Earth Orbit Stations
| E.O.S.: Earth Orbit Stations | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts |
| Producer(s) | Joe Ybarra |
| Designer(s) | Karl Buiter[1] |
| Platform(s) | Apple II, Commodore 64 |
| Release | 1987 |
| Genre(s) | Simulation |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
E.O.S.: Earth Orbit Stations is a space station construction and management simulation video game developed by Karl Buiter for Electronic Arts.[1] It was released for the Commodore 64 and Apple II in 1987.
Gameplay
[edit] |
The game focuses on both the material and economic challenges of building a permanent, fully functioning space station in geocentric orbit.[2]
The game is set in 1996, and the player is given various selected scenarios to fulfill. These scenarios consist of mundane tasks such as setting up a simple space station, to developing and supplying a specified amount of high-grade, zero G pharmaceuticals, and to being the first to contact alien life. The game is also a cutthroat strategy game in multiplayer, as players compete over finite resources and resource management.
Reception
[edit]Computer Gaming World in 1987 gave the game a mixed review. While the single-player portion was praised, the review felt the game had too high a learning curve to be really suitable for multiplayer. The user interface was particularly bothersome, described as "a textbook case of how not to design a window/menu/graphics interface." The documentation was similarly described as poorly organized and cryptic.[3] In 1992 and 1994 surveys of science fiction games the magazine gave the title two-plus stars of five, calling it "An interesting failure ... the logistics just are not that much fun".[4][5] Compute! reviewed the game more favorably, stating that "EOS offers a level of challenge unusual in space-related software. To succeed at this game requires careful thought".[6]
Reviews
[edit]- Casus Belli #43 (Feb 1988)[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Hague, James. "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers". dadgum.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
- ^ "Earth Orbit Stations (1987)". MobyGames. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
- ^ Williams, Gregg (October 1987), "Earth Orbit Stations", Computer Gaming World, pp. 26–27
- ^ Brooks, M. Evan (November 1992). "Strategy & Wargames: The Future (2000-....)". Computer Gaming World. p. 99. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
- ^ Brooks, M. Evan (May 1994). "Never Trust A Gazfluvian Flingschnogger!". Computer Gaming World. pp. 42–58.
- ^ Fisher, Russell H. (February 1988). "EOS: Earth Orbit Stations". Compute!. p. 48. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
- ^ "Ludotique | Article | RPGGeek".
External links
[edit]- Earth Orbit Stations at Lemon 64
- Mozomedia Apple II retrospective