The Cosmic Balance
Encyclopedia
The Cosmic Balance is a game created by Strategic Simulations, Inc.
in 1982.
is explicitly set in the Star Trek
universe, The Cosmic Balance is not. That said, the first (and closest to a tutorial) scenario in the game re-creates a meeting between Starship Enterprise
and USS Reliant, like in the film Wrath of Khan.
Ship design is an exercise in resource management, with power, drives, defensive systems, and weapons all vying for a finite amount of hull space.
In addition to this, the player can set the firing arc of all the direct fire weapons (the bigger the arc, the more space the weapon consumes). Unique to Cosmic Balance, the overall firing arc of any particular direct fire weapon does not need to be contiguous, and can be split into as many as four separate arcs.
. Ships have a speed and heading and travel only according to them.
All encounters in the game are at speeds slower than that of the speed of light
. After playing ten turns, players have the option to activate their warp drive
and escape the scenario. Each turn in the game represents 16 seconds of time and distances are measured in units call Lightmils. A conversion of Lightmils to real-world units is not given.
and is in no way related to a simulation of Special Relativity
.
Strategic Simulations, Inc.
Strategic Simulations, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher with over 100 titles to its credit since its founding in 1979. It was especially noted for its numerous wargames, its official computer game adaptations of Dungeons & Dragons, and for the groundbreaking Panzer General...
in 1982.
Summary
This video game is a computerized turn-based version of tactical combat simulation very similar to the Star Fleet Battles pen-paper-map-counter game. While Star Fleet BattlesStar Fleet Battles
Star Fleet Battles is a tactical board wargame set in an offshoot of the Star Trek setting called the Star Fleet Universe. Originally created in 1979 by Stephen V. Cole,...
is explicitly set in the 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...
universe, The Cosmic Balance is not. That said, the first (and closest to a tutorial) scenario in the game re-creates a meeting between Starship Enterprise
Starship Enterprise
The Enterprise or USS Enterprise is the name of several fictional starships, some of which are the focal point for various television series and films in the Star Trek franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. It is considered a name of legacy in the fleet...
and USS Reliant, like in the film Wrath of Khan.
Ship design is an exercise in resource management, with power, drives, defensive systems, and weapons all vying for a finite amount of hull space.
Weapons
- Light, Heavy, and Siege Phasers,
- Disruptors,
- Photon and Plasma Torpedoes,
- Light and Heavy Seekers (drones),
- Fighter Squadrons (a swarm of robot shuttles),
- and Transporters.
In addition to this, the player can set the firing arc of all the direct fire weapons (the bigger the arc, the more space the weapon consumes). Unique to Cosmic Balance, the overall firing arc of any particular direct fire weapon does not need to be contiguous, and can be split into as many as four separate arcs.
Combat
Combat is two dimensional but rather than using an orthogonal or hexagon grid, the game utilizes free movement similar to that of some forms of miniature wargamingMiniature wargaming
Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming that incorporates miniature figures, miniature armor and modeled terrain as the main components of play...
. Ships have a speed and heading and travel only according to them.
All encounters in the game are at speeds slower than that of the speed of light
Speed of light
The speed of light in vacuum, usually denoted by c, is a physical constant important in many areas of physics. Its value is 299,792,458 metres per second, a figure that is exact since the length of the metre is defined from this constant and the international standard for time...
. After playing ten turns, players have the option to activate their warp drive
Warp drive (Star Trek)
Warp drive is a faster-than-light propulsion system in the setting of many science fiction works, most notably Star Trek. A spacecraft equipped with a warp drive may travel at velocities greater than that of light by many orders of magnitude, while circumventing the relativistic problem of time...
and escape the scenario. Each turn in the game represents 16 seconds of time and distances are measured in units call Lightmils. A conversion of Lightmils to real-world units is not given.
Physics
The game simulates Newton's first law in that a ship will maintain its current speed and heading unless it expends power to change them. The game simulates Newtons second law in that the more massive the ship the more power required to accelerate, decelerate, or maneuver it. The game does not, however, simulate Newton's third law. First, every ship has its own unique maximum speed even though they have no limit in the amount of fuel they carry throughout the course of the game. Second, after spending several turns reaching maximum speed, in the course of one turn a ship can be brought about and end the turn traveling in the exact opposite direction at maximum speed. The game does have an absolute hard coded speed limit, but this is based on a limitation to the user interfaceUser interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
and is in no way related to a simulation of Special Relativity
Special relativity
Special relativity is the physical theory of measurement in an inertial frame of reference proposed in 1905 by Albert Einstein in the paper "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies".It generalizes Galileo's...
.
External links
- http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/46084-13-space-games-ship-design-cosmic-balance a discussion of ship design in The Cosmic Balance
- http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=131172 another discussion of ship design in The Cosmic Balance
- http://www.textfiles.com/apple/DOCUMENTATION/cosbal.txt a reproduction of the documentation for the game