Star Trek: Klingon Academy
Encyclopedia
Star Trek: Klingon Academy, also known as Klingon Academy, is a starship
combat Space flight simulator computer game
developed by 14 Degrees East, an internal development house of publisher Interplay Entertainment
. The game follows a young Klingon
warrior named Torlek as he attends the Elite Command Academy, a war college created by General Chang to prepare warriors for a future conflict with the United Federation of Planets
. Christopher Plummer
and David Warner
reprised their respective roles as Chang and Gorkon for the production of Klingon Academy.
Klingon Academy is the successor to Interplay's Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
, this time played from the viewpoint of the Klingon Empire
. The change is similar in style to the PC game Star Wars: X-Wing
and its sequel, Star Wars: TIE Fighter
.
and prior to those of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
. The Klingon Empire is led by Chancellor Lorak, a noble but ailing ruler, and maintains a peace with the Federation much like the Cold War
-type situation presented in Star Trek VI. The Empire's energy production needs are met largely by dilithium and other important resources in the Tal'Ihnor Gates system, near Romulan
space. Praxis, the sole moon of the Klingon homeworld Qo'noS, is only a secondary energy production facility at this time. The Klingons have a limited non-aggression and technology exchange treaty with the Romulan Star Empire, although neither side has high regard for the other. There are no significant tensions with the Gorn Star Kingdom
, the Tholian Assembly
or the Sha'kurian Duchies (a new race created specifically for this game) at this time.
Just prior to the events of the game, General Chang defeats a would-be usurper named Kalnor and halts his attempted coup of the Klingon government. He then convenes the eighteenth term of the Elite Command Academy as dean and head instructor; additional field instructors are Colonel Poktarl, Brigadier K'mak and Commander Thok Mak (younger brother to Colonel Worf, voiced by Michael Dorn
), all prior graduates and seasoned warriors. An Academy lesson consists of a lecture by Chang followed by a simulated starship mission, in which cadets play a vital role during an important stage of a fictitious war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Only five percent of cadets graduate from the prestigious but unforgiving institution.
The Academy term consists entirely of a hypothetical war with the Federation. Starting with a blitzkrieg
, the war shifts deeper into Federation space, leaving behind many a failed Academy cadet. Torlek exhibits exceptional leadership skills and tactical acumen during these trials, all within the overall strategy of exploiting the weaknesses inherent in the Federation's greatest strength - diplomacy - which renders the enemy "a brittle unity" in Chang's eyes. He also proves his loyalty and reliability to Chang during two real-world espionage missions against Kalnor's half-brother Melkor. During one simulation, a Klingon version of Starfleet Academy
's Kobayashi Maru
scenario tests Torlek's resolve in the face of a situation where either duty or honor can prevail, but not both. Ultimately, his conviction in his decision earns high praise from Chang. Another trial pits him against a simulation of Captain Sulu
(voiced by George Takei
) aboard the USS Excelsior, and his performance against the famed Starfleet
officer is commendable. The war ends on Earth's doorstep, as the Federation's response to the diversionary blitzkrieg and to its diplomatic weakness leads to conflict within the Sol system itself - and the unleashing of one of humanity's "greatest scientific achievements" (Project Genesis) of mass destruction on Earth itself. During this final simulation, Torlek destroys the Starship Enterprise
under James T. Kirk
's command, an incredible accomplishment even in a training scenario. Torlek graduates from the Elite Command Academy with top honors, but is not assigned a command as his fellow cadets have been.
Just as the Academy term ends, Chancellor Lorak dies. Gorkon, at this time Chief of Staff and the legitimate successor to the chancellorship, is blocked by Melkor, who gathers a large fleet and plunges the Empire into a civil war
that none other before or after in Klingon history was as devastating - in his attempt to resurrect the long-defunct Emperorship. Gorkon's pacifist leanings are well-known and General Chang, believing a war with the Federation to be inevitable, refuses to back him. Chang recruits allies of his own to become a small but formidable third faction in the civil war, including Academy instructor Thok Mak (as his Theater Operations Controller). As the greatest and most trusted student of the recent term (and, later on, the finest one ever taught by the General), Torlek is also recruited by Chang to be a senior field captain.
Melkor's treachery and cowardice expose themselves further, as his undercover agents blow up a captured starbase deep in his territory and kill thousands - just to prevent a direct assault on the heart of the House of G'Iogh (Melkor's House), and as he assigns the heaviest warships in his immediate strike fleet to protect his ultimately fleeing flagship from Chang's bluff pursuit (which tactically keeps them away from the fleeing starbase refugees).
Nonetheless, Torlek's actions become highly influential to the course of the war, from logistical recovery (by acquiring a mobile base) to the discovery of more dishonour on the part of the would-be Emperor: a traitorous offering of the Tal'Ihnor Gates to the Romulans in exchange for their military support in the war. As Chang's forces intercept Melkor and the Romulans in the Tal'Ihnor system, Brigadier K'mak reveals his unfortunate alignment with the Usurper (his brother, leader of his house, pledged support to Melkor, and K'mak was duty-bound to do the same), and that he has been tasked with destroying the entire system rather than let it fall into Chang's hands. Despite Torlek's desperate appeal, K'mak detonates a gravitic distortion device, which causes a nearby black hole
to destabilize and explode like a supernova
. The Tal'Ihnor system and most of the enemy warships present are obliterated. K'mak's warning to Torlek allows some of Chang's fleet to escape.
After this incident, knowledge of this penultimate treachery by Melkor makes his victory by conventional means all but impossible. He completely turns himself over to Romulan support and sets a trap for Chang in the newly-formed Tal'Ihnor Nebula, calling him out to a blood duel to avenge his brother's death. Chang accepts, reasoning that even if it is a trap he will still die an honorable death against a hated foe, but is shocked to find Melkor's Romulan support so large that he's poised to lead a mass assault into Klingon space. Chang implores Torlek to gather whatever forces he can, stop the Romulans and kill Melkor by any means necessary. Torlek turns to Gorkon for assistance; their joint fleet halts the Romulans, but fails to kill Melkor. Due to Gorkon's assistance, Chang now owes a blood debt to him and cannot fight him or his peaceful policies, assuring Gorkon's ascension to the Chancellorship. A furious Chang demotes Torlek and sends him on routine patrol duties along the Federation Neutral Zone.
During his first patrol, Torlek discovers a ruse by forces still loyal to Melkor. They create the appearance of a Federation invasion to draw Chang and the bulk of the Klingon fleet away from Qo'noS, while a massive Romulan invasion force seizes the homeworld and forces Gorkon from power. Chang's deep-seated hatred of the Federation leads him to fall for the trick, but Torlek convinces him to place the needs of the Klingon people first. They warp
back to Qo'noS together, defeat the Romulans a second time and, with the nearby presence of a then-captain K'mpec, finally kill Melkor.
The final cutscene shows the Klingon Empire stabilized under Chancellor Gorkon but desperate for energy production. Following the Tal'Ihnor Gates incident, they are ravaging the Klingon moon Praxis for more energy. Chang's last meeting with Torlek forebodes the dark turn of events in Star Trek VI. He assigns his "conscience" - Torlek - to a long-term mission searching for new sources of energy, so that he may be free to enact a treacherous conspiracy of his own: to assassinate key interstellar figures and ultimately plunge the Federation and Klingon Empire into full-scale war. Torlek holds his mentor in high regard even after these tragic events come to pass. In the future Torlek dies a glorious and honorable death, and is immortalized in the great Hall of Warriors.
may also be configured.
The ultimate objectives of most missions are to warp to a target system, destroy or capture enemy starships or installations, and return to a home base. Elements of stealth, espionage
and survival or guile against overwhelming forces are sometimes featured. As one plays through the game, progressively larger and more powerful starships are awarded to the player, with enemy forces to match. Many missions offer the player escort ships of equal or lesser class to their own, which must be managed through the HUD
interface.
Gameplay is entirely tactical in nature, as one's list of mission-related star systems are given at the start of each mission, or changed during the mission. All starships have shields
and a variety of combat systems, including weapons, tractor beam
s and ECM
. Shields are divided into six faces, one for each fore, aft, port, starboard, dorsal and ventral side of the ship, and must be battered down before significant damage can be inflicted to the ship's hull or subsystems.
Once a shield currently facing the player's starship is dropped, a boarding attempt may be made. Marines are beamed
to the opposing ship, and can either attempt to destroy various internal systems or attempt to capture the ship. A captured ship in single-player is immediately converted to friendly status and becomes an escort, while multiplayer ships are immediately destroyed and double points are awarded to the player.
One of two key features in the Klingon Academy interface is the VOS or Verbal Orders System. A list of substations along the bottom of the HUD correspond to number keys on the numpad. Pressing each number brings up a submenu for the corresponding subsystem, with possible additional submenus available for many commands. For example, entering 1-4-1-1 (without dashes) might bring up the ship to full power and run weapons and shields at eighty percent, with a corresponding verbal acknowledgement from the crew. To use this effectively, players often had to memorize long lists of such numbers to be useful, or frequently refer to a quick reference card. Some players did not find this easy to do in the heat of combat, especially with the large number of commands available.
The other key interface feature is the Gunnery Chair. Simulating the periscope
-like manual control system seen on Klingon Birds of Prey throughout the Star Trek feature films, this system changes the interface to allow direct control of weapons throughout all of the vessel's firing arcs. Flight control can be delegated to an AI
helmsman or retained by the player, and the Gunnery Chair may stay locked onto a single enemy vessel or remain free to move through any firing arc.
It is also possible to give some orders using voice commands spoken through a microphone.
Players also have an array of systems and resources, including some such as marines which are concepts more familiar from the game Star Fleet Battles
. Players can use tractor beams, and reroute power to various systems.
As with most Star Trek games, each ship has shields divided into various areas of the ship. The player's HUD screen displays relative strength of each shield on other ships, enabling targeting of weaker shields.
Klingon Academy is an open world
video game. It is possible to warp to various points in the galaxy, such as planets, including Earth, and to view various landmarks there.
feature films and was a moderate success, although it was criticized for an overly complex interface and poor vessel movement dynamics. Interplay started laying plans for a sequel around 1997, and a development team was assembled under 14 Degrees East, Interplay development house responsible at the time for games under the Star Trek license. To save costs, the sequel was to use the same game engine
with which Starfleet Academy was created. The setting of the game was moved to the time just before the events depicted in the motion picture Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
, which was released by Paramount Studios in 1991. Therefore, Klingon Academy is a prequel to Star Trek VI. Like Starfleet Academy, Klingon Academy features space battles interspersed with full-motion video, with real actors and sets and frequent branching dialogue response options.
As soon as Klingon Academy was officially announced, developers ran into problems with the old source code from Starfleet Academy. Parts of the code were lost, garbled or incoherent, and delays began to mount. One of the biggest limitations of using the old code was a built-in constraint that restricted the game's on-screen resolution to 640 x 480 pixels, even though some similar games were capable at the time of being run at higher resolutions. This problem was not solved until just before release in June 2000.
The goals of the developers were quite ambitious: 1) They wanted to add detailed damage modeling to the ships, dubbed "ginsuing" after the infamous late-night Ginsu
knives commercials on American television; 2) they had to create and flesh out a large number of new ships with high polygon counts and superior graphics; 3) implement control and ship movement changes to make the game a more authentic Star Trek space combat experience.
Originally slated to be released in the spring of 1999, development delays (not uncommon with many games) pushed the ultimate release date back until the summer of 2000. At several points during the game's halting progress it was nearly cancelled by Interplay, like a previous game entitled Star Trek: Secret of Vulcan Fury, which had been cancelled some years prior. The game entered beta testing by the spring of 2000 and was hastily rushed to completion by Interplay on June 21, 2000.
discs. Once the game went gold in June 2000, Interplay terminated the entire development team, which did not bode well for the future prospects of the game. Game expansions and a promised mission builder (which was never formally released or supported) were never released. Two minor technical patches were later released by a skeleton crew of staff kept on the project, but Interplay had effectively ended their support.
Critical reception to the game was lukewarm, with GameRankings reporting a review average of 73% among professional critical sources. IGN gave the game a score of 7.8/10, and Gamespot a 6.7/10.
The game's graphics were considered to be adequate for its time, as the destruction of enemy vessels indicated a strong attention to detail. A player could blast holes through enemy vessels, blow off warp nacelles and cause other damage that would produce colorful particles "leaking" into space. Many players and reviewers characterized playing the game as like being in a Star Trek movie, praise that was a vast improvement over StarFleet Academy's criticisms. Vessels were intricately detailed and featured a wide variety of weapons, designs and appearances. Klingon Academy's soundtrack, composed by Inon Zur
, was considered well-done and dramatic, creating a uniquely operatic Klingon atmosphere during combat. Complaints were voiced about model and texture complexity, however.
Upon release, the game was rather buggy and unstable, which is not atypical of new PC releases. Interplay did develop patches to improve or repair these issues, but bugs still remain. The most problematic of these issues is with regards to mission scripting. If an event doesn't properly trigger, either due to a poorly designed mission or the player's inability to determine how to play through events, it can become impossible to finish or even fail the mission. This can create unnecessary frustration because the player may need to play the same mission many times in order to figure out just how to proceed.
Other complaints against the game by game reviewers included the interface being too complex and inaccessible, and that these features were perhaps not adequately documented by the game manual. Klingon Academy fans, however, may see these features instead as strengths. The artificial intelligence of the ships was also a cause for complaints. Enemies frequently come at the player on a collision course, which can destroy both ships.
GameSpy.com praised the game, stating, "With top talent like Christopher Plummer and David Warner reprising their roles from The Undiscovered Country and a story that could have easily been made into feature film, Interplay's Star Trek: Klingon Academy is as much an entertainment experience as it is a computer game," and praised the game's cinematic visual effects and the measured pace of combat. GameSpot's review summarized the game as "an extremely ambitious simulation that provides plenty of original gameplay but fails to adequately refine its presentation," citing overly complex controls and poor AI pathfinding as major obstacles.
Klingon Academy was never the commercial success that Interplay or fans had anticipated. Released after the lackluster film Star Trek: Insurrection
and during a period of waning interest in the franchise, the game was not a blockbuster by any measure.
Overall the development of Klingon Academy did rival that of most motion pictures, the marketing and advertisement did not have an equally robust budget or commitment behind it. Although Interplay was receptive to fan sites desiring previews of the Star Trek games, the exposure was apparently inadequate for a game needing to overcome the stigma attached to the franchise after prior disappointments in movies, TV series, and the game's own predecessor.
-based command system. Ship movement was generally slowed down to create a more tactical game by bringing forth the ponderous nature of Star Trek naval combat. This addressed one of the largest criticisms of StarFleet Academy; its fast-moving starships that were compared to a fast-paced fighter simulator.
Klingon Academy is, surprisingly, the only PC game ever produced for Star Trek which provides a starship simulator which incorporates a first-person view, a continuous-play structure, a fully navigable in-game universe, and also direct control over multiple ship systems, as opposed to Star Trek: Bridge Commander
, in which non-player characters handle other duty stations, or Star Trek: Starfleet Command
, in which play is not continuous, and also the player can only view their ship from the exterior, and cannot travel beyond the immediate area.
The innovative ship damage system remains one of the most interactive of its kind. StarFleet Academy didn't model ship damage visually at all. The later Star Trek: Bridge Commander
uses a somewhat similar system, but it is not as reactive as the "ginsu" system present in Klingon Academy. Few other space titles model ship damage other than total destruction. Klingon Academy is also one of the first space games to depict and use interactive stellar phenomena, in order to create a more complicated environment than simply empty space. This "space terrain" not only creates unique tactical and strategic opportunities, but is also as hazardous to the player as it is to his enemy.
Starship
A starship or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between the stars, as opposed to a vehicle designed for orbital spaceflight or interplanetary travel....
combat Space flight simulator computer game
Space flight simulator game
A space flight simulator game is a genre of simulation video games that lets players experience space flight. Highly realistic examples lacking any sort of combat include Orbiter and Microsoft Space Simulator...
developed by 14 Degrees East, an internal development house of publisher Interplay Entertainment
Interplay Entertainment
Interplay Entertainment Corporation is an American video game developer and publisher, founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by Brian Fargo. The company had been a quality developer until they started publishing their own games in 1988, like Neuromancer and Battle Chess. The company was renamed...
. The game follows a young Klingon
Klingon
Klingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...
warrior named Torlek as he attends the Elite Command Academy, a war college created by General Chang to prepare warriors for a future conflict with the United Federation of Planets
United Federation of Planets
The United Federation of Planets, also known as "The Federation" is a fictional interplanetary federal republic depicted in the Star Trek television series and motion pictures...
. Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
and David Warner
David Warner (actor)
David Warner is an English actor who is known for playing both romantic leads and sinister or villainous characters, both in film and animation...
reprised their respective roles as Chang and Gorkon for the production of Klingon Academy.
Klingon Academy is the successor to Interplay's Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (video game)
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is a PC Star Trek simulation game that simulates the life of a typical Starfleet cadet. The object in the game is for the player to learn the basics of flying a starship so that the player can eventually become a captain of one's very own ship...
, this time played from the viewpoint of the Klingon Empire
Klingon
Klingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...
. The change is similar in style to the PC game Star Wars: X-Wing
Star Wars: X-Wing
Star Wars: X-Wing is the first LucasArts DOS computer game set in the Star Wars universe, as well as the lead title in the X-Wing computer game series. It simulates the experience of combat in the A-wing, X-wing, and Y-wing starfighters of the Rebel Alliance...
and its sequel, Star Wars: TIE Fighter
Star Wars: TIE Fighter
Star Wars: TIE Fighter, a 1994 space flight simulator/space combat computer game, is the sequel to Star Wars: X-Wing, and the first game of the series that puts the player on the side of the Galactic Empire....
.
Setting
Klingon Academy takes place during 2291 AD (Klingon year 1666 IR, Imperial Reckoning), after the events of Star Trek V: The Final FrontierStar Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is a 1989 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fifth feature in the franchise and the penultimate to star the cast of the original Star Trek science fiction television series...
and prior to those of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...
. The Klingon Empire is led by Chancellor Lorak, a noble but ailing ruler, and maintains a peace with the Federation much like the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
-type situation presented in Star Trek VI. The Empire's energy production needs are met largely by dilithium and other important resources in the Tal'Ihnor Gates system, near Romulan
Romulan
The Romulans are a fictional alien race in the Star Trek universe. First appearing in the original Star Trek series in the 1966 episode "Balance of Terror", they have since made appearances in all the main later Star Trek series: The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager...
space. Praxis, the sole moon of the Klingon homeworld Qo'noS, is only a secondary energy production facility at this time. The Klingons have a limited non-aggression and technology exchange treaty with the Romulan Star Empire, although neither side has high regard for the other. There are no significant tensions with the Gorn Star Kingdom
Gorn
In Star Trek, the Gorn are humanoid reptiles from the Gorn Hegemony.-Fictional history:The Gorn had contact with the Orion Syndicate as early as 2154...
, the Tholian Assembly
Tholian
Tholians are a fictional starfaring and extremely territorial race in the Star Trek fictional universe. The Tholian home nation is the Tholian Assembly, which inhabits an area of space in the Alpha Quadrant, near the Cardassian Union and the Badlands....
or the Sha'kurian Duchies (a new race created specifically for this game) at this time.
Just prior to the events of the game, General Chang defeats a would-be usurper named Kalnor and halts his attempted coup of the Klingon government. He then convenes the eighteenth term of the Elite Command Academy as dean and head instructor; additional field instructors are Colonel Poktarl, Brigadier K'mak and Commander Thok Mak (younger brother to Colonel Worf, voiced by Michael Dorn
Michael Dorn
Michael Dorn is an American actor, and voice artist who is best known for his role as the Klingon Worf from the Star Trek franchise.-Early life and career:...
), all prior graduates and seasoned warriors. An Academy lesson consists of a lecture by Chang followed by a simulated starship mission, in which cadets play a vital role during an important stage of a fictitious war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Only five percent of cadets graduate from the prestigious but unforgiving institution.
The Academy
The game begins with an opening cinematic depicting General Chang's defeat of Kalnor's coup, by challenging him to a "blood duel" that will settle the matter in personal combat. Chang loses an eye to Kalnor before killing him, explaining his eyepatch in his motion picture appearance. The narrative then continues with cadet Torlek, who reflects upon his invitation to the Elite Command Academy and his desire to honor his father through his success, as the first class begins. General Chang begins each session with a personal address to his students, explaining the natures of honor, loyalty, duty, and how a warrior may live by these virtues in combat, before continuing onto the day's strategy lesson and mission briefing.The Academy term consists entirely of a hypothetical war with the Federation. Starting with a blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg
For other uses of the word, see: Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg is an anglicized word describing all-motorised force concentration of tanks, infantry, artillery, combat engineers and air power, concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines, and, once the lines are broken,...
, the war shifts deeper into Federation space, leaving behind many a failed Academy cadet. Torlek exhibits exceptional leadership skills and tactical acumen during these trials, all within the overall strategy of exploiting the weaknesses inherent in the Federation's greatest strength - diplomacy - which renders the enemy "a brittle unity" in Chang's eyes. He also proves his loyalty and reliability to Chang during two real-world espionage missions against Kalnor's half-brother Melkor. During one simulation, a Klingon version of Starfleet Academy
Starfleet Academy
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet Academy is where the future's recruits to Starfleet will be trained. It was created in the year 2161, when the United Federation of Planets was founded...
's Kobayashi Maru
Kobayashi Maru
The Kobayashi Maru is a test in the fictional universe of Star Trek. It is a Starfleet training exercise designed to test the character of cadets in the command track at Starfleet Academy. The Kobayashi Maru test was first depicted in the opening scene of the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan...
scenario tests Torlek's resolve in the face of a situation where either duty or honor can prevail, but not both. Ultimately, his conviction in his decision earns high praise from Chang. Another trial pits him against a simulation of Captain Sulu
Hikaru Sulu
Hikaru Sulu is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by George Takei in the original Star Trek series, Sulu also appears in the animated Star Trek series, the first six Star Trek movies, one episode of Star Trek: Voyager, and in numerous books, comics, and video games...
(voiced by George Takei
George Takei
George Hosato Takei Altman is an American actor, author, social activist and former civil politician. He is best known for his role in the television series Star Trek and its film spinoffs, in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the...
) aboard the USS Excelsior, and his performance against the famed Starfleet
Starfleet
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet or the Federation Starfleet is the deep-space exploratory, peacekeeping and military service maintained by the United Federation of Planets . It is the principal means by which the Federation conducts its exploration, defense, diplomacy and research...
officer is commendable. The war ends on Earth's doorstep, as the Federation's response to the diversionary blitzkrieg and to its diplomatic weakness leads to conflict within the Sol system itself - and the unleashing of one of humanity's "greatest scientific achievements" (Project Genesis) of mass destruction on Earth itself. During this final simulation, Torlek destroys the Starship Enterprise
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A)
The USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-A is a starship in the fourth, fifth, and sixth Star Trek films.-Origin and design:The Enterprise-A used the same shooting model as the preceding NCC-1701...
under James T. Kirk
James T. Kirk
James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. Kirk was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series. Shatner voiced Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies...
's command, an incredible accomplishment even in a training scenario. Torlek graduates from the Elite Command Academy with top honors, but is not assigned a command as his fellow cadets have been.
Just as the Academy term ends, Chancellor Lorak dies. Gorkon, at this time Chief of Staff and the legitimate successor to the chancellorship, is blocked by Melkor, who gathers a large fleet and plunges the Empire into a civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
that none other before or after in Klingon history was as devastating - in his attempt to resurrect the long-defunct Emperorship. Gorkon's pacifist leanings are well-known and General Chang, believing a war with the Federation to be inevitable, refuses to back him. Chang recruits allies of his own to become a small but formidable third faction in the civil war, including Academy instructor Thok Mak (as his Theater Operations Controller). As the greatest and most trusted student of the recent term (and, later on, the finest one ever taught by the General), Torlek is also recruited by Chang to be a senior field captain.
Beyond graduation
Torlek performs his duties in the field as exceptionally as he did in his training missions. Starting with the not-so-uneventful escort of key resource ships to Chang's initial base of operations, he becomes a vital part of Chang's war effort when he almost single-handedly disrupts Melkor's initial offensive against Qo'noS from the Usurper's flank.Melkor's treachery and cowardice expose themselves further, as his undercover agents blow up a captured starbase deep in his territory and kill thousands - just to prevent a direct assault on the heart of the House of G'Iogh (Melkor's House), and as he assigns the heaviest warships in his immediate strike fleet to protect his ultimately fleeing flagship from Chang's bluff pursuit (which tactically keeps them away from the fleeing starbase refugees).
Nonetheless, Torlek's actions become highly influential to the course of the war, from logistical recovery (by acquiring a mobile base) to the discovery of more dishonour on the part of the would-be Emperor: a traitorous offering of the Tal'Ihnor Gates to the Romulans in exchange for their military support in the war. As Chang's forces intercept Melkor and the Romulans in the Tal'Ihnor system, Brigadier K'mak reveals his unfortunate alignment with the Usurper (his brother, leader of his house, pledged support to Melkor, and K'mak was duty-bound to do the same), and that he has been tasked with destroying the entire system rather than let it fall into Chang's hands. Despite Torlek's desperate appeal, K'mak detonates a gravitic distortion device, which causes a nearby black hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
to destabilize and explode like a supernova
Supernova
A supernova is a stellar explosion that is more energetic than a nova. It is pronounced with the plural supernovae or supernovas. Supernovae are extremely luminous and cause a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy, before fading from view over several weeks or months...
. The Tal'Ihnor system and most of the enemy warships present are obliterated. K'mak's warning to Torlek allows some of Chang's fleet to escape.
After this incident, knowledge of this penultimate treachery by Melkor makes his victory by conventional means all but impossible. He completely turns himself over to Romulan support and sets a trap for Chang in the newly-formed Tal'Ihnor Nebula, calling him out to a blood duel to avenge his brother's death. Chang accepts, reasoning that even if it is a trap he will still die an honorable death against a hated foe, but is shocked to find Melkor's Romulan support so large that he's poised to lead a mass assault into Klingon space. Chang implores Torlek to gather whatever forces he can, stop the Romulans and kill Melkor by any means necessary. Torlek turns to Gorkon for assistance; their joint fleet halts the Romulans, but fails to kill Melkor. Due to Gorkon's assistance, Chang now owes a blood debt to him and cannot fight him or his peaceful policies, assuring Gorkon's ascension to the Chancellorship. A furious Chang demotes Torlek and sends him on routine patrol duties along the Federation Neutral Zone.
During his first patrol, Torlek discovers a ruse by forces still loyal to Melkor. They create the appearance of a Federation invasion to draw Chang and the bulk of the Klingon fleet away from Qo'noS, while a massive Romulan invasion force seizes the homeworld and forces Gorkon from power. Chang's deep-seated hatred of the Federation leads him to fall for the trick, but Torlek convinces him to place the needs of the Klingon people first. They warp
Warp drive (Star Trek)
Warp drive is a faster-than-light propulsion system in the setting of many science fiction works, most notably Star Trek. A spacecraft equipped with a warp drive may travel at velocities greater than that of light by many orders of magnitude, while circumventing the relativistic problem of time...
back to Qo'noS together, defeat the Romulans a second time and, with the nearby presence of a then-captain K'mpec, finally kill Melkor.
The final cutscene shows the Klingon Empire stabilized under Chancellor Gorkon but desperate for energy production. Following the Tal'Ihnor Gates incident, they are ravaging the Klingon moon Praxis for more energy. Chang's last meeting with Torlek forebodes the dark turn of events in Star Trek VI. He assigns his "conscience" - Torlek - to a long-term mission searching for new sources of energy, so that he may be free to enact a treacherous conspiracy of his own: to assassinate key interstellar figures and ultimately plunge the Federation and Klingon Empire into full-scale war. Torlek holds his mentor in high regard even after these tragic events come to pass. In the future Torlek dies a glorious and honorable death, and is immortalized in the great Hall of Warriors.
Gameplay
Klingon Academy is a 3D space flight simulator, allowing players to command Klingon starships in the single-player campaign. Starships and facilities of all featured races are available for quick battles and multiplayer matches. Even the lightest escort classes are much tougher and slower to maneuver than the fighters and bombers commonly featured in space simulator games. Larger starships are even slower, stronger and less agile, emphasizing their massive frames and impressive firepower. Ships are controlled through keyboard shortcut commands, with the mouse as an option for directional control. A joystickJoystick
A joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Joysticks, also known as 'control columns', are the principal control in the cockpit of many civilian and military aircraft, either as a center stick or...
may also be configured.
The ultimate objectives of most missions are to warp to a target system, destroy or capture enemy starships or installations, and return to a home base. Elements of stealth, espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
and survival or guile against overwhelming forces are sometimes featured. As one plays through the game, progressively larger and more powerful starships are awarded to the player, with enemy forces to match. Many missions offer the player escort ships of equal or lesser class to their own, which must be managed through the HUD
Head-Up Display
A head-up display or heads-up display is any transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints...
interface.
Gameplay is entirely tactical in nature, as one's list of mission-related star systems are given at the start of each mission, or changed during the mission. All starships have shields
Shields (Star Trek)
In the Star Trek fictional universe, shields refer to a 23rd and 24th century technology that protects starships, space stations, and planets from damage by natural hazard or enemy attack...
and a variety of combat systems, including weapons, tractor beam
Tractor beam
A tractor beam is a device with the ability to attract one object to another from a distance. Since the 1990s, technology and research has labored to make it a reality, mostly at microscopic level. Less commonly, a similar beam that repels is called a pressor beam or repulsor beam...
s and ECM
Electronic countermeasures
An electronic countermeasure is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar or other detection systems, like infrared or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting information to an enemy...
. Shields are divided into six faces, one for each fore, aft, port, starboard, dorsal and ventral side of the ship, and must be battered down before significant damage can be inflicted to the ship's hull or subsystems.
Once a shield currently facing the player's starship is dropped, a boarding attempt may be made. Marines are beamed
Transporter (Star Trek)
A transporter is a fictional teleportation machine used in the Star Trek universe. Transporters convert a person or object into an energy pattern , then "beam" it to a target, where it is reconverted into matter...
to the opposing ship, and can either attempt to destroy various internal systems or attempt to capture the ship. A captured ship in single-player is immediately converted to friendly status and becomes an escort, while multiplayer ships are immediately destroyed and double points are awarded to the player.
Interface
The HUD displays the player ship's current status, including a percentage-based damage report on all shields, subsystems and hull strength. A radar-like sensor display gives the position of ships and celestial objects in range, while the ship or object currently targeted appears in a tactical damage display and a 3D picture-in-picture window.The other key interface feature is the Gunnery Chair. Simulating the periscope
Periscope
A periscope is an instrument for observation from a concealed position. In its simplest form it consists of a tube with mirrors at each end set parallel to each other at a 45-degree angle....
-like manual control system seen on Klingon Birds of Prey throughout the Star Trek feature films, this system changes the interface to allow direct control of weapons throughout all of the vessel's firing arcs. Flight control can be delegated to an AI
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
helmsman or retained by the player, and the Gunnery Chair may stay locked onto a single enemy vessel or remain free to move through any firing arc.
It is also possible to give some orders using voice commands spoken through a microphone.
Ship Systems, Operation, and Weapons
There is an array of different weapons from the Star Trek series.Players also have an array of systems and resources, including some such as marines which are concepts more familiar from the game Star Fleet Battles
Star Fleet Battles
Star Fleet Battles is a tactical board wargame set in an offshoot of the Star Trek setting called the Star Fleet Universe. Originally created in 1979 by Stephen V. Cole,...
. Players can use tractor beams, and reroute power to various systems.
As with most Star Trek games, each ship has shields divided into various areas of the ship. The player's HUD screen displays relative strength of each shield on other ships, enabling targeting of weaker shields.
Interactive terrain
Space is filled with various features, landmarks and terrain. This includes specific planets as well as other features such as nebulas. All of these affect gameplay.Klingon Academy is an open world
Open world
An open world is a type of video game level design where a player can roam freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how to approach objectives...
video game. It is possible to warp to various points in the galaxy, such as planets, including Earth, and to view various landmarks there.
Development
Klingon Academy was intended to be a sequel to Interplay's Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. Starfleet Academy was released in 1996 after a lengthy and difficult development process. Both games featured 3D space battles where the player controlled their ship by use of a keyboard and mouse or keyboard and joystick, and were set in the Star Trek universe. Starfleet Academy was set during the period of the Star Trek TOSStar Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
feature films and was a moderate success, although it was criticized for an overly complex interface and poor vessel movement dynamics. Interplay started laying plans for a sequel around 1997, and a development team was assembled under 14 Degrees East, Interplay development house responsible at the time for games under the Star Trek license. To save costs, the sequel was to use the same game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
with which Starfleet Academy was created. The setting of the game was moved to the time just before the events depicted in the motion picture Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...
, which was released by Paramount Studios in 1991. Therefore, Klingon Academy is a prequel to Star Trek VI. Like Starfleet Academy, Klingon Academy features space battles interspersed with full-motion video, with real actors and sets and frequent branching dialogue response options.
As soon as Klingon Academy was officially announced, developers ran into problems with the old source code from Starfleet Academy. Parts of the code were lost, garbled or incoherent, and delays began to mount. One of the biggest limitations of using the old code was a built-in constraint that restricted the game's on-screen resolution to 640 x 480 pixels, even though some similar games were capable at the time of being run at higher resolutions. This problem was not solved until just before release in June 2000.
The goals of the developers were quite ambitious: 1) They wanted to add detailed damage modeling to the ships, dubbed "ginsuing" after the infamous late-night Ginsu
Ginsu
The Ginsu knife is a product best known for the sales techniques used to promote it.The "amazing" Ginsu knife became known to millions of television viewers in the USA through ubiquitous television advertisements in the 1970s...
knives commercials on American television; 2) they had to create and flesh out a large number of new ships with high polygon counts and superior graphics; 3) implement control and ship movement changes to make the game a more authentic Star Trek space combat experience.
Originally slated to be released in the spring of 1999, development delays (not uncommon with many games) pushed the ultimate release date back until the summer of 2000. At several points during the game's halting progress it was nearly cancelled by Interplay, like a previous game entitled Star Trek: Secret of Vulcan Fury, which had been cancelled some years prior. The game entered beta testing by the spring of 2000 and was hastily rushed to completion by Interplay on June 21, 2000.
Release and reception
Klingon Academy was shipped on six CD-ROMCD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
discs. Once the game went gold in June 2000, Interplay terminated the entire development team, which did not bode well for the future prospects of the game. Game expansions and a promised mission builder (which was never formally released or supported) were never released. Two minor technical patches were later released by a skeleton crew of staff kept on the project, but Interplay had effectively ended their support.
Critical reception to the game was lukewarm, with GameRankings reporting a review average of 73% among professional critical sources. IGN gave the game a score of 7.8/10, and Gamespot a 6.7/10.
The game's graphics were considered to be adequate for its time, as the destruction of enemy vessels indicated a strong attention to detail. A player could blast holes through enemy vessels, blow off warp nacelles and cause other damage that would produce colorful particles "leaking" into space. Many players and reviewers characterized playing the game as like being in a Star Trek movie, praise that was a vast improvement over StarFleet Academy's criticisms. Vessels were intricately detailed and featured a wide variety of weapons, designs and appearances. Klingon Academy's soundtrack, composed by Inon Zur
Inon Zur
Inon Zur is an Israeli American music composer who has won several awards for his work. Originally writing for movies and television, he later moved into composing for video games. He has been described as being "internationally recognized as one of the A-list orchestral composers in the video...
, was considered well-done and dramatic, creating a uniquely operatic Klingon atmosphere during combat. Complaints were voiced about model and texture complexity, however.
Upon release, the game was rather buggy and unstable, which is not atypical of new PC releases. Interplay did develop patches to improve or repair these issues, but bugs still remain. The most problematic of these issues is with regards to mission scripting. If an event doesn't properly trigger, either due to a poorly designed mission or the player's inability to determine how to play through events, it can become impossible to finish or even fail the mission. This can create unnecessary frustration because the player may need to play the same mission many times in order to figure out just how to proceed.
Other complaints against the game by game reviewers included the interface being too complex and inaccessible, and that these features were perhaps not adequately documented by the game manual. Klingon Academy fans, however, may see these features instead as strengths. The artificial intelligence of the ships was also a cause for complaints. Enemies frequently come at the player on a collision course, which can destroy both ships.
GameSpy.com praised the game, stating, "With top talent like Christopher Plummer and David Warner reprising their roles from The Undiscovered Country and a story that could have easily been made into feature film, Interplay's Star Trek: Klingon Academy is as much an entertainment experience as it is a computer game," and praised the game's cinematic visual effects and the measured pace of combat. GameSpot's review summarized the game as "an extremely ambitious simulation that provides plenty of original gameplay but fails to adequately refine its presentation," citing overly complex controls and poor AI pathfinding as major obstacles.
Klingon Academy was never the commercial success that Interplay or fans had anticipated. Released after the lackluster film Star Trek: Insurrection
Star Trek: Insurrection
Star Trek: Insurrection is a 1998 American science fiction film directed by Jonathan Frakes, written by Michael Piller , and with music composed by Jerry Goldsmith. It is the ninth film in the Star Trek franchise, and the third to feature the cast from the television series Star Trek: The Next...
and during a period of waning interest in the franchise, the game was not a blockbuster by any measure.
Overall the development of Klingon Academy did rival that of most motion pictures, the marketing and advertisement did not have an equally robust budget or commitment behind it. Although Interplay was receptive to fan sites desiring previews of the Star Trek games, the exposure was apparently inadequate for a game needing to overcome the stigma attached to the franchise after prior disappointments in movies, TV series, and the game's own predecessor.
Significance
While being the same fundamental game type as its predecessor, Klingon Academy enhanced the formula in various ways to create a more complex simulation. Ship control, in particular, was dramatically altered with additions such as the "gunnery chair", multiple viewing angles, and a complex-yet-intuitive function keyFunction key
A function key is a key on a computer or terminal keyboard which can be programmed so as to cause an operating system command interpreter or application program to perform certain actions...
-based command system. Ship movement was generally slowed down to create a more tactical game by bringing forth the ponderous nature of Star Trek naval combat. This addressed one of the largest criticisms of StarFleet Academy; its fast-moving starships that were compared to a fast-paced fighter simulator.
Klingon Academy is, surprisingly, the only PC game ever produced for Star Trek which provides a starship simulator which incorporates a first-person view, a continuous-play structure, a fully navigable in-game universe, and also direct control over multiple ship systems, as opposed to Star Trek: Bridge Commander
Star Trek: Bridge Commander
Star Trek: Bridge Commander is a space combat simulation game for the PC, published by Activision and Totally Games in 2002, based in the Star Trek universe....
, in which non-player characters handle other duty stations, or Star Trek: Starfleet Command
Star Trek: Starfleet Command
Star Trek: Starfleet Command is a computer game based on the table-top wargame Star Fleet Battles. It simulates starship operations, and ship-to-ship combat and fleet warfare in the Star Trek universe....
, in which play is not continuous, and also the player can only view their ship from the exterior, and cannot travel beyond the immediate area.
The innovative ship damage system remains one of the most interactive of its kind. StarFleet Academy didn't model ship damage visually at all. The later Star Trek: Bridge Commander
Star Trek: Bridge Commander
Star Trek: Bridge Commander is a space combat simulation game for the PC, published by Activision and Totally Games in 2002, based in the Star Trek universe....
uses a somewhat similar system, but it is not as reactive as the "ginsu" system present in Klingon Academy. Few other space titles model ship damage other than total destruction. Klingon Academy is also one of the first space games to depict and use interactive stellar phenomena, in order to create a more complicated environment than simply empty space. This "space terrain" not only creates unique tactical and strategic opportunities, but is also as hazardous to the player as it is to his enemy.