Editing Star Control (section)

== Star Control II ==
After the rousing success of Star Control, Toys for Bob took a page (along with several devs) from the venerable ''Starflight'' series and tore the world wide open, making '''Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters''': an exploratory adventure game that dumps you into a mostly unexplored galaxy and leaving you to make allies and enemies as you see fit on your quest to defeat the Ur-Quan, generating much win in the process. You take the role of a human colonist descended from a research team that discovered a [[Old Ones|Precursor]] starship factory on an unexplored world at the close of the war with the Ur-Quan. Having lost contact with Earth, the colony launches you into space in what is essentially a Precursor tugboat (which, while absolute shit at combat compared to the escorts you can get, is still an awesome flagship) to figure out what the hell has happened in the decades since their landing.

You immediately find out that the Alliance lost the war, Earth has been enslaved (though slavery is a loose term, everyone is free to fuck around on the surface, except for 2000 humans sent into orbit to work as bored gas station attendants to Ur-Quan ships rotated yearly), and the Ur-Quan are nowhere to be found except for a probe message that gives vague warnings. Linking up with Earth's Hierarchy starbase, you set out to gather the resources and allies you need [[Humanity Fuck Yeah|(battle cries of '''"GENOCIDE! MINING! GENOCIDE! MINING!"''' optional)]] to take the fight to the Ur-Quan and liberate the galaxy. To say any more would take away from the sheer awesome of the discoveries you make along the way, but you're basically set free to do whatever the fuck you want; Star Control II set a standard for player freedom that had never been seen before and arguably has never been seen since. And the plot turns out to be a rare "good Grimdark" story rather than an Edgefest of author's childhood catharsis. While seemingly cruel villains, the Ur-Quan have a very tragic past that turned them insane prepared from one of the developers' college thesis on childhood trauma and consequences.

In 2002, faced with the fact that they'd never make another Star Control game again, Toys for Bob released the resources and source code for the 3DO version of Star Control II, which featured voice acting (minus a few lines, see below) and enhanced graphics over the original PC version; this has become ''The Ur-Quan Masters'', a <s>[[ChapterHouse Studios|untrademarked]]</s> subsequently trademarked by Stardock sourceport of the original game for modern platforms. Get it. [http://sc2.sourceforge.net/ Get it now.]

===Tips & Tricks===
*'''TAKE. NOTES.''' This isn't your fucking JRPG cancer where everyone has a glowing neon sign over their heads telling you what to do next, you'll be given locations and coordinates ''once'' and it can be wasteful or impossible to have them given to you again. Keep a notebook or text file and record anything that seems important.
*'''There is a time limit.''' Because of a dev oversight this is never mentioned in the 3DO version, and therefore it's not mentioned in The Ur-Quan Masters without a mod. '''You have until the year 2159 (four years) to win the game "cleanly."''' If you don't make it because you spent two years gathering minerals or something, then [[Exterminatus|bad things happen]] although you can still retrieve the items needed to win the game if you're quick enough to avoid hitting the "real" time limit shortly afterward.
*'''Don't overstretch yourself at the start''' Relating to the above, DO spend a year at most gathering minerals from the neighboring star systems and upgrading your ship. If you gather only what is in Sol system and then barrel onwards you will get destroyed fairly quickly. Roam the ''Earthling space'' in the first few months and then head out with at least 2 escorts.
*'''The Flagship is initially VERY bad at combat.''' Your Ion-Bolt Gun is very shitty and very expensive, and while you can fix this later if you're caught without escorts early on you might as well reload. Sell it as soon as you can and use the resources to build actually useful things like storage upgrades and take as many diverse and high-tech escort crafts to your hangar as possible. THEN find new technologies and get yourself two modules of hellbores, 3 shiva furnaces, 4 guidance modules and 3 dynamos, and watch Ur-Quan shit themselves the moment you fire.
*'''[[Blood Ravens|Knowledge is power, guard it well.]]''' There is a godsend race that sells technology for abstract things. Without spoiling, hunt exotic creatures, photograph exotic planets and search massive stars for a funky merchant ship. They also sell direct clues on how to win the game. And ask the human captain about EVERYTHING. Ask EVERY race about EVERYTHING until they get bored. An alien's rumor of a certain "ghost" constellation blinking six days in every six months can be a whole new riddle with a reward.
*'''Read The Fucking Manual.''' There are a lot of hints in there about what to expect from the different aliens, and you're pretty much guaranteed to waste valuable time in the middle of nowhere if you don't consult the paper starmap included with the game to see where everyone lives. What's more, don't be disappointed if you literally lose the game after doing all this. There is a spoiler-rich star chart on the internet for those that don't have the time...
*'''Know your limit.''' You'll often find situations that are just too dangerous for you at the moment. Remember, your escape unit is there for a reason. Don't waste resources chasing minerals or fighting ships you can't handle. That said, fortune favors the brave. The ultra hot planet with minerals or that strange, crashed Ur-Quan ship might save you a lot of time...
*'''Help, I am still getting wrecked!''' Ok, minor spoilers but this should get you on your way: Pluto has a potential alien escort that is excellent in early game so long as you play in the spirit of that race (i.e run away and fart torpedos into your pursuer), Centauri's largest red star has that vital trader outpost and when you feel like you are ready to tackle the story, head towards the yellow Wolf star.