Space Empires: Starfury

Space Empires: Starfury
Developer(s)	Malfador Machinations
Publisher(s)	Shrapnel Games
Series	Space Empires
Platform(s)	Windows XP
Release date(s)	NA October 2, 2003
Genre(s)	Action
Mode(s)	Single-player

Space Empires: Starfury is an action video game developed by Malfador Machinations and published by Shrapnel Games on October 2, 2003.

Gameplay

In a departure from previous Space Empires games, players control a single spaceship as opposed to a fleet. Gameplay involves travelling between planets, accepting missions and upgrading the spaceship with new weapons. The game features three dimensional graphics, but movement is restricted to two dimensions.^[1] Fans of the Space Empires series will quickly notice that Starfury takes place in the same galaxy that the Empires games play in. Only now they are in command of a single ship rather than an intergalactic empire. The unique customization features of previous Empires titles carries well into Starfury, allowing players to completely pick and choose the components and nearly any location in a ship layout diagram. Very few things are limited to ship design, such as weapon, shield, armour and engine placements. It also maintains the strategy aspect of the Empire series, and is not just another space shooter sim.

Extensive item lists maintains the strategizing of the Empires titles that many have come to love. A player will have to manage total tonnage, weapon firing arcs as well as limited amounts of shielding and armour. Each ship, rather than just a broad base upgrade of size and abilities, offers much more to consider for a player. A more offensive player would prefer a ship that has many weapon hard points and extensive weapon arcs, while defensive or trader ships may prefer to stick with smaller, more maneuverable sizes and bulking up on cargo and defenses. Even the wide variety of individual weapon types and abilities will ensure that anyone can design the exact ship to suit their needs and play style. This broad array of, “more is better” policy has served Malfador Machinations well in the Empire series, and is just as successful with Starfury, separating it from most other space sims that have comparatively few options. Malfador has always supported the player with offering and making available vast player created mods, missions, and expansions to their games. Starfury does not disappoint here either. Large databases of other player created components, ships, missions, maps and more ensures that there are effectively infinite ways to play the game, even support to create ships, galaxies and more of your own.

The main game is a single player, in charge of a single ship. While there are missions that are available, and an overall storyline to progress, it offers very open play style. A player can create a reputation for being a deadly and hostile pirate, getting attacked by any and all ships, and even entire fleets, on sight. Other players may wish to be peaceable traders, avoiding combat as much as possible or even commanding a massive carrier, launching fleets of fighters. Police forces, double crossers, mine layers and essentially any preferred way to play is possible with Starfury, continuing the tradition of wide open gameplay that is truly limited only by the players imagination.

The gameplay takes place with all 3d models, in a 3d environment, but on a 2d plane. It seems slightly limiting, but when you, as a single ship, are facing down fleets of other ships, fighters, mines within an asteroid field, the 2d plane is entirely satisfactory and does not diminish the gameplay in the least.

A unique feature, and one that can cause trouble for some players, is the truly open environment. Right from the beginning, a player has no set of limits on their actions. Most of the time, a player has no set rule, or rigidly defined mission or objective. Most of them are left open to the player to figure out a way to succeed. If a player were to assault and destroy a battle station in deep space, only to find out that the contact for the next mission, and the only way to continue the story line they are on, was in that station, will cause some frustration and the occasional restarted game.

Overall, new players and longtime followers of Malfador Machinations will be very satisfied with Starfury. Anything that a player finds lacking is most likely able to be added via player created modifications (mods) to the game.

Development

Space Empires: Starfury is the first game developed by Malfador Machinations to use three dimensional graphics. The game was initially planned as the combat engine for Space Empires V, but it was decided that it was not "deep" enough for that purpose. Instead, the game evolved into a single-ship game based in the Space Empires universe.^[2]

References