Starships Unlimited

Starship as Hero

Starships Unlimited 3 has all the usual tropes of the 4X genre--a galaxy to explore, a deep tech tree, diplomacy with alien races--but with a major difference. The emphasis is, as the name suggests, on your starships. They're highly customizable, and the construction system makes each one you (or your opponents) build considerably more expensive than the last, so that even the largest civilization rarely has more than a dozen in play. This actually works to the game's advantage, because the starships become your protagonists, each individually interesting, and the missions they embark on have something of the feel of Star Trek to them, rather than being another mundane task in the long and (often) tedious grind of a typical 4X game.

Andrew Ewanchyna has been working on Starships Unlimited for five years, gradually improving it over time; it's now a highly polished little game. Not without flaws, mind you; this is a complicated game (as most 4X games are) and while there's a fair bit of in-game help, the manual is organized as a reference rather than to teach you how to play, and a tutorial would help a lot. But if you're willing to invest the time to come up to speed, it is, as one reviewer said, a heck of a lot of fun.

The Developer Says

Are you ready to rule the galaxy with starships that you design?

A turn-based strategy game of star empires and starships. Build starships and explore the stars. Find ancient alien artifacts. Meet alien races and trade with them, ally with them or fight them. Build up your worlds and defend them against other alien civilizations. Be the first to conquer the galaxy!

Prepare to defend your fledgling colony against an attacking fleet Take the battle to the enemy A 2-cluster galaxy with wormholes Spy against your enemies

• An unlimited number of galaxies to play in, from spiral to ring galaxies
• Over 100 technologies to discover and put to use, from different weapons to starship designs
• Four ages of technology to discover
• Fight amazing battles with starships over alien worlds
• Take control of starship maneuvers or let the computer do it for you
• Fire your weapons manually or let the computer handle it
• Launch fighters and torpedoes against enemy fleets
• Reach higher technology levels such as starship cloaking devices
• Explore the galaxy and locate ancient alien technology
• Play against up to 7 artificial players of varying skill levels
• Live the adventure of a great space sci-fi classic
• Endless replay, with different galaxies and alien races

Reviews

"Best Independent Game of 2001."
   - Computer Games Magazine

"...a balanced and creative game experience... 9 out of 10."
   - Strategy Gaming Online

"Starships Unlimited is a game that's as remarkable for its humble shareware beginnings as it is for its elegant design.... 8 out of 10."
   - Gamespot

"...a heck of a lot of fun."
   - GameSpy

Awards

Editor's Choice, Computer Games Magazine