Sim: Starlines INC. [by Positech]

Game: StarLines Inc.
Release: October 25, 2000
Genre: Simulation
Developer: Positech Computing Ltd
System Requirements:
Windows 95, Windows 98,ME,XP or Windows 2000
Pentium 166+
32 MB RAM
20 MB free hard disk space
8MB Direct X compatible video card
Microsoft DirectX 7 or higher
Price: $19.95

In the past I have played several simulation games. This one added a new mix to the game play of strategy. There are several good parts to this game, with some room for improvement in a few places. The game play was quite entertaining. Starlines has taken you into space to develop your own trade lines from one planet to another. You are caught up in a section of the galaxy where you are given a goal for each missing. In the first of several missions you are given one ship with one pilot. You are to build up your crew and ultimately find a terraforming device being sold on one of the planets found in the region.

As you work to complete each mission you will have to increase your ships various cargo holds, increase the engines, add to your fuel tank supply, build up rooms for passengers and medical facilities to improve your there moral. You will need to build up your crew as your ship grows. Adding Engineers will help to keep your ship in top shape as well as allow you to expand your ships engines. Having a navigator will increase your safe travels through the millions of asteroids you may encounter. Throw in some Stewards to increase the amount of passengers you can transport. Last to add would be a Cargo Handler, the more of these on your ship the more cargo your ship can handle. Keep in mind though; you must also have the space available on your ship to carry your cargo and passengers.

You will find other things affect the game as well. As you go from port to port you may run into some “bumps” along the way. Your ship will take on some malfunctions and damages from time to time. If you do not keep your ship in good repair, you may find yourself adrift in space. Not all planets can repair all damages either. The important thing to remember is whenever your ship gets damaged it is best to fix it before it gets worse. Also my experience has shown, having multiple engineers and navigators will minimize the amount of damage you will receive. Keeping your crew happy will help as well. That’s when droids come in.

I found if you have the chance and the finances to get a droid to replace a crew member, it is worth it. They may be expensive up front but you never have to pay for them again, unless of course you sell them. Never having to give them a raise to improve the moral is nice to…actually never having to pay them is what makes things even better.

It was very pleasing to use there tutorial as well. It goes through a step by step process to train you how to play the game. And when you think you have learned enough it was easy to escape from as well. Learning the game is a little bit of a challenge, but there tutorial made it much easier. The tutorial is one of the few tutorials that really are useful.

Several other parts of the game really made it easier to follow as well. A lot of the options you have make the game a little faster to play. You will of course have to learn a few of the shortcuts though. There use of hot keys make it easy to pause the game. Pausing the game in each port I found to be very helpful. I can be slow at times to make decisions and this allowed me to look at my options make my purchases and then continue the game and move to the next port.

If you really want you can even purchase new ships to increase the amount of trading you make. Keeping in mind this will also require you to toggle between two ships when transporting goods. At times it seems like you will be playing two or more players when you take on multiple ships. I like to keep it simple so I usually kept it to one.

This is a game that takes a great combination of ideas, planning and design and turns it into an entertaining game that you will enjoy.


Graphics: 7
I found the graphics to be well done. There is an excellent use of 2D art. They added a background that created a 3D feeling. The one area this game was lacking was mostly in the absence of 3D. What I found interesting is that even without the 3D style, they were able to make the game work very well. This game uses an excellent format for a 2D game. Maybe future versions will incorporate a 3D playing field.

Sound: 6
This was a little tough to decide, I was impressed at first with all the sounds and music in the game. The sound effects were well done. The music was a great score, but I was also disappointed with the repetitiveness of the music. It was good at first, but I am the type who will play a game for hours. I am grateful they added the option to turn off music. Once that was off I was able to play on and still enjoy the sound effects of my ship breaking down and reaching new ports.

Game Play: 7
There are several controls and functions to get use to in this game. I found myself having to train a little in order to get use to how to dock a ship and even send my ship on its way to another planet. The options were well laid out though. I had very little trouble making trades and purchasing new components for the ship. Most my issues were with navigating. When playing I would recommend there tutorial. It really helped me learn how to control things. And it was very easy to follow.

Options: 7
I was pleased to find this game uses most of the standard options. There were a couple of fun options added as well. The added feature of using the address book made it fun to see names you are familiar with in different areas of the game.

Concept: 8
This game is similar to other ideas out there on the web. Some of us may recall the games where you would (with text) go from one place to another trading goods and increasing cargo space and weapons. Though this game does not use weapons, they added a graphical interface that made the game more enjoyable. It was nice to see someone take the time to improve upon an old concept like this and make it a lot better. Great job!

Fun: 7
I found the game to be pretty fun and somewhat addicting. You can spend a lot of time trading goods and taking passengers from one port to another. Adding an “objective” added the challenge to the game which is what makes the game addictive. “I just couldn’t quit till I found that terraforming device!!!” Of course then a new mission is presented and you want to go again.

Overall: 7
This is a game that any simulation fan should enjoy. A good combination of graphics and game play make this game worth playing. Though not completely addicting, you will find yourself rushing to find the quickest way to complete each mission. Overall I feel that Positech has created a fully entertaining game that most anyone would enjoy.
Added: March 19th 2003
Reviewer: Bryan Lovell
Score:
Related Link: Starlines Screenshots
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Language: english