Starship Command 2022 Edition

About

Starship Command is a 1983 Acornsoft multidirectional shooter for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron, written by Peter Irvin, who later co-created the arcade adventure Exile with Jeremy Smith. Starship Command 2022 Edition is an enhanced update of the 1983 BBC Micro game, adding significantly faster and more responsive play, reduced flicker, more enemy and starship designs, modern default controls alongside the originals, a gentler early difficulty ramp, and BBC Master and Acorn Electron compatibility.

How it differs from the original

Compared to the 1983 original, this update increases enemy ship designs from two to six and starship designs from eight to eleven, speeds up and smooths gameplay, reduces flicker, adds modern key options alongside the originals, and eases the difficulty ramp for new players.

Getting started

The game is playable with either the original Starship Command keys or the newer standard controls (Z, X, /, :, and RETURN); rotational dampers are on by default and the setting is remembered between games.

History

This 2022 update, led by TobyLobster with contributions from Tom 'hexwab' (engine sound and optimisations) and Adrian and Graham Nelson (new content and the awards system), was built starting from a Level 7 disassembly of the original 1983 game.

Additional notes

Detail

The game includes a secret random score bonus (0-39) affecting the end-of-command outcome — a mechanic unchanged from the original 1983 game.