This would be a real time game with 6 players, each manning a different position on the bridge of the Enterprise. I'm picturing the graphic being similar to those online poker games where all the little avatars are seated around the table only it would be the bridge of the ship.
The ship would need to get through various real time battle and scenario challenges with all 6 players working in sync. Captain, Science Officer, Engineer, Communications Officer, Helmsman and Weapon's Officer/Navigator.
Since everybody would want to be captain, it might be best to have the option of the computer handing out the commands. Each player would receive information about a particular challenge the ship was facing and have to decide the best course of action from their post to deal with it. If any one player screws up, the whole ship gets blasted, invaded, crashes into a sun etc.
Sample scenario: The Brainsucking Spacebats Of Remulon 6.
1- Helmsman would need to read the scanner showing a swarm of BSSBs approaching the ship at warp .6, time to impact 7 seconds, and have to plot and execute an evasive course in time.
2- Engineer would need to divert enough power away from the engines to put up the shields, but not so much the the ship gets totally overwhelmed by the attacking space bats.
3- Weapons officer would need to select the correct weapon (phasers obviously) the shoot at the attacking swarm when the shields were put down by the science officer. Timing would be critical.
4- Communications officer would have to find the nearest starships available to help defending the ship and contact the right one to come to join the battle in time as the ship would only be able to run and fend off the attacking brain suckers for so long.
Any one weak link and the ship gets it.
I'm sure there's something like this out there but I'm not much of a gamer so I wouldn't know. If it hasn't been done it seems like an interesting dimension to add to group gaming, all the players manning different parts of a Constitution class 1 starship heavy battle cruiser. (I looked it up)-- doctorremulac3, Jun 25 2014 Spaceteam http://www.sleeping...ames.com/spaceteam/Mostly the shouting technobabble and pushing buttons parts [ytk, Jun 25 2014] Guaranteed Kirk-free remake of Star Trek Kirk-free_20Star_20Trek_20remake [not_morrison_rm, Jun 26 2014] Space Alert http://www.boardgam...e/38453/space-alertThis is what you are looking for, doctorremulac3...though it's a board game rather than a computer game. [DrBob, Jun 26 2014] Space Cadets http://www.shutupan...-play-space-cadets/Also just what you are looking for...but a boardgame etc, etc. [DrBob, Jun 26 2014] Artemis game page http://www.artemis.eochu.comThis is what you're looking for. [caspian, Jul 26 2015] Artemis videos http://www.youtube....=PL532DC01F548EE15C [caspian, Jul 26 2015] [+] though I'd be unsurprised if one exists.
I used to play Freelancer, an online MMORPG with real-time battles; out of the box the game was extremely moddable: everything possible was in plaintext files.
All sorts of servers (besides the official ones) sprung up, with custom ships, maps and physics. The normally -NPC ships, which included things like battleships and large cargoships were liberated to the player as well, with a little modding of the files.
Coulda used this.-- FlyingToaster, Jun 25 2014 You're thinking to small. You should have something like 430 odd players, fully manning the entire ship. In keeping with the TOS, only players playing unnamed security personnel would be able to respawn.
Of course, if you're playing Next Gen, not only do you need 1000+ people, the guy playing the 2nd assistant bartender is going to get fairly bored.-- MechE, Jun 25 2014 Yea, why not?
What could make it interesting is if you got into the game at the bottom, say as a red shirted security guy and had the chance to advance through the ranks, maybe even to the bridge.
With clever enough writing, even the assistant bartender position might be interesting, although that would be quite a challenge for the programmers.-- doctorremulac3, Jun 25 2014 // everybody would want to be captain, //
Everybody would want to be Montgomery Scott, shirley ?
[+]
Can we be the Borg ?-- 8th of 7, Jun 25 2014 Of course we can.
That gives me an idea. This game would be so complicated, I wonder if it would be a good candidate for being open source. Let freelance programmers/writers put in their own scenarios, characters etc.-- doctorremulac3, Jun 25 2014 5- a special guest feature, anyone can log in as red shirt security goon without registering, their job is to die at the earliest & most implausible opportunity, throw themselves in front of small arms fire & act as human canaries by stepping on any mines / falling into pits etc. to protect the main characters.
//Can we be the Borg ?//
I want to be Q - job description annoying the mice by throwing reality warping spanners in the gears of all their plans, why? because I'm bored & it amuses me.-- Skewed, Jun 25 2014 Sounds a bit like Spaceteam (link).-- ytk, Jun 25 2014 The second assistant bartender would be busy inventing drinks, fermenting rebellion, manipulating and passing messages for other players, and spying for the Romulans.-- Voice, Jun 25 2014 I want to take the role of one of the first series damage control party people. No matter what the problem, I get to run in and spray a CO2 fire extinguisher at the fireworks emitting device.-- normzone, Jun 25 2014 I don't understand Spaceteam, but it looks like a similar idea.
By the way, when everybody is playing on iPhones or tablets and the ship takes a hit everybody's phone/pad would vibrate. Do pads vibrate?
There could also be scenarios where crew members weren't who they said they were. Beware landing party teams who beam up from a strange planet. If Scotty suddenly flips the antimatter reactors (or whatever) into self destruct mode, call security to the bridge with phasers set to kill. You've got about ten seconds...nine...eight...
I really like the idea of being able to rise through the ranks to get to the bridge. Once there, you could put your actual picture on screen showing the crew members for today's simulation. I think it would be kind of a neat accomplishment to see "Today's crew members are as follows: Captain: Dr Daniel Tiberius Remulac III in command. Science Officer: Maximus Wellington Buchanan second in command. Chief engineer: Flynius T Oaster. Weapons officer: Norman Zaccary Ono. etc.
You'd get to "punch up" your name for purposes of sounding totally awesome.-- doctorremulac3, Jun 25 2014 I always wanted to see a multi layered game with some playing something like Haegemonia, others something like Sim City, others something like Traveller / Elite & others something like Ultima / Tomb Raider (or any other first person shooter).
So the ones running empires or cities continually have unexpected spanners thrown in the works by the independent ships & individuals while those individuals playing environment is effected by the decisions of the those above (i.e. wars & policy decisions).
There may be some on-line games like that now, but as you can probably tell from the games I mentioned it's been a while since I played any (much).-- Skewed, Jun 25 2014 // I want to be Q //
Q ? Vicious, egotistical, contrary, immature, perverse, fickle, capricious, petulant … ?
Actually, yes. Certainly. You'd be perfect … although we did have you down as more of a Trelane, actually …-- 8th of 7, Jun 25 2014 //Vicious, egotistical, petulant, capricious//
Only on good days ;P
Actually, I always kind of assumed Trelane was from or in some way related to the Q continuum (once Q appeared of course), the powers are just so similar, my guess was that at least one writer had the idea in his / her head as a backstory when they first introduced Q.-- Skewed, Jun 25 2014 Trelane as a Q is pretty much fannon at this point, cannon if you accept Peter David's Q-Squared novel as such.-- MechE, Jun 25 2014 //Trelane as a Q is pretty much fannon//
Was that only in the books or did I miss an episode?
I tend not to read what I watch.-- Skewed, Jun 25 2014 No bun if Kirk isn't the first person to get shot when they land on alien planet...lay off the security guys..-- not_morrison_rm, Jun 25 2014 //No bun if Kirk isn't the first person to get shot//
Ah... now that's not as clear cut a decision as you might think.
When you say Kirk do you mean the captain or the male crewmember who gets the most female alien attention.
In the new generation Piccard wasn't (in that sense) their Kirk (they didn't really have one, & the best fit wore red anyway), in Enterprise they seem to have spread Kirk around several of the male crew with no clear runner up (not if you discount inter crew relations with the Vulcan science officer , & if you don't that only gives him a slim lead).-- Skewed, Jun 25 2014 The fannon bit is just based on Trelane obviously having the same powers as Q, and lots and lots of people noticing it. The cannon bit is only from the books.-- MechE, Jun 26 2014 hmmmm, Khan... or a tribble. It's such a toss-up.-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jun 26 2014 //Ah... now that's not as clear cut a decision as you might think.
Just Shatner, it would have saved so much over-acting and cheesy romance storylines...
I have floated a non-Kirk re-make of the old Star Trek series, maybe I'd the only one to buy the boxed set, guaranteed Kirk-free...
Linky-- not_morrison_rm, Jun 26 2014 I retract...
It's clearly a far simpler proposition than I had envisioned.
So who gets to be captain?
Spock as first officer or do we go & rescue the first captain from the original episode (of course he's going to be a bit Davros if we don't fix his body)?
<edit> Ah.... I see, same Kirk but like Howards mum (big bang) we never see him & even more like Arthur Daley's wife though constantly alluded to we never see or hear him.
You do realise that would truncate the series... several episodes where entirely predicated on alien / Kirk trysts. Wouldn't it be more fun to rewrite an Enterprise episode for Kirk & get him pregnant by an alien 'woman' before you write him out, then we could call it maternity leave ;)
As an aside I always wondered if that Enterprise episode was in any way inspired by Listers unexpected pregnancy (I know LeVar (or was it Frakes?) was aware of the series so he might have brought it to the writers attention).-- Skewed, Jun 26 2014 I wanna be the redshirt who says "Oh no sir, after you".-- FlyingToaster, Jun 26 2014 // the first captain from the original episode //
Captain Christopher Pike.-- 8th of 7, Jun 26 2014 //the redshirt who says "Oh no sir, after you"//
Would he perhaps rename the ship The Bounty?-- Skewed, Jun 26 2014 //hmmmm, Khan... or a tribble. It's such a toss-up//
LOL - you know, I really can't decide which would be more evil.-- Skewed, Jun 26 2014 Tribbles, definitely. Pure unadulterated Evil in small furry packages*.
Useful for detecting Klingons, though.
* Cats are a genetically engineered form of the Tribble, but enlarged so they can contain more Evil.-- 8th of 7, Jun 26 2014 But no fun when their shedding, you end up with most of the 'deposit' still there, just furry.-- Skewed, Jun 26 2014 Well, yes, like we said - pure Evil …-- 8th of 7, Jun 27 2014 Take a look at Artemis, it sound like exactly what you want. You have a human captain though. I'll add some links-- caspian, Jul 26 2015 random, halfbakery