Begin 2.0 A Tactical Starship Simulation

Begin 2.0, A Tactical Starship Simulation is a tactical simulation from Clockwork Software for DOS. Its title screen identifies version 2.0 and a copyright of 1984 to 1991. The player types orders to set up the fleets, steer the ship, and use the weapon systems. The text and dialogs in this copy are in English.

Setup begins with the captain's name and the choice of two nations. You can pick Federation, Klingon, Romulans, or Orion pirates. Then you define the ships on each side and indicate which one will be your flagship. This version's setup screen shows a limit of fifty ships.

Setting up the two fleets

The game that was tested pits a Federation Heavy Cruiser against a Klingon Battle Cruiser. The setup orders let you specify the side, the number, and the class. Flagship identifies the ship you are going to command. Begin starts the simulation once both fleets are ready.

Ship names can change between games. In one test, Republic and Votek appeared. In another, Yorktown and Yazark appeared. The panel on the left identifies each ship, so you should check that name when you lock onto a target. The gallery shows the second of these games.

The tactical screen and the orders

The map takes up the center of the screen. The ship symbols and their shields let you track the relative position of the two sides. On the left is the list of ships. On the right are Phaser Banks, Torpedo Tubes, Probe Launchers, and Warp Drives, along with your own ship's heading and speed.

The bottom strip holds the crew's messages and the space for typing. Enter an order and confirm it with Enter. The program may ask for additional data before executing it. It is important to read the last question, because your answer belongs to that dialog. When Order appears again, you can type another complete order.

In testing, helm 90 warp 3 changed the requested heading to 90 degrees and the speed to warp 3. Sulu confirmed the order and the panel showed the new values. The distance to the adversary changed as the simulation cycles advanced.

Loading and firing torpedoes

The weapons sequence begins with loading. load all tubes asks for the torpedo class. On this ship, mk7 was verified. The next question asks for the proximity fuse and shows the permitted range. Entering 425 produced the confirmation that both tubes were loaded.

Locking onto a target also involves a dialog. After an order such as lock all tubes on yazark, the program asks about dispersion. In testing, 0 was entered. The tubes query showed both tubes containing mk7, proximity 425, and the name Yazark as the target.

With the tubes ready, torp all produced the message Firing 2 torpedos! and the trajectories appeared on the map. The gallery screenshots show the state of the tubes before firing and the firing itself. The map and the messages let you follow what happens after each order.

The preserved copy

The ZIP contains the executable begin2.exe, a manual for version 1.65, and a file with what's new in 2.0. The instructions on this page were tested on the 2.0 executable. Among its loading dialogs are the torpedo class and the proximity fuse. Locking onto a target also asks for dispersion.

The player uses a copy prepared with DOSBox and keeps the three original files. The title screen is used as the identifying image and as the page background. The gallery comes from running this same copy and shows setup, maneuvering, and torpedo firing.