I had Star Control 1 on the Genesis-easily one of the best multiplayer games ever (along with stuff like Archon, etc.) Had Star Control 2 on the 3DO, which is just amazing...

But I'm worried about whether or not I'll like this PC version. The 3DO version seems like it had massively better graphics and production values. Voice overs, much higher resolution/better looking, etc.

So I feel sort of bad asking-but would I be able to enjoy the PC version?

For that matter, how does it control? It worked great with a gamepad.

You'll miss the voice-overs from the 3DO version at least a little bit (although their quality was sort of hit-and-miss). The graphics aren't too much different so that shouldn't be a big concern.

Although the PC opening and closing movies are not videos but more like slideshows with text, I'd argue that the music for those sequences is much better on the PC version. The graphics in those sections are pretty charming, too.

It's a different experience than the 3DO one, but I wouldn't say it's worse. Having played both I do prefer to use the 3DO assets on my Ur Quan Masters install, but I could be just as satisfied playing with the PC assets.

You'll also miss the controller.

I've been playing with the thing for about a half hour, and must confess that keyboard controls with no mouse support, on a keyboard very different from what they were like back in 1993, utterly baffle me.

The PC version ran at 320x200, the 3DO version ran at 320x240. Hardly massively higher.

Especially when you take into account the fact the 3DO version didn't use all of it's 320x240. It had grey borders all around the screen to make sure nothing got lost in the overscan. You pretty much lost the extra vertical resolution in the borders and in addition you lost horizontal resolution, so the effective resolution of the game was lower than that of the PC version.


3DO version

DOS version

If you really find you don't like the DOS version you can always play the free, open source PC port of the 3DO version. That has the voice acting and 3DO music.

And prettier graphics to boot (less jagged edges).

Cool! Well thanks guys, I've decided to just buy it. What the heck, it's just $6, and worst case I'm supporting GOG and Toys for Bob a bit :)

I'm grabbing the open source Ur Quan Masters too, so I can try both at some point!

I dunno. I have SC2 DOS and UQM right now, and am spending my time with the DOS version. Figure I can go back and do a full replay with UQM later.

The voiceovers are a bit... meh? Kinda like when you read a book then see the movie and things aren't how you imagined them y'know? I dunno, I think if you played the 3DO version first you're probably more attached to that one and will like it more, whereas people who play the DOS version first (me) will prefer it... although I do LOVE the music in later versions of SC2.

Play the DOS version for two or three days. Invest some time, make some alliances, get in some fights. If you're just not feeling it then stick with UQM... although I warn you that UQM is missing some vital plot info, but there's mods out there that fixes that I believe. Do a google search or visit their official forums!

3do version was superior mainly due to all the voice compared to the PC version. I still have working 3do along with super wing commander and star control 2. I keep it sealed in foil when not using lol.

I can't imagine anyone saying they prefer the DOS version. It is inferior in every way.

Except for the missing story. They did not do voice overs for everything and just cut the parts out of the 3DO version.