Name that Game: Obscure Command Line 4x Edition
January 26, 2018 5:56 PM Subscribe
I have a soft spot for really geeky, text-based games from the dawn of the Internet, and have been racking my brain trying to find info about one in particular. It was apparently like Master of Orion on steroids, a sci-fi empire-building game which was apparently multiplayer-only and probably can't be played anymore. Googling is failing me, I feel like it had "Solar," or something in the title, but that's about all I have. Needless to say, it isn't Sins of a Solar Empire :)
The game was apparently command-line only, similar in some respects to the delightfully weird Empire, with a space theme and probably meant to be played almost exclusively on Unix. I feel like it was probably from the early 90s, and had a reputation even then as being baroque and poorly-documented, probably buggy, of course. I remember an article talking about custom-designing races, including specifying things like what gas they breathe.
I'm pretty sure I read about this game a few years ago but never actually played it, though I was always curious. Does anyone have any idea what I'm talking about? As a bonus question, is it hosted anywhere for me to mess around with?
The game was apparently command-line only, similar in some respects to the delightfully weird Empire, with a space theme and probably meant to be played almost exclusively on Unix. I feel like it was probably from the early 90s, and had a reputation even then as being baroque and poorly-documented, probably buggy, of course. I remember an article talking about custom-designing races, including specifying things like what gas they breathe.
I'm pretty sure I read about this game a few years ago but never actually played it, though I was always curious. Does anyone have any idea what I'm talking about? As a bonus question, is it hosted anywhere for me to mess around with?
Response by poster: Nope, I'm pretty sure it's neither of these. TW2002 is wonderfully fun, but not as 4X-ish. Megawars seems a bit too mainstream. I'm 80% sure this game was played/created in association with a university, or similarly geeky CS place, and not hosted on any public online service.
posted by Alensin at 6:19 PM on January 26, 2018
posted by Alensin at 6:19 PM on January 26, 2018
List of BBS door games suggests it might be Solar Realms Elite.
posted by Phssthpok at 6:29 PM on January 26, 2018
posted by Phssthpok at 6:29 PM on January 26, 2018
If you were into BBSes there was a multi-player door called Solar Realms Elite where you go about developing your space empire, though it was a pretty standard war game set in space and I don't recall anything as fancy as custom-designed races, etc. (On preview, too late!)
Is it possible it was actually a specific MUSH or MUD or similar?
posted by bunyip at 6:32 PM on January 26, 2018
Is it possible it was actually a specific MUSH or MUD or similar?
posted by bunyip at 6:32 PM on January 26, 2018
Response by poster: Nope, pretty sure it wasn't a mud or mush, though you might have been able to Telnet to its server. I don't remember those terms being applied to it though. Solar Realms et al are far too simplistic to be the thing I'm thinking of…
I'm only guessing that "solar," was in the name. I remember race design being called out specifically, the general thrust of the article being something like, "this is an example of how absurdly complicated this game was." I remember mention of a literal command line, and possibly a "change," command, though that's stretching my memory banks to the limit :)
I'll stop thread-sitting now, in any case.
posted by Alensin at 7:54 PM on January 26, 2018
I'm only guessing that "solar," was in the name. I remember race design being called out specifically, the general thrust of the article being something like, "this is an example of how absurdly complicated this game was." I remember mention of a literal command line, and possibly a "change," command, though that's stretching my memory banks to the limit :)
I'll stop thread-sitting now, in any case.
posted by Alensin at 7:54 PM on January 26, 2018
Some of the traits you mention remind me of Stars! but it ran on Windows 3.1, not Unix, and it was graphical. Though it went about it's graphics a little strangely, with different elements of the interface each in their own window, not unlike how some terminal games do it.
posted by rodlymight at 8:10 PM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by rodlymight at 8:10 PM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: It turns out it was a game called Galactic Bloodshed. I'm glad I wasn't imagining things after all, even if the prospect of finding a working version to mess around with seems to be slim.
posted by Alensin at 5:07 PM on January 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Alensin at 5:07 PM on January 27, 2018 [3 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by theodolite at 6:04 PM on January 26, 2018 [3 favorites]