Stardock Systems: OS/2 from the Ground Up by Steve McNally Stardock Systems Inc. (SDS) is a leading developer of native OS/2 multimedia applications. Developers there have been working to exploit the power of OS/2 and demonstrate its ability to be a superior gaming platform. They are now marketing three impressive software packages, two highly advanced games and a suite of helpful mini-apps for OS/2, which take full advantage OS/2's 32-bit, multithreading, multitasking capabilities. Galactic Civilizations was built from the ground up to utilize OS/2's power. It's an advanced space-based strategy game where you, as the player, have the goal of spreading humanity throughout the cosmos. You have at your disposal control of your civilization's economic, military, social and technological powers. To achieve your goal, you'll have to deal with alien civilizations, merchants, scientists and eligible voters everywhere in the galaxy (the election campaign funds needed would boggle the mind). The game begins in the near future with you and 50,000 of your closest colonist friends being transported through a wormhole to another galaxy billions of light years from Earth. It's up to you to befriend the several native civilizations (which are no more advanced than your own), develop new technology, and defend yourself from those civilizations where diplomatic means fail. The game ends if you are destroyed, destroy all the other players, form a united galaxy or advance technologically to the point of omnipotence (a problem we here at the NetWire have been dealing with for years). Stardock System's own Artificial Intelligence Engine employs the multithreading function of OS/2 to allow the computer players (who act as actual strategy game players) to operate in the background. This makes for a more "real-time" game because the aliens are making their moves at the same time you make yours. Other advanced features are full Multimedia Presentation Manager (MMPM/2) support including digitized sound, MIDI music and Ultimotion video, Multiple Resolution Presentation Manager which enables the game to be played at any resolution, and Advanced Module support which allows plug in modules by 3rd parties to add to the game. SDS' Entrepreneur is akin to a Monopoly game after drinking too much coffee. A player begins by choosing either Engineering, Science, Marketing or Business as their area of expertise. The player then chooses whether to sell computers, automobiles or softdrinks (These are the three currently available modules. More are in the works). The object of the game is to grow your company, through successful research and development, production and marketing and sales, to the point of having a 90% marketshare in your field or controlling all the markets worldwide. Entrepreneur also employs SDS' multithreaded Artificial Intelligence Engine to act as the opposing players (You can also play against other human players. There is no real limit to the number of capitalists you can pit yourself against in this game). OS/2 Essentials is a mini-application suite of enhancements for OS/2. It includes an advanced file manager (Dir Master), Screen Saver 2.0, a multimedia arcade game (Roids), a task manager (Filebar), a Workplace Shell trash can, and a multithreaded directory space grapher (File Graph/PM). Stardock has two more products in development now. One is called Avarice and it is a "Myst"-like game. The second is called Object Desktop. Brad Wardell of Stardock thinks that this application will be the biggest OS/2 application in 1995. He claims that Object Desktop will do for OS/2 what Norton Desktop did for Windows. Galactic Civilizations and OS/2 Essentials are available now at computer retail stores. The other applications will be released as follows. Object Desktop: July 1995 Avarice: September 1995 Entrepreneur: September 1995 Student Entrepreneur: October 1995 Stardock Systems of Gibraltar, Michigan can be reached at (313)782-2248.