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OMG. Star Control II

I think we had a thread or two about this in 2004 or 2005. Nevertheless, any Star Control thread is a good thread in my humble opinion. :D I always list Star Control II close to the number 1 position in those "Top-X favorite games" threads.

Last time I played it was on a Power PC. Does it work on an Intel based Mac?

Oh I wish we'd see another good Star Control game but I think the franchise is lost into a legal no man's land. Too bad. The Star Control universe was so interesting… and hilarious.

I don't like massively multiplayer online games that much but I'd pay top dollars to explore a vast Star Control universe in my trusted Spathi Eluder.

Prepare to taste my B.U.T.T.s Hunam! …while I bravely retreat and hide in that dense nebula over there.
 
gloss said:
I just recently found out that this amazing game has been released as open source, and is available on Mac OS X. Huge blast from the past.

Hope you guys enjoy it, if you haven't played before.
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After looking wistfully at reviews of this game in GamePro in the early '90s, I found the open source & played through a few months ago. Really great. Nice that it had the Star Trek feel but was anti-Star Trek, in having "actually" alien races, not just weird foreheads & green chicks (OK, some blue chicks). Also liked how the Ur-Quan/Kohr-Ah backstory unfolded.

Also thought it was far superior to more-recent games like EV Nova, in that it actually had a plot, interactions, real choices, etc.

Only problem was the "run-into-a-planet-just-off-the-screen-and-lose-40-crew" phenomenon, which led to many, many an annoyed reload.

But still, great game, and makes me want SC3.
 
This game is also one of the least linear game I ever played. Too bad that later in the game, you mothership becomes so powerful that it's not practical to use your fleet anymore. (Except as a glorified crew reserve) The different ships are all very different and yet somehow well balanced.

aidanpendragon said:
But still, great game, and makes me want SC3.
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You mean a REAL SC3. ;)
 
Eidorian said:
Looks like fun but I'll have to figure out how to survive...

Spathi Eluder is WIN.
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Some ships are better against other. (E.g.: Arilou VS Mycon, etc…) Early in the game you're better avoiding encounters as much as you can.

Almost 2/3 of the alien species can me convinced to join you alliance although some are harder to figure out than other. Once a specie joins your side, you can build their ships.

Best tip I can give to anyone trying starconII for the first time: Don't waste Cargo space, fuel and time in hauling worthless resources. Stick to "Precious" or better at first, then switch to "Radioactive" or better as soon as you can. "Exotic" resources are really what you're looking for.
 
Eidorian said:
Navigation and avoiding encounters are my issue right now. I keep finding radioactive resources too!
Click to expand...

I followed the advice given by the Starbase of "take up to a year to gather resources," and wasn't disappointed with the ship that resulted. Alien data is most useful, since then you can buy all the upgraded techs, and resource gathering gets lots easier.
 
Eidorian said:
Navigation and avoiding encounters are my issue right now. I keep finding radioactive resources too!
Click to expand...

Shouldn't be a spoiler but I wrote it in white just in case:

Select a system then hit "Enter" to plot a straight line course to your destination, it will save fuel. Switch to manual control (Any arrow) if you see a bogey on your hyperspace radar. Against those pesky Slylandro probes, use Earthling cruisers. Stand still and fire your primary weapon (nukes). They're kind of annoying but don't do much damage if you kill them quickly and give a good amount of resources. The more time pass, the more you will encounter (self-replicating) unless you find their homeworld and do something about it.
 
aidanpendragon said:
I followed the advice given by the Starbase of "take up to a year to gather resources," and wasn't disappointed with the ship that resulted. Alien data is most useful, since then you can buy all the upgraded techs, and resource gathering gets lots easier.
Click to expand...
I'll look into this.

I've seen lots of classic reviews of Star Control II and I always wanted to try it.

Thanks srobert I need a little more help making sense of the universe and hyperspace.

Edit: The probes keep killing me... *sob* They just keep hammering me away while I try to turn.
 
Eidorian said:
Edit: The probes keep killing me... *sob* They just keep hammering me away while I try to turn.
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Eidorian said:
I lost my lander...
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For probes - you should get the escape device early (hit esc). Otherwise, sell your gun & try to max out thrusters & turning, so you can avoid most folks. Your first gun kinda sucks anyway. What's nice is you can reconfigure at any point at no cost @ the starbase. Or, you can try to use the Earth ship, but it takes a fair amount of skill to keep your distance (constantly thrust in other direction, spin 180 to drop a missile, turn back & thrust, repeat).

Also, don't be afraid to save & reload a little. If you lose a lander or lots of crew, it prevents backtracking & costs. At a minimum, I'd save each time you enter a new system.
 
I just use the Spathi Eluder for probes. So easy to keep my distance! That and I talked to the starbase orbiting Earth for once before leaving the Sol sector...

I saved my game after I lost the lander. Do I have to restart the entire game now? I've gotten so many RU's. (4 systems of radioactives and exotics.

Edit: I figured out how to buy landers. I'm good. Thought I'm close to giving up due to continuous deaths probes.
 
Eidorian said:
I just use the Spathi Eluder for probes. So easy to keep my distance! That and I talked to the starbase orbiting Earth for once before leaving the Sol sector...

I saved my game after I lost the lander. Do I have to restart the entire game now? I've gotten so many RU's. (4 systems of radioactives and exotics.

Edit: I figured out how to buy landers. I'm good. Thought I'm close to giving up due to continuous deaths probes.
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Geez, shouldn't be THAT many probes - like I said, engines + turning (you should be able to avoid them altogether in hyperspace). 2 of the upgraded guns on your main ship will also deal with them easily.
 
aidanpendragon said:
Geez, shouldn't be THAT many probes - like I said, engines + turning (you should be able to avoid them altogether in hyperspace). 2 of the upgraded guns on your main ship will also deal with them easily.
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I'll get the one parked outside of Sol sector and keep adding even more engine parts. I've already maxed out turning and I have two guns on my flagship.
 
The first 1/3 of the game requires a lot of caution and patience to avoid getting ripped to shreds, either by planetary hazards or space combat. It fits in well with the theme of the story when you think about it: even your supposedly intimidating vessel can't match the might of the Ur-Quan fleet.

Preserving the lander - Make sure you look at planetary conditions before you try to collect resources. And don't be afraid to save before you launch.

Combat - Your Precursor vessel will suck horribly in combat; so do most of the ships you will acquire along the way. Don't be afraid to use the Super Melee simulator to test ships out against the computer - it's worth it, especially while your Precursor vessel is a giant lame-o. Also don't be afraid to escape combat to save your Precursor vessel.

Upgrades - Turning jets and thrusters are priority number one for upgrades. Thrusters in particular will allow you to speed through hyperspace faster, which means less combat. Unfortunately, the other tech upgrades are fairly lame. SPOILER: Head to any giant star system to meet up with a trade vessel that can upgrade your lame systems to killer devices. They deal only in bio and special info, though.
 

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  • Star Control 2 Star Map.jpg
    Star Control 2 Star Map.jpg
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For anyone who has installed this...

Where do I put the voice pack? All the uqm files go in the packages folder (Contents:Resources:content:packages)

The music folder unzips as a uqm file. However, the voice pack unzips as a folder named "comm" with all the ogg files inside. Where does that go?

I put the comm folder in the packages folder...no voices. I renamed comm to "uqm-0.6.0-voice.uqm"...no voices. So, how do I get voices?

Also, there's the separate "uqm-0.6.0-content.uqm" file that we can download and unzip. What's that for and where do I put it?

Any ideas?
 
Too lazy to try to figure out how to install the speech packs, but I found most of them to be pretty lame to begin with, so I don't think you're missing much.
 
i always pimp out the engines during the first part of the game, its useful to outrun stuff whenever its convenient for you
 
bluebomberman said:
Combat - Your Precursor vessel will suck horribly in combat; so do most of the ships you will acquire along the way. Don't be afraid to use the Super Melee simulator to test ships out against the computer - it's worth it, especially while your Precursor vessel is a giant lame-o. Also don't be afraid to escape combat to save your Precursor vessel.
Click to expand...

I assume this refers to the first 1/3 of the game. Don't think it's too much of a spoiler to say you can upgrade every system, not just your thrusters/engines, and the results will be well worth it in battle.

By the way, the map is awesome. Drives home again what a well-crafted and realistic universe it is.

Antares said:
For anyone who has installed this...

Where do I put the voice pack? All the uqm files go in the packages folder (Contents:Resources:content:packages)

The music folder unzips as a uqm file. However, the voice pack unzips as a folder named "comm" with all the ogg files inside. Where does that go?

I put the comm folder in the packages folder...no voices. I renamed comm to "uqm-0.6.0-voice.uqm"...no voices. So, how do I get voices?

Also, there's the separate "uqm-0.6.0-content.uqm" file that we can download and unzip. What's that for and where do I put it?

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

The UQM page at http://sc2.sourceforge.net/downloads.php HAD instructions on this - but doesn't seem to now, or at least I can't find them. Suffice to say, it should be as easy as drag-and-drop; I didn't have any trouble adding the voices. Hmm...just tried to download it & see what you mean...

bluebomberman said:
Too lazy to try to figure out how to install the speech packs, but I found most of them to be pretty lame to begin with, so I don't think you're missing much.
Click to expand...

I'd say it's worth it. Many of the races are kinda silly, but the Mycon and Ur-Quan make it all worth it. And I like the Scottish Yehat...
 
Antares said:
For anyone who has installed this...

Where do I put the voice pack? All the uqm files go in the packages folder (Contents:Resources:content:packages)

The music folder unzips as a uqm file. However, the voice pack unzips as a folder named "comm" with all the ogg files inside. Where does that go?

I put the comm folder in the packages folder...no voices. I renamed comm to "uqm-0.6.0-voice.uqm"...no voices. So, how do I get voices?

Also, there's the separate "uqm-0.6.0-content.uqm" file that we can download and unzip. What's that for and where do I put it?

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

Further investigation on my install: you've put everything in the right folder. Somehow, when I set this up a few months ago, I got a single "uqm-0.6.0-voice.uqm" file (not folder), about 110 megs - put it in the .../packages folder, and it works. You may want to email the devs/porters and ask them where this has got to, since it seems to be downloading something else. The Content file also goes there, but I'm not sure what it does, as I played most of the game with it (and thus don't know what I'm not missing).
 
Star Control II is pretty much my favourite game of all time (closely followed by Baldur's Gate II and WoW), so much so that I've started making a similar style 2d melee game for iphone called Dark Quadrant.

Also, definitely lookup Project 6014 (A fan made SCII sequel of high quality) that is out there too :)

-Mike
 
SC2 is my favorite 2D Sci-fi RPG EVER!!! :)

I've had it on my various Macs this past decade, but never put in the time to complete it again. I played it originally on my PC under DOS on a Gravis gamepad. :)

I still have a 3D0 version also, I just never had that console.

Oh, and if you have and Android phone, it's available on there now. I have this game on my Nexus One, which had me dancing for joy when it showed up in the market.
 
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