FarStar is a strategy game written by myself in VIsual Basic 6.
I started this program in 1995 because I wanted to re-create a game that my good old friends and I used to play on the mythical Apple IIe
Life events diverted me from continuing my work on it until recently when, just ended a quite long world trip (of which you can see the pictures on this Website), I had some spare time since I was looking for a job. I started from where I left it with, I must admit, some difficulties but I'm quite stubborn sometimes and I like to finish what I start (even after years) and besides (and probably more important) I wanted to get some rust off my Visual Basic programming skills.
The game was called 'Lords of the galaxy' (Signori della galassia was the original Italian name) and it was pretty simple but fun. At that time (it should have been around 1985) there were almost only monochrome monitors and we weren't spoiled like today. Therefore, even a simple game could give us hours of fun.
If you are a 'special effects addict', this is not your game but if you're looking for a simple strategic game, just give it a try.
This is still a beta version not much because there are bugs (at least known at this very moment) but because the Empire strategy (read artificial intelligence) and initial setup may have to be tuned further more.
So if you think you can help with anything please leave a message here at the Contact section.
Following is an overview of the game rules and objectives (that you can find in the help too):
It's all very simple: your objective is to conquer the entire galaxy, wiping out the Empire and the other players, if any.
You start with one planet. On that one, which is your home, you don't suffer from the hostility of the natives. When you occupy another planet, on the contrary, the population will fight against the invader because they're still loyal to the Empire. The higher the Hostility number the higher the number of ships you're likely to loose at the end of the turn.
The other two important facts you have to know about a planet are Production and Ships. The first one will tell you how many ships that planet will build each turn and the second is the number of ships garrisoned at the planet.
Usually, you should send a single ship, a scout, to a planet in order to measure up its strength and then attack but the first turn I suggest that you strike right away because at the beginning the Empire isn't that strong.
Once you conquer a planet (but also your home), you can try to increase its production for up to a maximum of 20 ships per turn. Some planets, though, produce less ships than others. It's a matter of luck.
Quite simple, isn't it?
Note:
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FREE Download FarStar in 1 single file (12 MB)
Or (FREE as well)
Download FarStar_Setup.zip (67 KB)