Software:Realms of Arkania: Star Trail

From HandWiki
Short description: 1994 video game
Realms of Arkania:
Star Trail
Developer(s)Attic Entertainment Software
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Hans-Jürgen Brändle
Composer(s)Guido Henkel
SeriesThe Dark Eye
Platform(s)PC (MS-DOS)
Release
  • GER: September 1994
  • WW: October 1994
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single player

Realms of Arkania: Star Trail is a computer role-playing game by Attic Entertainment Software based on the German RPG system Das Schwarze Auge. The original German version of the game (German title: Das Schwarze Auge: Sternenschweif) was released in 1994. Due to the success of its predecessor Software:Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny, it was translated to English and released by Sir-Tech in the same year. An expansion, Speech Pack, was released in 1994 for the floppy disk version.

The game was re-released in 2014 for Steam with support for Windows.

Plot

After the failed orc invasion on Thorwal, the orcs attacked another region. The player is recruited in the city Kvirasim by an elf ambassador, Elsurion Starlight, to recover an old artifact, the Salamander Stone, that could unite the elves and the dwarfs for battle against the orcs. Immediately a mysterious third party which seems to be against the uniting of the dwarves and elves counter offers riches and bribery. The quest leads them first to the depths of a long abandoned dwarven mine in the mountains. There they must walk a fine line between taking what they need and taking out of avarice. If successful they meet a master smith, who forges an asthenil sword for them and lets them swap it for the Salamander Stone.

Leaving the mines with the Salamander Stone, they are instructed to take the stone to an orc besieged city of Lowangen. The party is allowed past the orcish blockade, only after they leave behind most of their heavy weapons and armor. Once inside the city, they are robbed of the Salamander Stone. While attempting to locate it the group runs into cultists serving an unknown god. The cult comprises humans and elves. After a bloody fight, the group finds two Salamander Stones, one fake and one genuine. There is a notice of instruction telling the cult to send the real one off to the north to their leader.

The group travels to the northernmost city on the map and finds it completely deserted. Upon entering one house they find a trap door leading below the house to an underground base of the cult. Within its first floor, they find a warrioress frozen in a solid block of ice. She joins the group after the player character thaws her out but leaves as the party moves to the third and final floor.

On the last floor is a temple to the Nameless God. At the very back the party finds the dwarven ambassador, Ingramosch, petrified in stone and the mysterious third party that first tried to offer them riches for the Salamander Stone. He is actually a powerful sorcerer. After taunting the party, he casts a spell that teleports him to the massive cave behind him. A huge dragon comes forth and starts breathing flames at the party. After battling the party for some time, the dragon finds them honorable and allows them to live. As he disappears into his cave, the player character uses the salamander stone to flesh spell upon Ingramosch. They climb out of the dungeon and find the elven ambassador waiting with a horse-drawn carriage. He takes the party to the harbor where a boat is waiting. The elf spends days healing the dwarf with magic. When Ingramosch comes to, they give him the Salamander Stone.

After arriving at the tree city of the elves, the dwarves and elves hammer out an alliance. In celebration, the group is treated to a feast in the tree city, where the rarely seen elf king shows up and thanks the group for all its success and hails them as friends forever to elves everywhere.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
CGWStarStarStar[3]
DragonStarStarHalf star
StarStarStar[1]
Next GenerationStarStarStar[5]
PC Gamer (US)88%[2]
PC Zone85 out of 100[4]
Electronic EntertainmentStarStarStarStar[6]
Computer Player8 out of 10[7]
Awards
PublicationAward
PC Gamer USBest Role-playing Game 1994[8]
Computer Games Strategy PlusBest Multi-Character Role-Playing Game[9]

According to Die Zeit, all three games in the Realms of Arkania series, including Star Trail, were commercially and critically successful. The paper's Nicole Lange reported in 2011 that the three entries together had surpassed 2.4 million sales worldwide.[10]

The game was reviewed in 1995 in Dragon #219 by Jay & Dee in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. Jay gave the game 2½ out of 5 stars, while Dee gave the game 3 stars.[1] A reviewer for Next Generation assessed that "The return of the old-school RPG, Sir Tech's Star Trail is sure to appeal to those gamers who would lose months at a time fighting evil. Unfortunately, even with its new control system (reminiscent of New World's Might and Magic series), graphics, and sound that far outclass those of Wizardry, the game may be too complex for the beginning adventure to tackle."[5]

James V. Trunzo reviewed Realms of Arkania: Star Trail in White Wolf Inphobia #54 (April, 1995), rating it a 4 out of 5 and stated that "Star Trail is so flexible that it even allows you to switch between difficulty levels at any time. You can start the game on Easy until your characters make some advances and then move up to a more challenging level."[11]

Barry Brenesal of Electronic Entertainment praised it as "a first-class fantasy role-playing game that should keep you busy for a long, long time."[6] PC Zone's Mark Burgess called Star Trail "a must" for fans of the genre, and summarized it as "slightly old-fashioned looking, but it's got what it takes."[4] In Computer Player, Al Giovetti wrote that the game was "recommended for role-playing enthusiasts", and he praised its graphics, automap and journal features, interface, complexity and audio.[7]

Writing for PC Gamer US, Trent C. Ward called Star Trail "a must for every diehard RPG enthusiast", and "a great title for those who're tired of adventure games masquerading as RPGs".[2] Computer Gaming World's Petra Schlunk wrote that Star Trail was "a deep and rich game, though it can be overly so at times." She regarded it as "a game for the hardest of hard-core role players—those who will fight anything, even a frustrating game system, to finish a quest."[3]

Star Trail received PC Gamer's 1994 "Best Role-playing Game" award, and was named the year's top "Multi-Character Role-Playing Game" by Computer Games Strategy Plus.[8][9] It was also a nominee for Computer Gaming World's "Role-Playing Game of the Year" prize, which went to Software:The Elder Scrolls: Arena.[12] The editors of Computer Gaming World called it an improvement upon Blade of Destiny that was "well-suited for hard-core role-players", while those of PC Gamer US wrote, "Never before, nor since, has a RPG contained as much depth or player control as this one".[8] In 1997, PC Gamer US named Star Trail the 47th best game of all time, calling it "an achievement of RPG greatness".[13]

Legacy

Sequel

Realms of Arkania: Star Trail is the second game in The Northlands Trilogy following Software:Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny. The third game, Software:Realms of Arkania: Shadows over Riva, was released in 1996. Players can save the game after beating Star Trail, which allows them to import their characters into the sequel.

Remake

A full 3D remake, developed by the Austrian developer, Crafty Studios, and published by German firm, United Independent Entertainment, was released on Steam PC on August 10, 2017; PlayStation 4 on June 26, 2018; and Xbox One on January 30, 2019.[14][15]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Jay & Dee (July 1995). "Eye of the Monitor". Dragon (219): 57–60, 65–66. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ward, Trent C. (February 1995). "Realms of Arkania: Star Trail". PC Gamer US. http://www.pcgamer.com:80/reviews/860.html. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Schlunk, Petra (December 1994). "The Trail of Tears". Computer Gaming World (125): 194, 196, 198. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Burgess, Mark (March 1995). "Realms of Arkania: Star Trail". PC Zone (24): 92, 93. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Realms of Arkania: Star Trail". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (3): 94. March 1995. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Brenesal, Barry (December 1994). "Realms of Arkania - Star Trail". Electronic Entertainment (12): 104. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Giovetti, Al (February 1995). "Star Trail: Realms of Arkania". Computer Player 1 (9): 64, 65. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Staff (March 1995). "The First Annual PC Gamer Awards". PC Gamer 2 (3): 44, 45, 47, 48, 51. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Staff (November 2000). "A Decade of Gaming; Award Winners of 1994". Computer Games Magazine (120): 56–58, 60, 62, 66, 68, 70–76. 
  10. ↑ Lange, Nicole (September 23, 2011). "Zu deutsch für den Rest der Welt". Die Zeit. https://www.zeit.de/digital/games/2011-09/das-schwarze-auge-online. 
  11. ↑ Trunzo, James V. (April 1995). "The Silicon Dungeon". White Wolf Inphobia (54): 73-74. https://imgur.com/a/sJqSQq2. 
  12. ↑ Staff (May 1995). "The Computer Gaming World 1995 Premier Awards". Computer Gaming World (130): 35, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44. 
  13. ↑ ((Editors of PC Gamer )) (May 1997). "The Best 50 Games of All Time". PC Gamer US 4 (5): 65, 66, 69, 72, 73, 75, 76, 80, 82, 86, 87, 90, 91, 94–96. 
  14. ↑ "Gamepressure's database entry for 2017 remake". Gamepressure. https://www.gamepressure.com/games/realms-of-arkania-star-trail-hd/z14d09. 
  15. ↑ "GameFAQs' database entry for 2019 Xbox One version of 2017 remake". Fandom. https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/xboxone/263584-realms-of-arkania-star-trail. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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