Starflight is a space exploration, combat, and trading role-playing video game created by Binary Systems and published by Electronic Arts in 1986.

There is no set path, allowing players to switch freely between mining, ship-to-ship combat, and alien diplomacy.

[3] The broader plot of the game emerges slowly, as the player discovers that an ancient race of beings is causing stars to flare and destroy all living creatures.

It led to the development of a sequel, Starflight 2: Trade Routes of the Cloud Nebula, and influenced the design of numerous other games for decades after its release.

[4][5] Here they buy and sell minerals, Endurium (fuel), and artifacts, recruit and train crew members, and upgrade parts of the ship.

[12] The goals of the game include exploration, collection of lifeforms and minerals, and finding habitable colony worlds.

[13] Eventually, a larger goal of finding out why stars in the region are flaring dangerously and stopping the process, if possible, comes to the forefront.

[15][19] Space is also crisscrossed with continuum fluxes, coordinate pairs that allow instantaneous travel between them without consuming fuel.

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;[24] and Uhlek, a destructive fleet of ships with a hive mind.

[14] 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.

In addition, Interstel employees are instructed to seek information about Arth's history, alien artifacts, and planets with optimum environments for colonization.

Before the fall of the Old Empire, a scientific expedition known as the Noah 9 left Earth in search of Heaven, a paradise world to which humans could immigrate.

Centuries ago, the leaders of the Old Empire realized something was causing hostile aliens to flee from the center of the galaxy.

Because their metabolism is extremely slow due to their crystalline makeup, they are not even aware of outside life and have come to view other races as a virus.

[14] 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.

The group designed what they called a "fractal generator", which took six man-years to develop and allowed them to increase the number of planets in the game from 50 to 800.

[1] Originally available only on IBM, Tandy, and compatible PCs,[32] it was released for the Amiga and Commodore 64 in 1989 and the Atari ST and Macintosh in 1990, and a Sega Genesis version was published in 1991.

[2][33][34][35] The Genesis version has new graphics, modifications to the ship, and upgrades for the Terrain Vehicle, including equipment to allow amphibious mining.

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".

[42] Fellow writer Orson Scott Card wrote: "Starflight is the first science fiction computer game that actually gives you something of the experience of roaming through the galaxy.

[49] Starflight is often cited along with Elite, which appeared two years earlier with similar gameplay, as early open world space exploration games.

[50] Exoplanet[51][non-primary source needed] is a virtual reality game created in 2018 by Gregg Brzozowski, which was inspired by Starflight.