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Star Control

April 26, 2023

Star Control: Famous Battles of the Ur-Quan Conflict, Volume IV is an action-strategy video game developed by Toys for Bob and published by Accolade. It was originally released for MS-DOS and Amiga in 1990, followed by ports for the Sega Genesis and additional platforms in 1991. The story is set during an interstellar war between two space alien factions, with humanity joining the Alliance of Free Stars to defeat the invading Ur-Quan Hierarchy. Players can choose to play as either faction, each with seven different alien starships which are used during the game's combat and strategy sections.

The game was created by designer-artist Paul Reiche III and programmer-engineer Fred Ford. Initially, the concept was based on the space combat seen in Spacewar! (1962), combined with the action-strategy gameplay seen in Archon: The Light and the Dark (1983). The alternate title, StarCon, was a play on words referring to Reiche's prior work on Archon, adapted into a science fiction setting. After developing the core space combat system, Reiche and Ford created an assortment of ships, abilities, and character designs. The project was completed with additional artwork from Greg Johnson and Erol Otus.

Star Control was a critical and commercial success upon its release, leading to two sequels, Star Control II in 1992 (and the free open-source remake The Ur-Quan Masters in 2002), and Star Control 3 in 1996. It has since been ranked among the best games of all time by Polygon and VideoGames & Computer Entertainment, remembered for the replay value of its combat, as well as the colorful worldbuilding that gave rise to its acclaimed sequel. Years after its release, game designers have continued to cite Star Control as an influence on their work, including Mass Effect (2007), and Stellaris (2016).

Gameplay

 
A ZX Spectrum screenshot

Star Control is a combination of a strategy game and real-time one-on-one ship combat game. The ship combat is based on the game Spacewar!, while the turn-based strategy is inspired by Paul Reiche III's 1983 game Archon: The Light and the Dark.[1] Players have the option to play the full game with the turn-based campaign, or practice the one-on-one ship battles.[2] The game can be played by one player against the computer, or two players head to head.[1] The player can also assign the game's artificial intelligence to take over the strategy gameplay, the combat gameplay, or both.[3]

The strategy campaign consists of several selectable scenarios, with nine missions on home computers, and fifteen on the Sega Genesis.[2] Each turn-based strategy mission begins with opposing fleets arranged on a rotating star map,[1] with each player controlling a faction of their choice.[2] Each player has up to three ship actions per turn, which are used to explore new stars and colonize or fortify worlds.[4] These colonies provide resources to the player's ships, such as currency and crew.[1] The goal is to move one's ships across the galaxy, claim planets along the way, and destroy the player's opponent's star base.[4]

When two rival starships meet on the battlefield, an arcade-style combat sequence begins.[4] Each battle takes place on a single screen with an overhead view, zooming in as the two ships approach each other.[1] The battlefield includes a planet as a gravity well, which ships can either crash into, or glide nearby to gain momentum.[1] There are 14 different ships to choose from, with unique abilities for each.[4] Ships typically have a unique firing attack, as well as some kind of secondary ability.[1] For example, the Yehat Terminator has a forcefield, while the VUX Intruder can launch limpets that slow rival ships down.[3] Using these weapons and abilities will consume the ship's battery, which recharges automatically (with few exceptions).[1] Ships also have a limited amount of crew, representing the total damage a ship can take before being destroyed.[1] This ties into the strategic meta-game between combat, where the crew can be replenished at colonies.[1]

The different starships are organized into two warring factions, the Ur-Quan Hierarchy, and the Alliance of Free Stars.[1] Each ship has different strengths and weaknesses, determined by their unique weapons and abilities, as well as their speed, battery, crew (health), and cost.[2] Ship selection has a major influence over combat,[1] and players can discover matchups that give them an advantage.[3] While expensive ships are usually more powerful,[2] the weaker ships can still win in the hands of a skilled player.[1] The screen also displays a cockpit animation for each player, with unique character design for each alien and ship.[2] The ships also have distinct sound deign, such as the barking Chenjesu drones, or the Ur-Quan Dreadnaught bellowing "launch fighters" when it initiates a strike.[5]

As was typical of copy protection at the time, Star Control requested a special pass phrase that players found by using a three-ply code wheel, called "Professor Zorq's Instant Etiquette Analyzer".[6]

Plot

Star Control reveals its plot through each scenario in the game's campaign,[2] as well as the game's instruction manual.[1] The story takes place during a war between two interstellar factions of alien species: the peaceful Alliance of Free Stars, and the invading Ur-Quan Hierarchy.[1][3]

Characters

The Ur-Quan is the oldest and most advanced species in known space, resembling giant predatory caterpillars with a rigid social order. As slavers, the Ur-Quan recruit other species into their Hierarchy as serfs, which includes their genetically engineered translators, the Talking Pets. The mollusk-like Spathi are cowardly by nature, and were easily coerced into the Hierarchy. The fungoid Mycon joined the Hierarchy freely and fanatically, while the blobbish Umgah joined out of boredom, amused by the war as a great interstellar prank. Two Hierarchy species hold a grudge against Earth, including the humanoid Androsynth who escaped Earth as renegade clones, and the one-eyed VUX, who were insulted by a human during their first contact.[7]

The Chenjesu are the most powerful members of the Alliance, a species of crystalline philosophers who consume electrical energy. Earth joined the Alliance as a multinational crew under their planetary defense organization, Star Control. The Alliance includes the marsupial Shofixti, a brave warrior species who were technologically uplifted by the Yehat,[7] a militant species of avian dinosaurs.[8] The allied Mmrnmhrm are robots with transforming ships, while the Syreen are female humanoids who use their psychic abilities to hypnotize enemy crew. The Arilou are a race of "space elves" with hyper-jump capable vessels, who also have a history of "tormenting" Earth.[7]

Throughout the campaign, each side discovers powerful relics belonging to the Precursors, an unknown lost species who once inhabited nearby space, hundreds of thousands of years ago.[7]

Story

Humanity encounters a first alien contact near their Ceres outpost, where they receive an urgent warning from the Chenjesu. The crystalline aliens explain that the Ur-Quan Hierarchy is annihilating them and their allies. The Alliance council previously decided that Earth was not strong enough to make a difference, but now the Ur-Quan slavers and their minions have broken through the Alliance defenses, and are approaching the solar system. The diplomats of Earth agree to join the Alliance, earning a position on the Alliance council, and an Alliance pact to defend Earth and its space colonies.[7]

The campaign begins with a lone Syreen Penetrator vessel attempting to stop the Androsynth from redeploying. The first full battle breaks out where both spheres of influence meet with a mix of combatants, followed by a single Ur-Quan dreadnaught trying to stamp out a fleet of Shofixti scouts. The next encounter takes place in an uncolonized sector between Hierarchy and Alliance starbases. By the fifth and sixth scenarios, the war has escalated to multi-ship battles, including an Ur-Quan armada rampaging towards an Alliance stronghold. The final encounters of the campaign feature a Spathi assault on a Mmrnmhrm mining cluster, and two battles between all members of each faction, with and without starbase support.[7][9]

The Sega Genesis version features additional scenarios. In neutral space, an Alliance task force attempts to stop the spread of Mycon colonies. Where the Hierarchy has the advantage, they attempt to conquer Earth's surrounding solar system. Meanwhile, a lone Chenjesu Broodhome finds itself outnumbered by a Hierarchy force, while the Hierarchy tries to defend its colonies from an invading fleet of Syreen Penetrators. There are also scenarios that favor the Alliance, where they defend a stronghold against a VUX incursion, and also confront a Hierarchy fleet pressing deep into Alliance territory.[10]

Development

Conception

 
The mock-up image that Paul Reiche used to secure a publisher for the game. According to Reiche, "the idea was 3D space combat with the sort of asymmetrical match-ups we’d done with Archon."[11]

Star Control was created by Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford,[11][12] who both attended the University of California Berkeley around the same time, and both entered the video game industry in the early 1980s.[13] Reiche had started his career working for Dungeons & Dragons publisher TSR, before developing PC games for Free Fall Associates.[14] After releasing World Tour Golf, Reiche created an advertising mock-up for what would become Star Control, showing a dreadnaught and some ships fighting. He pitched the game to Electronic Arts, before instead securing an agreement with Accolade as a publisher, thanks to Reiche's former producer taking a job there.[15] Meanwhile, Ford had started his career creating games for Japanese personal computers before transitioning to more corporate software development.[11] After a few years working at graphics companies in Silicon Valley, Ford realized he missed working in the game industry.[15] At this point, Reiche needed a programmer-engineer and Ford was seeking a designer-artist, so their mutual friends set up a gaming night to re-introduce them.[14] The meeting was hosted at game designer Greg Johnson's house,[15] and one of the friends who encouraged the meeting was fantasy artist Erol Otus.[16]

Star Control began as an evolution of concepts that Reiche created in Archon: The Light and the Dark and Mail Order Monsters.[11] The project would adapt the action-strategy gameplay of Archon into a science fiction setting, where unique combatants fight space battles using distinct abilities.[11][14] Also called StarCon, the title was a play on words.[1][17] According to Ford, "StarCon is really just Archon with an S-T in front of it", pointing to the one-on-one combat and strategic modes of both games.[15] Star Control would base its combat sequences on the classic game Spacewar!,[12] as well as the core experience of space combat game Star Raiders.[18]

This was the first collaboration between Ford and Reiche,[11][12] who decided to limit the game's scope to establish an effective workflow.[14] Releasing the game under their personal names, they also began referring to their partnership as Toys for Bob.[7][11] Programmer Robert Leyland and artist Erol Otus had both worked with Ford at his previous place of employment, and joined him as he began work on Star Control.[11]

Design and production

Fred Ford's first prototype was a two-player action game where the VUX and Yehat ships blow up asteroids, which led them to build the entire universe around that simple play experience.[11] Ford designed the Yehat starship with a crescent-shape, and the ship's shield-generator led them to optimize the ship for close combat.[15] They built on these two original ships with many additional ships and character concepts,[12] and play-tested them with friends such as Greg Johnson and Robert Leyland.[15] The team preferred to iterate on ship designs rather than plan them, as they discovered different play-styles during testing.[15] The asymmetry between the combatants became essential to the experience. Ford explained: "Our ships weren't balanced at all, one on one... but the idea was, your fleet of ships, your selection of ships in total was as strong as someone else's, and then, it came down to which matchup did you find".[17] Still, the ships were still given some balance by having their energy recharge at different rates.[15]

Although the story does not factor heavily into the game,[1] the character concepts were created based on the ship designs.[14] The team would begin with paper illustrations, followed by logical abilities for those ships, and a character concept that suited the ship's look-and-feel.[11] The first ship sketches were based on popular science fiction, such as SpaceWar! or Battlestar Galactica, and slowly evolved into original designs as they discussed why the ships were fighting each other.[15] Reiche describes their character creation process: "I know it probably sounds weird, but when I design a game like this, I make drawings of the characters and stare at them. I hold little conversations with them. 'What do you guys do?' And they tell me".[12] By the end of this process, they wrote a short summary for each alien, describing their story and personality.[15]

After creating a large ship that launches fighters on command, Reiche and Ford decided this would be a dominating race.[17] These antagonists would be called the Ur-Quan, with a motivation to dominate the galaxy to hunt for slaves, and an appearance based on a National Geographic image of a predatory caterpillar dangling over its prey.[12] They decided to organize the characters into nominally "good" and "bad" factions, each with seven unique races and ships, with the humans on the good side.[15] As they were creating the alien characters based on the ship abilities, the Spathi's cowardly personality was inspired by their backwards-shooting missiles.[14] A more robotic ship inspired an alien race called the Androsynth, whose appearance was imagined as Devo flying a spaceship.[11] Reiche and Ford were also inspired by character concepts in David Brin's The Uplift War. The designers asked what kind of race would be uplifted by the fiercely heroic Yehat, and decided to create the Shofixti as a ferocious super rodent.[14] The team also decided that the game would need more humanoid characters, and created the Syreen as a powerful and attractive humanoid female race.[15] When they saw that the Syreen ship resembled a cross between a rocket ship and a ribbed condom, Fred Ford suggested calling it the Syreen Penetrator, which coincidentally happened moments before the 1989 San Francisco Earthquake.[19]

The game's file size was largely devoted to sound effects,[1] with audio sampled from famous science fiction media,[3] as well as original sound designs for other alien ships.[5] Each alien race also has a short victory theme song, composed by Reiche's friend Tommy Dunbar of The Rubinoos. The longer Ur-Quan theme played at the end of the game was composed by fantasy artist Erol Otus.[15]

Porting and compatibility

 
Paul Reiche III, Fred Ford, and Rob Dubbin give a postmortem of the game's development at GDC 2015.

The number of visible colors was a major technological limitation at the time, and the team created different settings for CGA, EGA, and VGA monitors.[14] A separate team ported a stripped down version of the game to the Commodore 64, Amstrad, and ZX Spectrum, which meant reducing the number of ships to eight, as well introducing new bugs and balance issues.[2] Additional problems were caused by the number of simultaneous key-presses required for a multiplayer game, which required Ford to code a solution that would work across multiple different computer keyboards.[14]

Star Control was ported to the Sega Genesis,[20] in a team led by Fred Ford.[15] Because the Genesis port was a cartridge-based game with no battery backup, it lacked the scenario-creator of the PC version, but it came pre-loaded with a few additional scenarios not originally in the game.[21] Where the PC version featured synthesized audio, the team discovered the digital MOD file format to help port the music to console, which would become the core music format for the sequel.[14] It took nearly 5 months to convert the code and color palettes,[21] leaving little time to optimize the game under Accolade's tight schedule, leading to slowdown issues.[22][23] Released under Accolade's new "Ballistic" label for high quality games, the game was touted as the first 12-megabit cartridge created for the system.[20] The box art for the Sega version was adapted from the original PC version, this time re-painted by artist Boris Vallejo.[2]

The Genesis port was not authorized by Sega.[14] Frustrated with Sega's licensing requirements, Accolade decided to reverse engineer the console to disable the code that locked out unlicensed games.[24][25] This allowed Accolade to port several games to the Genesis from their previous list of releases, including Star Control.[26] Sega responded by suing Accolade for copyright infringement, but the appeal court found that reverse engineering was a fair use exception to copying the code without Sega's authorization.[27][26] The ruling set an influential precedent, allowing other instances of reverse engineering to continue without penalty.[28] Sega eventually settled the lawsuit in Accolade's favor, making them a licensed Sega developer.[29]

Reception

Star Control was a commercial success at the time, reaching the top 5 on the PC sales charts by September 1990.[14] According to a retrospective by Finnish gaming magazine Pelit, the game would go on to sell 120,000 copies, leading Accolade to request a sequel from creators Reiche and Ford.[42]

The game earned wide acclaim for its arcade-style combat, including its tactical depth and player-vs-player mode.[3][36][38][30][31] MegaTech enjoyed mastering the different starships, earning the game an editorial Hyper Game Award as "one of the best two-player Mega Drive games ever".[30] Similarly, Computer and Video Games chose Star Control for their editorial "CVG Hit" award, highlighting the variety of weapons, the fun of learning favorable matchups, and the overall playability of the game's two-player mode.[3] Italian publication The Games Machine celebrated Star Control as a modern re-invention of Spacewar!, recommending the combat mode for its range of options, its automatic camera zoom, and its implementation of physics.[38] Entertainment Weekly also recommended the game for evolving the Spacewar! formula with a variety of unique ships.[36] The arcade combat earned additional praise for its replayability from Computer Gaming World,[34] Digital Press,[5] Videogame & Computer World,[31] and Raze Magazine.[39]

Several publications celebrated Star Control for its artistic details, including its character designs and animations.[5][3][38][39][43] Digital Press praised the personality of the alien ships for their portraits, and the lore behind each species.[5] Strategy Plus appreciated the unique humor and personality of the aliens, highlighting the design of the Syreen and their Penetrator ship, as well as "silly" names like Chenjesu commander Bzrrak Ktazzz.[43]Videogame & Computer World praised the unique animations of the aliens,[31] while Strategy Plus declared the game's graphics as "truly spectacular in 256 color VGA".[43] The Games Machine celebrated the game's many graphical details, particularly the alien pilots.[38] French publication Joystick offered its strongest praise for the game's art and environment.[37] The game's audio design was also highlighted by several publications.[5][3][37] Digital Press felt that the sound effects for the Ur-Quan and Chenjesu gave their ships a "fantastic" personality,[5] while Computer and Video Games praised the audio for drawing on popular science fiction.[3]

Several reviewers were more critical of the game's strategic mode.[36][34][39][37] Computer Gaming World found that it lacked depth,[34] and Joystick compared the strategy sections unfavorably to the game's combat.[37] Entertainment Weekly criticized the star map as difficult to see,[36] while Raze Magazine found it tedious to operate the strategy game menus on the Sega Genesis.[39]

Originally released for the PC, Star Control received criticism for its porting to other platforms.[2][39] Advanced Computer Entertainment called the Amiga version "disappointing", denouncing the load times and "tacky two-dimensional combat sequences that look as if they've been borrowed from an early Eighties coin-op".[44] Computer and Video Games similarly compared the Amiga version of Star Control to the "aging co-op Spacewar!".[35] While reviewing the Sega Genesis version, Computer and Video Games described the graphics as inferior to other titles on the console.[3] Raze Magazine felt that it lacked the polish and depth of the original PC version, criticizing the sprites and environments, while still offering praise for the detailed portraits.[39]

The year of the game's release, Video Games & Computer Entertainment gave Star Control an award for "Best Computer Science Fiction Game", noting that "the two creators have put together a game that is great either as a full simulation or an action-combat contest".[40] They later highlighted the game in a list of science fiction releases, proclaiming "Reiche and Ford's action-strategy tour de force is one of the most absorbing and challenging science fiction games of all-time".[45] The game was additionally nominated for Best Action/Arcade Program at the 1991 Spring Symposium of the Software Publishers Association.[41]

Legacy and impact

Star Control has been received several retrospective awards from gaming publications.[46][47][48] In 1996, Video Games & Computer Entertainment ranked it as the 127th best game, describing it as "Space War enters the 90s with a touch of humor".[46] In 2001, PC Gameplay ranked Star Control as the 45th most influential game of all time, based on a survey of dozens of game studios.[48] In 2017, Polygon ranked it as number 253 in their top 500 games of all time, arguing that "as a melee or strategic game, it helped define the idea that games can be malleable and dynamic and players can make an experience wholly their own".[47] Journalist Jamie Lendino also noted Star Control among the most significant PC games of the early 1990s, for successfully combining an action game with science fiction strategy.[49] The game is also celebrated for the debut of the Ur-Quan, as "one of the all-time villainous races in the history of computer games".[12]

Years after its release, Pelit recalled the original Star Control for its polished combat system, as well as the creativity of its character designs.[42] In 2005, Retro Gamer described Star Control as "a textbook example of good game design", where "two genres were brilliantly combined, making for a finely balanced and well-rounded game experience".[2] The publication further highlighted the many "elements that gave Star Control 'soul'", describing it as "the seed from which the vastly expanded narrative found in Star Control II grew".[2] IGN celebrated Star Control as a "special game" for "its colorful universe and superb combat system", which laid the foundation for its acclaimed sequel Star Control II.[50] In a retrospective, Hardcore Gaming 101 attributed the game's legacy to its combat system, and the story and characters that would be further developed in the sequel.[1][8]

Founder of BioWare, Ray Muzyka, has cited the original Star Control as an inspiration for the Mass Effect series of games, stating that "the uncharted worlds in Mass Effect comes from imagining what a freely explorable universe would be like inside a very realistic next-gen game".[51] Former BioWare writer Mike Laidlaw praised the creativity of the Star Control ship designs, and credited the game with laying the foundation for its sequel, which influenced him as a writer on Mass Effect.[8] Creative producer Henrik Fahraeus has also cited the game's influence on Paradox Interactive's character designs in Stellaris, particularly the bird-like and mushroom-like aliens.[8]

Sequels and open-source remake

Star Control II

Main article: Star Control II

Star Control II is an action-adventure science fiction game, set in an open world.[52] The game was originally published by Accolade in 1992 for MS-DOS, and was later ported to the 3DO with enhanced multimedia elements.[53] Created by Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III, it vastly expands on the story and characters introduced in the first game.[8] When the player discovers that Earth has been encased in a slave shield, they must recruit allies to liberate the galaxy.[54] The game features ship-to-ship combat based on the original Star Control, but removes the first game's strategy elements to focus on story and dialog.[53] Star Control II has earned critical acclaim[55] and is considered one of the best games of all time through the 1990s,[56] 2000s,[57] and 2010s.[58] It is also ranked among the best games in several creative areas, including writing,[59] world design,[60] character design,[61] and music.[62]

Star Control 3

Main article: Star Control 3

Star Control 3 is an adventure science fiction video game developed by Legend Entertainment, and published by Accolade in 1996.[63][64] The story takes place after the events of Star Control II when the player must travel deeper into the galaxy to investigate the mysterious collapse of hyperspace.[65] Several game systems from Star Control II are changed.[63] Hyperspace navigation is replaced with instant fast travel, and planet landing is replaced with a colony system inspired by the original Star Control.[64] Accolade hired Legend Entertainment to develop the game after original creators Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford decided to pursue other projects.[66] Though the game was considered a critical and commercial success upon release, it would receive unfavourable comparisons to Star Control II, with some fans regarding it as non-canonical.[67][68][69]

Cancelled Star Control 4

In January 1998, Accolade announced that they were developing Star Control 4.[70][71] Also known as StarCon, it was designed as a 3D space combat game.[72][73] By this time, Electronic Arts had agreed to become the distributor for all games developed by Accolade.[74] Accolade producer George MacDonald announced that "we want to move away from the adventure element and concentrate on what it seems the players really want – action!"[71] Though heavier on combat than previous titles, players would still have the opportunity to fly to planets and communicate with different aliens.[75] The team also created a Star Control History Compendium, to help them resolve storylines from the previous games.[71] In a playable alpha version of the game, players could control a fleet carrier, with the ability to launch a fighter that could be controlled by either the same player or a second player.[76] The game was later announced for the PlayStation home console with plans for release in 1999, featuring a 40-hour variable storyline, and both competitive and co-operative multiplayer.[70] Electronic Arts and Accolade promoted the choice of playing as "one of two alliances (Hyperium or Crux)", with the option of operating a fighter, carrier, or turrets.[77] Another publication described the ability to select from three different alien factions, with different missions that impact the storyline, and the ability to destroy entire planets.[78]

Development on the game was halted at the end of 1998. Not satisfied with the game's progress, Accolade put the project on hold with intentions to re-evaluate their plans for the Star Control license.[79][80] In 1999, Accolade was acquired by Infogrames SA for $50 million,[81] as one of many corporate restructurings that eventually led to Infogrames merging with Atari and re-branding under a revived Atari brand.[82] Star Control 3 became the last official instalment of the series.[8][83][84]

The Ur-Quan Masters

Main article: The Ur-Quan Masters

By the early 2000s, Accolade's copyright license for Star Control expired, triggered by a contractual clause when the games were no longer generating royalties.[85][86] As the games were no longer available for sale, Reiche and Ford wanted to keep their work in the public eye, to maintain an audience for a potential sequel.[15] Reiche and Ford still owned the copyrights in Star Control and its sequel Star Control II, but they could not successfully purchase the Star Control trademark from Accolade, leading them to consider a new title for a potential follow-up.[69][87] This led them to remake Star Control II as The Ur-Quan Masters,[88] which they released in 2002 as a free download under an open source copyright license.[89] The official free release is maintained by an active fan community,[90] and prevented Star Control II from becoming abandonware.[91]

Aftermath

Fans continued to demand a new Star Control game well into the 2000s.[92][93] Reiche and Ford expressed interest in creating either an updated Star Control II or an alternate Star Control 3, particularly if they found the right publisher.[94] During this time, thousands of fans started a petition in hopes of inspiring a sequel.[95] Toys for Bob producer Alex Ness responded in April 2006 with an article on the company website, stating that "if enough of you people out there send me emails requesting that Toys For Bob do a legitimate sequel to Star Control 2, I'll be able to show them to Activision, along with a loaded handgun, and they will finally be convinced to roll the dice on this thing".[96] In the months that followed, Ness announced the petition's impact, reporting that "there did honestly seem to be some real live interest on [Activision's] part. At least on the prototype and concept-test level. This is something we may in fact get to do when we finish our current game".[97] In a 2011 interview about their next game Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure, Reiche declared that they will one day make the real sequel.[98]

Intellectual property split

Main article: Stardock Systems, Inc. v. Reiche § Separation of rights

By the early 2000s, the Star Control trademark was held by Infogrames Entertainment.[88] Star Control publisher Accolade had sold their company to Infogrames in 1999,[99] who merged with Atari and re-branded under the Atari name in 2003.[100] In September 2007, Atari released an online Flash game with the name Star Control, created by independent game developer Iocaine Studios. Atari ordered the game to be delivered in just four days, which Iocaine produced in two days.[101] Also in September, Atari applied to renew the Star Control trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, citing images of Iocaine's flash game to demonstrate their declaration of use in commerce.[102]

Atari declared bankruptcy in 2013, and their assets were listed for auction.[103] When Stardock became the top bidder for Atari's Star Control assets, Paul Reiche indicated that he still owned the copyrighted materials from the first two Star Control games, which implied that Stardock must have purchased the Star Control trademark and the copyright in any original elements of Star Control 3. Stardock confirmed this intellectual property split soon after.[104][105][106] As Stardock began developing their new Star Control game, they re-iterated that they did not acquire the copyright to the first two games, and that they would need a license from Reiche and Ford to use their content and lore.[107] Reiche and Ford echoed this understanding in their 2015 Game Developers Conference interview, stating that Stardock's game would use the Star Control trademark only.[14] After a lawsuit, the parties agreed on the same separation of rights, with Stardock using the Star Control name, and Reiche and Ford announcing a sequel to The Ur-Quan Masters after a mandated quiet period.[108][109]

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Kalata, Kurt (September 11, 2018). "Star Control". Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Szczepaniak, John (2005). (PDF). Retro Gamer Volume 2 Issue 2. pp. 85–87. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 6, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glancey, Paul; Leadbetter, Richard (July 1991). Review - Star Control. Computer and Videogames Magazine Issue 116. pp. 108–110. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d Weiss, Brett (21 September 2016). Classic Home Video Games, 1989-1990: A Complete Guide to Sega Genesis, Neo Geo and TurboGrafx-16 Games. McFarland. p. 202. ISBN 978-1-4766-6794-2. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Staff (November 1991). Reviews - Star Control. Digital Press - Issue 02. pp. 5–6. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  6. ^ Williams, Andrew (2017-03-16). History of Digital Games: Developments in Art, Design and Interaction. CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-317-50380-4.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Ford, Fred; Reiche III, Paul; Otus, Erol; Rianda, Jeff; Hall, Larry (1990). Star Control Manual (PC ed.). Accolade. pp. 3–4, 10–12, 17–30, 37, 38, 39–40.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Sanchay, Pre (May 12, 2021). Kalata, Kurt (ed.). "Now and Forever: The Legacy of the Star Control II Universe – Hardcore Gaming 101". Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  9. ^ Paul Reiche III & Fred Ford (1990). Star Control (PC). Accolade.
  10. ^ Paul Reiche III & Fred Ford (1991). Star Control (Sega Genesis). Accolade.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barton, Matt (April 19, 2016). Honoring the Code: Conversations with Great Game Designers. CRC Press. pp. 203–. ISBN 978-1-4665-6754-2. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g DeMaria, Rusel (December 7, 2018). High Score! Expanded: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games 3rd Edition. CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-429-77139-2. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  13. ^ Campbell, Colin (April 16, 2014). "Toys for Bob and the story behind Skylanders". Polygon. from the original on April 17, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Fred Ford & Paul Reiche III (June 30, 2015). "Classic Game Postmortem: Star Control". YouTube. Game Developers Conference. Archived from the original on 2021-12-11. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Hutchinson, Lee (July 7, 2020). Dacanay, Sean; Niehaus, Marcus (eds.). "Star Control Creators Paul Reiche & Fred Ford: Extended Interview". Ars Technica. Archived (Transcript) from the original on July 7, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020. (2:00-16:04)
  16. ^ Hutchinson, Lee (October 26, 2018). "Video: The people who helped make Star Control 2 did a ton of other stuff". Ars Technica. Archived (Transcript) from the original on October 26, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
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April 26, 2023
star, control, famous, battles, quan, conflict, volume, action, strategy, video, game, developed, toys, published, accolade, originally, released, amiga, 1990, followed, ports, sega, genesis, additional, platforms, 1991, story, during, interstellar, between, s. Star Control Famous Battles of the Ur Quan Conflict Volume IV is an action strategy video game developed by Toys for Bob and published by Accolade It was originally released for MS DOS and Amiga in 1990 followed by ports for the Sega Genesis and additional platforms in 1991 The story is set during an interstellar war between two space alien factions with humanity joining the Alliance of Free Stars to defeat the invading Ur Quan Hierarchy Players can choose to play as either faction each with seven different alien starships which are used during the game s combat and strategy sections Star ControlSega Genesis cover art by Boris VallejoDeveloper s Toys for Bob 1 Publisher s Accolade 1 Producer s Pam LevinsDesigner s Fred FordPaul Reiche IIIProgrammer s Fred FordRobert LeylandArtist s Greg JohnsonPaul Reiche IIIErol OtusComposer s Kyle FreemanTommy V DunbarPlatform s Amiga MS DOS Sega Mega Drive Genesis Amstrad CPC Commodore 64 ZX SpectrumReleaseJuly 1990 Amiga DOS 1991 ports Genre s Action strategyMode s Single player multiplayerThe game was created by designer artist Paul Reiche III and programmer engineer Fred Ford Initially the concept was based on the space combat seen in Spacewar 1962 combined with the action strategy gameplay seen in Archon The Light and the Dark 1983 The alternate title StarCon was a play on words referring to Reiche s prior work on Archon adapted into a science fiction setting After developing the core space combat system Reiche and Ford created an assortment of ships abilities and character designs The project was completed with additional artwork from Greg Johnson and Erol Otus Star Control was a critical and commercial success upon its release leading to two sequels Star Control II in 1992 and the free open source remake The Ur Quan Masters in 2002 and Star Control 3 in 1996 It has since been ranked among the best games of all time by Polygon and VideoGames amp Computer Entertainment remembered for the replay value of its combat as well as the colorful worldbuilding that gave rise to its acclaimed sequel Years after its release game designers have continued to cite Star Control as an influence on their work including Mass Effect 2007 and Stellaris 2016 Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Plot 2 1 Characters 2 2 Story 3 Development 3 1 Conception 3 2 Design and production 3 3 Porting and compatibility 4 Reception 4 1 Legacy and impact 5 Sequels and open source remake 5 1 Star Control II 5 2 Star Control 3 5 3 Cancelled Star Control 4 5 4 The Ur Quan Masters 6 Aftermath 6 1 Intellectual property split 7 Notes and referencesGameplay Edit A ZX Spectrum screenshot Star Control is a combination of a strategy game and real time one on one ship combat game The ship combat is based on the game Spacewar while the turn based strategy is inspired by Paul Reiche III s 1983 game Archon The Light and the Dark 1 Players have the option to play the full game with the turn based campaign or practice the one on one ship battles 2 The game can be played by one player against the computer or two players head to head 1 The player can also assign the game s artificial intelligence to take over the strategy gameplay the combat gameplay or both 3 The strategy campaign consists of several selectable scenarios with nine missions on home computers and fifteen on the Sega Genesis 2 Each turn based strategy mission begins with opposing fleets arranged on a rotating star map 1 with each player controlling a faction of their choice 2 Each player has up to three ship actions per turn which are used to explore new stars and colonize or fortify worlds 4 These colonies provide resources to the player s ships such as currency and crew 1 The goal is to move one s ships across the galaxy claim planets along the way and destroy the player s opponent s star base 4 When two rival starships meet on the battlefield an arcade style combat sequence begins 4 Each battle takes place on a single screen with an overhead view zooming in as the two ships approach each other 1 The battlefield includes a planet as a gravity well which ships can either crash into or glide nearby to gain momentum 1 There are 14 different ships to choose from with unique abilities for each 4 Ships typically have a unique firing attack as well as some kind of secondary ability 1 For example the Yehat Terminator has a forcefield while the VUX Intruder can launch limpets that slow rival ships down 3 Using these weapons and abilities will consume the ship s battery which recharges automatically with few exceptions 1 Ships also have a limited amount of crew representing the total damage a ship can take before being destroyed 1 This ties into the strategic meta game between combat where the crew can be replenished at colonies 1 The different starships are organized into two warring factions the Ur Quan Hierarchy and the Alliance of Free Stars 1 Each ship has different strengths and weaknesses determined by their unique weapons and abilities as well as their speed battery crew health and cost 2 Ship selection has a major influence over combat 1 and players can discover matchups that give them an advantage 3 While expensive ships are usually more powerful 2 the weaker ships can still win in the hands of a skilled player 1 The screen also displays a cockpit animation for each player with unique character design for each alien and ship 2 The ships also have distinct sound deign such as the barking Chenjesu drones or the Ur Quan Dreadnaught bellowing launch fighters when it initiates a strike 5 As was typical of copy protection at the time Star Control requested a special pass phrase that players found by using a three ply code wheel called Professor Zorq s Instant Etiquette Analyzer 6 Plot EditStar Control reveals its plot through each scenario in the game s campaign 2 as well as the game s instruction manual 1 The story takes place during a war between two interstellar factions of alien species the peaceful Alliance of Free Stars and the invading Ur Quan Hierarchy 1 3 Characters Edit The Ur Quan is the oldest and most advanced species in known space resembling giant predatory caterpillars with a rigid social order As slavers the Ur Quan recruit other species into their Hierarchy as serfs which includes their genetically engineered translators the Talking Pets The mollusk like Spathi are cowardly by nature and were easily coerced into the Hierarchy The fungoid Mycon joined the Hierarchy freely and fanatically while the blobbish Umgah joined out of boredom amused by the war as a great interstellar prank Two Hierarchy species hold a grudge against Earth including the humanoid Androsynth who escaped Earth as renegade clones and the one eyed VUX who were insulted by a human during their first contact 7 The Chenjesu are the most powerful members of the Alliance a species of crystalline philosophers who consume electrical energy Earth joined the Alliance as a multinational crew under their planetary defense organization Star Control The Alliance includes the marsupial Shofixti a brave warrior species who were technologically uplifted by the Yehat 7 a militant species of avian dinosaurs 8 The allied Mmrnmhrm are robots with transforming ships while the Syreen are female humanoids who use their psychic abilities to hypnotize enemy crew The Arilou are a race of space elves with hyper jump capable vessels who also have a history of tormenting Earth 7 Throughout the campaign each side discovers powerful relics belonging to the Precursors an unknown lost species who once inhabited nearby space hundreds of thousands of years ago 7 Story Edit Humanity encounters a first alien contact near their Ceres outpost where they receive an urgent warning from the Chenjesu The crystalline aliens explain that the Ur Quan Hierarchy is annihilating them and their allies The Alliance council previously decided that Earth was not strong enough to make a difference but now the Ur Quan slavers and their minions have broken through the Alliance defenses and are approaching the solar system The diplomats of Earth agree to join the Alliance earning a position on the Alliance council and an Alliance pact to defend Earth and its space colonies 7 The campaign begins with a lone Syreen Penetrator vessel attempting to stop the Androsynth from redeploying The first full battle breaks out where both spheres of influence meet with a mix of combatants followed by a single Ur Quan dreadnaught trying to stamp out a fleet of Shofixti scouts The next encounter takes place in an uncolonized sector between Hierarchy and Alliance starbases By the fifth and sixth scenarios the war has escalated to multi ship battles including an Ur Quan armada rampaging towards an Alliance stronghold The final encounters of the campaign feature a Spathi assault on a Mmrnmhrm mining cluster and two battles between all members of each faction with and without starbase support 7 9 The Sega Genesis version features additional scenarios In neutral space an Alliance task force attempts to stop the spread of Mycon colonies Where the Hierarchy has the advantage they attempt to conquer Earth s surrounding solar system Meanwhile a lone Chenjesu Broodhome finds itself outnumbered by a Hierarchy force while the Hierarchy tries to defend its colonies from an invading fleet of Syreen Penetrators There are also scenarios that favor the Alliance where they defend a stronghold against a VUX incursion and also confront a Hierarchy fleet pressing deep into Alliance territory 10 Development EditConception Edit The mock up image that Paul Reiche used to secure a publisher for the game According to Reiche the idea was 3D space combat with the sort of asymmetrical match ups we d done with Archon 11 Star Control was created by Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford 11 12 who both attended the University of California Berkeley around the same time and both entered the video game industry in the early 1980s 13 Reiche had started his career working for Dungeons amp Dragons publisher TSR before developing PC games for Free Fall Associates 14 After releasing World Tour Golf Reiche created an advertising mock up for what would become Star Control showing a dreadnaught and some ships fighting He pitched the game to Electronic Arts before instead securing an agreement with Accolade as a publisher thanks to Reiche s former producer taking a job there 15 Meanwhile Ford had started his career creating games for Japanese personal computers before transitioning to more corporate software development 11 After a few years working at graphics companies in Silicon Valley Ford realized he missed working in the game industry 15 At this point Reiche needed a programmer engineer and Ford was seeking a designer artist so their mutual friends set up a gaming night to re introduce them 14 The meeting was hosted at game designer Greg Johnson s house 15 and one of the friends who encouraged the meeting was fantasy artist Erol Otus 16 Star Control began as an evolution of concepts that Reiche created in Archon The Light and the Dark and Mail Order Monsters 11 The project would adapt the action strategy gameplay of Archon into a science fiction setting where unique combatants fight space battles using distinct abilities 11 14 Also called StarCon the title was a play on words 1 17 According to Ford StarCon is really just Archon with an S T in front of it pointing to the one on one combat and strategic modes of both games 15 Star Control would base its combat sequences on the classic game Spacewar 12 as well as the core experience of space combat game Star Raiders 18 This was the first collaboration between Ford and Reiche 11 12 who decided to limit the game s scope to establish an effective workflow 14 Releasing the game under their personal names they also began referring to their partnership as Toys for Bob 7 11 Programmer Robert Leyland and artist Erol Otus had both worked with Ford at his previous place of employment and joined him as he began work on Star Control 11 Design and production Edit Fred Ford s first prototype was a two player action game where the VUX and Yehat ships blow up asteroids which led them to build the entire universe around that simple play experience 11 Ford designed the Yehat starship with a crescent shape and the ship s shield generator led them to optimize the ship for close combat 15 They built on these two original ships with many additional ships and character concepts 12 and play tested them with friends such as Greg Johnson and Robert Leyland 15 The team preferred to iterate on ship designs rather than plan them as they discovered different play styles during testing 15 The asymmetry between the combatants became essential to the experience Ford explained Our ships weren t balanced at all one on one but the idea was your fleet of ships your selection of ships in total was as strong as someone else s and then it came down to which matchup did you find 17 Still the ships were still given some balance by having their energy recharge at different rates 15 Although the story does not factor heavily into the game 1 the character concepts were created based on the ship designs 14 The team would begin with paper illustrations followed by logical abilities for those ships and a character concept that suited the ship s look and feel 11 The first ship sketches were based on popular science fiction such as SpaceWar or Battlestar Galactica and slowly evolved into original designs as they discussed why the ships were fighting each other 15 Reiche describes their character creation process I know it probably sounds weird but when I design a game like this I make drawings of the characters and stare at them I hold little conversations with them What do you guys do And they tell me 12 By the end of this process they wrote a short summary for each alien describing their story and personality 15 After creating a large ship that launches fighters on command Reiche and Ford decided this would be a dominating race 17 These antagonists would be called the Ur Quan with a motivation to dominate the galaxy to hunt for slaves and an appearance based on a National Geographic image of a predatory caterpillar dangling over its prey 12 They decided to organize the characters into nominally good and bad factions each with seven unique races and ships with the humans on the good side 15 As they were creating the alien characters based on the ship abilities the Spathi s cowardly personality was inspired by their backwards shooting missiles 14 A more robotic ship inspired an alien race called the Androsynth whose appearance was imagined as Devo flying a spaceship 11 Reiche and Ford were also inspired by character concepts in David Brin s The Uplift War The designers asked what kind of race would be uplifted by the fiercely heroic Yehat and decided to create the Shofixti as a ferocious super rodent 14 The team also decided that the game would need more humanoid characters and created the Syreen as a powerful and attractive humanoid female race 15 When they saw that the Syreen ship resembled a cross between a rocket ship and a ribbed condom Fred Ford suggested calling it the Syreen Penetrator which coincidentally happened moments before the 1989 San Francisco Earthquake 19 The game s file size was largely devoted to sound effects 1 with audio sampled from famous science fiction media 3 as well as original sound designs for other alien ships 5 Each alien race also has a short victory theme song composed by Reiche s friend Tommy Dunbar of The Rubinoos The longer Ur Quan theme played at the end of the game was composed by fantasy artist Erol Otus 15 Porting and compatibility Edit Paul Reiche III Fred Ford and Rob Dubbin give a postmortem of the game s development at GDC 2015 The number of visible colors was a major technological limitation at the time and the team created different settings for CGA EGA and VGA monitors 14 A separate team ported a stripped down version of the game to the Commodore 64 Amstrad and ZX Spectrum which meant reducing the number of ships to eight as well introducing new bugs and balance issues 2 Additional problems were caused by the number of simultaneous key presses required for a multiplayer game which required Ford to code a solution that would work across multiple different computer keyboards 14 Star Control was ported to the Sega Genesis 20 in a team led by Fred Ford 15 Because the Genesis port was a cartridge based game with no battery backup it lacked the scenario creator of the PC version but it came pre loaded with a few additional scenarios not originally in the game 21 Where the PC version featured synthesized audio the team discovered the digital MOD file format to help port the music to console which would become the core music format for the sequel 14 It took nearly 5 months to convert the code and color palettes 21 leaving little time to optimize the game under Accolade s tight schedule leading to slowdown issues 22 23 Released under Accolade s new Ballistic label for high quality games the game was touted as the first 12 megabit cartridge created for the system 20 The box art for the Sega version was adapted from the original PC version this time re painted by artist Boris Vallejo 2 The Genesis port was not authorized by Sega 14 Frustrated with Sega s licensing requirements Accolade decided to reverse engineer the console to disable the code that locked out unlicensed games 24 25 This allowed Accolade to port several games to the Genesis from their previous list of releases including Star Control 26 Sega responded by suing Accolade for copyright infringement but the appeal court found that reverse engineering was a fair use exception to copying the code without Sega s authorization 27 26 The ruling set an influential precedent allowing other instances of reverse engineering to continue without penalty 28 Sega eventually settled the lawsuit in Accolade s favor making them a licensed Sega developer 29 Reception EditReceptionReview scoresPublicationScoreComputer Gaming World PC 34 Computer and Video Games68 Amiga 35 90 Sega 3 MegaTech90 Sega 30 Sega168 10 Sega 20 Videogame amp Computer World8 10 PC C64 31 32 9 10 Amiga 33 Entertainment WeeklyB Sega 36 Joystick75 Sega 37 The Games Machine88 PC 38 Raze Magazine70 100 Sega 39 AwardsPublicationAwardComputer and Video Games 3 CVG HitMegaTech 30 Hyper Game AwardVG amp CE 40 Best Computer Science Fiction Game 1990Software Publishers Association 41 Best Action Arcade Program 1991 Star Control was a commercial success at the time reaching the top 5 on the PC sales charts by September 1990 14 According to a retrospective by Finnish gaming magazine Pelit the game would go on to sell 120 000 copies leading Accolade to request a sequel from creators Reiche and Ford 42 The game earned wide acclaim for its arcade style combat including its tactical depth and player vs player mode 3 36 38 30 31 MegaTech enjoyed mastering the different starships earning the game an editorial Hyper Game Award as one of the best two player Mega Drive games ever 30 Similarly Computer and Video Games chose Star Control for their editorial CVG Hit award highlighting the variety of weapons the fun of learning favorable matchups and the overall playability of the game s two player mode 3 Italian publication The Games Machine celebrated Star Control as a modern re invention of Spacewar recommending the combat mode for its range of options its automatic camera zoom and its implementation of physics 38 Entertainment Weekly also recommended the game for evolving the Spacewar formula with a variety of unique ships 36 The arcade combat earned additional praise for its replayability from Computer Gaming World 34 Digital Press 5 Videogame amp Computer World 31 and Raze Magazine 39 Several publications celebrated Star Control for its artistic details including its character designs and animations 5 3 38 39 43 Digital Press praised the personality of the alien ships for their portraits and the lore behind each species 5 Strategy Plus appreciated the unique humor and personality of the aliens highlighting the design of the Syreen and their Penetrator ship as well as silly names like Chenjesu commander Bzrrak Ktazzz 43 Videogame amp Computer World praised the unique animations of the aliens 31 while Strategy Plus declared the game s graphics as truly spectacular in 256 color VGA 43 The Games Machine celebrated the game s many graphical details particularly the alien pilots 38 French publication Joystick offered its strongest praise for the game s art and environment 37 The game s audio design was also highlighted by several publications 5 3 37 Digital Press felt that the sound effects for the Ur Quan and Chenjesu gave their ships a fantastic personality 5 while Computer and Video Games praised the audio for drawing on popular science fiction 3 Several reviewers were more critical of the game s strategic mode 36 34 39 37 Computer Gaming World found that it lacked depth 34 and Joystick compared the strategy sections unfavorably to the game s combat 37 Entertainment Weekly criticized the star map as difficult to see 36 while Raze Magazine found it tedious to operate the strategy game menus on the Sega Genesis 39 Originally released for the PC Star Control received criticism for its porting to other platforms 2 39 Advanced Computer Entertainment called the Amiga version disappointing denouncing the load times and tacky two dimensional combat sequences that look as if they ve been borrowed from an early Eighties coin op 44 Computer and Video Games similarly compared the Amiga version of Star Control to the aging co op Spacewar 35 While reviewing the Sega Genesis version Computer and Video Games described the graphics as inferior to other titles on the console 3 Raze Magazine felt that it lacked the polish and depth of the original PC version criticizing the sprites and environments while still offering praise for the detailed portraits 39 The year of the game s release Video Games amp Computer Entertainment gave Star Control an award for Best Computer Science Fiction Game noting that the two creators have put together a game that is great either as a full simulation or an action combat contest 40 They later highlighted the game in a list of science fiction releases proclaiming Reiche and Ford s action strategy tour de force is one of the most absorbing and challenging science fiction games of all time 45 The game was additionally nominated for Best Action Arcade Program at the 1991 Spring Symposium of the Software Publishers Association 41 Legacy and impact Edit Star Control has been received several retrospective awards from gaming publications 46 47 48 In 1996 Video Games amp Computer Entertainment ranked it as the 127th best game describing it as Space War enters the 90s with a touch of humor 46 In 2001 PC Gameplay ranked Star Control as the 45th most influential game of all time based on a survey of dozens of game studios 48 In 2017 Polygon ranked it as number 253 in their top 500 games of all time arguing that as a melee or strategic game it helped define the idea that games can be malleable and dynamic and players can make an experience wholly their own 47 Journalist Jamie Lendino also noted Star Control among the most significant PC games of the early 1990s for successfully combining an action game with science fiction strategy 49 The game is also celebrated for the debut of the Ur Quan as one of the all time villainous races in the history of computer games 12 Years after its release Pelit recalled the original Star Control for its polished combat system as well as the creativity of its character designs 42 In 2005 Retro Gamer described Star Control as a textbook example of good game design where two genres were brilliantly combined making for a finely balanced and well rounded game experience 2 The publication further highlighted the many elements that gave Star Control soul describing it as the seed from which the vastly expanded narrative found in Star Control II grew 2 IGN celebrated Star Control as a special game for its colorful universe and superb combat system which laid the foundation for its acclaimed sequel Star Control II 50 In a retrospective Hardcore Gaming 101 attributed the game s legacy to its combat system and the story and characters that would be further developed in the sequel 1 8 Founder of BioWare Ray Muzyka has cited the original Star Control as an inspiration for the Mass Effect series of games stating that the uncharted worlds in Mass Effect comes from imagining what a freely explorable universe would be like inside a very realistic next gen game 51 Former BioWare writer Mike Laidlaw praised the creativity of the Star Control ship designs and credited the game with laying the foundation for its sequel which influenced him as a writer on Mass Effect 8 Creative producer Henrik Fahraeus has also cited the game s influence on Paradox Interactive s character designs in Stellaris particularly the bird like and mushroom like aliens 8 Sequels and open source remake EditStar Control II Edit Main article Star Control II Star Control II is an action adventure science fiction game set in an open world 52 The game was originally published by Accolade in 1992 for MS DOS and was later ported to the 3DO with enhanced multimedia elements 53 Created by Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III it vastly expands on the story and characters introduced in the first game 8 When the player discovers that Earth has been encased in a slave shield they must recruit allies to liberate the galaxy 54 The game features ship to ship combat based on the original Star Control but removes the first game s strategy elements to focus on story and dialog 53 Star Control II has earned critical acclaim 55 and is considered one of the best games of all time through the 1990s 56 2000s 57 and 2010s 58 It is also ranked among the best games in several creative areas including writing 59 world design 60 character design 61 and music 62 Star Control 3 Edit Main article Star Control 3 Star Control 3 is an adventure science fiction video game developed by Legend Entertainment and published by Accolade in 1996 63 64 The story takes place after the events of Star Control II when the player must travel deeper into the galaxy to investigate the mysterious collapse of hyperspace 65 Several game systems from Star Control II are changed 63 Hyperspace navigation is replaced with instant fast travel and planet landing is replaced with a colony system inspired by the original Star Control 64 Accolade hired Legend Entertainment to develop the game after original creators Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford decided to pursue other projects 66 Though the game was considered a critical and commercial success upon release it would receive unfavourable comparisons to Star Control II with some fans regarding it as non canonical 67 68 69 Cancelled Star Control 4 Edit In January 1998 Accolade announced that they were developing Star Control 4 70 71 Also known as StarCon it was designed as a 3D space combat game 72 73 By this time Electronic Arts had agreed to become the distributor for all games developed by Accolade 74 Accolade producer George MacDonald announced that we want to move away from the adventure element and concentrate on what it seems the players really want action 71 Though heavier on combat than previous titles players would still have the opportunity to fly to planets and communicate with different aliens 75 The team also created a Star Control History Compendium to help them resolve storylines from the previous games 71 In a playable alpha version of the game players could control a fleet carrier with the ability to launch a fighter that could be controlled by either the same player or a second player 76 The game was later announced for the PlayStation home console with plans for release in 1999 featuring a 40 hour variable storyline and both competitive and co operative multiplayer 70 Electronic Arts and Accolade promoted the choice of playing as one of two alliances Hyperium or Crux with the option of operating a fighter carrier or turrets 77 Another publication described the ability to select from three different alien factions with different missions that impact the storyline and the ability to destroy entire planets 78 Development on the game was halted at the end of 1998 Not satisfied with the game s progress Accolade put the project on hold with intentions to re evaluate their plans for the Star Control license 79 80 In 1999 Accolade was acquired by Infogrames SA for 50 million 81 as one of many corporate restructurings that eventually led to Infogrames merging with Atari and re branding under a revived Atari brand 82 Star Control 3 became the last official instalment of the series 8 83 84 The Ur Quan Masters Edit Main article The Ur Quan Masters By the early 2000s Accolade s copyright license for Star Control expired triggered by a contractual clause when the games were no longer generating royalties 85 86 As the games were no longer available for sale Reiche and Ford wanted to keep their work in the public eye to maintain an audience for a potential sequel 15 Reiche and Ford still owned the copyrights in Star Control and its sequel Star Control II but they could not successfully purchase the Star Control trademark from Accolade leading them to consider a new title for a potential follow up 69 87 This led them to remake Star Control II as The Ur Quan Masters 88 which they released in 2002 as a free download under an open source copyright license 89 The official free release is maintained by an active fan community 90 and prevented Star Control II from becoming abandonware 91 Aftermath EditFans continued to demand a new Star Control game well into the 2000s 92 93 Reiche and Ford expressed interest in creating either an updated Star Control II or an alternate Star Control 3 particularly if they found the right publisher 94 During this time thousands of fans started a petition in hopes of inspiring a sequel 95 Toys for Bob producer Alex Ness responded in April 2006 with an article on the company website stating that if enough of you people out there send me emails requesting that Toys For Bob do a legitimate sequel to Star Control 2 I ll be able to show them to Activision along with a loaded handgun and they will finally be convinced to roll the dice on this thing 96 In the months that followed Ness announced the petition s impact reporting that there did honestly seem to be some real live interest on Activision s part At least on the prototype and concept test level This is something we may in fact get to do when we finish our current game 97 In a 2011 interview about their next game Skylanders Spyro s Adventure Reiche declared that they will one day make the real sequel 98 Intellectual property split Edit Main article Stardock Systems Inc v Reiche Separation of rights By the early 2000s the Star Control trademark was held by Infogrames Entertainment 88 Star Control publisher Accolade had sold their company to Infogrames in 1999 99 who merged with Atari and re branded under the Atari name in 2003 100 In September 2007 Atari released an online Flash game with the name Star Control created by independent game developer Iocaine Studios Atari ordered the game to be delivered in just four days which Iocaine produced in two days 101 Also in September Atari applied to renew the Star Control trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office citing images of Iocaine s flash game to demonstrate their declaration of use in commerce 102 Atari declared bankruptcy in 2013 and their assets were listed for auction 103 When Stardock became the top bidder for Atari s Star Control assets Paul Reiche indicated that he still owned the copyrighted materials from the first two Star Control games which implied that Stardock must have purchased the Star Control trademark and the copyright in any original elements of Star Control 3 Stardock confirmed this intellectual property split soon after 104 105 106 As Stardock began developing their new Star Control game they re iterated that they did not acquire the copyright to the first two games and that they would need a license from Reiche and Ford to use their content and lore 107 Reiche and Ford echoed this understanding in their 2015 Game Developers Conference interview stating that Stardock s game would use the Star Control trademark only 14 After a lawsuit the parties agreed on the same separation of rights with Stardock using the Star Control name and Reiche and Ford announcing a sequel to The Ur Quan Masters after a mandated quiet period 108 109 Notes and references Edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Kalata Kurt September 11 2018 Star Control Hardcore Gaming 101 Retrieved October 20 2020 a b c d e f g h i j k l Szczepaniak John 2005 Control amp Conquer PDF Retro Gamer Volume 2 Issue 2 pp 85 87 Archived from the original PDF on July 6 2019 Retrieved October 20 2020 a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glancey Paul Leadbetter Richard July 1991 Review Star Control Computer and Videogames Magazine Issue 116 pp 108 110 Retrieved October 20 2020 a b c d Weiss Brett 21 September 2016 Classic Home Video Games 1989 1990 A Complete Guide to Sega Genesis Neo Geo and TurboGrafx 16 Games McFarland p 202 ISBN 978 1 4766 6794 2 Retrieved October 20 2020 a b c d e f g Staff November 1991 Reviews Star Control Digital Press Issue 02 pp 5 6 Retrieved October 20 2020 Williams Andrew 2017 03 16 History of Digital Games Developments in Art Design and Interaction CRC Press ISBN 978 1 317 50380 4 a b c d e f g Ford Fred Reiche III Paul Otus Erol Rianda Jeff Hall Larry 1990 Star Control Manual PC ed Accolade pp 3 4 10 12 17 30 37 38 39 40 a b c d e f Sanchay Pre May 12 2021 Kalata Kurt ed Now and Forever The Legacy of the Star Control II Universe Hardcore Gaming 101 Hardcore Gaming 101 Retrieved May 18 2021 Paul Reiche III amp Fred Ford 1990 Star Control PC Accolade Paul Reiche III amp Fred Ford 1991 Star Control Sega Genesis Accolade a b c d e f g h i j k Barton Matt April 19 2016 Honoring the Code Conversations with Great Game Designers CRC Press pp 203 ISBN 978 1 4665 6754 2 Retrieved October 20 2020 a b c d e f g DeMaria Rusel December 7 2018 High Score Expanded The Illustrated History of Electronic Games 3rd Edition CRC Press ISBN 978 0 429 77139 2 Retrieved October 20 2020 Campbell Colin April 16 2014 Toys for Bob and the story behind Skylanders Polygon Archived from the original on April 17 2014 Retrieved March 7 2016 a b c d e f g h i j k l m Fred Ford amp Paul Reiche III June 30 2015 Classic Game Postmortem Star Control YouTube Game Developers Conference Archived from the original on 2021 12 11 Retrieved October 20 2020 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Hutchinson Lee July 7 2020 Dacanay Sean Niehaus Marcus eds Star Control Creators Paul Reiche amp Fred Ford Extended Interview Ars Technica Archived Transcript from the original on July 7 2020 Retrieved October 20 2020 2 00 16 04 Hutchinson Lee October 26 2018 Video The people who helped make Star Control 2 did a ton of other stuff Ars Technica Archived Transcript from the original on October 26 2018 Retrieved October 20 2020 a b c Hutchinson Lee October 23 2018 War Stories How Star Control II Was Almost TOO Realistic Ars Technica Archived from the original on October 23 2018 Retrieved October 20 2020 Aycock Heidi E H January 1992 Principles of Good Design Fun Comes First Compute p 94 Archived from the original on August 24 2011 Retrieved October 20 2020 Reiche III Paul December 1990 Blasting VUXs Etc Part II Computer Gaming World No 77 p 34 a b c Galway Benjamin August 14 2006 Genesis Review Star Control Sega 16 Retrieved October 20 2020 a b Staff May 1991 Behind the Screens at Accolade Software Electronic Gaming Monthly p 36 Retrieved October 20 2020 Emails from Fred Ford IGN Classic Gaming May 15 2001 Archived from the original on May 15 2001 Retrieved October 20 2020 Log of the 2007 06 13 IRC session with Toys for Bob The same goes for the Genesis version of SC1 where we did a quick port with the intention of optimizing it for speed but they though sic having a 12megabit cartridge was a much better selling point Graham Lawrence D 1999 Legal Battles That Shaped the Computer Industry Greenwood Publishing Group pp 112 118 ISBN 1 56720 178 4 Cohen Julie E 1995 Reverse Engineering and the Rise of Electronic Vigilantism Intellectual Property Implications of Lock Out Programs Southern California Law Review 68 1091 1202 Archived from the original on 2013 11 02 a b Sega Enterprises Ltd v Accolade Inc 977 F 2d 1510 9th Cir 1992 Text Raja Vinesh Fernandes Kiran J 2007 Reverse Engineering An Industrial Perspective Springer Series in Advanced Manufacturing Springer Science amp Business Media pp 199 201 ISBN 978 1 84628 856 2 ISSN 1860 5168 Archived from the original on March 4 2018 Retrieved October 20 2020 Stuckey Kent D 1996 Internet and Online Law Law Journal Press p 6 37 ISBN 1 58852 074 9 Kent Steven L 2010 The Ultimate History of Video Games The Story Behind the Craze that Touched our Lives and Changed the World New York Three Rivers Press ISBN 978 0 307 56087 2 OCLC 842903312 Archived from the original on June 24 2016 Retrieved October 20 2020 a b c d Star Control II Review MegaTech Issue 19 July 1993 p 111 Retrieved October 20 2020 a b c d Staff 1990 11 15 Review Star Control Videogame amp Computer World 1990 21 p 15 Retrieved October 20 2020 Staff April 1991 New Releases Star Control Videogame amp Computer World 1991 07 p 20 Retrieved October 20 2020 Staff February 1991 Reviews Star Control Italy Videogame amp Computer World 1991 Issue 04 Retrieved October 20 2020 a b c d Brooks M Evan November 1992 Strategy amp Wargames The Future 2000 Computer Gaming World p 99 Retrieved 4 July 2014 a b Staff April 1991 Amiga Reviews Star Control Computer and Video Games Magazine Issue 113 p 68 a b c d e Strauss Bob May 24 1991 New Videogames Star Control Entertainment Weekly Retrieved October 20 2020 a b c d e Staff July 1991 Star Control Review France Joystick Issue 018 p 180 Retrieved October 20 2020 a b c d e Giorgi Stefano January 1991 Review Star Control Italy The Games Machine Issue 27 pp 73 74 Retrieved October 20 2020 a b c d e f g Star Control Review Raze Magazine Issue 12 October 1991 pp 50 51 Retrieved October 23 2020 a b Staff February 1991 VG amp CE s Best Games Best Computer Science Fiction Game PDF Video Games amp Computer Entertainment pp 93 94 Retrieved October 20 2020 a b Staff June 1991 Celebrating Software The 1991 Spring Symposium of the Software Publishers Association Computer Gaming World Issue 83 pp 64 67 a b Pelit March 21 2006 Star Control Kontrollin aikakirjat Pelit Retrieved October 20 2020 a b c Walker Brian November 1990 Star Control Planet of the Japes Strategy Plus p 13 Star Control Review Advanced Computer Entertainment Issue 43 April 1991 p 67 Katz Arnie April 1991 Games Beyond Tomorrow A Galaxy of Science Fiction Games Video Games amp Computer Entertainment p 86 Retrieved October 20 2020 a b 150 Best Games of All Time Computer Gaming World November 1996 pp 64 80 Retrieved March 25 2016 a b Polygon Staff November 29 2017 500 Best Games of All Time Polygon Retrieved October 20 2020 a b The Big 50 Most Influential Games Of All Time PC Gameplay April 4 2001 Archived from the original on April 4 2001 Retrieved 2021 10 03 Lendino Jamie 2022 03 14 Starflight How the PC and DOS Exploded Computer Gaming 1987 1994 Steel Gear Press ISBN 978 1 957932 01 9 IGN PC Team December 3 2008 The Wednesday 10 Franchises We Want Resurrected IGN retrieved October 20 2020 John Gaudiosi November 11 2007 Critically Acclaimed Mass Effect Powered by Unreal Engine 3 Unrealengine com Retrieved October 20 2020 Hamilton Kirk September 19 2013 The Game That Won Our Classic PC Games List If It Had A Winner Kotaku Retrieved April 3 2018 a b Kalata Kurt September 11 2018 Star Control II Hardcore Gaming 101 Retrieved October 22 2020 Cobbett Richard September 10 2015 Have You Played Star Control 2 Rock Paper Shotgun Retrieved May 18 2021 IGN PC Team December 3 2008 The Wednesday 10 Franchises We Want Resurrected IGN retrieved October 20 2020 PC Gamer Top 40 The Best Games of All Time PC Gamer US No 3 August 1994 pp 32 42 The PC Gamer Top 50 PC Games of All Time PC Gamer No 5 April 1994 pp 43 56 150 Best Games of All Time Computer Gaming World November 1996 pp 64 80 Retrieved March 25 2016 The Fifty Best Games of All Time Next Generation No 50 February 1999 Buecheler Chris shaithis September 2000 The Gamespy Hall of Fame Star Control 2 GameSpy Archived from the original on April 30 2001 Retrieved August 6 2020 Kasavin Greg June 27 2003 The Greatest Games of All Time Star Control 2 GameSpot Archived from the original on August 14 2005 Retrieved August 6 2020 IGN s Top 100 Games of All Time 2003 IGN November 23 2005 Archived from the original on November 23 2005 Retrieved August 6 2020 IGN s Top 100 Games 2005 IGN August 2 2005 Archived from the original on August 2 2005 Retrieved August 6 2020 The 100 best PC games of all time PC Gamer February 19 2011 Archived from the original on February 19 2011 Retrieved August 6 2020 HG101 Presents The 200 Best Video Games of All Time Hardcore Gaming 101 December 5 2015 Archived from the original on October 29 2017 Retrieved August 6 2020 Hamilton Kirk September 19 2013 The Game That Won Our Classic PC Games List If It Had A Winner Kotaku Retrieved August 6 2020 GameSpot s Best 10 Endings GameSpot March 2 2000 Archived from the original on March 2 2000 Retrieved August 6 2020 GameSpot s Ten Best Endings RC GameSpot March 1 2000 Archived from the original on March 1 2000 Retrieved August 6 2020 Patrick Lindsey January 7 2015 8 Games That Capture the Infinite Potential of Space Paste magazine GameSpot s Top 10 Gameworlds GameSpot October 18 2000 Archived from the original on October 18 2000 Retrieved August 6 2020 Jeff Drake November 10 2019 The 10 Biggest Open World Games Game Rant Retrieved August 6 2020 Stuart Houghton May 2 2017 10 classic game worlds we d love to revisit Red Bull Retrieved May 17 2021 The Ten Best Computer Game Villains The Ur Quan GameSpot October 13 1999 Archived from the original on October 13 1999 Retrieved August 6 2020 Reader s Choice Best Villains Villains 5 1 GameSpot October 12 1999 Archived from the original on October 12 1999 Retrieved August 6 2020 Brad Stabler John Twells Miles Bowe Scott Wilson and Tom Lea April 18 2015 The 100 best video game soundtracks of all time FACT Retrieved August 6 2020 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint uses authors parameter link The Ten Best Game Soundtracks GameSpot October 13 1999 Archived from the original on October 13 1999 Retrieved August 6 2020 The Ten Best Game Soundtracks RC GameSpot September 1 1999 Archived from the original on October 12 1999 Retrieved August 6 2020 a b New Release Star Control 3 GOG com September 15 2011 Archived from the original on November 23 2012 Retrieved October 20 2020 a b Kalata Kurt September 11 2018 Star Control 3 Hardcore Gaming 101 Archived from the original on February 23 2020 Retrieved April 30 2020 Kalata Kurt September 11 2018 Star Control 3 Hardcore Gaming 101 Archived from the original on February 23 2020 Retrieved April 30 2020 Barton Matt April 19 2016 Honoring the Code Conversations with Great Game Designers CRC Press p 214 ISBN 978 1 4665 6754 2 Retrieved October 20 2020 Kalata Kurt September 11 2018 Star Control 3 Hardcore Gaming 101 Archived from the original on February 23 2020 Retrieved April 30 2020 Star Control III GOG com September 14 2011 Archived from the original on June 27 2020 Retrieved October 20 2020 a b Szczepaniak John 2005 Control amp Conquer Part 2 Retro Gamer Volume 2 Issue 3 pp 58 64 a b Star Control 4 PLAY Issue 039 October 1998 p 81 Retrieved October 20 2020 a b c StarCon PC Gamer Volume 5 Issue 1 January 1998 p 46 StarCon Electronic Gaming Monthly No 105 Ziff Davis April 1998 p 64 Pro News Star People Playstation Pro Issue 24 September 1998 p 11 Retrieved October 20 2020 Electronic Arts signs Accolade Silicon Valley Business Journal March 24 1996 Retrieved October 21 2020 StarCon Preview Italy PSM PlayStation Magazine 005 August 1998 p 47 Retrieved October 20 2020 Next Generation Online StarCon Preview Next Generation Online August 5 1998 Archived from the original on December 3 1998 Retrieved October 21 2020 Pro Prospects StarCon Playstation Pro Issue 26 November 1998 p 82 Retrieved October 20 2020 Star Control 4 Preview Playstation Plus Issue 37 October 1998 p 37 Retrieved October 20 2020 PlayStation Gaming News StarCon Heads Back to the Drawing Board PSExtreme Issue 37 December 1998 p 17 IGN Staff October 6 1998 Accolade s Starcon Cancelled IGN retrieved October 20 2020 COMPANY NEWS ACCOLADE IS BOUGHT BY INFOGRAMES ENTERTAINMENT Published 1999 The New York Times April 20 1999 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved October 21 2020 Haywald Justin May 29 2009 Atari Sheds Infogrames Branding News from 1UP com 1up Archived from the original on June 8 2016 Retrieved October 21 2020 Star Control III GOG com September 14 2011 Archived from the original on June 27 2020 Retrieved October 20 2020 Booker Logan January 12 2013 Relive The Glory Of Star Control II In Delicious High Definition With Ur Quan Masters HD Kotaku AU Archived from the original on February 17 2013 Retrieved April 28 2020 Hutchison Lee July 7 2020 Dacanay Sean Niehaus Marcus eds Star Control Creators Paul Reiche amp Fred Ford Extended Interview Ars Technica Archived Transcript from the original on July 7 2020 Retrieved July 7 2020 Fred Ford Star Control II well and Star Control I have always been near and dear to our hearts It s the first things we worked on the first things we poured our passion in together We have some diehard fans as a result of those two games and we wanted to service them and lay the groundwork for a return and keep the games in the fronts of their minds as much as possible so that when we were finally able to return to it we would still have a living audience Paul Reiche There was a confluence of events that helped this One was Accolade stopped selling the game and we stopped earning royalties right around your 2000 and that triggered the termination of their exclusive right to sell our game So we got our game back What we didn t have was the name Star Control That was a trademark that the publisher owned and we negotiated back and forth with them but ultimately we weren t able to come to terms for the name So we decided well we can t use that name let s give it a new name so we used the Ur Quan Masters So the Ur Quan Masters project the open source release of the game we created as Star Control II that really kept our game alive in the doldrums between say 2001 or 2002 and then 2011 when our games began to be sold again through Good Old Games known as GOG which is an electronic distributor of classic games Interview with Fred Ford classicgaming com May 15 2001 Archived from the original on May 15 2001 Retrieved November 29 2020 Fred Ford Accolade owe us another payment for our portion of the property They have told us they are going to default on this payment which means we are back to owning the characters and settings They still own the trademark name and continue to look for someone to buy it from them Pelit March 21 2006 Star Control Kontrollin aikakirjat Pelit Retrieved August 6 2020 a b Trey Walker 2002 06 26 Star Control II remake in the works GameSpot Wen Howard 11 August 2005 The Ur Quan Masters linuxdevcenter com O Reilly Media Archived from the original on 2016 03 16 When the original developers of Star Control 2 contacted the online Star Control fan community they presented an enticing question if they released the source to the 3DO version of Star Control 2 under GPL would anybody be interested in porting it to modern day computers Michael Martin a 26 year old Ph D student at Stanford University answered the call After removing proprietary 3DO specific components from the code the developers released the source for Star Control 2 to the public Meer Alec January 7 2013 Ur Quan Masters HD A Star Control 2 Remake Rock Paper Shotgun Retrieved May 18 2021 Fox Matt 2012 12 01 The Video Games Guide 1 000 Arcade Console and Computer Games 1962 2012 2d ed McFarland ISBN 978 1 4766 0067 3 Classics Reborn Vol 3 IGN Ign 22 April 2004 retrieved 2020 11 16 The Wednesday 10 Franchises We Want Resurrected IGN 4 December 2008 retrieved 2020 09 08 Szczepaniak John 2005 Control amp Conquer Part 2 Retro Gamer Volume 2 Issue 3 pp 58 64 I believe that Fred Ken and I will create either an updated version of SC2 a new SC3 or quite possibly a combo of both I don t know when we ll do this Maybe as our next project or maybe for the 25th anniversary The only piece of Star Control that Accolade now Infogrames Atari own is the trademark Star Control plus the original material in SC3 If Fred Ken and I could find a publisher to put up a 2 4 million dollar advance for either a PC or Playstation 2 Star Control game we d do it Currently we have no such offers Staff January 2001 Ur Quan Masters PC Gamer UK No 92 p 31 Sinclair Brendan April 14 2006 GameSpot s Rumor Control Star Control sequel in the works GameSpot Archived from the original on June 23 2006 Retrieved December 2 2020 Ness Alex June 14 2007 Toys for Bob News toysforbob com Archived from the original on September 28 2011 Retrieved December 2 2020 Alex Ness Star Control Sequel Update Here comes that update Well we have talked to our parent company Activision about doing a Star Control sequel quite seriously and there did honestly seem to be some real live interest on their part At least on the prototype and concept test level This is something we may in fact get to do when we finish our current game and clean our room Again I will continue to say that I really appreciate everybody s email and petition support Believe me it helps Publishers are generally very scared to release original console games or in this case a franchise game but the franchise is so old it might as well be original So the more we show them that there is a sizeable as well as wonderful and passionate fan base out there the less frightened they ll be Interview Paul Reiche Skylanders Spyro s Adventure ComputerAndVideogames com October 7 2011 Archived from the original on October 8 2011 Retrieved December 2 2020 Paul Reiche III 22 years ago we founded Toys for Bob Fred Ford and myself making Star Control 1 and II science fiction games which to this day have a bizarrely dedicated fan following And we promise someday we will make the real sequel Alt URL Company News Accolade is Bought by Infogrames Entertainment The New York Times April 20 1999 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved October 21 2020 Haywald Justin May 29 2009 Atari Sheds Infogrames Branding News from 1UP com 1up Archived from the original on June 8 2016 Retrieved October 21 2020 Iocaine Studios Blog Blog Archive Life After Hyperbol 2008 05 11 Archived from the original on 2008 05 11 Retrieved 2020 10 20 Atari Inc September 18 2007 Combined Declaration of Use In Commerce amp Application For Renewal of Registration of A Mark Under Sections 8 amp 9 Star Control United States Patent and Trademark Office Retrieved December 2 2020 World of Tanks Dev Bids on Auctioned Atari Assets The Escapist v1 escapistmagazine com Retrieved 2020 11 15 Vazquez Suriel Star Control Origins Removed From GoG Steam Amidst Legal Battle Between Stardock And Series Creators Game Informer Retrieved 2021 03 08 Open source Star Control 2 team express doubts over Atari IP sale PC Invasion 2013 07 23 Retrieved 2020 11 15 There s a new Star Control coming Critical Hit 24 July 2013 Retrieved 2020 11 16 Bradley Wardell September 3 2015 Star Control September 2015 update Stardock Archived from the original on 2016 08 26 Retrieved January 2 2019 my position is that Stardock doesn t have the legal rights to the original lore either Or if we did we have long since refuted those rights The Star Control classic lore are the copyright of Paul Reiche and Fred Ford Hutchinson Lee 2019 06 11 Stardock and Star Control creators settle lawsuits with mead and honey Ars Technica Retrieved 2021 03 08 Oxford Nadia October 24 2022 Parish Jeremy ed Retronauts Episode 489 Inside Star Control with Pistol Shrimp Retronauts Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Star Control amp oldid 1151765245, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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