Wendell,
I own the boxed Starfire and New Empires set too.
Simply the best (especially on a tactical scale) board space strategy game around. I spent more time creating new ships than actually playing this masterpiece
AFAIK the SE series was heavily influenced by Starfire, and this gives us the best computer 4X game around. Thanks to Aaron and his team for this game.
Y 2000 was really a wargamers dream year: WDK2K, Combat Mission and SE IV. All games from small independent companies.
Fred