Starfleet Command Volume II Updated Preview

When Starfleet Command was released last year, its faithful reproduction of tactical capital starship battles excited the imaginations of both Star Trek fans and strategy game players looking for a more detailed re-creation of space combat. But even though its tactical multiplayer game and single-player skirmishes - which let you replay famous Star Trek battles like the face-off between Kirk and Khan in the second Star Trek movie - were very popular, there was little to hold each battle together. The upcoming sequel aims to fill this gap. The new metaverse campaign in Starfleet Command Volume II has been designed from the ground up to weave the game's hallmark tactical combat into an overlying strategic layer for solo players as well as in a persistent multiplayer setting. We've had the chance to play with the game's metaverse to get a better sense of how the new campaign system will work.

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The single-player metaverse campaign brings most elements of the online game into a less competitive, story-based environment. The Starfleet Command games take place in an alternate Star Trek history, which differs from the one presented in the original TV series in ways that have let the designers introduce more compelling political threats and a wider array of starships for each race. The new game's storyline revolves around two new races, the ISC and the Mirak, each situated on opposite ends of the charted galaxy. The game's two campaigns contain about 60 branching story-based missions in addition to 24 encounters that are focused on grabbing and defending territory. One campaign challenges you - as captain for one of the six established powers - to contain the threat of the ISC, a militaristic race that has decided to pacify the galaxy. The other campaign lets you side with the Mirak, a savage feline race with powerful missile-based ships. Those who preorder the game will receive a bonus of four extra missions on a CD that features the voice of George Takei, who played Sulu in the original series. Captain Sulu leads the tutorial missions.

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Apart from its story elements, the metaverse is designed to take a larger, geopolitical view of warfare in the Star Trek universe. This aspect of the game emphasizes larger scale strategy, so you will undertake some missions simply to alter the balance of power, as raids and patrols now have a distinct effect on which empire owns a given sector. From the simple hex-based map of the metaverse, you can venture into both friendly and enemy sectors and choose from a variety of offensive, defensive, or diplomatic missions on each occasion. Sectors now have an influence rating - a statistic rather like hit points - which indicates how solidly a side controls a given territory. The metaverse also represents the economic impact of sectors changing hands, which on the most practical level will affect the cost and availability of starships. On the galactic map, each sector indicates how important it is economically - those with planets and starbases tend to be worth more - and how quickly ships may move through it. Movement rates will vary, depending on whether a sector is in safe interior space or in a disputed border zone.

Although the metaverse clearly promises a more involving and strategic single-player experience than the first game's campaign system, some elements have been designed with the multiplayer game in mind. Don't expect campaigns to be deep Risk-like exercises in conquering the galaxy. Unlike the strategic layer to Shogun: Total War, the metaverse doesn't let you manage empire resources, engage in espionage or imperial diplomacy, or gather more than three starships to command at a single time. The player is clearly designated as the captain of a small strike force, and these grander issues just aren't a captain's concern. On a basic level, the metaverse primarily complements what Starfleet Command has done best: tactical ship combat. In the persistent multiplayer universe, the metaverse brings up some very interesting possibilities.