Editing Ironseed

{{Short description|1994 video game}}
{{Infobox video game
|title = Ironseed
|image = Ironseed-logo.png
|caption = Ironseed logo (website version)
|developer = Channel 7
|publisher = [[Softdisk]]
|designer = Jeremy Stanton
|programmer = Robert W. Morgan III<ref>[http://www.redshadowsoftware.com/projects/ironseed Ironseed] on redshadowsoftware.com</ref>
|engine = 
|released = 1994
|genre = [[Space trading and combat simulator]]
|modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]]
|platforms = [[DOS]]
|composer = [[Andrew Sega]]
}}
[[File:Ironseed1.gif|thumb|320px|Screenshot of the main game screen. Top left side: 3D starmap, top right side: ship status and resources. Bottom left: message window, bottom right: interaction "cube".]]

'''''Ironseed''''' is a 1994 [[MS-DOS]] [[video game]], developed and published by Channel 7. It is a [[Space trading and combat simulator|space trading and combat game]] with [[real-time strategy]] elements.

==Plot==
The game plays in fictional alternative reality in the future, several hundred years ahead. The game starts when the eponymous space ship, the "Ironseed", flees a theocracy on Mars. The ship is crewed by disembodied, digitized rebels originally scheduled for termination. In hastily fleeing, the ship suffers damage and gets lost in time and space. The crew finds itself in unknown space somewhere in the [[Milky Way]] with a badly damaged ship and nearly depleted fuel reserves. First objective is therefore finding resources for ship repairs and fuel while gathering intelligence about the surrounding space and also their own history. After encountering other alien species and learning about some greater threat, the ultimate goal becomes to forge an alliance of several alien races to counter this threat.

== Gameplay ==
The player begins with a single ship and a chosen crew. Planets are randomly generated and numerous ship designs and crew selection allow for different playing styles. Technology research, space exploration, resource management and gathering, production, crew management and alien diplomacy are essential elements. New ships, new upgrades, and ancient artifacts help the player in their efforts. Combat can be both in the form of [[random encounter]]s or planned for by the player.

==History==
=== Development and release ===
The story and art were created by Jeremy Stanton, the [[source code|code]] was written by Robert W. Morgan III. The music was composed by the computer musician [[Andrew Sega]] who gained reputation in the 1990s [[demoscene]] as ''Necros''. The game was released and distributed by [[Softdisk]] in 1994.

=== Legacy and support ===
The game was written with Borland [[Turbo Pascal]] for [[DOS]] and the usual hardware at that time. Also, like many software at that time, a buggy [[Runtime library|CRT]] library included in Turbo Pascal was used, resulting in '[[Runtime Error 200]]' messages on CPUs faster than approximately 200&nbsp;MHz.<ref>[http://www.kennedysoftware.ie/patchcrt.htm Information about the Borland Pascal CRT bug]</ref> Therefore, running the game on modern OSes and faster hardware needed emulation solutions like [[DOSBox]]. The "Runtime error 200" bug was finally fixed with a [[fan patch]] in 2013, almost 20 years after the game's original release.

=== Successor and source-code release ===
After the game was unavailable commercially for many years it was re-released as [[freeware]] around 2003 to promote the development of the successor ''Ironseed II'' / ''Ironseed Reborn''.<ref>[http://www.redshadowsoftware.com/projects/ironseed-reborn Ironseed-Reborn] on redshadowsoftware.com</ref> As progress on the development of the successor and further [[Patch (computing)|patching]] of ''Ironseed'' was unlikely, the [[source code]] of "Ironseed 1" was released by the developers to the public under the [[GNU General Public License|GPL]] in March 2013. A final patch (v1.20.0016) was released with the source code, but also the forum was shut down. Later version 1.30.0001 was put on [[GitHub]], for the first time including the graphic assets and sound effects under GPL,<ref>[https://github.com/karynax/ironseed/blob/master/version.txt version.txt] on karynax/ironseed ''"v1.30.0001: Source, graphical assets and sound effects have been released under GPL. The DMP library has been replaced with stubs."''</ref> but the commercial DMP sound module stripped out to comply with its license.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140703191459/http://spacesimcentral.com/ssc/topic/2967-iron-seed/ A followup update: Source has been put up on Github.] on spacesimcentral.com (4 April 2013, archived)</ref><ref>[https://github.com/karynax/ironseed /karynax/ironseed] on github.com</ref> From the source code release missing is also the soundtrack, while it seems the rights on the soundtrack still belong to the developers. For instance, Morgan redistributes the soundtrack on his personal website and also the freeware release included the soundtrack.<ref>[http://www.redshadowsoftware.com/projects/ironseed ironseed] on redshadowsoftware by Robert W. Morgan ''"We also own all rights to the music."''</ref> In September 2013, due to availability of the source code, a [[Free Pascal]] and [[Simple DirectMedia Layer|SDL]] based [[Porting|port]] for [[Linux]] became available on GitHub.<ref>[https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ru&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linux.org.ru%2Fpeople%2FRupricht%2F%3Fsection%3D2&edit-text= linux.org.ru]</ref><ref>[https://github.com/y-salnikov/ironseed_fpc ironseed_fpc] by Yaroslav Salnikov ''"Ironseed, old dos game by channel7, changed to make it possible to compile it with [[freepascal]] compiler on Linux."'' (September 2013)</ref> In August 2015 the ''Ironseed.com'' mainsite went offline without warning, but came back online in January 2016 under a new ''ironseed.net'' domain. In April 2016 the game was ported to the [[ARM architecture|ARM]]-based [[Pandora (console)|Pandora]] [[handheld]], based on the previous Linux port.<ref>[https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/threads/iron-seed.77301/ Ironseed] on pyra-handheld.com by ptitSeb (April 25, 2016)</ref> Since August 2020, there is [https://github.com/mnalis/ironseed_fpc bugfixed SDL port] available.

=== Port and re-release ===
Work on a re-skinned re-release by the original developers as a port for Windows is underway using the Unity Engine. Samples and the forum for discussion can be found on reddit in the [https://www.reddit.com/r/ironseed/ ironseed subreddit].

==Reception==
''Ironseed'' received a Top Dog award from [[Home of the Underdogs]],<ref>[http://www.hotud.org/component/content/article/37-strategy/20244 HOTU TopDog Award] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905190648/http://www.hotud.org/component/content/article/37-strategy/20244 |date=2012-09-05}} (Relaunched [[Home of the Underdogs|HOTU]] Version) <!-- Original Page, maybe findable by wayback machine: http://www.the-underdogs.info/game.php?name=Iron+Seed --></ref> who highlighted the game's replayability through the random planets and options, and allowance of different playing styles through the various ship designs and crews. It drew comparisons with the earlier ''[[Starflight]]'' series and the later ''[[Master of Orion]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hotud.org/component/content/article/37-strategy/20244 |title=Iron Seed review |publisher=Home of the Underdogs |accessdate=2012-09-22 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905190648/http://www.hotud.org/component/content/article/37-strategy/20244 |archivedate=2012-09-05}}</ref>

In March 1995, the [[Slovenia]]n [[computer magazine]] "Megazin" rated Ironseed 63 of 100.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/Megazin_1995_03#page/n13/mode/2up/search/%22iron+seed%22+ Megazin_1995_03] Ironseed Review (Slovenian)</ref>
In March 2017, ''[[Rock Paper Shotgun]]'''s Adam Smith revisited ''Ironseed'', compared it to ''[[Star Control 2]]'' and ''[[Captain Blood (video game)|Captain Blood]]'',<ref>[https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/03/21/iron-seed-pc-game/ Have You Played… Iron Seed?] by Adam Smith on [[Rock, Paper, Shotgun]] (March 21st, 2017)</ref> and described it as "weird, trippy sci-fi that blew my tiny mind" and "a little bit ''[[Space Rangers (video game)|Space Rangers]]'', a little bit ''[[Star Control]]'' and just a teensy bit ''[[FTL (video game)|FTL]]''".

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://ironseed.net Official website] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150801165059/http://ironseed.com/ Ironseed.com archived])
* [http://www.redshadowsoftware.com/projects/ironseed Ironseed], website of programmer Robert W. Morgan.
* {{moby game|id=/dos/iron-seed}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080118093147/http://www.stargamer.net/interviews/2006/10/ironseed2/2006-10-17-1395521140.php Ironseed 2 Interview] on ''StarGamer.net'' ([[Internet Archive]] version, January 2008)

[[Category:1994 video games]]
[[Category:4X video games]]
[[Category:Commercial video games with freely available source code]]
[[Category:DOS games]]
[[Category:Free software programmed in Pascal]]
[[Category:Linux games]]
[[Category:Real-time strategy video games]]
[[Category:Role-playing video games]]
[[Category:Science fiction video games]]
[[Category:Single-player video games]]
[[Category:Space trading and combat simulators]]
[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]]
[[Category:Video games scored by Andrew Sega]]