Startopia
Encyclopedia
StarTopia is a computer game from Mucky Foot Productions
(formed by ex-Bullfrog
employees) and published by Eidos
in 2001, in which the player administers various space station
s with the task of developing them into popular hubs. The game has a comical overtone, with lighthearted humour and cartoonish aliens.
StarTopia was shortlisted for BAFTA PC
Game of the Year in 2001.
The player has no direct control over the aliens that wander about the station. Instead, it is the player's job to construct rooms and hire aliens to staff them. The rooms provide basic necessities as well as recreation, encouraging visitors to remain on the station and continue spending money. Each type of alien is suited to a particular kind of task, and individual aliens have a set of statistics that determine their value as an employee. The actual goal for the player varies from one scenario to the next; in some scenarios, the player is expected to meet an economic goal, while in other scenarios the player is required to perform a specific task such as converting a certain number of aliens, or taking over the entire station by force. A sandbox mode is also available.
StarTopia draws inspiration from and makes frequent references to mainstream science fiction
, such as Star Trek
, 2001: A Space Odyssey
(the player's assistant computer VAL, is a parody of Space Odysseys HAL
), Red Dwarf
, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
. StarTopia is dedicated to the memory of Douglas Adams
, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide, who died during the game's production.
, has a terrestrial floor and a transparent dome. The player can adjust the environmental parameters of the deck, including terrain height, water level, moisture, and temperature. These parameters can be adjusted locally, such that a single biodeck segment can contain many different environments. The player can use the biodeck to grow and harvest plants that produce material goods. Plants can also be transplanted into pots and used as decoration elsewhere on the station.
As with most business simulation games, the player builds facilities and hires workers to operate them. Some rooms take care of basic necessities such as food, sanitation, and health care, while others provide entertainment or love. Visitors may be hired by the player to remain on the station and attend to its facilities. Otherwise, they will remain on the station until they run out of money or become unhappy. Visitors can also be forced off the station at the player's discretion, and criminals will be automatically escorted out by security bots if there is no available brig to hold them in. Unhappy employees may also quit and leave the station depending on their loyalty rating.
In addition to normal visitors, the station can also receive enemy agents. These agents can be disguised as a normal alien or appear as a shady human character sneaking around the station. In either case, the agent will attempt to plant a bomb somewhere on the station and may also attempt to murder other aliens on board. In addition, when caught, the agents will resist and shoot it out with your security forces, causing nearby aliens to panic and flee, disrupting the station's normal operation.
Each space station is subdivided into a number of segments into which the player may expand. These segments are initially isolated by bulkheads, which can be opened for a fee if the segment is vacant. If a rival station manager owns an adjacent segment, the player can take it over through force. Security droids are able to hack bulkhead controls, causing them to open for a short time. During this period, the player can attempt to capture the segment by hacking the new segment's bulkhead control, effectively sealing the segment within the player's territory. However, rivals may take the same takeover action against the player. It is enough to take over a rival's engineering deck to evict him or her. It is possible to achieve an instant eviction by destroying a rival's Energy Collector, but this is extremely difficult to achieve until that rival has been weakened.
Mucky Foot Productions
-History:The Company was founded in 1997 in Guildford, United Kingdom by three ex-Bullfrog developers: Mike Diskett, Fin McGechie and Guy Simmons.A worldwide publishing deal with the UK publisher Eidos was announced in October 1997. That announcement was also used to announce Muckyfoot's first game...
(formed by ex-Bullfrog
Bullfrog Productions
Bullfrog Productions was a UK computer game developer that was founded in 1987 by Les Edgar and Peter Molyneux. The company achieved recognition in 1989 for their third release, Populous....
employees) and published by Eidos
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
in 2001, in which the player administers various space station
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
s with the task of developing them into popular hubs. The game has a comical overtone, with lighthearted humour and cartoonish aliens.
StarTopia was shortlisted for BAFTA PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
Game of the Year in 2001.
Overview
The player is tasked with developing a series of space stations according to the wishes of various employers. The game is set after an apocalyptic galactic war, and many of the stations are in a state of considerable disrepair. It is hinted that these space stations are essentially the last few space-based environments available to the denizens of StarTopia, as most of them had been destroyed during the war.The player has no direct control over the aliens that wander about the station. Instead, it is the player's job to construct rooms and hire aliens to staff them. The rooms provide basic necessities as well as recreation, encouraging visitors to remain on the station and continue spending money. Each type of alien is suited to a particular kind of task, and individual aliens have a set of statistics that determine their value as an employee. The actual goal for the player varies from one scenario to the next; in some scenarios, the player is expected to meet an economic goal, while in other scenarios the player is required to perform a specific task such as converting a certain number of aliens, or taking over the entire station by force. A sandbox mode is also available.
StarTopia draws inspiration from and makes frequent references to mainstream science fiction
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...
, such as Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
, 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...
(the player's assistant computer VAL, is a parody of Space Odysseys HAL
HAL 9000
HAL 9000 is the antagonist in Arthur C. Clarke's science fiction Space Odyssey saga. HAL is an artificial intelligence that interacts with the astronaut crew of the Discovery One spacecraft, usually represented as a red television-camera eye found throughout the ship...
), Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series created by Douglas Adams. Originally a radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it was later adapted to other formats, and over several years it gradually became an international multi-media phenomenon...
. StarTopia is dedicated to the memory of Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide, who died during the game's production.
Gameplay
Each station contains three decks, or levels, though some of the early missions only make use of one or two decks. The engineering deck is the "main" deck where most of the station's facilities are built. It is also where visitors and trade ships enter or exit the station. The pleasure deck is mainly for recreation and is the economic centre of the station. This is where aliens go to spend most of their money, provided that there are shops to spend it in, and it is also important for maintaining happiness. The biodeck, which is similar to an artificial biosphereBiosphere 2
Biosphere 2 is a structure originally built to be an artificial, materially-closed ecological system in Oracle, Arizona by Space Biosphere Ventures, a joint venture whose principal officers were John P. Allen, inventor and Executive Director, and Margret Augustine, CEO...
, has a terrestrial floor and a transparent dome. The player can adjust the environmental parameters of the deck, including terrain height, water level, moisture, and temperature. These parameters can be adjusted locally, such that a single biodeck segment can contain many different environments. The player can use the biodeck to grow and harvest plants that produce material goods. Plants can also be transplanted into pots and used as decoration elsewhere on the station.
As with most business simulation games, the player builds facilities and hires workers to operate them. Some rooms take care of basic necessities such as food, sanitation, and health care, while others provide entertainment or love. Visitors may be hired by the player to remain on the station and attend to its facilities. Otherwise, they will remain on the station until they run out of money or become unhappy. Visitors can also be forced off the station at the player's discretion, and criminals will be automatically escorted out by security bots if there is no available brig to hold them in. Unhappy employees may also quit and leave the station depending on their loyalty rating.
In addition to normal visitors, the station can also receive enemy agents. These agents can be disguised as a normal alien or appear as a shady human character sneaking around the station. In either case, the agent will attempt to plant a bomb somewhere on the station and may also attempt to murder other aliens on board. In addition, when caught, the agents will resist and shoot it out with your security forces, causing nearby aliens to panic and flee, disrupting the station's normal operation.
Each space station is subdivided into a number of segments into which the player may expand. These segments are initially isolated by bulkheads, which can be opened for a fee if the segment is vacant. If a rival station manager owns an adjacent segment, the player can take it over through force. Security droids are able to hack bulkhead controls, causing them to open for a short time. During this period, the player can attempt to capture the segment by hacking the new segment's bulkhead control, effectively sealing the segment within the player's territory. However, rivals may take the same takeover action against the player. It is enough to take over a rival's engineering deck to evict him or her. It is possible to achieve an instant eviction by destroying a rival's Energy Collector, but this is extremely difficult to achieve until that rival has been weakened.
Characters
- VAL - Virtual Artificial Lifeform. A computer assistant who advises the player on occurrences in the space station.
- Arona Daal - A mysterious space merchant who sells goods to the player, sometimes offering rare things (though usually at inflated prices). His dialogue is littered with references to Terry PratchettTerry PratchettSir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
's character Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler.
Races
Startopia contains a number of different alien races who all perform different tasks aboard the player's station:- Groulien Salt-Hogs - These are the backbone of any station. They are the industrialIndustryIndustry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
workers, and they operate the player's recycler (the building which transforms litter into energy) and the Factory. They are, like most of the aliens, humanoid in appearance. They wear cream-gray space-suits, and their face resembles both a pig and a bird. They can be seen in the upper-left square of the cover art.
- Grekka Targs - The Targs are a short, insectInsectInsects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
-like species of aliens. They are communications experts, and as such they man the Comms Sensors, which monitor trade traffic.
- Greys - The Greys are the most iconic of Startopia's aliens, as they take the form of the typical "little gray man". They are renowned for their medical prowess, and they take charge of the Sick Bays. They can be seen in the lower-left corner of the cover art.
- Dahanese Sirens - The SirenSirenIn Greek mythology, the Sirens were three dangerous mermaid like creatures, portrayed as seductresses who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. Roman poets placed them on an island called Sirenum scopuli...
s are the most humanoid of the aliens. They are tall, beautiful men and women with wings on their back. They wear no clothes apart from what appears to be a swimsuit. This is explained by their dislike of material possessions. They are the 'love givers' of the station, and they work in the love nest, providing affection for lonely aliens. They are also the only race to have a visible difference between male and female.
- Karmarama - The Karmarama are a purple, four-armed race of aliens. Their hair hold the middle between tentacles and dreadlocks. They are stereotypical "hippies", and they farmFarmA farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
the Biodeck. They can be seen in the upper-center portion of the cover art.
- Kasvagorians - The Kasvagorians, or "Gor" are large, brutish, orange aliens. They are the fighting forceMilitaryA military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
of the staff, and they are in charge of station securitySecuritySecurity is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
. A Kasvagorian model is that of Dungeon KeeperDungeon KeeperDungeon Keeper is a strategy video game released developed by Bullfrog Productions under Peter Molyneux and released by Electronic Arts in July 1997 for the PC in which the player attempts to build and manage a dungeon or lair while protecting it from 'hero' characters intent on stealing the...
's "Horned Reaper", but without the weapon and the head horns.
- Turrakken - The Turrakken are two-headed scientistScientistA scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
aliens. They are in charge of the Research lab, which develops new technologies to use on the Station. They are featured in the upper-right-hand corner of the cover art.
- Zedem Monk - The Zedem Monks are highly religious creatures, and they form the faith arm of station society. They provide redemption to aliens that seek it, and they live mostly around their monolith on the Biodeck (which appears once the player hires one monk). The Zedem Monks are there to convert ordinary aliens into Penitents. The monks are tall, thin and wear red robes. They are not featured on the box art.
- Scuzzer Droids - The Scuzzers are the robotic maintenance crew which tidy up, build facilities and conduct repairs on the station. They are squat and yellow and their movement is dictated by their design, Marks I, II and III. They have a single, HAL-9000-like eye. A Mark I Scuzzer can be seen in the lower-right-hand corner of the box art.
- Security Scuzzers - Security Scuzzers look a lot like Mark I maintenance Scuzzers, apart from their white-and-blue "police" paintjob. They are adapted for security, they sport a laser gun and have the ability to hack bulkheads of the station to allow for hostile takeovers of an opponent's segments.
Non-employable races
- Polvakian Gem Slugs - The Gem Slugs are the aristocracyAristocracyAristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
of the galaxy. It is mentioned that their homeworld is the only planet in the universe to have more aristocrats than peasants. They do not work, but carry copious amounts of money. This oddity is easily explained by their excrement Turdite being a precious gem-like compound. They are transported around the station by floating chair-like devices. They are shown in the lower-center square of the box art.
- Penitents - The Penitents are created from normal aliens who have been converted by the Zedem Monks. They wear large, uncomfortable, red and gold suits as penance for their sins. Once converted, a penitent will not work at all, and will never change back to their previous alien form. Penitents are disliked by all races except the Zedem Monks.
- Enemy Agents - Assassins and saboteurs who will try to kill aliens and plant bombs in your segments. Enemy agents can look like regular aliens or a shady, sneaking humanoid.
- Space Vermin - RodentRodentRodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s that live of the trash and litter on the floors of the space station. They carry diseases and make aliens who like cleanliness unhappy.
- Memau - Memaus are feline-like creatures that often appear when there is litter. If they eat too much litter, they become infectious and anyone who pets one will become infected by the Skrasher parasite. Some can be purchased from Arona Daal and be placed on the bio-deck where they can't get to any litter.
- Skrasher - Skrashers are massive insectoidInsectoidInsectoid denotes any creature or object that shares a similar body or traits with common earth insects and arachnids. The term is a combination of "insect" and "-oid" . Compare "humanoid"....
aliens. They are very tough and very aggressive. Skrashers start off as parasites that can end up in anyone should they pet an infectious Memau. If the parasite isn't removed in the Sick Bay before it matures, the Skrasher will burst out of the alien and trash anything in its path. When they die, Memaus spawn from their carcasses, starting the infection cycle anew. The Skrashers are a reference to the Alien franchise and the Memaus are a reference to TribbleTribbleTribbles are fictional asexual animals in the Star Trek universe who first appeared in the episode titled "The Trouble With Tribbles". They are depicted as small, soft, and gentle, and as producing a soothing purring sound...
s.