Star Trek: Bridge Commander
- 2002
- CPU: 300Mhz
- GPU: 16MB VRAM (DirectX8.0a)
- RAM: 64 MB RAM
- HDD: 650 MB
- Windows 11
Star Trek: Bridge Commander is a space combat simulation set in the Next Generation universe and puts you in command of your own Starfleet starship and crew. It was published by Activision and developed Totally Games in 2002.
The Story revolves around a newly promoted captain who is assigned to investigate an explosion of a star in the Maelstrom. Throughout the mystery, the player will often encounter characters from the Star Trek universe, including Captain Picard and Commander Data. The captain and his crew take command of the Galaxy-class USS Dauntless, as well as the USS Sovereign, to combat a new threat to the Federation.
Gameplay
Following in the footsteps of PC classics like Starfleet Academy and Klingon Academy, the game gives players total command of a heavy capital ship. Using a clever mouse and keyboard interface, you do not just steer the ship manually; you interact with the bridge crew to manage power routing, target subsystems, and execute tactical maneuvers. Alternative you can do everything yourself, which is the preferred way of playing the game by most players.
Development
The game's post-launch life was heavily impacted by corporate disputes. After a series of lawsuits starting in 2003 between Activision and Viacom (Paramount Pictures' parent company), Activision dropped the Star Trek license entirely. It is rumored that only 5,000 physical copies of the game were ever produced before production permanently ceased.
Legacy
From the beginn the game had a massive modding community. Over the years, modders have built heavily upon the game's foundation to introduce massive content overhauls, adding hundreds of new starships, updated graphics, and entirely new playable factions.
These days
Finding a game copy used to be a nightmare on the second-hand marketplaces. Thankfully, that changed in 2021 when the game was officially re-released on GOG. Even better, the digital GOG release is fully multiplayer compatible with the original CD version.
Multiplayer
Because the official GameSpy master servers shut down years ago, the community had to find alterantive ways to play multiplayer rounds together
- OpenSpy: The community established a master server replacement using OpenSpy, which completely restores the standard in-game server browser.
- Direct IP: If you know the specific IP address of the host server, you can connect to it directly via the multiplayer menu.
- Virtual LAN: Because the game supports classic LAN mode, you can easily simulate a local network using a VPN client like Radmin or ZeroTier.
Widescreen Support
The vanilla game was built for standard 4:3 CRT monitors. Widescreen support can be added by downloading community-made fix files, but resolutions are strictly capped at 1080p. Attempting to force higher modern resolutions (like 1440p or 4K) will cause the engine to immediately crash.
Trivia
- If you repeatedly talk to Chief Engineer Brex on the bridge, he will eventually snap and respond with, "Damn it Jim, I'm an engineer, not a conversationalist!"âa classic nod to Dr. Leonard McCoy.
- When the Sovereign leaves the Starbase for the first time, Commander Larsen orders, "One-quarter impulse power." This is a direct reference to Captain Kirk, who famously received a reprimand from Valeris for the exact same order in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
