You can now explore the Enterprise and Train to Fly an Original Series Shuttle Craft in the newly released fan game for PC, created by game studio, Gambit Realm!
Released on the 23rd of August, “Shuttle Flight Training” is the first demo of a freeware product being developed by Gambit Realm, which aims to faithfully recreate the Original Series Enterprise in authentic details using original blueprints as their guidelines – at least that is what developer Paul Weston tells us on the official website for the project!
We wanted every room, every deck, and all the cool control panels, medical beds, phasers, dilithium crystals and antimatter storage pods we could get.
We wanted all the turbolifts and no load time between locations and we wanted to hop in the shuttle and fly by the ship…
The game is being built on the Torque 3D engine which the developers hope will allow them to fufill their vision and we have to say, that after playing the demo, we are tentativly impressed. The demo includes two locations on the 1701 Enterprise, its Bridge and the main shuttle bay.
Both locations seem to have been re-created very accuratly (though perhaps we would have to get James Cawley to have a play to verify that) and the graphics quality was very high, even on our laptop.
Modelling and Environmental quality seems to have been prioritised right now, over, for example, player animations which we assume will come down the line, however considering that this is a demo, there are several very cool features you can try out, such as flying the shuttlecraft through several training missions (including Maneuvering and Combat). The controls take a little getting used too, and we assume that they are a work in progress also, but everything we have seen so far is very impressive – you even get a crew that loads up and wander around, including representations of Kirk, Spock, Uhura (hubba hubba), Sulu, Chekov, Scotty and probably a few that we are forgetting!
In addition, the developers have included a LAN capability, meaning that those of you on a Local Area Network, can install the server software and fly combat missions against other members of your network! This functionality suggest that WAN (Internet) play will be available down the line, perhaps in another version!
All things considered, this is another impressive Star Trek Fan Game to add to your watch list and it is already much further along than some of the other Fan Game projects out there which gives them some extra points in our books!
We are working to line up an interview with the games developers very soon, so if you have any questions you would like to ask, please leave them in the comments thread for this article and we will be sure to ask them!
Until then, download the demo at the games official website, http://gambitrealm.com/index.php?ID=4&Lang=En
