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Comment by chris_j | Hacker News Reader

I played Ur-Quan Masters for the first time earlier this year. Despite its age, I found it to be one of the finest games that I'd ever played. The story, in particular, is just perfect, and has just the right mixture of seriousness and comedy, very much in the same style as another (even older) classic, Starflight. Being able to build the game from source and read through the code was a nice bonus.

I highly recommend checking it out; if you can get over the rather dated graphics and gameplay mechanics then you'll find this to be a real gem.

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I've tried playing through it a couple times. I always get into a sort of permanent game over mode where the Ur-Quan have started to invade my airspace and I don't have ships capable of fighting them off because I've been gathering resources.

I do wish there was some way of turning off the in-game timer that triggers the invasion and let people progress at their own pace. I gather it was probably a "feature" at the time that the game story progresses whether you, the player, are progressing it or not...but it's hard to soldier on after the second or third restart and dozens of hours lost.

My suggestion is to read the walkthrough and enjoy it! there are some massive things going on through that whole section of the game, and you really get the idea that you're one really small speck in a whole universe.

if you haven't read (one of the many) walkthroughs yet, go ahead and find some interesting things just being a fly on the proverbial wall.

Star Control 2 is a game where the game is incidental, and the real hero is the story writing.

I had a retail box copy of Star Control 2, and it came with a big fold-out map of the star system, with points of interest highlighted. If you play without the advantage of that guide, it is understandable if you struggle. They intended for you to have some guidance.

I think I still have that map in a box somewhere. What a great game.

My brother brought home a stock of copied floppies back in the day. The had a number written in sharpie on them, that was it. I had a notebook with all sorts of notes and drawings. I think having that map might have ruined the experience a little for me.

If memory serves, the map just subtly highlighted stars where there was something more than mere resources to be found. It could be backstory, useful items, dangerous enemies, etc. The marking was so subtle that I didn't even notice it until my second playthrough, when I was deliberately trying to discover more stuff.

This also was what stopped me from ever completing the game, even back in the 90s when it was still Star Control 2. I am not really a fan of games that force an arbitrary timer on the player, it feels like a holdover from the bad old days of coin-op arcade machines.

A while back I discovered a fork of Ur-Quan Masters which includes a time dilation feature that seems like it might make the game more fun to play, although I haven't tried it yet simply because I don't want to start playing and realize once again that I'm being punished for exploring and forced to start all over again: https://uqm-mods.sourceforge.net/

At least in Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Mass Effect 2 when this same thing happens it's based on a trigger, so as long as you know the trigger you can go do the mission immediately. Alas in Star Control 2 the timer is counting from the beginning so the game leaves you little choice.

> I am not really a fan of games that force an arbitrary timer on the player, it feels like a holdover from the bad old days of coin-op arcade machines.

I like it in RPGs, when it’s well-done. It improves immersion for me, when there’s not just talk about urgency, but actual urgency.

But one of the games where I loved it most, Pathfinder: Kingmaker, people complained a lot about it.

After my first few playthroughs, I was so much faster, and had far more time than I needed, and I always wished I could go back to knowing less and being back under time-pressure.

I do not like it for non-RPGs or games with "RPG elements" like X-Com.

If you're talking about the original X-Com, there's no hard time limit. The game gets more difficult over time, but you can never lose purely by playing too slow. Notably, the aliens never attempt to infiltrate Russia, so you can never lose by complete infiltration of the Council of Funding Nations.

I meant mechanics like in Enemy Within where every action you do brings certain events closer.

I honestly consider it to be the best video game of all time. It holds up surprisingly well, which is pretty amazing since it's from more than 30 years ago.

*20. Started in 2002. Made me panic at my age for a moment ;)

edit: oh SC2 is 30, you may have been meaning. My bad.

Agree it is literally the best PC game ever made.

Other contenders for that such as Half life, Deus ex, Morrowind all inspired slews of successors but SC2 is inimitable

It is one of my most favorite games, and it definitely still holds up.

I agree. It's one of my all-time favorites.

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