Solar Realms Elite
Encyclopedia
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
strategy game similar in design to its successor, Barren Realms Elite
Barren Realms Elite
Barren Realms Elite or BRE is a multi-player bulletin board system strategy game.Barren Realms Elite is a 25-player strategic war game originally by Mehul Patel. The setting is in the future -- nuclear destruction has spread throughout the planet, and now only a vast barren void exists...
(BRE). In Solar Realms Elite, players rule a solar empire. The goal is to become and remain the most powerful empire. Players gain strength by buying forces, and gain size by colonizing planets. Players start with several planets and a little bit of money. They must provide food and spend money to maintain the population, army, and planets, or suffer riots and civil unrest. New players are given a short period of protection, during which they cannot attack or be attacked. Players can forge alliances, interact with AI pirates, and wage war with competitors using conventional, guerilla, nuclear, chemical, and covert attacks.
SRE was written by Amit Patel in 1990. It started as a clone of Space Empire Elite
Space Empire Elite
Space Empire Elite or SEE is a multi-player bulletin board system strategy game for Atari ST BBSes. In Space Empire Elite, players rule an empire which they expand by purchasing planets or conquering other empires. Players are responsible for maintenance of their military and planets as well as...
(SEE), an Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
BBS game written by Jon Radoff
Jon Radoff
Jon Radoff is an American entrepreneur, author and game designer. His work has focused on online communities, Internet media and computer games.Radoff dropped out to found NovaLink, an early internet service provider...
, and soon branched in new directions. A similar PC game also inspired by SEE called Space Dynasty
Space Dynasty
Space Dynasty is a multi-player bulletin board system strategy game that grandfathered Solar Realms Elite and Barren Realms Elite. Players rule an empire with the goal of acquiring the most planets.Space Dynasty was written by Hollie Satterfield for the PC...
by Hollie Satterfield was in circulation around the same time. The last version of SRE (0.994b) was released in 1994.
After SRE was released, the author's brother, Mehul Patel, wrote a similar game called Alpha Colony IV. Mehul then wrote BRE, Falcon's Eye
Falcon's Eye (BBS door)
Falcon's Eye or FE is a multi-player bulletin board system strategy game. The game was created by Mehul Patel, author of Barren Realms Elite, but is now owned by John Dailey Software....
, and The Arcadian Legends, the so-called "SRGAMES." This collection of games was sold to John Dailey Softwarehttp://www.johndaileysoftware.com/support/faq/index.asp#Anchor-37516, but SRE was not included in the deal because Amit lost the game's source code in 1996.
External links
- [ftp://archives.thebbs.org/door_games/doors_s-t/sre0994b.zip SRE v0.994b]
- Amit J. Patel's homepage
- SRE documentation in HTML format
- Amit J. Patel's notes on SRE's game design
- FAQ about getting SRE from John Dailey Software.
- Series of short stories based on Solar Realms Elite
- Solar Imperium - A web game based on Solar Realms Elite
- Starpires - A MMO empire building game inspired by Solar Realms Elite