Taldren, the developer of Starfleet Command II: Empires at War, has revealed that a demo of the game is nearing completion. Taldren has also recently posted an application for its upcoming public beta test of the game. You can apply for the beta test by filling out and e-mailing this form to Taldren.

　　Scheduled for release by Interplay later this year, Starfleet Command II builds on the popular tactical space-combat game released last year. Much of Taldren's attention has been devoted to the sequel's campaign game, called the metaverse, and Taldren has made it much more involving and dynamic than the original campaign system. The metaverse will be available for both single-player and multiplayer play, and through the campaign, the game will introduce two new races: the Mirak Star League and the Interstellar Concordium.

　　We had the chance today to speak in more detail about the metaverse with Joshua Morris of Taldren.

　　GameSpot: In the official description of the game, it is mentioned that the multiplayer metaverse includes thousands of players in a single campaign. How does this work?

　　Joshua Morris: Basically you are playing two different games when you play the metaverse. The strategic map will hold potentially thousands of players moving around a large map looking for an encounter. When players or AI ships meet, they are transported to a briefing before fighting a battle in our traditional tactical game. When the battle is over or all the ships have exited, you are transported back to the strategic map, and the results are shown on how you affected the universe. Very cool stuff.

　　GS: Can players jump into an existing metaverse campaign?

　　JM: Yes. You can join campaigns already in progress.

　　GS: This sounds like it involves persistent servers. Does Interplay still plan to host the metaverse play through WON.net? Can you tell us a little bit about how this service will work?

　　JM: It's not a persistent universe in the traditional sense. I mean, you do toggle between a strategy map and scenario play, but yes we do keep track of every fight and it does have an effect on the metaverse.

　　WON.net - now flipside.com - will be hosting servers for the metaverse. You won't however have to leave the game to play, as it will all be imbedded into SFC2.

　　GS: How are missions created, and what sorts of tasks will players be charged with?

　　JM: Missions are based on so many factors that I can't list them all here. They include map positions, sector strengths, and ship classes. You can embark on many different missions including convoy raids, planetary assaults, and ambushes.

　　GS: In addition to helping you gain prestige and improve your ship, how do a mission's results affect the ongoing campaign?

　　JM: Every battle will affect the sector (hex) that you are fighting in. If too many battles or missions are lost in a sector, then the sector will switch sides. This in turn will affect the empire's economy and reduce or increase the amount and quality of the ships built. Again, very fun stuff.