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Gorkamorka

2018-08-01T12:06:17Z

2600:1006:B110:77B5:D8ED:B996:2AB0:B6CF: /* Video Game */

Gorkamorka is one of the [[Specialist Games]] set in the [[Warhammer 40000]] universe. It is functionally identical to [[Necromunda]], and its [[Warhammer Fantasy]] cousin [[Mordheim]], in that it is a narrative skirmish-level wargame, revolving around two or more players and their personalized band of fighters in a story-like campaign setting. Its selling point is that it was themed as the story of mobs of [[Orks]] fighting for survival, entertainment and riches upon the desert world of Angelis. This makes it the only [[Specialist Game]] where the focus was on playing ''nonhumans'', an approach that has only recently been looked towards in the form of [[Fantasy Flight Games]]' Chaos-focused [[Black Crusade (RPG)|Black Crusade]] and now as of January 2017 Gangs of Commorragh.

Only three books for Gorkamorka were ever released; Da Roolz (rulebook), Da Uvver Book (background fluff, scenarios, and campaign running), Digganob (expanded fluff, new factions, special characters and new missions), alongside a short run of a magazine called "Gubbinz" (added scenarios, weapons, gubbbinz for vehicles, tips to build terrain, a new faction, and a scenario to use Necrons).

== Story ==
The backstory of Gorkamorka is a simple one. A [[Space Hulk]] full of Orks crashed upon the desert world of Angelis, and miraculously managed to not kill themselves in the process. Since Angelis is a barren wasteland empty of life, the ticked off Orks are dedicated to gathering up all the technological scrap they can from the wastes and building themselves a new machine in order to get them off of the planet and get back to the Waaagh! Due to certain little incidents, like the orkish inclination towards factionalism and a civil war that destroyed the miracle machine once (they couldn't decide whether it looked like Gork or Mork), the Orks of Angelis are ruled by their Mekboyz, who are busy working on Gorkamorka - the aforementioned miracle machine - and keep the other Orks distracted by making them fight to gather the most scrap. Doing so is essential to get "tags", which will assure the bearer of a place on Gorkamorka when it's finally finished.

== Gameplay==
For the most part, Gorkamorka played a lot like [[Necromunda]] and [[Mordheim]]. The primary difference was the use of vehicles. Instead of having rules for the number of occupant in a trukk, one simply had to have enough space on the actual model to place the miniatures on. While this means that vehicles could be huge and hold a whole mob this generally resulted in crashing into everything and being immediately crippled by template weapons. As well, consider the risk of relying on one or two large vehicles: your shit will get countered hard by the other players in the campaign and one bad roll that leaves your vehicle broken at the onset means being gimped or losing a match before it even begins. Its best to have as many specialized vehicles as possible, with back-ups and spares as needed. It should noted that the base of Gorkamorka model are different. Rather than using a standard circle base seen in standard Warhammer 40k, Gorkamorka used these strange egg shaped bases. The idea was that the bases would be small enough so that the players could jam as many models onto a truck. You can't get these bases anymore but custom-cut plasticard bases work just as well.

As in Necromunda, a warband consists of a mandatory leader and some troops, with options to further pad out the warband with rookie fighters and some specialists, though what those specialists are depends on the mob in question; Ork warbands include Spannerboyz (rookie Mekboyz) and Slaverz, plus Gretchin as cannon fodder, whilst Diggas only have Shamans and Rebel Grots only have Banna Wavers. Muties are an entirely different breed; they have no rookie fighters, instead having two different kinds of fighter (the tough Unk and the fast Snaga) and a mandatory specialist in the Keeper (a mutie [[tech-priest]]). All warbands start with a pool of 100 points, representing in-universe currency, and this is used to buy all of the warband's fighters, and their equipment, and any upgrades - so, needless to say, it's very important to consider your options.

Campaign play mostly revolves around fighting scenarios in which you duke it out with other warbands over valuable resources. Victory and the favor of the Random Number God in your post-battle explorations is essential to survival, as a certain amount of "currency points" is spent after each scenario to represent your warband taking care of all the stuff it needs in order to survive; getting fuel, ammo, food, spare parts, medicine, etc. In this, Gorkamorka is more forgiving than Necromunda, as there's no official rules about members deserting if your income is too low; it just means you got no extra currency to spend on anything like upgrading weapons, getting damage repaired, or buying new warband members.

== Factions ==
[[Orks]]- Orks are the primary faction of Gorkamorka. Divided on religious lines (Gorkers vs. Morkers), Orks dedicate themselves to fighting and gathering scrap for fun and to secure the tags they need to be assured of being taken off to the Waaagh! when Gorkamorka is finally built.

'''Diggas'''- When the Orks crashed on Angelis there was a human ship, implied to be an Adeptus Mechanicus exploration and research vessel in orbit having already landed a mission on the planet. The cataclysm of the space hulk's impact separated the humans into two factions, based on where they were at the time. Diggas are descended from those humans who were exploring the pyramids and the caverns below; taking shelter under the planet's surface, they survived the holocaust above, but descended into primitivism. Diggas have forgotten all about their ancestral connections to the Imperium and have come to revere Orks as the most awesome and impressive creatures they have ever seen. Therefore they try to emulate the Ork lifestyle as much as possible. Orks tolerate this with almost paternalistic disdain; it is, ultimately, much simpler than trying to wipe the Diggas out, especially since they have the protection of "dem fings under da pyramids". The home of the Diggas is referred to as "Morgarg-Durlurk-Gulskar-Dregsnikslag". "Fortress of ancient, terrifying power. Land of waiting death, pain and destruction". This shows just how much dread the Orks have of the place. Besides, the Diggas happily trade technological gear dug out from under the pyramids and scrap they have gathered for good Orky stuff and it's funny to watch them try and be Orks, so it's not so bad.

[[Gretchin Revolutionary Committee]] - Gretchin who have risen up in protest against the fact that they can't earn tags for Gorkamorka, even though they work and slave for their Ork masters.

'''Muties''' - When the Orks crashed on Angelis, there was a human ship, implied to be an Adeptus Mechanicus exploration and research vessel, already landed on the planet on a mission. The cataclysm of the space hulk's impact separated the humans into two factions, based on where they were at the time. Those who remained within their own ship, the now-crashed Eternal Vigilance (or "Etervigila", as the muties call it), mutated into horrifically deformed beings. Ironically, they retain more of their Imperial culture than the Diggas do, and as a result, they are dedicated to wiping out all other life on Angelis in hopes of being restored to the power and glory of their ancestors.

[[Necrons]] - Known only as "dem fings under da pyramids". For whatever reason, they are oddly protective of the Diggas who live under their pyramids and destroyed the Orks when they first tried to enslave the humans. While not normally playable in regular gameplay, there is a fan scenario in Gubbinz that brings Necrons to field.

Outside of the official factions, there are a few homemade factions. Here are just a few

[[Freebooterz]] - Added to the game by an article in the Citadel Journal (reprinted in Gubbinz), basically outlaw Orks with a pirate theme. Slightly different from regular Orks due to some special skills and how they get income.

'''Outlaw Motorcycle Club''' - Another outlaw Ork gang. As the name suggests, this mob uses a lot of motorcycles. More mobile than regular Orks, but still relies on spanner units to take care of bikes.

'''The Feral Orks'''- Fantasyesque Orks that use a lot of squigs and squiggoths.

'''Dust Rats''' - The survivors from Imperial outpost, Base Station Angelis, established by the Adeptus Mechanicus expedition. Somewhere between a Diggas and Imperial Guard.

'''Dark Eldar''' - Raiders that are looking for slaves.

== Special Characters ==
As with its relatives, [[Necromunda]] and [[Mordheim]], Gorkamorka has a couple of different characters of particularly notorious repute roaming the wasteland, and sometimes they might even join a warband. Aside from deliberately seeking them out, there's also the option to make a single roll before a battle starts to see if a given special character will show up for that fight; the lower your mob rating compared to your opponents, the better the chance that this will happen. The latter option does give you their aid in a fight for free, but if you want to make them stick around, then you gotta pay for the privilege, just as if you deliberately hired them in the first place; a "finder's fee" of 2d6 currency points, and then they count as two models for determining expenses, due to their particular needs and tastes.

Only Orks and Diggas can use most of these character, except for the Red Gobbo, who is obviously restricted to parties of the Gretchin Revolutionary Committee.

'''[[Wurrzag|Nazgrub Wurrzag]]:''' - A crotchety hermit of a scrap prospector, and also an unrecognized Weirdboy.
Though the ork mobs battling over scrap piles are certainly numerous, they aren't the only orks out there in the desert looking for scrap. Some orks want the teef for scrap, but don't really want to hang out with other orks to get it. What makes an ork take up the lonely, hermit-like life of the scrap prospector varies a lot. Maybe they're just not right in the head, or perhaps they're so greedy that they just can't stand to share in the profit. Nazgrub kind of fits both categories. See, Nazgrub is something that the primitive tekno-barbarian orks of Angelis have no idea how to handle: an unrecognized [[Weirdboy]]. Being too close to other orks, especially when they're fighting, makes Nazgrub's head hurt, which only tends to alleviate itself in a random but spectacular flare of telekinetic energy. Needless to say, as fun as this could be to watch, few orks wanted him around, and so he struck off into the desert. Being a particularly greedy soul by ork standards, this suits Nazgrub just fine, as it meant he could focus on the most important thing; finding "Da Big Wun" out there in the desert and becoming the richest damn ork on all of Angelis. In fact, he's so greedy, he actually has two special rules based on it; ''Scrap Fever'' means he gains the benefit of ''Hatred'' against any enemy model either carrying scrap or on a vehicle carrying scrap, whilst ''Thievin' Git!'' means there's a 1 in 6 chance for each scrap counter you retrieve in the fight that Nazgrub will nick it for himself, meaning you get zilch for it! On the plus side, his psychic powers manifest as both precognition, giving you a chance a dictating which scenario you fight against a rival ork or digga mob, and telekinesis, meaning he may randomly fire bolts of powerful destructive energy at people if he gets too close to fighting orks.

'''Bad Dok Dreggutz:'''
No ork really likes the Painboyz, as they combine an already irritating tendency to get distracted and bodge up the work with a tendency to charge what orks feel is far too many teef for the actual quality of the work they do. But it is those painboyz who allow their experimental urges to get too far who acquire the dubious and deadly moniker of "Bad Dok". Whilst most of these end up under their own knives when they piss off the wrong ork, a small few retain enough sense to scarper for the desert after they get the branding but before the lynch mob comes for them. Dreggutz is one of the more successful of such characters, deemed a Bad Dok after infamously being unable to resist the urge to see what would happen if he "fixed" the head-wound of the Gorker Nob Snakrat with a kustom booster jet. Being crazy but by no means stupid, Dreggutz decided to leg it whilst Snakrat's boyz were busy scraping their boss' remains off of the side of Gorkamorka, lest he get a first-hand demonstration of why they'd named themselves "da Twisted Nex". Aside from his super-lethal Bone Saw making him dead choppy in a fight, Dreggutz has the added bonus that the mob can use him to try and patch up their injured orks for free. Of course, since he's working only with salvaged parts and is a bit of a loony, that's risky, imposing a -1 penalty to the roll on The Big Day table.

'''Dregmek Blitzkart:'''
Working on Gorkamorka is a sacred responsibility that all mekboyz are supposed to undertake -- after all, whether the thing turns out to be a new [[Space Hulk]], or a boarding platform to attract a new hulk, or something else entirely, no ork is getting off of this worthless dustbowl without it! But, like all orks, mekboyz have an independent streak, and more importantly, work on Gorkamorka is done pro bono, and so there's a thriving "side-line" of mekaniks working on their own projects. More devout mekboyz are, of course, irritated by this lack of devotion - and the fact the upstarts are getting rich. So, many ork inventors have issues getting their own "dream machines" built, especially if those projects are likely to consume a large amount of the precious scrap needed for Gorkamorka. Dregmek Blitzkart is one such mek; possibly cursed with the [[Speed Freek]] gene, Dregmek was always obsessed with the idea of getting orks into the air. When he couldn't get any funding, he took matters into his own hands; stealing an assload of valuable parts, he created the first, and only, [[Deffkoptas|Deffkopta]] on Angelis. He now wanders the desert, hiring out his ded killy flyin' masheen to any orks willing to put up with his need for extensive amounts of fuel and parts.

'''Da Krusher:''' - A mysterious Ork warrior who has had almost the entirety of his body replaced by cybernetics.
Many mysteries surround the heavily modified cybork known only as "Da Krusher". Who was he before "Da Accident" that required him to be rebuilt into his monstrous new form? Why did the Bossmeks of Gorkamorka feel obligated to save his life by rebuilding him as Da Six 'Undred Teef Ork after "Da Accident"? Come to think about it, what the zog ''was'' "Da Accident" anyway?! No ork knows. All that is known is that Da Krusher roams the wasteland, occasionally fighting alongside other mobs and intimidating or awestriking new mekboyz into patching up his temperamental, ever-complaining cybernetics. As it stands, although he is incredibly klunky, impossible to hide, and prone to erratic fits (his Temperamental rule gives him the Head Wound and Old Battle Wound serious injuries), he is still an impossibly deadly killing machine, with a great mess of cybernetic upgrades.

'''The Red Gobbo:'''
The mysterious leader of the Gretchin Revolutionary Committee, and thusly the only special character open to Rebel Grot mobs, the Red Gobbo is a figurehead for Da Kommittee and the revolution as a whole, even if the actual gobbo wielding the sacred club and wearing the trademark outfit changes from time to time. This makes his abilities and statline generated randomly each time he appears, although certain aspects are set in stone. As the Revolutionary Leader, he takes over the role of Head Honcho whilst present, and likewise he forces the mob to use Honest Dealin's, preventing them from lying to Da Kommittee after the battle. However, he's so Inspiring that he offers his Leadership and a chance to recover from pinning to any friendlies within 6", and he's a Die-hard who can always try to shake off being pinned, even without any buddies to support him.

== Mob Analysis==
Though only Orks, Diggas, Rebel Grots and Muties can be played, each has its own strengths and weaknesses.

'''Orks:'''
Orks are the mainstream mob in Gorkamorka, and thusly they are the "average" by which other mobs are checked. Decently priced and with good, strong stats, possessing a resistance to Pinning that no other mob shares, they are the simplest of the mobs to use, as they require nothing more than the basic rules. If Orks have a weakness at all, it can be said to be their dependence on "oddboyz" to run their mob at full strength; Spannaz keep the vehicles working, Slaverz keep the Grots (who give orks a small but vital boost in income generation) in line, so if either of these go down, your mob suffers a serious blow. Addtionally, the faction mechanic actually plays a game role, as it affects what skills you can get. Gorkers are dedicated to combat, so all of their mob members can learn Muscle skills, only Spannerz can't learn Ferocity skills, and all of them bar Yoofs can learn Dakka skills. Morkers are more tech-focused, so they're smarter but not as killy: only Nobs and Slaverz can learn Muscle and Dakka skills, and only Boyz and Slaverz can learn Ferocity skills, but all Morkers can learn Driving and Cunning skills, and Morker Nobs can learn the Odd skills.

'''Diggas:'''
Diggas can be summarized as "hard mode Orks", essentially. Of the three "oddmobs" they are the simplest to use, but they suffer a number of penalties in comparison to their Orky counterparts. Inferior stats, a special rule that means vehicles will eventually break down, the fact that a Diggamob cannot visit Mektown (and thusly get injuries treated at the Dok's Serjery or have their vehicles tended to) until they have won a battle or survived two fights, greater problems getting gubbins (vehicle upgrades) fitted, and increased risk when visiting the Dok all make life as a Digga much tougher than life as an Ork. On the upside, their Shamans grant them access to a number of useful tricks and skills, their troops are all cheaper than Orks, and they can also pick up a number of powerful "ancient tech" devices. Unfortunately, these devices are extremely unpredictable, and put you at the mercy of the random number god.

'''Rebel Grots:'''
The [[Gretchin Revolutionary Committee]] is a classic "horde type" mob, using its cheap troops to swamp the battlefield in bodies; if it weren't for the very sensible rules dictating that a mob must have enough vehicles to transport them all, and weapons for each mob member, a Rebel Grot mob could number ''48 models strong'', right at the beginning of the campaign. Unfortunately, the Rebel Grots need that kind of numerical superiority to stand a chance; they have the weakest stats of all the mobs, they have to use their own vehicle types (very flimsy and with very complicated movement rules), their guns are weak, they can't visit the Dok's to get injuries treated, they have double the chance to run out of bullets in the middle of a fight, and it's harder for them to earn teef to buy stuff with.

'''Muties:'''
Muties are the opposite of Rebel Grots; a small band of elite forces. They have the best gear in the game, great stats, and are far less at the mercy of the random number god than other mobs, but they are also the most ''expensive'' mob - the basic trooper of a Mutie band is twice the price of his Orky counterpart. The fact that they ride on mutant steeds instead of driving vehicles also gives them a number of other weaknesses, compared to the other mobs.

== Continued Support==
Although Gorkamorka is one of the lesser known Specialist games (seriously, even when Specialist Games was still on GW's website, it wasn't even listed) there is still a good bit of online support for the game. Support ranges from an FAQ and house rules, to the inclusion of new factions such as Dark Eldar.

For one of the bigger Gorkamorka fansites, check out this link here: http://gorkamorka.co.uk/

== Video Game==
Long ago in the decade known as the '90s, there was plans to make a Gorkamorka video game for the Dreamcast. The game was never released, most likely due to the Dreamcast losing support early in its life. (A tragedy, really.) There was also plans to port the game to Windows, but that also never happened. An early demo of the Windows version is available online. Youtube video trailer is available, just google it. Or just play Crash Tag Team Racing, it’s as close as you’re going to get to the game.

{{Specialist-Games}}

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]

Starship Troopers

2018-07-30T16:48:50Z

2600:1006:B110:77B5:D8ED:B996:2AB0:B6CF: /* The Book */

[[File:Whatiplayed starship troopers.jpg|thumb|450px|The movie gets it completely wrong. But seriously, read the book. Then see the movie.]]
''"A suit isn't a space suit - although it can serve as one. It is not primarily armor - although the Knights of the Round Table were not armored as well as we are... A suit is not a ship but it can fly, a little - on the other hand neither spaceships nor atmosphere craft can fight against a man in a suit except by saturation bombing of the area he is in."''

'''Starship Troopers''' is a science fiction book by [[Robert Heinlein]], later adapted into a series of movies, a cartoon, and several board and wargames. It influenced the look and feel of science fiction militaries that came after -- and it influences real-world militaries as well, as it is on the required reading lists of the United States Marine Corps and Navy.

The basic storyline is that [[humanity]] is fighting a war against an implacable species of insectoid aliens called "Bugs" or "Arachnids". The actual front-line combatants are the Mobile Infantry, an elite, all-volunteer force equipped with devastating weapons and [[powered armor]]. Life for the average human is not bad, but the only way to attain citizenship and the perks that go with it, such as suffrage, is to do a term of public service. Military service is only one of the possible avenues to citizenship mentioned in the book, a point often overlooked due to the heavy emphasis placed on the armed forces by the viewpoint character and his comrades.

Does any of this sound familiar? ''Would you like to know more?''

Starship Troopers invented many of the common elements we see science fiction over the last 60 years -- the ''Alien'' films, [[Warhammer 40,000]], [[Starcraft]], and essentially all military science-fiction since the 1950's owe a lot to Mr. Heinlein. For example, Starship Troopers is credited with the invention of power armor, hive mind bug races, and drop pods.

Worth noting, Heinlein's Bugs (not the movie Arachnids) are like the only hivemind-insectoid race in the fiction capable of using actual tech (like metal-made spaceships, electromagnetic guns and good-old nukes) instead of biotech.

== The Book ==
The society portrayed in Starship Troopers is a constitutional democratic republic. A constitution limits and describes the powers and responsibilities of government, and citizens vote for representatives. The main difference between their society and ours, is the distinction between citizens and civilians. Civilians have all the normal rights and protections of a liberal democracy, except that they cannot vote. Voting is restricted to citizens, people who perform 2 or more years of federal service. Federal service can be anything from space janitor, to terraformer, to desk jockey, to starship pilot, to mobile infantry. All people are guaranteed the right to become citizens, and the government is compelled to find something for them to do in their service without regard to race, religion, sex, class, or any other identity group (basically like the German ''Zivildienst'' without the conscription). The society's justification for restricting voting to citizens is to ensure only people who have demonstrated that they actually give a fuck about the humanity are allowed to exercise the violence of the state. Thus, they argue, the state will act more justly. The proportion of the population that are citizens varies widely by province, from 2% to over 80%.

Faggots that haven't read the book (almost all of them) claim that the Starship Troopers is a fascist society (See Paul Verhoven Below). But you dont have to be a faggot, you can read the book yourself, its free on youtube and a pretty good book. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOQMpb_R41Y

== The Movie ==

{{main|Skub}}

So come the 1980s, Heinlein's idealization of the soldier is less compatible with the post-Vietnam counterculture (and the hippies therein). Heinlein said he based this future society off of Switzerland (which has a longstanding tradition of national service) but made voluntary as he was not a fan of conscription (he also stated the Bugs' hivemind was there because one of the book's themes was to critique communism). However the glorification of the military's role in society and the use of war to strengthen the nation (along with common corporal punishment) means that the Terran Federation often comes off as being somewhat fascist to a modern audience, to the point that some people accused Heinlein himself of being fascist. Heinlein was not a Facsict but rather a sort of a proto-libertarian (to the point where The Moon is a Harsh Mistress outright advocated anarchism), though such a set up in which some could vote and others could not naturally has plenty of room for abuse. This is made all the more noticeable by the publication of Ender's Game, which is another popular science fiction novel which in the broad strokes has a lot of similarities to Starship Troopers but with notable twists (most notably the bugs invaded earth because they had no idea that non hive-minded creatures could be anything more than animals and relent when they find out their mistake, the battle-school is run by lying manipulating bastards who are willing to physiologically break and even kill children to forge perfect officers and the notion of committing genocide of an entire species is presented in a negative light) did not help with this.

Eventually, it came time for Hollywood to do its inevitable movie-of-the-popular-book, and shooting began for a Starship Troopers movie. The above paragraph of skub might have been quietly swept under the rug were it not for one thing: the director, Paul Verhoeven, was a Dutch refugee of Nazi occupation and [[Grimdark|almost died via collateral damage as a child when a bomb from an Allied Powers air strike landed in his backyard]].

Verhoeven only read the 1st few chapters of Heinlein's book, and he saw the Terrans as [[Imperium of Man|a bunch of Space Nazis]] (ironically, since Heinlein served the US Navy in the 20's and the 40's), between their near-conscription level of military signups and the incredibly heavy use of propaganda enforcing "the individual's obligation to society". As such, he decided to crank the patriotic jingoism up to eleven and make the Terrans a bunch of hot-blooded dumbasses who, aside from a couple of sergeants, had no idea how to do anything more advanced than run at the enemy shooting guns. The Terran political officers were even dressed up in black Nazi trenchcoats, to really drive the point home how much Verhoeven hated Heinlein's book. The movie is a giant 2-hour "fuck you" disguised as a parody disguised as a sci-fi action movie.

OK that's a bit of an exaggeration: Verhoeven was already working on a movie at that time before had even read Heinlein's book, a dark satire sci-fi film similar to Robocop, except instead of being about capitalism in Detroit it was about fascism in space. One of the marketers at the production company noticed some similarities to the novel and decided that the movie would sell better as an adaptation of an influential novel than as a new property. So everything was renamed and several aspects rewritten to make the movie into a loose adaptation with as few budget increases as possible. The biggest "fuck you" was Verhooven agreeing to name his movie ''Starship Troopers'', as a lot of the more direct "suck it Heinlein" moments were accidental.

The problem is that with that much disguising, quite a lot of people ''still'' didn't get the satire. So you have people who didn't get the movie, people who thought the movie was great, people who said that the book was better, and people who didn't get the movie, thought it was great and made a 'sequel' with... flashlights, and all of these things are backed up by the intensely political nature of both the books and the parody. At least the third one (''Starship Troopers 3: Marauder'') featured real powered armor, for all of like five minutes.

So yeah... Lotta skub there.

=== The Remake? ===

Talk circulated in late 2016 of a possible remake of ''Starship Troopers'', supposedly more faithful to the book. Remakes are the vogue in Hollywood in the 2010s, and it would not be difficult to make a more faithful adaptation than Verhoeven's, but "more faithful" doesn't mean "particularly faithful", and it's easy to ''talk'' about movies but much harder to make them. In short: we'll believe it when we see it.

== ''Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles'' ==

{{main|Approved Television}}

A 1999-2000 CGI cartoon adaptation of the movie. The computer animation looks its age, but the show otherwise combines the better elements from the book (e.g. the aliens and small-squad focus that the movie left out) and the movie (e.g. a slightly cynical take on the Federation, without Heinlein's lectures or Verhoeven's over-the-top satire). It was cool, but it was also plagued by budget and production troubles. The series progressed from Pluto, through the galaxy, to the Bugs' homeworld of Klendathu, and then the Feds got word that the Bug Queen escaped and is invading Earth.

And then production stopped, with the last four episodes not produced.

Commentary from the production staff indicates that the final episodes would have featured the Queen's final attack destroying SICON headquarters and turning it into a volcano, followed by a Federation counter-attack themed after Dante's ''Inferno'', culminating in a final showdown between one of the main-character squad members vs. the Queen herself, but sadly we'll never get to see it. The material leading up to it is still worth watching, though!

== Games ==

There have been a few video games, none outstanding, but [[Avalon Hill]] made a two-player board game way back in 1976 -- in fact, a review of it was included in the very first June-July 1977 issue of ''[[White Dwarf]]''. One player takes the role of the Arachnids and draws up a hidden map of where the bugs are hiding and where their tunnels run, and then the human player tries to root them out. It was re-released following the movie.

[[Mongoose Publishing]] produced a [[d20 System]] RPG and a miniatures game from 2005-2008. There were plans to port the RPG to the [[Traveller]] system and produce a second edition of the miniatures game, but they no longer have the license.

== External Links ==

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIGHCoVzqtk Klendathu Drop], from the first movie's soundtrack, and one of the features of the movie that everyone agrees is awesome. Very useful in [[Deathwatch (RPG)|Deathwatch]] and [[Only War]] games.
* [http://www.cracked.com/article_19259_6-mind-blowing-ways-starship-troopers-predicted-future.html This article] suggests that the movie may have been a parable for the War on Terror '''''before''''' the war began.

[[category: Literature]]