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{{work|wppage=Escape Velocity (video game)}}
[[File:evn_tropes_7287.png|frame]]
A series of three open-ended sci-fi shareware computer games from 1996 to 2002, published by Ambrosia Software for the Macintosh (though the last is also available for Windows). Looks like ''[[Asteroids]]'', plays like ''[[Elite]]''.
Though being part of the same series, the games are not connected by any sort of overarching plot, very much like ''[[Final Fantasy]]''. In each, you start with nothing more than a simple shuttle craft and are free to more or less do what you want. While the first game required the player to pick one side or the other in the ongoing galactic conflict, later games introduced more complex politics. Since the third game is the only one still updated, the publisher has released free [[Game Mod|Total Conversion]] plug-ins containing the scenarios from the first two games.
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* ''Escape Velocity: Override'' (1998) - The middle one. Humanity (United Earth [and her colonies]) is fighting against an evil alien race (the Voinians). Naturally, the two sides are locked in a bloody stalemate. Curious players are likely to discover the advanced Crescent aliens, consisting of the peacefully aloof Miranu and the bitterly warring Strand polities.
* ''Escape Velocity: Nova'' (2002) - The last game made. Taking the [[Absent Aliens]] of the first game's setting even further, the different “races” are the result of numerous human diaspora, all of which dislike each other with varying fervor. These include [[The Federation]] from Earth (and their [[Secret Police|B.o.I.I.]]), the enslaved [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien|Vell-os]], the [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Auroran Empire]], and the advanced [[Crystal Spires and Togas|Polaris]].
* ''[[Naev]]'', an open source clone available [https://web.archive.org/web/20131026070648/http://blog.naev.org/ here], subtitled ''Sea of Darkness'', exists on all three major platforms. The plot is based around an ill-defined [[After the End|"Incident"]] in which [[Apocalypse How|the Sun is destroyed]], leaving the remains of a [[Vestigial Empire]] and several Houses bickering over territory.
''EV Nova'' has its own wiki [http://evn.wikia.com here].
{{tropelist}}
* [[Absent Aliens]]: Subverted in ''Classic''. The game had them in the backstory, but humanity [[Guilt-Free Extermination War|wiped them out]] after they tried to do the same to us. {{spoiler|There's still one last alien cruiser floating around out there, though.}}
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** ''EV Nova'' may have an example with General Smart, a Federation officer who defected to the Rebels and is now in charge of their [[Space Navy]]. The Federation Navy appears to use US Navy ranks (the two named Federation officers, Krane and Raczak, are a commander and an admiral respectively), so the only way to resolve it is by having the Rebels use Army or Air Force ranks. Given that the Rebels are of Federation extraction, this seems unlikely.
** Possibly, he was an actual Federation General (in charge of some sort of ground troops, one imagines) who defected and was put in charge of the Rebel navy because [[Closest Thing We Got|eh close enough]].
* [[Ascend to
** {{spoiler|Some of the epilogues indicate that humanity eventually merges with the universe, becoming [[Precursors]] to an unnamed alien race.}}
* [[Asteroid Miners]]: In ''Nova'', certain asteroids can be mined for metal and water.
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* [[Attack Drone]]: You can hire/capture escorts and launch fighters from capital ships; they're destroyable, though.
* [[Attack Pattern Alpha]]: Three well-known maneuvers which [[Artificial Stupidity|abuse the AI]] have earned proper names from the fandom.
** The "Monty Python Maneuver" makes use of the series' partial aversion of [[Space Friction]] to fly away from multiple targets while shooting backwards. The name refers to the instances in ''[[Monty Python and
** The "[[Not the Nine O
** The "Qaanol Maneuver", named after its inventor, involves using an absurdly fast ship to draw the enemy's fire while your escorts make the kill.
* [[Author Avatar]]: Ships like the Andrew Welch from the first game are named after the game's creators. They are indestructible.
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** In ''Nova'', a large number of developers, producers, and random associates of the project can be spotted tooling around in their own custom ships. Most are overwhelmingly powerful, but some are [[Butt Monkey|downright puny]].
* [[Awesome but Impractical]]: The Thunderhead Lance comes stock with the Thunderhead Heavy fighter, can be bought at Rebel II in the Koria system for 100,000 credits, does considerable damage, but its short [[Frickin' Laser Beams|Beam]] range forces you to get very close to your target, and by then you would get shredded.
** Actually, on any ship with decent speed, they're [[Awesome Yet Practical|one of the most powerful and effective weapons]], despite the beam being shorter than Frodo Baggins.
** The pirate version of the ship, reasonably enough, [[Lightning Bruiser|sticks another engine on]].
* [[Awesome McCoolname]]: Stud Beefpile, among others; many of them are [[Shout-Out|Shout Outs]] to [[Space Mutiny]].
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* [[Bilingual Bonus]] / [[Meaningful Name]]: The name ''Voinians'' seems to originate from the Russian word "voyna" ("war"); the same with ''Miranu'' and "mir" ("peace"). There's also ''Dogovor'', a system where a treaty between Voinians and the UE was signed; "dogovor" means "treaty" in Russian.
** The [[Space Station]] in the Dogovor System is Pax Station. "Pax" is Latin for "peace".
* [[Blessed
* [[Breakable Weapons]]: It's possible to design outfits that wear out after a given amount of time by putting together two oütf resources (one for the good version, one for the bad version) and a crön resource (a time delay) that replaces one with the other. ''Nova's'' in-game example is the cheap versions of the Fission Reactor (which breaks down after a few months) and the Thorium Reactor (which becomes an explosion waiting to happen).
* [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]]: In ''Nova'', the description of the planet Our Spiel, to which the player is teleported once they beat a storyline.
** [[Author Avatar|Nuada]]'s ex-boss appears as a cargo drone with the subtitle [[Creator
* [[But Thou Must!]]: Once you have started the Vell-os storyline, even without realizing you have done so (it's started by a perfectly normal, innocuous cargo run), it's impossible to get out of it -- attempting to cancel the mission will cause the entire Federation navy to hunt you down and kill you. When the time comes for your character to be arrested, it will always happen, even if you have a crew of 250 and two full mercenary platoons with you.
** An attentive player can notice that there is something off with that normal cargo run, but it requires that random chance doesn't put it up too early: ordinary cargo runs ''never'' goes to Earth, which that one does<ref>Random missions in ''Nova'' never go to planets or stations that can get changed during the storylines. Earth can get changed during the storylines</ref>. It is also possible to get out of the Vell-os storyline by rejecting (that is, saying no to, rather than aborting) the ''second'' mission (you are still hunted by the Federation, but you are told where to go to get them to stop following you - and that somewhere is three jumps away) - but you are still locked out from five of the six storylines, just with the Vell-os story as one of the those five instead.
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* [[Dead Man Writing]]: {{spoiler|Techerakh, ''Thurokiir'' of Heraan and the [[Player Character]]'s mentor in the Auroran string, is killed in action about two-thirds into the plot. He leaves a message for the player that ends in the line "Unite us, then lead us to victory."}}
* [[Disability Immunity]]: In ''Nova'', neither the game nor the manual explains what the Vell-os nanite organ actually ''does'' beyond being necessary for a Vell-os's life (presumably it has something to do with their long lives), but the fact that you aren't actually a Vell-os and so lack it ends up being ''very'' important in the Vell-os storyline: {{spoiler|a powerful enough telepath could sidestep the control mechanism in the slave implant for a few seconds and simply remove it, but as the device is hooked into the nanite organ, doing so would be lethal to a Vell-os. The Bureau, not realizing that you aren't actually a Vell-os, never bothered to add additional safeguards in case you got that powerful...}}
* [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]]: ''[[
** Mixed with [[Freud Was Right]] in the case of the [http://www.boring.org.uk/evo/ships/igzara.htm Igazra].
* [[Elite Mook]]: In ''Nova'', each ship has several variants. One might also single out Polaris Nil'kimas craft (which are significantly better than regular Polaris ships, but these are the Polaris: you wet yourself regardless of type.)
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** In ''Nova'', the literal "Empire" more closely models a [[Proud Warrior Race]] and [[Feudal Future]], as it is a collection of noble houses that fight amongst one another rather than a monolithic authoritarian body.
* [[Escort Mission]]: Somewhat inverted, as the engine is only built to support other ships following the player, not the other way around. You still have to see your charge safely to their destination.
* [[Fantastic Caste System]]: The Polaris in ''Nova'' have an occupation-based caste system; citizens are assigned to castes based on aptitude tests. The Kel'ariy are the governing caste, the Ver'ash are doctors and medical researchers, the P'aedt do most other science research, the Nil'kemorya are the military, and the Tre'pira are the labor caste (which ranges from construction all the way up to ship captains). Oddly the Tre'pira are the most honored caste because they're seen as the backbone of Polaran society.
** The [[Sixth Ranger]] caste is the Mu'hari, a caste created after the Polaris Civil War. These are made up solely of citizens who failed the tests to enter another caste. They learn a little of everything, but their primary duty is to ensure the survival of Polaran society, which in practice makes them the Polaran diplomatic and intelligence service, as well as providing internal security.
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** In ''Nova'', the multi-jump organ allows your ship to perform up to 10 instant hyperjumps for the cost of one. It blows Hypergates out of the water.
* [[The Federation]]: The United Earth of ''Override'' is a union of [[Captain Obvious|the countries of Earth]], is generally good, and has a Parliament. It began as an [[The Alliance|Alliance]], but has grown tighter since then, with plans to introduce a common currency mentioned in-game and [[Word of God]] mentioning it doesn't fall apart after the Voinans are effectively defeated.
** The Federation of Nova was as a [[Exactly What It Says
* [[Final Death]]: An optional mode of play is "Strict Play", which deletes your character file if you die in the game, rather than allowing you to just reload it as you would if you were playing normally. Fortunately, escape pods can be used to escape from your ship if you have this enabled, but you start over in a shuttlecraft and lose any legal status you've gained in systems. This can be annoying, as often, you need a certain legal status to take a mission.
** On the other hand, resetting your legal status also means you'll no longer be attacked if you had previously pissed off a government.
* [[Forklift Fu]]: An [[Easter Egg]] weapon, overpowered and similar to the rocket launcher. It is a direct reference to the [[
* [[Frickin' Laser Beams]]: The Polaris' and Vell-os' hat in terms of weapons.
* [[Game Mod]]: Hundreds, ranging from cheats to total conversions. The data files were easily editable via ResEdit and numerous fan-made graphical editors. ''Nova'' even has official GUI editors.
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** ''Classic'' had an alien invasion that nearly resulted in humanity being wiped out. The Confederation managed to turn the tables on the aliens {{spoiler|but there's still a leftover alien cruiser floating around out there somewhere}}.
** The First United Earth-Voinian War in ''Override'', again an alien invasion in which the Voinians attempted to overrun and enslave humanity and were handed a disastrous defeat at Sol.
** ''Nova's'' more extensive backstory gives a longer list. Read the [https://web.archive.org/web/20140802013046/http://www.ambrosiasw.com/assets/files/graphics_products/evn/preambles/nova_preamble_1.pdf official timeline] for the complete story.
* [[Hit and Run Tactics]]: Due to the game's poor grasp of real-life physics and the [[Suicidal Overconfidence|blindly-aggressive AI]], such tactics are favorable in combat. This leads to the infamous "Monty Python" and "Not the Nine O'Clock News" maneuvers. The former involves using an inertia-drive ship and gaining enough momentum to stay just outside of your pursuer's weapon range while firing back with similarly-ranged weapons; the latter is used to bypass a heavily-armed blockade by using a fast ship to goad the slower blockade ships out of the way by chasing after you, then once the blockade is at a sufficient distance from the landing zone, you turn and fly around the blockade and back towards the station to land.
* [[Hyperspace Lanes]]: Only certain system-to-system jumps are possible.
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* [[Multiple Endings]]: All of the games except ''Override'' (which ''did'' have multiple storylines; [[Word of God|it just turned out]] [[Third Option Adaptation|all of them happened]]), although, as the [[No Ending]] entry notes, the effect is rather minuscule in ''Escape Velocity Classic''.
* [[Mutant Draft Board]]: In ''Nova'', all telepaths in Federation space are enslaved by the Bureau.
** A plot point in the Vell-os storyline rests on the fact that ''technically'', it is the Vell-os rather than telepaths per se that are supposed to be enslaved (unofficially. Officially, even the Vell-os serve voluntarily), it is just that at first the only telepaths known are the Vell-os. You aren't actually a Vell-os, but your immense telepathic potential leads the Bureau to ''think'' you are one.
* [[No Ending]]: It was totally impossible to affect the war in the original game, even if you personally conquered and dominated every planet in the galaxy. ''Override'' allowed you to make permanent changes on the galaxy, but the strings of missions end without either side being completely defeated, leading some people to make plug-ins that finish the story. ''Nova'' finally allows you to actually finish its wars to victory, though [[Railroading|at great cost]].
* [[Noodle Incident]]: The ring around Kont is one, though only [[In
* [[Old School Dogfighting]]
* [[Opening Scroll]]: In ''Classic'' and ''Override''. Nova's game engine changes it to a non-scrolling [[Opening Narration]] or Opening Montage, depending on the game files used.
* [[Outrun the Fireball]]: The [[Loading Screen]] for ''Nova'', which shows a Valkyrie and Starbridge doing just that.
* [[Pass Through the Rings]]: A rare [[NPC]] example. The [[Betting Minigame]] for ''Nova'' exchanges the first two games' slot machine for gambling on a space race with Viper fighters doing this.
* [[Person
* [[Photoprotoneutron Torpedo]]: Numerous weapons. Neutron turrets are superior to proton turrets, which are superior to laser turrets.
* [[Physical God]]: The player winds up as this at the end of the Polaris and Vell-os (maybe Auroran) strings. Especially the latter, as you get a [[Nigh Invulnerability|large bonus]] to your shield rating, no matter what ship. The T0 rank becomes great fun when you are equipped with a Kestrel.
* [[Precursors]]: In ''Nova'', [http://evn.wikia.com/wiki/Those_Who_Came_Before Those Who Came Before]. They appear to have [[Ascend to
** {{spoiler|Some of the epilogues mention that humanity in turn became a precursor race to another species by similar means.}}
* [[Press X to Die]]: Literal version. Holding down Cmd-D (Ctrl-D on Windows) for ten seconds triggers your self-destruct sequence.
* [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]]: The Aurorans, especially the Heraan House.
** Ironically, of the Auroran Houses, the Heraan also happen to be the one that most remembers that ''non''-warriors can be worthy of respect (and not just grudging respect, at that...)
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* [[Punny Name]]: The devs aren't above making jokes in the names of star systems. Like Tekel Over, for instance.
* [[The Rashomon]]: You can only get the full story of ''Nova'' if you play every faction to the end. It's not too important, but several interesting details can be discovered. {{spoiler|1=For instance, you are in fact the universe in human form, [[The Plan|the Rebellion was started by the Federation as a way of finding all the would-be traitors]], the Vell-os were from tenth century Earth (although that is also [[All There in the Manual]]), your father was the king of all the Pirates in the galaxy before being betrayed by McGowan, [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|and that the Wild Geese are Irish]] ([[Captain Obvious|of course, their world is called New Ireland]])}}.
** Do note that the nature of {{spoiler|1=Frandall, the character's nature as the universe in human form (there is [[Wild Mass Guessing]] that the character in the Auroran string is ''humanity'', taken as a whole, in a single human form, in the Vell-os storyline the character joins the Vell-os mental conglomeration, and in the Pirate storyline, the character ''doesn't'' unite humanity, one way or the other, which the Rebellion and Polaris storylines implies to be the raison d'etre for the universe to descend into human form in the first place) and quite possibly exactly who Olaf is an uncle for (in the Auroran storyline, you make contact with a person named Eiric whose father was killed by McGowan and who is leading a rejuvenated Association. Considering that that is ''exactly'' your role and background in the Pirate storyline...)}} is a [[
*** {{spoiler|In the Rebel storyline, Frandall is a jerk for the good guys, but in the Fed string, he's a jerk for the bad guys}}. Go figure.<ref>To be more specific, in the Rebel storyline Frandall is a disgruntled head of Federation Intelligence who wants to get revenge on BoII for replacing the agency he's working in and sacking him, while in the Federation storyline he is the high-ranking member/head of BoII who set up the Rebellion as a trap.</ref>
* [[RPG Elements]]: It's an RPG in that you choose what side you're on, and being on nobody's side is a valid choice. You have a great deal of freedom on how to customize your ship, too, but you need a lot of credits for it.
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** Actually you could get ahold of those super-ships, no modding required -- you just can't ''buy'' them. If you disabled, boarded and captured an AI-controlled ship that was using and illegal load-out, and you then chose to use that ship yourself, you would inherit the illegal load-out, and still have access to it. This was amusing to no end, when one captured one of the illegal load-out super-Ravens -- the normal, player-accessible Raven already arguably being the most powerful ship in the game. A great way to get a very powerful ship early on was to capture a Starbridge D, which, if memory serves, had more space then and superior stats to any Starbridge you could actually buy -- and still had more equipment installed than it had space for, even with the extra!
*** There are, however, some ships with unique pilots that are actually ''INVINCIBLE'', meaning they cannot be captured, and thus inaccessible without cheating. Also, weapons that do not have a defined outfit (such as the super-weapons that planetary defenses use) are erased once you land at a planet.
* [[Shout-Out]]: The first game in particular is ''packed'' with them, from the forest moon of [[Star Wars|Endor]] to the joint-swelling, speech-degrading [[Manos:
** In ''Nova'', [[Intentional Engrish for Funny|red Leviathan roaming]] [[Zero Wing|CATS]] [[Intentional Engrish for Funny|piloted]].
** [[Dune|Arrakis]] in NAEV.
*** EV Classic got to it first, except the system was named Arrakis and the planet named Dune. In NAEV it was vice versa.
** Although not a direct shout out, the Old Earth [http://evn.wikia.com/wiki/IDA_Frigate IDA Frigate] bears a striking similarity to [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/EF76_Nebulon-B_escort_frigate this].
** In ''Nova'', several Wraith systems have names like [[The Lord of the Rings|"One'E'Ringa" and "Too'E'Bindem"]].
** ''Nova'' has a [[
** The [[Forklift Fu]], a [[Lethal Joke Item]] in ''Classic'', is a reference to an episode of ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]''.
** The Federation fleet at Nesre Secundus is commanded by an Admiral [[Starship Troopers (
* [[Single Biome Planet]]: Several planets are described in a manner that seems to give them a single biome.
** Though this might be application of the [[Law of Conservation of Detail]]: the planetary description box has a limit on the amount of text it can display, and has no scrollbar.
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* [[Standard Sci-Fi Fleet]]: In ''Nova'', the Federation and Auroran Empire each have an interceptor, a fighter-bomber, a gunship, a light cruiser, and a carrier. The Federation adds a scoutship, while the Aurorans later develop a fast battleship designed for close-range brawling. The Polaris use [[Living Ship|living ships]] equivalent to fighters, gunships, frigates, destroyers, and two types of [[The Battlestar|battleship/carrier hybrids]]. Meanwhile the Rebels have an interceptor, fighter-bomber, three different gunships, and two different cruisers.
** ''EVC'' gives the Confederation and Rebels each a fighter, gunship, destroyer, and [[The Battlestar|cruiser]].
* [[Standard Sci
* [[Standard Sci
* [[Starfish Aliens]]: The Wraith<ref>No relation to ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]''</ref> in ''Nova''. They can grow to 30 meters in size and look like the business end of a trident, live in gas giants, can [[Stealth in Space|cloak]] and enter hyperspace unaided, [[Telepathic Spacemen|are telepathic]], and can emit [[Photoprotoneutron Torpedo|graviton beams]].
** Also the Krypt, the [[Hive Mind|hive minded]] result of the Vell-os ruling council having imbued their minds into their nanites upon the Vell-os' surrender to the Colonial Council in 555 NC. The Krypt manifests as "krypt pods", weird purple-glowing spheres in the wastes west of Federation territory.
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* [[Warp Whistle]]: ''Nova'' has the hypergate system, unlockable after the right mission(s), as well as {{spoiler|wormholes hidden at the edges of certain systems}}.
* [[Wave Motion Gun]]: Plenty, although ''Nova's'' Capacitor Pulse Laser is probably the best example.
** In ''Escape Velocity'' and ''Override'', there was a cheat weapon called the [[Fugitive Alien|Forklift]]. It's [[Exactly What It Says
** ''Nova's'' Winter Tempest weapon for the Vell-os. It does quite a bit of continuous damage and ignores shields, skipping straight to hull damage.
*** [[Awesome but Impractical|Yet it eats up Your (Mental) Energy like theres no tomorrow]]
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* [[Wide Open Sandbox]]: Very wide. All of the games have large galaxy maps.
** Some [[Game Mod|total conversions]] for ''Nova'', notably ''Starfleet Adventures'' and ''[[EV Nova]]: United Galactic Federation'', feature map sizes bordering on ridiculous.
* [[X Meets Y]]: As previously mentioned, the look of ''[[Asteroids (
* [[Zerg Rush]]: In many missions, the player has to deal with this. The AI can only handle a few forms of combat, and Zerg Rush is one of them.
** [[Mook Chivalry]]: Due [[Arbitrary Headcount Limit|(at least in part)]] to [[Cap|engine limitations]], the dozens or even hundreds of ships in a planetary/station defense fleet can only fight you a few at a time, making battles with them very lengthy.
{{reflist}}
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