Colony Ship

Colony Ship: A Post-Earth Role Playing Game is a tactical RPG with turn-based battles. This is another product of the Iron Tower Studio team, which previously delivered the acclaimed Age of Decadence, and later took us on a second trip to the world of that game in Dungeon Rats.

Plot

In the new game, the developers from Iron Tower Studio have bet on a completely different atmosphere. A magical land inspired by Europe at the time of the end of the Roman Empire was replaced by a spacecraft sent on a mission to colonise an alien planet. However, in 2754, when Colony Ship action begins, nobody bothers with that goal anymore. After centuries of travelling, few people believe that an unit - clearly used up - is able to reach its destination, and if not, none of the current inhabitants will survive. So they are busy living their own lives or competing in the many parties that replaced the long overthrown government and are now fighting for territory and resources. This is the world in which the hero of Colony Ship, led by the players, has to live.

The game was inspired by the classic story Orphans of the Sky from 1941, the fifth volume of the Future History series by Robert A. Heinlein. As part of it, the author presented his own idea of the future. He distinguished it from many of his contemporary science fiction writers by the emphasis placed on the technical and scientific aspect of the genre. He is thus considered to be one of the pioneers of hard science fiction.

Mechanics

Colony Ship is a classic turn-based RPG. The world is shown with an isometric view, and the player's character and his team travels through the successive locations. We find here NPCs offering goods or tasks to be completed or willing to share valuable information. From time to time, we get into a fight with our enemies, which takes the form of turn-based battles. In each turn, we receive a certain number of action points, spent on movement, attacking and using special abilities.

The game puts a lot of focus on giving players the freedom to shape history and gameplay. We have 12 team members to choose from, varying not only in combat potential but also in personality, goals and beliefs. Both this and the decisions made during the game affect relations with the three main factions and many smaller groups, which may open or block access to certain tasks. These can be completed in many ways, both direct (read: combat) and a little more subtle like theft or diplomacy. This encourages us to experiment and explore in order to see how history will turn out after various decisions have been made.

The heroes' development system is based on three aspects. Each character is described by 6 basic statistics of strength, perception, charisma etc. from which minor parameters such as melee strength, damage multiplier, accuracy, etc. are derived. The characters also vary in their ability to use different types of weapons and in their ability to sneak, operate computers or use biotechnology. Character description is completed with performances (Feats), i.e. special bonuses that increase the efficiency of the hero or the whole team.

Technical aspects

In line with the creators' vision, Colony Ship uses a gloomy, dirty graphic design that does not depart from realism, which can bring associations with cult RPGs like the first installments of Fallout series. 3D graphics rarely shows a richness of colours - most of the time we visit metallic locations without natural elements, as can be expected from the interior of a huge ship. Nevertheless, we will find various places to explore, such as engine rooms, dystopian cities and much more.