Difference between revisions of "Star Trek: Armada"

Latest revision as of 16:30, 31 January 2024

Star Trek: Armada
Subseries of Star Trek
Star Trek: Armada	2000
Star Trek: Armada II	2001

Star Trek: Armada is a singleplayer and multiplayer bird's-eye view RTS game in the Star Trek: Armada series.

The game received three official patches post-release.

The game has been marred with issues since Windows XP days, from audio skipping when using hardware audio acceleration, through mouse control sluggishness and multiplayer desynchronization, to more modern startup problems alleviated by custom Direct3D wrappers.

General information

GOG.com Community Discussions

GOG.com Support Page

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		Simple disc check.
GOG.com		Uses GOG's custom Direct3D wrapper and IPX configuration tool

A free demo is available from GameFront and ArmadaFiles.com.

Essential improvements

Official patches

The latest official patch is v1.2, available from ArmadaFiles and GameFront.

Patch 1.3

The unofficial Patch 1.3 Project patch adds compatibility fixes for modern versions of Windows as well as widescreen support and various bug fixes. Using it is highly recommended.

Custom wrapper (retail only)

This modified Direct3D wrapper resolves crashes on launch caused by an obsolete graphics renderer when running on modern Windows versions. Requires patches 1.2 and 1.3.

Skip intro video

Delete/rename video file

Go to <path-to-game>\animations\.
Delete or rename STIntro.bik.

Notes

In the retail version, this file is only found on the disc, while the digital release includes it in the game directory.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\ARMADA.PRF^{[Note 1]}

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\save^{[Note 1]}

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
GOG Galaxy

Video

Graphics settings (with unofficial 1.3 patch)

Graphics feature	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution		The unofficial Patch 1.3 adds native widescreen support.
Multi-monitor		The game crashes when attempting to load a mission or match with a multi-monitor setup.
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed	GOG's custom wrapper includes support for this.
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Anisotropic filtering (AF)	See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)	See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Vertical sync (Vsync)	See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
60 FPS	Inconsistent, as the game suffers from frequent framerate drops (such as when loading station blueprints, loading large assets, explosions). The GOG.com wrapper stabilizes this somewhat.
120+ FPS
High dynamic range display (HDR)

Input

General game settings

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support

Controller types

Audio

Audio settings

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support		A3D 2.0^[1]
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
German				Retail only; download for GOG.com release.

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Players	Notes
Local play
LAN play	8	Versus
Online play	8	Versus WON servers were shut down in 2008.

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

The GOG.com version has a wrapper for the IPX protocol connection mode in ipxwrapper.exe. In practice, it has proven more stable than the default TCP/IP protocol connections.

Issues fixed

Game crashes when trying to run on Windows 10 / Stuck at 640x480 resolution

Use Elisha's Windows 10 Patch
Download the modified DirectDraw wrapper. Unzip the files to the installation folder.

Audio skipping on Windows XP

Disable hardware acceleration for sound

Issues unresolved

Mouse performance

The mouse commands in-game can appear slow, and some might not register properly. Cause currently unknown, but occurs in both retail and digital releases.

Multiplayer desynchronization

Under unknown circumstances, multiplayer sessions can desynchronize.

Federation mission 3 ("Vendetta") final wormhole bugs

When ordering the USS Avenger to enter the final wormhole in this mission, the game can in some cases either crash or declare the ship destroyed and fail the mission.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	7
Software renderer

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Cutscenes	Bink Video
Multiplayer	World Opponent Network

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	95	98
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium 200 MHz (hardware rendering) or Pentium II 266 MHz (software rendering)	266 MHz
System memory (RAM)	32 MB	64 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	600 MB
Video card (GPU)	4 MB of VRAM DirectX 7 compatible

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).

References

↑ can't enable Aureal 3d sound in Diablo 2 - Hardware Central Forums - last accessed on May 2023

[gamedir-1] 1.0 ^1.1 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).

[2] 't enable Aureal 3d sound in Diablo 2 - Hardware Central Forums - last accessed on May 2023

[Note 1]

[1]

Developers

	Activision
	Mad Doc Software
Publishers
	Activision
Engines
	Storm3D
Release dates
Windows	March 22, 2000
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Bird's-eye view
Controls	Multiple select, Point and select
Genres	RTS
Themes	Sci-fi, Space
Series	Star Trek: Armada

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{stub}}
 {{Infobox game
 |cover        = Star Trek Armada Cover.jpg
@@ Line 6: / Line 5: @@
 {{Infobox game/row/developer|Mad Doc Software}}
 |publishers   =
-{{Infobox game/row/developer|Activision}}
+{{Infobox game/row/publisher|Activision}}
 |engines      =
 {{Infobox game/row/engine|Storm3D}}
@@ Line 16: / Line 15: @@
 {{Infobox game/row/reception|IGDB|star-trek-armada|rating}}
 |taxonomy     =
-{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/monetization      | }}
+{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/monetization      | One-time game purchase }}
 {{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/microtransactions | }}
 {{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/modes             | Singleplayer, Multiplayer }}
@@ Line 28: / Line 27: @@
 {{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/themes            | Sci-fi, Space }}
 {{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/series            | Star Trek: Armada }}
+|official site= https://web.archive.org/web/20020605100739/http://www.st-armada.com/
 |steam appid  =
 |gogcom id    = 1582325353
 |hltb         = 25539
+|lutris       = star-trek-armada
 |strategywiki = Star Trek: Armada
-|mobygames    = star-trek-armada
+|mobygames    = 1340
 |wikipedia    = Star Trek: Armada
 |winehq       = 3746
 |license      = commercial
+}}
+{{Introduction
+|introduction      =
+|release history   = The game received three [[#Official patches|official patches]] post-release.
+|current state     = The game has been marred with issues since Windows XP days, from [[#Audio skipping on Windows XP|audio skipping]] when using hardware audio acceleration, through mouse control sluggishness and multiplayer desynchronization, to more modern startup problems alleviated by [[#Custom wrapper (retail only)|custom Direct3D wrappers]].
 }}
@@ Line 44: / Line 53: @@
 {{Availability|
 {{Availability/row| Retail | | disc | Simple disc check. | | Windows }}
-{{Availability/row| GOG.com | star_trek_armada | DRM-free | Coming soon | | Windows | unavailable }}
+{{Availability/row| GOG.com | star_trek_armada | DRM-free | Uses GOG's custom Direct3D wrapper and IPX configuration tool | | Windows }}
 }}
+{{ii}} A free demo is available from [https://www.gamefront.com/games/armada/file/star-trek-armada-demo GameFront] and [http://armadafiles.com/files/armada/official-releases/demos/star-trek-armada-demo-10/details ArmadaFiles.com].
 ==Essential improvements==
 ===Official patches===
-[http://armadafiles.com/files/armada/official-releases/patches/star-trek-armada-12-patch/details v.1.2 patch] updates the game to the latest version.
+{{ii}} The latest official patch is v1.2, available from [http://armadafiles.com/files/armada/official-releases/patches/star-trek-armada-12-patch/details ArmadaFiles] and [https://www.gamefront.com/games/armada/file/star-trek-armada-1-2-patch GameFront].
 ===Patch 1.3===
 The unofficial [http://armadafiles.com/files/armada/mods/patches/star-trek-armada-patch-1-3-project/details Patch 1.3 Project] patch adds compatibility fixes for modern versions of Windows as well as widescreen support and various bug fixes. Using it is highly recommended.
-===Custom wrapper===
+===Custom wrapper (retail only)===
-[https://github.com/elishacloud/dxwrapper/wiki/Star-Trek-Armada-1 This modified DirectDraw wrapper] resolves crashes on launch caused by an obsolete graphics renderer when running on modern Windows versions. Requires patches 1.2 and 1.3.
+[https://github.com/elishacloud/dxwrapper/wiki/Star-Trek-Armada-1 This modified Direct3D wrapper] resolves crashes on launch caused by an obsolete graphics renderer when running on modern Windows versions. Requires patches 1.2 and 1.3.
+===Skip intro video===
+{{Fixbox|description=Delete/rename video file|fix=
+# Go to {{folder|{{p|game}}\animations\}}.
+# Delete or rename {{file|STIntro.bik}}.
+'''Notes'''
+{{ii}} In the retail version, this file is only found on the disc, while the digital release includes it in the game directory.
+}}
 ==Game data==
 ===Configuration file(s) location===
 {{Game data|
-{{Game data/config|Windows|}}
+{{Game data/config|Windows|{{p|game}}\ARMADA.PRF}}
 }}
@@ Line 66: / Line 85: @@
 {{Game data|
 {{Game data/saves|Windows|{{p|game}}\save}}
+}}
+===[[Glossary:Save game cloud syncing|Save game cloud syncing]]===
+{{Save game cloud syncing
+|discord                   =
+|discord notes             =
+|epic games launcher       =
+|epic games launcher notes =
+|gog galaxy                = true
+|gog galaxy notes          =
+|origin                    =
+|origin notes              =
+|steam cloud               =
+|steam cloud notes         =
+|ubisoft connect           =
+|ubisoft connect notes     =
+|xbox cloud                =
+|xbox cloud notes          =
 }}
 ==Video==
+{{Image|Star Trek Armada 1 graphics settings.png|Graphics settings (with unofficial 1.3 patch)}}
 {{Video
 |wsgf link                  = https://www.wsgf.org/dr/star-trek-armada
@@ Line 77: / Line 115: @@
 |widescreen resolution      = hackable
 |widescreen resolution notes= The unofficial [http://armadafiles.com/files/armada/mods/patches/star-trek-armada-patch-1-3-project/details Patch 1.3] adds native widescreen support.
-|multimonitor               = unknown
+|multimonitor               = false
-|multimonitor notes         =
+|multimonitor notes         = The game crashes when attempting to load a mission or match with a multi-monitor setup.
 |ultrawidescreen            = false
 |ultrawidescreen notes      =
@@ Line 85: / Line 123: @@
 |fov                        = false
 |fov notes                  =
-|windowed                   = false
+|windowed                   = hackable
-|windowed notes             =
+|windowed notes             = GOG's custom wrapper includes support for this.
 |borderless windowed        = unknown
 |borderless windowed notes  =
-|anisotropic                = unknown
+|anisotropic                = false
 |anisotropic notes          =
-|antialiasing               = unknown
+|antialiasing               = false
 |antialiasing notes         =
-|vsync                      = unknown
+|upscaling                  = unknown
+|upscaling tech             =
+|upscaling notes            =
+|vsync                      = always on
 |vsync notes                =
-|60 fps                     = unknown
+|60 fps                     = limited
-|60 fps notes               =
+|60 fps notes               = Inconsistent, as the game suffers from frequent framerate drops (such as when loading station blueprints, loading large assets, explosions). The GOG.com wrapper stabilizes this somewhat.
 |120 fps                    = unknown
 |120 fps notes              =
@@ Line 106: / Line 147: @@
 ==Input==
+{{Image|Star Trek Armada 1 general settings.png|General game settings}}
 {{Input
 |key remap                 = false
@@ Line 111: / Line 153: @@
 |acceleration option       = unknown
 |acceleration option notes =
-|mouse sensitivity         = unknown
+|mouse sensitivity         = true
 |mouse sensitivity notes   =
 |mouse menu                = true
@@ Line 170: / Line 212: @@
 ==Audio==
+{{Image|Star Trek Armada 1 audio settings.png|Audio settings}}
 {{Audio
 |separate volume          = true
@@ Line 182: / Line 225: @@
 |mute on focus lost notes =
 |eax support              = true
-|eax support notes        = A3D 2.0<ref>[http://www.hardwarecentral.com/showthread.php?1818-can-t-enable-Aureal-3d-sound-in-Diablo-2&p=5855#post5855 can't enable Aureal 3d sound in Diablo 2 - Hardware Central Forums]</ref>
+|eax support notes        = A3D 2.0<ref>{{Refurl|url=http://www.hardwarecentral.com/showthread.php?1818-can-t-enable-Aureal-3d-sound-in-Diablo-2&p=5855#post5855|title=can't enable Aureal 3d sound in Diablo 2 - Hardware Central Forums|date=May 2023}}</ref>
+|royalty free audio       = always on
+|royalty free audio notes =
 }}
@@ Line 199: / Line 244: @@
   |audio     = true
   |subtitles = false
-  |notes     =
+  |notes     = Retail only; [https://www.compiware-forum.de/downloads/file/796-star-trek-armada-deutsch-patch/ download for GOG.com release].
 }}
 }}
@@ Line 211: / Line 256: @@
 |lan play             = true
 |lan play players     = 8
-|lan play modes       =
+|lan play modes       = Versus
 |lan play notes       =
 |online play          = false
-|online play players  =
+|online play players  = 8
-|online play modes    =
+|online play modes    = Versus
 |online play notes    = WON servers were shut down in 2008.
 |asynchronous         =
@@ Line 226: / Line 271: @@
 |dedicated          = false
 |dedicated notes    =
-|self-hosting       = unknown
+|self-hosting       = true
 |self-hosting notes =
-|direct ip          = unknown
+|direct ip          = false
 |direct ip notes    =
 }}{{Network/Ports
@@ Line 235: / Line 280: @@
 |upnp =
 }}
+{{++}} The GOG.com version has a wrapper for the IPX protocol connection mode in {{file|ipxwrapper.exe}}. In practice, it has proven more stable than the default TCP/IP protocol connections.
 ==Issues fixed==
 ===Game crashes when trying to run on Windows 10 / Stuck at 640x480 resolution===
-{{Fixbox|description=Use Elisha's Windows 10 Patch|ref={{cn|date=September 2017}}|fix=
+{{Fixbox|description=Use Elisha's Windows 10 Patch|ref=|fix=
-# Download the [https://github.com/elishacloud/dxwrapper/wiki/Star-Trek-Armada-1 Star Trek Armada 1 Windows 10 Patch].
+# Download the [[#Custom wrapper (retail only)|modified DirectDraw wrapper]].
 # Unzip the files to the installation folder.
 }}
+===Audio skipping on Windows XP===
+{{Fixbox|description=Disable hardware acceleration for sound|ref=|fix=
+}}
+==Issues unresolved==
+===Mouse performance===
+The mouse commands in-game can appear slow, and some might not register properly. Cause currently unknown, but occurs in both retail and digital releases.
+===Multiplayer desynchronization===
+Under unknown circumstances, multiplayer sessions can desynchronize.
+===Federation mission 3 ("Vendetta") final wormhole bugs===
+When ordering the USS Avenger to enter the final wormhole in this mission, the game can in some cases either crash or declare the ship destroyed and fail the mission.
 ==Other information==
@@ Line 268: / Line 328: @@
 |windows 32-bit exe     = true
 |windows 64-bit exe     = false
+|windows arm app        = unknown
 |windows exe notes      =
-|macos 32-bit app       =
+|macos intel 32-bit app =
-|macos 64-bit app       =
+|macos intel 64-bit app =
+|macos arm app          = unknown
 |macos app notes        =
 |linux 32-bit executable=
 |linux 64-bit executable=
+|linux arm app          = unknown
 |linux executable notes =
 }}
@@ Line 298: / Line 361: @@
 |minOS    = 95
-|minCPU   = Pentium 200 MHz (hardware rendering) or Pentium II 266 MHz (software rendering)
+|minCPU   = Intel Pentium 200 MHz (hardware rendering) or Pentium II 266 MHz (software rendering)
 |minRAM   = 32 MB
 |minHD    = 600 MB