Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

aka: SFA
Moby ID: 1352
Windows Specs
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Description official descriptions

Getting into Starfleet involves passing a knowledge exam, and also demonstrating your space combat and command skills. It is this side of the Academy which features in this game. You play aspiring captain David Forester, backed by a wealthy and friendly crew: Sturek, M'Giia, Robin Brady and Corin.

The action is similar in style to Star Wars X-Wing / TIE Fighter, with the action viewed form your cockpit and full flight dynamics in action. Missions include taking on Klingons and Romulans, and dealing with a Vanguard rebellion from within. Before every mission, the briefing is given to you in a lecture style where you can find out what to expect, and reduce the number or surprises. William Shatner and Walter Koenig reprise their Star Trek characters for these.

Spellings

  • 星际神鹰 - Simplified Chinese spelling

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Credits (Windows version)

362 People (335 developers, 27 thanks) · View all

Project Leader
Executive Producer
Producer
Film Director
Line Producer
Technical Assistant
Paramount Liaison
Original Story
Screenplay
Additional Materials for Screenplay
Lead Programming
AI Programming
Network Programming
Network Tools Programming
GNW Programming
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 76% (based on 22 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 22 ratings with 2 reviews)

Tried to capture the magic of Star Trek, but the starship combat is a joke

The Good
Decent plot, decent acting, decent video sequences, lots of familiar races and starships, many things to do

The Bad
Not enough options (unlike a true Starfleet captain), the ships manuever like fighters, you can't see the other guy's damage so you know where to attack, some choices are not that logical, no indication of how well you REALLY did (how do I know how I fared?), standard "saboteur/rebellion" plot

The Bottom Line
Starfleet Academy is a flawed game that could have been better. Go ahead and get it if you're a Trekker, but keep in mind that the starship combat needs a lot more tweaking.

Windows · by Kasey Chang (4598) · 2000

Beam me up Scotty.... No Intelligible Life in this Program....

The Good
When Interplay announced that they were producing a tactical combat simulator based on the Startfleet Academy (SFA) concept, I was actually looking forward to its released. Tactical Combat in the Star Trek Universe goes as far back as the game Star Fleet I: The War Begins . To have a Graphical Starship combat simulator was a dream come true. Similar to the thrill of when X-Wing was released.

But unlike the success that X-Wing had, SFA is all bark and no bite.

There is only one redeeming quality to this game. That being the cutscenes. There are absolutely fantastic. William Shatner, Walter Koenig and George Takei reprise their roles as Kirk, Chekov and Sulu, and it gives the game a much needed boost in authenticity... if you can say that Star Trek is authentic :)

My mistake. One other thing that was nice was the preview for "Secret of Vulcan Fury" which was a Star Trek on the line of the graphical adventures such as 25th Anniversary and Judgement Rites. Unfortunately it was never made.

The Bad
The biggest complaint I have about the game is the game itself. What was promised to be a tactical combat bridge simulator was, sadly, dumbed down to a point-and-shoot game similar to the Wing Commander series in it's infancy. Please don't take that as a slam against Wing Commander though. WC is a fantastic game for it's time, and deserves all the credit. But SFA seems to be Wing Commander on a grand scale, and the game is not very good.

The incredibly large install is also a deterent. 500MB for the game? It spans 5 CD's and you need a half-gig install? Seems to me that it just wasn't worth the install.

The control was done mainly with the mouse, and like I've said before, it's like trying to fly a F-14 Tomcat with a bar of soap instead of a joystick.

The entire feel of the game was just off.



The Bottom Line
I was foolish enough to think that it was going to be a good game. Interplay called me and offered me the game to try before I buy, and then pay for it later. Well, I was snookered into paying for it.

This game, in my opinion, is a far cry from what Star Trek gamers expected, and in return, I believe that it will hurt Interplay in the long run.

The game is slow, unchallenging, and not what I expected.

Final Verdict: The cutscenes alone are nice, but unfortunately the game doesn't live up to MY expectations. I personally would have passed on it if I had known how awful it was. Unless you absolutely have to have every Star Trek game in the universe, avoid it like the plague.

Windows · by Chris Martin (1155) · 2000

Trivia

CDs

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy was originally scheduled for 4 CDs. When the game went gold with 5 CDs, the original CD jackets (for 4) would not fit, so the fifth CD was released in a Tyvek envelope. Later releases of the game have a 5 CD jacket and a "5-CD" logo on the box. There is also a DVD version.

Novel

The story of the game has been adapted into a novel written by Star Trek writer Diane Carey and published by Pocket Books.

Other versions

There's a budget version of the game called Starfleet Academy: Strategic Operations, which contains only the first 3 missions of the full game. Two other demo versions were released: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy - Cadet Briefing, which features the 4 first levels of the main game, and Starfleet Academy: Strategic Command with the 8 first levels.

Awards

In the German gaming magazine PC Player (issue 01/1998) the game received a special award for the "Noblest Cutscenes in 1997".

Information also contributed by chirinea, Kasey Chang, and Patrick Bregger.

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by MAT.

Macintosh added by Terok Nor.

Additional contributors: Terok Nor, Apogee IV, CaesarZX, 6â…ž of Nine, Cantillon.

Game added April 19, 2000. Last modified March 18, 2024.