Star Warrior (game)
Encyclopedia
Star Warrior is a 1980 science fiction
computer role-playing game written and published by Automated Simulations (later known as Epyx
) and released for the Apple II, TRS-80
, and Atari home computers
. The game was branded as part of the Starquest series, consisting of Star Warrior and the otherwise unrelated Rescue at Rigel
.
group that only accepts assignments that meet a Samurai
-like code. In Star Warrior the players have been hired by the people of Fornax, who were recently annexed by the Interstellar Union of Civilized Peoples but wish a return to autonomous rule. Two basic game scenarios are assumed to occur simultaneously. In one, players must draw off and destroy enemy forces to guarantee success in the second, where they track down and kill the Stellar Union's military governor. A "directional indicator" points the way to mission objectives.
engine as previous Apshai
-based games. In previous games the playfield was presented as a top-down view of a series of interconnected rooms. Only one room would be displayed at a time, with the next drawn after the player moved through a door. In Star Warrior the action takes place outdoors, with the display showing a one-kilometer area from a seven-by-nine kilometer map, redrawn and re-centered when the player reaches the edge of the current area displayed.
Sighting and range considerations were added to the engine, allowing the player to only see objects within the line-of-sight, and at distances based on target size. The computer shares this limitation, allowing the player to hide behind objects to escape detection. In older Apshai-based games sighting included everything within the current room. Another change is the use of energy to power most player devices, including weapons, shielding, and sensors. This limits the number of devices that can be turned on at once and requires recharge time after taking damage.
The map includes various buildings, both civilian and military fortresses, as well as mobile and fixed-place enemies, such as turrets. Buildings can only be damaged by the Fury's limited number of missiles, while the blaster and powergun can damage smaller targets. The player selects one of three suits of armor at the start of the game, each with different equipment tradeoffs, including sensor suite, shield strength, weapons, and the ability to fly. Player can also design their own suits at the start of the game, selecting among various equipment within a total budget of 2,500 credits. Equipment damaged in combat can be automatically repaired, although this depletes both energy and time, and most suits include a medical system that does the same for the player character.
The game is turn-based, with the user given a certain number of points to be spent every turn, with various actions assigned different point values. The system in Star Warrior is similar to the one used in previous games like Temple of Apshai. In the decoy mission the player selects their own time limit before being recalled to his or her ship, but in the assault mission the game ends only when the governor or player is killed. This differs somewhat from the other Starquest release, Rescue at Rigel
, which has a fixed time limit of sixty turns.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
computer role-playing game written and published by Automated Simulations (later known as Epyx
Epyx
Epyx, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. The company was founded as Automated Simulations by Jim Connelley and Jon Freeman, originally using Epyx as a brand name for action-oriented games before renaming the company to match in 1983...
) and released for the Apple II, TRS-80
TRS-80
TRS-80 was Tandy Corporation's desktop microcomputer model line, sold through Tandy's Radio Shack stores in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The first units, ordered unseen, were delivered in November 1977, and rolled out to the stores the third week of December. The line won popularity with...
, and Atari home computers
Atari 8-bit family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips...
. The game was branded as part of the Starquest series, consisting of Star Warrior and the otherwise unrelated Rescue at Rigel
Rescue at Rigel
Rescue at Rigel is a 1980 science fiction computer role-playing game written and published by Automated Simulations , and later branded as part of the Starquest series. The game was released for the Apple II, DOS, as a PC Booter, TRS-80, VIC-20, and Atari 8-bit...
.
Description
Players take on the role of one of two members of the Furies, a mercenaryMercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
group that only accepts assignments that meet a Samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
-like code. In Star Warrior the players have been hired by the people of Fornax, who were recently annexed by the Interstellar Union of Civilized Peoples but wish a return to autonomous rule. Two basic game scenarios are assumed to occur simultaneously. In one, players must draw off and destroy enemy forces to guarantee success in the second, where they track down and kill the Stellar Union's military governor. A "directional indicator" points the way to mission objectives.
Gameplay
Star Warrior is based on the same BASICBASIC
BASIC is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages whose design philosophy emphasizes ease of use - the name is an acronym from Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code....
engine as previous Apshai
Temple of Apshai
The Temple of Apshai is a computer role-playing game from Epyx. The game was first released for the TRS-80 in 1979, then the Apple II and Atari home computers in 1980. In 1983, it was released for the Commodore VIC-20, Commodore 64, and IBM PC compatibles. Even later it was made available with...
-based games. In previous games the playfield was presented as a top-down view of a series of interconnected rooms. Only one room would be displayed at a time, with the next drawn after the player moved through a door. In Star Warrior the action takes place outdoors, with the display showing a one-kilometer area from a seven-by-nine kilometer map, redrawn and re-centered when the player reaches the edge of the current area displayed.
Sighting and range considerations were added to the engine, allowing the player to only see objects within the line-of-sight, and at distances based on target size. The computer shares this limitation, allowing the player to hide behind objects to escape detection. In older Apshai-based games sighting included everything within the current room. Another change is the use of energy to power most player devices, including weapons, shielding, and sensors. This limits the number of devices that can be turned on at once and requires recharge time after taking damage.
The map includes various buildings, both civilian and military fortresses, as well as mobile and fixed-place enemies, such as turrets. Buildings can only be damaged by the Fury's limited number of missiles, while the blaster and powergun can damage smaller targets. The player selects one of three suits of armor at the start of the game, each with different equipment tradeoffs, including sensor suite, shield strength, weapons, and the ability to fly. Player can also design their own suits at the start of the game, selecting among various equipment within a total budget of 2,500 credits. Equipment damaged in combat can be automatically repaired, although this depletes both energy and time, and most suits include a medical system that does the same for the player character.
The game is turn-based, with the user given a certain number of points to be spent every turn, with various actions assigned different point values. The system in Star Warrior is similar to the one used in previous games like Temple of Apshai. In the decoy mission the player selects their own time limit before being recalled to his or her ship, but in the assault mission the game ends only when the governor or player is killed. This differs somewhat from the other Starquest release, Rescue at Rigel
Rescue at Rigel
Rescue at Rigel is a 1980 science fiction computer role-playing game written and published by Automated Simulations , and later branded as part of the Starquest series. The game was released for the Apple II, DOS, as a PC Booter, TRS-80, VIC-20, and Atari 8-bit...
, which has a fixed time limit of sixty turns.