Is Anyone still playing Birth of the Federation?

craig keith · September 7 2012, 10:09 PM

I still have a windows xp laptop and the only reason i have kept it is to play birth of the federation It really really is the best trek game ever made and way ahead of its time in my opinion. If you havnt got it you still still download it from amarda fleet command

x

September 9 2012, 12:32 PM

I remember coming across that game at Best Buy for $5 in like 2002 maybe. So I bought it and played it. I never really got into it heavily but I did make it through a few times once I realized to turn off those 'random events' otherwise the Borg showed up and cleaned my clock.

SilentP · September 9 2012, 05:03 PM

I only ever had the Borg turn up twice in my games, and the first time I managed to defeat them by the skin of my teeth in Earth orbit (and subsequently the galaxy decided they loved me and let me win the game) and the second time I forgot how many ships I needed and lost

It was a very fun game, though the glitch that happened at 100+ turns that slowed everything down was a nightmare.

Neumann · September 11 2012, 02:29 PM

Is there any way to play themgamemin MP? I neber found outmhow tomdo it withmmodern computers, the game seemed unresponsive

Deks · September 12 2012, 08:19 AM

I still play BOTF.
Granted I use Ultimate Dominion Mod for it which has new ship models, some modification to the Galaxy map size, etc.
Multiplayer runs fine if the other party has the same mod of course.

If you want to use vanilla game though (no mods), then I suggest you find and download the latest patch for the game.

This is the website that has the patch, the game as well, plus the mods:
http://www.armadafleetcommand.com/botf/

Asbo Zaprudder · September 17 2012, 06:26 PM

I always felt that it was a pity that you had to play on a randomly generated map. At least one map that placed the races in sensible starting positions (though this game preceded Geoffrey Mandel's star charts) would have been cool. Did anyone every work out how to create a map editor for BotF?

R. Star · September 17 2012, 10:00 PM

Asbo Zaprudder wrote:

I always felt that it was a pity that you had to play on a randomly generated map. At least one map that placed the races in sensible starting positions (though this game preceded Geoffrey Mandel's star charts) would have been cool. Did anyone every work out how to create a map editor for BotF?

I always liked to play in the ring style galaxy and would keep reloading until I was placed in that bit in the center. A map editor would have been awesome though. Someone could have placed all the planets roughly where they should've been.

Ryan8bit · September 18 2012, 05:36 AM

There was a map editor, but it was kinda buggy. I tried doing one once where Romulus was put in a corner behind a nebula, and the computer was at a much higher tech level. The computer would always pass through the nebula to get to Romulus, but my cloaked fleet would always decimate their huge fleets, despite that I was outmatched and outgunned. The game could have stood to have scenario maps like that.

daedalus5 · September 18 2012, 06:39 PM

Is it straightforward to install on Win 7 - may go back to it....

Ryan8bit · September 18 2012, 09:14 PM

It's not super straightforward. You'll need to download a patch from the armadafleetcommand website linked above. And even still you might run into some weird crashes.

R. Star · September 18 2012, 09:22 PM

Well BotF was always buggy and crash prone. On the bright side it did autosave your game every turn so that wasn't utterly catostrophic.

REDrake · September 18 2012, 11:10 PM

I play every once in a while but always with All the Ages mod. Allows the player to start with NX age ships and move on until Sovereign. I changed my version a little to include Centaur, Vesta and Luna class ships.
And on a Large map it takes a very long time to finish a game.

R. Star · September 18 2012, 11:11 PM

I'd love a mod where the map is WAAAY bigger.

Deks · September 19 2012, 10:16 AM

R. Star wrote:

I'd love a mod where the map is WAAAY bigger.

The Large Ultimate Dominion Mod perhaps?

Its far larger than the vanilla 'large'.

REDrake · September 19 2012, 08:32 PM

Or All the Ages mod. It has 2 distinct versions. In one of them small map is actually vanilla large. As one can guess, medium and large are simply gigantic. However, you do need a lot of RAM for the game to work good later on. When the map is agglomerated with colonies and bases is getting hard to even scroll it.

September 7 2012, 10:09 PM	#1
craig keith Lieutenant Location: Bournemouth (United Kingdom)	Is Anyone still playing Birth of the Federation? I still have a windows xp laptop and the only reason i have kept it is to play birth of the federation It really really is the best trek game ever made and way ahead of its time in my opinion. If you havnt got it you still still download it from amarda fleet command x __________________ There nothing to be gained by second guessing yourself. You can't remake the past .... So look ahead .... Or risk being left behind

September 9 2012, 12:32 PM	#2
SimpleLogic Guest	Re: Is Anyone still playing Birth of the Federation? I remember coming across that game at Best Buy for $5 in like 2002 maybe. So I bought it and played it. I never really got into it heavily but I did make it through a few times once I realized to turn off those 'random events' otherwise the Borg showed up and cleaned my clock.

September 9 2012, 05:03 PM	#3
SilentP Commodore Location: is in a very lonely Corner of the Circle	Re: Is Anyone still playing Birth of the Federation? I only ever had the Borg turn up twice in my games, and the first time I managed to defeat them by the skin of my teeth in Earth orbit (and subsequently the galaxy decided they loved me and let me win the game) and the second time I forgot how many ships I needed and lost It was a very fun game, though the glitch that happened at 100+ turns that slowed everything down was a nightmare.

September 11 2012, 02:29 PM	#4
Neumann Captain Location: Caracas, Venezuela	Re: Is Anyone still playing Birth of the Federation? Is there any way to play themgamemin MP? I neber found outmhow tomdo it withmmodern computers, the game seemed unresponsive __________________ It's all about canon being violated! ;-)

September 12 2012, 08:19 AM	#5
Deks Rear Admiral	Re: Is Anyone still playing Birth of the Federation? I still play BOTF. Granted I use Ultimate Dominion Mod for it which has new ship models, some modification to the Galaxy map size, etc. Multiplayer runs fine if the other party has the same mod of course. If you want to use vanilla game though (no mods), then I suggest you find and download the latest patch for the game. This is the website that has the patch, the game as well, plus the mods: http://www.armadafleetcommand.com/botf/ __________________ We are who we choose to be but also have predefined aspects of our personalities we are born with, and make art that defines us.

STAR TREK

CSI

ABOUT US

September 17 2012, 06:26 PM	#6
Asbo Zaprudder Rear Admiral Location: Chairman of the bored	Re: Is Anyone still playing Birth of the Federation? I always felt that it was a pity that you had to play on a randomly generated map. At least one map that placed the races in sensible starting positions (though this game preceded Geoffrey Mandel's star charts) would have been cool. Did anyone every work out how to create a map editor for BotF? __________________ "It is a lonely life, the way of the necromancer... oh, yes. Lacrimae Mundi - the tears of the world."

September 18 2012, 05:36 AM	#8
Ryan8bit Commodore Location: St. Paul, MN	Re: Is Anyone still playing Birth of the Federation? There was a map editor, but it was kinda buggy. I tried doing one once where Romulus was put in a corner behind a nebula, and the computer was at a much higher tech level. The computer would always pass through the nebula to get to Romulus, but my cloaked fleet would always decimate their huge fleets, despite that I was outmatched and outgunned. The game could have stood to have scenario maps like that.

September 18 2012, 06:39 PM	#9
daedalus5 Moderator Location: Derbyshire, UK	Re: Is Anyone still playing Birth of the Federation? Is it straightforward to install on Win 7 - may go back to it.... __________________ www.bookmooch.com "Give books away. Get books you want." Fantastic website!

September 18 2012, 09:14 PM	#10
Ryan8bit Commodore Location: St. Paul, MN	Re: Is Anyone still playing Birth of the Federation? It's not super straightforward. You'll need to download a patch from the armadafleetcommand website linked above. And even still you might run into some weird crashes.

September 18 2012, 09:22 PM	#11
R. Star Commodore Location: Terra 3	Re: Is Anyone still playing Birth of the Federation? Well BotF was always buggy and crash prone. On the bright side it did autosave your game every turn so that wasn't utterly catostrophic. __________________ "I was never a Star Trek fan." J.J. Abrams

September 18 2012, 11:10 PM	#12
REDrake Lieutenant Location: Bucharest, Romania	Re: Is Anyone still playing Birth of the Federation? I play every once in a while but always with All the Ages mod. Allows the player to start with NX age ships and move on until Sovereign. I changed my version a little to include Centaur, Vesta and Luna class ships. And on a Large map it takes a very long time to finish a game.

September 18 2012, 11:11 PM	#13
R. Star Commodore Location: Terra 3	Re: Is Anyone still playing Birth of the Federation? I'd love a mod where the map is WAAAY bigger. __________________ "I was never a Star Trek fan." J.J. Abrams

September 19 2012, 08:32 PM	#15
REDrake Lieutenant Location: Bucharest, Romania	Re: Is Anyone still playing Birth of the Federation? Or All the Ages mod. It has 2 distinct versions. In one of them small map is actually vanilla large. As one can guess, medium and large are simply gigantic. However, you do need a lot of RAM for the game to work good later on. When the map is agglomerated with colonies and bases is getting hard to even scroll it.