Space Combat Sims

Elite: Dangerous

Accurate model of the Milky Way galaxy with 400,000,000,000 procedurally generated stars.

Multiplayer or groups/friends only or single player in the same persistent universe.

Play as trader, miner, explorer, bounty hunter, assassin, smuggler, pirate or any combination as it takes your fancy.

Align with The Empire, The Federation, The Alliance or an independent system. Or play both ends against the middle.

Everyone starts at (roughly) the same ship/credit level, although perks were available via the original kickstarter campaign.

Currently in alpha, beta starting soon, release later this year (hopefully) and a Mac client promised three months after the Windows release.

T'hain Esh Kelch said:

Hah, I started around the same time as you with EVE, and I've more or less come to the same conclusion!

The first week was fun, but after the beginner quests, the missions become soooo boring, and you really need to farm or join a corp to get to the interesting ships.

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Also I really felt like I was way behind the curve for a game that has been around for as long as this one has.

Gu1b0 said:

Star Citizen.

Not for MacOs, but maybe in the future...

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My impression was that it has not yet been released.

cal6n said:

Elite: Dangerous

Accurate model of the Milky Way galaxy with 400,000,000,000 procedurally generated stars.

Multiplayer or groups/friends only or single player in the same persistent universe.

Play as trader, miner, explorer, bounty hunter, assassin, smuggler, pirate or any combination as it takes your fancy.

Align with The Empire, The Federation, The Alliance or an independent system. Or play both ends against the middle.

Everyone starts at (roughly) the same ship/credit level, although perks were available via the original kickstarter campaign.

Currently in alpha, beta starting soon, release later this year (hopefully) and a Mac client promised three months after the Windows release.

Click to expand...

$150 for beta participation? I think not. Will this be a monthly subscription based game?

Back to Starpoint Gemini 2. If anyone is playing it and knows of a good getting started guide, please shoot a link to this thread. I saw a "getting started" guide in the Steam forum, but there really just no guide, just some getting started general info with no specific in-game getting started tips.
Thanks!

Vendetta looks amazing... everything I want in a game/sim, cap ships, turrent control, economy... BUT does it have planet fall? Can I land on a planet or are they just pictures on a backdrop of stars?

No planet fall, no purchase.

I played the old Elite / First Encounter! Cannot believe they are bringing it back! $150 beta, I'm in.

Huntn said:

*snip*

$150 for beta participation? I think not. Will this be a monthly subscription based game?

*snip*

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No, there's no subscriptions. It's £35 to pre-order the game. I don't know what that is in dollars but probably $50. Minor updates will be free but major ones, such as a planetary landings expansion, will be paid for. An expansion pass is available for a further £35 that will cover all these expansions for the life of the game.

I have fond memories of playing the original to death on a BBC Micro in the late 1980s so I backed it via kickstarter back in December 2012 and bought the expansion pass as soon as I heard about it.

960design said:

Vendetta looks amazing... everything I want in a game/sim, cap ships, turrent control, economy... BUT does it have planet fall? Can I land on a planet or are they just pictures on a backdrop of stars?

No planet fall, no purchase.

I played the old Elite / First Encounter! Cannot believe they are bringing it back! $150 beta, I'm in.

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Anyone playing this? Subscription?

This link says there is: http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/17/some-assembly-required-a-look-at-vendetta-online/

Space combat game for OSX

[/COLOR]Until they release Elite Dangerous for OSX which according to there website wont be for a "three months later on Apple Macintosh computers" please let it be native , ill keep using Oolite

If you liked the original Elite game you will love Oolite, its opensource and has a truck load of customizations for it i have 112 mods loaded into my game at the moment. They add everything from better textures, more weapons, ships etc. Give it a try it is brilliant.

There are even mods that add extra missions such as assassin, go out an hunt down and kill a certain individual.

The galaxy conisist of 8 galaxys and there are hundreds of hours of gameplay to be had. The best thing it free just download the game from the site

http://www.oolite.org/

and then follow the link to the OXP list to start adding the add-on expansions. The game is great you wont regret it.

Below is the link to the Wiki OXP list

http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/OXP_List


Also check out Smivs online for some more OXP's

http://www.smivsonline.co.uk/oolite.htm

Been reading through and see that X3 is on Steam Sale for the next bit. Been curious about it for a long while. I'm assuming it will run fine on the current gen of rMBP, but can anyone confirm this for me? Looks like it'll be a fun time sync for awhile.

raymondu999 said:

Hey all.

A LOOOONG while back I had an undying addiction for the Microsoft (yes, Microsoft) game Freelancer (the space sim where you can roam the universe) is there a game that is like this nowadays? EVE online doesn't seem to do it...

thanks

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The considered part 2 of Freelancer is Star Citizen, it will be available at the end of 2015 or beginning of 2016. It is not developed by the same people but it is considered the second part, because it conserve the freelancer spirit. Personaly I can't wait for the release.

raymondu999 said:

A LOOOONG while back I had an undying addiction for the Microsoft (yes, Microsoft) game Freelancer (the space sim where you can roam the universe) is there a game that is like this nowadays?...

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Maybe check out No Man's Sky (pc/ps4) which is coming out next year I believe.

"No Man's Sky is a science-fiction game about exploration and survival in an infinite procedurally generated universe." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLtmEjqzg7M)

I'm not sure how closely it matches Freelancer as I've never played it but it would seem to share some characteristics.

How about the new Elite Dangerous (Kickstarter) game? Surely it has some similar gameplay and feel as the original Freelancer and Wing Commander series.

Rise oh thread!!!

Looked at Star Citizen for the first time today - wow... maybe get it? I would need a modern PC if I want to make an investment in a game of this magnitude...

Got some cheap ones on Steam. I was wondering where all the Space Sims went...

Okay, there are a few on Consoles, but hardly a choice compared to PC.

Recommend or play any of them currently?

Anyone playing Star Citizen?

Also, these are going to be released:

http://everspace-game.com

http://www.greybox.com/dreadnought/en/

Dreadnought seems interesting as it is capital ship combat (like Star Trek) rather than small fighters?

Anyone?

My kind of game right here:

1. Fly around.
2. Shoot and grab things.
3. Fly around some more...

Decided to subscribe to Everspace and pay for the Beta to help out the Devs:

All I want is X3 Reunion to be an MMO. That would be my perfect game.
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Rhei said:

Been reading through and see that X3 is on Steam Sale for the next bit. Been curious about it for a long while. I'm assuming it will run fine on the current gen of rMBP, but can anyone confirm this for me? Looks like it'll be a fun time sync for awhile.

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Yeah it'll be fine. It ran really nicely way back when; I had an NVIDIA 9600GT & tri-core AMD in my gaming desktop and it was absolutely fine for that

I played so much X3 back then. So much. Absolutely adored the game. It's so vast and relaxing -- unless you're a pirate, in which case you get creamed at every other jump gate.

It just got a little stale without a multiplayer option. It would be amazing to see loads of people on opposite sides of the galaxy battling that out between loads of races however they want to; spending weeks and months building up as a trader, nomad, policeman, pirate, slaver, space weed dealer, emissary... It would be infinitely perfect if it was an MMO, or even had a LAN option.

Urgh you've reminded me how much I loved X3. I might give it another go.

EDIT: boy I feel like an idiot, that comment was from 2014. Sorry. I get a little excited when talking about X3.

keysofanxiety said:

All I want is X3 Reunion to be an MMO. That would be my perfect game.
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Yeah it'll be fine. It ran really nicely way back when; I had an NVIDIA 9600GT & tri-core AMD in my gaming desktop and it was absolutely fine for that

I played so much X3 back then. So much. Absolutely adored the game. It's so vast and relaxing -- unless you're a pirate, in which case you get creamed at every other jump gate.

It just got a little stale without a multiplayer option. It would be amazing to see loads of people on opposite sides of the galaxy battling that out between loads of races however they want to; spending weeks and months building up as a trader, nomad, policeman, pirate, slaver, space weed dealer, emissary... It would be infinitely perfect if it was an MMO, or even had a LAN option.

Urgh you've reminded me how much I loved X3. I might give it another go.

EDIT: boy I feel like an idiot, that comment was from 2014. Sorry. I get a little excited when talking about X3.

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No worries - now that there are some Space Sims coming out, I decided to rise this thread rather than create a new one.

I bought X2 on the cheap on Steam but haven't had a chance to play it yet. How are this "X" games?

gkarris said:

How are this "X" games?

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Pretty slow and complex. It will be a while until you have made considerable progress and grasped all the aspects of these games. The unwieldy UI in the earlier games (which includes X2) doesn't really help to make them accessible. The last of the "classic" X games (before the abomination that is X Rebirth) were quite improved on that matter, but still not the most beginner friendly games.

gkarris said:

No worries - now that there are some Space Sims coming out, I decided to rise this thread rather than create a new one.

I bought X2 on the cheap on Steam but haven't had a chance to play it yet. How are this "X" games?

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I never played X2 so I can't comment on that unfortunately. However I really do dig X3!

I had X3 Reunion when it first came out and logged so many hours on that, but probably the best one out of the lot is Albion Prelude, so I'd suggest going for that one. I absolutely love the story line in AP. They're fighting against the Terrans. I managed to get towards the Terran sector once; got to around Jupiter as the Argons sent in about 8 heavy cruisers. I'm sure I have a screenshot of the battle somewhere. It was spectacular. Just the whole camera shaking as they're hurling weapons fire. Mind you, we're talking after a lot of time playing. To get anywhere near those sectors you have to have a very high loyalty rating. I built that up by killing pirates in sectors, getting a police licence and working up from there, but it does take a long long time.

It's a little awkward to pick up at first with the keyboard controls. The main key you'll need is J, as that speeds up time to 600% (SETA), which makes longer trips a little more managable. I always used to play as the Bankrupt Assassin but that can be bitterly difficult.

Basically the Borons utterly hate you if you play as the Assassin, (they're a pathetic race that look like vaccum cleaners), so you can't go into any of their sectors without getting a face full of fire; plus there's a bounty on your head from pirates, which you'll quickly find as you get blown to smithereens when exiting a jump gate.

The thing about the games is, again, that they're just so vast. It's a game of patience and a lot of waiting, but it's so great. You can just spend hours and hours exploring the different races and finding jumpgates; buying and trading, mining... just however you want to play it.

I'm struggling to simplify it because you really make it your own game. Have a smoke (this definitely helps ), a few drinks, sit back and soak yourself into it. It's not for everyone because it seems very inaccessible at first, though once you've sunk your teeth into the basics you'll just blast away the time.

gkarris said:

My kind of game right here:

1. Fly around.
2. Shoot and grab things.
3. Fly around some more...

Decided to subscribe to Everspace and pay for the Beta to help out the Devs:

Click to expand...

Oooooh! Me waaaaaaant!

keysofanxiety said:

It just got a little stale without a multiplayer option. It would be amazing to see loads of people on opposite sides of the galaxy battling that out between loads of races however they want to; spending weeks and months building up as a trader, nomad, policeman, pirate, slaver, space weed dealer, emissary... It would be infinitely perfect if it was an MMO, or even had a LAN option.

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Sounds like you would be interested in EVE Online.

Hirakata said:

Sounds like you would be interested in EVE Online.

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Hated EVE. I want to pilot a ship, not a spreadsheet.

I want to duck and dodge with my arrow keys; strafe and spin; outwit the enemy; wait for them, as they're hurling fire, to get right on my nose – then just as my shields are buckling, pop all my missiles, blow them to smithereens, and pocket the loot.

I want X3

keysofanxiety said:

Hated EVE. I want to pilot a ship, not a spreadsheet.

I want to duck and dodge with my arrow keys; strafe and spin; outwit the enemy; wait for them, as they're hurling fire, to get right on my nose – then just as my shields are buckling, pop all my missiles, blow them to smithereens, and pocket the loot.

I want X3

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I enjoyed EVE for the 6 months or so that I played. Saved up my credits and bought a small but great drone ship. Did some PVE until one mission took me to an area with a security of 6. I thought, how bad could it be? In the middle of the mission, some player shows up and destroys my ship. Six months to buy it and it's gone in a day or so. I cancelled my subscription on the spot. Wasn't worth the monthly $.

I have one of the X games (X2 or X3) at home and I tried it for about 20 minutes and couldn't figure out how to control the ship, so I just stopped playing. Maybe I'll give it another go.

Hirakata said:

I have one of the X games (X2 or X3) at home and I tried it for about 20 minutes and couldn't figure out how to control the ship, so I just stopped playing. Maybe I'll give it another go.

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Spurred on by nostalgia, I played some X3 yesterday -- started a new game. Boy, I forgot how poor the Mac port is. Loading times are atrocious and framerate drops are commonplace.

If you're reading this and considering playing X3, I wouldn't play it on OS X. Make sure it's Windows!

Windows version runs perfectly with the exception of a bitterly annoying bug. If you're playing with headphones and unplug them, the sound stops working. Plug the headphones back in and there's still no sound on the game until you close/reopen it.

Regardless, I forgot how much I enjoyed it and how vast it is. I started a new game on Albion Prelude as the Argon Patriot, I think. Started immediately on the front lines and the Argons/Terrans are seriously battling it out. Looks like my weekend is going to be soaked up on this game and the F1.

keysofanxiety said:

Spurred on by nostalgia, I played some X3 yesterday -- started a new game. Boy, I forgot how poor the Mac port is. Loading times are atrocious and framerate drops are commonplace.

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Which of the ports are you using? The earlier Virtual Programming one, or the later first-party re-release?

Janichsan said:

Which of the ports are you using? The earlier Virtual Programming one, or the later first-party re-release?

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Erhm I have one from the App Store and two on Steam. I was using the Steam versions of X3 AP and X3 TC. They take a monumental age to load levels, even between jumps. And I've got an SSD

keysofanxiety said:

Erhm I have one from the App Store and two on Steam. I was using the Steam versions of X3 AP and X3 TC. They take a monumental age to load levels, even between jumps. And I've got an SSD

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That are Egosoft's first-party ports then. I have to admit I never touched these again after some bad initial experiences. A pity to hear they are (still) crap. VP's second version of Reunion (after their first misguided attempt to use Cider) and their ports of later two games in the series were much better.