<s>
Fragile	B-Application
Allegiance	I-Application
is	O
an	O
open-ended	O
4X	B-Application
real-time	O
strategy	O
(	O
RTS	O
)	O
game	O
from	O
Gremlin	O
Interactive	O
,	O
released	O
in	O
1996	B-Application
for	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Described	O
as	O
a	O
combination	O
of	O
SimCity	B-Application
2000	I-Application
,	O
Civilization	O
and	O
Risk	O
,	O
Fragile	B-Application
Allegiance	I-Application
uses	O
an	O
icon	O
based	O
GUI	B-Application
for	O
all	O
menus	O
and	O
game	O
commands	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
other	O
RTS	O
games	O
,	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
defined	O
tech	O
tree	O
,	O
with	O
technology	O
being	O
unlocked	O
by	O
the	O
purchase	O
of	O
36	O
blueprints	B-Application
at	O
any	O
time	O
during	O
the	O
course	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fragile	B-Application
Allegiance	I-Application
is	O
the	O
spiritual	O
successor	O
to	O
K240	B-Application
and	O
there	O
are	O
many	O
similarities	O
between	O
the	O
two	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fragile	B-Application
Allegiance	I-Application
generally	O
scored	O
well	O
with	O
reviewers	O
,	O
with	O
PC	O
Gamer	O
UK	O
giving	O
the	O
game	O
the	O
Game	O
of	O
Distinction	O
award	O
and	O
it	O
was	O
praised	O
for	O
its	O
graphics	O
,	O
interface	O
and	O
sound	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
has	O
problems	O
running	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
and	O
later	O
Windows	B-Application
versions	O
,	O
as	O
it	O
was	O
designed	O
for	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
and	O
ported	O
to	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fragile	B-Application
Allegiance	I-Application
has	O
a	O
simplistic	O
combat	O
system	O
with	O
the	O
player	O
having	O
no	O
direct	O
control	O
over	O
units	O
when	O
a	O
fleet	O
enters	O
combat	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
a	O
faction	O
is	O
found	O
to	O
be	O
trading	O
with	O
the	O
Mauna	O
,	O
Jane	O
Fong	O
(	O
Federal	O
minister	O
for	O
trade	O
relations	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
her	O
role	O
as	O
Terran	O
ambassador	B-Protocol
for	O
the	O
Fragmented	O
Sectors	O
)	O
can	O
be	O
informed	O
,	O
who	O
will	O
in	O
turn	O
tell	O
the	O
Federation	O
,	O
which	O
could	O
result	O
in	O
increased	O
hostility	O
towards	O
the	O
offending	O
faction	O
from	O
all	O
others	O
or	O
,	O
they	O
can	O
be	O
threatened	O
with	O
blackmail	O
and	O
forced	O
to	O
pay	O
a	O
tribute	O
in	O
return	O
for	O
the	O
players	O
silence	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
no	O
research	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
as	O
this	O
popular	O
mechanic	O
is	O
replaced	O
with	O
the	O
Sci-Tek	O
blueprint	B-Application
system	O
which	O
allows	O
players	O
to	O
buy	O
new	O
technologies	O
as	O
needed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Multiplayer	O
is	O
available	O
over	O
an	O
IPX	B-Protocol
network	O
with	O
TetraCorp	O
being	O
the	O
only	O
playable	O
race	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sci-Tek	O
also	O
has	O
blueprints	B-Application
for	O
advanced	O
technologies	O
that	O
the	O
player	O
can	O
purchase	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fragile	B-Application
Allegiance	I-Application
is	O
essentially	O
a	O
remake	O
of	O
Gremlin	O
Interactive	O
's	O
1994	B-Application
Amiga	B-Device
game	O
K240	B-Application
,	O
with	O
the	O
graphics	O
and	O
user	O
interface	O
revamped	O
for	O
the	O
improved	O
PC	O
hardware	O
available	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
core	O
gameplay	O
elements	O
of	O
K240	B-Application
are	O
retained	O
;	O
the	O
game	O
is	O
set	O
in	O
an	O
asteroid	O
belt	O
,	O
the	O
Sci-Tek	O
blueprint	B-Application
system	O
replaces	O
research	O
and	O
the	O
player	O
is	O
tasked	O
with	O
building	O
up	O
a	O
successful	O
mining	O
operation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
of	O
the	O
buildings	O
,	O
ships	O
and	O
missiles	O
have	O
the	O
same	O
names	O
and	O
functions	O
as	O
those	O
in	O
K240	B-Application
and	O
in	O
both	O
games	O
there	O
are	O
six	O
alien	O
races	O
competing	O
against	O
the	O
player	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
soundtrack	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
composed	O
by	O
Patrick	O
Phelan	O
who	O
also	O
composed	O
the	O
soundtrack	O
for	O
K240	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
1996	B-Application
and	O
competed	O
against	O
other	O
empire	O
building	O
titles	O
such	O
as	O
Ascendancy	B-Application
and	O
Master	B-Application
of	I-Application
Orion	I-Application
2	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fragile	B-Application
Allegiance	I-Application
was	O
marketed	O
as	O
an	O
intense	O
deep	O
space	O
real-time	O
strategy	O
game	O
complete	O
with	O
complex	O
face-to-face	O
diplomacy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
to	O
use	O
Gremlin	O
Interactive	O
's	O
facial	O
motion	O
capture	O
technology	O
which	O
allowed	O
for	O
highly	O
detailed	O
and	O
realistic	O
looking	O
alien	O
ambassadors	B-Protocol
,	O
giving	O
depth	O
and	O
adding	O
atmosphere	O
to	O
the	O
games	O
diplomacy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Historically	O
,	O
people	O
reported	O
that	O
Fragile	B-Application
Allegiance	I-Application
did	O
not	O
work	O
properly	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
and	O
later	O
Windows	B-Application
platforms	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
designed	O
for	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
and	O
ported	O
to	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
no	O
patch	O
was	O
ever	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
people	O
have	O
had	O
to	O
use	O
emulators	B-Application
such	O
as	O
VDMSound	B-Application
or	O
DOSBox	B-Application
in	O
order	O
to	O
get	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
function	O
properly	O
but	O
it	O
may	O
still	O
crash	O
when	O
trying	O
to	O
rename	O
a	O
saved	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
is	O
now	O
however	O
available	O
for	O
purchase	O
from	O
Steam	O
and	O
is	O
packaged	O
with	O
a	O
Dosbox	B-Application
build	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
compatible	O
with	O
Windows	B-Application
7	O
and	O
later	O
versions	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fragile	B-Application
Allegiance	I-Application
was	O
generally	O
well	O
received	O
,	O
achieving	O
average	O
to	O
good	O
scores	O
from	O
reviewers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
criticised	O
for	O
its	O
difficulty	O
,	O
its	O
simplistic	O
combat	O
model	O
,	O
the	O
time	O
spent	O
transporting	O
ore	O
between	O
asteroids	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
large	O
amount	O
of	O
micromanagement	O
involved	O
when	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
empire	O
got	O
large	O
—	O
although	O
reviewers	O
noted	O
that	O
the	O
latter	O
two	O
could	O
be	O
countered	O
by	O
the	O
"	O
Ore	O
Teleporter	O
blueprint	B-Application
"	O
and	O
Colony	O
Supervisors	O
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
were	O
mixed	O
feelings	O
regarding	O
the	O
replacing	O
of	O
research	O
with	O
the	O
Sci-Tek	O
blueprint	B-Application
system	O
,	O
which	O
meant	O
that	O
any	O
blueprint	B-Application
could	O
be	O
bought	O
in	O
any	O
order	O
provided	O
the	O
player	O
had	O
the	O
money	O
to	O
do	O
so	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
these	O
criticisms	O
PC	O
Gamer	O
UK	O
gave	O
it	O
the	O
Game	O
of	O
Distinction	O
award	O
for	O
Christmas	O
of	O
1996	B-Application
stating	O
,	O
"	O
Takes	O
ages	O
to	O
work	O
out	O
what	O
's	O
going	O
on	O
,	O
and	O
immense	O
concentration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
of	O
internet	O
gaming	O
site	O
GameSpot	O
rated	O
Fragile	B-Application
Allegiance	I-Application
significantly	O
higher	O
than	O
the	O
site	O
reviewer	O
,	O
rating	O
it	O
8.6/10	O
.	O
</s>
