Stargunner

Infobox VG| title = Stargunner


developer = Apogee Software
publisher = Apogee Software
designer =
engine = Custom
released = November 19, 1996
genre = Scrolling shooter
modes = Single player
ratings = RSAC: V2: Humans killed
platforms = DOS, Windows except Windows XP
media = Floppy disk, CD-ROM
requirements = 486 40 MHz, Pentium 90 MHz recommended
input = Keyboard and mouse, or joystick

"Stargunner" is a horizontal scrolling shooter computer game developed by Apogee Software. It was released on November 19, 1996, and it has the distinction of being the last title sold under the Apogee brand name.

Overview

Stargunner was one of the first shoot-em-up games to use pre-rendered 3D graphics, which made it one of the most beautiful and detailed scrolling shooters of its time. Pre-rendered 3D graphics were also used in Donkey Kong Country and Killer Instinct.

Its three registered episodes each followed a specific setting with complementary enemies (space, land, and underwater); the introductory (shareware) episode providing a sampling from all three themes.

However, Stargunner received criticism for retaining the credit system of , with little emphasis on power-ups. Many fans were disappointed that Stargunner did not adopt the innovations that Tyrian introduced a year earlier, although Stargunner was considered "more serious" and highly polished by comparison. Lastly, Stargunner lacked multiplayer.

On June 22, 2005, "Stargunner" was released as freeware [cite web|url=http://www.3drealms.com/news/2005/06/stargunner_rele.html |title=3D Realms News: Stargunner Released as Freeware!|accessdate=2006-01-19] .

System specifications

The following is the system specifications as transcribed in the playing manual:

* Minimum - IBM PC or 100% compatible, 486 Processor, 8Mb RAM, VGA video card with at least 256k video memory, 1.4Kb free space on hard disk drive to play from CD-ROM (43.2Mb for full installation), 2X speed CD-ROM drive, MS-DOS 5.0 or later

* Recommended - Pentium 90 MHz or better, 16 Mb RAM, VESA Local Bus (VLC) or PCI video card with fast DOS access & 1Mb of video memory, VESA 2.0 Compliant Video card (or software driver), 4X speed CD-ROM and speed compensating joystick

* Supported Input Devices - Joystick, Mouse, and Keyboard

* Supported Graphics - VGA and SVGA

* Supported Sound Devices - Sound Blaster Family, Gravis Ultrasound, Pro Audio Spectrum, and 100% compatibles

Note: This game will not work on Windows XP. However, a third-party program called DOSBox is known to get the game running, although depending on the version of DOSBox used, one may have to adjust the settings for DOSBox a little to make it run as smoothly as possible.

Detailed information

Story

In truth there are actually "two" different story lines for Stargunner, those being the one described in the official playing manual included with the CD-ROM copy and the one which is found on the 3D Realms/Apogee website along with a host of other game review sites and inside "Stargunner" itself.

Manual story

"The huge carrier ships of Barak entered Amdara space with signs of friendship and cooperation. The peaceful Amdarans welcomed them and helped them colonize a nearby planet. But soon after, the masked Barakians revealed themselves as a warring race with conquest in their blood. Now two thousand years have past."

"Locked and beaten down in a staggering war, the Amdarans have one final hope before surrendering to the overwhelming Barakian forces. The Amdarans have trained an elite squad for an offensive strike design to cripple three strongholds on Barak, where the majority of Barak's space fleets are amassed. If the offensive strike team can surprise the Barakians on their own planet and destroy most of their fleet, then hope is not lost for the Amdarans."

"The people of Amdara have nicknamed their elite force, the "StarGunners"."

Website/in-game story

"In the far distant future, an epic war for survival takes place..."

"Deep within the Andromeda galaxy, the people of Zile grow restless--and greedy. The Zilions secretly prepare for a massive strike against the nearby planet Ytima. Fearing such an attack the Ytimians train an elite squad of "Stargunners." Their mission: To strike the planet Zile first, and cripple the Zilions three strongholds, where the Zilion war fleets await the launch order. If the Stargunners can surprise the Zilions on their own planet, and destroy most of their fleet, then good will triumph at least one more time."

Basic game play

In-game play

The player controls a craft on a horizontal perspective going to the right. Enemies are not limited in their attacks: They can approach from in front, from behind, from below or from above. They can be either lone flyers or formation ships. But still, the maps have a linear quality in which enemies and power-ups appear at the same time and the same place, but this is not uncommon with side-scrolling shooters and is rather offset by the sheer number of enemies and power-ups involved.

In-game items

Whilst flying, the player can pick up multiple bonuses and upgrades, including:

* Credit Crystals - These green crystals appear after some enemies are destroyed. They must be collected by either running into them or firing a credit drone at them, otherwise the money is not gained. These provide 25 credits when dropped by enemies, or 15 when encountered in the environment.

* Weapon Upgrades - The upgrades come in two forms: pulse and plasma. Both affect the main forward firing weapon. Each successive upgrade acquired enhances that particular weapon until a certain point. Collecting another type will change the currently used weapon but will decrease its power (being destroyed also decreases weapon power). The pulse weapon is red in color and is mainly directed right in front of the player craft and deals significant damage while plasma is blue in color and has a wide radius of fire, but has much less power when compared to pulse.

* Credit/Mega Credit - Besides picking up individual crystals, the player can pick up either of these items for a bonus in their income (Credit gives 200 credits while Mega Credit gives 1000).

* Invincibility - This enables the player to harmlessly absorb enemy fire with this temporary upgrade. While invincible, the player can also go through walls without damage and ram enemy craft without any damage to the player's ship.

* Extra Life - Essentially a free way to obtain extra lives (the alternative is buying them from the shop). Extra Lives are usually difficult to obtain because they appear and disappear randomly during the course of game play.

* Nuke - The "Smart Bomb" weapon of Stargunner, the nuke vaporizes every enemy on the screen (except boss units which have more health than the average enemy fighter). Like extra lives, nukes can be obtained also by buying them. They are relatively cheap and easy to find in-game. However, in-game nuke items may automatically fire off once collected (when the player's maximum of four is reached any extra nukes will also automatically fire).

* Shield - Shields are the player's health in Stargunner. Collecting a shield item will replenish the health meter by half (50%).

There is also a "mystery" item which can be any of the described items above.

Store-bought items

There are an ample number of items which the player can buy at the shop, including the following: (Note: There are a very large number of these utilities, so the items will be described in groups)

* Engines - More advanced engines can be bought from the shop and applied onto the ship. Each one has its advantages and disadvantages; one offers good forward acceleration but mediocre speed in other directions, another one gives good all-around acceleration but also has significant inertia which takes some getting used to. There is no way to not have an engine because there is always the backup "default" engine (which is the poorest and least effective of all of them).

* Weapons - Like any side scrolling shooter, Stargunner has a very wide range of weapons. They range from spread weapons, to auto-aiming cannons, dumb and smart missile launchers, and even high-powered dual lasers. Weapons can be mounted on the top or bottom of the ship; the location of the mount alters nothing except for the weapon's range of fire, as it cannot fire through the ship.

* Satellites - Satellites are the ship's "buddies". They come in three different types (with more resilient ones costing progressively more credits to buy). They work by constantly circling the player craft, absorbing enemy fire and destroying enemy ships on collision. The most expensive of them, the "Dynamo", also has a second function in that it randomly fires out projectiles which can damage enemy ships.

* Other Utilities - There are also other buyable items such as lives and nukes (described above in the "In-Game Items" section).

Levels

In total there are 33 levels, known as Stages, to play in Stargunner, divided into four separate parts or episodes:

* Scout Mission - The Scout Mission is the only episode available in the Shareware version of Stargunner. It is a sampling of the three full episodes which can be obtained with the full, registered version, covering the outer regions of space, the mountainous areas of the planet, and the shallow parts of its oceans. This is the only episode that has six Stages; all other episodes have nine Stages.

* Stellar Attack - The space missions, in this episode the player is attacking the enemy's space fleet, starting at the outer regions of space, with mines and asteroids among the enemies, and then closing in on the fleet and its command ship. In the last level, the player blasts through several large cannons and destroys a ship which is apparently acting as the main flagship's core or it is the core's guardian (this boss battle is never explained). After destroying the boss, a cutscene ensues in which the player's ship escapes the flagship, which appears sort of like a Federation starship in Star Trek, which meets its end in a violent, explosive destruction.

* Terran Assault - The land missions, targeting the enemy's ground forces, starting first in the mountains, then moving to underground tunnels and mines, and finally the cities and industries. In the last level, the player confronts the citadel which is currently part of a volcanic mountain. As the battle progresses, the citadel literally pulls itself out of the ground and hovers in the air. After dealing it crucial damage, a cutscene ensues in which the player's ship is seen firing a missile at the floating citadel. As the ship pulls away, the camera follows the missile into the fortress, destroying it in a shower of brown (dirt) debris.

* Aquatic Combat - The under-water missions, starting with the shallow parts of its oceans, then diving to deeper depths, going through underwater caves to reach a vast underwater civilization similar to Atlantis. In the last level, the player confronts a control dome for the reactor. After doing sufficient damage to it, reveals that the real source of control is a powerful ship/sub which breaks out of the dome to confront the player. After destroying this ship, the final cutscene ensues in which the player's ship is shown flying away from the planet which buckles and explodes.

Notes and references