Star Trek: Borg
Encyclopedia
Star Trek: Borg is an interactive movie
/computer game and audiobook set in the Star Trek
universe. It was written by Hilary Bader, directed by James L. Conway
, and featured an original score by Dennis McCarthy
. It was released in 1996 by Simon and Schuster for Macintosh and Windows 95
.
, Starfleet
Cadet Qaylan Furlong is given an opportunity by Q
(John de Lancie
) to go back in time and prevent his father's death in the historic battle.
Q sends Qaylan to the USS Righteous, his father's Excelsior class starship, just before the Battle of Wolf 359. Originally, the ship's security officer Coris Sprint was killed by a Borg intruder over four hours before the battle. Q gives Qaylan control of Sprint's body at this point, allowing him to change history. Since Sprint is Bijani (a heretofore unseen alien race) he has the ability to go into a "Bijani Pain Trance" which allows him to complete jobs even when feeling immense pain. This later becomes an important plot point in allowing the character to complete the game.
Meanwhile, Q takes over the role of Dr. Thaddeus Quint, whose personality is similar to Q's.
At several points throughout the game, the player (Qaylan) is given multiple choices about what actions should be taken in various situations. Each action has a correct choice several wrong choices. If the wrong choice is made the game either ends (eg, ship destruction), or is re-routed back to the choice point (eg, told to try again). In the case where the game ends Q will reset time and allow the player to try again. If the player makes too many mistakes, however, Q becomes bored and the game ends.
), which allows him to interact with the crew of the Righteous.
Q / Doctor Thaddeus Quint (John de Lancie
): A seemingly-omnipotent being who has taken an interest in the welfare of Cadet Qaylan Furlong. Q gives the cadet a special hand phaser
and tricorder
to aid him on his mission. Occasionally he will also mock the player if he's not succeeding. For purposes of the story he takes the body and role of ship's CMO Dr. Thaddeus Quint (also played by Murray Rubinstein), but Qaylan continues to see Q in his true form.
Lt. Ralph Furlong (Jeff Allin): Conn officer and father of Qaylan. He has an easy-going personality.
Captain Nikolai Andropov (Barry Lynch
): Commanding officer of the USS Righteous. He's stern and gruff, but he's very professional and by-the-book.
Ensign Anastasia Targus (Marnie McPhail): Operations officer. She has an outgoing personality and deep-seated emotional issues stemming from her time as a Cardassian prisoner of war. She has a cybernetic implant on her forehead for medical reasons.
Commander Bennington Biraka (John Cothran Jr.): Ship's first officer and counselor. He is well liked by the crew, and offers both encouragement and pearls of wisdom during difficult situations.
from the Star Trek: Voyager series, with the exception of the bridge, which was a redressed form of the bridge of the USS Excelsior as seen in the Voyager episode "Flashback"
.
Visual effects shots for this game were originally produced for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
pilot episode "Emissary"
which also depicts the Battle of Wolf 359.
With the exception of Murray Rubinstein and some minor players, the entire cast has appeared on one or more of the Star Trek TV series. For example, Jeff Allin also guest-starred as a single parent in the Star Trek: The Next Generation
episode "Imaginary Friend"; John Cothran, Jr. has played two different Klingon
characters on Star Trek: The Next Generation
and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
; and Marnie McPhail played one of the Enterprise-E crewmembers in Star Trek: First Contact
(in which, ironically, her character is assimilated by the Borg).
Additionally, the Battle of Sector 001 seen in First Contact took place in 2373; Qaylan Furlong is from the year 2377, ten years after Wolf 359. This same year, a Borg sphere pursued the USS Voyager
to Earth through a transwarp conduit and was subsequently destroyed.
, the PC version of Star Trek: Borg was intended exclusively for use with Windows 95
(the most common Microsoft
operating system
of its day). To enforce this, the OS and graphical settings of the user's computer are checked whenever the game is run. This causes difficulty for players with modern hardware, as the program automatically assumes that only systems running Win95 with 16-bit color are capable of supporting the game. A patch was later released which allows the game to be installed and run with Windows 98
, but the color settings must be reduced to 16-bit before the game will launch.
Since the rising popularity of virtual machines, an alternative method is to launch the game inside a Windows 95 vm.
Interactive movie
An interactive movie is a video game that features highly cinematic presentation and heavy use of scripting, often through the use of full-motion video of either animated or live-action footage.-Philosophy:...
/computer game and audiobook set in the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
universe. It was written by Hilary Bader, directed by James L. Conway
James L. Conway
James L. Conway is an American film and television director, producer and writer.- Director :* 90210* Charmed* Star Trek: Enterprise* Star Trek: Deep Space Nine...
, and featured an original score by Dennis McCarthy
Dennis McCarthy (composer)
Dennis McCarthy is an ASCAP- and Emmy Award-winning composer, mostly for television programs and films produced in the United States....
. It was released in 1996 by Simon and Schuster for Macintosh and Windows 95
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
.
Plot and gameplay
In the midst of a new Borg incursion ten years after the Battle of Wolf 359Battle of Wolf 359
The Battle of Wolf 359 is a fictional space battle in the Star Trek universe between the United Federation of Planets and the Borg Collective in the year 2367...
, 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...
Cadet Qaylan Furlong is given an opportunity by Q
Q (Star Trek)
Q is a fictional character who appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager, as well as in related products. In all of these programs, he is played by John de Lancie....
(John de Lancie
John de Lancie
John de Lancie is an American actor. He has been active in screen and television roles since 1977, though he is best known for his recurring role as Q on the various Star Trek series and as Frank Simmons in Stargate SG-1....
) to go back in time and prevent his father's death in the historic battle.
Q sends Qaylan to the USS Righteous, his father's Excelsior class starship, just before the Battle of Wolf 359. Originally, the ship's security officer Coris Sprint was killed by a Borg intruder over four hours before the battle. Q gives Qaylan control of Sprint's body at this point, allowing him to change history. Since Sprint is Bijani (a heretofore unseen alien race) he has the ability to go into a "Bijani Pain Trance" which allows him to complete jobs even when feeling immense pain. This later becomes an important plot point in allowing the character to complete the game.
Meanwhile, Q takes over the role of Dr. Thaddeus Quint, whose personality is similar to Q's.
At several points throughout the game, the player (Qaylan) is given multiple choices about what actions should be taken in various situations. Each action has a correct choice several wrong choices. If the wrong choice is made the game either ends (eg, ship destruction), or is re-routed back to the choice point (eg, told to try again). In the case where the game ends Q will reset time and allow the player to try again. If the player makes too many mistakes, however, Q becomes bored and the game ends.
Cast of characters
Cadet Qaylan Furlong / Lt. Coris Sprint: The game's player-character. Because the story is seen through this character's point of view, he never appears on camera. It is implied that he is male, approximately 19 years old, and bears a physical resemblance to his father. Q gives Qaylan control of Bijani security officer Coris Sprint (briefly portrayed by Tarik ErginTarik Ergin
Tarik Ergin is an American actor.Ergin was born in Hingham, Massachusetts of Turkish descent. He played the part of Lieutenant Junior Grade Ayala in Star Trek: Voyager, as well as "Satan's Robot" from the Captain Proton holodeck program and Lt...
), which allows him to interact with the crew of the Righteous.
Q / Doctor Thaddeus Quint (John de Lancie
John de Lancie
John de Lancie is an American actor. He has been active in screen and television roles since 1977, though he is best known for his recurring role as Q on the various Star Trek series and as Frank Simmons in Stargate SG-1....
): A seemingly-omnipotent being who has taken an interest in the welfare of Cadet Qaylan Furlong. Q gives the cadet a special hand phaser
Phaser
Phaser may refer to:* Barber pole phaser is an analog synthesizer specially designed to create Shepard tones, an Auditory illusion.* Endosulfan, an organic compound* Phaser , in the Star Trek fictional universe...
and tricorder
Tricorder
In the fictional Star Trek universe, a tricorder is a multifunction handheld device used for sensor scanning, data analysis, and recording data.Three primary variants of the tricorder are issued in Star Trek's Starfleet...
to aid him on his mission. Occasionally he will also mock the player if he's not succeeding. For purposes of the story he takes the body and role of ship's CMO Dr. Thaddeus Quint (also played by Murray Rubinstein), but Qaylan continues to see Q in his true form.
Lt. Ralph Furlong (Jeff Allin): Conn officer and father of Qaylan. He has an easy-going personality.
Captain Nikolai Andropov (Barry Lynch
Barry Lynch
Barry J. Lynch is an American actor. His brother, Richard Lynch, is also an actor who appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation...
): Commanding officer of the USS Righteous. He's stern and gruff, but he's very professional and by-the-book.
Ensign Anastasia Targus (Marnie McPhail): Operations officer. She has an outgoing personality and deep-seated emotional issues stemming from her time as a Cardassian prisoner of war. She has a cybernetic implant on her forehead for medical reasons.
Commander Bennington Biraka (John Cothran Jr.): Ship's first officer and counselor. He is well liked by the crew, and offers both encouragement and pearls of wisdom during difficult situations.
Production
The USS Righteous sets are mostly redressed versions of the sets of the USS VoyagerUSS Voyager (Star Trek)
The fictional Intrepid-class starship USS Voyager is the primary setting of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager. It is commanded by Captain Kathryn Janeway....
from the Star Trek: Voyager series, with the exception of the bridge, which was a redressed form of the bridge of the USS Excelsior as seen in the Voyager episode "Flashback"
Flashback (Voyager episode)
"Flashback" is the name of the 44th episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the second episode of the third season.It is noteworthy for featuring characters of the Original Series of the late 1960s, most noticeably Hikaru Sulu and Janice Rand . Both characters appear by means of a flashback by Tuvok...
.
Visual effects shots for this game were originally produced for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
pilot episode "Emissary"
Emissary (DS9 episode)
"Emissary" is the 1st and 2nd episodes, comprising the pilot, of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Overview:...
which also depicts the Battle of Wolf 359.
With the exception of Murray Rubinstein and some minor players, the entire cast has appeared on one or more of the Star Trek TV series. For example, Jeff Allin also guest-starred as a single parent in the Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
episode "Imaginary Friend"; John Cothran, Jr. has played two different 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...
characters on Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
; and Marnie McPhail played one of the Enterprise-E crewmembers in Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: First Contact is the eighth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise, released in November 1996, by Paramount Pictures. First Contact is the first film in the franchise to feature no cast members from the original Star Trek television series of the 1960s...
(in which, ironically, her character is assimilated by the Borg).
Additionally, the Battle of Sector 001 seen in First Contact took place in 2373; Qaylan Furlong is from the year 2377, ten years after Wolf 359. This same year, a Borg sphere pursued the USS Voyager
USS Voyager (Star Trek)
The fictional Intrepid-class starship USS Voyager is the primary setting of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager. It is commanded by Captain Kathryn Janeway....
to Earth through a transwarp conduit and was subsequently destroyed.
PC version technical note
Unlike its predecessor, Star Trek: KlingonStar Trek: Klingon
Star Trek: Klingon is an interactive movie/computer game set in the Star Trek universe. It was written by Hilary Bader, directed by Jonathan Frakes, and featured music by Gregory Smith...
, the PC version of Star Trek: Borg was intended exclusively for use with Windows 95
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
(the most common Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
of its day). To enforce this, the OS and graphical settings of the user's computer are checked whenever the game is run. This causes difficulty for players with modern hardware, as the program automatically assumes that only systems running Win95 with 16-bit color are capable of supporting the game. A patch was later released which allows the game to be installed and run with Windows 98
Windows 98
Windows 98 is a graphical operating system by Microsoft. It is the second major release in the Windows 9x line of operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on 15 May 1998 and to retail on 25 June 1998. Windows 98 is the successor to Windows 95. Like its predecessor, it is a hybrid...
, but the color settings must be reduced to 16-bit before the game will launch.
Since the rising popularity of virtual machines, an alternative method is to launch the game inside a Windows 95 vm.