Star Wars: Rebellion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Star Wars: Rebellion | |
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| Developer(s) | Coolhand Interactive |
| Publisher(s) | LucasArts |
| Release date(s) | 1998 |
| Genre(s) | real-time strategy, 4X |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | E |
| Platform(s) | PC |
| Media | CD-ROM |
| System requirements | Windows 95; Pentium 90 minimum; Direct X 5.0; 16MB RAM |
| Input | Mouse |
Star Wars: Rebellion (or Supremacy in the United Kingdom) is a Lucasarts strategy game released in 1998 and set in the fictional Expanded Universe of Star Wars.
For the Dark Horse comics series of the same name, see Star Wars: Rebellion (comics).
Contents |
[edit] Gameplay
[edit] Overview
Although a RTS in the wider sense of the term, it belongs more to the genre of 4X games resembling Master of Orion. There are elements of turn-based games as well, as the events of each 'day' of game time are processed at the end of that day. The player commands manufacturing of facilities, troops and starships, resources, fleet deployment and mission assignments of units and characters (60 in all: 6 major, 54 minor, 30 per side) around the (up to) 200 available systems.
The player assumes the role of a military administrator and takes control over either the Empire or Rebel Alliance. The game interface consists of a map of the Star Wars galaxy and an advisor droid (this position is taken by C3PO for the Rebellion and IMP-22 for the Imperials). The map consists of sectors of 10 systems each (the number of sectors is customisable to be either 10, 15 or 20), all known from the Star Wars universe. Some of them belong to 'unknown' regions and need to be explored, known systems can be either under control of one of the two main factions, or neutral.
The player has to take care of general command and maintenance, like colonisation, diplomacy, creation of buildings and units, supervising of mines and resources, building and commanding fleets, conversion of systems to one's own side, recruitment of characters and dispatching characters or units to systems or fleets and finally assignment of missions to them.
[edit] Characters
There are two kinds of characters in the game: Major and minor ones. Major characters will always be available at the beginning of the game, while most minor ones must be recruited. Only major characters can embark on recruitment missions.
Minor characters will sometimes randomly be generated Force sensitive and can be trained by Jedi characters (Luke or Vader) to augment their abilities. The main characters with Force control can also enhance their abilities by conducting missions. Characters with higher Force ratings have better abilities in diplomacy, espionage and combat, and can therefore absolve missions with a higher chance of success.
Some characters can be given military ranks by the player to put them in specific roles.
- An Admiral increases a fleet's performance.
- A General increases the performance of troops and reduce the likelihood of successful enemy missions on a friendly planet
- A Commander increases the combat efficiency of starfighter squadrons.
[edit] Unit management
There are several kinds of buildable units. Each kind can be constructed by one of three construction facilities.
- Installations are buildings on a planet's surface or in orbit. They can be construction facilities or defense installations.
- Mines produce raw material from planets, while refineries refine them into processed materials that can be used for construction. Both increase maintenance and thus allow for larger military forces.
- Construction Yards build other installations.
- Troop Training Facilities create troops and special forces.
- Shipyards construct starships and fighter squadrons
- Planetary cannons attack assaulting starships and troop transports or defend units escaping a blockade
- Shield generators defend everything on the planet from orbital bombardment
- Troops are used to conquer and defend planets, and to claim uninhabited systems.
- Starships can blockade systems, unleash orbital bombardments and be the platforms for planetary assault. They can carry troops and starfighters up to their respective limits and an unlimited number of characters and special forces. Ships are grouped together in fleets. When opposing fleets meet at a system, the battle between them is fought at the beginning of that 'day'.
- Starfighters can be stationed on planets or capital starships and are built in squadrons. They can fight in fleet battles, and add to bombardment and detection ratings.
- Special forces include spies, saboteurs, and long-range reconnaissance teams.
As research progresses, new units and facilities become available for construction. Research can be sped up significantly by ordering characters with the corresponding ability to conduct design missions. Characters can have the ability to research facilities, starships or troop designs.
[edit] Encyclopedia
Every element of the game has its own encyclopedia-like 'card' with a short description and abilities sheet. This amounts to a total of several hundred encyclopedia cards.
[edit] Objectives
The standard objective of each game is to take the HQ of the enemy (Coruscant or the mobile Rebel base) and capture the two leaders of the opposite side: The Alliance must capture Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, the Empire's targets are Luke Skywalker and Mon Mothma.
[edit] Tactical Interface
Most of the game is played in the Galaxy view where you can manage your different systems. But when two enemy fleets meet the game shall ask you if you wish to switch to the tactical interface. The tactical interface allows you to control your fleet in a real-time space battle where you control the battleships and the fighters.
This part of the game was regarded by some as the worst due to the very poor graphics. But it has to be noted that the fan community now offers a large array of ships that can be used to replace the original ones. The utility of this part of the game has also sometimes been discussed since the limited interface and lack of orders to give your troops mean that the issue of the battle is more often decided by the numerical advantage rather than by the tactical genius of the commander. But this has not stopped several players of developing strategies which allow for a disadvantaged player to still win a battle. But it must be noted that the strategies are often only adaptable to a game played against the AI since a human player will be capable of foiling the enemy maneuvers.
[edit] Story
The game starts right after the Battle of Yavin and the destruction of the Death Star. The Galactic Empire is ready to strike back against the Rebel base of Yavin IV, while the Rebel Alliance is readying to move to another system.
Apart from the given time of the beginning, the game stops being story driven, and the scenario expands freely. Although events of the later movies might occur (like the capture of Han Solo by bounty hunters and the construction of a second Death Star), or are even scripted to happen, (like the Jedi training of Luke Skywalker), the player can change or avert some events of the canonical timeline, including such things as not migrating to Hoth after Yavin, creating more than one Death Star, having Luke become a Jedi Master before he even meets Vader or the Emperor, or and even lead the Empire into victory.
For gameplay purposes, many elements of the game are randomized at the beginning. For this reason, troop, fleet, and resource locations, as well as the allegiance of most planets, do not reflect canon information.
[edit] Reception
The game split many fans and players. Many loathed it, reacting with heavy criticism, considering it to be one of the lowest-quality products of Lucasarts, a failed attempt to bring Star Wars into strategy. Others praised it, it extolling the value of game play over graphics and considering a high water mark before the glut of games connected to The Phantom Menace.
Some feel that its orientation is an 'electronic card game', which makes the gameplay rely on tactics and thought rather than action, graphics or sound. Some players disliked this gameplay, expecting to control or see the on-planet battles of their troops, rather than just receiving the outcome, like in the game Defender of the Crown. The only action part of the game is the space battle simulator, which is also sometimes criticized for what some consider to be a confusing and unintuitive interface.
[edit] The Rebellion Editors (RebEd and SWR:E)
One of the main problems of Rebellion and surely one of the reasons of its poor success was its rather limited gameplay. This problem was solved when a player named Revolution released his Rebellion Editor (or RebEd). This program allows to easily edit many aspects of the game, going from ship power to ingame interface. These modifications could be saved as 'cards' which could then be loaded by any other person who had the Editor. Thanks to this, a solid community has been growing, which offers over a thousand cards for download free.
The last RebEd version to ever be released was 0.26. There has been speculation and suggestion about Revolution having written a 0.27 version; since this version was never found, this is believed to be conjecture. The source code for the editor was never released.
Before RebEd There was SWR:E which could only change very limited stats
