Hyperspeed is a space trading and combat simulation game, and a follow-up to Lightspeed. The player controls a pilot who is sent on a mission to find a new home for humans, after the Earth has become nearly uninhabitable. The goal is to encounter alien species and negotiate with them to allow the colonization of a planet by the humans. To do that, the player has to engage in diplomatic talks and trading, and also fend off hostile aliens.
The gameplay mostly relies on the template introduced by Elite: the player explores the galaxy piloting a space ship, encountering alien races, trading with them, and purchasing better weapons, shields, and engine for the space ship, helping the protagonist to survive in combat. There are four star clusters to explore, each one with its own difficulty level.
Hyperspeed shares something with Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. Specifically, they both have the same theme song. It seems that Jeffery L. Briggs, who did musical work on Hyperspeed (and many other MicroProse games), and was the Executive Producer and one of two people who did the soundtrack for Alpha Centauri, remixed the Hyperspeed theme song for SMAC's main menu.
