Tachyon: The Fringe

Played this game again, the other day. A recommendation is to use the fixed nGlide driver for an even better experience from here (https://www.zeus-software.com/downloads/nglide/compatibility). In any case, the game plays incredibly smoothly on modern-day hardware, and aside from "sounds in space", it's just such an enjoyable single-player experience hearing Bruce Campbell's constant banter, along with the smoothness of keyboard and mouse controls. Ultimately, one of those works that IMO still holds up because the moment to moment gameplay is just that enjoyable. I honestly wish this game got a remaster just to get a fresh graphical coat of paint, and wonder why this style of game fell off. I have very, very little bad to say about this game beyond "I wish the Galspan route went on longer. I finished it in a day." =P

I'm a sucker for all things Bruce Campbell, just a childhood favourite actor of mine. Loved him in the Evil Dead series and The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. So when I heard he voiced the main character in this game, I couldn't not play it. It's an old school game, and honestly it could be quite the pain to get running at a higher resolution. There's a decent guide on Steam telling how to get it running, but I still had issues with a constant spinning bug when loading into a map. I tried searching the forums for help but couldn't really find anything apart from someone saying to turn off capture mouse in the program used to get this game running on modern systems. Even then it still didn't stop my issue but then suddenly it did work, so I'm really not sure what happened to fix it, but it did? It's confusing, I didn't question it and just started playing. I had a lot of fun with it, I played on the easiest difficulty and still had a few issues here and there on some missions but it was mostly fine. Easy enough for me to beat it and I enjoyed the story. It seems like there's two major paths where you pick a faction to join, I ended up joining the anti-corp faction and was satisfied with its conclusion. I may attempt to see the other side some day but for now I'm happy with what I've experienced and have a never-ending backlog to get through that I'd rather do than replay games I've already finished. Honestly, if you can get it to work, it's a pretty fun space sim with a quirky main character and interesting missions to complete. I'd love for more games like these to be made tbh

I first played this game when it came out, and I enjoyed it this time around every bit as much as the first time. As far as the plot is concerned, this game has two very interesting possible stories to follow - each with their own unique take on a well crafted universe of lore and fun characters. If you've ever seen a Bruce Campbell movie, you'll love this game by default as he voices the main character. The game mechanics and controls are truly ahead of their time. I have yet to play another title that has the same level of scientific realism integrated into their space flight gameplay. Do yourself a favor and play this if you want a fun, space flight combat experience - especially if realistic physics are a draw for you.

"Tachyon: The Fringe is a fun, if a bit aggravating, retro space sim that will please fans of the genre. It also has Bruce Campbell." Full Review: https://medium.com/@DragonFangGaming/tachyon-the-fringe-review-f5b0383a1670

Still great in 2025!

7/10 古早的太空游戏，在那个年代算是不多见的题材，只有英文玩不下去。。。

Ще десь диск старенький валяється з цією грою. Ехххх, колись Новалоджик робили ігри. Проходив десятки раз за Бору і Галспан. Прекрасна класика

To this day, still the best space flight sim I've ever played. The fact the story isn't crap and the gameplay is as good as it is, even though the multiplayer scene is long gone at this point, makes it stand out.

2000년 발매된 우주 비행선 조종 게임이고 추억이 없으면 하기 힘든 게임이라 지금 와서 처음 도전할 게이머가 있을지 모르겠지만, 마우스/키보드로도 조작하기 쉽고, Jake Logan이라는 주인공의 스토리나 캐릭터도 나름 흥미로워서 공략을 보는 것에 익숙해지면 몰입감은 매우 높습니다. 고전 게임이라 불편한 점이 많은데, 특히 미션 구성이 퍼즐 식이다 보니 공략을 보지 않으면 진행이 안 될 때가 흔히 있습니다. 하다가 막히면 Tachyon The Fringe Wiki를 찾아가서 공략을 보는 게 좋고, 특히 GalSpan 후반 미션인 Fleet Battle에서는 유튜브 영상을 보지 않으면 적 전함의 Weapons Powerplant를 못찾습니다. 미션 진행 조건 관련한 버그도 간혹 있고요. 또한 미션 도중 선착장(Landing Platform)에 착륙해야 할 경우가 많은데, 매번 이 선착장을 찾기가 어렵습니다. 어떨 때는 비행 화면에 임무 관련 표식인 보라색으로 표시되기도 하지만 어떨 때는 그 표시마저 없을 때가 있고, 목표물 찾기 키([ ])나 함선의 세부 시스템 찾기 키(; ')로 선택되지도 않습니다. 처음 하는 미션에서는 한참 동안 스테이션이나 함선 주위를 돌아다니면서 눈으로 찾아야 하죠. 일단 선착장을 찾으면 선착장에 접근해서 W E 키로 수평을 맞춘 다음 Clear to Land 표식 나오면 Enter 키를 치면 착륙합니다. 이륙하는 방법도 마찬가지고요. 그리고 미션을 9개 정도 진행하고 나면 GalSpan과 Bora 두 세력 중 하나를 선택해야 하는데, 처음 하는 분이면 갤스팬 쪽이 초중반 미션이 쉬운 편입니다. 물론 갤스팬도 후반 미션 몇 개는 아주 까다롭지만요. 어느 세력을 고르든 중복 미션까지 포함해서 전체 미션 수는 50개 정도 됩니다. 언뜻 보면 Wing Commander Privateer나 Freelancer와 비슷해 보이겠지만, 샌드박스 게임이 아니라 교역이나 랜덤 생성 미션 같은 건 없기 때문에 엔딩을 보고 나면 끝입니다. 임무를 맡지 않으면 함선 정보나 무기 정보 같은 것도 볼 수 없고, 우주기지(Starbase)를 떠날 수도 없습니다. 아무튼 게임이 짜증나면서도 재미는 있지만, 윙커맨더 시리즈처럼 평점 9점 전후의 A급 게임이 아니라 7점대의 B급 게임이란 건 감안하셔야 합니다. 취향에 맞는 분만 할인 때 구매하시는 걸 추천합니다.

One of the first videogames I ever played. All time favorite to this day. Do they ever tell you that you can press f9 for wingman command menu??