Star Trek Bridge Commander Iso
Alacoque Whitchurch
The plot revolves around a newly promoted captain who is assigned to investigate an explosion of a star in the Maelstrom. Throughout the mystery, the player will encounter characters from the Star Trek universe, including Captain Picard and Commander Data. The captain and his crew take command of the Galaxy-class USS Dauntless (NCC-71879) as well as the USS Sovereign (NCC-73811) to combat a new threat to the United Federation of Planets.
The game allows two different styles of gameplay: storyline mode and quick battle mode. Quick battle mode allows for customized scenarios within a "simulated" environment, allowing the player to pick their allies/enemies, system, etc. With the advent of modding for Bridge Commander, custom missions and campaigns have been made possible through this engine.
There are several gameplay modes in Bridge Commander, with the main two means of control being the bridge view and the tactical view. While the bridge view has the player control the movements of the ship by interacting with members of the bridge crew, the tactical view changes to an external view allows the player to have direct control over the starship. A variety of shortcut keys work in the same manner in both modes. Additional modes in the game include the map mode and the cinematic mode, which removes the interface from being displayed and also switches to an external view of the ship.[3]
In the bridge view, most game functions are carried out by selecting an individual bridge officer, and selecting from a set of commands or options in order to control that individual's set of responsibilities.[4] In this way, the game simulates being in command of a starship. For example, a player could issue the command to intercept a fleeing starship through the Helm menu, or order Lt. Felix Savali, the tactical officer to destroy an enemy ship. An artificial intelligence would then pilot the ship for the player.[5]
Bridge Commander incorporates a Quick Battle mode which is a combat simulation that allows the player to control any ship encountered during the course of the game. There is also a selection of a system which on rare occasions, incorporates their own unique hazards.[6] Multiplayer allows for a maximum of 8 players over the internet to compete in one of four modes; Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, UFP vs Non-UFP Deathmatch and Defend the Starbase.[7]
The USS Dauntless is in orbit of planet Vesuvi IV. Her captain, Robert Wright, is piloting a shuttle to a research station orbiting the planet when the star goes supernova, destroying the planet, killing the captain, and severely damaging the Dauntless. After several months of repairs and refits, the Dauntless' first officer becomes her new captain, and after a brief resupply mission to the surviving Vesuvi colonies, an investigation into the star's destruction begins.
The Dauntless crew is later given the USS Sovereign, the USS Enterprise-E's sister ship, for the investigation. They also undergo a shakedown cruise to check for bugs in the ship's systems which results in a simulated battle against the USS Geronimo and two Birds of Prey. Additionally, Lieutenant Commander Data from the Enterprise is temporarily assigned to the Sovereign to assist in the investigation. Initial hostilities with the Romulans briefly lead the crew to suspect them as the culprits, but further evidence reveals a renegade faction of Cardassians are responsible. They are led by Legate Matan, the game's central villain.
Matan is assisted by a new race of aliens called the Kessok whom Matan exploited and lied to in order to gain their cooperation. While searching for the technology that destroyed the Vesuvi star in the Alioth system, the Sovereign is ambushed and forced to leave Data behind on the surface of the system's sixth planet.
Shortly after Data's rescue and the formation of the alliance, the Sovereign is ordered to destroy the remaining Kessok technology that destroyed the Vesuvi star. During an encounter with a Kessok heavy cruiser, which makes no hostile movements and is unshielded, the player is presented with a choice: destroy the Kessok ship and the remaining device or hail it. If the player fires on the Kessok ship, two smaller vessels will de-cloak and assist the heavy cruiser. The final mission will also be more difficult as the Kessok forces will initially side with the Cardassians. Hailing the vessel will open a dialog with the Kessok and reveal the Cardassians' exploitation of them.[9]
The game's final mission involves destroying the remaining Kessok device in the custody of Matan before he can use it to destroy a newly founded Kessok colony. The final confrontation with Matan occurs near the star of the Omega Draconis system. The game ends with Matan's ship falling into the star and the beginnings of formal diplomatic relations with the Kessok. Captain Picard wishes the player good luck on their journeys, and the Sovereign warps away.[10][11]
In late 1998, publishers Activision made contact with Totally Games for the start of development of Bridge Commander. Employees working for Totally Games spent six months on research, design and testing to keep the game within the bounds of the Star Trek universe.[12] At E3 2001, the multiplayer mode originally to be included was dropped in favour of single-player. This announcement was reversed several days later.[13]
Star Trek: Bridge Commander received "favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[15] GameSpot named the game a runner-up for its March 2002 "PC Game of the Month" award.[26] The publication later presented the game with its annual "Best Sci-Fi Simulation Game on PC" award.[27]
Ivan Sulic of IGN said that Bridge Commander was "the single most engaging Star Trek experience yet in gaming" and the "undisputed king of all that is starship combat",[23] but appreciated that some players may feel that it isn't as nonlinear as they might like. He added that the missions were well paced, although he complained of the difficulty of a stealth based level.[23]
The story's premise, shown in cinematics, is as follows: you play the role of the first officer of the USS Dauntless, a Galaxy-class starship. While your captain is out in a shuttle, the system's sun destabilizes and explodes, damaging the Dauntless and killing your captain. The explosion also endangers nearby colonists.
You must take control of the ship and solve the mystery. Your mission is to discover what caused the stellar explosion and keep it from happening again. During the game you will interact with Cardassians, Klingons, Romulans and other races, including a new one created just for the game. Several Star Trek alumni provide their voices to the game, such as Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, and Martha Hackett.
The Dauntless enters orbit around Draegos colony or Vesuvi IV and a shuttle piloted by Captain Robert Wright heads for the Vesuvi IV terraforming station. The captain chose not be beam down because he is carrying Romulan ale for his son-in-law Ralph Sersons, which would be detected by the transporter logs. As he calmly flies on he decides to update his personal log where he outlines the new first officer's progress and the Dauntless' current mission.
On the bridge, science officer Diaz reports that he is detecting very unusual readings from the star. Before he can analyze them, an emergency transmission is received from the captain. The star's core is destabilizing. Wright orders the first officer to get the ship out of the system immediately. The first shock wave destroys the orbital stations and the shuttle Icarus 2 and turns the surface of the planet into a fiery inferno. Caught in its wake, the Dauntless cannot engage its warp engines.
Ensign Lomar diverts power to the impulse engines and the ship escapes just as the planet explodes behind them. Fragments from the planet impacts the ship starboard nacelle, and Diaz reports that an object is warping out of the system but that he is not able to get a good reading on it. The damaged ship heads for Starbase 12.
The repaired Dauntless, with a new captain (the Dauntless' former XO), a new first officer, and Captain Jean-Luc Picard as a visitor, departs Soho Station for Starbase 12 to pick up supplies and relief teams for the Haven and Geki colonies.
The ship is then diverted to Tevron II to escort the Sovereign. A skirmish with two Romulan Warbirds ensues. After the Romulans are sent packing, Captain Picard transports to the IKC RanKuf for Biranu Station.
After re-supplying the Geki colony, the Dauntless comes to the aid of a Cardassian freighter under attack by a Romulan Warbird. The Romulans claim it is carrying contraband as the ship's cargo is concealed by a dampening field. The Cardassian Gul claims they are carrying relief supply for an outpost.
The Dauntless is then tasked with investigating Ferengi smuggling activities at Serris. Along with DaiMon Praag's ship it is attacked by Cardassians who do not want the Federation to find out that they have been illegally receiving military equipment and supplies. Concerned by this, Admiral Liu diverts the Dauntless to Biranu Station where Captain Picard is a guest lecturer. Contact with the station has been lost and it seems that the Cardassian and Klingon ships at the station are on the verge of open conflict.
Picard orders the Dauntless not to intervene if a skirmish breaks out. Starfleet is neutral and not involved. Sure enough, the Cardassian and Klingons begin fighting each other. Suddenly during the course of the battle the Cardassians turn on the station, inflicting massive damage. The Dauntless must then team with the Klingons to defend the badly wounded station. After two Cardassian ships are destroyed the remainder will flee to Biranu I. The player can choose whether to hail Captain Picard or chase the Cardassian ships. Either way more Cardassians arrive later and resume the attack on Biranu Station.
c80f0f1006