jas@ISI.EDU (Jeff Sullivan) (11/06/90)
Has there been any coverage of the "Starflight" game from EA? Looks kind of like a very graphic-ified version of Galactic Bloodshed or some such. Anyone play it? Whaddaya think of it? jas -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jeffrey A. Sullivan | Senior Systems Programmer jas@venera.isi.edu | Information Sciences Institute jas@isi.edu DELPHI: JSULLIVAN | University of Southern California
mkelly@cs.uoregon.edu (Michael A. Kelly) (11/06/90)
I bought Starflight a couple weeks ago. I haven't really had a chance to play with it much, but what I've seen so far doesn't impress me. The graphics are designed for a far inferior machine (it was originally written for Commodore or Atari and has been translated to the Mac). The interface could be improved quite a bit. The worst problem is that if you click the mouse anywhere outside a button a system error (bus error, I think) occurs. That can get _VERY_ annoying. And if I remember right, it doesn't work with any system > 6.0.3. The game itself may have some virtues, but considering the aforementioned bugs it's just a waste of money. Mike. -- Michael A. Kelly | "Fish heads, fish heads, Internet: mkelly@cs.uoregon.edu | Roly-poly fish heads, America Online: Michael792 | Fish heads, fish heads, Compu$erve: 73567,1651 | Eat them up, yum!" - Barnes & Barnes
firth@sei.cmu.edu (Robert Firth) (11/06/90)
In article <15532@venera.isi.edu> jas@ISI.EDU (Jeff Sullivan) writes: >Has there been any coverage of the "Starflight" game from EA? Looks >kind of like a very graphic-ified version of Galactic Bloodshed or >some such. Anyone play it? Whaddaya think of it? We have the game at home, and the test team likes it a lot. On the surface, it looks like a game of "explore this rectangle of the galaxy". You get to visit star systems, land on planets, and bring home minerals, life forms, and puzzling alien artifacts. As you get used to it, you begin to interact with the various alien races, and discover their own odd psychology. You also learn more and more about galactic history. You do not get to zap critters indiscriminately with lethal weapons. Finally - by about the tenth game - you are ready to solve the real problem, which I won't reveal. I'd certainly recommend it. The colour version is much to be preferred - the game was desdigned in colour, uses it well, and has some good scenery.
conty@cbnewsl.att.com (enrique.conty) (11/06/90)
In article <15532@venera.isi.edu>, jas@ISI.EDU (Jeff Sullivan) writes: > > > Has there been any coverage of the "Starflight" game from EA? Looks > kind of like a very graphic-ified version of Galactic Bloodshed or > some such. Anyone play it? Whaddaya think of it? It's a SF role-playing game. Your mission: stop the crystal planet from destroying the galaxy. A simple game. I finished it in one week during my Christmas vacation. -- E n r i q u e C o n t y jester@ihlpl.att.com
conty@cbnewsl.att.com (enrique.conty) (11/06/90)
In article <1990Nov6.102830.15614@cs.uoregon.edu>, mkelly@cs.uoregon.edu (Michael A. Kelly) writes: > > I bought Starflight a couple weeks ago. I haven't really had a chance to > play with it much, but what I've seen so far doesn't impress me. The > graphics are designed for a far inferior machine (it was originally written > for Commodore or Atari and has been translated to the Mac). Actually, it is one of them MicroMagic ports cloning the IBM EGA version of the game. You're right about the horrid quality of the graphics, though. I'd recommend Space Rogue instead. > The > interface could be improved quite a bit. The worst problem is that if you > click the mouse anywhere outside a button a system error (bus error, I think) > occurs. That can get _VERY_ annoying. That never happened to me. And if I remember right, it doesn't > work with any system > 6.0.3. Funny, I ran it with 6.0.4 and no problems. > The game itself may have some virtues, but considering the aforementioned > bugs it's just a waste of money. Talk to EA about this. It might be that you got a real old version. You might be able to get an update from them. -- E n r i q u e C o n t y jester@ihlpl.att.com
wirehead@oxy.edu (David J. Harr) (11/09/90)
mkelly@cs.uoregon.edu (Michael A. Kelly) says about StarFlight: I bought Starflight a couple weeks ago. I haven't really had a chance to play with it much, but what I've seen so far doesn't impress me. The graphics are designed for a far inferior machine (it was originally written for Commodore or Atari and has been translated to the Mac). The interface could be improved quite a bit. The worst problem is that if you click the mouse anywhere outside a button a system error (bus error, I think occurs. That can get _VERY_ annoying. And if I remember right, it doesn't work with any system > 6.0.3. While I agree that StarFlight does not have the best graphics, and its modal setup can be *VERY* frustrating at times, I must disagree with the idea that it is totally unstable. I ran it for three weeks on an accelerated Mac II w/ sys 6.05, and had no system errors whatsoever (except those that my own programming caused). In my opinion, the biggest virtue of the game is that it is *INTERESTING*. It takes one heckuva a game to keep my attention for the 100+ hours I took to finish it. The storyline is interesting, the worlds diverse and plentiful, and you have to really work to put the puzzle all together. So, despite its many shortcomings as a Mac game, its strength as a game system made it good for me. I would reccomend it. Make that "reCoMMend" it (2 m's and 1 c. Someday, I'll learn to spell..) The preceding was another fine product of the fevered brain of wirehead@oxy.edu "When you want only the most warped opinions, and care enough to send the very best, use wirehead." fnordfnordfnordfnordfnordfnordfnordfnordfnordfnord
farren@well.sf.ca.us (Mike Farren) (11/12/90)
wirehead@oxy.edu (David J. Harr) writes: >The graphics are designed for a far inferior machine (it was originally >written for Commodore or Atari and has been translated to the Mac). Nope - originally written for the IBM PC. I played this game through about four years ago. Interesting, but S*L*O*W. I've seen the Amiga version, but not the Mac version. The Amiga version was also slow, so I suspect that it's a problem in the conversion. -- Mike Farren farren@well.sf.ca.us