History VideoGame / Startopia

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: In-universe, Polvakian art and sculpture is only 'incomprehensible' if you're one of those classless ''poor people''.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler:Arona Daal]] claims this in the ending sequence. Which is rather odd, when you consider [[spoiler:VAL effectively implies the player's home planet is Earth.]] Most likely a ''StarWars'' parody.

** PatchworkMap: Sure this is nanosoil and such but it's odd to see TheGreys preferred frozen tundra enviroment exactly next to the [[{{ProudWarriorRaceGuy}} Kasvagorian's]] preferred blazing deserts.

* FictionalGenevaConventions: The handbook mentions the "Cronenblum Treaty" if you open it with your mouse over the deck of an opponent's segment, this explains why you're unable to beam up or down objects in an enemy's segment and vice versa.

Realmforge Studios announced a re-imagining of this game, ''Spacebase Startopia'' and is scheduled to release on March 26, 2021 for UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, UsefulNotes/XboxOne, UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows, and [[UsefulNotes/{{UNIX}} Linux]]. View the announcement trailer [[https://youtu.be/a8q2gI4qi5I here]].

* SmallAnnoyingCreature: Vermin, looking like rats with big toothy grins, will pop up out of the deck if you have too much litter lying about. Visitors and residents who encounter them are disgusted, especially the snobby gem slugs. If a vermin gets within range of a security column, the column's guns will blast it to pieces, which can be fun but also freaks out anyone nearby.

Realmforge Studios announced a re-imagining of this game, ''Spacebase Startopia'' and is scheduled to release in October of 2020 for UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, UsefulNotes/XboxOne, UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows, and [[UsefulNotes/{{UNIX}} Linux]]. View the announcement trailer [[https://youtu.be/a8q2gI4qi5I here]].

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Take note of where the little robots recharge sockets is.

* FictionalGenevaConventions: The handbook mentions the "Cronenblum Treaty" if you open it with your mouse over the deck of an opponent's segment. Which explains why you're unable to beam up or down objects in an enemy's segment and vice versa.

Realmforge Studios announced a re-imagining of this game, ''Spacebase Startopia'' and is scheduled to release in September of 2020 for UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, UsefulNotes/XboxOne, UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows, and [[UsefulNotes/{{UNIX}} Linux]]. View the announcement trailer [[https://youtu.be/a8q2gI4qi5I here]].

* DudeLooksLikeALady: Both PlayedStraight and GenderFlipped with the Dahnese Sirens. The males look like human women, and vice-versa.

* BizarreSexualDimorphism: See those scantily-clad [[WingedHumanoid Dahanese Sirens]], their broad-shouldered males and petite females with large breasts? Now replace "male" with "female" in the previous sentence and vice versa.

NeutralsCrittersAndCreeps: There are Memau which board your station through the docking port and are harmless until they eat enough trash and [[FaceFullOfAlienWingWong infect someone with a Skrasher egg]] which becomes dangerous if not immediately treated. Vermin start appearing in areas with a lot of trash and debris and any peep that interacts with them ''will'' get sick. Finally, be it through rival players or by chance depending on the mission or sandbox settings, you can have an agent infiltrate your station either as an obvious tip-toeing spy or an undercover agent disguised as a regular alien (there is a difference between criminals which are normally detained/deported and agents which are always hostile, your cursor changes to the attack crosshair when moused over) which can either murder visitors and residents or plant a bomb.

* YourHeadAsplode: Visitors and residents can become infected with a disease called "Blastycephalis". Without immediate and proper medical attention, the victim's head suddenly expands until the pressure causes it to pop leaving behind a large spatter of the victim's skin and their skeleton remains.

* HoverMecha: Scuzzer Mk. [=IIIs=] run on hoverjets versus their treaded and legged predecessors with even faster building, cleaning, and repair speeds but drain their batteries very rapidly.

* NobodyPoops: [[AvertedTrope Yes they do]], and if you don't provide the facilities they may die of bladder wrack. Excepting the Polvakian Gem Slugs who just do it anywhere, though their droppings are valuable energy-rich Turdite.

** Actually, the Sirens' genders are reversed in terms of body shape (i.e. Dahanese females look like human males and vice versa).

** The ring like station is a reference to Wernher von Braun's concept of a toroidal space station, using centrifugal force to generate ArtificialGravity through spinning.
*** Though the shape seems right, the fact that the gravity is relative down, instead of relative outward is not consistent with von Braun.

* TankTreadMecha: The Scuzzer Mk. II runs on tank treads rather than waddling and they repair, clean, build, and move faster than Mk. Is but require more frequent recharges.

* UniversalAmmunition: Actually Universal Consumables; certain cargo can be used for significantly different purposes. Specifically, 'Food Supplies' can be used to feed your people, or used as raw materials for a simple 'general store'. Luxury Goods supply Leisure-related or music-related stores... [[FridgeLogic and are harvested from plants]].
** It's implied that the luxury goods are materials for creating designer clothes and other equipment that would be sold from a Leisure Store. The matter replicators onboard the station are able to use said materials to create the desired product. This can apply to other cargo crates as well.
* YourHeadAsplode: Visitors and residents can become infected with a disease called "Blastycephalis". Without immediate and proper medical attention, the victim's head suddenly expands until the pressure causes it to pop leaving behind a large spatter of bone fragments.
** Also Skrashers have this effect on their unwitting victims.

** Sometimes laboratory computer terminals show [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Screen_of_Death blue screens]], guess the future has windows. It's notable that this isn't a background thing but it occurs with Turakkens with lower skill ratings and they visibly bash the keyboard when it occurs.

** Which veers into FridgeBrilliance when you realise that the universe has both highly advanced teleportation technology and the ability to turn matter into pure energy (via the recycler). It's not a massive leap to assume they're able to do it in reverse and recombine raw materials into whatever they want.
*** Well... yeah. If you don't have the requisite goods, a shop will have a small energy expenditure before completing the transaction, presumably from replicating whatever item the customer wants.

Realmforge Studios announced a re-imagining of this game, ''Spacebase: Startopia'' and is scheduled to release in September of 2020 for UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, UsefulNotes/XboxOne, UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows, and [[UsefulNotes/{{UNIX}} Linux]].

''Startopia'' is a 2001 simulation game where the player is tasked with the administration of a [[RingWorldPlanet toroidal space station]] in the aftermath of a galactic war. It met mediocre reviews, but became a CultClassic. The developer, Mucky Foot, was founded by ex-Creator/{{Bullfrog}} employees.

** It's implied that, [[AfterTheEnd back before the galaxy went to hell]], the Empire engaged in deliberate social engineering to make each race specialize, forcing them all to depend on each other, as an attempt to prevent interspecies wars from breaking out. [[CaptainObvious It didn't exactly work]]. (Though it seems to working now.)

* UniversalAmmunition: Actually Universal Consumables; certain cargo can be used for significantly different purposes. Specifically, 'Food Supplies' can be used to [[CaptainObvious feed your people]], or used as raw materials for a simple 'general store'. Luxury Goods supply Leisure-related or music-related stores... [[FridgeLogic and are harvested from plants]].

* FlavorText: Many entries in the handbook, opened by pressing F1 with your cursor over a relevant object, contain both their actual function and some extra fluff such as the laboratory microscope doubling as a ''[[VideoGame/BattleZone1980 Tankzone]]'' arcade cabinet.

** An alternate form of it exists in laboratories which the handbook describes as being used to simulate chemical reactions in a manner that won't reduce the lab and the scientists within to space junk.

* FaceFullOfAlienWingWong: The Memau, in a not-so-subtle ShoutOut to the ''Alien'' movies. One random event even name checks the ''Nostromo'' as it brings aboard a lifeboat full of sick crew members who will all explode and release Skrashers if not treated quickly enough

** Recycled? Nah, beam it on top of the saboteur.

* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ([[spoiler:If one gets 12 Zedem Monks and 12 Penitents, an Ascension ritual is performed. It looks flashy and has the benefit of ridding you of those annoying penitents at no cost. It's also required for the eighth mission.]])

''Startopia'' is a surprisingly complex game, with the developers programming things to happen that the player might not realize. An extremely thought-out [[http://www.rakrent.com/rtsc/rtsc_startopia.htm game guide online]] that details many of these, and many of the tropes below.