Starflight

The player begins inside a space station called Starport orbiting the planet Arth. Here they buy and sell minerals, Endurium (fuel), and artifacts, recruit and train crew members, and upgrade parts of the ship. The player hires a crew from five species to man the ship's six posts: navigator, science officer, engineer, communications officer, doctor, and captain. A crewman's proficiency is determined by the relevant skill: a science officer with a high science skill can determine more of a planet's properties and detect aliens at a greater range, for example.

Skills are increased through training, which must be purchased. One crewman can man multiple posts, but different species have different maximum skill levels. The ship is initially equipped only with engines and a limited supply of Endurium, a type of crystal used as fuel. The ship can be modified and upgraded through the purchase of weapons, armor, and shields.

The galaxy is composed of eight space-faring races, five of which can be hired as part of the player's crew. Humans only exist on Arth and are not found among the stars. Other species include Veloxi, large insects who demand bribes from ships that violate their space; Mechan, androids left over from the days of the Old Empire; Elowan, a pacifistic race of sentient plants; Thrynn, reptile creatures who are primarily interested in money; Spemin, gelatinous blobs who are known for their cowardice; Gazurtoid, octopus-like religious zealots who regard all "air-breathers" as infidels; and Uhlek, a destructive fleet of ships with a hive mind. Humor also plays a role within Starflight.

The story begins on the planet Arth, a haven for the survivors of the Old Empire. Due to heavy radiation, the inhabitants have been forced to live beneath the planet's crust for centuries. In recent times, the radiation has finally dissipated from the surface, allowing the population to unearth long-lost technology belonging to Arth's original settlers. The inhabitants of Arth have recently discovered two things: first, that they were once a colony world of Earth; and second, Endurium, a crystalline mineral that fuels interstellar flight.

Starflight was developed by Binary Systems, a five-man team consisting of Rod McConnell, Greg Johnson (lead designer), Alec Kercso (programming), Tim C. Lee (graphics and programming), and Bob Gonsalves (sound). Then-vice president of Electronic Arts Joe Ybarra was also closely involved as producer. The original idea for making a video game was conceived by McConnell and Ybarra in 1983.

McConnell hired colleague Dave Boulton, who had an idea for using fractals to generate an endless virtual universe, along with Kercso, Gonsalves, Lee, and Johnson, all of whom were first time game designers. Boulton quit the project early on in development, saying it was too ambitious, with Lee replacing him.

By December 1987 Starflight sold over 100,000 copies, and eventually went on to sell over a million copies. Critical response to Starflight upon its release was extremely positive. Hartley and Patricia Lesser complimented the game in their "The Role of Computers" column in the December 1986 issue of Dragon, calling it "stunning in its presentation and play". In 1986 and 1987, Computer Gaming World declared it "the best space exploration game in years" and "the best science fiction game available on computer".

The magazine named Starflight its Adventure Game of the Year for 1987, and in August 1988, it joined the magazine's Hall of Fame for games highly rated over time by readers, with the third-highest rating for action/adventure games on the list, and the fourth-highest overall. A 1994 survey of strategic space games set in the year 2000 and later gave the game four stars out of five, stating that "such rich NPCs offered additional suspension of belief".

A sequel was released in 1989: Starflight 2: Trade Routes of the Cloud Nebula.

Reiche was inspired by the game to create Star Control, with Johnson coding three of the alien species in the game; Computer Gaming World called Star Control II a spiritual successor to Starflight. Mass Effect director Casey Hudson tweeted in 2011 that "Starflight was a key inspiration for the ME series". Starflight is often cited along with Elite, which appeared two years earlier with similar gameplay, as early open world space exploration games. Dwarf Fortress's forgotten beasts were inspired by the procedurally generated lifeforms within Starflight.