Is Star Control 2: The Ur-Quan Masters Worth Playing Today? | Star Control 2 Review | UQM Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 มิ.ย. 2024
- This is a review of my favourite game of all time, Star Control 2; now better known as The Ur-Quan Masters. But is this game, made by the people behind the Skylanders series, worth the TIME and the MONEY to add it to your backlog? (Spoilers: It's free!)
Here, I put the nostalgia aside, and tell you the good, the bad, and even the ugly about my favourite game. Any feedback at all is sincerely welcome!
In this "Is It Worth Playing?" series, I review and rate games in 5 categories, to help you decide if you should purchase and play these games.
1. History and Legacy
2. Story, Presentation, Graphics, and Sound
3. Gameplay
4. Worth Your Time?
5. Worth Your Money?
Here's a retrospective that puts up Star Control 2 against modern games that you could play today, taking factors into account such as how "Player Friendly" it is and how much it costs.
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Games covered:
Star Control 2 (MS-DOS, 1992; Released with the prequel on GOG in ~2011 and Steam in 2017)
www.gog.com/game/star_control...
Star Control 2 (3DO, 1994)
Ur-Quan Masters/UQM (PC, 2002)
sc2.sourceforge.net/
Ur-Quan Masters HD/UQM-HD (PC, 2012)
sourceforge.net/projects/urqu...
Ur-Quan Masters HD Mega-Mod (PC, 2016?), updated in 2019!
megamod.serosis.net/Home
(This is the best way to play SC2/UQM today, imo!)
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Thank you so much for checking us out! Don't forget to subscribe if you want to see more videos from Babu's Game Room!
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0:00 Intro
1:12 History and Legacy
2:03 History & Legacy: Star Control (1)
2:44 History & Legacy: Star Control 2
4:16 Story and Presentation
5:14 Presentation: Races of Star Control 2
6:33 Story: Discovering the story as an active participant
7:12 Graphics and Sound
7:44 Sound: Music comparison
8:17 Sound: Music and sound review
9:07 Voices: Ilwrath
9:43 Gameplay: Overview
10:08 Gameplay: Interplanetary/Interstellar Exploration
11:08 Gameplay: Planetary Exploration/Resource gathering
12:28 Gameplay: Communication/Diplomacy
13:47 Gameplay: Ship vs. Ship Combat (Super Melee)
15:07 Gameplay: Charm in combat
16:04 Gameplay: Auto-battle and work-arounds?
16:47 Gameplay: Cons
18:07 Gameplay: The biggest con of the game from a modern perspective
18:49 Gameplay: Workarounds to gameplay cons
19:05 Is Star Control 2 Worth Your Time?
21:16 Is Star Control 2 Worth Your Money?
22:56 Final ratings
24:40 Thanks for watching! Leave us some feedback!
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Channel and related artwork by Safia Tasnim.
Channel music by Chris Klammer.
This video contains music that plays during various version of Star Control 2 and The Ur-Quan Masters by the following artists:
Riku Nuottajärvi, Burke Treischmann, Eric Berge, Tore Aune Fjellstad, Jouni Airaksinen, Espen Gätzschmann, Dan Nicholson, Kevin Palivec, Aaron Grier, and András Barják. Several of these individuals are members of the Precursors Remix Team who remixed all of the original music from Star Control 2.
The Precursors' Remix Team's page:
www.medievalfuture.com/precurs...
Images have been sourced from gaming websites, and the logos' copyrights remain with their respective holders.
Star Control 2 was created by Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III, and the copyright belongs to them. "Star Control" is a trademark of Stardock Systems Inc.
Ur-Quan Masters (UQM), Ur-Quan Masters HD Remix, and the UQMHD Mega Mod are fan created works, and the copyrights belong to the respective rights holders.
If you want to support the developers of the original game, their most recent game is the Spyro Reignited Trilogy: Buy that to support them!
If you want to support the owners of the Star Control Trademark who are continuing the Star Control name with a new game, check out Star Control: Origins!
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![Free Stars: The Ur-Quan Masters - (Open World Space Sim) [Free Game]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/aA8jH6aRQmg/mqdefault.jpg)
This is our 100th video! I put everything I've learned about video editing into this one, and clearly I still have much to learn, so any feedback is welcome. Anyways, enjoy!
0:25 How I'll be reviewing the game
1:12 History and Legacy
1:45 Before Star Control: Archon
2:03 Star Control (1)
2:44 Introducing Star Control 2
3:28 Star Control 2 fan communities and projects
4:16 Story and Presentation
5:14 Introducing the different alien races of Star Control 2
6:33 Discovering the story as an active participant
7:12 Graphics and Sound
7:44 Music comparison (PC/3DO/Remixes)
8:17 Music and sound discussion
9:07 Voices: Ilwrath
9:43 Gameplay
10:08 Interplanetary/Interstellar Exploration
11:08 Planetary Exploration/Resource gathering
12:28 Communication/Diplomacy (13:25 Blunt rebuttal: Kohr-Ah; 13:31 Strange alien: Orz)
13:47 Ship vs. Ship Combat (Super Melee)
15:07 Charm in combat: Alien captain artwork
16:04 Auto-battle and work-arounds?
16:47 Gameplay Cons
18:07 The biggest con of the game from a modern perspective
18:49 Workarounds to gameplay cons (aka Cheats in the Mega-Mod!)
19:05 Is Star Control 2 Worth Your Time?
21:16 Is Star Control 2 Worth Your Money?
22:56 Final ratings by category!
24:07 Final score!
24:40 Thanks for watching! Leave us some feedback!
Wow this is really well done video. 👍👍👍
i realize it is kinda off topic but do anybody know of a good place to watch newly released movies online ?
@Kobe Shepard you are welcome :)
Thankee for the video!
I played this game (the PC port of Ur Quan Masters) back in 2003-2004 and enjoyed the bit I played of it except the confusion and early-game. I didn't beat the story, but remembered it enough that when I saw YT recommended to me this video, I returned to finish it months later.
@@Endarire Thanks for watching! I'm really glad it got you to go back and finish it! =)
There's definitely a bit of a hump at the beginning of the game, especially since it doesn't point you in too many solid directions. But that's what I love about it -- just going out and exploring were some of my favourite parts of the game!
The music of Star Con 2 for each of the alien civilizations is so perfectly and sophistically done that it is impressively timeless
The incredible part (to me) is how the soundtrack was created. It was a competition where the musicians probably didn't have much information about the different aliens! Yet, many of them seem to fit so perfectly!
This is one of of the few games I've come across which invoke pure nostalgia.
Same for me. What's your favourite moment from the game?
Same for me. The old schools music, all the moods of 90 games were concentrated on this game. Such kind memories
Hm. It feels like this is what No Man's Sky wanted to be.
@@edgepixel8467
Lots of games have wanted to be SC2. It did a ton of things right. I'd say No Man's Sky derives more from Starbound, except in 3D, but it wouldn't at all shock me if SC2 was one of their inspirations as well. It's just a shame the amazing dialogue and cool characters of SC2 wasn't represented in No Man's Sky. That just doesn't play well with procedural content generation.
My favorite moment of SC2 is "Hold! What you are doing to us is wrong! Why do you do this thing?"
You have spoken the words...
... and then I woke up. I don't remember if the little animal was eaten or not (I'm paraphrasing).
My son is 15. I just introduced him to the Ur-Quan Masters. Instant love. If a young one who is too young to have experienced retro games when they were new and therefore has only known the polished modern games can instantly fall in love with it, it definitely does a lot of things right.
That's awesome! It definitely does a lot of things right. I think 15 is a good age to enjoy the game.
Which version is he playing? The Mega Mod, or anything like that?
@@BabusGameRoom Just the basic one. It's available out of the box with the Ubuntu OS. We'll be looking to get the one with HD graphics next. He lives the Fuiffo voice, and the Spathi in general for that matter.
@@theguyfromsaturn The Spathi have definitely been a long-time favourite of mine! The conversation with Fwiffo is excellent at setting the tone for the game.
Hope he has a great time with the game! =D
Is Starcon2 the best game? Yes. Played this game on and off for 20 or so years. It's relaxing to spend the days on a work day when you're sitting there just gathering resources on a work laptop. You know, just fucking around. Can't think of a relaxing game that works quite so well.
The game was a big part of my childhood, and I did a lot of that. Less gathering resources (because I wasn't efficient at wasting time as a kid!) and more exploring random stars and regions of space and just seeing what was there.
I never found many credits to trade for information (it all went to tech), so I found so many things just by going to an unexplored area of my star map.
That feeling of relaxing exploration is something that's difficult to find in games, in my opinion.
If you havent played this yet, then YES...absolute cult classic. You can't go through life without having played this.
Definite bucket list game. Wish I could play it for the first time again!
As a minor note (yes yes, a year late), the entire storyline for SCII is directly responsible for a huge number of Mass Effect 2 & 3's sideplots and needing to get upgrades. The different animations of launching a probe to get resources/data on planets in Mass Effect, actually has a commonly encountered one that is identical to the 'arc' the Mothership's own landers take when going down to a planet.
Wow, thanks for the info! I need to spend some more time with the ME series.
Mass wffect flat out atole about 80% of its world buding from star control 2...
Ur-Quan Masters HD Mega-Mod with the addons is the way to go.
For those of you who have never played this game. I envy you the opportunity that you have here. This is my favorite game of all time, and you'll probably see that same comment here and elsewhere over and over. There's a reason for that. However, if you are new I would highly recommend playing with the following settings:
1. Turn off Subtitles. Trust me. In the event that you need to write down information, you can hit the ESC key to get the text from the previous monologue. This let's you write down World coordinates or other info you think you might need. Reading the text is one thing. In any Fallout or Elder Scrolls game I always turn off the Subtitles because it makes the experience more immersive. I can listen to what they are saying instead of reading. And oh boy, is Star Control II not like any other game when it comes to the things that the various aliens will say. (An in game Journal would make this game perfection)
2. Under the Cheat Options, Enable the Kohr-Stahp option. This will turn off the timer that will end the game for you eventually. This will allow you to explore at your own pace and not feel the pressure of advancing the story if you do not want to. However, (spoiler free) there is some content that you will only get if you leave the Invasion on, so the other alternative is to turn the Time Dilation to SLOW to give you more time to explore. (I have not tested this)
So if you are even considering playing this, stop now and go download it. I would be VERY interested for a first time player to use the settings I described, beat the game, then come back here to tell me your thoughts.
Good Luck Captains! Juffo-Wup is the hot light in the darkness!
Definitely agree with your assessment here! And I'm glad I found another fan of the voices! =D I had a lot of people back in the day tell me they ruined the experience (like when your favourite book gets turned into a movie and it ruins your mental image of the characters). I'd tend to agree, but turning off the subtitles means you miss out on the unique fonts...pros and cons, I guess! haha
I think in games where I've played strictly going off whatever information I have (and just doing missions/exploration closest to furthest), I think the Slow time dilation is perfect. Worst-case scenario, I think someone can even turn on the Stahp setting even after it's begun? But I'm not certain about that.
We're currently doing an LP where one of us plays Pokemon blind...and since SC2 is my favourite game ever, I'm hoping we can do an LP of that one too after we wrap up our first one! (though we may have to wait for the pandemic to end before starting SC2...but we do have that golden "blind" opportunity!)
Holy shit! I need to try this shit, thanks )
A single spore lands, finds nourishment in decay and soon attains maturity...
I would disagree with the
"Turn off subtitles"
I advise to "turn off speech", and only use subtitles.
(I played PC first, when there was no speech)
Re. point two: the grind is tedious, you'll want to stop anyway early with it.
I'd advice practicing fighting the first opponent you'll find in the game (the one coming to you at the StarBase) in Melee with the ships you have available (Earthling Cruiser, and that lovely loner). With that mastered, you'll get the RessourceUnits fast anyway.
By now, whenever I restart the game, I only need two grind runs to get going. (And it helps I know where to get some fat loads, as well as that opponent to blast into Ressource-Units)
@@BabusGameRoom While the voices are well made, I'd have preferred to hear a kind of clicking when talking to the Dill-Rats, and a computer-voice as translation over that. Since mandibles don't make Human style sounds.
I remember getting a Soundblaster 16 Pro for Christmas and installing it on the family Hewlett Packard 286 computer when this came out.. not only was the music amazing, but the Ur-Quan's Dreadnaught's main gun went from a 'beep' to that thundering he-man style laser bolt sound.. totally blew my 10yr old mind, good times
Oh man, that's awesome! Thank you for sharing that story!
Even today, it can be hard to get the sound configured with the GOG version of the original Star Control...it uses MIDI sounds/notes for all of the sound effects. If SC2 combat sounded like that, I don't know if it would've gripped me as much as it did on the 3DO! haha
@@BabusGameRoom Yeah i changed the sound settings on the remastered download and now the game crashes at loadup.. im trying to find my save games so i can reinstall it without losing all my data.. cant seem to find em though?
@@rogerwilco1777 In SC2/UQM? You'd have to look it up, but a recent trend for devs is to put all game saves (for all games) in the same folder...they might be in Users/[Your username]/Saved Games or something silly like that.
Drives me crazy...I miss when game saves were in the [ThisGame]/[Saves] directory -- right there with the rest of the game's files! Lol
I wonder if anyone has taken the sound samples from Amiga starcon 1 and used them in UQM. The Illwrath cloak and Dreadnought main gun just sounded amazing, especially on a big stereo!
How the heck did I not know there was an HD remaster???? I used to play on my piece of crap 386 and it used to crash in hyperspace CONSTANTLY. That didn't stop me from completing the game countless times. Great video!
You owe it to yourself to check it out! It's a huge labour of love, and you can choose which aspects you want to upgrade, and which you want to keep retro/classic!
And I don't think I experienced a single crash in my last playthrough =)
SC2 is the first time I really understood the staggering task of writing for a game with dialog trees and player options and consequences. A book or a movie allows you the just... you know... change things or make them up. It's one story, one set of cause and effects and it can flow exactly as you want it to. This game required a massive web of interconnected story threads that also have to coincide and agree with with world events and player actions and game mechanics and had to also match the alien personalities with their own interconnected dealings. YEEEEEESH.
It sounds like you did writing for SC2. Or at least like you're a writer! haha
And playing SC3 has been making me appreciate SC2 even more. I feel like there's some out-of-order stuff that's happened to me, and I still feel like I just made my way out of the "intro".
The only game I ever took a week off in grade 10, faking an illness, to actually write fanfic about. It wasn't very good fanfic (and it is still online!) but the game was that compelling.
If you don't have the patience, require cheatability and hand-holding , and want instant gratification that most new gamers crave, don't bother. If, however, you're not an idiot and don't mind writing things down, it is a must.
If not a link, I think we at least need a summary of what that fanfic is about! Haha
@@BabusGameRoom I'd be embarrassed to show the work publicly. it wasn't complete! I remember certain character names (there definitely was a Thraddash serving on whatever ship I had made) - Let me see if I can find it though.
@@BabusGameRoom OK here - LMK when you got it, I'll edit this later to remove it - Keep in mind I was like 14 when I wrote it.(edited removed link)
@@the_kombinator Sorry it took me a while to get back to you! Bookmarked it and I'll be reading it later this weekend. It's always cool to read fan fiction of my favourite franchises!
@@BabusGameRoom haha don't expect much. I never picked it up again as I was so behind on school work that I couldn't, then the next semester I got a girlfriend so that was that :P
If someone said: "would you like to forget everything and everyone you know, and suddenly be the captain of a precursor vessel from Unzervalt on a mission to free Earth?" I'd be like... "ok."
I would also be okay with targetted amnesia that would let me forget all the details of the plot and item locations in SC2.
Yeah. Lovey review. Your channel is great and I wish you much luck in its success.
Thanks so much! We will keep doing our best =)
Just in case you missed it, SC2 creators have founded a new company, "Pistol Shrimp", and are working on a true sequel titled "Children of the Free Stars". No longer "Star Control" for legal reasons, but "Ur-Quan Masters" is legal term and the game was published on Steam recently.
Thank you for sharing that! I've been following it adamantly. Back when I first wrote this video, Star Control Origins was still "new" and the lawsuit was still going on with little evidence of a true sequel to UQM. I'm glad to see so much progress towards a new game!
Love this game. I got the first Star Control on my Sega Genesis originally as at the time I was still using my Commodore 64 and consoles. I saw SC2 in the store and that was the catalyst that made me go and get an IBM PC, I enjoyed the first game that much.
Maybe it's because I do love this game so much and own at least 2 physical copies and on Steam, or maybe it's because I'm older and remember when NO games like this had built in maps and logs (I still have the graph paper tablets from Might and magic 1 and 2 for the C64!) but I don't really see an issue with the timer or the lack of hand-holding here. Even my first playthrough I didn't have any issue with that time limit and it's pretty generous.
Highly recommend this game. It's so good, so fun, and indeed, even free! Get it and love it! Heck, the only reason I have controllers for my PC is to play the various Star Control game battles!
Great review and subbed! Everyone should play this!
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed the video.
I feel like I've been spoiled by in-game maps and quick travel and whatnot. Sometimes I prefer when I have to pull out the paper and take my own notes or draw my old map. It really makes me feel closer to the adventure. I have maps drawn out for some old NES and Genesis games that I definitely didn't need to draw out since we have GameFAQs and stuff, but I did it anyways because I wanted to capture that feeling again.
Thanks for sharing your Star Control story, btw. It's cool how everyone finds out about it in different ways. Maybe some people will first find out about it because of this video!
@@BabusGameRoom I do love some of the modern conveniences too, don't get me wrong! I have been having a good time revisiting other classics like Hexen, Heretic, and other classic shooters thanks mostly to GZDoom and other fan patches. Some of these can be rough but still fun!
@@IronSalamander8 I need to play some classic shooters. I've never played a single Half-Life game, believe it or not.
What would be your top recommendation for a classic FPS (and any essential mods)?
I've played Wolfenstein, a bit of Doom, and Goldeneye, but it's been a genre I've largely missed out on over the years!
@@BabusGameRoom Grab GZDoom for free and you can play those old Doom engine games with some modern conveniences and they work on modern OSes and monitors!
You can get a lot of the games cheap too; The Heretic + Hexen pack includes everything but the Hexen 2 expansion, and Heretic and Hexen plus its expansion pack all run in GZDoom; Hexen 2 is on the Quake engine so you'll need a fan patch like Hammer of Thyrion to play it. Hexen and Hexen 2 are less straightforward than Heretic is, with lots of switches and running between various hubs and sub areas, so may not be to everyone's liking, but I love them.
Of course Doom and Doom 2 are great on the GZDoom engine and there are a lot of free mods out there that are really well done too.
Also check out Quake, I used the Quakespasm fan patch to play it, and it's really good too.
If you're looking for a more modern retro-experience, try Dusk, Amid Evil, or Ion Fury, all are really good and have that old school feel.
@@IronSalamander8 Awesome! Thank you so much for the recommendations!
I have played this game for the 1st time aaround 2 or 3 years ago, and it surprised me immensely, I could see how many of its systems and mini games were present in space games like Mass effect 1 and 2, and many more. I like how it is well built and complex such as Ufo Defense X-com (the Microprose one).
Exactly! It was ground-breaking for the time, and even today, some aspects of it still feel fresh!
Haven't watched all your video yet but the beginning is a good sign. This is probably hands down my favorite game of all time. Maybe it's nostalgia...but I played it through again maybe 10 years ago and still enjoyed it.
Thanks so much for the support! Glad you enjoyed the video!
If you haven't played the remaster (UQM-HD, or the HD MegaMod), it's Worth playing again, especially if you've got nostalgia on your side.
Thanks for advertising this game. I love this game and still play it from time to time. But I didn't know about the newest HD edition thanks for letting me know now it's time to kick some Kzer-Za ass! or whatever they poop from.
Glad you enjoyed it! =)
Definitely look into the Mega Mod! I think since posting the video, the Mega Mod has received more updates, and it uses the same HD assets. Also gives players more control over what they want "updated" and what should stay vanilla.
Incredible video quality, I'm glad I found this video and this channel, keep the good work
Thanks so much for your kind comment! I hope you'll enjoy some of our upcoming content =)
A solid overview of Star Control II. Looking forward to seeing more reviews. :)
Thanks so much! We're actually aiming to get the next one out by the coming weekend -- hopefully it'll be as well-received as this one has been =)
I remember getting this on the 3DO and thinking what the heck is this thing with this huge printed out star map. I thought this was a bad purchase but man, I loved this game! It's still one of my favorite games of all time and I still fire up the 3DO to play some melee. I love the challenge of using a team of small ships to try and destroy a team of big hitters.
Yeah, it's a bit intimidating at first glance!
What's your favourite match-up? I like to try to take out a Kohr-Ah Marauder with a ZoqFotPik Stinger!
@@BabusGameRoom Oh that's an incredibly tough match-up that you like.
I like to use the Arilou ship vs just about anything other than Shofixti and Chmmr ships as you can't beat them with the Arilou...i guess it's a draw with teh Shofixti at least.
My favorite ships to use in general though are the Spathi and it's BUTT missiles because...well that sound it makes lol. I also like the Orz ship and again, love the sound of the cannon.
@@Komainu959 ZFP against a Maurader usually takes a few ships, tbh...haha
The Spathi Eluder is one of my favourites too! I honestly think it's the best example of unique ship design in the game.
I'm terrible with the Arilou Skiff though...I always end up getting too close or getting disoriented when I teleport! Lol
@@BabusGameRoom Yes! The ship designs were truly well thought out. How they maneuver, their weapons and even asthetics worked so well and then they throw in a planet for gravity whips and asteroids that always seem to bump into you at just the wrong time.
@@Komainu959 Exactly! I wish there were more games like it, even if only for the Super Melee!
@5:32 Pkunk and Ilwrath. Nuff said. Although the reasons are hilarious.
Yeah, that's a good point! I give them a pass because their, uh..."motivations" are not exactly your textbook "good guys" or "bad guys", haha
Damn good video. I knew about Star Control 2 already but your style and presentation drew me in. I am glad to have you among my subscribed channels here.
Thanks so much! Really glad you enjoyed it =)
I only ever played the 3do version, so I never knew before today that the aliens lacked voices before 3do... Mind blown! The voices are perfect and part of why I love this game.
Definitely agreed! I even have nostalgia for the Utwig voice, which gets a lot of hate in the fan communities.
It does look like the official sequel (now called Free Stars: Children of Infinity) won't have voices though...but at least it's in development!
@@BabusGameRoom If they hit their stretch goal, they probably will have voices. They have a Kickstarter going on currently and they are funded, though the voices goal is only about halfway there at the moment. But there are still over 25 days left on the Kickstarter.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for voice acting for the official sequel!
Brings back memories. Never played the campaign, sadly. Just the battles against a friend.
Well, you watched the video! =) Do you think it's worth your time?
You can play the game for free, and updated at that! Maybe give the campaign a try...and brush up on the battles too! (I think there's even Netplay for the battles now...)
It's tragic how little recognition this game gets today, considering what it managed to accomplish. It's almost as tragic that the ability to lose the game is somehow considered a bad thing by many modern gamers. What's winning worth, if you can't lose? Not judging anybody who plays with the stopped Korah setting. It's just the thought that the timer would be seen as a major issue with the game seems strange to me.
The original creators just rereleased Star Control 2 on Steam for free, rebranded under its new name. And this is all leading up to the true sequel to the game, which is HOPEFULLY coming sooner rather than later.
As for losing, I tend to agree with you. I think what's kept me on modern games has been that balance of growth and improvement vs. the risk of losing. It can be hard to recommend games like the original Sonic the Hedgehog games because they require a lot of practice. You keep trying, and you get a little better each time.
Modern gamers, I think, don't ever want to lose their "progress", lest it feel like "wasted time". "Why am I playing this part again? I already did it, but then I lost my progress when the timer ran out!"
I can sympathize...the gaming landscape is different today. There are so many games at most people's fingertips, and "replaying" a game isn't as satisfying for a lot of people than playing something for the first time.
But I definitely agree with your sentiment..."What's winning worth if you can't lose?"
I loved the game when I was a kid. Still do.
I get that a time limit can be harsh, but it just made everything more real. There were real consequences to what you did. You're in the middle of an interstellar war! Yes, do the wrong thing or just do nothing, and the Ilwrath would eventually eradicate the Thraddash. And yes if you didn't find a way to stop the self duplicating Slylandro probes, they'd eventually overrun the universe. And yes, if you didn't find a way to stop the main enemy, they would eventually win the game - they wouldn't be much of a threat if they just sat around for years doing nothing.
Rant over ;)
But that's the thing - I loved the game because the universe wasn't just there for you. You were part of it.
And I loved discovering every little mystery - through several replays.
I even loved that some mysteries were never resolved - frustrating as it was. It just made the world more real.
10 out of 10! Arguments be damned ;)
You're 100% right about the time limit in SC2 adding meaning. It's funny how bad some other games can be for false senses of urgency. JRPGs are especially bad for it. "There's a fire across town!...but better not head there without doing a side quest". "The world is going to explode in 6 days!...time to play some minigames and level grind for the optional bosses". "We're doing a stealth mission on our way to a top secret meeting...but better talk to all the non-evil NPCs in random corners of the map to get a missable item!" lol
I think that's my favourite part of SC2 -- that the universe isn't there just for the player. I think that's something that other games miss, including Star Control Origins. I hope that Fred and Paul can maintain that in their upcoming sequel (now called Children of Infinity, I think, rather than UQM2 or anything).
Haha, sure it is... Thank you for telling me about the HD version. Wonderful review!
Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I'm going to do my duty and tell you about UQM Mega Mod now, which has similar aims as UQM HD Remaster, but goes above and beyond making the HD art more true to the original graphics, and also includes a lot of QoL features!
UQM Mega Mod is the way to go nowadays!
It's unfortunate what happened with the *ugh* third installment. I've always loved this game for it's brilliance.
I agree. I gotta' give the sequel(s) another look some day though...
Just watched a clip from it for the first time, right now. Don't do it. It's beyond sad what a poor effort it is. Only potential use is as a study for "paid for work" and "check box exercise".
Star Control 3 was a cash grab by accolade(since they held the copyright for the name). The people who did the previous 2 games were not involved in it.
I won't say that it's bad, it's just not of the same quality especially in the storytelling department.
Brother, great video!!! TOTALLEEE AWETHUMMM!!!
Thanks so much!
So i played star control 2 back on the 3do along time ago.
Huge time sink. As far as i know there's not quite anything like it today. I really enjoyed the interaction with the other races.
Give a search for UQM Mega Mod if you want to enjoy Star Control 2 again!
Great video. A fun watch. Interesting the whole time. I wish you luck man. Subbed.
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it =)
Hope you'll enjoy our upcoming stuff!
Hey, just wanted to start off by saying that I did quite like this review. I'm looking forward to your future content and videos! I love old retro games, and it's great to see people reviewing it by modern standards instead of giving them a pass for being old, though for some games it is justified.
As for the in-game timer however, I do agree that it is quite surprising and a bit frustrating. My first time playing the game, I actually spent too long and ended up losing the game. I can see why they implemented it: it's a way to provide a sense of urgency for the player, and by 90's standards it was definitely forgiving. After losing my first game, I looked up some of the mods for the game and found the de-cleansing mod, provided by the appropriately named Bone Pit. Now, I'm not sure if it's still available since the Bone Pit now only provides the mega mod.
It's really handy though, and it extends the in-game timer to 200 years, which essentially just removes it entirely since you will never reach that stage unless you sit around for over 81 hours* straight in hyperspace.
*I did my best to calculate that. Each day is roughly 4 seconds in hyperspace, so a full year is 1,460 seconds. Multiply that by 200 to get 292,000 seconds and divide by 60 twice to get 81.1 repeated hours. I doubt anyone cares, but if you wanna double check my math go ahead.
Edit: With games like Strife and System Shock getting enhanced and remade by Nightdive studios, I think it'd be a good idea to look over some of them again and see if they still hold up. Just a suggestion, it's your channel obviously and you may take it whatever direction you want :)
Thanks so much for your comment! I'm really glad you enjoyed the video.
The De-cleansing Mod is still available, though it may have been renamed. I think it might even be a sliding-scale in the Mega Mod, but I think that's just time dilation (where time slows down and the date moves slowly, but the limit still exists).
I think I got System Shock for free a while back on GOG, and I've been wanting to play it for the first time, actually...I'll definitely keep your suggestion in mind! Thanks again =)
Just started watching, pure joy in discovering someone else who's favorite game of all time is starcon2.
Woohoo! I know I'm not the only one, but it's always cool to find others. =)
What were your thoughts on the review?
Cool, I had no idea about the UQM HD version! Time to play through my favorite game ever again it seems!
I'm glad I shared that knowledge!
I'd recommend looking into the Mega Mod -- I think it has surpassed UQM HD in every way! (hope I'm not too late...haha)
@@BabusGameRoom Thanks, I'll look into that! And nothing's every too late when it comes to Star Control 2! 😉
@@7Rendar In that case, you may also like to know that TFB is now Pistol Shrimp Games, and they've been working on a true sequel to SC2! =D
Very honest and fair review!
Thank you! I tried my best to be fair -- It's hard to be objective for my favourite game! =D
You got a new subscriber when you said its was your favorite
Glad to have you around! =)
What's your favourite race in the game?
As someone who has played Skylanders, I really want to play the early Toys for Bob games, and I heard about this game. I really need to try it out.
Definitely! The best way to play Star Control 2 is through the Ur-Quan Masters Mega Mod.
Give Google a search for "uqm megamod" and one of the first few hits should be something like "The Bone Pit"...that's the creator of the mod's site.
As I mentioned in the video, I recommend playing with the 3DO voices and music. =D
Hope you enjoy it!
Great review, about to play for the first time.
Thanks for watching! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I thought this was a comment on my Doom review at first...but I'm super excited now that I know it's SC2 that you're starting! =D
I hope you have a great experience!
What an adorable review. I love this
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it =D
Two quick things from a long time fan.
1. There is a chat log, accessed by I think....Shift? I can't remember exactly. But it takes you to a black screen where all of the dialog is presented up till the point you are at.
2. In the advanced settings, there is an option for "Cheat Mode" which disables the time limit, straight from the game.
At least in the HD remaster, but I'd assume it's in the original version as well.
The chat log is in the original. I thought it only include the dialogue immediately prior... maybe the full dialogue was made viewable in the HD remaster? But it's still limited to your current conversation!
The cheat menu is completely new though...and very useful!
Always wonderful to come across videos about SC2. Your review is wondeerful and to hear that it is "#1 game of all time" from another person is even more so. It is for me as well.
Really glad you enjoyed watching it!
Probably the best thing about the internet is how easy it makes finding Star Control fans! =D haha
@@BabusGameRoom ain't that the beautiful truth? They are (I am sure you know) in the early stages of making the third!
@@RonZakay Yes! I'm super excited, and the regular streams have me hopeful that it'll become a reality this time!
@@BabusGameRoom Thank the powers that may be... It was/is a ride. The legal winding roads plus the emotional seesaw of cautious optimism to dejected sadness were a lot for me at times. Following the reddit and the streams sporadically. And yes, share your hope.
@@RonZakay I felt the exact same way.
After putting it off for years (a "boycott" of sorts), I'm actually playing SC:O, finally. I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would, and I'm actually streaming tonight about an hour and 15m from this comment if you're interested. Though...maybe you found me there first? Sorry if I've gotten it backwards! haha
www.twitch.tv/babusgameroom
Memories of being baked mining resources with chill space music 🤙
Maybe that's the key to selling the "early game grind" to modern players! haha
I find it funny how modern gaming has changed so much that you didn't even think revealing the Death March (time limit) was a spoiler. 😕
I get that it can be frustrating. Heck, my Older Brother was one of those 'Slow Methodical' players and when he discovered the DM, it was FAR too late for him to do anything about it. (This was back in 1995, FYI) He threw the game down in disgust and didn''t pick it up again until 2020.
One thing that sadly, is almost impossible for modern players to appreciate, is starting with the first game, getting immersed in the history and lore and then moving on to the 2nd.
Right from the start of SC2, learning what happened in the 20 years between games was a shock, the MASSIVE increase in scope and scale of the game was an even greater shock. The fact is, Star Control 1 is a solid game in its own right, forms the foundation of the series and starting with it, only makes experiencing SC2 better.
I tend to be pretty spoiler-averse myself, and even just revealing the "true villain" of the Kohr-Ah is a spoiler imo. And "the villain can actually win if you take too long" is something that isn't usually seen today, so even if it was common for contemporary games to have those kinds of non-standard gameovers, it's something unexpected today!
I'm glad your brother picked it back up, though! I've seen the argument made that the game was supposed to be played twice...hit the bad ending, then in your second playthrough, use all the knowledge you've gained to pick up the pace.
For me, I'd never played SC1. I think SC2 does a great job starting things off right. I did miss out on the increase of scope and scale, and the shock that the bad guys won the war, but at least as a kid, I had the patience to sit and listen to Commander Hayes tell me about the war and the different races. It's definitely a bit of a story dump (and a tell, don't show) situation, but for me, it was enthralling.
Great review! One of my all-time favourites as well :)
Thanks! =)
What's your preferred way to play the game today?
@@BabusGameRoom Right now it is surprisingly entertaining to just watch others play it :D
@@TuuliMakinen Good point! That's probably the closest us "veterans" will get to playing the game for the first time =)
The Syreen song is called "Close encounters of the seventh kind"?!?
I'm dying! Almost 30 yrs later and this game still made me laugh hard.
To be fair, that's the name of the fan remix of the Syreen track.
IIRC, TFB held a contest for musicians to get their music in the game. Then TFB just picked whichever track fit the aliens!
Most of the OST had no titles because the composers had no idea how their tracks would be used!
@@BabusGameRoom I submitted my most recently completed song which I had already titled ("Fuchsia Fantasy"), and it happened to get picked and used for the Supox. Some of the other artists (Dan and Riku were prolific) submitted multiple songs, and the titles don't match where they ended up in the game.
@@poofygoof Wow, thanks so much for commenting!
Do you feel that Fuchsia Fantasy was used well in SC2?
@@BabusGameRoom I think it worked well with the Supox, since it starts off a bit a silly and takes a serious turn.
@@poofygoof I agree!
Were you part of The Precursors remix group? I absolutely love the remix of the Supox theme!
Great review! My top five game easy!
As of now the dispute is, thankfully, over. There is also announcement for Shadow of the Precursors by original team, but nothing concrete for a very long time...
For me it was the first game, and for a long while the only game, in which the motivation and position of the Bad Guys was understandable and even sympathetic (well, no so much for Big Bad, but still)
Edit : linked the video on Star Control Discussion Board. Maybe it will inspire some of the forumites to give this game a go. :)
Glad you enjoyed the review, and thank you so much for sharing the video! Though I hope most of the people at the SCDB have already played SC2!
It was the same for me. When I started the game, I was content with the villains just being evil for evil's sake (I was a kid! lol). But when I learned about their motivations, my mind was blown.
I've been looking at FF&PR's blog, but there seems to be no new news regarding their sequel...keeping my fingers crossed though!
Cons in my opinion:
2) No brute force win scenario, there is no point to build massive fleet and go to any of Thralls planets for crush em. They have unlimited forces. Wich is sad.
2) In term of space melee gameplay Ilwrath ship has unlimited clocking device, so most of the time you fight with void
3) Some ships designs are very weird and obsolete, would be better if player could customise ship models at least.
Those are some great points!
Check out the UQM MegaMod, which I THINK has an option which addresses your brute force point... =D
I have a 3DO, and it works. I have Star Control 2 too though that tends to lock up early on; scratch on the disc.
Very nice. I have a ton of nostalgia for the 3DO. I'd highly recommend giving UQM a try with the Mega Mod if SC2 has any nostalgic value for you!
Since English isn't my first laguage I never heard of the idiom "happy camper" before playing SCII, which made it a bit confusing hearing newscasters et al using that phrase and by that - in my mind - making a reference to SCII ;D
ahaha, that's awesome!
There are actually SC2 references here and there...but the most frequent reference seems to be to the Spathi Eluder.
...or...are they just simple molecule references? Hmm...
It's funny. When I first played this it was on the PC (after playing Star Control 1). Loved it, can't remember if I finished it. Probably got the hint book? When I found and downloaded the Ur-Quan Masters a decade later I thought the voices were better than I remembered. Then I found out the original wasn't voiced, and the voices they used were basically what I imagined they would be like in the first place! Still one of my favourite games, up there with Deus Ex, TIE Fighter, Fallout, Fallout 2 and New Vegas.
That's an awesome coincidence! Is there any chance you heard them on the 3DO?
I grew up with the 3DO version, and I was sad when I learned that a lot of people didn't like the voices. But nowadays, the voices seem to have grown on the communities!
Fun fact: The Fallout devs were actually inspired by SC2, apparently! (think of the dialogue trees!)
@@BabusGameRoom Sorry, I only had the PC version in he 90's so if I heard them, it was only much later via the Ur-Quan Masters.
It's interesting to think that SC2 kind of put all the pieces together with regards to dialogue trees. They had been in use in earlier games with keywords and dialogue parsing, but you still needed to guess what to ask!
@@helbent4 Very interesting! I'm glad to see someone who played the PC original first and actually liked the voices...but I gotta' ask: What's your opinion on the Utwig voice? haha
And yeah, the dialogue trees in SC2 were great -- took out the guesswork involved with keywords, but had enough options to make you feel like you were actually having a conversation!
@@BabusGameRoom SC2 was definitely a ground-breaking game. And I didn't mind the voices in Ur-Quan Masters but maybe I was just happy there was a free and improved version available!
You know, I remember sometime in the mid-90's playing a SF-themed MUD that featured mainly (but not exclusively) content and background lifted from SC2.
@@helbent4 Any idea what that MUD was called? There's a good chance that someone else in the SC community has heard of it!
And since you liked UQM so much...have you tried out the HD mod and/or the Mega Mod to UQM?
The time limit is what killed it for me, I played this game many times and finally did everything in a way I was happy with and then I find out the Ur-Quan have taken over because I was to slow. Thanks for telling me that you can disable that, I'm probably going to finally finish this game now. Great review!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Definitely go for the victory! The payoff is definitely worth it =)
I like the time limit because in all non-linear games, you can go extremely slow and become ridiculously powerful. I did that the first time I tried to play through SC2 and of course, I ended up losing. It made me sad because I had built up my ship and everything so perfectly but the time limit instead gives you a sense or urgency to where you have to sort of gamble in deciding when you're strong enough to take on the boss.
I actually never had that happen to me, but it did for a colleague. There are also many in-game things that you can do to delay the doom's day clock.
Thinking of games like X-Com 2, they also have a doom clock but it's clearly visible and they make clear what you need to to do reduce it. Here you just notice when entire species are being eradicated..
I don't remember, I think I bought Star Control 3 and I got SC2 along, it didn't have the 3DO videos but some of the music I think and a gigantic SC2 starmap that was super helpful to find places.
The starmap in SC2 is great...and it would've helped me out a bunch as a kid!
I had the 3DO version which came with a map...but it was kept safe in the box, which was kept hidden away from my grubby kid hands, haha
My favorite as well
We bought this game new for 3DO back in the day, but for whatever reason we never had a star map. I never knew until recently that those even existed. We just drew our own map with our notes. Lol
Oh man, that is so cool. There are tons of people who'd love to see it if you have any idea where it is!
I never had a physical starmap, so my experience was pretty similar...but I never had the skill to create a physical map -- just notes on "X is at Y location"! lol
@@BabusGameRoom I wish I still had the map and notes, but they are long gone as far as I know.
@@mattks1001 That tends to happen. I thought I had some of my notes stored away, but I think they ended up getting tossed out at some point, haha
I played this in DOS. Just some historical perspective. This was one of the first games to use the MOD file format for its music & sound effects. This means that you could play this game without a soundcard but on the PC speaker (that beeper thingy on the motherboard or case). You could also buy a Gravis Ultrasound (GUS) sound card to listen to incredibly full music/sound using the best wavetable synthesiser on the market back then. This was way before MP3 and most people could only listen to bad MIDI music on old Sound blaster cards.
I can't believe I did not know this! Thank you so much for sharing!
I grew up with MIDI tracks, and I still have a soft spot for the "aesthetic". But the MOD tracks helped make SC2's soundtrack timeless. Didn't know that meant you didn't even need a soundcard for MOD files, though!
I don't recall SC2 natively supporting buzzer driver, but I had a sound card so I wouldn't have messed around with that.... MOD was great for any sound card with digital audio like the Soundblaster. The GUS was cool because it played MOD in hardware, freeing up CPU.
@@zerobyte802 yah mod only had a few 8bit samples which is modulated. Simple music & sound effect can thus be played on pc speakers.
Original SC2 didn't have speech. There's no enough memory buffer for that. So the mod player was pretty awesome. They even had the oscilloscope at the bottom right to show u what's being played but it lags when play thru pc speaker. On SB & GUS, the scope is in sync with music & sfx.
Back when I played SC2 my computer at the time did not have a sound card. So, I was blown away when I listened to the opening theme on my PC's internal speaker for the first time !
I played halfway through this game when it came out on the PC speaker and then I got a soundblaster 16 sound card for christmas.. I had to start over just to take in the amazing music and the Dreadnaught's main cannon went from a 'beep beep' to that classic laser blast from old sci-fi movies.. still no voice overs but I kinda liked it like that.. good times
Star Control: Origins is canonically set in a different universe than the first two games. There's even a joke in the game that other universes may be "lower resolution". That's how they explain away why the races are completely different.
Yup! I wrote this video while the legal disputes were very much ongoing. I've since played Star Control: Origins, and, shhh....it was pretty fun!
I have no nostalgia over this game it released when i was a toddler, i played some years ago. It really blew me away. It has some quirks but really stands up even today.
You do need a guide for some spots though.
We're probably about the same age! I'm glad that someone else our age can enjoy Star Control 2. Sometimes I feel like it can be a hard sell for our generation, but some of us have played games where taking notes was par for the course.
What was the part that you most needed a guide for?
@@BabusGameRoom That's cool man, I wish others had known about this game. I first learned about it on yogscast by passing chance, didn't even follow that channel at the time.
Yeah, its been a couple years but I heard the game came with a physical map that would help with the territorial ranges of the different species that you would meet. I remember needing help to get the Chmmr freed and what items to bring to the Drudge, the rainbow worlds, finding Zot-Fot-Pik, the how to save the Pkunk, etc...
I remember in an interview with some of the guys from "Toys for Bob" that most people who finished the game had to use a guide. Forget which specific one but they were in a crowd.
@@Kdub09swm That's awesome! I'm really glad you found it
@@Kdub09swm And yeah, the physical map looked awesome. I never had it -- back in the day, I discovered everything there was to discover by sheer luck. I put so much time into the game as a kid and I explored so much random junk that I was able to complete everything, including all the optional quests, without a guide. I was lucky I picked the dialog option with the Thraddash that tells you where ZEX's beast lives!
In fact, I don't think the Melnorme even helped much...I never found many rainbow worlds, and after buying all the shiny new tech, I didn't have enough credits to buy information, haha
Cool, that early chess/combat game Paul designed appears to have been the precursor to my favourite PlayStation game, Unholy War (also developed by Toys For Bob)
I still have yet to play Unholy War, but I've heard the same thing!
Star Control was a spiritual successor to Archon (that early chess/combat game), and then they decided an adventure game would work better for a sequel because of the great world of lore they built up.
I think Unholy War was a desire to go back to that strategy/combat kind of game.
Have you played The Horde, btw? It's another game with elements of strategy (town building) and combat (isometric hack and slash).
Excellent review. Made me reinstall it after many years... Your estimate about gameplay time though may only be true for a player who knows the game. If you approach it cautiously, you may well spend the first ten hours with exploration and the first few diplomatic contacts. (Which is fun, too)
Would like to talk more but I'm rather busy, need to free the Shofixti Maidens...
Awesome! I'm always happy when someone plays SC2 =)
Which version are you playing?
And yeah, that's a very good point about play time! I never know how to interpret "How Long To Beat"...and I tend to assume that people are faster than me. But as much as I love to let every moment of SC2 sink in, I still ultimately know it by heart! haha
(btw that is one of the hardest, but most rewarding quests! Maybe in any game I've played!)
@@BabusGameRoom I've got myself The Ur-Quan Masters v0.8.0
Fortunately, I stumbled across it many Drahn ago. Unfortunately, it passed me back then when I was in my teens.
Rightfully among the best games ever, and certainly the most intelligent one that I know of. Some very deep concepts there, but always (almost always) presented in a light-hearted way.
@@marcogerber7568 Agreed! I really like the deep concepts explored in the game, but they were presented in ways that I could grasp as a kid! ...or at least as a teen!
I also like how there was never any sort of a "morality compass"...you just did things, and saw the consequences of your actions. And usually doing bad things had bad consequences, but sometimes they didn't. Other times you're forced to do bad things "for the greater good".
Have you tried the Mega Mod or HD-Remix yet? (Mega Mod is newer, and is a "more flexible" version of the HD-Remix) I think the saves might even be compatible, if you wanted to "upgrade"!
@@BabusGameRoom I haven't tried any of these. The way the HD version looks in your review, I think I find the original presentation more charming and I don't mind pixely graphic arts. The planetary exploration stuff is fine for me the way it is and battle I try to avoid anyway. Or is there new content in the remixed versions?
@@marcogerber7568 There is some new content in the Mega Mod. I'd recommend checking that out! There's more lore building stuff (that's optional -- you can turn it off!), as well as other optional features.
The Mega Mod is more true to the original than the HD-Remix in terms of the art style. Consider giving it a look =)
Didn't realize the hi-def and 320x240 modes were so radically different! Did they create brand new art assets for the hi-def stuff?
Check out UQM MegaMod! It's a 100% free and legal fan-made mod on the free source port of Ur-Quan Masters (aka. UQM). I mentioned UQM HD in the video, but UQM MegaMod has exceeded it in my opinion.
All the graphics were redone in HD by fans who adore the game. MegaMod builds upon prior work in UQM HD by making the art truer to the source material and also adding other quality of life features (which can be turned on or off).
I highly recommend checking it out!
Great game. I have the original PC version I bought in the early 90's. Another great game I enjoyed was Homeworld 1 and 2.
I'll have to keep an eye out for the Homeworld series!
man this video was fun could you do one for age of wonders 1, please?
Glad you enjoyed the video! =)
I haven't played that game, but it's on my list now!
@@BabusGameRoom thanks
Awesome review, man.
Amazing game that is still better than most game that have come after it.
Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it! =D
SC2 is still a blast to play today, and there are a bunch of new ways to play it! Check out the Mega Mod if you haven't yet =)
@@BabusGameRoom Do a full playthrough for us 😃
@@ChristopherMaier. That's not a bad idea! =D
I loved this game so much I saved my original dos box and all its contents from 92 as well as my ultima 5 from 89? and ultima 7 in 91.
So many classic games from that era that tend to get overlooked! I only got to play SC2 because of the PC port...it's hard to imagine that PC gaming wasn't always as ubiquitous and approachable as it is today.
@@BabusGameRoom It was the cost. I spent about $2500 for a Kaypro XT (10mhz 8088) back in 1988. Which had EGA and a 20 mb hard disk which allowed me to play ultima 5, kings quest 4, space quest 3 in 16 colors. I used to play a game that I believe SC2 had it's roots from was Star flight 2. SF2 had a similar star map, planetary exploration with a lander and a space station for trade. That was a blast to play too. The sound was pre soundblaster support so pc speaker only.
@@CV-dl3hj Oh dear. I'm just going to imagine that's adjusted for inflation!
This really puts things into perspective for me. I usually played games that were a generation behind...in fact, my SC2 experience on the 3DO was probably well into the life of the Playstation and the Saturn! (at least for the rich kids/working adults! haha)
I love SC2, need of notebook included.
Such a fun game, from the exploration, to discovery, to conversations and music, to overall design, it evokes a sense of wonder that so few games accomplish despite their best efforts.
SC2's influence on Mass Effect is obvious to anyone who has played both; Mass Effect feels like what you would get if you combined Star Control 2's overall game construction but made with modern capabilities, and took it and Babylon 5's overall story beats and elements and combined them, with dashes of Lovecraftian and Cronenbergian elements.
I wish I could find my old notes from when I played Star Control 2 as a kid...but they tended to be on whatever scrap of paper I could find, and I just stuck it somewhere near the 3DO! lol
It's great to see so many people stumbling upon this video and sharing their enjoyment for my favourite game.
I also get the impression that I need to spend more time with Mass Effect... :D
@@BabusGameRoom I suggest watching the Expanse, too. First season is a little rough but hooboy, does it ever pick up in season 2. Might as well add Bablylon 5 to that list.
@@TomatoFettuccini Oooh...should I be watching those shows before playing ME? Or does it not matter? lol
@@BabusGameRoom It doesn't matter that much unless you want to enjoy the procession of influences from B5 and ME on The Expanse.
B5 is a heck of a lot to watch in a relatively short time; it's 5 seasons of 22 episodes, a pilot, a short-lived spinoff, and I think 2 TV movies. 5th season is...well, I've watched it maybe twice in my many rewatches. It's worth watching for the entire story but I S-14 completes the major storyline. The pilot lays out a lot of the backdrop for the series, and the spinoff series called Crusade, IIRC.
Overall It's massive, epic, and the only other property putting out space combat scenes that were comparable was Star Wars. Ignore the very 90s aesthetic, the often bad SFX, and sometimes bad acting; it's one of the best scifi series ever made, full stop. It's a masterclass in storytelling.
The Expanse is much shorter, 6 seasons of 10 episodes (6 for the 6th season). It is also one of the best scifi series ever made, full stop.
The writers of The Expanse have explicitly stated that both Babylon 5 and Mass Effect were direct influences, so you may want to take that into consideration when deciding your watch order.
I hope you like them!
@@TomatoFettuccini Thank you so much for the detailed recommendations! I'll definitely have to check out Babylon 5. I'm a nerd for how older media influences later media, haha
hell yes. it's crazy big universe in form of a simple old game. don't think there's even any mechanics are that bad for current day. maybe it's a bit tough to find all things. easy to drop out from story pipe.
For experienced players, I definitely agree. I think newer players might have a bit of a tough time with gathering resource units and not knowing which questlines (or upgrades) to prioritize. But still, an amazing game, and I'm really looking forward to the official sequel, "Free Stars: Children of Infinity"!
This game is timeless.
I can always go back to SC2/UQM. It's a comfort food game for me.
Star Control 2 was such a good game that it invoked Pkunk psychic powers to make the rarest of the rarities occur:
A PC game port to console that was actually *BETTER* than the original! The voices, the unique text for each race, on top of the stellar (har har) game play is just too perfect.
If only it was an improved PC-to-console port of a *licensed property*, then it'd be the only example of it in the history of the world! LOL
Though to be fair, the 3DO was a beast back in the day...and now the fan-made PC ports of the 3DO version are better than the 3DO version.... =)
We are seekers of truth, and askers of unanswerable questions! But lo, even now an question comes unbidden to my mind...
Who are you and what do you want?
The full game: 8/10. Super melee: 10/10.
That's a good point. Super Melee is a lot of fun to just pick up and play. I wonder how well the younger generations would pick up on it and enjoy it if they had the exposure to it.
Star Control 2 is *phenomenal* game that still holds up today in terms of gameplay, story and music; and I'm glad I'm not the only one who can see that.
There are dozens of us. Maybe even hundreds! haha
What's your preferred way to play the game today? PC original? Vanilla UQM? One of the HD mods?
@@BabusGameRoom Vanilla UQM. The HD mod is fine but I prefer the vanilla soundtrack.
Honestly my only actual beef with the game is the voice they gave the Shofixti in the voiced version of the game.
@@heartlessmushroom With the HD mod, you can listen to the original soundtrack.
If you do another playthrough, I'd suggest checking out the Mega Mod. IIRC, it lets you "pick and choose" which aspects of the game you want to be "HD-enhanced", and which are closer to vanilla.
The Shofixti voice is a little...problematic. But at least you don't have to talk to them too much! haha
Regaring the SOUNDTRACK:
I am unsure which HD version of SC2:UQM I played the first time around, but the soundtrack and everything was awesome.
The second time I wanted to play it was few years later, I noticed a few important/good soundtracks missing from when I played it the first time, before I downloaded the music from the website which included those tracks.
Problem was that downloadable music pack also contained REMIXES and replacements of the orginal tracks, which were actually much worse.
So I was stuck with either good tracks missing or good tracks being replaced. I never actually found the download I played the first time around containing all tracks without the bad remixes.
And I realized a few tracks from the first time around being nearly impossible to find at all, except for TH-cam, where I could find a few of them...
I agree, the soundtrack is incredible!
The original soundtrack had only 2 major changes: Hyperspace and Quasispace. There may have been an effort at some point to create "more faithful remixes" than the Precursors remixes (which might be the "bad" ones -- they do take some thematic liberties with some of the tracks).
What's the title of one of the remixes? I might be able to help you find the pack. (but not a link -- I think TH-cam removes any comments containing URLs automatically)
@@BabusGameRoom I played the game several times. I'd have to search several different harddrives for the various versions I downloaded in the past including restoring broken harddrives ^^
I guess I'll do it at some point when I have time. Maybe I'll replay it in a few years and divert some time to look at the issue.
@@skeltek7487 That would definitely be a lot of work. I wish there were an easier way...
It goes to show how much content the fan community pumps out, though!
Hey have you guys heard anything about the real sequel to Star control 2 Fred and Paul we're talking about a few years ago..
Around the time of the origins thing ?
I was following updates for that (and the lawsuit) weekly back then. I'm super excited that it could become real, but I haven't heard anything new since the lawsuit was resolved..
I was delightfully surprised by this game. I avoided it for a long time cuz I didn't know what it really was.
I'm really glad you enjoyed it!
How did you find it played today, not having a lot of the common Quality of Life features from games today?
I love this game. I wish Mass Effect took more from this. In particular the ability to control Normandy in battle. To me it always felt like Shep was a passenger on the Normandy not the ship's CO. Even when he or she is in the CIC during combat they take the first excuse to leave rather then focusing on commanding their ship. See the early stages of Mass Effect 2's final battle as proof.
(Minor spoilers)
Mid attack run Normandy gets boarded and rather then sending team members so he or she can focus on the Normandy as a whole Shep leads the team sent to intercept the boarding party personally
Controlling the Vindicator was a lot of fun. My main playthroughs were all about decking out the Vindicator with powerful weapons and keeping escorts as little more than decoration. I always wished there was a way to play it in Super Melee, even!
@@BabusGameRoom I used Vindicator in most fights (What's really hilarious is she was intended by the species who designed her to be a tug and utility ship not a combat vessel so I find using her to rip dedicated warships to shreds very amusing) but there are a few enemy types I break out my escorts for.
@@roguerifter9724 To be fair, when you have the Sa-Matra (and presumably other ships like it) at your disposal, the Vindicator does seem better suited to a tug role!
Also, it was supplemented with (presumably) Melnorme technology to become more combat-ready. The Vindicator isn't great in a no-tech run!
@@BabusGameRoom True. It reminds me of Starfleet Battles an old loosely Star Trek based tabletop wargame (They only had the rights to material from the original TV series and the 70s animated series plus stuff they invented on their own.) I used to play. It had tugs with pods that could be equipped for different purposes including a Battle pod for combat.
@@roguerifter9724 That sounds like an awesome tabletop wargame!
TFB was also responsible for Madagascar (DreamWorks) and Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure (home console versions)
Yeah! They had a lot of fun games. I just wanted to focus on the ones that they're "famous" for today, and the ones that lead to SC2.
I was actually worried about them when they were doing those games...having not played them, I'd assumed they were essentially shovelware. I didn't want to believe it! haha
@@BabusGameRoom
Yep
TFB is currently planning to release remastered versions of the Purple Moon CD-ROM games for girls (Rockett's New School, The Starfire Soccer Challenge, Secret Paths to Your Dreams, etc)
@@brandonreina5461 Wow, I've never even heard of any of those!
@@BabusGameRoom
Exactly
The opening sequences to the remastered 1997 downloadable PC game, Rockett's New School, had Jessie Marbella drawing the TFB logo on a piece of paper
UQM has been updated recently while the HD remake hasn't. You should take that into account for which version you recommend
I believe I name-dropped the MegaMod, but at the time, I wasn't as familiar with it.
MegaMod is now the definitive way to play UQM imo... though newcomers may need some guidance on how to set it up optimally, but UQM is much more plug-and-play. Still, MegaMod is awesome!!
'Score Inflation' has been an issue for reviews since almost the inception of Videogame magazines. So I don't think your 8/10 unreasonable.
I assume you are also aware that the Kickstarter for the Official Sequel- Free Stars: Children of Light' has been up and running for a few days now? It's doing well, but of course they could always do with more word of mouth. :-)
Hey, someone else gets my rating system! =D haha
Definitely aware of the Kickstarter, and thanks for spreading the word! I'm hoping it hits the voice-acting stretch goal...fingers crossed!
I enjoyed Ur-Quan Masters and Origins, both. I'm curious what makes Origins controversial.
I also suspect that Origins left some plot on the floor with it not getting enough support to make a sequel, which is sad. That exodus that was passing through the "Backwater" region of space the game takes place in was interesting.
At the time of writing the video, I believe, Stardock (makers of Star Control Origins) had a lawsuit going against PR & FF (creators of SC2/UQM).
Stardock, at the time, was claiming that they owned the rights to Star Control. PR&FF's stance was that Stardock owned just the name "Star Control", but none of the aliens/plots/etc. Eventually, while the judge was siding with PR&FF, the two parties came to an agreement out of court.
In my opinion (and I'm not the only one), there were a lot of petty things being done by both parties. This included Stardock doing things like publishing articles about how PR&FF weren't ACTUALLY the creators of SC2, trying to copyright the names of SC2 aliens that weren't even in SCO, and also trying to [possibly?] make it illegal for PR&FF to work on a game with any connections to SC2. I think Stardock also tried to get the UQM team to sign over the rights of their source port to Stardock. And they also tried to divide up the community when they received backlash from longtime fans; doing things like creating their own subreddit called "StarControlOfficial" when they were getting hate on the "StarControl" sub. So much sketchy stuff, imo.
Even though it's been settled now for a couple years or so, and PR&FF are working on a sequel to SC2/UQM, it still left a bad taste in my mouth.
That said, I've since played both SC3 and SCO. SCO was a lot of fun; much better than SC3. But SCO still kind of feels like a "heavily inspired by" kind of game, rather than a "true Star Control game". Of course, there hasn't been a "true Star Control game" in over 30 years. So maybe even PR&FF's sequel won't feel like a "true SC game" either! lol
But the law suit was dissolved pretty quickly. I like Origins too. It's fun and definitely stays true to the original game.
Is SC2 worth it? Yes, absolutely. SC2 was one of my all time favorites!
Mine too!
I think playing a 'loosing game' should be part of the experience at least once. Reading guides or knowing about the time limit just ruins the thrill and experience of trying to stll save the story with the pressing time limit. And not being able to save it since having to rewind too much by loading a very old savegame makes it easy to just start over and retry with the new knowledge one found.
Of course, looking at a guide or knowing about the time limit on the first playthrough is a shortcut to being done and through with the game, but one misses the experience associated with the loosing stroy progression.
I would tend to agree with you here! It's unfortunate that a lot of gamers today don't have much of an appetite for losing, and I imagine that even us veterans don't tend to look forward to "replaying" or "retrying" games as much as we would've when we were younger. I do think SC2 was designed around this idea though, which makes it worse that the shift our tolerances has made it harder to recommend the game to the uninitiated.
But if you go in KNOWING that your first run is a trial run, I do think that could help temper expectations!
@@BabusGameRoom Yes, true. Though I remember a time when I was trying to play games realistically and took exclamations of NPCs that 'time was of the essence' or one had to hurry or be cautious seriously.
Game developers making games baby friendly in the last decades is part of problem though.
Now as I think about it, there are at least 5 different time sensitive events the player should had noticed before the finale. Maybe people should just be aware time progresses and things develop on their own as time passes by without actually hinting about what it actually is.
I once told someone I recommended the game to about there being a timed event which could make him loose the game -> the result was he immediately restarted the game, searched for a walkthough and did only the most relevant milestones of the game, essentially skipping most the fun content. Kinda made me sad.
@@skeltek7487 I think "time is of the essence" has become more of a joke since it's been so overused for decades. I remember Final Fantasy 7 where NPCs would talk of an inevitable world-ending event that was going to happen in 7 days. So of course the first thing I did was rest at the inn 10 times in a row...lmao
This was my favorite 3do game but for some reason my discs all got burn circles on the disc and I could only at a few hours and the game would crash the disc was playable only to that same point
Oh no! =(
If you haven't played it, you should play UQM -- imo, the Mega Mod to UQM is the definitive way to play SC2 today, and it's 100% free!
For gamers who don't require constant handholding and don't need everything served on a platter: 9,5/10
For the rest: 8/10 might be close, maybe even lower..i would say 7/10
These are some solid ratings. Definitely agree with you here!
ABSOLUTELY worth playing! It's a GREAT game, and it still holds up!
Agreed without a doubt!
What are your thoughts on the HD Remasters?
I bought a Panasonic 3do just for star control 2
Sounds like a good call!
The time limit is not generous at all. It is pretty tight as a matter of fact and requires multiple playthroughs to get a perfect run. Great game nonetheless.
You're definitely right. Did I say it was generous? Oops. I think I meant it's generous for people who know the game well (or look up guides and stuff).
Another commenter here suggested that SC2 was really meant to be played more than once. You were SUPPOSED to fail, and use your prior knowledge to help you get through the game faster.
Makes sense to get more time out of the game (back when gamers didn't have a million and one alternatives for less money). But nowadays, it's a bit of a hard pill to swallow. If I didn't love the game, I don't know if I'd want to put in multiple runs.
I bought this game from an Optimus BIS computer store in Poland in 1996 - Actually, I bought Star Control III, and 1 and 2 were on one CDROM. I only have the box, I lent the CDROM out to a friend and never got it back. Too bad, it was a nice 2 CD set.
I see those SC2/SC3 discs on sale on ebay often! I wouldn't be surprised if that box is more valuable than the disc itself. Especially if it's in nice condition!
@@BabusGameRoom It had SC1/2 on one disk, 3 on another. They were both half-orange and the cover art was taken from the box with some scary crocodile/reptilian SC3 race on the cover. I don't have the box near me right now though. TBH I played SC3, it was OK, but it had no replay-ability.
The box I believe is in Polish.
@@the_kombinator Yeah, I'm probably mistaken. I remember seeing some combo pack, but I didn't look at the details much -- I was probably looking for SC2 complete in box.
Speaking of SC1, it's too bad it's never gotten remake treatment like SC2 has. The PC version is a bit of pain to get running properly, and the Genesis version runs really slow, IIRC.
@@BabusGameRoom I can play it fine on a 286, SC2 will also run decently on a faster 286 with a good video card, otherwise some of the hyperspace transitions stutter. It needs a proper 386 DX to be played on well, but it seems to do OK on a 386SX.
@@the_kombinator And here I am tinkering with the ini to get it to sound right when running on Windows 10! Lmao
Is Star Control 2: The Ur-Quan Masters Worth Playing Today?
Sure, if only one of the best games or all time is worthing playing again.
These days, people seem to want to play the newest game of all time for the first time. Gotta' make time for the Classics!!
It's not just the last line of a conversation that can be replayed, it's the entire conversation.... if you press space.... but yes, this game desperately needs a quest log.
Was this something that was in the PC original? I'm more familiar with the 3DO port, and thought UQM had the same features as that version. I imagine UQM has added it back in by now though. If it was always there on the 3DO, I missed out as a kid! Haha
@@BabusGameRoom Possibly, I have only played the PC version, but it is in the Ur-Quan masters version as well.... before you chose the next dialog option you can press space to see the dialog you've just had.
I'm not a games programmer (just a regular one) but if I were to mod the game it would be to add a quest log and to have coordinates in Quasi-space show up once you have traveled them once so that you don't have to remember everything. I just don't find that gameplay very interesting.
So.... not a perfect game, but for me it is also the best game of all time.
On another note, the original PC version played polyphonic music using only the PC speaker by some weird magic that played different notes at fractions of seconds. A sound card still sounded better of course but your standard PC speaker actually played polyphonic music and not just beeps and boops.
@@goffe2282 Oh, I'm going to have to look more into standard PC speakers of the time!
SC2 is definitely the best game of all time for me as well.
I do believe that the UQM MegaMod team is adding an auto-pilot feature that uses Quasispace for you when it's the fastest way to get to the destination (potentially only portals the player has been through). They MAY also have some in-game method of helping players manually make the connection between a QS portal and its HS coordinates, but I can't recall.
I'm not sure if a quest log is in the works (it's probably one of the most complicated features that the game needs), but I know I'd love to see it in the game! haha
Yes, this game will always be worth playing!
Agreed!
Just got the email from P&F that they're actively working on a true sequel, UQM2...I'm so excited for that!
I saw that news too, and installed the HD Urquan Masters in celebration. Just met The Zok-Fot-Pik!
@@timsimon5413 Nice! Make sure to save them!! haha
this made me a *happy camper* i now want to *dancing* and *squeezing the juice* off to play some super melee :D
Thraddash Torch *cows* are SO *frumple* it makes me *lumpy*!!
SC2 is about as cult as cult can be. Most people don't know it exists and never will. But for those of us who do, how could you possibly forget it?
Especially with all the active fans STILL talking about the game about 30 years after its release!
I can't wait for UQM2, myself =D
SC2 was the first time that many of us got intimate with a green godess. Like if you identify as a green godess chad.
I always thought the Syreen were blue! haha
131 likes and 0 dislikes! That's impressive! If it's your favorite game of all time, why not do a playthrough for it. The playthrough for this game could use an upgrade.
Oh wow, I never even noticed!
Actually, we were planning on starting one soon-ish. But with a fresh perspective on the game!
Babu's Game Room I am looking forward to it. I myself was a big fan of the original star control and just downloaded the Ur QUAN masters, never actually played it...
@@eX0dus77 You're definitely in for a treat!
Is it worth playing? IS IT WORTH PLAYING???? IT'S ALWAYS WORTH PLAYING!!!! One of the best soundtracks also ever made.
Fair answer! Can't say I disagree! haha
And yeah, the soundtrack still sticks with me, especially the Hyperspace theme. I've got massive nostalgia for the 3DO version!
You deserve so many more subscribers than you have
Thank you so much!
We're working on it (slowly, but surely)!
If you know anyone (or even any communities!) who might enjoy any of our videos, it would definitely help us a lot if you could send a link their way. Every little bit helps, especially for small channels like ours =)
You forgot to mention all the Frungy endorsements!😁
This video is sponsored by Frungy.
...I wish! I could've been DROWNING in Starbucks here! (no idea how they were able to use that word when Starbucks was originally founded in the 70's, apparently! lol)
Is Star Control 2: The Ur-Quan Masters Worth Playing Today?
Yes.
Video length 0:05
1.76 Million Views
But then I wouldn't get to talk as much about my favourite game! haha