Star Trek: Starfleet Command II: Empires at War

* Scores of highly detailed new ships including space stations, capital ships, fighters and other vessels.

* Cutting edge graphic technology opens a new era of tactical space combat realism.

* Combat scenarios become even more intense with the addition of more Fighters and Fast Patrol ships.

* The revolutionary new Dynaverse II matching system featuring a galactic map reflecting the current military and economic status of the empires.

* Each player will have an evolving character/commander to control, with the ability to advance through the ranks.

* Player's actions in battle will have a direct effect on the map and the status of the empires.

Gameplay

While the most exciting addition to Starfleet Command Volume II has to be the online Dynaverse II – where you can lead your ships out into hostile territory that's populated by thousands of opponents – the game remains at its core a tactical starship simulation.

In order to thrive, whether in a single player game, a multiplayer skirmish, or in Dynaverse II, you'll need to know everything you can about your own ships and their weapons, and those vessels and weapons that your enemies will bring to bear on you.

Tactical Interface Overview

Moving your mouse around the interface screen will cause new s and their descriptions to appear.

The in-game interface controls give you access to all your ship systems, including additional ships under your command. You also see valuable data about your current target.

Each Star Empire in Starfleet Command Volume II has a unique interface in that race's style, but they all work the same way. The demo uses the interface of the Mirak Star League.This overview is designed to give you an idea of what you will see.

Single Player

If you want to dive in and play a quick engagement as any one of the Star Empires – selecting your own ship and the enemy ships you'll confront in the outer reaches of the galaxy...

Or if you want to play a long, protracted campaign as a Captain in any one of the eight fleets of the spacefaring races...

Starfleet Command: Volume II Single Player mode has just the kind of challenging and complex gameplay you're looking for.

Single Player Skirmish

In a single player skirmish you can easily drop into a quick game against AI opponents. You can select from several types of engagements and – if you like – play the battle through immediately.

In a single player skirmish you can easily drop into a quick game against AI opponents. You can select from several types of engagements and – if you like – play the battle through immediately.

But if you have something else in mind you can customize the engagement in quite a few ways.

You can pick a map type – asteroid fields, planets, black holes, nebulae – and the Era in which you'd like the skirmish to take place, which determines what ships are available.p

You can select up to three ships for your own force, and supply and refit them as you please. You can select up to five AI opponents and allies, and select the exact ships they'll be piloting. This gives you a chance to practice tactics against different Star Empires and their navies.p

Single Player Skirmishes offer quick, in-and-out games for those times when you may be needed back in the Real World, but they also give you a chance to fly a wide variety of ships and practice against all sorts of opponents.

Single Player Campaign

Starfleet Command Volume II features an all new single player campaign system based on the new multiplayer online Dynaverse II system.

In a Single Player Campaign you begin as the Captain of a Frigate in whichever Star Empire you choose. At the start you'll probably stay near the heart of your Empire where you're less likely to encounter powerful enemy fleets, and you'll be offered missions based on your location and what strength you command.

As you gain rank and prestige you'll be offered more demanding goals, and you'll move out toward the fringes of your Empire's space. You'll be more likely to be called on to defend the borders or even to venture into hostile territory. The results of your missions will have a direct effect on the fortunes of your Empire.

If you lose your first ship, you'll be offered another – though possibly not as good a vessel – and likewise as you gain victories you'll be able to upgrade your ship or even purchase additional ships. You can have permanent command of up to three different vessels and during a battle you can also assume command of any ships you capture. Using the revamped fleet control system of Starfleet Command Volume II, you'll be able to direct up to six ships in total during an engagement

Some missions are optional – if you're busy, or have another goal in mind, you can decline them. Other missions, though, are ones that you won't be able to turn down without forfeiting the fight, losing prestige, and possibly even being disciplined by your Empire's central command

Events will occur that are beyond your control. Depending on your Race and the Campaign Era you choose you may find that history has very little regard for the plans you've made. Some historic events – like the sudden appearance of the Interstellar Concordium – are unavoidable and will threaten your career, not to mention their menace to the Empire you serve.

Serve the Empire well, and it will shower rank, medals, prestige, and new ships on you. Serve the Empire ill, and... well, space is full of tiny Police Frigates, each manned by crews that never distinguished themselves in battle. Somebody has to protect those freighters full of medical supplies and alien trinkets.

MultiPlayer

Starfleet Command Volume II has several Multiplayer gaming options. One of these – the online Dynaverse II campaign – is so different and deep that it merits its own section of this web site.

For traditional multiplayer battles that can be played over a LAN or across the Internet, SFC II has some exciting features, too.

Some of the Multiplayer setup screens are featured below. By explaining the some of the screens you will encounter we can also tell you about some of the features in Multiplayer mode.

Game Connections Screen

In this screen, you can choose between the online Dynaverse 2 with its long-term multiplayer campaigns, or skirmish-type multiplayer engagements via LAN or over the Internet, in addition to using MPlayer's matching service

Standard multiplayer games can up to six players in an engagement. These players may be human or AI controlled.

Each player can start with up to three ships, and during combat you can capture and command enemy ships to a total of six vessels.

Create Multiplayer Game Screen

Here you can select from an assortment of multiplayer missions and in many cases you can further customize the game by picking a terrain type, game era, BPV limit, and game speed.

The maximum number of players can also be chosen here. Some missions may limit the number of players, or have recommended maximums.

Multiplayer Start Up Screen

Here's where the players meet and set up their fleets. Each player can belong to one of the available teams, and can select ships up to the BPV limit for the game. The ships can be refitted and supplied, again within BPV limits.

The game host can also select and modify the ships belonging to an AI player.