Vapourware Star Trek: Infinite - grand strategy published by Paradox

[jebsmoker]

was there ever a good ST game except the masterpiece Bridge Commander?

It wasn't even a masterpiece, it was just adequate and moddable.

Star Trek: Klingon Academy was better in a lot of ways. You could fly into asteroid belts, into the rings of a planet, or inside a gas giant. These were all optional tactics that are absent in BC.

Plus, it had actors from Star Trek 6 in full makeup doing FMVs instead of the weird, triangle-mouthed NPCs of BC.

It was in almost every way a more complex space combat game. The main things it really lacked that BC had was the view of the bridge and, of course, a Federation storyline.

this kinda qualifies: https://www.moddb.com/mods/next-gen...ler/downloads/denacitys-nga-sfc3-mission-pack

this is probably the most significant custom campaign that has been made for KA, although they're just conversions of missions from Starfleet Command 3 to KA's engine

 

[Zarniwoop]

But after a decade of absolute abuse of the franchise, just seeing those old faces on the cover is probably enough to make me pick it up and try it at least.

Yeah that's what they were going for with Picard. Memberberries. And we know how that turned out.

I'm pretty confident they won't be able to surpass what modders already did for Stellaris. Modders are fans after all, not a bunch of suits trying to "appeal to a broader audience" or some shit

 

[Louis_Cypher]

was there ever a good ST game except the masterpiece Bridge Commander?

01). Star Trek: The Next Generation - Birth of the Federation (PC)
Developer: MicroProse | Publisher: Hasbro Interactive | 1999

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02). Star Trek: Judgement Rites (PC)
Developer: Interplay Entertainment | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 1993

---

03). Star Trek: Klingon Academy (PC)
Developer: 14 Degrees East | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 2000

---

04). Star Trek: The Next Generation - A Final Unity (PC)
Developer: Spectrum HoloByte | Publisher: MicroProse | 1995

---

05). EGA Trek (PC)
Developer: Arcanum Computing | Publisher: Sofsource Inc | 1988

---

06). Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (PC)
Developer: Interplay Entertainment | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 1992

---

07). Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (PC)
Developer: Interplay Entertainment | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 1997

---

08). Star Trek: The Next Generation - Klingon Honor Guard (PC)
Developer: MicroProse | Publisher: MicroProse | 1998

---

09). Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force (PC)
Developer: Raven Software | Publisher: Activision | 2000

---

10). Star Trek: Generations (PC)
Developer: MicroProse | Publisher: MicroProse | 1997

---

11). Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Fallen (PC)
Developer: The Collective | Publisher: Simon and Schuster | 2000

---

12). Star Trek: Starfleet Command (PC)
Developer: 14 Degrees East & Quicksilver Software | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 1999

 

[ArchAngel]

was there ever a good ST game except the masterpiece Bridge Commander?

01). Star Trek: The Next Generation - Birth of the Federation (PC)
Developer: MicroProse | Publisher: Hasbro Interactive | 1999

---

02). Star Trek: Judgement Rites (PC)
Developer: Interplay Entertainment | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 1993

---

03). Star Trek: Klingon Academy (PC)
Developer: 14 Degrees East | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 2000

---

04). Star Trek: The Next Generation - A Final Unity (PC)
Developer: Spectrum HoloByte | Publisher: MicroProse | 1995

---

05). EGA Trek (PC)
Developer: Arcanum Computing | Publisher: Sofsource Inc | 1988

---

06). Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (PC)
Developer: Interplay Entertainment | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 1992

---

07). Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (PC)
Developer: Interplay Entertainment | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 1997

---

08). Star Trek: The Next Generation - Klingon Honor Guard (PC)
Developer: MicroProse | Publisher: MicroProse | 1998

---

09). Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force (PC)
Developer: Raven Software | Publisher: Activision | 2000

---

10). Star Trek: Generations (PC)
Developer: MicroProse | Publisher: MicroProse | 1997

---

11). Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Fallen (PC)
Developer: The Collective | Publisher: Simon and Schuster | 2000

---

12). Star Trek: Starfleet Command (PC)
Developer: 14 Degrees East & Quicksilver Software | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 1999

You forgot that ST RTS series

 

[Louis_Cypher]

was there ever a good ST game except the masterpiece Bridge Commander?

01). Star Trek: The Next Generation - Birth of the Federation (PC)
Developer: MicroProse | Publisher: Hasbro Interactive | 1999

---

02). Star Trek: Judgement Rites (PC)
Developer: Interplay Entertainment | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 1993

---

03). Star Trek: Klingon Academy (PC)
Developer: 14 Degrees East | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 2000

---

04). Star Trek: The Next Generation - A Final Unity (PC)
Developer: Spectrum HoloByte | Publisher: MicroProse | 1995

---

05). EGA Trek (PC)
Developer: Arcanum Computing | Publisher: Sofsource Inc | 1988

---

06). Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (PC)
Developer: Interplay Entertainment | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 1992

---

07). Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (PC)
Developer: Interplay Entertainment | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 1997

---

08). Star Trek: The Next Generation - Klingon Honor Guard (PC)
Developer: MicroProse | Publisher: MicroProse | 1998

---

09). Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force (PC)
Developer: Raven Software | Publisher: Activision | 2000

---

10). Star Trek: Generations (PC)
Developer: MicroProse | Publisher: MicroProse | 1997

---

11). Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Fallen (PC)
Developer: The Collective | Publisher: Simon and Schuster | 2000

---

12). Star Trek: Starfleet Command (PC)
Developer: 14 Degrees East & Quicksilver Software | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 1999

You forgot that ST RTS series

I didn't forget, they are just lower on the (un)official Codex Top 40 Star Trek games.

 

[RobotSquirrel]

I didn't forget, they are just lower on the (un)official Codex Top 40 Star Trek games.

I'm genuinely surprised that Generations is so high on that list. I approve, not a lot of people know about it.
Poor starship creator and I agree, its not really a game, its just a really cool visual reference for ship schematics. Also remember that SSC2 and Dominion War work together they were shipped as the same game with SSC2 being a ship editor for DW.

 

[ArchAngel]

https://www.pcgamer.com/ive-played-the-star-trek-game-of-my-dreams-and-its-a-grand-strategy-game/

So it seems game will railroad you into doing certain things with your faction or not get big bonuses.. I hope it also has some sandbox mode where there is none of this shit..
Even worse it seems there are basically two choices per faction and AI will also follow them and when you figure out which one they chose you can abuse that AI..

 

[IDtenT]

Elite Force (II) are underrated story FPSes.

 

[Blake00]

They've started releasing dev diaries!

The first one even mentions BOTF as inspiration and recreating that experience which is great.

https://steamcommunity.com/games/1622900/announcements/detail/5795625563474484021

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Dev diary 2...

https://steamcommunity.com/games/1622900/announcements/detail/3718340776827509100

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Dev diary 3 is on the very thing I've been impressive with the most so far.. that lovely nostalgic TNG art style of their's.. There's something about it that reminds me of STTNG Final Unity's art style in that it was quite realistic but retained a bit of a artistic painted look. They also appear to reveal the full faction lineup of ships and starbases. Not many ships sadly and similar to BOTF back in the day it appears to be pure 24th century TNG onwards with no TOS content (unless it appeared in TNG). Also a bit sad to see the minimalist GUI features almost no LCARS whatsoever, as the LCARS in BOTF really upped the immersion and uniqueness between the races.

https://steamcommunity.com/games/1622900/announcements/detail/3716089610951474244

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was there ever a good ST game except the masterpiece Bridge Commander?

01). Star Trek: The Next Generation - Birth of the Federation (PC)
Developer: MicroProse | Publisher: Hasbro Interactive | 1999

---

02). Star Trek: Judgement Rites (PC)
Developer: Interplay Entertainment | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 1993

---

03). Star Trek: Klingon Academy (PC)
Developer: 14 Degrees East | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 2000

---

04). Star Trek: The Next Generation - A Final Unity (PC)
Developer: Spectrum HoloByte | Publisher: MicroProse | 1995

---

05). EGA Trek (PC)
Developer: Arcanum Computing | Publisher: Sofsource Inc | 1988

---

06). Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (PC)
Developer: Interplay Entertainment | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 1992

---

07). Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (PC)
Developer: Interplay Entertainment | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 1997

---

08). Star Trek: The Next Generation - Klingon Honor Guard (PC)
Developer: MicroProse | Publisher: MicroProse | 1998

---

09). Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force (PC)
Developer: Raven Software | Publisher: Activision | 2000

---

10). Star Trek: Generations (PC)
Developer: MicroProse | Publisher: MicroProse | 1997

---

11). Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Fallen (PC)
Developer: The Collective | Publisher: Simon and Schuster | 2000

---

12). Star Trek: Starfleet Command (PC)
Developer: 14 Degrees East & Quicksilver Software | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 1999

BOTF and Final Unity were my favourites.. so many other good ones too though.

I'm genuinely surprised that Generations is so high on that list. I approve, not a lot of people know about it.

Agreed! It's far from perfect (god it could use some fan patches/mods) but I felt it was underrated and forgotten to time so its nice to see it up there in the vote. I did a write up a few years back on both Generations and Final Unity and the different alternative story paths you can take as people can easily play those games and miss a whole bunch of stuff.

 

[ArchAngel]

I heard they considered Archer era or TNG era for the game but went TNG era in the end

 

[RobotSquirrel]

The first one even mentions BOTF as inspiration and recreating that experience which is great.

This means jackshit because New Horizons stated this. New Horizons was the inspiration as New Horizons was inspired by BOTF.
To make matters even worse they recently broke both star trek mods for Stellaris, I now get CTDs when ever I try to run either.
Should be obvious to anyone what Paradox has done here.

 

[Blake00]

Meh I'm just saying it's nice to see them mentioning BOTF as inspiration instead of pretending it doesn't exist. But yeah of course New Horizons was the true inspiration/what they ripped off.. no one's getting fooled by that. Paradox probably told them that they can't mention New Horizons anywhere at all for legal reasons lol.

 

[NwNgger]

It just looks like a shitter and more cut down version of New Horizons. Why would I play this over that? NH has progressive era changes, a larger galaxy, less railroading, a shitload more factions, and a less lazy UI. This just seems like a lazy cash grab because New Horizons is popular.

 

[Talby]

Soon, we explore strange new worlds.

 

[ArchAngel]

It just looks like a shitter and more cut down version of New Horizons. Why would I play this over that? NH has progressive era changes, a larger galaxy, less railroading, a shitload more factions, and a less lazy UI. This just seems like a lazy cash grab because New Horizons is popular.

Because pirating Stellaris and installing mods on top of it is much more complicated than just pirating this game.

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Louis_Cypher]

Downloaded. I'll post a review in the Top 25 Star Trek Games thread eventually.

 

[Fedora Master]

 

[Fedora Master]

hahaha they locked the Gamma and Delta Quadrants for DLC

 

[Mortmal]

Already mixed on Steam; that really doesn't bode well. Another cash grab – it's not even in the top sales, which is quite surprising considering it has the Star Trek license.

 

[Louis_Cypher]

My initial impressions, after approx 5 hours of casual play:

Positive:

• - It feels somewhat different to New Horizons, in certain ways that I can't articulate fully right now, until playing further
• - Some of the in-game art is pretty decent; on par with the Star Trek Adventures RPG rulebooks in places
• - Initially I didn't feel the Star Trek theme as strongly as 1990-2000 games, but a sense grows over time
• - The random events and missions so far seem to be about as decent as those in base Stellaris

Negative:

• - It is not different enough to New Horizons
• - It also feels close to base game Stellaris at times
• - Where it differs from New Horizons, it is arguably an inferior interpretation, the chosen differences on this path being less astute
• - The music is poor (no echoes of Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, Cliff Eidelmann or Dennis McCarthy - inferior to BOTF)
• - Some of the voice work is poor; I seem to recall a Klingon bark sounding like a call centre salaryman - voice work needs replacing
• - Needless references to some of the nuTrek TV garbage, such as the USS Ceritos as an early order bonus - who wants that?
• - Feels very low budget in some places; for example as I mentioned a truly faithful soundtrack would have elevated it substantially

I have a growing suspicion the game had some woke devs of the unconscious conformist type - there was a dialogue box about reparations to colonists for land Starfleet Headquarters was built upon - another dialogue box's confirmation button read "Diversity is Our Strength" - a lot of character portraits for aliens are black skinned to the extent you wonder if there is an algoritm bias - actual 1990s Star Trek, coming from an American society was then 80% white, broadcast in a then 99.9% white Europe, of course mainly used Caucasian actors for background aliens.

In spite of this I still enjoyed playing. The 4X cycle is always one of the most addictive gameplay loops in gaming. You want to see what will happen with just a couple more colonies, or when that Starbase around Beta Penthe has finished building. It had the potential to be a good game, if treated with more time and effort by the developer. It could still be improved post-release by the developer, through the replacement of some cheap assets like the voices. Whether that will happen, is anyone's guess. Games should release as finished products anyway. Right now, it doesn't really justify itself against New Horizons. However, not everyone uses mods; an official game will be fresh to some portion of the casual audience. Given everything, it would still be a fairly decent Star Trek game, in the sense that there are few enough strategy releases to choose from, and it plays okay. So essentially, not ideal, but still enjoyable. "Mixed" is about right. "Flawed" might be another impression. More thoughts after I really play it further.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

a lot of character portraits for aliens are black skinned to the extent you wonder if there is an algoritm bias

This is how it was in vanilla Stellaris too. It's why I made my infamous mod that removed them.

 

[Talby]

So far I like it, it's Stellaris but Star Trek which is all I wanted it to be, and focused around my favorite Trek era. There's a few annoying bugs, like characters showing up as the wrong species (the Federation President T'Pragh is listed as "human" and the game seems to think Earth is the homeworld of Andorians) but nothing game breaking.

 

[jebsmoker]

it's... alright.... but there's some odd things that bug me, such as the fact that you have to research photon torpedos (despite the fact they've been in use since the mid 22th century), or the fact that Denobula is uninhabited for.. some reason or another

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

54% on Steam reviews.

Not looking good.