One of my first and favorites

[Simon Ashtear]

#1382

This was one of the first games I ever played. I was too young to make very much progress, but that didn’t stop me from experiencing a sense of awe and wonder at everything the game had to offer.

I still hold it fondly as one of my favorites, decades later. When someone asks “what’s your favorite game?” it’s hard to answer because sometimes you feel in the mood for one genre or another. Starflight combines and defies genre classification.

The only other game I can compare Starflight to would be Mass Effect. Both games have you, an alien crew, exploring space, landing on strange planets, fighting aliens, claiming mineral deposits, and searching for the truth to an ancient long-dead civilization, in order to save the galaxy. Whoever first conceived of the Mass Effect universe must have been a big Starflight fan as a kid.

Starflight has so much freedom, maybe too much since it’s easy to die, and you will die. It’s you, your crew, your ship, and your wits against a harsh universe. I appreciate and welcome the challenge, and hope many more players do, too!

[Tijn]

#1415

Thanks for sharing your story, Simon! It’s so cool to hear these fond memories. This game seems to hold a very special place in people’s hearts, which is great.

We’re recording the podcast today. We’re already fully booked, having 5 people on the show. But if you do want to take part, you could record a voice message and send it to club@dosgameclub.com and we’ll include it 🙂

[HunterZ]

#1432

Starflight was indeed an inspiration for Mass Effect: https://twitter.com/CaseyDHudson/status/67417995101736961

I’m bummed that I discovered DOS Game Club just after you guys finished playing this.

The DOS version of Starflight was the first retail PC game I owned; it was an xmas gift in the late ’80s. I got the EGA version; apparently the initial release supported only Hercules, CGA RGB, CGA composite, and maybe Tandy, and the EGA support was kind of a hack-job because it was missing some animations, but it was better than 4-color CGA RGB would have been on my 286’s EGA monitor.

I loved this game to death, but being only 9 years old or so, I was not very good at it. I didn’t manage to complete it until a few years later when I was able to get my hands on a walkthrough via a BBS or something. When I did complete it, the end stuck with me as one of the best sci-fi twists of all time.

I also purchased the sequel and enjoyed it, and I still have my original physical versions of both games. I’ll try to attach some pictures.

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[butterburp]

#1506

Wow Hunter, thanks for sharing these. It’s awesome to see the original packaging and all!

You know, this is a good opportunity to ask the community about something I’ve always wondered. What options might work for people who join in on a game late, but still want to discuss it? Maybe they were busy that month, or they’re newcomers, or they just want to go back to the game.

Obviously I don’t want to detract from the main conversation with the game of the month, but it’d be nice if people who are late to the party on older games can still participate. Thoughts?

[rnlf]

#1508

butterburp, you won’t distract people by talking about a previous game 🙂

In the end we’re a club discussing old games. The months are just there to make sure we have something common to talk about and so we have the topics for the podcast episodes.

But really, we can discuss any game at any time. If you don’t feel like posting too much on the forums for a previous game, feel free to join us on IRC where we spent 80% of the time talking about other stuff anyway :-p

[SpaceGameJunkie]

#1566

Hey folks, listening to this for the first time, really enjoying it. Starflight was my first DOS game back in 1986, so I’m glad to hear old and new players discuss it. Can’t wait to listen to other shows too. Thanks for covering DOS games!

[rnlf]

#1569

Our pleasure 🙂
It’s cool you like it! Maybe you’ll stick around to discuss more games with us?

[SpaceGameJunkie]

#1570

Oh I plan to. Already made a suggestion. Do y’all primarily hang out here or your IRC?

Speaking of, we have a Discord, and we’d love to have y’all as well, so I’d like to extend an invitation in turn. 😉

https://discord.gg/rtRQBp9

[rnlf]

#1571

We’re mostly on IRC. That’s where the party is 🙂
I don’t use discord, sorry, but I’m sure a few others do.

[SpaceGameJunkie]

#1572

But…Discord is aaaaawesome.