For the Spacebase Startopia fans out there…. I’ve got some good news. The long-awaited remake of the iconic 2001 game is finally here. Well, for a fantastic pre-purchase offer anyway. And if you grew up playing the iconic game, then you’re going to love the remake as well.
But for those of you who’re not familiar with the game, it’s an interesting management game where you are in charge of running a port on a big, donut-shaped space station. That’s the game in a small but simple nutshell all right.
Certainly, Kalypso called it “an all-new take on the 2001 cult classic”, but it’s up to you to find out if it’s something beyond. And yes, as expected we do have it here at IndieGala, so hurry up. The offer ends soon. You still have plenty of time, but do hurry up.
Spacebase Startopia: What’s the game you say?
As previously mentioned, Spacebase Startopia is a game that’s published by KalypsoMedia and developed by Realmforge Studios. In addition to being a remake of 2001’s Startopia, the game is also a rather funny space-empire-building strategy and simulation game, with fun RTS skirmishes.
You (as the player) will have to manage the well-being of the eight alien races and maintain the three decks on the station. First the Bio Deck, secondly the Fun Deck and lastly the Sub Deck. Among the features of the new game, there’s the Single-Player Campaign, the cool battle mod, but also competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes. Furthermore, Spacebase Startopia still has the original mixture of economic simulation and empire-building strategy. Now paired with classic RTS skirmishes and a good dose of humor of course.
Spacebase Startopia: Exploring the many awesome space stations
All this talk about the game and well… Space bases got me thinking. What are some of the most iconic space stations out there? Now, I am very well aware of the fact that there are plenty of real and made-up space stations in some of the most iconic SF movies. MIR, International Space Station and Tiangong are some of the best-known space stations out there. Real space stations I might add. But why focus on the real ones? Sure, they’re featured in some of the best movies indeed.
For instance Contact, Gravity, The Day After Tomorrow certainly have them. And most movies that have space exploration in the theme. But why settle for reality? Seems like that the fictitious space stations are a lot more fun to write about. Don’t you think? Hey, even James Bond was on such one. Why write about MIR when you can write about Ticonderoga from Starship Troopers, it’s all I’m saying. So, with that attitude, I’m going to be covering only the iconic but not-real stations. Which ones ended up as my picks? Scroll down to find out.
Space Station V From 2001: Space Odyssey
You probably know it all too well. The Space Station V from Stanly Kubrick’s 2001: Space Odyssey. It’s a rather large, international, rotating wheel space station. Ultimately used as a transfer point from Earth to the moon and some of the other planets as well. Space Station V also featured an orbital hotel (run by Hilton Hotels), a restaurant, fabulous lounge areas and amazing picturephone booths.
Not to mention the spinning of the station generates artificial gravity, equal to about that of the moon’s gravity. This gives the travelers a chance to acclimatize to the low gravity, and survive the trip with ease and comfort. It also measures 300 m in diameter, 150 m meters in height along the rotational axis and spins with 17,500 mph speed. Oh, and let’s not forget, it is beautiful to look at. It’s not just practical, but truly mesmerizing too. Personally, the Space Station V is the first movie space station that I think of. The movie won Kubrick his only Oscar (for best special effects) but it deserved so much more. Although not commercially successful with plenty of split opinions at the time of release, 2001: Space Odyssey it’s now considered as one of Kubrick’s best work.
Gateway Station From Aliens
Honestly, this is the second movie space station that I can safely say that it’s incredible. And you’ll love it even more if you’re a fan of the Alien franchise. But you’ll think it fits here perfectly if you love Aliens more than any other movie of the franchise. I know I do. James Cameron did something right with Aliens.
He took a movie and made it even better with the sequel. But back to the Gateway Station. It functions primarily as a loading station for cargo being transported to and from Earth. But here’s the fun fact about it. Gateway was built almost entirely from advanced plastics. Furthermore, Legally, pets were not allowed on the station. However, there’s an exception to the rule for Jones the cat when he returned there with Ripley. And for all the video game fans out there, Gateway Station was featured in the Aliens versus Predator video game too. How cool is that?
Deep Space Nine from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Granted. The Star Trek franchise has plenty of iconic space stations. Spacedock Earth, Regula I, Yorktown just to name a few. But very few are as iconic as Deep Space Nine. Personally, I find that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is the best TV series of the franchise (with all due respect to Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager). And Deep Space Nine is arguably the best space station out there. It’s also over a kilometer in diameter. But DS9 was originally a Cardassian mining and refinery station named Terok Nor in orbit around Bajor. Not to mention it’s led by probably the best commanding officer Benjamin Sisko. But it is so incredible and iconic that Space.com rated the space station as the tenth best spacecraft of the Star Trek franchise. However, I’d like to know which one is your favorite.
Death Star From Star Wars
And I’m finishing this post with probably the most recognizable space ship in the existing pop culture. You don’t even have to be a Star Wars fan to recognize it. The Death Star is a mobile space station and galactic super-weapon at the same time, and it’s awesome. It’s so destructive and deadly that even Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign has referred to itself as the “Death Star”. It’s true. The first version which appears in the original 1977 movie Star Wars measures more than 120 kilometres in diameter.
While the second one which appears in Return of the Jedi for instance is much larger, with more than 160 kilometers in diameter. Fun fact, the inspiration for the design came from the Saturnian moon called Mimas which has a huge crater on one side of the surface. However, although the first appearance of the Death Star was in the first Star Wars movie, the last recorded appearance was in last year’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker movie. Cool right?
Which one is your favorite? Will you build it in Spacebase Startopia?
Tell us in the comment section about your picks. Which space station is your favorite? The Cooper station from Interstellar? The Solaris Station from Solaris? Perhaps The City from Dark City? It’s somewhat a space station too. We’d love to know for sure.
