The Ur-Quan Masters Discussion Forum

Assuming the UQM is successful enough to convince TFB to return to the universe of the Ur-Quan and Chmmr, what would the sequil be called.
StarControl anything is out. Accolade still owns the rights, but without a unifing title, how will anyone outside of the hard-core StarControl fanbase know that it exist enough to send up the support for it?
UQM2 seems a bit limiting. I mean, what if they go the direction Fred has said they wanted to and have the Orz become a threat. Perhaps "Orz Attacks!" would be an appropate title, but again it lacks the unifiying effect of a SC title.
What do you all think?
Personally, I think it should be called "Toys for Bob Presents:" then whatever subtite you want, "Orz Attacks", "Mystery of the Precursors", or my favorate suggestion from posts past, "The Pkunk Masters".

Indiana Zelnick and the Lost Mother Ark

More seriously, I guess it really depends on what the story is, doesn't it?

I like the idea mentioned on another post (forgot which one) that mentions the Dynaari coming back to sentience, like the one that Zelnick has got away, reinslaved the Umgah, got all the now-disposed pets, and fixed 'em all. Hell knows there's enough leftover sprites from unused ships to make them starfaring. OR, they'd just order around whatever races weren't immune. Races like the Chmmr would be immune (no soft grey matter to take over) and others (Ur-Quan) would be rather weak. You'd have to get the Orz to permit you to travel in their *play ground* to the Taalo to get more shields, etc, perhaps reintroduce the Taalo... Just an idea. I'd call it, "Dynaari's Return" or "Dynaari Dominance". Blah. Those names suck. Good idea though, I think.

i think it should be a prequel.

where you can choose to play one of the sentient millieu and affect events that lead up to the rise of the dynarri.

wouldn't even have to change the game engine.  maybe make a few things glossier and prettier, but otherwise keep the engine intact.

the problem with star control 3 was that it took liberties with the open-ended mysteries created in star control 2.  it didn't expand the ideas previously developed -- it contracted them.

this is different from star control 2's triumph in taking the images and themes of star control 1 and expanding them into dynamic and provocative ideas that live on decades into the future.  star control 3 felt like it was trying to wrap things up.  and to that end, it was a success, because after that, there was nowhere else to go.

there's great potential for a new game exploring the ideas of the star control 2 backstory.  you could call it "the sentient millieu" or even more cryptically, "millieu."

i always wanted to see the brown ur-quan anyway.

I think a prequal would be a great idea.  The Ur-Quan are such cool bad guys that it would be a pity to lose them.  

"Toys for Bob presents:  The Crucible of Sentience."

(Even though it was an odd title for a war, seeing as the Ur-Quan won and the Alliance of Free Stars failed.)

i don't know if i like the "toys for bob presents" thing.  i think i would prefer a subtitle or something, like:

The Frungy Championships
or
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Utwig Bomb.

i think if you stick any word at all that has anything to do with the star control universe, such as ur-quan/chenjesu/pkunk/chmmr/supox/utwig/frungy/dynarri/whatever, that will get the point across to any avid player of the series -- not to mention that for some reason, word of mouth is the best advertisement for the star control games anyway.

Yeah, but the whole point is not to apeal to the avid player, but to get the point across to the average stupid gamer that StarControl livs, without using the legaly volital "StarControl" to do so. I mean, perhaps there are old time gamers who never got into SC like you and me, but remember a bit, and when they see a brand new sequel from TFB, they need to say, "Hey, I played that once. I think I liked it. Maybe I'll pick it up." and make TFB a ton of money so that they make another and another.
That's what I'd like to see.
However, TFB presents won't do that much good, since TFB wasn't around. Maybe you're right that all you need is a good SC reference in the title.
"How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Utwig Bomb." He he. Subtitled "Dr. Strange *Sauce*"

It's kinda tricky though, to find something that describes the SC universe without actually using that as a reference, seeing as what's inside isn't that well known.... As an side idea, maybe we'd need to have an icon as well? Anyone who's played/seen screenshots or something like that would recognize a dreadnought.. Of course, in writing that wont work.....

how about: "The alliance of free stars return" anyone who knows the story a bit, knows that it's starcon eh?

Ur-quan battles? sweeping the Ur-quan empire? Dreadnought mania?

figure it out, it's late, I'm going to bed... ;)

Ironically, I didn't think "Star Control 2" itself was a very good name for the game. "Star Control" was perfect for part 1, where controlling stars was exactly what the game was all about. But the sequal wasn't about that at all. It wasn't a game of conquest, but a game of survival and liberation, of exploration and discovery, of diplomacy and cooperation.
Ofcourse TFB probably chose the name because of the association with the well-received SC1. I suspect they introduced the "Star Control" in-game references just to attach that name to the plot somehow.

star control was the name of the earthling spacefaring organization.  i don't think the game was given that title for literal reasons, but because it had been established in the first game that this is the name given to the earthling space endeavor.  in that regard, the title is very much appropriate given that the game revolves around the last free earthling's spacefaring endeavors.

that's nitpicky though.  and it sounded neat, and substantially different from star WARS or star TREK.

i miss star control 1.  any chance of that being ported over too?  like, maybe as a sub-game of the ur-quan masters?

Fun fact:  Star Control is a space-based analogue of an earlier game called Archon.  Both games feature strategically moving pieces around a board, and players fighting each other when their pieces occupy the same spot.  Some of the various and sundry details differ between them, but you can very much see the resemblance.  In fact, Archon and Starcon were written by some of the same people.

So, Archon in space = Starcon = "Star Control".  This is similar to what Blizzard did years later; Warcraft in space = StarCraft.

So the name of the original game is something of a joke, get it?

i think it should be called
star control3  call to arms
there at war with both the vux the green and black Ur-Quan
the war should last for 4 to 8 years
the good guys almost lose but the good guys win anyway
also there should be new aliens
and some should find a way to turn off the mycon i cant stand them ;D 8) ;D 8) ;D 8) ;D 8) ;D 8)

And someone should find a way to turn off your smilys. I can't stand them.

Seriously, dude, it can't be called StarCon3 in any way. See first post on this thread.

OMG, the chessboard game where you had phoenixes for knights and spellcasters as kings?  I had no idea there was a link...but I suppose starcon and archon do have a great deal in common.

Suddenly, I'm idly wondering why this project isn't called "Starchon".  But I'm sure it's just me.

that's right, archon.

either way, it's titled with purpose.

call it star control
call to arm
you happy now

Star Con: The Great War
Star Con 2: The Ur-Quan Doctrine
Star Con 3: The Precursor Legacy
Star Con 4: Final Destiny

just my take on the problem. hence not star control, so no copyright or legal action, and still holds up the name so its easily picked out. ~DEFIANT

call it united federation of worlds
call to arms
or what ever

Well if the games we all know and love are called "Star Control", then any prequel should be called "Star Preparation".   ;D  Come on, some gets it right (and thought it funny :P) ?  ;)

Well, I think they named it "Star Control" because of the play on words having to do with Archon (as previously mentioned and known).  But since its named after the "space org" of humanity, why not name the sequel after "Corridor Nine", the special operations division of Star Control?  In fact, I think any "sequel" should be about "Corridor Nine" members exploring what happened to the Androsynth.  Maybe the Captain became head of "Corridor Nine"?  :P

Or how about
The EX-Ur-Quan Masters?  ::)

Sersiously though, as someone mentioned, does Accolade/Infogrames own the trade-mark to "StarCon"?  I assume they do as they were planning to make a game by that name.  :-/

Isn't corridor 9 already a game? I'm sure I've heard it mentioned somewhere....

Corridor 9 (Or was it 7?) is/was a lousy first person shooter, released after the Wolf3D made the genre popular. If I'd dig enough, I might just find it from my pile of obsolete shareware CDs. Anyone interested ? ;)

I vaguely remember it, but yeah, there was a game called Corridor 7.

http://www.mobygames.com/search/quick?q=corridor+7

Besides, it wouldn't be called Corridor 9, but Corridor Nine  :P

I'm not too serious about it, just was trying to go with something that actually derived from why the game was called "Star Control" without taking into consideration the "StarCon" play on words.  :-/

Corridor 7 huh? My memory isn't what it used to be, I just rememebrerd that I didn't enjoy it very much...

If we're just deriving names, I'd like to suggest


"Juffo-Wup - Voiding the Non"
"Frungy - The Challenge of the small"
"Eternal Doctrine - The Cleansing"

And so on.... ;)

star domination?
galaxy wars?
planet control?

Alliance of Free Stars: my personal favorite ~DEFIANT

to make it legal like
call it star control III call to arms
not star control 3

"whats that ultron ok ill think of something better later
can i keep what i put up"

Uh... The problem is the "Star Control" part. Adding extra verbiage to the title will not help avoid the trademark problems. And confusing the issue with Roman numerals probably won't help either.

You know, I'm getting real fusking tired of people who don't get that THE GAME CAN NOT BE NAME "STAR CONTROL," "STARCON" OR "STARCONTROL" IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM WITHOUT PUTTING MONEY IN ACCOLADE'S POCKET! If I had the rights to I'd delete any bone headed suggestion to that effect.

At the same time I am really digging the Corridor Nine idea. I honestly think that should be adapted to this re-make and to all future sequils. Corridor Nine could be the thread of continuity that makes all future sequils marketable.

If "Star Control" is a registered trademark of Accolade, then can this name for the Earth's space defense force even be in the game (or the manual)?  Just because the game might be called Corridor Nine doesn't mean that Accolade wouldn't sue if the words Star Control appeared anywhere.

Is Starchon trademarked? :)

If the sequal were about the Orz, I would give it the subtitle:
The *Germinating*
or
Dangerous *people energy* from the *outside*
or just
*frumple*

Have this endorsement on the back:

Smelling *colors* is definitely the best *game*

change the name to
star watch
call to arms

Stop the drunken posting, Kirk. "Call to Arms" is a good subtitle, but you don't need to mention it 100 times in the form of a haiku or whatever the heck you're doing.

how many syllables does a haiku have? 17?

I personally like "Attack of the Spathi"  :)

"Lord of the Ultron" anyone?

why make a game if you cant call it
star control

Uhhh, because it's fun to play, and a challenge to write code for?

I think a better question would be, "why post if you can't contribute anything meaningful to the discussion, like punctuation?"

I'm pretty sure even if the Orz and Androsynth and Dnyarri become the central issue in any future titles, it's still likely that the Ur-Quan themselves will play a significant if not crucial role in the story. I don't see why any future titles can't also be named The Ur-Quan Masters. Star Control 2 after all, had no Star Control vessels within it whatsoever, unless you count the Tobermoon. Even if you wanted to change the title to accurate reflect the changing times, you can still call it the 'Ur-Quan Conflicts' to reflect Star Control 1's original subtitle. Unless for some bizarre reason the Ur-Quan start allying with you and rally to your case (and collectively pilot Dreadnoughts and assume the Path of Ceaseless Vigilance, etc etc.)

Phfft. Like that'll ever happen. The only reason a Ur-Quan would call for peace is to re-load their weapons. (Unless you're a fan of SC3, in which case the Ur-Quan evolve into pansy asses.)
Perhaps the aspect of calling it UQM or UQC (Ur-Quan Conflicts) is not so bad. I guess you're right. Even if the Orz start to take over, I doubt the Ur-Quan wouldn't have their fingers in it somehow. I wouldn't be surprised if the next game took you *below* to fight the Orz and you discover the Ur-Quan already there.

Hey, I just had an idea. What would be the effect of nameing the game StarC with a cool new logo?
I don't know the legalities of splitting hairs like this, but is StarC too much like StarControl that it would infringe on Assolades iron grip?

IANAL, but I think a name would be illegal if there could reasonably be confusion with the trademarked name. As long as you're trying to have the name resemble 'Star Control', I'd say you're at risk.