Reach for the Stars
Encyclopedia
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...
strategy video game. It is the earliest known commercially published example of the 4X games (Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate) genre. It was written by Roger Keating and Ian Trout of SSG
Strategic Studies Group
Strategic Studies Group, commonly known as SSG, is an Australian software development company that makes primarily strategy wargames.The company was founded by strategy game enthusiasts Ian Trout and Roger Keating. Ian was proprietor of a military books store and Roger had had several of his games...
of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and published in 1983 for the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
and then the Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
in 1985. Version 3 added a DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
port, though it did not share all of the features of the other platforms. The game was eventually ported to pre-Mac OS X versions of the Macintosh operating system, such as System 6. It was also ported to the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
and Apple IIGS
Apple IIGS
The Apple , the fifth and most powerful model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The "GS" in the name stands for Graphics and Sound, referring to its enhanced graphics and sound capabilities, both of which greatly surpassed previous models of the line...
, from the Mac OS version.
The player commands a home star in the galaxy, and then expands to form an interstellar empire by colonizing far-off worlds, building powerful starships, and researching new technologies.
Reach for the Stars was very strongly influenced by the board game Stellar Conquest
Stellar Conquest
Stellar Conquest is a board game designed by Howard Thompson that has achieved minor cult status since its initial release in 1974. This science fiction game, originally rejected by the Avalon Hill Company in 1973, and published the following year as the first title from Metagaming Concepts, was...
. Many of RFTSs features have direct correspondence in Stellar Conquest.
Graphics are minimal, yet the tactical and strategic elements provide countless rich combinations for colony development and interstellar warfare. The software's AI
Game artificial intelligence
Game artificial intelligence refers to techniques used in computer and video games to produce the illusion of intelligence in the behavior of non-player characters . The techniques used typically draw upon existing methods from the field of artificial intelligence...
also offered a challenging opponent in single-player games. It is not uncommon for a Reach for the Stars game to take over twelve hours to complete in single-player mode and 24 hours with multiple players.
Gameplay
In Versions 1 to 3 the player starts off with one planet that has Level 1 technology and a middle level environment. Three types of ships are available:- Scouts - very inexpensive, incapable of fighting or carrying colonists. These can be used as a low-cost, low-risk means to learn the composition of unknown star systems or the locations and makeup of enemy fleets.
- Transports - incapable of fighting, but can carry colonists
- Warships - incapable of carrying colonists, but can fight
Starting players have limited funds, and have to decide where to invest the funds (technology upgrades, ships,or environmental upgrades). Upgrading a world's planetary environment, for example, means that its population grows more quickly, improving production; this is a mixed blessing, however, because if the population grows beyond the maximum allowed for that planet, the costs to feed the population skyrocket. Building a lot of ships early can win a player the game, if the player finds his enemies' home planets before they manage to upgrade their military technology; on the other hand, it can lead to a loss if the player's opponents upgrade first and attack with superior ships.
Each turn was divided into two sections - a development phase, and a movement phase. In the development phase players worked on planetary production, deciding what each planet would produce that turn. In the movement phase players had the option to send ships to other star systems, to explore, colonize, or conquer.
Because the game evolves along so many different axes of possibility, the game offers tremendous replay value. It is quite possible to save a game on the first turn, and have it play out differently each time it was restored.
Reception
A review in Computer Gaming WorldComputer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
found the game quite user-friendly and enjoyable, with the single flaw of a lack of notification of natural disasters, which couldn't fit onto the disk space available. The computer AI and customization of each game were particular highlights of the review.
The game was reviewed in 1994 in Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#211 by Jay & Dee in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. Jay did not rate the game, but Dee gave the game 3½ out of 5 stars.
Sequel
A sequel to Reach for the Stars re-written for the WindowsMicrosoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
platform was released on September 14, 2000 by developer Strategic Studies Group and publisher Strategic Simulations, Inc.
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 2005 Matrix Games working alongside Strategic Studies Group, updated the 2000 release; this updated version was released in 2005.