Star Trek: Birth of the Federation

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Star Trek: Birth of the Federation
Single player, multiplayer

Star Trek: Birth of the Federation (also known as Star Trek: The Next Generation: Birth of the Federation and Birth of the Federation) is a

Hasbro Interactive. The game was initially released in 1999 for Windows
personal computers.

The game is set in the

Federation, Ferengi, Klingons, Romulans or Cardassians. Thirty other races from the Star Trek universe are included as minor races in the game. In addition to the strategy mode of the game, Birth of the Federation also features a 3D combat mode which uses the Falcon 4.0
engine.

The game's release was intended to tie-in with the film

Master of Orion II and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
.

Gameplay

The game is a

icons. Map size varies: small (10x13), medium (12x16), and huge (18x26).[5] There are also separate screens for empire research, colony management, intelligence and diplomacy which are all accessed from a right-click main menu.[6]

The player starts with a star system under their control and the purpose of the game is to create the most powerful empire in the galaxy.[7] This is achieved through diplomacy, colonization of new worlds and defeating rivals. Winning the game in an alliance with a rival empire is also possible. Unlike similar games such as Master of Orion, diplomacy isn't the core means of winning the game for all factions.[4] Instead the victory conditions also allow for the player to win if they control 60% of the population of the galaxy and the inhabited systems, but an alliance with another empire increases the percentage required to 75%. The "Vendetta" victory conditions requires an Empire to defeat two rivals; for the Federation it is the Romulans and the Cardassians.[8]

Space Battles are turn-based, and allow for the player to issue orders to individual vessels. The player then watches the two sides follow their respective orders at the same time.

Hasbro Interactive's Games.com.[6][10][11]

The player is also required to manage resources for their empire. At an individual system level, the player must manage energy to power structures, food to feed the population and industry units which determines how quickly ships and structures can be constructed.[12] Across an empire, the player must also manage credits which allow for structures and ships to be instantly constructed, to support ships beyond the maximum allowed by the population and to be used as gifts or bribes.[13] In addition to population, the number of starships that an empire can build simultaneously is restricted by the number of dilithium refineries it owns.[14]

Factions

Although the title of the game is Birth of the Federation, the player can choose from five major powers: The Federation, the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Star Empire, the Cardassian Union, and the Ferengi Alliance.

Betazoids (with their telepathy) boost the effectiveness of counterintelligence.[9]

Production

MicroProse had developed similar games such as Civilization (1991) and had been involved in the publishing of the Simtex games Master of Orion (1993), Master of Magic (1994) and Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares (1996). Simtex itself closed in 1997, but Birth of the Federation had been described by critics as an unofficial sequel to the Orion games, and was in the mold of Civilization and Master of Magic. Microprose had the rights to create games based on Star Trek: The Next Generation, but did not hold the rights to Star Trek: The Original Series which were held by Interplay Entertainment.[9]

The 3D battle sequences used the

Electronic Entertainment Expo in Atlanta, Georgia, in May 1998.[17]

The release of Birth of the Federation was intended to coincide with the theatrical release of the film Star Trek: Insurrection.[18] Birth of the Federation was released on May 25, 1999, in the United States,[1] and on May 28, in the United Kingdom.[19]

Reception

The game received average reviews according to the

AI as it didn't portray the races in the same manner as in the television series. For example, the Klingon faction will seek peace agreements when they begin to lose a war, and the Federation will request tributes in order to prevent that faction from attacking the player.[4] He was also disappointed that the earlier ships were still from Star Trek: The Next Generation rather than Star Trek: The Original Series. Suciu felt that the game was on-par with both Master of Orion and Master of Orion II, and said that knowledge of the races "makes for a more compelling game".[4] Keith Ferrell in his review for Computer Gaming World said that whilst the game was "attractively presented",[7] the learning curve was steep and took a long time to play through.[7] However, Daniel Erickson in his review for NextGen called it "A wonderful look at the Star Trek universe, but the actual game is sleep-inducing."[28]

The review in PC Magazine described Birth of the Federation said that the game had a "cool design" and "evocative music".[32] Mark Hill's review in PC Zone praised the turn based strategy mode, but described the battle sequences as "somewhat lacking".[31] He forgave that issue as the rest of the game was so "absorbing", and said that it was an "essential purchase for hard-core strategy nuts."[31] He called it "the best Star Trek game yet."[31]

Trent C. Ward's review for IGN said that while the menu screens were "really cool-looking",[15] they did a poor job when the game became complex because of the expansion of the player's empire during the course of the game. This meant that it could take up to fifteen minutes for each turn because the player would have to constantly click into and out of the various menu systems. As with the review for CNN, the IGN review also criticised the lack of a link between the diplomatic characteristics in the game and those seen in the television series. It summed up the game, saying "Birth of the Federation is nothing more than a frustrating copy of earlier turn based strategy games that doesn't work like it's supposed to. My recommendation is to leave this one on the shelf."[15]

The game entered the British all-format games charts at number five, the second highest new entry for that week.[33][34] After one week, it dropped to tenth place,[35] and then moved out of the top ten altogether in the week after that.[36]

In 2017, PC Gamer ranked the game among the best Star Trek games.[37]

Notes

  1. ^
    CBS Interactive. Archived
    from the original on May 20, 2000. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  2. Gannett Company. June 19, 1999. Retrieved May 15, 2013 – via NewsBank
    .
  3. ^ "Star Trek: Birth of the Federation". Strategy Gaming Online. Archived from the original on January 16, 2010. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Suciu, Peter (June 25, 1999). "Star Trek: The Next Generation -- Birth of the Federation". CNN. CNN Worldwide. Archived from the original on May 24, 2002. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  5. ^ Microprose (1999): p. 37
  6. ^ a b c Werner, Nash (April 14, 1999). "Star Trek: Birth of the Federation". CNN. CNN Worldwide. Archived from the original on January 31, 2003. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  7. ^ a b c d e Ferrell, Keith (September 1999). "Infrastructure: The Final Frontier (Star Trek: The Next Generation Birth of the Federation [sic] Review)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 182. Ziff Davis. pp. 154, 159. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 10, 2013.
  8. ^ Microprose (1999): p. 10
  9. ^ a b c d Coleman, Terry (May 1998). "Birth of the Federation (Preview)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 166. Ziff Davis. pp. 108, 113. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 10, 2013.
  10. ^ PCMag staff (October 30, 2001). "Games.com". PCMag. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on December 3, 2009. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  11. ^ McAvennie, Michael (January 1999). "Gamelog: Honorable Treks". Starlog. No. 258. Starlog Group, Inc. p. 14. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  12. ^ Microprose (1999): p. 14
  13. ^ Microprose (1999): p. 15
  14. ^ Microprose (1999): p. 16
  15. ^ a b c d Ward, Trent C. (June 4, 1999). "Star Trek: Birth of the Federation". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  16. ^ "Play-per-view mania". The Times. March 17, 1999.
  17. Titan Magazines
    . September 1998. p. 60.
  18. ^ Rich, Jason R. (July 30, 1998). "ROM ME UP 'STAR TREK' GAMES FILL THE GALAXY". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Publishing. Archived from the original on January 8, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  19. ProQuest 245400030
    .
  20. ^ a b "Star Trek The Next Generation: Birth of the Federation for PC". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on December 5, 2019. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  21. All Media Network. Archived from the original
    on November 15, 2014. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  22. ^ Walker, Mark H. (June 17, 1999). "Star Trek: The Next Generation--Birth of the Federation". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  23. ^ Udell, Scott (June 23, 1999). "Star Trek: The Next Generation Birth of the Federation [sic]". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on May 5, 2003. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  24. ^ Bergren, Paul (September 1999). "[Star Trek:] Birth of the Federation". Game Informer. No. 77. FuncoLand.
  25. ^ Brenesal, Barry (1999). "[Star Trek:] Birth of the Federation Review for PC on GamePro.com". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on November 13, 2004. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  26. CraveOnline. Archived
    from the original on October 12, 2015. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  27. ^ Chin, Elliott (June 21, 1999). "Star Trek: The Next Generation - Birth of the Federation Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 1, 2005. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  28. ^ a b Erickson, Daniel (September 1999). "Star Trek The Next Generation: Birth of the Federation". NextGen. No. 57. Imagine Media. p. 93. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  29. ^ Hudak, Chris (September 1999). "StarTrek: Next Generation Birth of the Federation [sic]". PC Accelerator. No. 13. Imagine Media. p. 79. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  30. ^ Morris, Daniel (September 1999). "[Star Trek:] Birth of the Federation". PC Gamer. Vol. 6, no. 9. Imagine Media. Archived from the original on March 15, 2006. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  31. ^ a b c d Hill, Mark (July 1999). "Star Trek: Birth of the Federation". PC Zone. No. 78. Dennis Publishing. pp. 84–85. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  32. ^ "After Hours: Quick Clips". PC Magazine. Vol. 18, no. 19. Ziff Davis. November 2, 1999. p. 298.
  33. ^ "Gran Turismo's back on top". The Times. June 9, 1999.
  34. ^ "Mega Mirror: Games Top 10". Daily Mirror. Reach plc. June 12, 1999. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2014 – via HighBeam Research.
  35. ^ Wapshott, Tim (June 16, 1999). "Star Wars Racer set to take pole position". The Times.
  36. ^ "Star Wars drives games success". The Times. June 23, 1999.
  37. ^ Cobbett, Richard (September 25, 2017). "The best Star Trek games". PC Gamer. Future plc. Retrieved July 20, 2019.

References

  • Star Trek: The Next Generation: Birth of the Federation Game Manual. Microprose. May 1999.

External links

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