Tachyon: The Fringe
Encyclopedia
Tachyon: The Fringe is a computer game developed and published in 2000 by the company Novalogic
. It features the voice acting of Bruce Campbell
as main character Jake Logan in a 3-D space simulator. Tachyon was developed by Randy Casey, who had previously written two other titles for Novalogic: F-22 Lightning II and F-22 Raptor.
. The Sol system
is a place of relative peace, which is kept by the police force called Star Patrol. Conflict inside the Solar system is heavily regulated; however, quarrels between rivaling megacorporations, who maintain private militias and compete for control over markets and resources, often breaks out into open conflict. Sometimes banished pirates, terrorists or other disruptive entities make waves, but inter-corporate conflict is the primary theme. This is not the primary focus of the game however.
The majority of the game takes place in the vast area called the Fringe, which consists of all space outside the direct jurisdiction of Sol. Except for an outpost in the Hub region, Star Patrol has virtually no presence in these areas. Because of this, power struggles are constantly raging between the game's corporations, pirate clans, Bora colonists, and the so-called "Asteroid Barons".
Coil Generator drives on large spacecraft, and stationary Tachyon Coil Generator (TCG) Gates which service smaller vessels. These gates, which according to game lore are placed at intersections of Tachyon emissions, are used to propel matter to above the speed of light and direct said matter to a given vector in space. This process is instantaneous for in-game purposes, but displays a sort of worm-hole graphic while the next area loads.
Larger Tachyon gates, referred to as "Mega-gates" enable travel between the wider portions of space, subdivisions of the in-game universe called regions. They cannot be accessed by simply flying through them however, as they are usually closed. So, in order to travel to another region, the player picks up a special "mission", selectable inside local Starbases, which will transfer the player to the region of their choosing.
According to game-lore, Tachyon gates require a material from the Ripstar phenomena to power them. Ripstars are very small in size, but they have an immense gravitational field that "sucks in" any ship that comes too close to it, as can be seen while flying through the Ripstar Fields.
One of the newscasts at the end of the game indicates a successful experiment with Tachyon Wave Generators, which might eventually allow ships to travel faster and farther than before. This appears to be the only hint to a possible sequel in the game.
The Bora are colonists that settled parts of the Fringe decades prior to the arrival of the main character. These colonists have significant holdings in the space, including multiple space stations. However, when they first began colonizing, they did not obtain charters or permits, as an act of defiance. This has led them into conflict with many corporations, most notably GalSpan, which have a new interest in expansion into the Bora's space.
The Galactic Spanning Corp, referred to as Galspan for short, is a large Sol-based corporation that is leading the expansion into the Fringe. Using a favorable ruling by a Sol-based court, which dictated that the Bora do not possess any claim to 'squatter's rights', Galspan has launched itself into an extrasolar venture in previously Bora space. Mainly a mining corporation, Galspan also has a formidable PMC force, which it uses to reinforce its legal rights.
Star Patrol is the peacekeeping force in the Tachyon galaxy. They are often tough opponents in-game and often act swiftly against any law-breaking inside their jurisdiction.
Pirates in the game are the same as the Terran-based variants, save they have rather superior technology. Operating in raids, hostage-taking, or even extortion and racketeering, the pirate clans are a constant threat to security in all Fringe space. One of the two main clans is The Blood Pirate Clan, led by the fierce (and somewhat quirky) pirate captain Redship Rory, with whom the player has direct contact. The second major clan is referred to as the Scav Pirates, which are loosely allied with the Bora.
Asteroid barons are multi-millionaires that have set up and rule their own pockets of Fringe space. These warlords have both money and formidable arsenals and often are the subject of in-game missions.
The space stations in Tachyon are designed with an accurate sense of scale, and are, by far, the largest and most heavily armed structures in the game. It is impossible for the player to destroy a starbase. They are only destroyed in specific events triggered during missions.
Star Enforcer: It's used by the computer only. Its top speed is similar to that of the Pegasus on afterburner with the 25% speed booster installed, yet its cruise-to-top speed acceleration is noticeably higher than any other ships, and this can be examined if the play tries to chase a Star Enforcer when it turns on its afterburner. Its shield and hull strength is a combination of high end ships from Bora (hull) and GalSpan (shield) with the shield noticeably better than that of the Archangel. Its fire power is limited to Swarm Missile and one set of Pulsar Laser. The pulsar laser is efficiently used by computer so the Star Enforcer can be deemed as a fast ship killer even though its fire power is not the greatest. Overall, the Star Enforcer's ability is envied by many players.
Demon Pirates: It has plasma rockets as its main killing weapons. And the combination with Medium and Heavy Mining Lasers make it dangerous ship to confront. Speed, shield, hull, are all also at the notch with those of the best pilotable ships.
Archangel (GalSpan): It has the best shield among all pilotable ships from either Bora or GalSpan, thus making it better at lasting during combat, because the shield can be regenerated whereas the hull cannot. The overall characteristics make it the best pilotable ship and this can be noticed if the player applies game cheat and use the Archangel in the difficult Bora missions. Also, the Archangel's shield make it almost the only ship that can last in the fight with multiple Star Enforcer without periodically "afterburnering" away for shield recharge.
Claymore (Bora): It has the strongest hull amount all pilotable ships in either faction. It is a Bomber capiable of carrying massive amounts of weaponry. Although slow, using linked Pulsar Lasers and EMP Projectors make this ship a very effective ship killer.
Tregg (Baron Malkar): The Tregg is the largest fighter avaliable in game. It has a very strong hull and shields but poor speed.
Gar (Indepentant): the Gar has overall excellent shield and hull strength, and its shape make it somewhat hard to hit.
NovaLogic
NovaLogic is a software developer and publisher established in 1985 and based in Calabasas, California. The company was founded by current CEO John A. Garcia....
. It features the voice acting of Bruce Campbell
Bruce Campbell
Bruce Lorne Campbell is an American film and television actor. As a cult movie actor, Campbell starred as Ashley J. "Ash" Williams in Sam Raimi's Evil Dead series of films and he has starred in many low-budget cult films such as Crimewave, Maniac Cop, Bubba Ho-tep, Escape From L.A. and Sundown:...
as main character Jake Logan in a 3-D space simulator. Tachyon was developed by Randy Casey, who had previously written two other titles for Novalogic: F-22 Lightning II and F-22 Raptor.
Setting
The story of Tachyon: The Fringe is set in the 26th century, where mankind has left Earth to colonize the far reaches of space, and has many characteristics of a space operaSpace opera
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in outer space, generally involving conflict between opponents possessing advanced technologies and abilities. The term has no relation to music and it is analogous to "soap...
. The Sol system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
is a place of relative peace, which is kept by the police force called Star Patrol. Conflict inside the Solar system is heavily regulated; however, quarrels between rivaling megacorporations, who maintain private militias and compete for control over markets and resources, often breaks out into open conflict. Sometimes banished pirates, terrorists or other disruptive entities make waves, but inter-corporate conflict is the primary theme. This is not the primary focus of the game however.
The majority of the game takes place in the vast area called the Fringe, which consists of all space outside the direct jurisdiction of Sol. Except for an outpost in the Hub region, Star Patrol has virtually no presence in these areas. Because of this, power struggles are constantly raging between the game's corporations, pirate clans, Bora colonists, and the so-called "Asteroid Barons".
Tachyon gates
In the game, transportation over long distances is accomplished through the use of Internal TachyonTachyon
A tachyon is a hypothetical subatomic particle that always moves faster than light. In the language of special relativity, a tachyon would be a particle with space-like four-momentum and imaginary proper time. A tachyon would be constrained to the space-like portion of the energy-momentum graph...
Coil Generator drives on large spacecraft, and stationary Tachyon Coil Generator (TCG) Gates which service smaller vessels. These gates, which according to game lore are placed at intersections of Tachyon emissions, are used to propel matter to above the speed of light and direct said matter to a given vector in space. This process is instantaneous for in-game purposes, but displays a sort of worm-hole graphic while the next area loads.
Larger Tachyon gates, referred to as "Mega-gates" enable travel between the wider portions of space, subdivisions of the in-game universe called regions. They cannot be accessed by simply flying through them however, as they are usually closed. So, in order to travel to another region, the player picks up a special "mission", selectable inside local Starbases, which will transfer the player to the region of their choosing.
According to game-lore, Tachyon gates require a material from the Ripstar phenomena to power them. Ripstars are very small in size, but they have an immense gravitational field that "sucks in" any ship that comes too close to it, as can be seen while flying through the Ripstar Fields.
One of the newscasts at the end of the game indicates a successful experiment with Tachyon Wave Generators, which might eventually allow ships to travel faster and farther than before. This appears to be the only hint to a possible sequel in the game.
The Fringe
The Fringe is divided into six regions, which are accessed through Tachyon Mega-Gates. The player will gain access to more regions as they complete missions.Factions
The two major factions in Tachyon: The Fringe are the Bora and the Galactic Spanning Corporation.The Bora are colonists that settled parts of the Fringe decades prior to the arrival of the main character. These colonists have significant holdings in the space, including multiple space stations. However, when they first began colonizing, they did not obtain charters or permits, as an act of defiance. This has led them into conflict with many corporations, most notably GalSpan, which have a new interest in expansion into the Bora's space.
The Galactic Spanning Corp, referred to as Galspan for short, is a large Sol-based corporation that is leading the expansion into the Fringe. Using a favorable ruling by a Sol-based court, which dictated that the Bora do not possess any claim to 'squatter's rights', Galspan has launched itself into an extrasolar venture in previously Bora space. Mainly a mining corporation, Galspan also has a formidable PMC force, which it uses to reinforce its legal rights.
Star Patrol is the peacekeeping force in the Tachyon galaxy. They are often tough opponents in-game and often act swiftly against any law-breaking inside their jurisdiction.
Pirates in the game are the same as the Terran-based variants, save they have rather superior technology. Operating in raids, hostage-taking, or even extortion and racketeering, the pirate clans are a constant threat to security in all Fringe space. One of the two main clans is The Blood Pirate Clan, led by the fierce (and somewhat quirky) pirate captain Redship Rory, with whom the player has direct contact. The second major clan is referred to as the Scav Pirates, which are loosely allied with the Bora.
Asteroid barons are multi-millionaires that have set up and rule their own pockets of Fringe space. These warlords have both money and formidable arsenals and often are the subject of in-game missions.
Gameplay
Tachyon: the fringe is a first-person space-flight simulator. Among several features, (such as power and shield management), one unique function in the game is that of 'Sliding', where the player can maintain a constant velocity while having free control over the orientation of their space-craft. This allows an ease-of-motion where the player can strafe, fly backwards and otherwise maintain a higher level of control over their spacecraft with a simpler, more intuitive tool.Starbases
There are two main types of starbases in the Tachyon universe. Starbases serve as re-arm and repair outposts in the vastness of the Fringe (which contains a few starbases owned by numerous factions). The player can also earn credits by selling certain items found during missions at Space stations, which do not improve the player's ship. The player is informed when a space station is interested in an item in the protagonist's inventory. The player can either enter in their hangar ports (in Starbases) or dock with their landing platforms (on space stations)The space stations in Tachyon are designed with an accurate sense of scale, and are, by far, the largest and most heavily armed structures in the game. It is impossible for the player to destroy a starbase. They are only destroyed in specific events triggered during missions.
Ships
There are many different fighter ships encounters through the game play. Here are some prominent ones and some general descriptions,Star Enforcer: It's used by the computer only. Its top speed is similar to that of the Pegasus on afterburner with the 25% speed booster installed, yet its cruise-to-top speed acceleration is noticeably higher than any other ships, and this can be examined if the play tries to chase a Star Enforcer when it turns on its afterburner. Its shield and hull strength is a combination of high end ships from Bora (hull) and GalSpan (shield) with the shield noticeably better than that of the Archangel. Its fire power is limited to Swarm Missile and one set of Pulsar Laser. The pulsar laser is efficiently used by computer so the Star Enforcer can be deemed as a fast ship killer even though its fire power is not the greatest. Overall, the Star Enforcer's ability is envied by many players.
Demon Pirates: It has plasma rockets as its main killing weapons. And the combination with Medium and Heavy Mining Lasers make it dangerous ship to confront. Speed, shield, hull, are all also at the notch with those of the best pilotable ships.
Archangel (GalSpan): It has the best shield among all pilotable ships from either Bora or GalSpan, thus making it better at lasting during combat, because the shield can be regenerated whereas the hull cannot. The overall characteristics make it the best pilotable ship and this can be noticed if the player applies game cheat and use the Archangel in the difficult Bora missions. Also, the Archangel's shield make it almost the only ship that can last in the fight with multiple Star Enforcer without periodically "afterburnering" away for shield recharge.
Claymore (Bora): It has the strongest hull amount all pilotable ships in either faction. It is a Bomber capiable of carrying massive amounts of weaponry. Although slow, using linked Pulsar Lasers and EMP Projectors make this ship a very effective ship killer.
Tregg (Baron Malkar): The Tregg is the largest fighter avaliable in game. It has a very strong hull and shields but poor speed.
Gar (Indepentant): the Gar has overall excellent shield and hull strength, and its shape make it somewhat hard to hit.
Weaponry
There are several different kinds of weaponry available that can be purchased in starbases and equipped to any ships in possession. The two main factions in the game, the Galactic Spanning Corporation and the Bora Colonies provide different weapon systems. GalSpan arsenal has guided missiles whereas Bora only has unguided rockets. Either missiles or rocket will eventually runs out during long duration of combat, thus making the laser weapons more important for skilled players. The ultimate laser weapon in GalSpan, the Deimos Laser, has slow fire rate with high damage per shot, and the one for Bora, the Pulsar Laser, has high fire rate with relatively low damage per shot. In comparison, the Deimos Laser suits players who favor accuracy whereas the Pulsar Laser suits players who excel in tracking and fast maneuvering during close range combat. The Pulsar Laser overall consumes more energy, which is an disadvantage for all Bora ships because they all have relative low energy generation rates. The combination of weapons are be fired simultaneously. From game play, the combination of Plasma Rocket and Heavy Mining Lasers from the Bora ship are very effective at destroying fighter ships in seconds.Equipment
There are also a variety of ships to choose from, from slow and heavily laden bombers to space superiority fighters. Each fighter can be upgraded with two types of equipment. The first type consists of weapons for the player's starfighter. These vary from lasers to tractor beams and missiles. The second type consists of hardware on the player's ship. Hardware can be upgraded to improve performance. Examples of hardware upgrades are Smart Shields, thrust boosters and the Fog Radar. The large variety of both weapons and hardware upgrades, coupled with the many different ships give Tachyon an open ended feel to gameplay.Missions
In story mode, the player chooses missions from the Job Board. Some missions are offered by neutral parties and do not drive the main storyline (though they do occasionally affect the TNS News bulletins). Eventually, the story will reach a point where it becomes necessary for the player to ally with either the Bora Colonies or the Galactic Spanning Corporation. The Bora missions are usually higher in difficulty and less rewarding monetarily. GalSpan pays well and often has missions in tandem with other pilots. Since the two factions offer different fighters and different weapons, they encourage different play styles, as well as different storylines. The GalSpan missions generally are higher paid that the Bora ones, and the Bora missions tend to get more difficult in the end. In one case, the player has to confront about 12 mercenaries who use a type of ship that has the shield similar to Archangel, the Hull strength of the Warhammer, and the rest characteristics of other top notch fighter ships.Wingmen
These NPCs are available for hire in different missions. In return for a fee and a percentage of the player's earnings, they will make their services as a pilot available. Pilots have different ships, weapons, fees, levels of ability, and personalities. More expensive pilots tend to have better ships, weapons, abilities, and personalities. All ship status of Wingmen can be seen in the selection screen, such as speed, acceleration, shield, etc. Sometimes the Wingmen's ships looks identical to the purchasable ships from Bora or GalSpan, but they tend to have different (in most times, better) ship status. The GAR ships used be Capt. Rand and Brixx are overall good with energy, speed, and shield. The GalSpan Wingmen Bernardo's twin Heavy Deimos lasers makes him stand out from the rest in terms of combat efficiency. The Bora Wingmen Ryan Saril and The Demon carry numerous Helios Rockets which make the two of them efficient at helping the player to destroy capital ships. Regardless of the description of wingmen's personalities, most of them tend to not care about friendly fire when the player get in the way of their firing.See also
- Space combat simulator
- List of games supporting force feedback
- List of space flight simulator games