Star Wars: X-Wing

aka: Star Wars: X-Wing - Simulador de Combate Espacial, Star Wars: X-Wing - Space Combat Simulator
Moby ID: 536
Note: We may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made via eBay or Amazon links (prices updated 3/23 1:00 PM )

Description

X-Wing is a space combat simulation, the first in the Star Wars universe. From the cockpits of X-Wing, Y-Wing and A-Wing starfighters, players fight for the Rebel Alliance in their struggle against the evil Galactic Empire.

Unlike earlier titles in the genre like Wing Commander, X-Wing employs a polygonal 3D engine: flat-shaded polygons are combined with bitmaps only for explosion effects.

The game features a comprehensive training element. Before starting on real missions, players should navigate the pilot proving grounds, also known as 'Maze', by flying through a course of doorways set atop platforms in space, preferably without missing any, all while keeping an eye on the tight time limit. Higher levels add additional challenges like hostile laser turrets. Next to the 'Maze', there are simulated historical missions (six for each of the three fighters) that prepare for the complex missions in the rest of the game.

The main part of the game consists of three separate campaigns, called Tours of Duty. The Tours can be played in any order, even though they build on each other story-wise: Tour I, 'A New Ally', tells of the Rebellion's search for political allies in their fight against the Empire, while the Emperor launches Operation Strike Fear, a major offensive against the Rebels. Tour II, 'The Great Search' chronicles the Rebels' search for the plans to the Empire's new superweapon, the Death Star. Tour III, 'The Gathering Storm', tells of their efforts to find and destroy the battle station. Animated cutscenes are featured after certain missions to continue the story.

Each Tour consists of around a dozen missions, which include a wide variety of objectives. There are standard strike, escort and defense assignments, but also reconnaissance flights - just scanning ships without attacking them - or capture operations - disabling enemy ships, then protecting the transport carrying the strike team during the takeover. The game of course culminates in the famous attack on the Death Star.

The three flyable fighters all handle differently and are thus more or less suitable for the different types of missions. The X-Wing is heavily armed and armored, and is usually used on strike missions. The Y-Wing is slower and less well protected, but is the only ship equipped with ion cannons, necessary for disabling ships. With its high speed and maneuverability, the A-Wing is ideal for recon and intercept missions.

Next to lasers and ion cannons, the fighters are armed with limited amounts of warheads: proton torpedoes are slow and highly destructive, while concussion missiles are faster, but yield less damage.

A unique feature of the game is energy management: Energy must be divided between engines, weapons and shields. At the standard settings, weapons and shields don't recharge - energy must be diverted from the engines for that, slowing the ship. On the other hand, putting more power into the engines adds speed, but drains shields and guns. Energy can also be transferred between the systems, boosting weapons power at the expense of shields or vice versa.

Space is populated by many ships besides the player's, most of which are well-known from the movies. The Empire will usually launch waves of TIE Fighters, Interceptors and Bombers from Star Destroyers. The Rebels employ large Mon Calamari cruisers and Corellian Corvettes. In use by both sides are Nebulon-B escort frigates and Lambda-class shuttles. Some ships not seen in the movies include the Imperial assault gunboat, the stormtrooper transport and bulk freighters. Friendly fighters will sometimes accompany the player, and can be given specific orders.

Spellings

  • X-Wing :מלחמת הכוכבים - Hebrew spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (DOS version)

61 People (55 developers, 6 thanks) · View all

Design and Project Management
3D Polygon Programming
Cinematic Engine Programming
Mission AI Programming
Background Artwork
3D Animation and Rendering
3D Flight Engine Models
Additional 3D Models
Mission Design
Theme Music
Additional Music and Orchestration
Sound Effects
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 87% (based on 12 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 89 ratings with 11 reviews)

A Must-Have Classic

The Good
X-Wing remains, of all the X-Wing games made, my favorite. I felt that later in the series, though the AI was given a much-needed upgrade, they lost the true 'feel' of the Rebel starfighters in return for 'balance'.

However, in this, the original, all is preserved. The roar of TIE fighters, the whistle of your faithful R2, and the explosions as a proton torpedo rips an enemy fighter apart.

Few games have spawned as many sequels as X-Wing. In addition, multiple editors for everything from ships to pilots to missions were written by players, allowing us all to fly missions however we liked.

The Bad
Unfortunately, X-Wing has shown its age. Its graphics are dated (though given a good touch-up in the X-Wing 95 version) and, worst of all, has issues with the newest computers. Sound no longer works right, though that can hardly be blamed on LucasArts.

The Bottom Line
All in all, however, this is a classic, must-have addition to any gamers' collection. Perhaps you, too, will see just how addictive (and fun) this game can be.

DOS · by Casey Neumiller (4) · 2004

Classic Space Combat Game

The Good
Released in the mists of time, this was the first decent PC-based space combat game. Whereas 'Wing Commander' missed the point totally, sacrificing and semblance of space combat to the increasingly-idiotic altar of between-mission FMV, 'X-Wing' concentrated on a believable flight engine, simple, effective graphics, and bags of 'Star Wars' atmosphere. The clever 'iMuse' system delivered a generative John Williams score in AdLib, and it was fast and smooth even on slow machines. The smart, influential 'shields, weapons, engine' power-juggling is simple, effective, and incalculably effective. Most of all, the fighters fly 'properly' - in other games you felt as if you were manipulating a moving camera, whilst 'X-Wing' gave you the impression you were actually moving a vessel with mass through space.

The Bad
In short, the difficulty level - it was notoriously rock, and with no 'difficulty level' slider you often had to repeat missions constantly. It wasn't the anti-ship combat that was the trouble - it was the fact that, more often than not, you would have to escort extremely vulnerable transport vessels whilst not losing a single one. That was the major problem, and it made many a seasoned gamer cry with frustration. The capital ships were also extremely tough, as you might expect. The other big flaw isn't a fault of the game - 'Tie Fighter', the sequel, was bigger, better looking, and much the same, and is a better choice nowadays.

The Bottom Line
Classic, still-quite-good-fun space combat game, set in the 'Star Wars' universe.

DOS · by Ashley Pomeroy (225) · 2000

Awesome space fighter sim

The Good
The controls are easy to learn, and even got okay with a mouse before I finally bought a joystick. as a sim, this game stands out. I became a better pilot in the "maze", and found that I carried those skills I learned there into the missions and historical battles. the options available, including camera views, targeting, and turning on a recorder to analyze what you did, were outstanding.

The Bad
It's very hard to learn to fly. I actually consider this a plus, since it gave you a sense of accomplishment when you finally learn, but it can be a real turn off to newbies.

The Bottom Line
If you don't have to have instant gratification, X-Wing is well worth the time. After you win a medal, you'll never regret it.

DOS · by Darryl White (9) · 2000

[ View all 11 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Manual/docs roy donato Jul 12, 2007

Trivia

Cancelled Amiga port

An Amiga version was announced in magazines but was never released. Perhaps a wise move since the game is almost unplayable without an analog joystick, and analog joysticks for the Amiga were rare.

Christmas

If you play the game on Christmas you will see Santa Claus on the floor of the Space Station after you have selected your pilot.

Death Star

The Death Star trench when playing with maximum detail settings (otherwise it's a bit like cheating) has a few more objects into which you can crash. Some of them look like T-shaped "bridges" and frameworks, which are absent in the original Star Wars movie. It seems they are modeled after the Disneyland's Star Tours ride, which climaxes with the trench run. If you look closely, you can compare the differences and notice the fact that the Star Tours trench was built using bits of the second Death Star model (from Return of the Jedi), as it was constructed in mid-1980s. A minor detail, yet it adds more obstacles to dodge, which are not to be seen in the movie.

Installation

The floppy install program was known to cause panic among first-time players. Instead of showing a percentage completed based on disks, it counted actual files. The problem was that half of the files were on the fifth and final disk. IE, you're installing it, it takes four disks just to reach the halfway mark, and you spend the entire last disk certain that your copy was incomplete.

Limited Edition

The Limited Edition of X-Wing (the original floppy disk based release) contained a companion book called The Farlander Papers. This book contained spec sheets for the various spacecraft in the game, short stories, a "who's who" for the races of the Star Wars universe and much more. The Limited Edition versions are identifiable only by a small round sticker on the front of the box. Apart from The Farlander Papers, the contents are the same as the normal version of the game.

References

  • In the Tour of Duty I -Mission 1, You have to Identify 4 cargo containers and destroy them..The cargo containers are names Arreis, Nigiro, Ocrim and Esorp. You think LucasGames had something gunning for Sierra, Origin and MicroProse?
  • In one of the later missions, you have to fly to a space-probe called BFG-9000. This is the Big Fucking Gun in the iD Software game DOOM.

Awards

  • Computer Gaming World
    • October 1993 (Issue #111) – Simulation Game of the Year (together with World Circuit)
    • November 1996 (15th anniversary issue) – #11 Hardest Computer Game
  • Electronic Entertainment
    • March 1994 – Editors' Choice Awards: Best Game
  • Game Informer
    • August 2001 (Issue #100) - #42 in the "Top 100 Games of All Time" poll
  • GameStar (Germany)
    • Issue 12/1999 - #19 in the "100 Most Important PC Games of the Nineties" ranking
  • Origin Awards
    • 1993 - Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Computer Game

Information also contributed by Colin Kelly>/a>, [Erkan O](http://www.mobygames.com/user/sheet/userSheetId,65974/), [Felix Knoke](http://www.mobygames.com/user/sheet/userSheetId,15660/), [Gramkow](http://www.mobygames.com/user/sheet/userSheetId,44365/), [PCGamer77](http://www.mobygames.com/user/sheet/userSheetId,1717/), [Rola](http://www.mobygames.com/user/sheet/userSheetId,133005/) and [WizardX](http://www.mobygames.com/user/sheet/userSheetId,1444/)

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Related Games

Star Wars: X-Wing - Collector's CD-ROM
Released 1994 on DOS, 1998 on Windows, 2014 on Linux
Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance
Released 1999 on Windows
Star Wars: X-Wing Vs. TIE Fighter
Released 1997 on Windows
Wing Commander
Released 1990 on DOS, 1992 on SNES, Amiga...
Wing Nuts: Battle in the Sky
Released 1996 on DOS

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 536
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by robotriot.

Additional contributors: Chris Martin, Havoc Crow, formercontrib, Crawly, SharkD, Patrick Bregger.

Game added December 5, 1999. Last modified January 24, 2024.