Iron Seed

Iron Seed is a 1994 MS-DOS computer game, video game developer and video game publisher by Channel 7. It is a real-time strategy, science fiction, space game in which the player must develop the strength and knowledge necessary to unite the free worlds, and defeat the alien horde that threatens the galaxy.

=Description=

The player begins with a single ship and a chosen crew. Numerous planets and options guarantee great replayability, and numerous ship designs and crew selection allow for different playing styles. Research, exploration, and diplomacy, are essential elements for success. New ships, new upgrades, and ancient artifacts help the player in their efforts. Combat can be both random or planned for in the player s strategy.

This space strategy game is similar to the seminal Starflight series in its bredth and scope, but is more focused on the strategic and tactical issues than that classic. The game is a precursor to Simtex Master of Orion in spirit if not in name. The story and art were created by Jeremy Stanton. The music was composed by the well-known computer musician Andrew Sega.

=Gameplay=

User interface is very well made. By number of star systems and planets you can explore, Iron Seed is among the richest space exploration games and rivals the legends of this genre such as Starflight and Star Control series. The crew of your ship will be able to research overwhelming number of technologies, construct many different ship ugrades and take apart the obsolete devices to use their parts in construction. Examination of planets is very similar to Star Control, but much more detailed. The unique feature of this game lies in the fact that crew members are not living persons but copied personalities of living persons. You will be able to adjust, save and load their personalities to get the best results from them.

=Technical=

The game was codes in a bugged version of Borland Turbo Pascal so it won t run on modern operating systems. To fix this bug, the EXE file must be patched with PatchCRT, a small free tool provided by Kennedy Software & Systems Ltd. It can be downloaded for free at this location: http://www.kennedysoftware.ie/patchcrt.htm

Even with the CRT patch, the game will crash if you move the pointer to the edge of the screen.

=External links=

*[http://www.ironseed.com Iron Seed 2 Site] *[http://www.mobygames.com/game/sheet/p,2/gameId,11777/ MobyGames entry on Iron Seed ] *[http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.phpid=555 Home of the Underdogs Review]