Let's remember some Star Trek games

Submitted ⁨⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨ValueSubtracted@startrek.website⁩ to ⁨startrek@startrek.website⁩

Inspired by the ongoing Resurgence giveaway, I thought it might be fun to discuss some of our favourite Trek games. Underappreciated gems are particularly welcome!

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ValueSubtracted@startrek.website ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I’ll go first: I played the hell out of 1993’s Star Trek: The Next Generation for Game Boy.

Star Trek: The Next Generation for Game Boy

In retrospect, it was a pretty simple game, but it felt pretty robust to this eleven-year-old. You took the role of commander of the Enterprise (specifically not Picard, as he gave you the missions), and made use of the TNG crew to complete various assignments, from cargo runs to ~~squaring up against~~ getting annihilated by Romulan warbirds.

And who wouldn’t fall in love with graphics like these?

A screenshot from Star Trek: The Next Generation showing the user interface in the form of the main viewer with icons representing each crew member along the bottom of the screen

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- bbbhltz@beehaw.org ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Yes!
  
  Still have it. I asked for a game for my birthday that year. At the last minute I said I wanted ST instead. My mom took back the game she had and swapped it for this. I played it like crazy. Although it wasn’t until last year that I realised how to beat the Borg.
  
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  - ValueSubtracted@startrek.website ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    I was, uh, extremely bad at the ship combat. Couldn’t take down much more than the Ferengi and Talarian ships.
    
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- ValueSubtracted@startrek.website ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  I just remembered I owned this thing, too.
  
  An early-90s Tiger Electronics LCD Star Trek: The Next Generation handheld game
  
  What a year 1993 was.
  
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  - Corgana@startrek.website ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Why am I jealous of this
    
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Someology@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I really enjoyed Star Trek: Klingon, on PC back in the day. It was officer cultural sensitivity holodeck training for the officer exchange program. You had to make decisions appropriate to Klingon social customs. It was bundled with a Klingon language learning programs with speech recognition tech. Very cool stuff for 1996 CD-ROM games.

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- CeruleanRuin@lemmings.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  I had that one! There was a Borg game in the same vein, but it wasn’t nearly as entertaining.
  
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jmcs@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I wouldn’t call it underappreciated since it was well received in its time, but Star Trek: Judgment Rites was amazing.

I wish there would be more narrative focused Star Trek games like that. Either a Disco Elysium style non-combat focused RPG or a modern adventure game.

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- zaphodb2002@sh.itjust.works ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  A Disco Elysium style Trek game would be killer. Make me make ethical decisions about other species, decide if I want to be a Starfleet or a Maquis, and make awkward conversation with my superior officer that gets me reassigned to Delta Shift cleaning the Holodecks, and seriously reconsider my life.
  
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- Acamon@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  How do you think it would hold up for someone who didn’t play back in the day?
  
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  - hamburglar26@wilbo.tech ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    It is a 90s point and click adventure, having played this and the original 25th anniversary one recently I think it holds up well.
    
    One thing that is nice about Judgement Rites is you can skip the ship battles if they aren’t your thing. They are fun but can but super frustrating.
    
    Also check out A Final Unity which is newer with the TNG cast but I think still really looks great and the entire cast voiced the characters so it is almost like a mini season of the show.
    
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  - jmcs@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    It depends on how familiar you are with old point and click games. If you aren’t used to them, it can be quite frustrating, but even then I think it would be enjoyable if you use a guide to unblock yourself when you get stuck.
    
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  - CeruleanRuin@lemmings.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    At the very least, the music is great and the writing is full of great jokes and also some pretty compelling sci-fi scenarios that would have fit perfectly in the series. If point and click adventure games aren’t your speed, find a walkthrough (theynarent hard to find online) and refer to it whenever you’re stuck.
    
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h3ndrik@feddit.de ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Some of my favorites were Star Trek Armada 2 and Star Trek Elite Force.

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- GeekFTW@kbin.social ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Elite Force 1+2 are still amazing today too!
  
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  - cornflaku@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    gems
    
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- hamburglar26@wilbo.tech ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Elite Force is great and still holds up. Got one or both on GOG in a sale last year. The one with the full virtual Voyager is worth it for that alone.
  
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CarbonatedPastaSauce@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I really enjoyed Birth of the Federation which was a 4X game with rudimentary fleet combat. It wasn’t a perfect game but it was fun and had that whole TNG computer feel going on with the UI graphics and sounds.

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- Bashnagdul@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Try star trek supremacy. It’s very complete and basically botf. supremacy.2pixels.net
  
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  - CarbonatedPastaSauce@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    I’ll check it out! Thanks
    
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- Basilisk@mtgzone.com ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Yeah, I spent a ton of time with that. It had a terrible memory leak, though, which made it unplayable slow after an hour or so. I was really hoping that Star Trek: Infinite would fill that void, but it’s basically just Stellaris.
  
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  - Bashnagdul@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Try star trek supremacy. It’s very complete and basically botf. supremacy.2pixels.net
    
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charonn0@startrek.website ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Who else played Star Trek: Armada?

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- jaycifer@kbin.social ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Shoutout to the ST: Armada 3 mod for Sins of a Solar Empire. I didn’t play the originals but the mod is really impressive.
  
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- Transporter_Room_3@startrek.website ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  HELLS YEAH! That game was my JAM
  
  I was pretty young when I was introduced to star trek, and it started out with only the movies. I loved C&C Red Alert, so my parents got Armada for my dad and I to play, and I think I put in a good 1,000 hours into it before my dad even tried it out.
  
  I played that game so much I think by the time I got a new computer I was giving myself ridiculous challenges to beat the computer opponents like scout class offense ships only, or “once superweapon ships are unlocked only use those no matter the price” or “no expanding the base”
  
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- daryl@friendsofdesoto.social ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  @charonn0 @ValueSubtracted oh yes! Played Armada 2 more, especially modded.
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somegadgetguy@lemdro.id ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Oh man. As a little kid I burned a LOT of time on the old DOS trek.exe.

Image

Also still fire up Armada from time to time. With all the new ship classes in Online, I’d love to see an Armada 3.

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- RotaryKeyboard@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Is this a PC port of the 1971 Star Trek game?
  
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Corgana@startrek.website ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I mentioned this in the other thread, but my first Trek game was this one from 1971(!). I played it much later on DOS but can’t believe it was from a time essentially before personal computers.

Also here’s a somewhat obscure one, anyone remember Klingon Honor Guard?

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I don’t remember it being very good and yet somehow I have an urge to play it again…

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CCMan1701A@startrek.website ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I’ve spent may hours playing the following:

Judgment Rites Starfleet Academy: PC –with lost missions expansion Star Trek 25th anniversary (Gameboy and NES versions) Star Trek Armada

Less popular games:

Star Trek Starship Creator Star Trek deep space nine the fallen A few Star Trek games on the c64, but I don’t remember the names as my brothers would load those up. Lol

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iamjackflack@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Star Fleet Academy for PC was amazing. Able to fight from the bridge but control it like 3rd person space combat. Endless and a great story. Able to warp between numerous systems at will. The Maximum Warp version was even better.

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sgibson5150@kbin.social ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Like others here I really enjoyed the early Trek computer games. I played several versions on the TRS-80 Model I. They were mostly turn based but one had real time elements. I actually got in trouble in college for using too much computer time in a Fortran class. I was porting one of those TRS-80 games to the VAX for fun, which honestly tells you how seriously I took college. What a twat.

I also fondly remember this officially licensed tabletop game where you could do 1v1 starship battles. It dropped around the time Search for Spock came out IIRC. I remember maneuvering was important. That was a blast. Wish I still had it.

I also really liked the starship battles in STO, but sadly that was about all I liked and that game.

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EarMaster@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I already wrote it in the other thread: I loved DS9 Harbinger. I remember the feeling that I could roam around on the promenade freely and explore the station (not sure if the game really was able to deliver that). It had pretty decent graphics for it’s time. I wonder if there are others who also loved this game,

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averyminya@beehaw.org ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I remember a Star Trek MMO that I think was web based, but it may have been a preference I downloaded.

Anyway, I remember really wanting to like it but I was partly too young and the game either had a lot of locked content or needed to be paid. I think I gave it a couple hours total in the front room and never played it again.

Would have been 2003-2008 I think

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marlowe221@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
How is it that no one has mentioned the Star Trek Starfleet Command series???

Starfleet Command Orion Pirates is a fantastic game and one of my favorites of all time!

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theinspectorst@kbin.social ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_25th_Anniversary_(computer_game)

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someguy3@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Star Trek Catan. Gonna be playing that on the holidays.

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ijon_the_human@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I spent so much time with STO when it first came out. Sadly feature creep ruined it for me as time went by. I played a couple of hours recently though and enjoyed the nostalgia a lot!

I probably still have my pre-order t-shirt somewhere…

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e_t_@kbin.pithyphrase.net ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I got a copy of Star Trek: Rebel Universe many years ago at a thrift shop. It came on both 3.5" and 5.25" floppy disks.

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Basilisk@mtgzone.com ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I really enjoyed Starfleet Academy for the SNES. It wasn’t particularly difficult or long, but there was enough interaction with your “crew” outside of space combat that it felt pretty well-rounded, especially for a SNES game.

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- CCMan1701A@startrek.website ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  The PC version of this game was my preferred version. Especially network play.
  
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- BradleyUffner@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  I have fond memories of trying to fly my ship into the sun and just kind of bouncing off of it.
  
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zeppo@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I spent way too much time on Trexels for a while… silly little mobile resource management game. It became more ridiculous when I figured out you could cheat by changing the clock on your phone.

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HWK_290@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
From the other thread

Speaking of demos, anyone remember the trailer for the game Secret of Vulcan Fury that was included in front of Interplay games, touting the voices of the original cast? So sad it was never released, considering it was deforest Kelley’s last turn as McCoy. I wonder if the original audio tapes still exist and someone could turn it into a game…

Here’s the trailer I remember

But also found this “footage” when looking for the trailer

There was much hullabaloo over the game being written by DC Fontana, and of course the entire original cast having laid down recordings. That said, if I recall correctly, they never even had a working version before Interplay folded.

As I mention above, wonder where those VR tracks went and if they could be rescued and turned into a game, radio play, etc. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve been lost to time or, if they still exist in someone’s garage , aren’t too degraded

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- ValueSubtracted@startrek.website ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Oh yeah, I certainly know that one by reputation!
  
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ijon_the_human@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I spent so much time with STO when it first came out. Sadly feature creep ruined it for me as time went by. I played a couple of hours recently though and enjoyed the nostalgia a lot!

I probably still have my pre-order t-shirt somewhere…

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ijon_the_human@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I spent so much time with STO when it first came out. Sadly feature creep ruined it for me as time went by. I played a couple of hours recently though and enjoyed the nostalgia a lot!

I probably still have my pre-order t-shirt somewhere…

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c0mbatbag3l@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Star Trek: Legacy. I found a copy on eBay awhile back and got it running. Really fun go team up with AI against the Borg while defending DS9.

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Facebones@reddthat.com ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I need to revisit some of these ❤️

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Olgratin_Magmatoe@startrek.website ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Star Trek: Tactical Assault for the DS

I was absolutely trash at it, but I loved it. And to be honest, I thought it was just a very hard game to begin with. There is only so much you can do to manage your shields, weapons, and position before the ship becomes overwhelmed.

The graphics and animations were solid too.

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- hamburglar26@wilbo.tech ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  I loved this one but always get stuck at a certain point. I think it was similar to one of the Pc games that controlled similarly and I never got passed a certain mission on that one either so I may just suck at those games.
  
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  - Olgratin_Magmatoe@startrek.website ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    I think this game intentionally went with the “make it impossibly hard to draw out play time” philosophy.
    
    Which has it’s benefits and drawbacks. Overall I think the game was better for it though.
    
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Stamets@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I really wish I could contribute to this. Or apply for that giveaway. Sadly I didn’t have access to Trek games until relatively recently :(

I would say Star Trek Timelines but… eh.

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