I would like to propose naming a station after Sparky Starks, a pioneer in home computer game programming.
Sparky Starks was the sole creator, designer and programmer of the game SC-78503 Starfighter.
Published in 1979 for the Tandy TRS-80 microcomputers, Starfighter was probably the very first space combat simulation game for a home computer. It was originally released on cassette tape, and then later on floppy disks.
[video=youtube;nP_Hcpm5bZw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP_Hcpm5bZw[/video]
SC-78503 Starfighter gameplay, a hyperspace jump culminating in an encounter with a "Deathcaster" mine
The TRS-80 Model I home computer
The Tandy TRS-80 series were among the earliest mass-produced home microcomputers in the USA. Sold at Radio Shack stores in shopping malls across the country, the oft-ridiculed "Trash-80" series were budget machines with limited memory, meager computing power and only rudimentary graphical capabilities. Consequently most of the games available for that system were of the text adventure genre, such as Zork, the Scott Adams Adventure series, and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. There were also a few stats-based economic, civic, and strategy sims and a smattering of dismal imitations of popular arcade coin-op games, but very little in the way of truly unique titles.
SC-78503 Starfighter was a relatively sophisticated graphical space combat sim, and one of the best games ever made for the TRS-80. Its impressive narrative depth and gameplay nuance created an immersive experience despite its crude graphics. SC-78503 Starfighter captured a loyal fan base during the heyday of the system's popularity. I can't emphasize enough the outstanding innovation, sophistication and sheer fun of this game. Though it sometimes engenders comparisons with a contemporary first person arcade-style Star Wars-inspired space shooter called Star Raiders, SC-78503 Starfighter was a far more ambitious attempt at a space combat sim game.
Some of my earliest childhood memories of computer gaming involved sitting in a darkened room, glued to the monochrome display of our family's TRS-80 computer playing Starfighter for hours on end. The game pioneered many of the core concepts and tropes that would later be refined in Elite. These concepts included first person in-cockpit perspective; station docking with repair and refueling; a diversity of enemies employing varied combat tactics; various encounters with friendly, neutral and hostile NPCs; rules of engagement including attack-on-sight, non-intervention, anti-piracy and rescue operations; commendations and combat pay for enemy kills, rewards for rescues, and penalties for killing friends and neutrals; and progressive military-style rankings toward the ultimate goal of "Star Lord."
Here's a nice review of SC-78503 Starfighter on the TV Tropes website, which details some of its innovations in the first-person spaceflight/combat genre.
The SC-78503 Starfighter game manual gives some insight into the game's sophistication and attention to detail.
In 1984, the year that Elite debuted in the UK, Sparky Starks was working on porting a modified version of Starfighter to the Atari 400/800 computer systems. By that point Starks and his game publisher Adventure International had sold the naming rights of "Starfighter" to Lorimar Productions for a videogame based on the movie The Last Starfighter. That deal necessitated that Sparks choose a different title for his Atari version, which ended up being Destiny: the Cruiser. Unfortunately that game never made a commercial release.
[video=youtube;xgEKDbX9X5k]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgEKDbX9X5k[/video]
The Destiny: the Cruiser prototype
A few years ago while reminiscing on my childhood as a nerdy computer gamer, I went Googling some old game titles and was saddened to learn that the imaginative and talented individual who created these games, Larry Allen "Sparky" Starks, passed away back in October 2011. I also learned that after Starfighter and Destiny, he'd also created a sophisticated survival strategy game for the IBM PC called Visions of Aftermath: The Boomtown.
So in recognition of his significant contribution to the space combat simulation computer game genre, I'd like to propose naming an honorary starport after him in Elite: Dangerous.
Sparky Starks Station
Maybe a planetary base on a nearby moon could also be called "Landbase Central" as an homage to the docking station in Starfighter.
Sparky Starks was the sole creator, designer and programmer of the game SC-78503 Starfighter.
Published in 1979 for the Tandy TRS-80 microcomputers, Starfighter was probably the very first space combat simulation game for a home computer. It was originally released on cassette tape, and then later on floppy disks.
[video=youtube;nP_Hcpm5bZw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP_Hcpm5bZw[/video]
SC-78503 Starfighter gameplay, a hyperspace jump culminating in an encounter with a "Deathcaster" mine
The TRS-80 Model I home computer
The Tandy TRS-80 series were among the earliest mass-produced home microcomputers in the USA. Sold at Radio Shack stores in shopping malls across the country, the oft-ridiculed "Trash-80" series were budget machines with limited memory, meager computing power and only rudimentary graphical capabilities. Consequently most of the games available for that system were of the text adventure genre, such as Zork, the Scott Adams Adventure series, and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. There were also a few stats-based economic, civic, and strategy sims and a smattering of dismal imitations of popular arcade coin-op games, but very little in the way of truly unique titles.
SC-78503 Starfighter was a relatively sophisticated graphical space combat sim, and one of the best games ever made for the TRS-80. Its impressive narrative depth and gameplay nuance created an immersive experience despite its crude graphics. SC-78503 Starfighter captured a loyal fan base during the heyday of the system's popularity. I can't emphasize enough the outstanding innovation, sophistication and sheer fun of this game. Though it sometimes engenders comparisons with a contemporary first person arcade-style Star Wars-inspired space shooter called Star Raiders, SC-78503 Starfighter was a far more ambitious attempt at a space combat sim game.
Some of my earliest childhood memories of computer gaming involved sitting in a darkened room, glued to the monochrome display of our family's TRS-80 computer playing Starfighter for hours on end. The game pioneered many of the core concepts and tropes that would later be refined in Elite. These concepts included first person in-cockpit perspective; station docking with repair and refueling; a diversity of enemies employing varied combat tactics; various encounters with friendly, neutral and hostile NPCs; rules of engagement including attack-on-sight, non-intervention, anti-piracy and rescue operations; commendations and combat pay for enemy kills, rewards for rescues, and penalties for killing friends and neutrals; and progressive military-style rankings toward the ultimate goal of "Star Lord."
Here's a nice review of SC-78503 Starfighter on the TV Tropes website, which details some of its innovations in the first-person spaceflight/combat genre.
The SC-78503 Starfighter game manual gives some insight into the game's sophistication and attention to detail.
In 1984, the year that Elite debuted in the UK, Sparky Starks was working on porting a modified version of Starfighter to the Atari 400/800 computer systems. By that point Starks and his game publisher Adventure International had sold the naming rights of "Starfighter" to Lorimar Productions for a videogame based on the movie The Last Starfighter. That deal necessitated that Sparks choose a different title for his Atari version, which ended up being Destiny: the Cruiser. Unfortunately that game never made a commercial release.
[video=youtube;xgEKDbX9X5k]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgEKDbX9X5k[/video]
The Destiny: the Cruiser prototype
A few years ago while reminiscing on my childhood as a nerdy computer gamer, I went Googling some old game titles and was saddened to learn that the imaginative and talented individual who created these games, Larry Allen "Sparky" Starks, passed away back in October 2011. I also learned that after Starfighter and Destiny, he'd also created a sophisticated survival strategy game for the IBM PC called Visions of Aftermath: The Boomtown.
So in recognition of his significant contribution to the space combat simulation computer game genre, I'd like to propose naming an honorary starport after him in Elite: Dangerous.
Sparky Starks Station
Maybe a planetary base on a nearby moon could also be called "Landbase Central" as an homage to the docking station in Starfighter.
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