Star Control
Star Control: Famous Battles of the Ur-Quan Conflict, Volume IV is an action–strategy video game developed by Toys for Bob and published by Accolade. It was originally released for MS-DOS and Amiga in 1990, followed by ports for the Sega Genesis and additional platforms in 1991.
The story is set during an interstellar war between two space alien factions, with humanity joining the Alliance of Free Stars to defeat the invading Ur-Quan Hierarchy. Players can choose to play as either faction, each with seven different alien starships which are used during the game’s combat and strategy sections.
The game was created by designer-artist Paul Reiche III and programmer-engineer Fred Ford. Initially, the concept was based on the space combat seen in Spacewar! (1962), combined with the action-strategy gameplay seen in Archon: The Light and the Dark (1983).
The alternate title, StarCon, was a play on words referring to Reiche’s prior work on Archon, adapted into a science fiction setting. After developing the core space combat system, Reiche and Ford created an assortment of ships, abilities, and character designs. The project was completed with additional artwork from Greg Johnson and Erol Otus.
Star Control was a critical and commercial success upon its release, leading to two sequels, Star Control II in 1992 (and the free open-source remake The Ur-Quan Masters in 2002), and Star Control 3 in 1996. It has since been ranked among the best games of all time by Polygon and VideoGames & Computer Entertainment, remembered for the replay value of its combat, as well as the colorful worldbuilding that gave rise to its acclaimed sequel. Years after its release, game designers have continued to cite Star Control as an influence on their work, including Mass Effect (2007), and Stellaris (2016).
Gameplay – Star Control
Star Control is a combination of a strategy game and real-time one-on-one ship combat game. The ship combat is based on the game Spacewar!, while the turn-based strategy is inspired by Paul Reiche III‘s 1983 game Archon: The Light and the Dark.[1] Players have the option to play the full game with the turn-based campaign, or practice the one-on-one ship battles.[2]
The game can be played by one player against the computer, or two players head to head.[1] The player can also assign the game’s artificial intelligence to take over the strategy gameplay, the combat gameplay, or both.[3]
The strategy campaign consists of several selectable scenarios, with nine missions on home computers, and fifteen on the Sega Genesis.[2] Each turn-based strategy mission begins with opposing fleets arranged on a rotating star map,[1] with each player controlling a faction of their choice.[2]
Each player has up to three ship actions per turn, which are used to explore new stars and colonize or fortify worlds.[4] These colonies provide resources to the player’s ships, such as currency and crew.[1] The goal is to move one’s ships across the galaxy, claim planets along the way, and destroy the player’s opponent’s star base.[4]
When two rival starships meet on the battlefield, an arcade-style combat sequence begins.[4] Each battle takes place on a single screen with an overhead view, zooming in as the two ships approach each other.[1] The battlefield includes a planet as a gravity well, which ships can either crash into, or glide nearby to gain momentum.[1]
There are 14 different ships to choose from, with unique abilities for each.[4] Ships typically have a unique firing attack, as well as some kind of secondary ability.[1] For example, the Yehat Terminator has a forcefield, while the VUX Intruder can launch limpets that slow rival ships down.[3] Using these weapons and abilities will consume the ship’s battery, which recharges automatically (with few exceptions).[1] Ships also have a limited amount of crew, representing the total damage a ship can take before being destroyed.[1] This ties into the strategic meta-game between combat, where the crew can be replenished at colonies.[1]
The different starships are organized into two warring factions, the Ur-Quan Hierarchy, and the Alliance of Free Stars.[1] Each ship has different strengths and weaknesses, determined by their unique weapons and abilities, as well as their speed, battery, crew (health), and cost.[2] Ship selection has a major influence over combat,[1] and players can discover matchups that give them an advantage.[3] While expensive ships are usually more powerful,[2] the weaker ships can still win in the hands of a skilled player.[1]
The screen also displays a cockpit animation for each player, with unique character design for each alien and ship.[2] The ships also have distinct sound deign, such as the barking Chenjesu drones, or the Ur-Quan Dreadnaught bellowing “launch fighters” when it initiates a strike.[5]
As was typical of copy protection at the time, Star Control requested a special pass phrase that players found by using a three-ply code wheel, called “Professor Zorq’s Instant Etiquette Analyzer”.[6]
Plot – Star Control
Star Control reveals its plot through each scenario in the game’s campaign,[2] as well as the game’s instruction manual.[1] The story takes place during a war between two interstellar factions of alien species: the peaceful Alliance of Free Stars, and the invading Ur-Quan Hierarchy.[1][3]
