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With sites like gog and abandonware, I hope to find an old favorite to play again. It was a sci-fi explore/trade/fight game. It was released some time between '91 and '94. I played it on a PC and don't think there was a Mac version. The game included a large fold-out poster of the game galaxy in full color.

- There were three parts to the game. The first was starship construction. The second was finding planets and mining resources. The third was away teams searching old bases and ships.

- Starship construction. You used funds earned by exploring and trading mined resources to get better hulls. You could then upgrade them with basic components like better engines, better shields, and more powerful weapons.

- Exploring the galaxy. You would chart courses from planet to planet and occasionally encounter pirates/alien forces. Ship to ship combat was pretty basic and was somewhere between real time and turn based. Once you reached a planet, you could look for resources to mine and bring back to your own base. These could be sold for cash to upgrade your ship. I think you could also use some as raw materials to build upgrades.

- Finally there were the away teams. You picked a team of 3-4 members to explore old bases and crashed ships. The away team graphics were somewhere between isometric and top down views. You controlled the leader and your away team followed you in line. You could find pieces of tech, basic weapons and med kits. There were aliens lurking around to fight.

The game was similar to Wing Commander Privateer, but had the extra element of the away teams. I think it came out a year or two before WC Privateer.

Thanks. Any help is appreciated.

Sounds like one of the Elite games.

sounds like masters of orion

I search GOG for you and find this:
Could it be Star Control?
http://www.gog.com/game/star_control_1_2
Or Starflight?
http://www.gog.com/game/starflight_1_2

If not than it is probably not on GOG, but you could search all pre-1995 games. It is possible I overlooked something.