Star Control II is a game packed with so many memories that have stuck with us for DECADES. That's how outstanding they were. I can't remember half the games I've played this YEAR, let alone 20 years ago... but Star Control II somehow managed to pack in memorable moments that just won't fade. When Kotaku (the big video game website) did a MASSIVE, crowdsourced list of The Best PC Games of All Time, they weren't planning on crowning any "winner". It should have been just a big list in no particular order. But they put out a shocked followup article about how ONE game came out as more beloved than all the rest... in history. (Source: http://kotaku.com/the-game-that-won-our-classic-pc-games-list-if-it-ha-1349952997)

Here's an excerpt:

"Despite the fact that thousands of readers submitted and commented on hundreds of games, a few games emerged as favorites. And as time went on, I kept hearing about one game in particular. Every day or so, someone would mention how they loved it; someone would fondly remember it; someone would post a screenshot or soundtrack clip or memory from Star Control II."

It's a list made by real people, no reviewers or games writers, and Star Control II lives on in the hearts of more of their readers than any other PC game that's ever existed - citing people constantly bringing up their fond memories of play. I think we see that kind of excitement here on these forums. 

So I wanted to start a thread about everyone's favorite ONE SINGLE MOMENT during their role as commander of a Precursor vessel, attempting to stop the Urquan. You can only pick one! So let's start...

So, my buddy Nick and I had heard a rumor (maybe from the Melnorme, or from another race we'd encountered) that there was some anomaly near the Circini constellation that only appears during the 17th to 19th of each month...

After I'd gotten a bigger fuel tank and enough confidence to go that far out, we made our way in that direction. We sat. We waited.

Lo and behold! The incredible happened! A portal opened up that took you to... another UNIVERSE altogether!!! It was amazing, I don't remember ever being so excited about something in a game!! And not just any universe, but a universe where fuel didn't MATTER! You could fly around Quasispace at your leisure, wherever you wanted, and no fuel was consumed. Far up in the right corner, a giant... whatever it was... just existed there, a place outside of space and time... a place where old friends had been waiting a millennium for their beloved humans to find!

The Arilou Homeworld! And they were SO happy to see their little proteges. So happy that they immediately installed a portal-spawner into our precursor vessel so that we could dip in and out of spacetime whenever we wanted!

Suddenly, the other side of the galaxy didn't seem so far away! This discovery innately changed the game and how it played. We mapped out by hand, the coordinates and general areas that each of the mini portals lead to, and used that paper map whenever we wanted to stop by the Druuge for some shady dealings... or the Utwig to save them from their despair... the Mycon to trick them into getting obliterated... or the Pkunk to convince them it was a TERRIBLE idea to merge with the Yehat.

It was grand. It was intriguing. It was a mystery discovered. It was game-changing. It was beautiful.

How about everyone else? Any ONE memory that sticks out in your mind, even 20+ years later? Let's give these developers some ammo to create a game that will stick with us for the NEXT 20 years.