Software:Space Bucks

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Space Bucks
Developer(s)Impressions Games
Publisher(s)Sierra On-Line
Designer(s)David Lester
Programmer(s)Thanh Pham
Chris Gurski
Artist(s)Chris Beatrice
Dennis Rose
Composer(s)Jay Rinaldi
Jeremy A. Bell
Keith Zizza
Platform(s)Windows 3.x
Release1996
Genre(s)Simulation video game
Mode(s)Single-player

Space Bucks was a space trading simulation developed by Impressions Games and published by Sierra On-Line. The game focuses on the creation of a trade empire against several computer controlled opponents. Victory is achieved through a combination of infrastructure investments, the stock market, piracy, sabotage, and of course trade goods.

Plot

In the year 2375, Humans share the galaxy with four other races, the Colikars, Tesarians, Secanii, and the Krec N'had. Your fledgling trading company, consisting of a single port and a single ship, must, by the year 2500, expand by any means necessary to become the dominant trade empire in the galaxy. Three computer opponents will be pursuing the same goal.

Gameplay

There are numerous mechanics for the player to utilize in order to achieve victory.

Ships

Ships do the heavy lifting in the game. Without ships, the goods produced at planets can't be transported and the highest level goods can't be manufactured due to a lack of the appropriate resources. At the start of the game only a few ship types are available. As the game progresses new, more advanced ship types become available.

Ships have several stats which determine its suitability for use. Range, Speed, Capacity, Efficiency, Drive, and Maintenance cost.

Planets

Planets generate all of the trade goods in the galaxy. These goods range from food, to passengers, to luxury goods. The higher in development a planet is, the more and the greater the variety of goods that are produced. Once the highest levels of development can be reached the most expensive, and thus profitable, goods can be manufactured.

To gain access to a planet, a bid must be made on a planet which does not already have a deal with another trade company. The player must open negotiations with such a planet and if their demands are agreed to, they will ally themselves with the players trade company. The demands include a monthly rent paid by the player, the delivery of a specified good at regular intervals, and an agreement to build a specified piece of infrastructure on the planet within a certain timeframe. The demand for monthly rent is made for every planet, with the other two demands being optional and dependent on the developmental level of the planet.

Planets have morale which can be modified by in-game factors. Investing in planetary infrastructure can often help improve the morale of a planet and ensure docking rights are not lost. Should a planet be lost to an unhappy local populace, the player must begin negotiations for docking rights again. The higher the developmental level of the planet, the more infrastructure will be needed to keep the planet happy.

Trade Goods

Trade goods include fuel, food, passengers, and exotic goods such as wine and weapons. Each race produces different high-end goods than it consumes.

Stock Market

Each trading company has stock which can be sold on the market for an infusion of cash. Buying out the competition, by accumulating a majority of their stock, is possible. Stock can be bought and sold throughout the game, making it possible to sell lots of stock early for an early boost and then buy it back when the other companies sell off the shares they own.

Piracy

Pirates can be hired to harass the competition. They can be paid to harass the player as well. When a pirate attacks there are only a couple of options, pay them off, try to run, or fight back. The correct action to take will depend heavily on the specific ship being threatened and the upgrades that it has been outfitted with.

Sabotage

Sabotage missions can be undertaken to hurt the competitions bottom line. Of course the competition can do the same to the player.

News Events

A very basic mechanic, News Events inform the player of all the important events such as new ships, engines, or weapon systems which have become available. Sudden changes in the markets may also be announced throughout the game, giving the player the chance to make a quick profit.

Critical reception

A reviewer for Next Generation focused on the lack of anything to do in the game besides bid for landing rights and choose cargo: "No cut-throat strategy for undermining the competition's prices, no sabotage of trading routes, no space battles - not even the occasional price war." He recommended that players get "much better" business sims such as Transport Tycoon or Capitalism instead, and gave it 1 out of 5 stars.[1] World Village (Gamer's Zone) wrote "The plot was a little thin for my taste, but if reading the business section of the paper excites you, then this game would be a must for you. The main weakness that I see in this program is lack of originality. I see parts of Railroad Tycoon, Civilization, Sim City among others, as well as the obvious connection to Air bucks v1.2. Nothing wrong with recycling older programs, especially as hardware improvements allow the newer versions to make improvements on game performance. That is what happened with this game. Unfortunately, it has a rushed feeling and fails to capitalize on the improvements there were put in the game."[2] Computer Gaming World said "If you love to create ornate moving sculptures that generate endless money but do very little else interesting, then SPACE BUCKS will have some appeal for you. Set at its hardest level, the game offers two or three hours of challenge before your empire grows to the point that nothing can really harm it and you simply sit around absorbing planets from your competitors and doing more and more unwieldy upgrades to your entire fleet. Other than that, it is pretty to look at, but definitely no AIR BUCKS in Space."[citation needed] Computer Games Magazine wrote "Dealing with manufacturing, the bank and stock market, and random events do add a few things (bowling pins and knives?), but there still aren't a lot of different things to do (as in, say, Sim City or Capitalism). Despite this, you have to watch these things very closely, and it is easy for things to go critical very quickly. At the beginner level I played (and quickly lost) four games before I'd gotten a business that was even barely stable (and I was at the bottom of the pack). Maybe I just don't have a nose for business, but my attention wasn't strongly held. Beginning business sim fans might get more out of Space Bucks than I did, but I suspect advanced gamers will want to stick with a more detailed game like Capitalism."[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Space Bucks". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (18): 125. June 1996. 
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". http://www2.worldvillage.com/wv/gamezone/html/reviews/spacebuk.htm. 
  3. ↑ "Space Bucks Review". http://www.cdmag.com/articles/005/087/space_bucks_review.html. 
  • 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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