Battlecruiser Generations

Fan of the Battlecruiser 3000AD series from waaayyy back? Have some of the series but missing a few? Then Battlecruiser Generations is for you! It contains a host of legacy titles to let you relive the early years of Battlecruiser 3000AD. BCMG was a staple of mine many moons ago and it doesn't disappoint! I don't remember where my older copies of Battlecruiser 3000AD are, but that's not a problem, they are all here!

[h1]Happy 25th anniversary![/h1] Battlecruiser 3000AD is a completely serious, not "gamey" space carrier simulator. No game like this was ever made. Ironically, the complexity of UI is what drove many people off. But luckily (for people like me) the dev didn't simplified the simulator in favor of the dumb crowd, as it often happens. So what we have here is a game series which gradually evolved through years by improving on what's already been done. This also an interesting games from retro gaming perspective: the first game was released in 1996 for MS-DOS. These were the times of Quake 1 and Descent 2. At the same time, there's this game with complete freedom in space: fly wherever you want in a quite large galaxy, land on the planets and fly in the atmosphere, gradually learn your ship's systems and find new things you didn't knew before. That's my personal take on this. I've heard that there was a big drama about this series, but I'm just here for the game, I like the cockpit HUD (and that is very similar in all of the games). Really contribute to the feeling of something serious. At the same time it's simple enough to fit on 3 virtual screens. Such a relief for an eyes after all the knobs and switches of F-16. Something like that I've seen in Evochron, another hidden gem. Anyway, you probably should play Universal Combat CE first if you haven't already. It's the most recent version of the simulator with better graphics and more features. [spoiler]I remember EVE Online tutorial somewhere in 2005 which took 2 weeks. These were the fun times. I miss that game which are long overwritten by some garbage with the same name. Battlecruiser Millennium Gold is kinda reminds of what I've expected (for some reason) Eve to be back then.[/spoiler]

Perhaps my first serious sim from my childhood. I still have that BCMG box somewhere at my dad's house. Still a blast. Dated graphics? Don't care, that game is as deep as you want it. You can just skim the surface and blast AI out of space, or explore, lay waste to trade lanes, blocade systems for days until their main stations get into SOS and you can then capture it. A pure RTFM game, not for everyone, but have everything you want in it.

Battlecruiser Millenium Gold was for a long time only available as a DVD with copy protection, has never been freeware and became rare. Being a favorite of many fans and after a request (by me among others), it has now been re-released as download on Steam (for now) in a bundle with its predecessors to celebrate the 25th birthday of Battlecruiser 2000AD's release. The reasons for a purchase must be clarified by everyone for themselves. Except Battlecruiser Millenium Gold, all other games are free to find on abandonware sites. I would recommend everyone to try the freeware versions before. If you do not know how to get these freeware versions, you will not have any joy in the games, because they require a lot of initiative and independent thinking. The games are not easy to access because of the many keyboard layouts for control, but now run smoothly on modern systems, since all old systems can be emulated on modern computers. The re-releases have been tested on modern systems and generally run smoothly after installation. Owners of the Universal Combat CE Bundle on Steam can claim the bundle for free (at the time of it's release). Unlike its predecessors, Battlecruiser Millenium Gold can be controlled (by pressing the Alt key) with the mouse and therefore you do not need a joystick to play. With the game fans also get the Game Builder System (GBSII) with which game scenarios can be created (by writing scripts). As for gaming content there are four Campaigns, one free Roam Option, several more Instant Action Scenarios, and a lot more music tracks compared to BCM Freeware (One Campaign, Roam and one Music Track). Multiplayer has been removed from this version. This release proves that all games can and do run smoothly. The only problem lies in the attitude of the player and presents a challenge to himself. Through initiative, experimentation and curiosity, patience and perseverance, the game can develop into a real treasure chest of insights, experiences and acquired skills. The player's relationship with the game here is, in particular, a matter of development.

Game throws you right into command of your starship or player character no matter what mode you choose. There's no tutorial, no way to find anything, and the manual is useless. It also crashes after about 30 minutes and it's impossible to switch input keys. You can't use the mouse buttons to control your weapons - joystick is required. Very much NOT recommended. Refund requested.

I am giving this game a massive thumbs up, but there is absolutely no point in my attempting to review it. One word describes the experience though. Immersive. To immerse yourself in it is the only way to 'get' it. Reading about it will not do it. Thus, the below wall of text is not a review, but may explain the thumbs up. I got lucky. I bought an early version of this game in the 1990's (BC3000). It was a time of my life when I needed to take some time out and basically lock myself away for a few weeks. I had this CD with this game on, a printed manual and a PC. I read the manual, which is what you did in those days, and I spent those weeks figuring out the game and learning to enjoy it more and more. It sucked me in. There was absolutely nothing like it. I got to the point where a screen full of numbers would translate in my mind to my troops running to defend my ship, I could see my engineers running down corridors to fix damage and effortlessly switch to a screen to check my inventory of parts while managing fighters and planning an escape strategy from a fight I had gotten into that I probably could not win, hoping I could pay for the parts I would need to fix her up. To give one example of a possible situation among many... many... And it was all huge fun, totally immersive and challenging and rewarding. This game is massive. You can read other reviews of it there is so much to do, but there is that one thing you need. Immersion. Eventually I had to spend my time doing other things, I forgot about the game, then one day I realised I had lost the CD, and there wasn't much hope of getting another copy. It was never a popular game. Then sometime later I discovered that it was available for free on the internet. So I downloaded it and got it to run but realised that it would just eat my life so I had to leave it to one side. Even more years later and I am so glad I have it on steam, well this evolved version of it which seems like an improvement from the few hours I have in it. I start it up and I am instantly back in the seat. The 'obtuse' interface makes internal logical sense and is intuitive once you really know the whole game, even 30 years later. It is like an old friend. I start to play and then I realise, I am in that other universe. Immersed. if I don't step away from the computer, my friends and family may not see me for weeks. There is no other game like this, that I know of, and I play a lot of games. If this small sharing of my experience with the game makes you think it may be worth your time investing in it then I say go for it. You may find the most immersive gaming experience you ever had. Or you may find that is just doesn't click for you. It's certainly a risk. I am very glad I happened to give it the time it deserves, and I look forward to having the time to give to it again.... maybe... one day... Also, it runs great on my linux laptop. It is not very demanding. If you find you lose control of the cursor or the screen glitches - alt-tabbing out and back fixes it for me. No other issues.

Bonus....now I know how to use DOS Box. Took me back to C:\........

The seven year old in me is very pleased. Manged to get Battlecruiser 3000AD running with some effort for some sweet nostalgia, and I did some messing around in the default Battlecruiser Milennium which also seemed to work fine. From a technical standpoint I find BC3K absolutely fascinating and impressive. While it's not the prettiest game, the sheer scale of what you can do is mind boggling for the time. Layers upon layers in a free roam star cluster makes for a lot of emergent gameplay moments. It's a shame it never got the chance to shine in the way it probably could today, free of any context from its troubled launch as a truly impenetrable and dense space command simulator. Not many people know about the Battlecruiser series - think Elite and Star Trek combined. I encourage you to try it out sometime if you're a fan of space games, giving orders to crew to carry out your plans, reading manuals and mostly just going around doing *stuff* of various kinds in a world that's designed for you to explore and experiment.

Can't get it to play for more than 45 minutes, and I used to love this game. Sadly, I cannot get a refund, nor can I play it. Removing it now.

Having played one of the earlier releases in 1997, and one of the later versions of the game in 2003, I guess I put in a total of about 1000 hours. I'd rate this as one of the 20 best computer games ever produced. It was a generally more-complex precursor to X3. The fact it runs so well on modern computers is really remarkable, and with XP SP 3 it's very stable on my Windows 10 as another reviewer noted. Be aware that if you play as terran military the game will spawn (or maybe "send in") enemies in most sectors even near earth. These will create dynamic battles with your faction and maybe your ship, so there's lot's of deadly action. There is actual sector conquest or at least base conquest so the combat is meaningful. Voice acting and sounds are great; the music is memorable, and the game is a true sandbox but not true enough to be without purpose. You will have to accept a steep learning curve with few custom keys. One useful way to play the game is set a destination you want to reach and return from alive. Not easy; you'll be dogfighting and trying to make repairs and heal crew... and it will be a strategic voyage you might sink a hundred hours into just for that one playthrough.