - mostly from a game-design perspective.
Title: Star Fleet I: The War Begins
Publishers: Interstel Corporation
Designer: Trevor Sorensen
Programmers: Baldwin, Mark Lewis
Graphics: N/A
Released: 1984 (Ported to Atari in 1986)
While it may very well have been galaxies apart in theme, 'Star Fleet I: The War Begins' is the only game on the Atari that I recall having the level of visuals to remind me of a very different game that I used to love playing, 'The Shard of Spring'
Which is to say that their visuals were both very basic and dependent upon Ascii-based characters to form any graphics.
Well I used to like playing this game a lot - but there was a problem. I had 'kind' of misplaced the manual - and this was very bad news as without it I was mostly stuck playing the first mission. This was a time long before the advent of the internet.
It appears that a similar situation plagues emulations of this game such that its exceedingly difficult to load saved games... but that is not why I write about this game. I cannot fault the game's creator for failing to foresee limitations that emulation software may encounter in decades to come.
In spite of everything, I did enjoy playing this game a fair bit.
Story and Objectives
Originally developed for systems like the Apple II, 'Star Fleet I: The War Begins' is a text-based Star-trek-like game where you begin as a cadet captain-in-training in command of a starship - The Republic.
The premise of the game is that your faction is at war with the Krellan race, and as such you are ridding Federation space from the threat posed by the enemy.
Perform well enough and you will graduate from your training - and begin your rise up the ranks of Starfleet Command.
Game Controls and Design
'Star Fleet I: The War Begins' was originally developed for systems for which mouse support wasn't necessary. As such everything can be controlled via keyboard - and it plays perfectly well without a mouse.
That being said, when the game was released to platforms for which the mouse was more important, a degree of mouse support was included.
I say a degree of such as the design really is quite poor for a mouse user. Its not readily apparent what things can or cannot be clicked.
As such, I personally found it best to rely upon the keyboard for all things except clicking on map elements.
In terms of the actual user interface and controls...
Until one gets used to them they are frankly far from intuitive.
While those with a modest knowledge of starship related lingo would be able to decipher well-over half of the things in the game, some of us would simply be left scratching our heads - perhaps even following some non-intensive test-driving.
Aspects to the Game:
The game for the most part consists of managing every aspect of a battle-capable starship while hunting down enemy alien ships.
Every mission involves hunting down a certain number of enemy ships within a period of time. At the beginning of the game you are asked to specify the commander's name and between missions your progress is saved for subsequent missions. This secondary aspect of promotion is mainly a statistics game. Perform well and you rise in the ranks.
Stuff of the Universe
Throughout the universe you will encounter various things - but not as many as would have been liked.
You - Yours seems to be the only federation battleship in the system. Every time.
Stars/ Planets - Blobs in space that mainly serve as obstacles and cover.
Krellan Ships - The archetypal rival within this game, these are the standard enemy ships that you will come across. They are no match for your ship but several together can pose a challenge, particularly if your ship is 'not' fresh from repairs and resupply.
Zaldron Ships - Less common and modestly more dangerous, Zaldron ships are cloaked and cannot be seen unless they drop the cloak momentarily to attack. They are harder to hunt down.
Star bases - While yours is the only battleship in the area (and indeed it seems you are the only Federation ship in the area (they must be cowering while the Krellan threat is dealt with) - there are several star bases in the area. These can be used by you for resupply and repair.
Space - Lots of it - Naturally space also features and its a lot of nothing.
Thoughts
While I understand that this game as designed long before the Atari release, I cannot help but feel that a lot more 'stuff' could have gone into the game in this regards:
Different classifications of planets with different kinds of activities possible
The odd black hole or worm hole
Asteroid fields that complicate space navigation
Areas of space that are defended or hostile jurisdictions
Ships that are neutral and friendly
The list could go on and on... and I feel that 'some' of this could without much difficulty been added to enrich the game.
It would also have been nice for a more elaborate diplomacy mechanism to exist.
The Star Ship
That all being said, lets talk about the highlight of the game - the star-ship itself.
While it may not look quite like a ship from 'Star Trek' the feel is quite similar.
In terms of navigation, you can travel short distances or you could travel much longer distances with a portion of it in 'hyperspace'.
You can also search nearby sectors for activity. This is presented in a sequence of three numbers. The first digit represents how many foes are in the sector. The second one seeks to identify presence of a friendly star base. The third identifies how many planets are in the area.
Offensively, you can fire phasers (which seek to follow moving targets) or torpedoes (which fire regardless of target movement - but are powerful) or you could lay mines (which you hope the enemy will blunder into). You could also try to assault a ship that is disabled using your transporters/ marines, and tow a single captured enemy ships with a tractor beam.
Defensively, you have your iconic shields, and in this game they are implemented nicely enough (on the Atari and Amiga), changing color depending on energy level. You also have your damage control systems and internal deck-search systems.
Also a self-destruct sequence. :cP
Of course there is a fair bit more to this game but the above encapsulates the main elements of the star ship's functionality. While there could always have been more stuff added in, this line-up is fairly respectable, especially when compared to the rest of the game.
In spite of its aesthetic limitations and in spite of the fact that I didn't have a legitimate copy (school yards... Heh.) and didn't have a copy of the accompanying rule-book, I still enjoyed playing what was essentially a demo. This should still be mentioned as perhaps the game would have been even more interesting if I were to hold down a career.
Today's video is again from the Amiga (graphics are mostly the same) and while the player starts out a little clumsy, s/he does a fairly good job in the end.
Shields up and prosper. ;c)
It doesn't get more retro than Ascii - and I today find it funny that I felt a degree of nostalgia while playing 'that' game. It was certainly worth a look at - noting the limitations and the work-rounds. This is why I revisit games such as this one. I get to learn from the experience and share my observations with you all. :c)
Do you have any comments or feedback? I look forward to hearing any comments that you have in the discussion down below!
Also, if you found this post interesting and would like to share this with your followers and friends then a resteem is always appreciated.
Sincerely,
Previous Post: The Decorations of Valletta for Christmas 2017