Star Trek: Starfleet Command Volume II Empires at War Preview

I have been very conflicted about the opening of this preview. I went through many a flowery, descriptive speech laced with nostalgia and witticism, followed by an abortive attempt at the dry, informative approach that draws a tear of boredom and not a little pain from my eye, and ended in a sort of caffeine-induced blathering that bordered on hallucinatory. I saw things in that state...I saw truths. Truths men are perhaps not meant to see. Once, there were even monkeys. What I finally realized was that the trouble did not lie with the possibility that my peers would be unable to recognize the greatness that is to be Starfleet Command Vol. II. Rather, the difficulty was in the manner in which the revelation is conveyed. These...'words' we are saddled with, are wholly incapable of expressing true emotion other than through abstract representation. But regardless of the primitive nature of the medium, I will forge on, and with luck we will all be the better for it.

As you may know from having read my review, I loved the first game. And if you don't know, then I am hurt, but will find a non-aggressive manner in which to express this feeling since we need no more fuel thrown onto the 'videogames cause children to violently erupt into homicidal agents of digital death' fire. Instead, I will simply give a brief overview of Starfleet Command for the benefit of those who do not follow my work with religious fervor.

The depth of play was phenomenal, the many available ships astounding, and the ability to play as multiple and discernibly different races was only slightly less impressive than the hauntingly powerful music and incredible difficulty of the game that each contributed heavily towards eliciting the tithe that was my slave-like dedication. In fact, while writing this, I am experiencing the urge to plunge in yet again and attempt to actually beat the Lyran campaign.

Moving along, it looks like the second game will be to Starfleet Command what the second film was to Star Trek; which is to say this version may be the insect in the ear of our collective consciousness, driving us unrelentingly to do its bidding. I may already be under the sway of this organism, I am afraid, and the evidence is abundant and frequently sinister. I have more than once awoken at my desk, the preview humming along quietly in my hard drive, to hear Captain Sulu murmuring softly that, should I feel the need, a type 2 phaser can be constructed from common household items. I have also found myself ordering large amounts of Greek food and watching Little House on the Prairie reruns. Truly, this game is unholy in its persuasive abilities, and must be stopped. As soon as I find out if the Ingalls can locate the stagecoach before it's too late.

I suppose I should attempt to convey the majesty that is lovingly presented to me by the preview nestled on my hard drive, but I hardly know where to begin. The new carrier class ships that allow fleets to deliver an array of fighters into battle? The inclusion of two more races with creative storylines? The unexpected guided projectile focus in the game being balanced by a new rapid-fire phaser? Or perhaps the most amazing addition, an online, persistent universe where control of the galaxy is constantly shifting as a result of the actions of hundreds or even thousands of human players?

God help me, I think I may explode with delight. Well, that, or all the Greek food. All right, let me gather my thoughts....here goes.

Since the last game, two more races have joined the galactic 'fray' as it were; the Mirak Star League and the Inter Stellar Concordium (ISC). The Mirak were apparently in a rebuilding phase during the last game, and no one really noticed since the search for the missing Organians sparked off a massive inter-species war that likely took up a lot of everyone's free time. I'm assuming, anyway. In any event, the Mirak have a long-standing grudge with the Lyrans, whom it is suspected share a branch of the family tree in the dim shadows of the past. This concept is viewed as a heinous insult by both parties, so Federation Captains are advised that the standard 'Your mother was a Mirak breeding stud' greeting is no longer officially sanctioned.

As for the ISC, their history is a bit more engaging. The ISC is a conglomerate of races whose major goal is the maintenance of peace throughout the galaxy, at any cost. They can be thought of as the Cain to the United Federation of Planet's Abel. It seems that the Organians resurfaced, and have beseeched the ISC to stop the incessant carnage that their disappearance had sparked in the previous game. The ISC was only too happy to comply, and swiftly went to work establishing their 'let them hate...so long as they fear' approach to galactic politics in the Alpha Quadrant.

Now, having two more races with which to experience a fine game like Starfleet Command would, by itself, demand more than a few sleepless nights for my joyous participation. However, I'm currently stockpiling coffee, pixie sticks and chocolate covered espresso beans in anticipation of Empires at War's launch. Why the post-Y2K bunker padding? Well, I would like to say it's the Metaverse idea they've implemented, but that would be lying, and I only do that when my mother asks me what I do for a living. What really has me excited are the new ships and fighters. You see, Taldren has added two new classes of warships, one of which, each race uses. For the Federation, Mirak, Klingon and ISC there are carriers, which transport up to four fighter wings into combat. This means you can have a cloud of fighter support hammer away at your enemy while you either decimate their freighters, or run cowardly into the inky blackness of space. The fighters can even carry heavy weapons, but must return to the carrier to resupply. This is an amazing alteration, since fighter support was an essential feature of the Hydrans in the first game, and their offensive forces were incredibly effective as a result. However, fighters lack shielding, and have limited hull integrity, which is where the true Holy Grail I have been seeking comes in. The Gorn, Lyran and Romulan fleets have fast patrol ships, which are delivered to the front lines by Tenders. These fast patrol ships are larger than fighters, have shields and can reload their own heavy weapons. Of course, no single one of them is a match for even a frigate of any race, but when they attack en masse, I can only imagine the terror they would inspire. I'm salivating right now, in fact.

And what of this Metaverse I spoke so coyly about? Well this is where the sequel takes the previous title, turns it upside down and spanks it on the rear like a newborn. With this feature, any gamer can log on to an online, persistent game in which missions and storylines continue to unfold. However, I need to make two things very clear from the proverbial 'get-go'. First is that the details about this 'Metaverse' have thus far been slightly less nebulous than a Fellini film. Which is to say, they lack clarity. Greatly. Secondly, they have provided themselves with what is best described by Sun-Tzu as a Golden Bridge of Retreat, making it clear that should an unforeseen difficulty materialize within the scope of their ability to affect change, the details of the Metaverse are subject to evolution. Or in humanspeak, 'if it doesn't work, we'll do it differently.' Allow me to fill you in on the story thus far.

The Metaverse will be a series of ongoing campaigns in which gamers can choose any one of the eight races and attempt to bring glory to their empire. Missions will be triggered by specific 'events' (another vague statement) that will require the participation of any relevant players nearby. Gamers may have to battle live persons or AI, depending on the circumstance. The results of victory are increased prestige for the victor (allowing the gamer to bid on bigger, better vessels) and the possibility that control of the sector changes hands. The prospects here are endless and fascinating, but it remains to be seen whether the implementation will live up to the ingenuity. I see at least one boon and two difficulties thus far. The up-side is that campaigns will come to an end, meaning there will be 'winners' and 'losers.' This is good since it means that you won't be stuck with a horrendously performing empire for the duration of your gaming career, and also that new missions will have to be supplied as time goes on.

Then there's the flip side.

The two difficulties are as follows: the developers make it clear that as an empire prospers, more resources become available to them. They don't say what these resources are, other than better spacecraft (and, I assume battle stations), but this kind of reward system means that Empires that are doing well, will most likely continue to do so. They hint that Empires can form alliances to protect themselves from the awesome might of a swollen enemy fleet, but decline to express how such peace treaties will be handled. Will there be field commanders a la Microsoft's Allegiance? Will there be matters to vote upon? And who will draw up the agreement and ensure it is obeyed? These are questions that I desperately hope will be answered on some level before the game is released. Otherwise, I suggest everyone get some serious bandwidth together for the gargantuan patch that will inevitably emerge.

The second problem is created by the campaign having a conclusion. Will we be able to keep the ships we acquired? This is a double-edged sword, since it hardly seems fair to have half the people starting a campaign in possession of two dreadnoughts and a carrier. So making each gamer begin fresh will not only eliminate this problem, but also allow new gamers to get in on the ground floor. Anyone who has played Ultima Online (UO) or Everquest (EQ) can attest that being the 'newbie' quite distinctly sucks. Especially when nearly everyone else views them as a life form slightly more sophisticated than a used Kleenex, whose only potential lies in the possibility that they may acquire some items worth killing them for.

Of course, the second edge of the sword is that I doubt many EQ veterans would care much for losing the character they spent months of their life developing simply to even the field after a particularly impressive deed was accomplished. And this is exactly the scenario that may occur at the end of a Metaverse campaign. This is pure conjecture though, so keep your flame wars in your mailboxes for now folks. Regardless of the route they choose, the concepts laid down in Empires at War are thrillingly original and laden to backbreaking capacity with possibilities. Let's hope they pull this one off, though, because either way it looks like it could mark a new era in online gaming.