Startopia

Lore & Background

Startopia is set after an apocalyptic galactic war, with many space stations in disrepair, hinting that these are among the last space-based environments available. The player has no direct control over aliens; instead, they construct rooms and hire aliens to staff them, providing necessities and recreation to encourage visitors to stay and spend money. Each alien type is suited to specific tasks, and individual aliens have statistics determining their value as employees. Goals vary by scenario, including economic targets, converting aliens, or taking over the station by force, with a sandbox mode also available.

The space station has a toroidal shape divided into sectors, which can be opened by paying energy for repairs. Adjacent sectors from different players can be opened to allow visitor movement, and wars can be started to conquer sectors using security droids. The station has three decks: the engineering deck (largest, most building variety), the pleasure deck (love and fun buildings), and the bio deck (nature, religion, and terraforming). The player can trade with merchant Arona Daal from the start, and with other species after building a star dock and active communications center. Research is conducted by hiring Turakken employees in a research lab, analyzing objects to discover new technologies or upgrade existing ones, and the analyzer can also disable bombs.

Startopia draws inspiration from and frequently references mainstream science fiction such as Star Trek, 2001: A Space Odyssey (the player's assistant computer VAL parodies HAL), Red Dwarf, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The game is dedicated to the memory of Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide, who died during production.

Reader's Guide

Startopia received generally favorable reviews upon release, with Next Generation's John Lee rating it four stars out of five, noting it was 'a bit short on missions' but 'a real kick to build your own luxury hotel in space.' It holds aggregate scores of 85% on GameRankings and 86/100 on Metacritic, and sold approximately 110,000 copies. The game was re-released on GOG.com in September 2012 and added to Steam in October 2013. Its legacy includes a remake announced at Gamescom in August 2019 by Realmforge Studios and Kalypso Media, titled Spacebase Startopia, originally scheduled for October 23, 2020, but released for all platforms on March 26, 2021, after delays. The remake includes competitive and co-operative multiplayer elements.

Did You Know?

• Startopia was shortlisted for BAFTA PC Game of the Year in 2001.
• The game's assistant computer VAL is a parody of HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
• Startopia is dedicated to the memory of Douglas Adams, who died during its production.
• The game sold approximately 110,000 copies.