On the BOTF2 Project page by Dafedz there is a set of screenshots for the game's GUI. One in particular stood above the rest for me:

http://www.trekmania.net/temp_files/new_botf2interfaqce_yardops.jpg

This 'dry-dock' representation for the construction of individual starships is definitely the coolest thing I've seen. I'd like to know, does this exact (or perhaps similar) Yard-Ops screen layout still planned for Supremacy?

Thanks.

EDIT: There may be an issue with the link above. It's the bottom-most screenshot of this page: http://www.trekmania.net/temp_files/preview_screens.htm

I know for a fact that Mike has plans for some changes to the way that Shipyards and Orbital Batteries work. This includes programming changes, display changes, and changes to how they are built. Whether this includes displaying docks like that I don't know.

Dafedz's images are from a brainstorming session we did in the staffroom a long, long, long, time ago - in fact, they are from before Supremacy even existed. I'm not sure Mike has actually seen them though. They are a nice graphical display so I could pass them on and see what he thinks.

The link didn't work because Dafedz doesn't allow hotlinking on his site; it saves him bandwidth, which ultimately saves him money on hosting the site.

By the way, welcome to the forums.

Thanks. It's good to know that after all these years people are still working hard to make botf2 a reality.

Some of the best ideas materialize during the brainstorming phase. The dry-dock visuals like these connect the player to the constructed starship in a very personal way -- almost like being there in person to break a champagne bottle and bless its maiden voyage. It would be a very nice addition to Supremacy. I hope you guys can make it happen.

Why wasent there a commercial botf2?

BOTF was the last game that Microprose ever made - they were banking on it bringing in money to pay off their debts, but they were soo desperate that they rushed the game out without even playtesting it. The game wasn't well advertised, and the bugs and unfinished state of many of the features meant it just never caught on. Microprose managed to release a patch before they went under, but it wasn't enough to fix the game. It's only now that the community has had time to establish itself and really get to grips with modding and fixing it that the game is truly coming into its own.

After Microprose collapsed, the Trek licence went to Activision, who went on to create the Armada series. "Ownership" of BOTF however went to Atari - in fact, they still technically own it, and even have a (Rubbish) support page for the game on their site. The code for the game was ultimately lost though, (It's probably saved on some lost floppy disk in a forgotten basement somewhere) and since Atari didn't have the licence for producing Trek games, they couldn't do anything with it even if they wanted to. Atari's financial woes over the years and the poor income that Microprose made from the game only served to ensure that Atari forgot about what they had acquired.

Scifi turn-based strategy games are rare now, as most games have gone down the route of real-time strategy. Trek games unfortunately are even rarer to come by, especially if you're looking for a decent game. BOTF was simply an underappreciated, unfinished, and forgotten game in the minds of the big companies. And that's precisely why Supremacy and Birth of the Empires (And the three previous BOTF2 projects that all ultimately collapsed) came into being.

...

I've sent Mike a PM about the dock images. You never know, it might be an idea he likes the sound of.

Can you get a free download of BOTF?

Maybe it has something to do with the way the game was designed. Frankly, IMO it's not very good. The UI is horrible, the upgrade system is horrible, the lack of ship design (though I understand the choice) is bad, the inclusion of Food and Energy was not successful, etc.
Supremacy has a very nice (clean and easy on the eyes) UI - honestly, I hope it's kept for the other empires, maybe with color variations. The starmap was much improved - but the fixed nature of the map will eventually be its downfall, as it decreases longevity. The resources are really well thought out yet, but I'm hopeful. It still uses the same upgrade system, which is bad.

Star Trek Invasion on PS1 was simply awesome... Great missions, nice controls, many weapons and most of them really cool (quantum torpedoes and trilithium warheads ) but it was damn hard even on the easiest setting

On the other hand , Star Trek Legacy was an excellent example on how to rush the production of the game (it's full of bugs), the planets are the same size as the Enterprise and most of the voice-overs (by the real actors like Stewart, Bakula et al) are boring...

Yes, Jszrom, you can download a copy of the game from our old parent site, Armadafleetcommand.com. The download is located in the downloads section - which isn't available to non-registered members, so I can't give you the direct download link. You will first need to sign up to the site AND log in before you can access it.

Once you've done that, click the Downloads button at the top of the screen, then click on Birth of the Federation 1.0 Backup and download that file. Then, whilst that is downloading, read the first post of This Thread to find out how to install and use the file that you're downloading.

You will also need to download the 1.02 patch for the game before any of the mods will work, and you might want to install the "Mod Multi 1.0.3 new vanilla english" as that apparently contains the latest bug fixed version of the game files, as does the "Main Multi Installer 1.0.2 Must Have!!!!" mod.

I would also highly recommend the Ultimate Universe and Ultimate Dominion mods as these two mods massively overhaul the game into something far better the vanilla.

Thanks MOE!

Oops, i've fixed that first link to AFC. I forgot to replace the bracket with an equals sign.