Alien Legacy
Encyclopedia
Alien Legacy is a sci-fi strategy game
developed by Ybarra
Productions, Inc. and published by Sierra On-Line
in 1994 for the DOS
operating system on the PC
.
s. Several advisors guide the player through the plot and a PDA
reminds the player of important tasks as objectives, revealed as the scenario progresses. Given sufficient player immersion, the game atmosphere may add to the experience of ensuring the survival of mankind. The game progresses in real-time but the game speed can be adjusted.
Some tasks must be done before a set time limit or else the game will end prematurely. For example, at the beginning of the game, if the player fails to form a self-sufficient colony on Gaea, (a colony with at least one habitat, power plant and factory) the science advisor will kill the player for incompetence and take over the command.
star system. You take the role as captain of the "Calypso". The "Calypso" has been sent from Earth to colonize the system. The UNS "Tantalus" was sent to the same star system after you, but because it is makes uses of a better engine, arrives in Beta Caeli before you do. The Calypso, Tantalus, and similar ships were sent to colonize other star systems due to the threat of humanities extinction on Earth as a result of an interstellar war. The story involves the Calypso's attempts to find out what happened to the Tantalus and its colonies which have gone missing, as well as other mysteries involving relics of previous non-human inhabitants of the system.
, with a barren, rocky inner planet, terrestrial planets in the habitable zone
of the inner system, followed by gas giant
s in the outer system that first increase and then decrease in size, and a tiny rock outermost.
The naming of the Caelian planets closely matches that of naming planets in our solar system. But while our system uses the names of Roman deities
(except for Uranus
), Caeli has Greek ones; Rhea and Gaea are both Greek goddesses of the Earth. In addition, as Beta Caeli is brighter and hotter than the Sun, the Caelian planets are more distant from their sun than their Solar System analogs are. In reality, Beta Caeli may be too bright and young to host life, a fact noted in the game itself where they noted that the system is 2.5 billion years old but an F0 star lasts for about 5 billion years, yet both Earth-like planets have advanced life forms.
magazine. The game's plot carried the game for Nirvi, keeping him interested throughout ("after the plot finally started.") He found the plot to be quite linear, and while events may happen differently on replay, felt no need to return to the game after completing it. Conversely, he found the strategy side lacking: the advisors "warmly hold the player's hand as they guide him through Alien Legacy, leaving the player balancing the colonies instead of using wits. He summed up the game as "a nice enough snack, no more, no less" that friends of Star Control
should inspect.
Nirvi deemed the game's graphics pleasant, its interface generally well-working, and its sounds nondescript.
Strategy game
A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome...
developed by Ybarra
Joe Ybarra
Joe Ybarra is one of the original game producers at Electronic Arts in 1982 , where the concept of a game producer was created by Trip Hawkins...
Productions, Inc. and published by Sierra On-Line
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
in 1994 for the DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
operating system on the PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
.
Gameplay
The game includes elements of city construction, research, resource management, industrial production and combat. Players must colonize a star system light years from Earth by building planetary cities and Space StationSpace station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
s. Several advisors guide the player through the plot and a PDA
Personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
reminds the player of important tasks as objectives, revealed as the scenario progresses. Given sufficient player immersion, the game atmosphere may add to the experience of ensuring the survival of mankind. The game progresses in real-time but the game speed can be adjusted.
Some tasks must be done before a set time limit or else the game will end prematurely. For example, at the beginning of the game, if the player fails to form a self-sufficient colony on Gaea, (a colony with at least one habitat, power plant and factory) the science advisor will kill the player for incompetence and take over the command.
Plot
The game takes place after the arrival of the UNS Calypso in the Beta CaeliBeta Caeli
Beta Caeli is a star in the constellation Caelum.β Caeli is a yellow-white F-type main sequence dwarf with an apparent magnitude of +5.04. It is approximately 90.2 light years from Earth and slightly over six times brighter than the Sun....
star system. You take the role as captain of the "Calypso". The "Calypso" has been sent from Earth to colonize the system. The UNS "Tantalus" was sent to the same star system after you, but because it is makes uses of a better engine, arrives in Beta Caeli before you do. The Calypso, Tantalus, and similar ships were sent to colonize other star systems due to the threat of humanities extinction on Earth as a result of an interstellar war. The story involves the Calypso's attempts to find out what happened to the Tantalus and its colonies which have gone missing, as well as other mysteries involving relics of previous non-human inhabitants of the system.
Planetary systems
The Beta Caeli system is extremely similar to the solar systemSolar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
, with a barren, rocky inner planet, terrestrial planets in the habitable zone
Habitable zone
In astronomy and astrobiology, a habitable zone is an umbrella term for regions that are considered favourable to life. The concept is inferred from the empirical study of conditions favourable for Life on Earth...
of the inner system, followed by gas giant
Gas giant
A gas giant is a large planet that is not primarily composed of rock or other solid matter. There are four gas giants in the Solar System: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune...
s in the outer system that first increase and then decrease in size, and a tiny rock outermost.
- Beta Caeli (F0-type Star; Blue-White in color)
- Alpha Asteroid Belt; analogous to the nonexistent VulcanoidsVulcanoid asteroidThe vulcanoids are a hypothetical population of asteroids that may orbit the Sun in a dynamically stable zone inside the orbit of the planet Mercury. They are named after the hypothetical planet Vulcan, whose existence was disproven in 1915...
- HermesHermesHermes is the great messenger of the gods in Greek mythology and a guide to the Underworld. Hermes was born on Mount Kyllini in Arcadia. An Olympian god, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of the cunning of thieves, of orators and...
(Rocky Planet); analogous to MercuryMercury (planet)Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 Earth days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about its axis for every two orbits... - RheaRhea (mythology)Rhea was the Titaness daughter of Uranus, the sky, and Gaia, the earth, in Greek mythology. She was known as "the mother of gods". In earlier traditions, she was strongly associated with Gaia and Cybele, the Great Goddess, and was later seen by the classical Greeks as the mother of the Olympian...
(Earth-like Planet) Similar to Venus in position, but has a large Moon and is slightly larger than Earth. The presence of the large natural satellite and a quick rotation rate supposedly prevented the runaway greenhouse effectRunaway greenhouse effectA runaway greenhouse effect is not a clearly defined term, but is understood to mean an event analogous to that which is believed to have happened in the early history of Venus, where positive feedback increased the strength of its greenhouse effect until its oceans boiled away...
, making it Earth-like. - PrometheusPrometheusIn Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan, the son of Iapetus and Themis, and brother to Atlas, Epimetheus and Menoetius. He was a champion of mankind, known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals...
(Natural Satellite of Rhea), analogous to Earth's MoonMoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more... - GaeaGaia (mythology)Gaia was the primordial Earth-goddess in ancient Greek religion. Gaia was the great mother of all: the heavenly gods and Titans were descended from her union with Uranus , the sea-gods from her union with Pontus , the Giants from her mating with Tartarus and mortal creatures were sprung or born...
(Earth-like Planet); the Calypso starts the game orbiting Gaea. It has no moon. - AresAresAres is the Greek god of war. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. In Greek literature, he often represents the physical or violent aspect of war, in contrast to the armored Athena, whose functions as a goddess of intelligence include military strategy and...
(Desert Planet); analogous to MarsMarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
but poor in iron - Beta Asteroid Belt; analogous to the Solar System's main asteroid beltAsteroid beltThe asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...
- ZeusZeusIn the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
(Gas Giant); analogous to JupiterJupiterJupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,... - HeraHeraHera was the wife and one of three sisters of Zeus in the Olympian pantheon of Greek mythology and religion. Her chief function was as the goddess of women and marriage. Her counterpart in the religion of ancient Rome was Juno. The cow and the peacock were sacred to her...
(Natural Satellite of Zeus); analogous to IoIo (moon)Io ) is the innermost of the four Galilean moons of the planet Jupiter and, with a diameter of , the fourth-largest moon in the Solar System. It was named after the mythological character of Io, a priestess of Hera who became one of the lovers of Zeus....
but larger and less volcanically active - HebeHebe (mythology)In Greek mythology, Hēbē is the goddess of youth . She is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. Hebe was the cupbearer for the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus, serving their nectar and ambrosia, until she was married to Heracles ; her successor was the young Trojan prince Ganymede...
(Natural Satellite of Zeus); analogous to GanymedeGanymede (moon)Ganymede is a satellite of Jupiter and the largest moon in the Solar System. It is the seventh moon and third Galilean satellite outward from Jupiter. Completing an orbit in roughly seven days, Ganymede participates in a 1:2:4 orbital resonance with the moons Europa and Io, respectively... - CronusCronusIn Greek mythology, Cronus or Kronos was the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans, divine descendants of Gaia, the earth, and Uranus, the sky...
(Gas Giant); analogous to SaturnSaturnSaturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...
but has no rings or moons. - PoseidonPoseidonPoseidon was the god of the sea, and, as "Earth-Shaker," of the earthquakes in Greek mythology. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon...
(Gas Giant); analogous to UranusUranusUranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It has the third-largest planetary radius and fourth-largest planetary mass in the Solar System. It is named after the ancient Greek deity of the sky Uranus , the father of Cronus and grandfather of Zeus...
and NeptuneNeptuneNeptune is the eighth and farthest planet from the Sun in the Solar System. Named for the Roman god of the sea, it is the fourth-largest planet by diameter and the third largest by mass. Neptune is 17 times the mass of Earth and is slightly more massive than its near-twin Uranus, which is 15 times... - ThetisTethys (mythology)In Greek mythology, Tethys , daughter of Uranus and Gaia was an archaic Titaness and aquatic sea goddess, invoked in classical Greek poetry but not venerated in cult. Tethys was both sister and wife of Oceanus...
(Natural Satellite of Poseidon); analogous to TritonTriton (moon)Triton is the largest moon of the planet Neptune, discovered on October 10, 1846, by English astronomer William Lassell. It is the only large moon in the Solar System with a retrograde orbit, which is an orbit in the opposite direction to its planet's rotation. At 2,700 km in diameter, it is...
but larger - HadesHadesHades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
(Minor Planet); analogous to PlutoPlutoPluto, formal designation 134340 Pluto, is the second-most-massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System and the tenth-most-massive body observed directly orbiting the Sun...
The naming of the Caelian planets closely matches that of naming planets in our solar system. But while our system uses the names of Roman deities
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
(except for Uranus
Uranus (mythology)
Uranus , was the primal Greek god personifying the sky. His equivalent in Roman mythology was Caelus. In Ancient Greek literature, according to Hesiod in his Theogony, Uranus or Father Sky was the son and husband of Gaia, Mother Earth...
), Caeli has Greek ones; Rhea and Gaea are both Greek goddesses of the Earth. In addition, as Beta Caeli is brighter and hotter than the Sun, the Caelian planets are more distant from their sun than their Solar System analogs are. In reality, Beta Caeli may be too bright and young to host life, a fact noted in the game itself where they noted that the system is 2.5 billion years old but an F0 star lasts for about 5 billion years, yet both Earth-like planets have advanced life forms.
Races
- The H'riak, a highly xenophobic race who have apparently seeded many planets in the Galaxy with their life, including Beta Caeli and Alpha Centauri, but apparently not Earth. They have an automated sporeship called Gamma1 in the outer asteroid fields. The sporeship seems to send signals to the biotaBiotaBiota may refer to:* Biota , the plant and animal life of a region* Biota , a superdomain in taxonomy* Biota , an evergreen coniferous tree, Platycladus orientalis* Biota , an avant-prog band from Colorado, USA...
of terrestrial planets, and program it to attack any non-H'riak life forms nearby. Gamma1 was originally heavily armed, until the Tantalus colonists managed to destroy most of its weaponry at the cost of all of their ships.
- The Empiants, who resemble purple squids in appearance, inhabit the gas giant Cronus. In the past, the Empiants waged war against the H'Riak. After establishing stations orbiting Cronus, the Empiants attack. The Empiants communicate telepathically and are adversely affected by Human brainwaves after the Calypso colonists establish a station orbiting Cronus. This leads the Empiants to attack the Humans, but once a solution is found to block Human brain waves, they are not unreasonable, only asking that gas for energy not be siphoned from Cronus.
Reception
Game journalist Niko Nirvi awarded Alien Legacy a score of 82% in PelitPelit
Pelit is a Finnish video games magazine published 11 times a year by Sanoma Magazines, a division of the Sanoma Group. Being by far the largest of its kind in Finland and covering both PCs and consoles, it has for a long time lacked serious competition and is thought by many to be the magazine of...
magazine. The game's plot carried the game for Nirvi, keeping him interested throughout ("after the plot finally started.") He found the plot to be quite linear, and while events may happen differently on replay, felt no need to return to the game after completing it. Conversely, he found the strategy side lacking: the advisors "warmly hold the player's hand as they guide him through Alien Legacy, leaving the player balancing the colonies instead of using wits. He summed up the game as "a nice enough snack, no more, no less" that friends of Star Control
Star Control
Star Control is a science fiction computer game that was developed by Toys for Bob and published by Accolade in the early 1990s. Star Control still enjoys a cult following...
should inspect.
Nirvi deemed the game's graphics pleasant, its interface generally well-working, and its sounds nondescript.