Space Colony (video game)
| Space Colony | |
|---|---|
 North American boxart | |
| Developer(s) | Firefly Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Gathering |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Real-time strategy, Life simulation |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Distribution | CD |
Space Colony is a real-time strategy video game developed by Firefly Studios and published by Gathering in 2003. Aspyr Media released a Mac OS X port in 2004. The game was re-released as digital HD version on November 8, 2012.[1]
Gameplay
The basic premise is similar to The Sims in that the player has to care for the needs of a several individuals - here each with a unique predefined personality and different abilities. However the game is mission orientated and involves setting up a futuristic base and carrying out missions which involve mining minerals, developing relationships, harvesting resources to prevent running out of oxygen and power, collecting food, and fighting back alien attacks.
Characters
There are 20 main characters in this game. All the characters' attitudes are determined by their happiness. It is necessary to meet the characters' needs and demands so their work levels don't drop. Therefore they need enough oxygen, power and food or entertaining with bars, clubs, saunas and over other 100 buildings available. Mental health is also an issue in a small colony in space, so meditation spaces, psychotherapy and even detention pods can be of use.
Main characters
- Venus Jones - The leading character, a generally affable, red-headed woman. She is extremely versatile ability-wise, being able to run oxygen and power facilities, gather plants for nutrition, and the other basic jobs, and extremely effectively. She comes from the United States.
- Stig Svensson - Also versatile, but not as skilled. Due to his muscular build, eating is very important to him and increases his happiness more than other factors. He is said to come from Norway however the game developers have given him a thick Swedish accent.
- Tami La Belle - A Texan, with fairly good abilities. Loves chatting with liked base members, but can often become needy and prone to drinking.
- Dean Jefferson Brown - A basketball playing medical student from Los Angeles. He has an obsession with cleanliness, making personal hygiene very important to him.
- Candy Simpson - 24-year-old Californian airhead. Because her life revolves around shopping, she doesn't do much, as shown by her pitiful ability chart, which only features basic cleaning abilities.
- 'Nailer' McBride - A former death row inmate with a Scottish accent. Loves exercise, but has average ability area.
- Barbra Leechworth - A motivated sour person who is Blackwater's vice president; her paycheck is her important need. She and Venus are rivals and cannot stand each other.
- Babette Devereux - Spoiled lazy daughter of a rich French diplomat. She soon realizes that life in space is far worse than living under her father's rules on Earth.
- Daisy Willowreed - A Granola girl. She can do all planting single-handedly.
- Billy-Bob Perkins - A friendly but dumb former chicken farmer that is always willing to help out wherever and whenever he can. But he needs extremely precise and simple instructions as his brain is not nearly as large as his heart.
- Greg Chesterton - A egotistical sexist jerk. His social and entertainment needs are intense.
- Hoshi and Kita - Inseparable Japanese punk duo. They are connected deeply by their souls.
- Capt. Charles Worthington - Stereotypical officer and a gentleman type guy.
- Ashia Green - Former athlete obsessed with fitness. She has come to the colony to forget about an injury that ended her sport career.
- Vasilios Cosmos - Extremely quiet and shy guy. He keeps going on about the stars. Vasilios came to the colony to escape "them." Who "they" are remains unanswered.
- Bhoomi Sharma - Elderly lady from India. She loves life but that don't keep her on her feet for too long. Bhoomi will seek transcendency in sleep.
- Mr Zhang - Cool 80-year-old guy that joined the crew so he could see space before he died. He is filled with ancient Chinese wisdom and the only cybernetics expert in the game; can build androids and such.
- 'Slim' - Mopy, thrill-seeking, sleep-obsessed 15-year-old skater punk who was abandoned by his parents for being annoying.
Other characters & creatures
- Mr. Waterhouse - The boss of Blackwater Industries is responsible for mission briefings of the crew.
- Robots - These include military dogbots, soldiers and commandos.
- Androids - They have no needs, work tirelessly and have impressive skills. However they have to be built in game and only have a short lifetime.
- Ooma - Tribble-like space pets with big eyes.
Furthermore the crew encounter various other alien creatures and even space tourists.
Bonus campaign
An official bonus campaign was released in 2004. It has 5 missions and takes place on the planet Cobash.
Minigame
A small 2D action-oriented game called Alien Horde was created to promote Space Colony. Players assume the role of Space Colony's leading lady Venus in this minigame. She has to fight back alien attacks and try to rescue Space Colony's hard-working Scandinavian biker Stig, plus she has to prevent running out of oxygen. Alien Horde is open-ended, and the gameplay becomes more intense with each level. Beside the same setting the gameplay of the minigame has not much in common with the more strategic-oriented gameplay of Space Colony.
Music
Space Colony's theme song "You're So Gangsta" was contributed by the electro funk band Chromeo.
HD version
Space Colony HD [2]was released on November 8, 2012. The new version of the game features high-definition graphics and a wider field of view, with support for resolutions up to 2560x1600. The re-release includes 8 new official bonus campaigns and the previously released Cobash bonus campaign plus 6 user-created campaigns from SpaceColonyFans.net. The game is compatible with Windows 2000/XP/7/8. Purchases from GOG.com include the Alien Horde mini-game, HD wallpaper, a digital manual and the soundtrack of the game.[3] A separate HD patch for owners of the previous version was released on November 12, 2012.