Tachyon: The Fringe

Tachyon: The Fringe is a space combat simulation game released in 2000, created and published by Novalogic. The game stars Bruce Campbell as the voice of protagonist Jake Logan in a 3-D space flight environment. Its developer, Randy Casey, previously wrote two other Novalogic titles: F-22 Lightning II and F-22 Raptor.

Story

Set in the 26th century, the story follows humanity after it has left Earth to colonize deep space, with a space opera tone. The Sol system remains peaceful under the Star Patrol police force, but the Fringe—where Star Patrol has little reach—is a violent zone of conflict among megacorporations, pirate clans, and colonist groups. Players control Jake Logan, a mercenary pilot living comfortably in Sol. Early on, he is framed for bombing a starbase and exiled to the Fringe permanently.

The main struggle there pits the Galactic Spanning (GalSpan) corporation against the Bora, a group of anti-Sol spacer colonists, over mining rights, stations, and territorial control. Both sides offer Logan a fresh start. The Bora seek to keep their independence in the Fringe, especially their Bora sector, threatening GalSpan’s profits.

If the player sides with the Bora, they work to hinder GalSpan’s efforts to demoralize and displace them, sabotaging corporate operations. After many setbacks, Logan destroys the massive new Hephaestus mining station live on the Tachyon News Service, humiliating GalSpan and crashing its stock price, forcing the corporation to abandon the Fringe. If the player sides with GalSpan, they defend corporate interests and eliminate Bora “terrorists.” After GalSpan completes Hephaestus, the Bora launch a full assault, which Logan defeats. He then escorts the defecting Bora leader, who urges his people to abandon their homes and resettle further out in the frontier.

Gameplay

Gameplay is a first-person space combat simulator. Among its features, including power and shield management, the game includes “sliding,” which lets the player maintain constant velocity while freely controlling the spacecraft’s orientation. This allows strafing, flying backward, and greater control.

Missions

In story mode, missions are chosen from a Job Board. Some are neutral and don’t advance the main plot, though they can affect TNS news bulletins. Eventually, the player must ally with either the Bora Colonies or GalSpan.