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his or her actions, as well as any new information which has been gleaned. In some cases, the actual results of a turn will be quite different from those planned, due to events such as interception by hostile forces. Although the large amount of reading slows gameplay, the text is broken out into multiple booklets so that players can (usually) be simultaneously reading from separate sources. Over a number of turns, each player slowly progresses through the game, discovering what lies at each unlabeled planet on the map and otherwise uncovering the mysteries of the galaxy.
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software to view information about their current status, such as their hand-held items or the contents of their ship's cargo holds. If one player is not available for a play session (since a game cannot generally be played in one sitting), his or her character can be placed in "suspended animation" while the remaining players continue to play.
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computer program. In response to the entered commands, the program determines the results, updates the character's statistics and inventory, and directs the player to read one or more text passages from the accompanying booklets. Upon reading the section(s), the player discovers the consequences of
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options are available, with players interacting both directly (e.g., by trading goods) and indirectly with one another over the course of the game. Each character has a different background story and motivating goals, and players are encouraged to keep these secret from each other. All players begin
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Although the central game plot is itself somewhat linear (particularly in the second title), players are generally free to move back and forth between worlds, trade various goods as desired, and otherwise explore the game's various sub-plots. Additionally, certain elements (e.g., which planet is
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ships with a large color fold-out map, six colored tokens that players use to move around the map, and thirteen booklets containing a total of 888 numbered passages of text. Due to the high volume of text, the oversized game box weighs in at over 3 pounds. The second title expands the number of
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The game master software, while lacking any sort of graphical display, is nonetheless relatively advanced for the time period. The software carefully maintains the game state, keeping players honest and preventing them from attempting invalid moves. Between plotting turns, players can use the
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because of poor sales. The company attributing the lack of success to its decision to develop the game for the Apple; Greenberg stated "We followed the 'Apple II Forever' hype into oblivion". He has nonetheless said that, of the various games he worked on,
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At the beginning of the game, up to six players choose which character to play as from six sealed character profiles. Both single and multiplayer
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which combine a computerized game arbiter with a game board and books of printed text. The games blend aspects of paper
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was to be released as a trilogy, Masterplay went out of business before the third game was released, leaving only
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was the one he is the most proud of, much more so than his commercially more successful
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which on the map) are randomized between games, in order to increase replay value.
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with a non-upgraded starship which can move between points on the galactic map.
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was hailed as being completely new and different from games which came before.
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The
History of Computer Role-Playing Games Part 2: The Golden Age(1985–1993)
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booklets to fourteen, with over 50,000 individual paragraphs.
330:"Electronic Arts Reaffirms Commitment to Disk-Based Software"
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As well as the computer software (which acts as a "
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392:Video games developed in the United States
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304:"Cinemaware Buys, Sells and Restructures"
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253:In 1990, Masterplay sold the series to
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192:Star Saga: Two - The Clathran Menace
188:Star Saga: One - Beyond the Boundary
171:Star Saga: Two - The Clathran Menace
145:Star Saga: One - Beyond The Boundary
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206:" or moderator for the game),
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283:Barton, Matt (2007-02-23),
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126:. They were released for
336:. March 1990. p. 14
124:role-playing video games
310:. May 1990. p. 50
334:Computer Gaming World
308:Computer Gaming World
162:Masterplay Publishing
54:Masterplay Publishing
44:Masterplay Publishing
179:, released in 1989.
63:Andrew C. Greenberg
167:The second title,
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16:Video game series
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382:Apple IIGS games
367:1989 video games
362:1988 video games
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158:role-playing
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50:Publisher(s)
40:Developer(s)
33:Role-playing
340:15 November
314:16 November
204:game master
198:Description
116:video games
70:Platform(s)
356:Categories
270:References
255:Cinemaware
74:Apple IIGS
59:Creator(s)
387:DOS games
291:Gamasutra
260:Star Saga
248:Star Saga
243:Reception
228:Star Saga
224:Star Saga
208:Star Saga
184:Star Saga
182:Although
160:games by
154:adventure
120:gamebooks
111:Star Saga
22:Star Saga
264:Wizardry
175:was the
132:Apple II
130:and the
78:Apple II
28:Genre(s)
266:games.
216:hotseat
177:sequel
128:MS-DOS
99:1989 (
91:1988 (
82:MS-DOS
138:Games
122:with
342:2013
316:2013
190:and
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