Star Warrior (game)
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| Star Warrior | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Epyx |
| Publisher(s) | Epyx |
| Designer(s) | Jon Freeman and Jim Connelly |
| Engine | Custom (modified Temple of Apshai) |
| Platform(s) | Apple II, TRS-80, VIC-20, Atari 8-bit family |
| Release date | 1980 |
| Genre(s) | Sci-Fi CRPG |
| Mode(s) | single player |
| Rating(s) | N/A |
| Media | Various, usually one 5ΒΌ" disk |
| System requirements | No special requirements |
| Input methods | Keyboard |
Star Warrior is a 1980 science fiction computer role-playing game written and published Automated Simulations (who become Epyx in 1983), branded as part of their Starquest series. The game was released for the Apple II, TRS-80, Atari 8-bits and the VIC-20.
Players take on the role of one of two members of the Furies, a mercenary group who only take on jobs that meet their own Samurai-like code of ethics. In this case they have been hired by the people of Fornax, who had recently been annexed by the Interstellar Union of Civilized Peoples and wish to return to autonomous rule. There are two basic game scenarios that are assumed to be taking place at the same time; in one, the player must draw off the enemy forces and destroy as many of them as possible in order for the second mission to succeed, in the second they have to track down and kill the Stellar Union's military governor. A "directional indicator" pointed the way to mission objectives.
Star Warrior was based on the same BASIC engine as previous Apshai-based games. The playfield is presented as a top-down view around the current location of the player, which is re-drawn to show a different location when the player reaches the edge of the current display. In Star Warrior the action took place outdoors, the display showing a one-kilometer area from the seven horizontal by nine vertical kilometer map.
The engine was modified to add a few new twists. For the first time sighting and range considerations were added to the engine, allowing the player to only see objects within the line-of-sight, and at distances based on the size of the target. The computer shared this limitation, allowing the player to hide behind objects to escape detection. Another change was the use of energy that powered most of the player's devices, including weapons, shielding and sensors. This limited the amount of devices that could be turned on at the same time, as well as requiring a recharge time after taking damage.
The map included various buildings, both civilian and military fortresses, as well as mobile and fixed-place enemies (turrets essentially). Buildings could only be damaged by the Fury's limited number of missiles, while the blaster and powergun could be used on smaller targets. The player could select one of three suits of armor at the start of the game, each with different equipment tradeoffs, including sensor suite, shield strength, weapons, and the ability to fly. The player could also design their own suits at the start of the game, selecting among various equipment up to a total "cost" of 2500 credits. Equipment damaged in combat could also be automatically repaired, although this used up energy and time, and the suits generally included a medical system that did the same for the player himself.
The game was turn-based, with the user given a certain number of "points" to be spent every turn and various actions using a different number of points. The system in Star Warrior was effectively identical to the one used in previous games like Apshai. In the decoy mission the player could select their own time limit before being "recalled" to their ship, but in the assault mission the game ended only when the governor or player was killed. This was somewhat different than the other Starquest release, Rescue at Rigel, which had a fixed 60-turn (one hour in-game) time limit.
[edit] References
- Details of the game are available in the original manual, available here
