Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force: Difference between revisions

Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force is a first-person shooter game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision in 2000. The game uses the highly versatile Quake 3 engine and is set during the late sixth season of Star Trek: Voyager. The game lets you play as Alex Munro, a member of the Hazard Team, a new special security unit created to deal with the unfamiliar threats the crew faces in the Delta Quadrant. At the beginning of the story, the ship is trapped in a starship graveyard, heavily damaged and under attack by an unknown hostile faction. The Hazard Team has the task of protecting Voyager while the crew makes repairs and investigates the cause of the entrapment.

Gameplay

The game is divided into singleplayer (stvoy.exe) and multiplayer (stvoyHM.exe) modes. In singleplayer, you can play the main story or, if you have the expansion pack, explore 10 decks of the ship in the "Virtual Voyager" mode, which includes accessing the ship's databanks and playing the Borg Slayer holodeck game.

The multiplayer includes many different modes to play against bots or real human players:

Action Hero: One player spawns as the Action Hero, equipped with more health, health regeneration, and all weapons. The hero earns 1 point per kill. If another player kills the hero, they score 5 points and instantly become the new hero.
Assimilation: One player starts as the Borg Queen. The Borg must assimilate all other players into the collective before the time limit expires. The human team wins by successfully hunting down and killing the Borg Queen.
Capture the Flag: Two teams attempt to retrieve the enemy flag and return it to their own base to score.
Deathmatch: Standard arena rules. Kill as many players as you can, and respawn shortly after dying.
Disintegration: An incredibly chaotic deathmatch mode where every single shot is an instant kill.
Elimination: A "last man standing" mode where players do not respawn after they are killed.
Specialties: A class-based team mode where you choose one of six specific roles: Demolitionist, Heavy Weapons Specialist, Infiltrator, Medic, Sniper, or Technician.
Team Deathmatch: Follows standard deathmatch rules, but players are divided into two teams.

Development

Built on the Quake 3 engine, the game was widely praised for delivering an incredibly authentic Star Trek experience, complete with an in-universe LCARS interface menu. A significant milestone in the game's development occurred with the release of the official expansion pack. The original vanilla release featured a stand-in voice actress for Seven of Nine, but for the expansion, Raven Software managed to bring Jeri Ryan on board to properly record the character's lines.

Legacy

Because it was built on a highly moddable engine, the game fostered a massive and dedicated community that kept it alive for decades. Fans created massive repositories of custom maps and entirely new game types, like a Pinball mode where weapons deal no damage and are only used to physically bounce players around the map. The game even spawned massive total conversions like the RPG-X mod, which completely transformed the arena shooter into a dedicated Star Trek role-playing platform.

These days

The game remains highly playable and is officially available on GOG. While Raven Software recently revived the official master servers, playing the vanilla game online opens the door to hackers. To fix this massive security risk and gain access to faster map downloads, the community strongly recommends using improved multiplayer clients like Lilium Voyager (aimed at maximum compatibility with the original experience) or cMod (which includes experimental features and bug fixes).

Issues

Widescreen Support

Start the Singleplayer/Multiplayer once
Go to your install folder and into BaseEF
Open with Notepad for the Singleplayer the efconfig.cfg and for the Multiplayer the hmconfig.cfg
In it you edit the following lines to your desktop resolution:

seta r_customwidth "1920" 
seta r_customheight "1080" 
seta r_mode "-1"

Issues (Widescreen FOV Adjustment)

Under the resolution section, add a note that when players edit their efconfig.cfg and hmconfig.cfg to set custom 1080p width and height values, they must also manually adjust their Field of View (FOV) variable to match their modern aspect ratio to prevent the image from looking stretched.

Where to find the config file?

All configuration changes happen in the BaseEF folder. Singleplayer settings are saved in efconfig.cfg, and multiplayer settings are in hmconfig.cfg.

Hunk_Alloc failed (Out of Memory)

Custom maps, models, and higher resolutions require more RAM than the vanilla version allowed. Open your config file and add/edit the command to seta com_hunkmegs "256". Alternatively, you can type /seta com_hunkmegs 256 directly into the in-game console.

The game is too dark

Modern operating systems sometimes break the game's hardware gamma. To fix this, open your config files and set the following values:r_ignorehwgamma "0"r_overBrightBits "0"

CD Key is too short

Some physical CDs shipped with a misprinted, shortened CD key. If yours is missing a character, simply add a 0 to the end of the key. If you already entered it, you can manually fix it by opening the efq3.key file in the BaseEF folder with Notepad.

Recommend values for your hmconfig

seta cl_maxpackets: "125"
seta cl_packetdup "1"
seta com_hunkmegs "256"
seta com_maxfps "125"
seta rate: "100000"
seta snaps: "100"

Installing the CD version on modern Windows

The 16-bit autorun will not work on modern systems, and a recent Windows update broke the standard setup executable. To bypass this:

Open the CD in your file explorer, navigate to the Setup folder, and launch Setup.exe.
Open your Task Manager.
Expand the 32-bit Setup Launcher process tree.
Right-click on the first process and select Go to Details.
Right-click the highlighted process again and select Analyze wait chain.
If a background process is keeping the Installshield from running, it will show up here. Select it and end the blocking process.
If there is no blocking process, check the other two setup processes using the same method.
After ending the conflict, the setup will launch.

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 HDD: 720 MB
 }}
-'''''Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force''''' is a first person shooter game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision in 2000. The game uses the Quake 3 engine and is set during the late sixth season of Star Trek: Voyager.
+'''''Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force''''' is a first-person shooter game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision in 2000. The game uses the highly versatile Quake 3 engine and is set during the late sixth season of Star Trek: Voyager. The game lets you play as Alex Munro, a member of the Hazard Team, a new special security unit created to deal with the unfamiliar threats the crew faces in the Delta Quadrant. At the beginning of the story, the ship is trapped in a starship graveyard, heavily damaged and under attack by an unknown hostile faction. The Hazard Team has the task of protecting Voyager while the crew makes repairs and investigates the cause of the entrapment.
-The game let you play as Alex Munro, a member of the Hazard Team, a new special security unit, created to deal with the unfamiliar threats the crew has to face in the Delta Quadrant. At the beginning of the story, the ship is trapped in a starship graveyard, heavily damaged and under attack from an unkown hostile faction. The Hazard Team has the task of protecting Voyager, as the crew makes repairs and investigates the cause of the entrapment.
+== Gameplay ==
+The game is divided into singleplayer (<code>stvoy.exe</code>) and multiplayer (<code>stvoyHM.exe</code>) modes. In singleplayer, you can play the main story or, if you have the expansion pack, explore 10 decks of the ship in the "Virtual Voyager" mode, which includes accessing the ship's databanks and playing the Borg Slayer holodeck game.
-== Where can I get it? ==
+The multiplayer includes many different modes to play against bots or real human players:
-The singleplayer, it is the same story like the other Star Trek games of Activision, so you have to get it from Ebay or other sources.
-Fortunately you can play the multiplayer for free. Either you get it from the [https://ufplanets.com/cms.php?27-Star-Trek-Voyager-Elite-Force UFP], a multigaming clan or [https://last-outpost.net/forum/index.php/topic,9647.0.html The Last Outpost], one of the last Elite Force RPG communities left.
+* Action Hero: One player spawns as the Action Hero, equipped with more health, health regeneration, and all weapons. The hero earns 1 point per kill. If another player kills the hero, they score 5 points and instantly become the new hero.
+* Assimilation: One player starts as the Borg Queen. The Borg must assimilate all other players into the collective before the time limit expires. The human team wins by successfully hunting down and killing the Borg Queen.
+* Capture the Flag: Two teams attempt to retrieve the enemy flag and return it to their own base to score.
+* Deathmatch: Standard arena rules. Kill as many players as you can, and respawn shortly after dying.
+* Disintegration: An incredibly chaotic deathmatch mode where every single shot is an instant kill.
+* Elimination: A "last man standing" mode where players do not respawn after they are killed.
+* Specialties: A class-based team mode where you choose one of six specific roles: Demolitionist, Heavy Weapons Specialist, Infiltrator, Medic, Sniper, or Technician.
+* Team Deathmatch: Follows standard deathmatch rules, but players are divided into two teams.
-== How can I install it on Windows 10? ==
+== Development ==
-# Open your Setup folder on the CD
+Built on the Quake 3 engine, the game was widely praised for delivering an incredibly authentic Star Trek experience, complete with an in-universe LCARS interface menu. A significant milestone in the game's development occurred with the release of the official expansion pack. The original vanilla release featured a stand-in voice actress for Seven of Nine, but for the expansion, Raven Software managed to bring Jeri Ryan on board to properly record the character's lines.
-# Run the Setup.exe as admin
-# Install the Expansion Pack or the [http://www.4players.de/4players.php/download_info/Downloads/Download/1837/Star_Trek_Voyager_Elite_Force/Patch_12.html 1.2 Patch]
-== How to play it in Widescreen? ==
+== Legacy ==
+Because it was built on a highly moddable engine, the game fostered a massive and dedicated community that kept it alive for decades. Fans created massive repositories of custom maps and entirely new game types, like a Pinball mode where weapons deal no damage and are only used to physically bounce players around the map. The game even spawned massive total conversions like the RPG-X mod, which completely transformed the arena shooter into a dedicated Star Trek role-playing platform.
+== These days ==
+The game remains highly playable and is officially available on GOG. While Raven Software recently revived the official master servers, playing the vanilla game online opens the door to hackers. To fix this massive security risk and gain access to faster map downloads, the community strongly recommends using improved multiplayer clients like Lilium Voyager (aimed at maximum compatibility with the original experience) or cMod (which includes experimental features and bug fixes).
+== Issues ==
+=== Widescreen Support ===
 # Start the Singleplayer/Multiplayer once
 # Go to your install folder and into BaseEF
@@ Line 37: / Line 50: @@
   seta r_customwidth "'''1920"'''
   seta r_customheight '''"1080"'''
   seta r_mode <strong>"-1"</strong>
-== Issues with the Game? ==
-=== How to install the game? ===
+=== Issues (Widescreen FOV Adjustment) ===
-Since the original autorun won't work on modern systems, you have to open the CD in your explorer, open the Setup folder and start the Setup.exe.  For many years this was all you had to do in order to install the game, but recently a Windows update broke this. Now you have to do it like this:
+Under the resolution section, add a note that when players edit their <code>efconfig.cfg</code> and <code>hmconfig.cfg</code> to set custom 1080p width and height values, they must also manually adjust their Field of View (FOV) variable to match their modern aspect ratio to prevent the image from looking stretched.
-# Start the Setup.exe from the CD
-# Open your Task Manager
-# Expand the 32-bit Setup Launcher
-# Do a right click on the first process and select Go to Details
-# There you have to right click the Process again and select Analyse wait chain
-# If there is a process which keeps the Installshield from running, it will show up and you just have to end it
-# If there isn't a process which block's the Installshield, you have to check the other 2 processes
-# After that the Setup should work, if not just start again the Setup.exe from the CD and repeat the steps
 === Where to find the config file? ===
-For many problems or setting changes you need to find your config file. It is located in the BaseEF folder and like the game it's seperated into a singleplayer <code>(efconfig.cfg)</code> and multiplayer <code>(hmconfig.cfg)</code> file.
+All configuration changes happen in the BaseEF folder. Singleplayer settings are saved in <code>efconfig.cfg</code>, and multiplayer settings are in <code>hmconfig.cfg</code>.
-=== Key is to short? ===
+=== Hunk_Alloc failed (Out of Memory) ===
-Back when the game was release, some CDs came with a too short key. If you have that problem, just add to the end of the key a <code>0</code>. Should you already have inputed the key, you can change it with the Notepad in the <code>efq3.key</code> file, which is located in the BaseEF folder.
+Custom maps, models, and higher resolutions require more RAM than the vanilla version allowed. Open your config file and add/edit the command to <code>seta com_hunkmegs "256"</code>. Alternatively, you can type <code>/seta com_hunkmegs 256</code> directly into the in-game console.
-=== Hunk_Alloc failed ===
+=== The game is too dark ===
-Some custom maps, models or mods need more RAM than the vanilla version. You can either change it via the console with the command <code>/seta com_hunkmegs x</code>, the X stands for the RAM value, alternative you can change the config file, <code>hmconfig.cfg</code>, with the same command. I can recommend in 2019 a value from <code>256</code>.
+Modern operating systems sometimes break the game's hardware gamma. To fix this, open your config files and set the following values:<code>r_ignorehwgamma "0"r_overBrightBits "0"</code>
-=== The game is too dark? ===
+=== CD Key is too short ===
-To fix this problem, which sometimes happens on modern systems, you have to set the Gamma-Values in your config file <code>efconfig.cfg</code> or <code>hmconfig.cfg</code>. You have to find the following lines and set the values to <code>0</code>:
+Some physical CDs shipped with a misprinted, shortened CD key. If yours is missing a character, simply add a <code>0</code> to the end of the key. If you already entered it, you can manually fix it by opening the <code>efq3.key</code> file in the BaseEF folder with Notepad.
- <code>r_ignorehwgamma "X"</code>
- <code>r_overBrightBits "X"</code>
 === Recommend values for your hmconfig ===
@@ Line 74: / Line 75: @@
   seta snaps: <strong>"100"</strong>
-== Issues with a mod? ==
+=== Installing the CD version on modern Windows ===
+The 16-bit autorun will not work on modern systems, and a recent Windows update broke the standard setup executable. To bypass this:
-=== Can't start Colony 7 (couldn't load default.cfg) ===
-If you can't launch the mod, you have to create a ".bat" file. You can do this with the notepad for example.
-In it you type this:
- @echo off
- colony7\stvoy.exe +set fs_game colony7
-== Game Modes ==
-The game is divided into singleplayer (stvoy.exe) and multiplayer (stvoyHM.exe) modes. In the singleplayer you can play either the main story or if you have the expansion pack, a tour of the U.S.S Voyager. In the multiplayer mode you can play either against the bots or real human players on different servers.
-The multiplayer includes many different modes like:
+# Open the CD in your file explorer, navigate to the Setup folder, and launch <code>Setup.exe</code>.
-* Action Hero: one player starts off as the Action Hero, he has more health, can regenerate and spawns with all weapons. The hero gets per kill 1 point, if another player kills the hero, that player gets 5 points and becomes the new hero.
+# Open your Task Manager.
-* Assimilation: one player starts as Borg Queen. The Borg have to assimilate the other players into the collective. If every player is assimilated, the Borg will win the game. The human team wins by kill the Borg Queen.
+# Expand the 32-bit Setup Launcher process tree.
-* Capture the Flag: two teams attempt to retrieve the enemy flag and return it to their own in order to score.
+# Right-click on the first process and select Go to Details.
-* Deathmatch: the goal is to kill as many other players as you can. As a player get's killed they respawn shortly again.
+# Right-click the highlighted process again and select Analyze wait chain.
-* Disintegration: this mode is like deathmatch, with the difference every shot kills.
+# If a background process is keeping the Installshield from running, it will show up here. Select it and end the blocking process.
-* Elimination: player's don't respawn after the are killed, the last man standing wins.
+# If there is no blocking process, check the other two setup processes using the same method.
-* Specialties: a team/class based mode, in which you have to choose one of six roles, such as Demolitionist, Heavy Weapons Specialist, Infiltrator, Medic, Sniper or Technician
+# After ending the conflict, the setup will launch.
-* Team Deathmatch: follows the same principle as Deathmatch, players are just divided into two teams
-== What mods can you recommend? ==
-* [http://lazrojas.com/elitefarce/mods/proton/index.html Captain Proton:] a very hard adventure on the holodeck
-* [https://www.gamefront.com/games/elite-force/file/colony-7-mod-all-chapters-exe Colony 7:] a good singleplayer story
-* [https://www.moddb.com/mods/elite-force-graphic-overhaul-project Graphic Overhaul:] a mod which improves the graphic of the game
-* [http://lazrojas.com/elitefarce/mods/starbase11/index.html Starbase 11:] an entire TOS Starbase to explore
-* [https://www.moddb.com/mods/star-trek-the-argas-effect Star Trek - The Argas Effect:] a very good teaser for an unfinised singleplayer set in TOS