Overview
Beyond the Stellar Empire (or BSE) is a space opera play-by-email (PBM) game originally published by Adventures By Mail in 1983.
Description
BSE was set in the future (2300 CE) in a remote area of the galaxy called the Capellan Periphery,
Gameplay
After buying the rulebook, a player mailed in a completed turn form outlining all actions to be taken, along with payment for the turn. (In 1983, each turn cost $4.50. The player was also charged the same fee for each ground party and colony. There were two variants of BSE: * The Capellan Periphery was the initial variant and was open-ended in the sense that it had no victory conditions – players could continue to progress through work and expenditures, requesting and completing assignments, acquiring larger ships and colonies, etc. However Game Masters would step in and invoke a "ceiling" for players that became too powerful.
Publication history
BSE was an open-ended "space opera" PBM that was human moderated with computer assistance. By the end of 1982, Adventures By Mail had processed more than 20,000 turns. Reviewer Stephen Marte stated in 1987 that he had contact information for 150 other players but speculated that as many as 450 actually played the game. In the January/February 1990 issue of Paper Mayhem, Mike Popolizio, Liz Leblanc, and Marti Popolizio described a redesign that included faster turnaround times for turns, additional options for diplomacy, increased ability to implement player suggestions, introduction of black-markets, and other changes. The original game as run by Adventures by Mail in the United States was discontinued in the late 1990s.
In the United Kingdom, a separate PBM game of Beyond the Stellar Empire ran until 2002 when the entire game was upgraded to a 21st-century version, Phoenix: Beyond the Stellar Empire (see KJC Games below). While still a PBM game, Phoenix enables players to input orders via web browser while receiving email turn results.
Reception
In Issue 27 of Abyss, David Macnamara noted "The big selling point of this game is detail," and pointed out "Turn around time is phenomenal (8 days)". However, Macnamara had issue with the cost of turns, writing, "Considering what you get for a normal turn, $4.50 per turn plus additional fees for ground parties and colonies is pretty steep." Despite this, Macnamara concluded that the game was "pretty good." In Issue 51 of Games, Matthew J. Costello wrote "One of the best PBMs is Beyond the Stellar Empire. In this intergalactic saga, players pursue space exploration, combat, or a cosmic version of Monopoly." Costello, who, at the time, played over a dozen PBMs, called BSE his favorite. Wayne J. Alexander lamented that the Capellan Periphery variant was not truly open-ended in that the Game Masters (GMs) eventually would impose an artificial constraint on play that he called "The Wall".
The editors noted, "Its scope is immense, and there's a high degree of player interaction ... The gamemasters who run your turn through the computer are very helpful to beginning players." BSE was selected for the "Games Top 100" the following year as well, with the editors noting, "A correspondence game with a wealth of detail and player interaction, Beyond the Stellar Empire is easy to play yet offers enough activity to be a full-time hobby." In a reader survey taken by Paper Mayhem to determine "Best PBM Game of the Year", BSE placed #5 in 1987 (tied with Beyond the Quadra Zone) , and was #11 in 1988 (tied with Rimworlds.) In subsequent years however, the game was not rated highly.
Awards
At the 1989 Origins Awards, BSE won for Best New Play-By-Mail Game of 1989.
See also
* List of play-by-mail games
Bibliography
* * . Magazine date: December—January 2003/2004. * * * Describes updating of BSE into Phoenix: BSE. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Describes first impressions after updating BSE into Phoenix: BSE.