Sentinel Worlds I: Future Magic
Encyclopedia
Sentinel Worlds I: Future Magic is a 1989 sci-fi computer role-playing game. It was programmed
by Karl Buiter and published
by Electronic Arts
. It was developed for the Commodore 64
and DOS
.
Set in the year 2995, Sentinel Worlds I: Future Magic was an innovative game that allowed a player to command a crew of five Federation officers and embark on an epic quest to save the Caldorre System from space raiders. Your mission is to develop your crew and a starship and find the raiders' base and rid the system of them. The game was particularly notable for a musical score that simulated multiple instruments by swapping between them faster than the human ear
could differentiate.
and The Bard's Tale, and had some innovations which set it apart from other games at the time. It was one of the pioneers in the budding sci-fi RPG genre.
The game was non-linear
and allowed players to ignore the entire plot and explore space for as long as they wanted. It also mixed elements of an RPG with a space-shooter, requiring both strategy and tactics as the player would have to dog fight enemy vessels. Players could also choose to venture into trading by mining and harvesting resources on other planets. Much of the game also took the players onto the ground, where they could fight ground battles using a wire-frame
3D display
of their environment and engage in conversation, combat, or trade.
The main component of the game starts out in the dog fighting
space combat
scenario, fighting to protect merchant shipping. As the story progresses, other elements of the game , including exploration, trade, conversation, ship boarding, ground combat and investigation are brought into the mix. Players must balance their resources and cash with repairs from battle, buying new weapons and armor, and upgrading their vessel.
.
had mixed feelings about the game, citing the slow movement speed both indoors and out, as well as the fact that only the team leader could be directly controlled, with the computer controlling the remainder of the team, sometimes poorly. The graphics, especially during takeoff and landing, were described by Scorpia as "the most exceptional use of EGA graphics I've seen yet in an adventure game." In a later issue, Scorpia noted, "Several have written to me, asking if there is more to the game than shooting down raider ships. There certainly is, but it will take awhile before the "real" action starts."
Game programmer
A game programmer is a software engineer, programmer, or computer scientist who primarily develops codebase for video games or related software, such as game development tools. Game programming has many specialized disciplines all of which fall under the umbrella term of "game programmer"...
by Karl Buiter and published
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
by Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
. It was developed for the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
and DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
.
Set in the year 2995, Sentinel Worlds I: Future Magic was an innovative game that allowed a player to command a crew of five Federation officers and embark on an epic quest to save the Caldorre System from space raiders. Your mission is to develop your crew and a starship and find the raiders' base and rid the system of them. The game was particularly notable for a musical score that simulated multiple instruments by swapping between them faster than the human ear
Ear
The ear is the organ that detects sound. It not only receives sound, but also aids in balance and body position. The ear is part of the auditory system....
could differentiate.
Gameplay
Sentinel Worlds I: Future Magic was a compelling video game combining both the elements of StarflightStarflight
Starflight is a computer game published by Electronic Arts and developed by Binary Systems in 1986. Originally developed for DOS and Tandy, it was later released for the Amiga, Atari ST, Macintosh and Commodore 64...
and The Bard's Tale, and had some innovations which set it apart from other games at the time. It was one of the pioneers in the budding sci-fi RPG genre.
The game was non-linear
Linearity (computer and video games)
A video game with nonlinear gameplay presents players with challenges that can be completed in a number of different sequences. Each player sees only some of the challenges possible, and the same challenges may be played in a different order. A video game with linear gameplay will confront a player...
and allowed players to ignore the entire plot and explore space for as long as they wanted. It also mixed elements of an RPG with a space-shooter, requiring both strategy and tactics as the player would have to dog fight enemy vessels. Players could also choose to venture into trading by mining and harvesting resources on other planets. Much of the game also took the players onto the ground, where they could fight ground battles using a wire-frame
Wire frame model
A wire frame model is a visual presentation of a three dimensional or physical object used in 3D computer graphics. It is created by specifying each edge of the physical object where two mathematically continuous smooth surfaces meet, or by connecting an object's constituent vertices using straight...
3D display
3D display
A 3D display is any display device capable of conveying a stereoscopic perception of 3-D depth to the viewer. The basic requirement is to present offset images that are displayed separately to the left and right eye. Both of these 2-D offset images are then combined in the brain to give the...
of their environment and engage in conversation, combat, or trade.
The main component of the game starts out in the dog fighting
Dog fighting
Dog fighting is a form of blood sport in which game dogs are made to fight, sometimes to the death. It is illegal in most developed countries. Dog fighting is used for entertainment and may also generate revenue from stud fees, admission fees and gambling....
space combat
Space Combat
Space Combat is a game produced by Laminar Research to provide a simulation of space combat with accurate physics, unlike most other games of the same genre...
scenario, fighting to protect merchant shipping. As the story progresses, other elements of the game , including exploration, trade, conversation, ship boarding, ground combat and investigation are brought into the mix. Players must balance their resources and cash with repairs from battle, buying new weapons and armor, and upgrading their vessel.
Setting
At the start of the game, the players are sent as part of a task for to combat a group of mysterious space raiders in the Caldorre system, who appear from nowhere to ravage merchant shipping in the area. Earlier efforts with battleships were ineffective against the light, agile raiders, so smaller Interceptor-class vessels with specially trained crews were dispatched to counter the threat and eventually end it. The Caldorre system has only three worlds -- Caldorre itself, inhabited by a technologically advanced culture that dwells in huge towers on the planet's surface and service passing ships; Norjaenn, a frontier like world embroiled in a bitter war between rancher types and settler farmers over limited land space, and Ceyjavik, an icy world that is home to many exotic arctic animals and a small research stationResearch station
A research station is a station built for the purpose of conducting scientific research. Research station sites might include outer space and oceans. Many nations have research stations in Antarctica; Showa Station, Halley and Troll are examples...
.
Reception
A review in Computer Gaming WorldComputer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
had mixed feelings about the game, citing the slow movement speed both indoors and out, as well as the fact that only the team leader could be directly controlled, with the computer controlling the remainder of the team, sometimes poorly. The graphics, especially during takeoff and landing, were described by Scorpia as "the most exceptional use of EGA graphics I've seen yet in an adventure game." In a later issue, Scorpia noted, "Several have written to me, asking if there is more to the game than shooting down raider ships. There certainly is, but it will take awhile before the "real" action starts."
Trivia
"Inside a battle helmet, no one can hear you scream." (catch phrase on the game's magazine advertisement).See also
- Hard NovaHard NovaHard Nova is a science fiction computer role-playing game released in 1990. It was programmed by Karl Buiter and published by Electronic Arts. It was developed for DOS, Amiga and Atari ST, and is considered the follow-up to Sentinel Worlds I: Future Magic...
also by Karl Buiter and considered a quasi-sequel - StarflightStarflightStarflight is a computer game published by Electronic Arts and developed by Binary Systems in 1986. Originally developed for DOS and Tandy, it was later released for the Amiga, Atari ST, Macintosh and Commodore 64...
- Star Control 2
- Elite (1984)
- Iron SeedIron SeedIron Seed is a 1994 DOS computer game, developed and published by Channel 7. It is a real-time strategy, science fiction, space game.-Description:...
(1994)