Star Trek: Starfleet Academy cover
FranchiseStar TrekSeriesStar Trek

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

First release
Sep 12, 1997
Publisher
MacPlay, Interplay
Genres
Simulator, Strategy · Action, Science fiction

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is a PC Star Trek simulation game that simulates the life of a typical Starfleet cadet. The object in the game is for the player to learn the basics of flying a starship so that the player can eventually become a captain of one's very own ship. It includes a simulation battle mode in which the player can pilot and fight ships of their choosing. It's also the first time in a video game that free-motion CGI filming took place. The in-game movies, directed by Martin Denning, at the time represented a breakthrough in CGI-Live Action rendering.

Also known as sfad3d.exe

Attributes

No Attributes added.

Details

Storyline, release dates, time to beat, age ratings, modes, links, keywords

Storyline
The player takes the role of human Cadet David Forester, leader of a cadet group at Starfleet's San Francisco–based Command College. The player has to pass all the simulated missions, optionally including the infamous Kobayashi Maru scenario. The scenarios, in addition to simple combat situations, include a recreation of Kirk's near-disastrous starship confrontation with Khan Noonien Singh which Kirk ruefully admits is used to teach cadets to avoid his serious mistake that nearly doomed his ship. In addition, between simulator scenarios, Forester must keep his crew in check and prevent personality clashes from lowering team performance by choosing the right dialogue options during cutscenes. The cadet crew consists of a Vulcan science officer called Sturek, a female Andorian communications officer named Vanda M'Giia, and a detached and shy human engineer Robin Brady, with Trill Jana Akton at the helm and human Geoff Corin at navigation. During the course of the game it is possible to foil the machinations of the Vanguard — a fanatical terrorist group dedicated to overthrowing the Federation government and installing Kirk as a despot — and to investigate the cause of increasing tensions around the Klingon Neutral Zone. On the other hand, it is possible to be dismissed from the Academy in disgrace if the wrong choice is made during certain full motion video sequences.Read more

The player takes the role of human Cadet David Forester, leader of a cadet group at Starfleet's San Francisco–based Command College. The player has to pass all the simulated missions, optionally including the infamous Kobayashi Maru scenario. The scenarios, in addition to simple combat situations, include a recreation of Kirk's near-disastrous starship confrontation with Khan Noonien Singh which Kirk ruefully admits is used to teach cadets to avoid his serious mistake that nearly doomed his ship. In addition, between simulator scenarios, Forester must keep his crew in check and prevent personality clashes from lowering team performance by choosing the right dialogue options during cutscenes. The cadet crew consists of a Vulcan science officer called Sturek, a female Andorian communications officer named Vanda M'Giia, and a detached and shy human engineer Robin Brady, with Trill Jana Akton at the helm and human Geoff Corin at navigation. During the course of the game it is possible to foil the machinations of the Vanguard — a fanatical terrorist group dedicated to overthrowing the Federation government and installing Kirk as a despot — and to investigate the cause of increasing tensions around the Klingon Neutral Zone. On the other hand, it is possible to be dismissed from the Academy in disgrace if the wrong choice is made during certain full motion video sequences.

Release dates
PC (Microsoft Windows)
Sep 12, 1997
Mac
Oct 1997
PC (Microsoft Windows)
1997
All 4 release dates
PC (Microsoft Windows)
May 08, 2015
Time to beatIGDB · recorded
Main Story
14h
Main + Extras
17h
Completionist
40h
Age ratings
ESRB EUSK 12
Game modes
Co-operative, Multiplayer, Single player
Perspective
First person
Where to buy
Keywords
spaceship, steam, explosion, licensed game, human
… All 11, full motion video, original soundtrack release, escort mission, united federation of planets, starfleet, fmv

At a Glance

Main Story (IGDB)
14h
Main + Extras (IGDB)
17h
Completionist (IGDB)
40h

How it plays

Languages

  • Englishinterface, audio, subtitles
IGDB · recorded 23 Oct 2026

Language data: IGDB · recorded 23 Oct 2026