Interestingly, one significant inspiration for the design of Solar Empire appears to have been Buck Rogers – Battle for the 25th Century ( 1988) (see Buck Rogers XXVC).
Star General owes much to turn-based board and counter Wargames, while Solar Empire is much influenced by the history of real time Computer Wargame development, and is ultimately descended from such Videogames as Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty ( 1992) as well as the Board Game Stellar Conquest ( 1974). The most significant differences, however, lie in the representation of space – Star General is essentially two-dimensional, in the manner of a naval combat game, while Solar Empire is three-dimensional, using the orbital plane of a specified star as a reference – and in the distinct traditions from which their designs developed. One interesting predecessor is Star General ( 1996), which similarly concentrates on strategic warfare between small numbers of star systems with economic, technological and diplomatic aspects, though Solar Empire has no equivalent of the ground combat employed in Star General to model planetary assaults.
The player's time is spent controlling orbital structures and spacecraft in real time, while issuing more abstract instructions to entire planets and civilizations. Solar Empire does not have the emphasis on social development and political conflict seen in such games as Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri ( 1999), concentrating instead on scientific research, economic development and military strategy. The gameplay is correspondingly slower and more detailed, in the manner of such turn-based works as Master of Orion ( 1993). While many of the design elements it shares with 4X Games were borrowed by the earliest examples of the RTS form (and have become characteristic of the school), the events of Solar Empire play out on a much wider stage than those of a typical RTS, one that incorporates multiple solar systems. Solar Empire is a simulation of space warfare which fuses the conventions of the Real Time Strategy form with those of 4X Games.
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