StarLancer

Installation

My gold copy of StarLancer shipped on two CD's. Installation was simple and straightforward (autorun) and the player has the option of either a typical install (310MB, includes basic StarLancer files but doesn't include movies or music) or a full install (a whopping 1.2GB, installs everything but the kitchen sink). I went with the typical install and encountered no problems while running the game with my DVD-ROM drive. A nice feature during the installation process is a voice-over that sets up the storyline and the mood of the game very effectively. I love hearing a rich British baritone intoning ominously "The Coalition is growing in strength. The threat they pose is undeniable" (ok, so I'm not sure of the exact wording). For those of you who've seen the Wing Commander movie, it's similar to the title sequence (which was actually one of the few good things about that movie).

The manual I got with the game was a photocopied one that had high entertainment value, as well as explaining things well. Throughout the manual are little quotes from pilots that offer some "real world" advice. It's really funny the way the manual and the quotes conflict in many places. For example, the manual reads: "Welcome to the 45th Volunteers. Count yourself lucky to be part of the most patriotic and highly motivated team in the fleet!" Right underneath that text, a quote from Brad "Viper" Callan reads: "Yeah, I'm lucky. I get wingmen who were Academy dropouts, ex-cops, and a bunch of rookies with as much zero-G combat experience as a flying squirrel. Try not to blow me up." Little touches like that help to increase the immersion level of the game. Those of you familiar with Wing Commander will recognize the format instantly, and smile as the feeling of being back in a world of epic conflict sweeps through you.


Alpha Wing on route.	Lock on...fire!

Graphics

Graphically, StarLancer is a bit of a mix. The game is basically split into three sections: a 3-D representation of the carrier the player is assigned to (a la The 7th Guest or The 11th Hour), the combat universe, and FMV cut-scenes every now and then in between missions. Let me begin with the combat universe. In terms of graphics, combat in StarLancer is a ride. Ship models are nicely detailed, and weapons effects are extremely cool (for example, there is a great gatling gun effect with one cannon, and each missile has its own type of flight). The explosions are among the most spectacular I've ever seen in any game. When a player has pumped enough fire into an enemy craft, it blows up in any of a number of different ways, hurling thousands of pieces of debris into space. Every now and then an enemy ship hit directly in the engines will explode with a rippling shock wave that makes the player's ship tremble, causing the HUD to blur momentarily. A damaged ship will leave a thick trail of smoke, and further hits may cause it to simply break apart in mid-flight into hundreds of pieces of debris. Doomed capital ships have explosions rip through them from one end to the other, before a blinding flash sends a huge shock wave tearing through any nearby fighters. Sometimes after a capital ship explosion, dead bodies are visible floating in space, next to the burnt-out hulk of the ship. Rather morbid, but a good sign of the attention to detail that went into the game.

One would think this detail would come at a price in terms of frame-rate, but the StarLancer team has done a superb job. At every graphics setting I tried, with maximized detail, the frame-rate was high and the game played fluidly and smoothly. Even with twenty fighters on screen and huge capital ships blasting the crap out of each other, things don't slow down one bit. This makes a world of difference in space combat games, and my hat is off to those wizards at Warthog and Digital Anvil.

The navigation on board the carriers via the 3-D interface is surprisingly effective. It's shown through the player's point of view, and the player gets the opportunity to see how other people on board the ship react to him/her. At first, most other pilots will ignore the player, but once the player has been promoted to a suitable rank, everyone will start saluting. My only qualm with the carrier view is that there is not enough interaction with other pilots, or places one can go to on the carrier. Technically, this isn't a graphics gripe, it is a gameplay gripe, and I will deal with it in more detail under the gameplay section. A nice inclusion in the carrier navigation view is a fish tank in the player's quarters. One can aimlessly waste several minutes feeding the fishes 3-D accelerated fish food. Ah the perks of being an Alliance pilot.

The FMV cut-scenes are definitely hit-or-miss. Opting out of the video footage used in the likes of Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger and the later Wing Commander games, every cut-scene in StarLancer is fully rendered. Unfortunately, the majority of the animation for the characters is just painful to watch. The overall effect is that of Cyberia, which isn't a good thing. Lip-synching is slightly off, fingers look like sausages, facial animation is simplistic, and so on and so forth. The low-grade animation for the people is contrasted with spectacular battle animation. I still get shivers running down my spine when I watch Captain Foster's battle sequence (I won't spoil it for those of you who haven't yet played this game). Suffice it to say that it's simply brilliantly done and is truly cinematic. If only this game had filmed actors and used the CGI solely for the battle footage (like Wing Commander III and so on), or simply improved the animation for the people. Then it would truly be a cinematic experience, unlike the disjointed "half-and-half" experience it is right now.

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