 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2013) |
| Empire! | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Andrew Glaister |
| Publisher(s) | Firebird Software |
| Platform(s) | ZX Spectrum, C64, Amstrad CPC |
| Release | 1986 |
| Genre(s) | Strategy / Action |
| Mode(s) | Single Player |
Empire! is a space combat and trading video game designed by Andrew Glaister and published by Firebird Software in 1986 for the Commodore 64, [1] ZX Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC.
The player is the pilot of a spacecraft, set during a period of early space colonization. There are 64 star systems to explore, presented in a rotating top-down 2D view. Each system has a starbase – which issues missions, receives supplies from the player, and sells various ship add-ons – a sun that presents a navigation hazard due to its high temperature, and one or more orbiting planets.
The player can navigate his ship onto a planet's surface through a warp hole (and a tunnel-maneuvering subgame). Once there, three different supplies can be collected in a first-person flight subgame. The three supplies – people, minerals and radioactives – are then made available for pick-up in the main playing area and can be transferred back to the starbase.
Players must also defend themselves from constant attacks from enemy alien ships.
Adjacent star systems can be flown to through an asteroid field (represented by square blocks).
Eventually, the player is able to create a vaccine to combat a plague, which destroys systems 200 stardays from infection. The player can eventually purchase better ships and starbases to form their own empire. The last task of the game is to deploy a defence shield network to secure the player's empire from invaders.
The game's retro sci-fi graphics have drawn comparisons with Flash Gordon and Asteroids , [2] but games magazines noted that underlying this is a complex game, similar to Elite , requiring a varied range of skills. [3]
Star Fleet Battles (SFB) is a tactical board wargame set in an offshoot of the Star Trek setting called the Star Fleet Universe. Originally created in 1979 by Stephen V. Cole, it has had four major editions. The current edition is published by Amarillo Design Bureau as Star Fleet Battles, Captain's Edition.
Master of Orion is a turn-based, 4X science fiction strategy game in which the player leads one of ten races to dominate the galaxy through a combination of diplomacy and conquest while developing technology, exploring and colonizing star systems.
Starflight is a space exploration, combat, and trading role-playing video game created by Binary Systems and published by Electronic Arts in 1986. Originally developed for IBM PC compatibles, it was later ported to the Amiga, Atari ST, Macintosh, and Commodore 64. A fully revamped version of the game was released for the Sega Genesis in 1991.
Spelljammer: Pirates of Realmspace is a video game for MS-DOS released by Strategic Simulations in 1992. It is a Dungeons & Dragons PC video game using the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Second Edition rules, and the Spelljammer setting. Spelljammer was programmed and designed by Cybertech Systems.
Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords is a 4X turn-based strategy by Stardock for Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to the 2003 game, Galactic Civilizations, and was released at retail and on Stardock's online subscription service, TotalGaming.net, on February 21, 2006. An expansion, Dark Avatar, was released in February 2007. A second expansion, Twilight of the Arnor, was released in April 2008.
Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares is a 4X turn-based strategy game set in space, designed by Steve Barcia and Ken Burd, and developed by Simtex, who developed its predecessor Master of Orion and Master of Magic. The PC version was published by MicroProse in 1996, and the Macintosh version a year later by MacSoft, in partnership with MicroProse. The game has retained a large fan base, and is still played online.
Federation Commander is a tactical starship combat board wargame system, produced and developed by Amarillo Design Bureau Inc. (ADB) It is designed to represent combat between vessels of various factions in the Star Fleet Universe, such as the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire. The Star Fleet Universe is based upon a licence to use properties in the fictional Star Trek universe as it stood in 1979. Thus it includes the original series and the animated series as well as fan contributions but diverges from then and does not include anything from the movies or any subsequent television series. Much of the combat in Federation Commander is said to take place around the time of the fictional "General War", a large scale conflict in the Milky Way that involved prolonged conflict between a multitude of star-faring cultures.
Master of Orion III is a 4X turn-based strategy game and the third in the Master of Orion series. Master of Orion III was developed by Quicksilver Software and published by Infogrames Interactive on February 25, 2003.
Star Raiders II is a space combat simulator released in 1986 for Atari 8-bit computers as a sequel to 1979's Star Raiders, which was the killer app for the system. The game was originally developed as part of a tie-in with the movie The Last Starfighter, which featured an arcade game of the same name as part of its plotline. Versions for the Atari 5200 and the Atari 8-bit computers were developed in 1984, although those were never released. Later the tie-in was dropped, and the game converted into a sequel to Star Raiders by changing a number of gameplay elements. The gameplay remained different from the original Star Raiders.
Knight Tyme is a computer game released for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and MSX compatibles in 1986. It was published by Mastertronic as part of their Mastertronic Added Dimension label. Two versions of the ZX Spectrum release were published: a full version for the 128K Spectrum and a cut-down version for the 48K Spectrum that removed the music, some graphics and some locations.
Star Trek: Legacy is a 2006 real-time tactics space combat video game for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 developed by Mad Doc Software and published by Bethesda Softworks in association with CBS Paramount Television and CBS Consumer Products. Originally slated for release in the fall of 2006 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Star Trek, the Windows version was not released in North America until December 5, 2006, and the Xbox 360 version until December 15. In Europe, both the PC version and the Xbox 360 version were released on December 22, 2006.
Star Trek: The Next Generation is a 1994 adventure game developed and published by Spectrum HoloByte. The game features strategy and puzzle-solving elements. The game was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the Sega Genesis and the Sega Game Gear. It takes place in the Star Trek universe, spanning Federation space and the Romulan Neutral Zone, and centers on the appearance of the IFD, an artifact machine of unknown origin that, as its name suggests, allows its user to reshape matter and energy. It culminates in the IFD Trials, three tests undertaken by representatives of any races that are present when the Trials are held, and failure would mean the destruction of the Federation and the enslavement of countless worlds by the Federation's enemies.
Rebel Space was the second play-by-email game offered as part of a major commercial online service. It ran on Prodigy from 1992 to 1995. The game was developed by Stormfront Studios, designed by Don Daglow and programmed by Mark Buchignani.
Sins of a Solar Empire is a 2008 science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Ironclad Games and published by Stardock Entertainment for Microsoft Windows operating systems. It is a real-time strategy (RTS) game that incorporates some elements from 4X games; its makers describe it as "RT4X". Players are given control of a spacefaring empire in the distant future, and are tasked with conquering star systems using military, economic and diplomatic means.
Space Empires IV is a turn-based 4X strategy computer game developed by Malfador Machinations and published by Strategy First as part of the Space Empires series in which players control an alien race in an attempt at galactic conquest.
Star Fleet I: The War Begins is a 1984 strategy video game designed by Trevor Sorensen and developed by Interstel. It was released for Apple II, MS-DOS and Commodore 64. Versions for the Commodore 128, Atari ST, and Atari 8-bit computers were released in 1986 and versions for the Amiga and Mac were released in 1987. The game was successful enough to spawn sequels which are collectively known as the Star Fleet series.
Codename MAT is a space combat simulator published in 1984 by Micromega for the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC written by Derek Brewster. The game is similar to Atari, Inc.'s Star Raiders from 1979. Both games allow switching between front and aft-facing views and have strategic chart and scan modes. While Star Raiders has the player fighting Zylons, in Codename MAT the enemies are Myons.
Space Empires: Starfury is an action video game developed by Malfador Machinations and published by Shrapnel Games on September 22, 2003. The game is set in a Space Empires universe containing planetary systems linked by warp points, or wormholes. The game allows the player to control a single spaceship to explore the universe.
Pardus is a graphical browser-based MMORPG written in PHP and C/C++ and set in a futuristic universe where players interact and compete in space. It is a persistent-universe, open-ended game with a player-driven economy. Players travel through hundreds of "sectors" or solar systems while trading, building or battling with Non-Player Characters (NPCs) and other players. There are dozens of spacecraft models in Pardus, which can be customized with different weapons, armor and other equipment. Pardus characters do not have a defined 'class'.
Star Sonata is a space-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMO) by American studio Star Sonata LLC released in 2004 that combines elements of action games and real-time strategy games such as real-time ship-to-ship combat and galactic conquest.