Customer Reviews

Star Trek: Starfleet Command 2 - Empires at War

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

First, a warning: there is already a patch for the game to fix several problems known with the game at the time it shipped...

But, hey, it's an Interplay game; I've come to expect high quality from them -- but high quality that occasionally needs a strip of duct tape.

SFC II adds two new races: first, the Mirak, based on the Kzinti from Larry Niven's novels and stories and later adapted in the Star Trek cartoon -- explaining how they got into the Star Fleet Battles boardgame that SFC is based on; it's all a rich tapestry. ;)

Second, the Interstellar Concordium (ISC). These guys were my favourite race in the boardgame, and they don't disappoint in SFC II. Their ships are larger than comparable ships of the same class from other races, and they have unique weapons, like rear-firing torpedoes and their Plasmatic Pulsar Device. The PPD is a very accurate, long-range weapon that does damage to multiple shields in multiple bursts.

Every race now gets fighters and/or fast patrol ships (small gunboats, smaller than frigates but bigger than fighters). Now the Hydrans don't get all the fun. The wide assortment of ships (more than 1,000 of them) is astounding, and no two fleets ever need to be the same.

Game balance has been improved; no longer are missile boats the game-killers they were in the pre-patch SFC -- however, the Mirak specialize in missiles, and are certainly the exception to this rule. Run away from them.

Perhaps the most exciting improvement to the game is Dynaverse II, the new campaign system. While offering a fun single-player experience, where it really shines is in the online semi-persistent world, where hundreds or thousands of players can potentially build up their fleets to conquer their enemies. While the game has only been available for a few days as of this writing, I've had some experience playing online and it's a lot of fun. Once the player base grows (and it will -- SFC II went gold before release) I expect the online game to be the only way to go. And, of course, SFC II supports standard multiplayer one-off games, if you don't have the inclination to play a campaign.

The graphics are even better than the first in the series, with space effects, nebulas and planets displayed in eye-popping detail. Weapon effects are glorious, and the sound is first-rate.

The training missions aren't as frustrating as in the first game, and help to ease the massive learning curve for this extremely deep game.

If there's any weakness to the game it is that the ships themselves still look artificial compared to the concept art, and this prevents me from giving SFC II a 5/5 score.

This game is great. Obviously the game has worn off in excitement since first buying it...but the first time you play it is undescribable. The first time you get it loaded and start playing you feel like you're a captain. As a trekkie, that was all I had ever wanted. And controlling every detail about the ship is just amazing. I'm serious, EVERY DETAIL. Probing, electronic warfare, weapon control/firing, shields, shuttlecrafts, special features using your warp engines such as high energy turns, usage of mines, transporters, ship speed, systems repair...ok the list goes on. This game is simply amazing.

Now people have told me about bugs...I've never had any problems...EVER. The game should never be minimized or interrupted because you will come back to a messed up screen, which can't always be fixed. But that's the only "problem" I have. The "patch" is really easy to get considering you just go in your start menu under the game and select Update. It will instantly find the udpate and download. With a fast connection this will only take a few minutes. All bugs previous to this are gone. (If there were any, I've always updated first.

The game:
The single player game was very cool at first. I never really got into the single player on this game after being dissappointed by continuous repetition of missions on the original Starfleet Command game. And it always seemed as if the missions were to easy or absolutely impossible. However, this game has many more missions, features etc. Besides the campaign you can set up a "skirmish" for short little single missions with the AI. I bought this game almost exclusively for online play. I play with Gamespy Arcade, the only place to play online known to me....It's great battling against other human beings. Your chances are realistic after you get good. This game is about skill, and also knowledge of the other ships and the weapons they have. If you're into Star Trek and realistic battle simulations you can not go wrong.

Please note from the outset I am approaching this as a casual gamer who was drawn to this game because of my positive experiences with the previous edition. Bottom line: Empires at War offers distinct improvements over the first edition, and glaring problems.

First, what was kept: The basic operation of the controls remains the same. There are little quirks that have changed a couple of things, but nothing glaring. Ships remain similar in appearance and function.

Second, the improvements. Regenerative shields: if your shields get knocked out, they will regenerate, more accurately reflecting activities of repair crews on the starships. Of course, you have either go to keep your good shields facing the enemy, or keep your distance from an engagement. Of course, your opponent has the same advantage/disadvantage, but it is preferable to the permanently dead shield. Also, if you destroy a ship, unlike in the first game if you sit on top of or close to an opponent when you destroy them you can also be destroyed. Another improvement: Accurate photon torpedoes over a distance. In the previous version, unless you fired point-blank, you often saw half or more of your photon torpedo spread disappear into space. In this version, they are actually an effective weapon over distance, with an appreciably high hit-to-miss ratio. Third - missile defense: Missiles are less effective overall, removing to advantage of the heavy missile cruisers from the previous game. They also come in varied speeds, another good thing. Space Monsters: much more varied - often lethal. They are a great x-factor, and wonderful teachers of caution in an engagement. I ran into one that literally destroyed my ship with a plasma volley in the first exchange. Fleet combat - In skirmish mode, I experimented with fleet maneuvering, and found it a distinct improvement over the prior edition. Ships operate with a number of options in terms of control, and seem more responsive to orders - though not all functions seemed to work as they should. Also, visually, the scenarios are much nicer than the old version.

Third, the problems. Where to start? Overall, the gameplay, while in many ways improved (regenerative shields, better torpedoes, greater equity in terms of reduction of the missile effect) is overshadowed by the complexity of gameplay, and overall difficulty presented by the game's progression. One example - Prestige points. While in the first game you had to pay for what you got in terms of supplies and new ships, you could do so in a fashion that assured a steady rise in points that translated into better, stronger ships. In this version, because of the average greater length of battles and commensurate exhaustion of supplies and added repair costs, it is difficult to build significant value. Also, ships lose their value quickly for trade in, and I find I cannot trade a ship in for a new one without first buying the second ship, thereby reducing the prestige points necessary for purchase. Additionally, there is no crew section, where you have officers accruing value that is valuable in trades and/or ship combat effectiveness. Finally, the cost of supplies, as I mentioned, is prohibitive, especially in terms of missiles. Lastly, if you buy something and then decide you don't want it, you can return it but you will not receive the spent value back. This is a glaring weakness in the game, given the increased value of the Capitol ships like Battleships and dreadnoughts.

The interfaces, while serviceable, are a step backward in terms of functionality and clarity. While I like having a greater selection of ships (even though it seems nigh impossible to accrue the Prestige Points needed to acquire them), I feel there could have been modified version of the old interface. Still, I admit that right clicking on the ship type to get the schematics is almost as good and provides a quick method of determining value of the ship.

Replay is no longer offered. Instead, you're dead and you get to go back to the beginning. Now if you are a serious gamer, I suppose this is no big deal. But for the casual gamer, this is a serious drawback. Also, saves are controlled more by the AI than by the gamer, taking away the feature of being able to branch off in a separate direction and experiment with ships in scenarios.

In the end, I won't say don't buy this game. But be warned, in spite of appearances, and some functional improvements, it is not as good, and more important, not as fun.

As a veteran of the (long to play) board game Star Fleet Battles, I was extremely happy when Starfleet Command came out last year. Although it had glitches and imperfections, the possibilities of finally having starships duke it out in a tactical setting (although real-time) was a joy.

Of course the original Starfleet Command lacked some of the races and other features of SFB, and so, a year later, we come to Starfleet Command II.

SFC II has two new races missing from the original Starfleet Command that are a staple of SFB...the Mirak (renamed from the board game due to infringement--you might know them better as the Kzinti) and the dreaded "evil Federation", the dangerous ships of the Interstellar Concordium. It is their efforts to bring "peace" to the various groups in the game that drives the engine of the missions and the map.

For all of its pluses, however, the bugs and glitches are many and major. The multiplayer "dynaverse" is still in beta due to a licensing problem, and the game itself is very very buggy. The word on the message boards from the designers is that Interplay, the parent company, rushed this puppy out of the door for the Christmas rush...and it shows.

Taldren has a reputation for fixing their mistakes, and so I am pretty sure that in time the game will be working well. Right now, however...it can be painful to wait minutes between turns on the major map and other glitches.

Without the bugs, this game would easily get four stars, possibly four and a half.

I would have given this game five stars except for the bugginess of it. When they get this game patched, I would be willing to give it one more star. The patches that are out right now have helped a lot but more work needs to be done.

This is a complex game and not for everyone. It takes a lot of thought and planning to play it successfully. If you are not into taking the time to read the manual and learn the game, then avoid this one.

The battle sequences are stunning, the graphics make you feel like you really are commanding a starship. I am still learning how to play this game and expect it will be a long time before I am bored with it.

The only things I am disappointed with is that ship movement is limited to 2D and the starships handle like airplanes and not space vehicles. Come on people, this is SPACE combat, we should be able to do loops and rolls and all sorts of maneuvers. I should be able to fly my ship in any attitude, even backwards.

So is it worth getting? I say yes if you are enamored with the Star Trek universe and enjoy complex games. If you aren't into either, than pass it by.

This sequel takes what was a complex game and adds another layer of gameplay: The emphasis on fleet (multi-captial ship + fighter) movements.

For those who don't know, Starfleet Command 2 is an enhanced version of Starfleet Command v1.03. This version (v1.03) tweaked the computer game closer to the original board game Starfleet Battles (SFB).

The game includes many campaign missions for the eight races and one pre-made skirmish mission (Not to worry : There is an online community that creates interesting skirmish missions). There is an online campaign multi-player component that currently is in a beta stage due to a collapse of an internet company...but Interplay has heroically stepped in to provide the servers. This is should prove to be exciting as the eight empires battle over a persistant virtual territory.

Two things prevents this game from being a five-star. (1) The tutorials don't cover the new features and new races within the game. I guess you have to just "figger-it-out" or just "know." (2) The manual is light on the race-specific strategy or links to other sources of information. Both of these factors make the game more inaccessible for the non-SFB player.

Starfleet Battles is a complex and nuanced strategy game that simulates the starship combat in an extrapolated Star Trek Universe (pre-Next Generation). This game has a great deal of depth and, unfortunately, a VERY high learning curve.

EXAMPLE: I watched a friend of mine (who likes Star Trek on TV) play SFC for the first time. He picked a Federation ship tutorial to play. The first thing he did was arm all of his weapons and shot his photons torpedos at the first ship he could get into his sights. They missed. He piloted his ship closer. Waited around for his weapons to recharge. Fired and missed. (...Repeat until really close...) He just didn't see the fun in it. "They make it look easy on TV." he said.

It is like chess: Deeply complex and rewarding for the dedicated student.

But it isn't for everyone.

I would warn anyone to not purchase this game due to the increasing problems I've had with it. I found the game to be a bit plodding over time with no real end goal in sight.
As I continued to play the game it began to glitch more frequently and for longer periods of time to the point where the game would not load but would spool without end. I would have to reboot my computer to disengage the game. I tried the downloads from the net, and that didn't help either. I have sufficient memory etc. on my computer and don't believe I have a hardware problem, Windows 98, 128 ram, 600+ pent processor, 100 mhz clock, etc. I believe this is a poorly designed game. I hesitated buying the game based on prior Star Trek game revues which said the same thing that I am writting now.
If this is the extint of Interplays software capabilities I won't be buying any of their products in the future, as it would be a waste of money.
Oh yea, I am a bit of a Trekkie, enjoy the shows etc.
I very much enjoy the Star Wars simms and have purchased all of them. Needless to say they have all performed flawlessly, hoping that the Star Trek game might do the same I gave it a try.
Be careful what you buy and good gaming.

Love this game! Got it when it first came out. Had to move and it got lost. Really missed playing it. Found it on Amazon and ordered it. Playing it again and loving it even more than before!

There was a star trek game in the series of star trek games that I had tried and was great -this is not it. Unfortunately I paid a premium in purchasing this outdated hunk of junk in the hopes I would reclaim the game I had tried. To list top problems would be 1) very buggy -ie crashes which are nothing to do with my system 2) poor game interface 3) boring repetitive missions. On top of this I will not buy used again as the condition of this item was terrible (and when does a seller state that?). This was stated good condition -an outright lie.

Second installment of this excellent Star Trek tactical level wargame which tests your ability to think, not the speed with which you can click the mouse or hit buttons on the keyboard.

The Star Fleet Command series of games are a brilliantly executed computer version of the Task Force Games & Amarillo Design Bureau Star Trek boardgame, Star Fleet Battles.

If you have ever played the boardgame, and enjoyed it, this has almost identical ships, races, and rules, but with the computer dealing with all the tedious Energy allocation, combat results, etc. So instead of filling in forms, rolling dice, looking up tables and trying to remember which phasers you've fired you can concentrate on how your starship can defeat the enemy.

This game does not require any ability to hit the right part of the screen with mouse or joystick, nor lightning-fast reactions, nor the ability to repeatedly press any computer control with RSI-inducing speed. It is a test of tactical ability and particularly of using your intelligence to set up situation where your ship's weapons will be more effective than those of your opponent. (There are also a few scenarios which can be solved by using diplomacy or by appropriate use of ship systems other than weapons.)

You can opt to fight single-ship battles, command a squadron of up to three ships, or fight a campaign game set at the time of the "ISC Pacification Campaign."

In the "Star Fleet Battles" history the Organians mysteriously disappeared in the 2260's, between the original "Star Trek" TV series and the first "Star Trek" film, and the Klingons took advantage of their absence to launch a major war which rapidly spread to engulf most of the races in the galaxy. The Organians returned and stopped that war, but encouraged a new power, the Interstellar Concordium, to impose peace on the galaxy. The attempt to impose a "Pax ISC" provides the backdrop and context for the campaign game.

The six Star Trek nations which you could play in the first Star Fleet Command game were the Federation, Klingons, Romulans or Gorns, and Lyrans or Hydrans from the boardgame. The Orion Pirates appear as a non-player race in the first two games (there is a later expansion in which you can play them.) This second game adds the ISC and re-introduces the Kzinti ships and systems under the name Mirak.

It is with some trepidation that I explain this, because a letter I wrote making a joke on this subject to a games magazine generated an avalanche of hate mail from Star Trek fans.

Larry Niven's Kzinti from his "Known Space" series also appear in the "Star Fleet Battles" universe: when Niven wrote some of the episodes of the animated Star Trek series many years ago, he adapted his own short story "The Soft Weapon" as a Star Trek tale, complete with Kzinti. So Task Force games allocated them a place in the Star Trek galaxy complete with a unique set of ship types and tactics. Larry doesn't seem to have been at all bothered by this, he certainly never sued TFG or the Amarillo Design Bureau, but for legal or contract reasons the people who put out the first version of the computer game decided that having the Kzinti in it was asking for trouble.

However in this second version of the computer game, they put a new race in the same part of the galaxy which the Kzinti occupied in the boardgame, flying exactly the same ship designs which the Kzinti used in the boardgame, so the wargamers who loved having those ships in their games were happy, but they called the replacement race the Mirak, and the graphic of a Mirak captain doesn't look like the Kzin in Larry Niven's books, so the lawyers were happy.

The other new thing in this second game is - CARRIERS AND FIGHTERS! Only the Hydrans had fighter shuttles in the first computer game, but in this one just about every carrier design in Star Fleet Battles from the mighty Federation Space Control Ship (my favourite ship in the game) down to light carriers is available.

There are two new campaign games - one available to all races which covers the history of the ISC Pacification campaign, and one resrtricted to the Mirak, Lyrans, Hydran which involves finding ancient technology and using it to defeat your enemies. The campaign games incorporate almost all the scenarios in the boardgame, from patrol and convoy actions to base attack/defence, and "the surprise reversed." There are also a range of battles in the campaign game which feature various space monsters new ideas like hostage rescue, and the campaign game knits together into an entertaining storyline.

For reference, there are currently four "Star Fleet Command" computer games

1) The original "Star Fleet Command" set in the general war

2) This game, "Star Fleet Command II, Empires at war" set about a decade later during the attempt by the Interstellar Concordium (ISC) to impose peace on the galaxy.

3) Star Fleet Command "Orion Pirates" which is a free-standing expansion for the second game, and you can play as any of the eight empires from this game or as one of eight clans of Orion pirates.

4) Star Fleet Command III, set a century later in Picard's time, and you can play as the Federation, Klingons (now allied to the Federation), Romulans (still enemy) or Borg.

So if you want to play the Orions, get the third expansion, if you want to play as or fight the Borg, get Star Fleet Command III.