The controls were fine. I just didn’t feel like investing a ton of time into it like I would if I were a kid playing it the first time back when it was released. I lost out on most of the mystery and exploration.
Just started playing starflight I. The controls are fine, arrow keys and two buttons. Couldn’t be simpler. The UI is straight forward as well, but my god that fucking font.
In terms of DOS games from that era it is totally accessible and not held back by it’s UI at all. I haven’t looked at the manual at all so I’d go far as to say it is actually intuitive.
I’m impressed, AC. Most people these days playing for the first time bitch and moan about how awful the interface is.
Get 'em to play System Shock for comparison.
Or Ultima IV… shudder
Another thing worth mentioning is that this game was developed and released as a PC original back in an era dominated by Commodore and Apple. Releasing a PC (CGA!) exclusive in that era was like releasing an exclusive cell phone game for the Lumia today.
That isn’t worth mentioning because nothing about Starflight is worth mentioning because it’s stupid and smells like grandpa. Starcon 2 is the best.
Starflight. Not even remotely a competition.
So we’re agreed - Star Control II is the best.
That’s funny, because for me it’s the complete opposite. Apart form space combat simulators, for which I used a joystick, I played nearly everything with keyboard (and mouse) growing up and as a consequence still do today, even action games and other genres where it might considered inapropriate. In fact, one of the reasons I never really got into console gaming is that I just don’t like gamepads. I’m used to controlling everything with index, middle and ring finger and have my muscle memory there and my thumbs are woefully under-trained by comparison. ;-)
That being said, it should be possible to play SC2 with a gamepad, either using the Ur-Quan Master open source port or tracking down the 3DO version.
Or by using Joy2key, which is a program which allows you to use a controller with games that don’t support it:
http://www-en.jtksoft.net/
I tried to replay Starflight I (which I loved at the time) and I find even the UI on the starbase intolerable. Star Control II for me. Even kids love it.
I had the opposite problem when I downloaded Ur-Quan masters. I grew up playing SC2 on my brother’s 3DO (I think we may have been the only people to own one of those) so I was used to controlling it with a gamepad. I think the gamepad controls were far easier to master and much more intuitive than the keyboard controls.
Probably the main reason I played it. It was out for, and supported, my Tandy’s graphics (not that other games didn’t, but it was unusual to see a game call it out back then).
Works better if you drill a hole through it.
Star Control II is definitely the best game named Star Control II.
You know, upon review, I think that this may very well be my favorite post in the thread.
I think someone with a 12-ish year old son is going to have to sit him down and have him play both Starflight and Star Control 2 and see what the verdict is from someone untainted by nostalgia’s gnarled grasp.
“All right, boy, first, let me show you how to edit a CONFIG.SYS file. You see here…”
Hey, we did it and we didn’t even have a parent helping. It’ll be like when my dad sat me down to watch old movies he liked. A bonding experience.
For SCIENCE, people.