star trek bridge commander

zix74itaelite · February 2013

I just want to share with you guys... I have been playing bridge commander for the last two days, that game brings tears to my eyes... good old straight forward pure fun.

jumpingjs · February 2013

We need more Trek games, proper Trek games

STO is definitely good, just I think we need more Trek games in general. Or allow new game companies (who want to make Trek) merge with Cryptic to make Star Trek Online the mother of all Trek games.

charliescot25 · February 2013

Bridge Commander will and always be the best trek game going. I missed the good old days.

hortwort · February 2013

I've never played it. I'm too cheap to spend that much on a game these days, hehe. I'll snatch it up the moment it hits GOG though. (They just got System Shock 2, btw. How cool is that?)

ssgtgumby · February 2013

zix74itaelite wrote: »

I just want to share with you guys... I have been playing bridge commander for the last two days, that game brings tears to my eyes... good old straight forward pure fun.

Dude, did you play PVP, how many people were on the server? I need to see if I can locate a CD for that. My disk, long ago, got too scratched up and would not play. The FREE (cough cough...listen up Cryptic) mods make that game totally out of this world and FUN. I love the fact that you can be PVP'ing in one sector of space and wrap out to any number of others for some "hide and seek" fun. Awesome.....

Reply back to let me know. I may try to order it on Ebay or something.

jcsww · February 2013

I sitll have my original copy with box along with Elite Force and the expansion pack. In the day of Elite Force 2, I gave my copy to a friend of mine after I had beat it. I do wish I had kept it though.

Comparing Bridge Commander to STO brings a couple of things to mind and most of which aren't good for STO. Bridge Commander captures what it's like to be on the bridge of a starship, the Enterprise no less, and having a First Officer that is eager to the point where she doesn't shut up! :P She kind of reminds me of Will Riker when he first put Picard in his place by basically saying, you are to fossilized to go on Away Missions.

The voice acting in Bridge Commander was vastly superior to anything we have in STO. Both games are very linear but STO disappoints more in that respect due to the mission structure, leveling, and restrictions. STO tried to capture a feel of progression through the ranks and fails in an abysmal way!

Ther eis one thing that is still missing from this game that players have wanted since the very beginning. We want to command our ships from the bridge! Is is the single largest failure that Cryptic has yet to correct with Star Trek Online. As far as I am concerned though, this game still has yet to make it out of the beta phase based on the disgusting state of the game in it's current state! I blame this on the lack of a love of the franchise from those who make decisions in this game. Bridge Commander plays out like a long episode from the TNG era where STO just throws a ton of the same TRIBBLE at you over and over until you reach certain levels. Once you reach the max level, there is a regular grind and shafting the playerbase when changing things up. Bridge Commander gives you a sense of satisfaction when you finish it. Even the PvP system in Bridge Commander is far superior to what we have no in STO and that's laughable considering the difference between when the games were released.

I may come off as someone who hates this game and feel free to believe what you wish. Personally, I do like for a few simple reasons. There are a lot of places in STO that I can just visit for the sake of visiting. Risa, DS9, Drozana Station, StarFleet Academy, and so on. We need more of these iconic locations in STO and more to do at them. The variety of costumes is nice but we need more and to be able to mix and match them and the ranks in a much better way. We are finally getting to a point where we have a number of playable ships in this game that should have been there from the very beginning. Still, I would have liked the option to stay with a particular ship through out the whole leveling process, if I wanted to. The single most awesome thing about Star Trek Online though is... The playerbase! Most of you are very nice people, die hard fans with a passion for Star Trek that I don't even have. If it wasn't for you folks, this game would of flushed faster than a "Captain's Log" sitting on the event horizon of a super massive black hole.

STO can learn a lot from the Star Trek games of the past. Whether it's the Elite Force series, Bridge Commander, the StarFleet and Klingon Academy series, and the countless others out there. STO's promative engine, a staff that are barely qualified to develop for it, and a narrow-minded batch of decision makers will always hold this game back from what it could be.

kamiyama317 · February 2013

I really haven't played any other Trek games before. They should release all these old Trek PC games on Steam so I can play them.

lincolninspace · February 2013

I used to have this game the disc got destroyed (it is a very expensive game to buy due to rarity too)

it was a more authentic trek experience than sto is. It felt like you were in a tng episode and the mod community is awesome.

merryprankster2 · February 2013

http://stexcalibur.com/

Check it out.

typhoncal · February 2013

Bridge Commander like so many had great features that Cryptic refuses to add into STO, they make endless excuses, the engine cant do that. I say, it is a lack of REAL programmers that are just not experienced enough.

squatsauce · February 2013

I liked Bridge Commander quite a bit, but absolutely LOVED the Starfleet Command games. One of the reasons I enjoy STO as much as I do is because it feels like a good middle ground between them.

stardestroyer001 · February 2013

Ah, STBC. The good old days.

hevach · February 2013

merryprankster2 wrote: »

http://stexcalibur.com/

Check it out.

Or if you're interested in some day playing the game rather than just reading a dev blog that's been running since 2004:

http://bridge-commander-2.com
https://www.facebook.com/stbc2

This game has been in development a fraction of the time Excalibur has, and already has a sorta playable alpha build available (link in the Feb 2 post on the facebook page). Excalibur has out-of-engine physics demos and model views and UI mock-ups.

typhoncal · February 2013

squatsauce wrote: »

I liked Bridge Commander quite a bit, but absolutely LOVED the Starfleet Command games. One of the reasons I enjoy STO as much as I do is because it feels like a good middle ground between them.

Absolutely, i agree.

stardestroyer001 wrote: »

Ah, STBC. The good old days.

Ah, the good old days of the SFCommand days.

hevach wrote: »

Or if you're interested in some day playing the game rather than just reading a dev blog that's been running since 2004:

http://bridge-commander-2.com
https://www.facebook.com/stbc2

This game has been in development a fraction of the time Excalibur has, and already has a sorta playable alpha build available (link in the Feb 2 post on the facebook page). Excalibur has out-of-engine physics demos and model views and UI mock-ups.

Thanks for the links, yes that game has been in development forever and its like when do you anticipating getting done?

pmadi32382 · February 2013

To me the best Star Trek game of all is "Star Trek 25th Anniversary" it came out on like 20 floppy discs and is pretty old, but it captured what I always enjoyed about Star Trek. Most games are about action, attacking others and the like and there is some of that in the 25th Anniversary game but there is also a lot of scanning stuff and exploring and figuring out mysteries which I think most Trek games either do poorly or completely ignore. I would love to see a modern version of that game, which I think STO approaches some what but there is far more "destroy" missions than I recall from that old game.

captainoblivous · February 2013

If you're interested in using mods being made RIGHT NOW for STBC, check out the forums at
BC-Central. Yes, this is a plug and yes I am registered over there.
We even have an STO thread.

vsilverwings1 · February 2013

Loved STBC it had full 3D space combat. I miss the days when I'd be the only Akira in a pvp match and everyone went Sovereign or HC when they got nooby and didn't like losing :P. A lot of people underestimated the Akira and the accusations of cheating when I whooped their Sovereign were common, honestly who'd expect someone to fly straight and allow torpedos to hit you...tsk tsk:rolleyes:.

vsilverwings1 · February 2013

Oh and those hybrid ships were especially nasty with their super agile torpedoes and heavy forward firing assault...yup definitely good old days and ships like the CG sovereign were lush to look at.

gfreeman98 · February 2013

jcsww wrote: »

I sitll have my original copy with box along with Elite Force and the expansion pack.

Elite Force & Elite Force II were both very good. There was even multiplayer, but no idea if that still works.

I must admit I never played Bridge Commander though. If one can still find a copy, does it run on Win7 or do you need something like Dosbox?

jcsww · February 2013

gfreeman98 wrote: »

Elite Force & Elite Force II were both very good. There was even multiplayer, but no idea if that still works.

I must admit I never played Bridge Commander though. If one can still find a copy, does it run on Win7 or do you need something like Dosbox?

The last time I had it running was on Win XP. I was using a lot of the mods to reappreciate the game though from Bridge Commander Files. There are so many great mods for Bridge Commander, it's not even funny. It's ironic that a community of dedicated gamers with a love for Star Trek can do more with a dated game than Crytpic can do with STO.

cookiecrook · February 2013

jcsww wrote: »

Bridge Commander Files. There are so many great mods for Bridge Commander.

This is a large community that is still very active.

captainoblivous · February 2013

cookiecrook wrote: »

This is a large community that is still very active.

BC files is pretty awful now. It used to be awesome, but sadly, in recent years it has become increasingly unreliable.

A lot of the stuff that goes up there nowadays is made on BC-Central anyway.

age03 · February 2013

@charliescot25

The best game would be Starfleet Command not to shun out Raven Night but Talden did it best not Acti.

captainoblivous · February 2013

age03 wrote: »

@charliescot25

The best game would be Starfleet Command not to shun out Raven Night but Talden did it best not Acti.

Raven night! Now there's a name I haven't heard in a long time. He was the founder of BCU though and as far as I know has nothing to do with the game anymore.
At least, I haven't heard of him being around for several years now.

BC ftw :P

typhoncal · February 2013

age03 wrote: »

@charliescot25

The best game would be Starfleet Command not to shun out Raven Night but Talden did it best not Acti.

Heck yeah Age, straight up!

ufpterrell · February 2013

Bridge Commander was and still is my all time favourite Star Trek game. The story was good, gameplay was solid and the multiplayer in STILL great fun even today. The graphics were pretty epic for the time as well, glowing warp nacelles etc. Games just aren't made with the same care anymore, it's sadly all about the graphics and money making potential spitting out crappy annual releases to milk the franchise instead of making something that will stand the test of time.

I was actually thinking the other day, if I had millions I'd like to try and get something made like a melding of Bridge Commander and Elite Force.... the possibilities lol...

jcsww · February 2013

captainoblivous wrote: »

BC files is pretty awful now. It used to be awesome, but sadly, in recent years it has become increasingly unreliable.

A lot of the stuff that goes up there nowadays is made on BC-Central anyway.

I've got to disagree with that. Although i don't bo9ther with their foums, all of the best content for Bridge Commander and instructions on how to install them are there. There is no other place with the resources and content that Bridge Commander Files has.

ufpterrell wrote: »

Bridge Commander was and still is my all time favourite Star Trek game. The story was good, gameplay was solid and the multiplayer in STILL great fun even today. The graphics were pretty epic for the time as well, glowing warp nacelles etc. Games just aren't made with the same care anymore, it's sadly all about the graphics and money making potential spitting out crappy annual releases to milk the franchise instead of making something that will stand the test of time.

I was actually thinking the other day, if I had millions I'd like to try and get something made like a melding of Bridge Commander and Elite Force.... the possibilities lol...

I would definitely be on board with that!

captainoblivous · February 2013

jcsww wrote: »

I've got to disagree with that. Although i don't bo9ther with their foums, all of the best content for Bridge Commander and instructions on how to install them are there. There is no other place with the resources and content that Bridge Commander Files has.

Oh, BCfiles has the content no doubt but it's become very unreliable in the last 2 years or so. Throwing up random 500s and 404s every so often and that's if you can connect at all! A few years back they basically cut off access from quite a few countries, restrictions that are still in effect afaik.
Also, there isn't much in the way of actual instructions on BCfiles iirc. Lots of content, but not much help if it's needed. What help and tips that have been posted up there is likely old and outdated. It's why ancient (and absolutely obsolete) tools like BCMP and BCMI are still in the top 10 downloads for bcfiles!

BC-central has the information on it's boards. If it isn't there, then it's a sure bet that someone there will know what you need to know!

It's a shame they can't sort out the npc models or the animations though!

lordmalak1 · February 2013

captainoblivous wrote: »

It's a shame they can't sort out the npc models or the animations though!

I thought they did, The bridge plugin system was supposed to be it's savior. I left the game about the time it was becoming popular because some of the creators elitist attitudes were overwhelming. I saw recently a new group building bridges but am unsure if they were using the plugin system or something else. I used to manipulate the animations with the tools the BC devs used and a hex editor. Funny, some of my files are still up on bcfiles.

altai8008 · February 2013

i have fond memories of playing st generations back in 97.

after watching a few videos of it, i honestly cant remember why..

age03 · February 2013

captainoblivous wrote: »

Raven night! Now there's a name I haven't heard in a long time. He was the founder of BCU though and as far as I know has nothing to do with the game anymore.
At least, I haven't heard of him being around for several years now.

BC ftw :P

Yeah but that is made by Acti not Taldren who were better at it.

@ufpterrell

Acti(Activision) owns the rights to those games and have por customer support as well the 1 patch policy.

star trek bridge commander

Comments