Look Who it Was Random video

Ur-Quan Masters: No-Starbase Practice Run: PART 11/12

494 views · Published 13 September 2013 · 39:56 · Indexed 21 September 2026

Channel: Bisqwit · 2013 · Gaming

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I completed Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters (the open source version) without ever talking to the Earth starbase commander, Hayes, or without orbiting the starbase. 

Note: There are occasional video / audio glitches in the videos, but those will [hopefully] get less and less common as the game progresses, as I fixed bugs in my recording software. Unfortunately, their effect tends to cascade the longer the video is.

This is a practice / proof-of-concept run, created within a span of 7 days.
Technical information: Played in real time on Linux computer across SSH link on Cygwin desktop. Recording was done using a homebrew LD_PRELOAD library that hooked into SDL video & audio updates, and produced 32-bit zmbv+pcm mkv files. Extra calls were added to notify the recording library of save & load events, so that the finished video could be constructed from the relevant segments. Undone segments are not shown (except in the "totally uncut" series).

THE FINISHED PRACTICE SERIES WITH COMMENTS, AND BORING/REPETITIVE PARTS MOSTLY CUT OUT:
Part 1: https://youtu.be/-fPtTwm_vOU
Part 2: https://youtu.be/HJc_ykXU9TY
Part 3: https://youtu.be/QI6FB62BoBQ
Part 4: https://youtu.be/2DaxgFCy8JM
Part 5: https://youtu.be/9CF-OZy5dR4
Part 6: https://youtu.be/mwoLQUKCrkE
Part 7: https://youtu.be/JUFVnDCyY1w
Part 8: https://youtu.be/fYOFJvfxDec
Part 9: https://youtu.be/1PmBct19ctA
Part 10: https://youtu.be/wIVYv_DEpak
Part 11: https://youtu.be/ZzM5tHLfHxw
Part 12: https://youtu.be/WjLTRWJK5j0

UNCUT VIDEO (FINISHED PRACTICE SEGMENTS IN ONE VIDEO, WITHOUT COMMENTS):
https://youtu.be/tH6GEJH3Ro8

TOTALLY UNCUT SERIES (ALL PRACTICE SEGMENTS; INCLUDING THE FAILED ONES):
Part 1: https://youtu.be/ilLlvEIItkM
Part 2: https://youtu.be/h8mtdNwfoB4
Part 3: https://youtu.be/9gJzNUlBNZM
Part 4: https://youtu.be/EaB92-uGuo0
Part 5: https://youtu.be/duJ5PTvqJaE
Part 6: https://youtu.be/lRnS9Fxjy20
Part 7: https://youtu.be/wqIC58YoLuk
Part 8: https://youtu.be/Xmowt7XyRmI
Part 9: https://youtu.be/EvBLmFOX06M
Note: The totally-uncut series includes some very long sections where absolutely nothing happens. This is because sometimes I was off-keyboard while the game and its music was playing, and when I came back, I loaded a save.


FAQ: 
Q) How does no-starbase (i.e. BGD, beating-game-differently) differ from normal game?
A) Obvious differences: No flagship upgrades / module building, no crew recruiting, no fuel-for-RU, no building of ships, no Arilou ships, no replacing of planet landers, no escaping of battles. RU is worthless. Non-obvious differences: 100% of chance of probe spawning every day in hyperspace, versus maximum of 8% in normal game. When the Chmmr refit your ship, they no longer reset your fuel to 10, nor do they take away all of your modules, nor do they rob the ability to build new storage-bays (if you suddenly decide to help the starbase. You get to keep your minerals, too. Bring a megaton of exotic materials to the Sa-Matra explosion! They still remove your landers and max out your thrusters and turning jets. Also, they transport you to Earth orbit rather than aboard Starbase.

Q) How does UQM differ from the PC Star Control II in terms of gameplay in BGD challenge?
A) When you emerge in hyperspace (from battle, from truespace), in the PC version you would always emerge with the ship pointing north. It means that if you wanted to go anywhere else but north, you would have to slowly crank the ship to rotate towards the desired direction. In the open source version, the ship is automatically quick-oriented towards the original direction, which is a huge boon in a challenge like this. The planet lander only holds 50 units of BIO data rather than 64, necessitating more landings. And the BIO is more aggressive.

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