Escape Velocity Override

Escape Velocity Override is a space trading simulator game written by Peter Cartwright, with the support of his school-friends, and developed by Ambrosia Software for the Apple Macintosh. It is the sequel to Escape Velocity with an extended version of the original game engine, but Override has an entirely new story line set in a different, larger universe.

Escape Velocity and EV Override were written for the classic Mac OS, and therefore run natively only on Mac OS 9 and earlier. However, the third game in the series, Escape Velocity Nova, supports plug-ins (released with Ambrosia's authorization) that simulate the first two titles using the new game's engine. Since EV Nova was made for both Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows, Override - through Nova plug-ins - is also playable on those platforms.

Gameplay

The player controls a ship represented from a bird's-eye point of view in third person. Most of the game takes place within this view, where the player can interact with ships and stellar objects within the star system they are presently in. There are over a hundred star systems in the game, all connected to one another by a series of hyperlanes. The player can utilize the lanes to perform a hyper-jump to a nearby system, which takes one to three days depending on their ship's mass.

Players can land at planets, stations, and some other stellar objects. Here, if the location is inhabited, they can access a mission computer to take jobs, purchase new ships, trade commodities, refuel, customize their ship with various weapons and outfits, and go to a spaceport bar to hire escort ships, watch the news, gamble, and sometimes receive additional unique missions. Not all services are available at all locations. However, all inhabited locations have a mission computer and refueling option, and all stellar objects that can be landed on serve as a haven for the repair of the player's shields and armor.

The star systems of Override are controlled by various governments, each with a different disposition towards the player. Most start off as neutral with the player, though some may restrict access to their planets and stations and still others may be openly hostile and attack the player on sight. The player, however, can change their status with various governments. Taking missions for a government, attacking their enemies, and destroying pirates ("renegades") boosts status, whereas helping opposing governments, attacking a government's and their allies' ships, and pirating civilians will lower their legal rating. Also, affecting the legal status of one government will directly affect those of its allies and inversely affect its enemies. Having a high legal rating will give the player access to missions for that government (which, in turn, can unlock that government's ships and outfits). On the other hand, a low legal status will cause the government to restrict access to their ports and even cause them to attack the player on sight.

Like its predecessor, EV Override is fully open-ended and does not force the player to get involved in any of the game's plots, nor does it make a player continue a plot once they're in it. Players have the option to take the storylines and cause their actions to have a major impact on the galaxy. On the other hand, they can also simply become a commodity trader, cargo runner, or pirate and leave the galaxy to fend for itself. Players can purchase (or capture) and outfit many ships in the game as they see fit, allowing for many methods and styles for playing the game. Also, once they become powerful enough, players also have the option of forcing worlds to pay them daily tribute by destroying their defense fleets. This, however, may cause serious drops in their legal status elsewhere, and causes bounty hunters to start chasing them.

Races/Governments

United Earth

United Earth is centered on its capital, Earth, in the Sol system. The U.E. government was thrown together in response to a sudden invasion by the Voinians, a vicious race to the galactic west. Earth and several other human worlds were rescued from the brink of enslavement by the quick development of new, fast strike fighters which overwhelmed the slow Voinian ships. In Override, the war between the Voinians and United Earth has officially ended, though human and Voinian ships still attack each other, and even engage in some flotilla-sized raids.

United Earth technology is fairly advanced, in some ways more so than that of the Voinians. Whereas Voinian ships are equipped with strong armor plating for defense and very little energy shielding, United Earth ships are heavily shielded and only lightly armored. United Earth ships make heavy use of the Blaze Cannon, a fast-firing energy cannon that can be easily installed in mass numbers on most ships. It is quite inaccurate, although this makes little difference since it is fairly short-ranged anyway in comparison to other weapons. Also available to the United Earth are stolen Voinian technologies like the Rocket Launcher and the modified Hunter Missile Launcher, which are outfitted to capital ships for an extra punch. In the United Earth storyline, the player can actually help the humans to gain access to more Voinian technology.

The ships used by the United Earth are the UE Freighter, UE Fighter, UE Destroyer, and UE Carrier. These ships can be acquired by the player after completing certain United Earth missions. A fifth ship, the UE Cruiser, can be acquired, but only after completing a separate, optional set of missions.

Voinians

The Voinians are an aggressive race to the galactic west, controlled by the government on their capital of Voina in the system of the same name. Prior to the game's present, having already conquered the Emalgha and Hinwar races, they also invaded the human systems without warning, pushing all the way to Sol before the newly United Earth managed to repel them. The two sides still fight bitterly over their territories, though at the time of the game both sides have reached a virtual standstill.

Voinian technology is somewhat cruder than that of the rest of the galaxy. Armor plating is used instead of conventional energy shielding to protect warships (due to the Voinians' low tech shielding technology), and the Voinian ships and even fighters are very slow. They rely on bulk and brute strength for their power, unlike the fast, mass tactics used by the United Earth. Their weapons reflect this strategy, and trade firing speed for raw power and long range. The prime example of this is their Neutron Cannon: it shoots far, is very accurate, and packs a great punch, but it lacks firing speed and the individual shots travel slowly through space.

The ships used by the Voinians are the Voinian Fighter, Voinian Interceptor, Voinian Frigate, and Voinian Cruiser. In some of the plot lines, they also build an enormous Voinian Dreadnought.

Emalgha

Emalghan space consists of two systems to the Northeast of Voinian territory. The Emalgah, once conquered and enslaved by the Voinians, overthrew their occupiers when the Voinian fleet was sent to attack Earth. They are a primitive race, piloting supposedly wooden ships, but their projectile weaponry is particularly effective against Voinian armor. Emalghan ships come in fighter and freighter classes, with a warship modification of the Emalgha freighter also available for purchase later in the game.

The Crescent

The star systems of the Crescent take up more than half of the map, surrounding the United Earth from the north around to the southeast. The civilian ships that are found all across this region tend to fall into four types: they are the Crescent Fighter, the Crescent Warship (which holds three Crescent Fighters), the Lazira (a freighter/warship mix), and the Arada (a fast, all-purpose sloop).

Most of the Crescent is ruled by the three Strands - the Azdgari, the Zidagar, and the Igadzra - who are in constant war with each other. If one of these Strands grows too powerful, a mysterious group called the Council will intervene to maintain the balance, using pre-placed operatives and the Strands' general trust of the Council to sabotage the too-powerful Strand and restore the rough balance of the War. It is implied that the three Strands were a single race eons ago, originating on the planet Gadzair, but this is never resolved in the game.

The southernmost systems of the Crescent are taken up mostly by the Strandless, a group shunned from the Strands long ago. To the north are the peaceful trading race known as the Miranu and a small warrior/mercenary faction employed by the Miranu called the Zachit who are dedicated to combating Renegades.

Miranu

The Miranu are a trading species who, through the player's actions, befriend the U. E. and give the player trading missions. They have no enemies besides Renegades, who attack everyone. The Miranu have three ships that are exclusive to them, including the largest cargo ship in the game. Their ships all have saucer-shaped command sections with cargo attachments of varying sizes.

Azdgari

The Azdgari are raiders whose territory reaches along the eastern rim of the Crescent Systems. When in battle, they tend to prefer speed over strength and firepower. While the Azdgari employ their own modified versions of both Crescent Warships and Aradas, the definitive Azdgari craft is the Azdara, a quad-winged fighter mounted with swivel phase cannons, that is also able to regenerate shields at several times the normal rate. The Azdgari Warship carries six Azdaras.

Zidagar

The Zidagar go into battle with ships that use advanced missile-jamming systems and phased beam weapons that destroy shields at a higher rate. Their signature ship is the Zidara, a compact carrier that holds two modified crescent fighters. These each have phase cannons and phased beams (the distinction is important).

Igadzra

They will forbid the player to land on most of their planets until the player has proved that he is a friend to them. They use guided projectiles known as SAEs (Search-And-Eliminate modules) in battle to gain the upper hand, relying on their phase cannon turrets as point-defense against the Azdaras and Zidagar Fighters. The SAEs can even break through the Zidagar's sophisticated missile-jamming technologies. The Igadzra use modified Aradas and their signature ship: the Igazra. While most capital ships can use up to four guns or turrets, the Igazra can deploy up to six. This, added to the Igazra's above-average speed, advanced shielding, and the ability to fire three SAEs at once, makes the Igazra arguably the most powerful purchasable ship in the game.

External links

• Ambrosia Software: EV Override