Visuals

Ships and playing field

Starfleet Command uses 3D ship models, 50 in all, with over 300 variants included as well. The graphics are all 3D, but the game itself is played out on a 2D plane, not unlike what Digital Anvil is doing with their space combat game, Conquest. The vast space terrain is divided into hexes (invisible of course) like the board game, and there are plenty of "terrain" features like planets, moons, suns, asteroid fields, nebulas and more which can affect the game play in different ways.

Pretty colors

Hope the grid doesn't stay in

Technical stuff

SFC uses Direct 3D for its slick graphic effects but will include a software renderer for gamers without a D3D compatible card. From the movies we've seen, SFC looks quite impressive, with fantastically gaudy lighting effects for their weapons and explosions. The default resolution is 800x600, but slower computers can chop that down to 640x480 if need be. The target requirements are a P166 (without 3D card P200 with one), and 32MB of RAM.

Close encounters

A futuristic broadside