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awesome!
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Space sim games?
- Thread starter maxiedaniels
- Start date
Freelancer.... on of my fav games of all time. It set a bar for space sims but unfortunately that bar was never raised again. It left alot of things on the table that probably the sequel could have fixed, but sadly that never panned out...
Now looking to the future....
Theres Black Prophecy and JumpGate Evolution
JGE has pretty much been vaporware. BP is in closed beta at this point and someone on this board as claimed to have played it when they said it makes them nauseous in eyefinity mode.
I for one am looking forward to Black Prophecy more then JGE because JGE in a recent interview claimed to be more combat centric than anything else.
I'm looking for more rpg story mode.
Now looking to the future....
Theres Black Prophecy and JumpGate Evolution
JGE has pretty much been vaporware. BP is in closed beta at this point and someone on this board as claimed to have played it when they said it makes them nauseous in eyefinity mode.
I for one am looking forward to Black Prophecy more then JGE because JGE in a recent interview claimed to be more combat centric than anything else.
I'm looking for more rpg story mode.
It seems a lot of people here want the RPG elements. I must be one of the few who wants another "simple" space combat game like Freespace or Tie Fighter.
Check out Tarr Chronicles and Dark Horizon. There's demos for both I think.
Spare-Flair
Supreme [H]ardness
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No, it just died. Eve is a completely different Beast. It died when EA killed Origin, when Volition died and never made Freespace 3, when Microsoft stopped making games and Freelancer died, etc.
Everybody got obsessed with making FPS and RTS games. Every developer jumped onto the bandwagon and no publishers would fund space sims.
Nowadays, most gamers under 20 years old don't even remember what a space sim is so nobody even thinks of making one or putting in the investment to make one.
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rampantandroid
[H]ard|Gawd
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Freelancer rocked. How was Starlancer (the one before it)?
Also....wasn't there some MMO in space? I can't remember the name of it.
Edit: Jumpgate.
But yeah...Space stuff is dead for now; thanks to Star Trek overdoing it, Lucas fucking up the recent Star Wars movies...generally space is overdone...for now. You don't see cool movies like Outland anymore...just crap like Red Planet and whatnot. Someone should turn Firefly into a game.
I think these things are cyclical. It doesn't help that the space program is in such bad shape right now. Sadly it'll probably take something unoriginal like a ME movie adaptation to get the general public interested again.But yeah...Space stuff is dead for now; thanks to Star Trek overdoing it, Lucas fucking up the recent Star Wars movies...generally space is overdone...for now. You don't see cool movies like Outland anymore...just crap like Red Planet and whatnot. Someone should turn Firefly into a game.
fattypants
2[H]4U
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I think you're right on all counts.
But hey, if the public gets interested and it means we get more space sims, I'm for it!
SSimmons05
Limp Gawd
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- Mar 11, 2007
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- 202
If you like space sims, the most realistic one out there would be Space shuttle mission 2007.
http://www.space-shuttle-mission.com/
It literally has every switch from the shuttle to use, on orbit manuvers,
sattelite deploys/captures (incuding hubble), and ISS
building. It's addictive as anything. They have a free demo that
lets you fly STS-1 launch, basic on orbit, and landing.
http://www.space-shuttle-mission.com/
It literally has every switch from the shuttle to use, on orbit manuvers,
sattelite deploys/captures (incuding hubble), and ISS
building. It's addictive as anything. They have a free demo that
lets you fly STS-1 launch, basic on orbit, and landing.
Frontier from Old Amiga would make even Eve hardcore fans cry with despair that the game is too hard
But yeah, gimme Tie Fighter 2, or another Independence War
As for space MMO, I'd say StarTrek Online, but only if you are really desperate. Otherwise that game sucks that hard, that it would make FarCry 2 game of the year
But yeah, gimme Tie Fighter 2, or another Independence War
As for space MMO, I'd say StarTrek Online, but only if you are really desperate. Otherwise that game sucks that hard, that it would make FarCry 2 game of the year
Black prophecy just went open beta for Europeans
http://www.blackprophecy.com/index.php?id=14&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=205&tx_ttnews[backPid]=30&cHash=b179790a9c
Might want to check it out, I heard it has good graphics
http://www.blackprophecy.com/index.php?id=14&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=205&tx_ttnews[backPid]=30&cHash=b179790a9c
Might want to check it out, I heard it has good graphics
deweatherly
Supreme [H]ardness
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I use to play a flashbased space sim a long time ago called "Space Pirate" just like that, as far as i know the site shutdown but it was damn fun...
WBurchnall
2[H]4U
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- Oct 10, 2009
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I think what happened is LucasArts got bored. There were some excellent space-sim games that were getting better and better and better. We had X-wing, Tie Fighter, X-wing versus Tie Fighter and finally X-wing alliance. I remember playing X-wing alliance back in the day at 1024x768 on a friend's computer and it looked VERY realistic with all the model packs installed.
Something like 80% of the models/textures have been re-done by the fan community in high polygon count/high resolution textures.
Granted, it wasn't like perfect graphic wise and with today's graphics, I am sure you could make a much better version. The trouble I think came that a ship can only go so far before it looks ...smooth? like a perfect geometric replica of the original ship shape/design? To an extent too, a randomly generated field of 'stars' in the background can be only so dencse with so many variying degrees of white in size/shape. There's less 'physics' to be interacted with as well. With a car-racing sim like Dirt 2, you'll have cars going through water with splashing up mud, mud being displaced from the puddle onto the track behind where the car went through and infronnt. Does the mud remain on the car? How quickly does the mud stream-off the card from 30/km hour wind as the vehicle moves at 120 km/hr?
With space, your pretty much in a vaccum. There's no need to concern yourself with wind or a lot of physics that make real-world environments a bit of hectic for game developers. Once your models look like the 'real-thing' or in the case of x-wing alliance like the 'movie' ships then your pretty much done. If something tooks 90% realistic to the original, then 95% then 98% then 99.8% there's a point where people won't continue to buy the game unless there's an interesting or driving storyline or non-graphical innovation.
At that point, we started to see Star Wars: Rogue Squadron etc where the space-sim games because flight-sim games based in cities on planets. Aka different locations where level design started to count more and graphics of the surround scenery could be improved upon and used as marketing to re-buy the game. Potentially, you could program in wind-shear and other factors.
Something like 80% of the models/textures have been re-done by the fan community in high polygon count/high resolution textures.
Granted, it wasn't like perfect graphic wise and with today's graphics, I am sure you could make a much better version. The trouble I think came that a ship can only go so far before it looks ...smooth? like a perfect geometric replica of the original ship shape/design? To an extent too, a randomly generated field of 'stars' in the background can be only so dencse with so many variying degrees of white in size/shape. There's less 'physics' to be interacted with as well. With a car-racing sim like Dirt 2, you'll have cars going through water with splashing up mud, mud being displaced from the puddle onto the track behind where the car went through and infronnt. Does the mud remain on the car? How quickly does the mud stream-off the card from 30/km hour wind as the vehicle moves at 120 km/hr?
With space, your pretty much in a vaccum. There's no need to concern yourself with wind or a lot of physics that make real-world environments a bit of hectic for game developers. Once your models look like the 'real-thing' or in the case of x-wing alliance like the 'movie' ships then your pretty much done. If something tooks 90% realistic to the original, then 95% then 98% then 99.8% there's a point where people won't continue to buy the game unless there's an interesting or driving storyline or non-graphical innovation.
At that point, we started to see Star Wars: Rogue Squadron etc where the space-sim games because flight-sim games based in cities on planets. Aka different locations where level design started to count more and graphics of the surround scenery could be improved upon and used as marketing to re-buy the game. Potentially, you could program in wind-shear and other factors.
Spare-Flair
Supreme [H]ardness
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I admit that Tie Fighter is one of the greatest space sims of all time...but Lucasart's space sims never really made much of an impact on me or my friends.
We were playing Wing Commander and Freespace and those are the benchmarks I look at. Lucasarts only deserves a small slice of the credit for the greatness of this lost genre.
I've downloaded Freespace 2 Open Source Project and it actually looks pretty good. I have a Logitech joystick laying around somewhere, and I'm gonna find it just so I can play this game properly. Ah, the good old days of X-Wing, and Frespace, and even Freelancer...
Greetings to All,
I've been lurking here for awhile and finally thought I should join....pretty good stuff here.
About Freelancer, it isn't dead by any means, matter of fact 1000's are still playing on a variety of custom mods.
However, to maintain the spirit of the thread, space sims have the ability to make a comeback if developers can be convinced to do so. With today's technology / graphics and seamless transitions from one area to another, it could be quite interesting.
I've been lurking here for awhile and finally thought I should join....pretty good stuff here.
About Freelancer, it isn't dead by any means, matter of fact 1000's are still playing on a variety of custom mods.
However, to maintain the spirit of the thread, space sims have the ability to make a comeback if developers can be convinced to do so. With today's technology / graphics and seamless transitions from one area to another, it could be quite interesting.
YARDofSTUF
[H]ard|Gawd
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- Jun 19, 2001
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- 1,469
I love Freelancer, Darkstar One was a good game too.
Sadly it does seem like Eve and the Discovery mod for Freelancer are all we have left. Thankfully the Discovery team does a great job maintaining Freelancer.
Sadly it does seem like Eve and the Discovery mod for Freelancer are all we have left. Thankfully the Discovery team does a great job maintaining Freelancer.
Have you tried Crossfire Mod 1.9 for FL?
I am also looking into BP, anyone have any feedback on this?
If you haven't yet checked out Orbiter make sure to check it out, its a free "space simulator" in every respect. not as much a game as a study sim but very fun if you like that kindof thing. I used to spend hours just getting into orbit and then trying to land the shuttle
X-Plane has a space flight model thats MUCH better then Orbiters
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There are some on the way, truthfully. I'm following a neat one on Kickstarter that just popped out its first build. Also, look up "Miner Wars" -more "Decent" than space, but 6DOF style anyway. Finally, check out Vendetta Online which is an excellent indie MMO that doesn't have the"go onto planets" kinda thing yet, but has realtime, physics-enabled space combat and even non-consensual PVP in "gray - unmonitored space"; it is growing all the time. They even have an Android client and Netbook mode so it can basically "run on anything" at the low end, and scale up to looking pretty damn spiffy on Super High graphics if you have a gaming mid+ level card and all the shiny turned on. I love the native Linux binary too!
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Flogger23m
Fully [H]
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I would like a real space combat sim, though I'd even take a space combat shooter or shooter RPG hybrid at this point.
http://www.starwraith.com/main/go.htm try the demo.
I think its kind of self-defeating. The fun space sims had atmospheric like physics and not real outer space physics. The ones that did have more realistic physics can be trippy and challenging, but they are also awkward and not that fun.
That being said, an fps with better space physics, shattered horizons, was fun mechically because the speeds were somewhat limited (a little cheating by the game). Anyway, real physics at fighter speeds would just be a series of fighters overshooting each other constantly.
That being said, an fps with better space physics, shattered horizons, was fun mechically because the speeds were somewhat limited (a little cheating by the game). Anyway, real physics at fighter speeds would just be a series of fighters overshooting each other constantly.
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I almost forgot about the Evochron and Arvoch series from StarWraith! Evochron (of which, Mercenary is the most recent variant) is more Freelancer-type "fly where you want, do what you want" kind of thing and Arvoch is more like Xwing/TieFighter/WingCommander in that it is mission based. Both titles offer multiplayer (including CoOP and the ability to carry over stuff from single > multi and vice versa) and an impressive list of features. Check it out at starwraith.com - best of all both games are very affordable! Evochron is even available on Steam.
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Solitude
[H]ard|Gawd
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Damn! If what you said on 2 was accurate, I will be playing me some X3 very soon.
What I would like to see the most was a first person space sim MP adventure set in the Calaxis Sector of the Dark Heresy universe (40K, look it up). Not as a Space Marine, but as an Acolyte traveling on various ships or even as a Rogue Trader with a dedicated ship to start with. This IP would be nothing short of brilliant for an epic space adventure.
I am not sure how far we are in creating procedural and scripted visual content, but making use of procedural methods to establish a virtually endless array of planets and environments, could be one way of getting a lot of work done with fewer artists. This of course won´t help when it comes to architecture, but it´s one major obstacle in creating a planet to planet based space sim adventure game.
Someone in the game dev world needs to start taking space travel serious again.
I am not sure how far we are in creating procedural and scripted visual content, but making use of procedural methods to establish a virtually endless array of planets and environments, could be one way of getting a lot of work done with fewer artists. This of course won´t help when it comes to architecture, but it´s one major obstacle in creating a planet to planet based space sim adventure game.
Someone in the game dev world needs to start taking space travel serious again.
Check this one out if you get a chance:
http://kck.st/HkEokW
Starlight Inception is a space combat experience with modern elements of strategy and tactics.
You assume the role of a young space fighter pilot assigned to the star carrier U.S.F. Independence, deploying to hotspots throughout the Solar System during World War IV.
Starlight Inception is a realistic and relevant 1st person / 3rd person free-roaming space combat experience. It has a unique blend of action with an involving storyline. Features include ship based combat both in space and on planets and moons, interplanetary exploration, and multiplayer dogfighting.
http://kck.st/HkEokW
Starlight Inception is a space combat experience with modern elements of strategy and tactics.
You assume the role of a young space fighter pilot assigned to the star carrier U.S.F. Independence, deploying to hotspots throughout the Solar System during World War IV.
Starlight Inception is a realistic and relevant 1st person / 3rd person free-roaming space combat experience. It has a unique blend of action with an involving storyline. Features include ship based combat both in space and on planets and moons, interplanetary exploration, and multiplayer dogfighting.
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I pledged to Starlight Inception (mdk30's link). Its actually being led by a former LucasArts developer! $30 gets you a DRM-free version of the "Special Edition", a Steam key, Sound track, and ALL future DLC! The dev is originally starting with PC and PS Vita , but is willing to go Linux/Mac if there's proper funding. Kickstarter is really looking like a great place to invest a few bucks and help great games get made, get access to them on the cheap, and help direct their development. Also, you're protected from scams to a certain point and projects that just don't get off the ground.
Thanks for supporting it too man. I'm really looking forward to seeing how it turns out.
Why are there two $30 packages? They're the same except one offers 'launch DLC', and the other offers 'all future DLC'.
Also, the idea of launch DLC on a Kickstarter game... ugh, really? I thought that a lot of people hated that. And I thought that Kickstarter has been taking off so well because the independent developers there have gone in the opposite direction that the big developers have been going, and a lot of us gamers really appreciate that...
If it wasn't for the 'launch day DLC' I'd have already put down $30 or $60 on it. I'm only on the fence now, even though it's my favorite genre...
Did you even read the thing? This is literally the first paragraph on the page:If it wasn't for the 'launch day DLC' I'd have already put down $30 or $60 on it. I'm only on the fence now, even though it's my favorite genre...
"NOTE: We apologize for the confusion, but we are folding all launch DLC (two fighters and one mission) into the product, and not offering launch DLC.. We've also created a new $30 tier that includes all future DLC since Kickstarter doesn't allow us to change descriptions once we have backers. Our apologies for the inconvenience."
Though I do agree that the fact that they were even pondering doing that is pretty lame.
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I'm guessing the whole DLC thing is in part because of the PS Vita launch. As a Sony machine, just like the PS3, developers will be expected to have something to sell in the PSN Store etc... I am disappointed to a certain extent that they're looking at major consoles that require you to make deals that worsen your project (Look at Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. The CEO of 38 Studios actually came out and said basically "We can't patch the game when we want because of console control. We can't price DLC as we want because of consoles. We can't do anything without Microsoft/Sony/EA OKing it as we sold ourselves to the devil for publishing PR". Hopefully they've learned from their mistakes), but I understand how they want to try and tap a portable market that doesn't have any games of the sort. I just hope that nothing is "dumbed down" because of the Vita version and that the PC version will not be slave to Vita-controlled Sony publishing agreements.
However, it is good that this early fans of Starlight Inception let them know that even considering launch DLC was a no go, so they actually changed their mind! Likewise, agreeing that ALL DLC in the future will be free for kickstarter backers is a good idea; free expansion packs! Looking forward to Xwing/TieFighter style expansions.
However, it is good that this early fans of Starlight Inception let them know that even considering launch DLC was a no go, so they actually changed their mind! Likewise, agreeing that ALL DLC in the future will be free for kickstarter backers is a good idea; free expansion packs! Looking forward to Xwing/TieFighter style expansions.
http://www.shovsoft.com/lunarflight/
I picked it up in a Steam sale a few days ago and I've had a lot of fun with it. Check it out if you need a timesink to hold you over for awhile.
I also really like the Evochron series, especially being able to do an atmospheric entry and land on a planet. Are there any other games that allow this? I know EVE had a demo of this at a Fanfest a few years back, maybe they will implement it when DUST514 is released?
I picked it up in a Steam sale a few days ago and I've had a lot of fun with it. Check it out if you need a timesink to hold you over for awhile.
I also really like the Evochron series, especially being able to do an atmospheric entry and land on a planet. Are there any other games that allow this? I know EVE had a demo of this at a Fanfest a few years back, maybe they will implement it when DUST514 is released?
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Holy crap, nice find! I didn't see anything on Steam about this or advertised, that's a shame I would have probably missed out on this if it wasn't for you linking it, +1 interwebs point for you today kind sir!
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+1 for Evochron Mercenaries. Badass game which supports multiplayer even!
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Galaxy on Fire I and II are good for a cellphone space sim...when you're traveling and don't have access to a PC