old video game

March 22, 2006 9:43 PM

Trying to recall an old video game

From early '90s, pc based. You designed spaceships by allocating ... (money?) to be spent on hull design, shields, weapons, etc. Then those ships went into missions. Game was turn based, and I'm pretty sure was only single player vs. computer.

(the copy protection was something like: The game would ask some random question about ship design which you would find the answer in the manuel)

Any ideas, and is it still kicking around out there somewhere?

posted by edgeways to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (16 answers total)

Sounds vaguely like StarControl 1 or 2. Except the manual wanted planets or something.
posted by loquax at 9:54 PM on March 22, 2006

Does this or this look familiar?
posted by loquax at 10:01 PM on March 22, 2006

Response by poster: they look close but not quite, I wonder if what I am thinking of was inspired by it.
posted by edgeways at 10:06 PM on March 22, 2006

Master of Orion?
posted by cellphone at 10:20 PM on March 22, 2006

Might be Master of Orion 2?
posted by Malor at 10:26 PM on March 22, 2006

Master of Orion 1 was also turn-based, but had no strategic combat, and you didn't really design ships. MOO2 had actual ship design, with firing arcs.
posted by Malor at 10:27 PM on March 22, 2006

Response by poster: nope, thanks tho
posted by edgeways at 10:27 PM on March 22, 2006

Response by poster: I don't think there was any graphics other than ships, ship building and ships fighting, so no people/robots/aliens graphics
posted by edgeways at 10:35 PM on March 22, 2006

Um, Spaceward Ho? (that's an emulated shot, it would have been running fullscreen on your PC.)
posted by Malor at 10:49 PM on March 22, 2006

(Spaceward Ho has planets and ships, and not much else.)
posted by Malor at 10:55 PM on March 22, 2006

As an aside, Starships Unlimited is a great little strategy game, not turn-based, but it's rather deep and good for casual playing. It could scratch your itch for a little bit. Check it out. I still play it every now and then -- it's the only game I've played regularly for years and years.

I do recall other games doing that question-asking copy protection thing...
posted by incessant at 11:19 PM on March 22, 2006

Could it have been Rules of Engagement? (Doesn't sound like it to me, but this is the bf's suggestion.)
posted by Liffey at 12:37 AM on March 23, 2006

There's the ancient Cosmic Balance game...
posted by inksyndicate at 2:05 AM on March 23, 2006

Aw man, I remember this game. I used to play it when I worked the over-night shift at the computer lab as an undergraduate. The name of the best ship in the game began with a K...Kestrel was it? *googles*

Escape Velocity by Ambrosia software?
posted by mrmojoflying at 6:00 AM on March 23, 2006

Hey, incessant, thanks for the reminder on Starships Unlimited. I actually bought that game five years and one day ago, loved it at the time, but had totally forgotten about it.

Trying to get a new license key, my old one doesn't work anymore. I guess they must have changed license schemes.
posted by Malor at 8:20 AM on March 23, 2006

Response by poster: The Kestrel name rings some bells, but scren shots of Escape Velocity don't look right.

*sigh* might be a lost cause.

Anything else?

thanks for the suggestions so far.
posted by edgeways at 1:20 PM on March 23, 2006