Moonbase Commander
Encyclopedia
Moonbase Commander is a strategy
computer game released in 2002 by Humongous Entertainment. In it, the player controls a main hub, which can send out other hubs, attack enemy structures, create defensive buildings, and collect energy for further expansion; this is accomplished through launching buildings and/or weapons from a hub. Each building is connected to its parent hub by a cord, which can not overlap other cords. The game features both single-player and multi-player formats. It won the "Best of 2002: The Game No One Played" award from IGN
.
, allowing the player to spend a limited amount of "energy points" per turn. The player can spend these energy points by attacking their opponents and/or adding more buildings to their base. Most units are ground-based and are attached by a cord to the unit that created them. Cords cannot overlap or land in water. Regardless of whether a unit is ground-based, all units need to be launched from their originating unit, similar to many artillery games. The power of a shot is not preset but determined by how long the player holds down on the launch button. The longer it is depressed, the farther the unit launches. Wind can also affect the accuracy of launching units. Game maps wrap around
at the edges, meaning that no player is ever in a corner.
Moonbase Commander has 4 factions that can be played: NiceCo, DeWulf, System7, and Team Alpha. The factions are functionally identical with only cosmetic differences.
The Skirmish mode allows the player to fight up to 3 computer players of varying difficulty levels. The goal of a skirmish is to destroy all opposing players.
Challenge Mode consists of sixteen premade missions - four for each faction. Each challenge has different goals, enemies, and settings. The player earns a Gold, Silver, or Bronze medal upon completing a challenge, based mainly on how long it took him or her to complete it. The challenges progress linearly - when one challenge is complete, the next is unlocked. The credits are played when all the challenges have been completed.
Although the game has built in LAN functionality, internet play is only accessible through 3rd party software. Originally internet play was only available through GameSpy
however a fan created launcher eventually became the most common method for fans to play online.
at the 2002 E3. Despite this, sales of the game were low, such that when an Intellectual Property
valuation for Atari
(who currently own the rights) was performed in 2006, Moonbase Commander was estimated to be worth somewhere between $0 and $100,000.
Strategy game
A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome...
computer game released in 2002 by Humongous Entertainment. In it, the player controls a main hub, which can send out other hubs, attack enemy structures, create defensive buildings, and collect energy for further expansion; this is accomplished through launching buildings and/or weapons from a hub. Each building is connected to its parent hub by a cord, which can not overlap other cords. The game features both single-player and multi-player formats. It won the "Best of 2002: The Game No One Played" award from IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
.
Gameplay
The game is turn-basedTurn-based strategy
A turn-based strategy game is a strategy game where players take turns when playing...
, allowing the player to spend a limited amount of "energy points" per turn. The player can spend these energy points by attacking their opponents and/or adding more buildings to their base. Most units are ground-based and are attached by a cord to the unit that created them. Cords cannot overlap or land in water. Regardless of whether a unit is ground-based, all units need to be launched from their originating unit, similar to many artillery games. The power of a shot is not preset but determined by how long the player holds down on the launch button. The longer it is depressed, the farther the unit launches. Wind can also affect the accuracy of launching units. Game maps wrap around
Wraparound (Video Games)
Wraparound, in video games, is a gameplay variation on the single-screen in which space is finite but unbounded; objects leaving one side of the screen immediately reappear on the opposite side, maintaining speed and trajectory...
at the edges, meaning that no player is ever in a corner.
Moonbase Commander has 4 factions that can be played: NiceCo, DeWulf, System7, and Team Alpha. The factions are functionally identical with only cosmetic differences.
The Skirmish mode allows the player to fight up to 3 computer players of varying difficulty levels. The goal of a skirmish is to destroy all opposing players.
Challenge Mode consists of sixteen premade missions - four for each faction. Each challenge has different goals, enemies, and settings. The player earns a Gold, Silver, or Bronze medal upon completing a challenge, based mainly on how long it took him or her to complete it. The challenges progress linearly - when one challenge is complete, the next is unlocked. The credits are played when all the challenges have been completed.
Although the game has built in LAN functionality, internet play is only accessible through 3rd party software. Originally internet play was only available through GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
however a fan created launcher eventually became the most common method for fans to play online.
Reception and legacy
Moonbase Commander received mostly positive reviews. It was praised by Tycho of Penny ArcadePenny Arcade (webcomic)
Penny Arcade is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website loonygames.com. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have established their own site, which is typically updated with a new comic...
at the 2002 E3. Despite this, sales of the game were low, such that when an Intellectual Property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
valuation for Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
(who currently own the rights) was performed in 2006, Moonbase Commander was estimated to be worth somewhere between $0 and $100,000.