"However, you do have a repulsor device, which can be used to send projectiles, asteroids, ships, and the like flying away."

That just gave me an idea. What if you had a repulsor line, that you could orbit around your ship ( or whatever). When when things shot at you, you could move your shield in place to block them, and at the same time, send it bouncing out into space or into another enemy. If you missed blocking it, and got hit, you take damage or die. Sort of a Jedi lightsaber game or something similar (you could even make it so if you got close enough, you could hit an enemy with your lightsaber thingy and damage or destroy them.)

Interesting, but I'm not sure how that would work in the case of possible energy constraints.

Maybe, when I whip something up, I'll implement both methods and collect feedback to tweak as necessary, and find out if I should dump one of them. Heck, you just got me thinking about different repulsor types(which I'm not sure if they should be unique per ship or not-they definitely don't come in module form! Or maybe they should...)!

I don't know what you did-maybe it had to do with the optimized rays-but the new release certainly doesn't stress the old AMD Athlon XP 1800+ nearly as much. Hats off to you for not reminding me how much I need an upgrade!

Maybe it's a bit too early to be asking this, but how are the graphics handled? By the requirement of the DirectX SDK, I'd assume DirectDraw, but it seems you want to use SDL for the sake of Linux support(now if I could just get access to the Linux partition on my legacy PC...). If I want to develop a small game using this engine that runs on OSes that aren't Windows, that leaves me with SDL and OpenGL. I'm leaning towards OGL(since I believe it may have better hardware-acceleration support), but SDL seems to be worth considering. Note that I haven't started learning any of the graphics languages yet.

In case you're wondering why I asked about graphics, it's because I have a few ideas for spacecraft that I might want to crank out a few sprites for. In the case that polygons are used instead...how the heck would I make models compatible with the engine? 3ds max 8 won't install(problem with licensing process being unable to start-I think it's the fault of WinXP being somewhat botched after dealing with all of that damn malware; such a program would also be overkill for making 2D ships), so that's ruled out.

As for new ideas for my game using this engine:

-Maybe the power and/or range of the repulsor can be changed. Higher power levels will repel objects better, but will really eat into your ship's available energy. Also up for consideration would be the range of the repulsor, where higher settings will, of course, eat up energy.

-What about having the repulsor suck more energy as it repels objects? This could help with the viability of my next potential idea:

-I'm considering having ships mount more conventional weapon modules-generally things like machine guns, large cannons/railguns/etc. missiles, and mines-maybe even energy weapons. MGs fire lots of bullets, of course, and can be easily repelled; maybe some of the higher-powered ones can slowly bore through a repulsion field. Missiles will keep going until they hit something, and may or may not be repelled, depending on whether they are designed to DOR(detonate on repulse)or not; DOR missiles generally have a large explosion radius to deliver area damage through a repulsion field. Cannons/railguns/etc. fire single rounds at extreme velocities and require a VERY STRONG repulsor field to stop. Energy weapons, unlike the others, cannot be repelled and feed off of your ship's energy(who would've guessed?). I'll probably make them short-ranged MGs, for long-ranged ones would defeat the purpose of using repulsors.

Maybe I'm getting a little too in-depth with something I haven't even started working on yet, but it's probably better to integrate these features in the beginning than tack them on in the end, with a little room for modification afterward as needed-after all, optimization is a good thing. Now all I have to do is learn C#...(and hope that my programming teacher starts with the actual programming in VB .NET soon-that's right, I haven't even done a Hello World! program in class yet!)

I started dicking around with the engine, and one of the demos gave me an idea.

You know that one demo where ships in the shape of Cruisers fire homing missiles at you? I started using the rays to send the things flying back. This gave me an interesting game idea...

Your ship has none of the usual weapons-no energy bolts of doom, no missiles. However, you do have a repulsor device, which can be used to send projectiles, asteroids, ships, and the like flying away. For some reason, other ships are trying to scrap yours, so you have to take them out by any means possible. This usually involves reflecting your projectiles back at your assailants, but some projectiles may be unaffected by the repulsor, requiring you to use things such as asteroids, enemy ships, or scrap to chuck at them.

I'm considering some things before I start tinkering:

-Should the player ship survive more than one hit? I was thinking of having external engines, which when hit, would start wobbling and eventually coming off. Maybe you could hit a key to jettison them if they go critical, so they won't explode and damage your ship further(should engines go critical, even?). This would hamper your manueverability and speed, of course. The main hull could probably survive one or two hits before the entire ship is destroyed. Maybe I should use a Vindicator-type ship without the "side rails" so that individual modules(new to the mix being thruster modules on the main body to compensate for the lack of the rails)can be damages and destroyed independently from the ship.

-Should there be an all-encompassing repulsor mode(hit R to see what I mean in the Physics2D demos)with a vastly reduced range?

-Should there be an energy limit for the repulsor? If both repulsor modes are included, the all-encompassing mode will suck energy VERY fast, and even so, area-of-effect weapons like missiles may still damage your ship.

-Furthermore, if this idea of mine does hit a major stride, with some improved graphics and the like, will adding the names of anyone involved with the creation of the engine be enough to avoid any plagarism issues?

Okay, so maybe I'm jacking the thread, but I can't help it. I give you the best of luck on this project...okay, maybe I can't give luck, but it's the thought that counts, right?

It depends.

I'd go 3D, but probably cel-shaded to keep the charm of Star Control(all of the races in realistic 3D would look...well, weird...okay, maybe not all of them, but some would definitely lose their charm). That shouldn't be too hard to do.

If not, then I might as well take some well-drawn 2D art.

[-my stepdad didn't rip the mini-jack off of the MICROPHONE cord of my cheap BF2 headset]

someone should really get a vocoder (voice synthesizer), imitate each races' voices and record the missing parts.

any takers? 

I would probably do that if:

-I could find the software
-my stepdad didn't rip the mini-jack off of the MICROPHONE cord of my cheap BF2 headset(and no, he still hasn't upheld his offer to get a replacement jack. I might as well grab an Xbox 360 controller and the corresponding headset.)

Don't know how good my voice acting would've been, though, but at least it would be better than not knowing the essential stuff(What's a MetaChron? Where the hell is Syra? Note: I know where Syra is now.)because even the text wasn't given in the 3DO version.

Anyway, I just want to run around and freak people out with some weird Spathi voice from nowhere...

It would be nice, but the question is how to handle the modular nature of Vindicator-type Precursor ships(I don't know if we should bother with the Sa-Matra).

I was thinking of a special melee mode that has RU restrictions for both sides, and melee is handled just like the core game. Do you go all-out on your flagship, with Hellbore Cannons and the like, or do you skimp on your flagship in order to have smaller ships in your fleet(Cruisers, Eluders/Discriminators, etc.)?

Ooh boy, this is gonna be a hard one.

-The SC2 Precursor vessels go without saying on these forums. Take your pick between a Hellbore-loaded Vindicator, a suicide Chmmr/Precursor bomb-equipped Vindicator that the Shofixti would probably love to have(them in particular, due to the bomb kick the crap out of their relatively-puny Glory Devices), or the Sa-Matra.

-A suit of powered armor; take your pick. I'd want one of Samus's Power or Fusion Suits, but being male, they're probably not fit for my body(and who knows how she survives being scrunched up into a little Morph Ball?). MJOLNIR suits worn by Spartans(think Halo here, not ancient Rome)would be alright, but we don't have the tech for light energy shields. I guess I'll have to settle for a recreation of a Clan Elemental suit, since you could probably fit current-generation tech into the huge suit, built for genetically-engineered, insanely-tall humans specially bred to fight as infantry(yeah, I'm that much of a Battletech geek).

-I can't think of much else other than a personally-designed starship that I haven't produced art for, so you'll have to settle for words. You'd need some technologies refined by ancient races of past universes that managed to become stranded throughout our universe(isn't this getting somewhat cliché by now, with all of these Forerunners, Precursors, and whatever else you want to call them?), and hopefully some of that technology may be hidden somewhere on Earth. It's a small capital ship in comparison to other capital ships, as it is designed to be operated with as little as a one-man crew-however, you'd never mistake it for a fighter, bomber, or other small ship. Two weapon pods, used for carrying large missiles and the like, are mounted perpendicular to the fuselage, near the front of the craft; in addition, two engines are mounted on each pod towards the fuselage. Those engines take a page from the A-10 and can be detached in case of severe damage; they also make excellent last-ditch WMDs. Below the cockpit area are two main weapons, usually energy beam cannons, and a sensor array in between for scanning stuff, such as asteroids, other ships, or planets. In the midsection of the ship are modules on the left and right sides for nanite storage and energy generators, and above and below those, additional turret modules for taking out those annoying fighters, bombers, and the like. Behind all of that would be two more engines on the sides, as well as a vehicle bay for launching fighters, bombers, and planet landers. The fast-travel device remains unknown, even to myself-it can jump several light-years in a matter of seconds, but takes a while to recharge.

Well, that was a long post. Hope I don't get docked too hard for bumping a several-month-old post, even if I am quite on-topic.

I understand about the "native race pilots" thing, but what would humans be doing on a Spathi Eluder, for instance? The ship would certainly appear and function almost totally alien to humans. Of course, the captain would pilot the thing, but the rest of the crew that make up the ship's HP-what would they do that's not restricted to the race of the craft's designers?

Maybe explanations for this sort of thing would add unnecessary complications-I don't know. All we know is that crew apparently are not a specific race and can operate in any vessel with ease-they just can't command it, as you need a native captain(hence why you won't get to build any more Eluders after Spathiwa is slave-shielded).

Funny thing there, and probably a bad example. If you read the Star Control 1 manual section about the Spathi Discriminator (Trivia: Only ship to have its name changed between games. This has been another (THOOM) Useless Fact.), it says something to the effect of the ship having as many crew crammed into the crew compartment as possible, all running around in a panic and not accomplishing anything much. Seems like everything onboard IS done by the captain (and maybe the co-captain, according to the ship's race animation), and the other crew are just there as "armor."

As weird as that sounds, I guess that crew could act as maintenance people or something...though I don't know how that really would fit in with the whole "crew are HP" thing.

However, a more logical explanation is this: In early conversations with the starbase commander, he actually admits they could probably reverse-engineer the Hierarchy designs they have in the databanks, but they don't have the essential element of the native pilot. However, once you sign a treaty with those races, what's to stop them from modifying all the other crew positions to something more amenable to a Human or Shofixti?

Makes sense.

Anyway, it's hard to improve a game as awesome as Star Control II. The only way I can think of to possibly improve it would be to develop an entirely new game within the universe, possibly expanding into the third dimension, among other things. However, that would be like changing the GURPS-based combat in Fallout-it seems to be part of what defines the series. Change can be good just as much as it can be bad, and I'll save myself the trouble of judging what changes are good and bad.

Another useless fact: Fallout did not actually have a GURPS based system, Steve Jackson Games (the makers of GURPS) pulled out of the deal at the last second. The designers had to reengineer the system pretty quickly to avoid lawsuits. I say, having attempted to play GURPS campaigns several times in the past, that the game is almost certainly better because of that. GURPS is an extremely complicated, slow, and often awkward system to use.

I don't see why major changes couldn't be worked into the franchise. Think about the changes that were made between 1 and 2. The original was a turn-based strategy game with melee-based combat. About the only things that were retained between the two games were the combat system and the background story and characters. Everything else was completely reworked for 2. Major changes are not necessarily a bad thing.

Then again, SC3 teaches us that major changes are also not necessarily a good thing, either.

I didn't know that-now I might have to kick myself for spreading misinformation. But if the changes really do improve Fallout, then is that a bad thing?

Side note: What if the hottest Christmas gifts were all Star Control-related? For some reason, I just can't stop thinking about taking over the world with Fwiffo plushies or similar items.

I would totally buy a Fwiffo plushie in a heartbeat. I could easily see a whole line of them: Melnorme, Slylandro, Mycon, Umgah, Thraddash... Collect them all!

I now thought of a plan for making a living off of selling SC race plushies:

I'd start with Spathi, of course, finding the right material and such, and actually going on to make the thing-then I'd focus on the weird eye effect, problably with LEDs or something similar(might be hard to program to act accordingly, though). Or maybe I'd focus on voice modules first-ones that I could easily insert the customer's desired voice clip in. The real question is how I should model their lower body-use the SC1 manual art, or those reduxes by one of the fellow forum members(overhauled a BUNCH of races, I know that)

Then I'd problably move on to the Slylandro. The question is whether a fuzzy texture really fits them, considering that it's have to be a plush-then you also have to think about the glowy bits. I'd probably have holes in the appendages and such, with a transparent film underneath and a light to represent the all-important glowy bits(as well as the dialogue you get from asking, "What are those glowy bits inside of you?").

Melnorme...well, they'd be one of the easiest provided I had a full body structure(as usual with SC2 pictures and their lack of showing the whole body).

Thraddash would be somewhat easy as well, considering that I have a good idea of what their body structure looks like from the "cockpit" melee image-in other words, not much aside from a pair of legs. I'll have to improvise on those without battle armor, though(as in the image you see during conversation-they don't wear armor, or at least a helmet).

Mycon...well, it'll be weird working with the fungi(and now I'm suddenly wondering, "What the hell IS Juffo-Wup?")in plush form. Fuzzy materials don't suit them, let alone the Supox(they're living grass! Since when do you have fuzzy grass?), and don't even bring up fuzzy-textured Chenjesu or Mmrnmhrm(they just HAD to make that difficult to spell). They'd have to be made out of transparent rubber or Jell-O, but they wouldn't be plushies now, would they?

Umgah...fuzzy clothing wouldn't suit them-oh, wait, I'm thinking Utwig(get those two confused a lot). I guess I could slap on a bunch of eyes, mouths, random limbs, and be set, since those blobs don't have much in the way of biological structure(probably not, though-study that SC2 image!).

The more evil bastards-the Ur-Quan and the Dnyarri that proceeded them-would definitely have to be "plushified", and with whole-body art readily availible, wouldn't be too hard.

Oh, and all of them would have accesories. For instance, you could have a basket filled with stones of the right size and shape, as well as your choice of aqua, mauve, magenta, or an assorted mix of the above colors for your stones; it's perfect for a Spathi plush! Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah could come with bone pits(not qure how to do that, though), and...well, I'm kind of lost as far as most of the other races(save for the Utwig, who could have the Ultron or the Precursor bomb; Druuge could have the Trident and the Rod...what else?).

...This amounts to one ridiculously long post, and my plans for achieving domination of Earth through Star Control-related plushies might be de-railing the thread a bit. Still, do all plushies have to made out of materials with fuzzy textures? Guess I better visit Wikipedia to answer yet another question.

Coming up with tweaks is hard...and I'm currently pondering about how a bunch of humans, before having ANY alliance(there can't be any other explanation when there are no aliens that have allied with Earthlings in this given scenario), could just waltz into, say, Fwiffo's Eluder and perform perfectly...certainly, it'll be quite a bit of stress for the ship's captain, who is the only member of the race that designed the craft, to have to work all the race-specific elements of the craft(maybe I ought to get a good look at that Precursor computer and find out how the hell Zelnick mastered it-I mean, it's built for huge, shaggy creatures! The switches and such would likely be HUGE!)...however, that could very well overcomplicate things again.

Actually the idea is that you need the race's pilots to fly the craft, otherwise you can't use it (or build it in the starbase, for that matter). It's also mentioned in the conversation texts.

Also, the Precursor vessel was built on Vela by the Hunams there, so I suspect in the 25 years (I think) they've been there, they might've learned quite a lot and customized the vessel.

I understand about the "native race pilots" thing, but what would humans be doing on a Spathi Eluder, for instance? The ship would certainly appear and function almost totally alien to humans. Of course, the captain would pilot the thing, but the rest of the crew that make up the ship's HP-what would they do that's not restricted to the race of the craft's designers?

Maybe explanations for this sort of thing would add unnecessary complications-I don't know. All we know is that crew apparently are not a specific race and can operate in any vessel with ease-they just can't command it, as you need a native captain(hence why you won't get to build any more Eluders after Spathiwa is slave-shielded).

As far as your comment on the Precursor craft, it does make sense-after all, one of the major modifications we all know about was the base's computer, which was installed on the Vindicator to make it much easier to pilot under a skilled operator like Zelnick.

Anyway, it's hard to improve a game as awesome as Star Control II. The only way I can think of to possibly improve it would be to develop an entirely new game within the universe, possibly expanding into the third dimension, among other things. However, that would be like changing the GURPS-based combat in Fallout-it seems to be part of what defines the series. Change can be good just as much as it can be bad, and I'll save myself the trouble of judging what changes are good and bad.

Side note: What if the hottest Christmas gifts were all Star Control-related? For some reason, I just can't stop thinking about taking over the world with Fwiffo plushies or similar items.

Hmmm...tweaks to an already-awesome game...

-Possibly have more control over what info you want from the Melnorme, so you don't waste credits? I found it annoying when I already encountered the ZFP ship in Rigel, and then asked for race info only to get what I already knew. Such a thing may not be part of their nature, though.

-Planet-side life that replenishes itself provided that there are at least two of each creature to reproduce(getting into male, female, and asexual stuff would problably overcomplicate things)would be nice, but it might take a bit of tweaking to make sure they don't multiply too fast.

I can't comment on SC3's gameplay elements, since the only SC game I've played is UQM(and maybe I'm better off for it, considering how most fans would rather have the current SC3 not exist).

Coming up with tweaks is hard...and I'm currently pondering about how a bunch of humans, before having ANY alliance(there can't be any other explanation when there are no aliens that have allied with Earthlings in this given scenario), could just waltz into, say, Fwiffo's Eluder and perform perfectly...certainly, it'll be quite a bit of stress for the ship's captain, who is the only member of the race that designed the craft, to have to work all the race-specific elements of the craft(maybe I ought to get a good look at that Precursor computer and find out how the hell Zelnick mastered it-I mean, it's built for huge, shaggy creatures! The switches and such would likely be HUGE!)...however, that could very well overcomplicate things again.

I should point you to FreeDO too.

D'oh! I forgot all about emulation! No more having to hunt down old hardware!...though the results aren't always perfect(such as HUD overlays in N64 emulators).

Note to self: check Zophar's Domain or another major emulator site when the hardware to play a desired game is absent from inventory.

Anyway, the only reason I really brought the 3DO up was because it might have more value than being the only other platform aside from the tried-and-true IBM-compatible PC to have SC2...as in more exclusive games that actually might be worth playing.

But that would sort of de-rail the topic, which is concerning how I delved into another classic game in an era where games have 3D models chock-full of polygons and shaders, and therefore contribute myself to the niche(sp?).

Now, to get some sleep and wake up later this Christmas Eve...and possibly convince more people to play Star Control, even if I have to hold a Dnyarri hostage to do it! Everyone must know of Fwiffo, Frungy, and all of the other weird things that contribute to SC2!

...Damn it! What's this strange obsession I'm starting to get when it comes to the Spathi? They are indeed charming, in a somewhat moronic manner...but now, having witnessed what became of the Vindicator after the Sa-Matra skirmish, I keep wondering if Fwiffo escaped(yes, I still had his Eluder along with the three Arilou Skiffs, as well as a bunch of other vehicles)...it's creepy. Maybe it's a hidden Dnyarri for all I know...

Well, of course I'd stick with UQM for my SC2 needs-I wouldn't have to cough up currency(aside from the cost of the PC hardware and my cable Internet connection).

My main reason for wanting a 3DO Blaster just in case there's a 3DO game that's not Star Control II instead of a normal 3DO console is that VGA simply beats the pants off of S-Video and composite-don't even bring up RF. That, and my legacy PC has 2 free ISA slots-one would be good for the 3DO Blaster, and the other could be used for an AWE64 to increase potential legacy compatibility. Now if the damn thing wasn't restricted to a certain CD drive...

-AMD K6-2 350 (366 MHz)
-128 MB PC-100 SDRAM
-SiS 530/STB Voodoo 2 12 MB
-Creative SB Live! Value
-Windows 98 SE/Windows 2000/Mandrake Linux 9.0 (can't access Linux right now)

If my stepdad didn't rip out the ATI Xpert 98 he used to have installed, I wouldn't have to rely on the SiS graphics decelerator for 2D work(video footage is desynced with sound, MDK shows up to a 4x performance increase between software and Glide-that's how awful it is)...but alas, there isn't an AGP port, and only one of the three PCI slots had enough room for the V2(the others would have the CPU HSF in the way), thereby shooting down most of my hopes of finding a 2D card that may fit(one that's good with Direct3D would be even better to compensate for the V2's lackluster D3D performance).

Anyway, enough about my legacy PC...what else is there to talk about?

As far as UQM missing certain information(such as homeworld locations, which had me resorting to the Internet and stumbling across plenty of spoilers along the way), I'm sure that such a thing could be added with ease-albeit with a lack of voice to accompany the caption.

On that note, though, I remember that a good friend of mine used some voice-changing software in conjunction with his headset. Maybe such software could be used to fill in those blanks, though the result obviously wouldn't be perfect...but how else could a human gain that strangely-charming Spathi accent?

At around 2:00 AM EST today, I set up the Su-Matra the bomb...

Now I'm still left with a few questions:

-Okay, so we have an ending with comments from various races(such as the ZFP arguing about Frungy again, a soft-hearted Thraddash, and Talana's actor worried about wearing something EVEN MORE REVEALING-can you get any skimpier than that?), but NO SPATHI? Come on, they're only the most charming race in the entire game, even though it may be in a somewhat moronic manner(I think most of it has to do with the voices and Fwiffo, though).

-Where the hell did he get the Mark II? I've heard that Star Control 3 doesn't continue the plot as planned, so that probably won't answer my question. StarCon was cancelled(and probably even less likely to follow the plot properly than SC3), so we can forget about that too. I guess all we can do is hunt down one of the game devs and ask them to cough up the rest of Zelnick's story.

Yes, I know that there's a thread on this here. Too bad there isn't a REAL sequel to SC2.

-Not ending-related, but why the hell is the Ilwrath homeworld OUTSIDE of their SOI(provided you haven't pointed them toward the Thraddash? Now if you could get them to fight the Ur-Quan under the guize of Dogar and Kazon...)?

-...err, I think I ran out of questions, or forgot the rest. Don't know which.

Anyway, I must be one of the few new-generation gamers who enjoys the usual classic...I still have fond memories of Magic Carpet, tried to play a bit of System Shock 1 a few years after picking up the sequel when it was still new, and now I can proudly add SC2 to my list of classic games-particularly ones that I've NEVER played before(note that I was a whopping 2 Earth years old or so at the time SC2 was released-provided it was A.D. 1992, of course).

Now I'll just decide what game I want to play as I browse random forums, Internet sites and such while also debating whether to enlighten a new generation about the awesomeness that is Star Control 2(or at least Fwiffo's hopes of having a mansion with trees everywhere, and said trees having baskets of stones of just the right shape, size, and color for throwing at monsters).

Side note: What do you consider the definitive version of SC2? I know that there's some major differences between PC and 3DO versions, as well as the fact that some crucial tidbits of info were missing in the 3DO version due to lack of space and that UQM is based on the 3DO version's source code. I'm also wondering if there are any decent old 3DO games for me to make hunting down a 3DO Blaster worthwhile.

...I put way too much random stuff into my posts...

I've actually been playing for a few days now, but I guess I can add this to the "oldies-but-goodies" list. I could say this for so many games, but by the time where my gaming tastes were refined, it was all about the new 3D FPSs and such, loaded with shaders and requiring even more demanding hardware...Originally, I strayed away from The Ur-Quan Masters in fear that it might have modified the plot, races or whatnot because of IP concerns, but when I learned that it's basically Star Control II wrapped up in a new engine, I dove in-and have yet to regret it.

Anyway, I've wanted a game like this-I knew similar games existed, even back in the old pre-Pentium days, but I don't remember any of them having the charm of, say, Spathi Captain Fwiffo just blurting out the Cypher for no particular reason, as well as his dreaming about having a large mansion with lots of trees, each with baskets of round stones of just the right mass, size, and color(aqua, mauve, or magenta-that still remains unanswered, though)just in case there are any monsters to be found. Next thing I know, I'm wondering what the hell Frungy is as I'm expending precious fuel(didn't have the QuasiSpace portal generator yet)to head over to Alpha Tucanae I and add the ZotFoqPik to the New Alliance of Free Stars...and also learn about how flaming wheels can give a confederation of three races the wheel, fire, and religion simultaneously...Then you have those barbaric Thraddash, who redefine your meaning of "brutal" when you learn of Culture Three and how they hack off their OWN limbs in order to freak the hell out of their foes.

Oh, and you can't forget the Melee duels-easily one of the things that define Star Control. I found the first duel with the Ilwrath at the space station a bit difficult due to the lack of speed on the Cruiser or the flagship...though I later lucked out when I managed to serve up some torpedoes and emerge unscathed. After that, you have to deal with many other annoying craft-but this is where Fwiffo and his/her/its(unsure of gender here)Eluder comes in, with its high agility, ability to take a fair amount of punishment, and homing B.U.T.T.s to harass your foes(the only complaint being its rather illogical design-I wouldn't quite say "ugly" after seeing a Vogon ship-and just in case you're confused as far as the existence of Vogons in Star Control, well, they're not. Consult your nearby Hitchhiker's Guide.). Locating the Ariloulaleelay(isn't that a mouthful?)in QuasiSpace also leads to three handy Skiffs-sure, if you get hit, you're screwed, but their unrivaled agility comes in handy against Thraddash Culture Nineteen, not to mention their auto-tracking laser.

Alright, I think that's enough on my rant on the awesomeness of Star Control II(at least in the form of The Ur-Quan Masters). Besides, if I waste all of my time here on the forums, I won't have time to play!

Side note: Where am I supposed to get the broken Ultron? I've stopped by Zeta Hyades VI-B and Beta Aquarii I(if that is indeed the Utwig homeworld), but no luck as far as getting the Utwig to fork the thing over so I can repair it(and yes, I have the parts needed).