Reach for the Stars (video game)

Reach for the Stars
Developer(s)	Strategic Studies Group
Publisher(s)	Strategic Studies Group
Designer(s)	Roger Keating Ian Trout
Platform(s)	Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Commodore 64, DOS, Mac OS, PC-98
Release	1983: C64, Apple II 1988: Amiga, IIGS, DOS, Mac 1989: PC-98
Genre(s)	Turn-based strategy, 4X
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Reach for the Stars is a science fiction strategy video game. It is the earliest known commercially published example of the 4X genre. It was written by Roger Keating and Ian Trout of SSG of Australia and published in 1983 for the Commodore 64 and then the Apple II in 1985. Versions for Mac OS, Amiga, Apple IIGS, and DOS were released in 1988.

The player commands a home star in the galaxy, and then expands to form an interstellar empire by colonizing far-off worlds, building powerful starships, and researching new technologies.

Reach for the Stars was very strongly influenced by the board game Stellar Conquest. Many of RFTS's features have direct correspondence in Stellar Conquest.

Graphics are minimal, yet the tactical and strategic elements provide countless rich combinations for colony development and interstellar warfare. The software's AI also offered a challenging opponent in single-player games. It is not uncommon for a Reach for the Stars game to take over twelve hours to complete in single-player mode and 24 hours with multiple players.

In Versions 1 to 3 the player starts off with one planet that has Level 1 technology and a middle level environment. Three types of ships are available:

1. Scouts – very inexpensive, incapable of fighting or carrying colonists. These can be used as a low-cost, low-risk means to learn the composition of unknown star systems or the locations and makeup of enemy fleets.
2. Transports – incapable of fighting, but can carry colonists.
3. Warships – incapable of carrying colonists, but can fight.

Starting players have limited funds, and have to decide where to invest the funds (technology upgrades, ships, or environmental upgrades). Upgrading a world's planetary environment, for example, means that its population grows more quickly, improving production; this is a mixed blessing, however, because if the population grows beyond the maximum allowed for that planet, the costs to feed the population skyrocket. Building a lot of ships early can win a player the game, if the player finds his enemies' home planets before they manage to upgrade their military technology; on the other hand, it can lead to a loss if the player's opponents upgrade first and attack with superior ships.

Each turn is divided into two sections – a development phase, and a movement phase. In the development phase, players work on planetary production, deciding what each planet will produce that turn. In the movement phase, players have the option to send ships to other star systems to explore, colonize, or conquer.

Because the game evolves along so many different axes of possibility, the game offers tremendous replay value. It is quite possible to save a game on the first turn, and have it play out differently each time it is restored.

A bug causes human players that do nothing to become wealthy while computer opponents fight each other. The designers added a feature that causes the computer opponents to attack the human at 20,000 credits.^[1]

Reception
Review scores Publication Score CGW [2] Dragon [3] inCider [4]

Computer Gaming World in 1983 found Reach for the Stars quite user-friendly and enjoyable, with the single flaw of a lack of notification of natural disasters, which could not fit onto the disk space available. The computer AI and customization of each game were particular highlights of the review.^[5] In a 1992 survey of science fiction games the magazine gave the title five of five stars, praising it as "arguably the best science fiction game ever released ... a product still worth playing".^[6] A 1994 survey of strategic space games set in the year 2000 and later gave the game four stars out of five, stating that "a worthy update would no doubt raise this game again to 5-star status".Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag

Norman Banduch reviewed Reach for the Stars in Space Gamer No. 69.^[7] Banduch commented that "Reach For The Stars is a most addictive game. After player 10 to 15 hours a week for several months I still find it hard to save the game and go home. It offers a wide variety of set-up conditions and victory conditions, and play is never the same. The computer is a tough foe. Even after the is mastered, there are enough options and random variables to keep it from going stale. I cannot recommend it enough".^[7]

Bob Ewald reviewed Reach for the Stars in Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer No. 77.^[8] Ewald commented that "all things considered, I really enjoyed the game. I feel parts of the combat system are illogical, but the game as a whole is great".^[8]

In 1996, Computer Gaming World declared Reach for the Stars the 51st-best computer game ever released.^[9]

• Casus Belli #22 (Oct 1984)^[10]
• Jeux & Stratégie HS #3^[11]

Reception
Review score Publication Score CGW [12]

A sequel to Reach for the Stars re-written for the Windows platform was released on September 14, 2000 by developer Strategic Studies Group and publisher Strategic Simulations, Inc. In 2005 Matrix Games working alongside Strategic Studies Group, updated the 2000 release; this updated version was released in 2005.^[13]

A series of books was written in 2018 by the game company Greentwip, called Interstellar, Anatomy and The Garlan Wars. While its publication is still ongoing, it is being said that a TV channel would produce cinematographic films out of the books. This happened after Greentwip's founder got deep into the story and proposed to give a better and linear approach to all the species that the game aims to deliver to the player, in order to become a better "pure Sci-Fi" experience.^[14]

• List of 4X video games

• 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.

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.

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]

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

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• The MS-DOS version of Reach for the Stars can be played for free in the browser at the Internet Archive
• Gamespot review of Reach for the Stars 2000
• Matrix Games website

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