OS X Does anyone remember a game called Escape Velocity?

[Cromulent]

I used to love this game back in the day. One of the stand-out features for me was that it was a shareware game, and if you didn't pay up by the time the trial expired, you got insta killed by another ship that chased you around. It was like Elite: you flew from planet to planet doing missions and trading. I'd love to play that game again if it still existed. I think the company that made it was called Ambrosia software or something?

 

[mi7chy]

There's a fanbase discussion here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Escape_Velocity/comments/9atyzj

And, repository here:

http://escape-velocity.games/

 

[Xavier]

I loved that game and all of the others in the series. I miss playing through EV Nova, but also trying to avoid 'Hector' in the original Escape Velocity (until i purchased the game).

If you are looking for something very similar, there is also a free open source game called Endless Sky.

Endless Sky, an open source space trading and combat game.

Endless Sky on Steam

Endless Sky is a 2D space trading and combat game inspired by the classic Escape Velocity series. Work your way up from a relatively wimpy shuttle, cargo ship, or fighter, to a highly upgraded and customized flagship or to a massive fleet of warships or freighters.

store.steampowered.com

 

[Nugat Trailers]

There's also the upcoming Cosmic Frontier: Override, which was funded through Kickstarter, and aims to be a recreation of Escape Velocity Override.

Cosmic Frontier: Override

Remaster of the classic 1998 shareware game, Escape Velocity: Override, for Mac, Windows PC and Linux

www.kickstarter.com

 

[Huntn]

I used to love this game back in the day. One of the stand-out features for me was that it was a shareware game, and if you didn't pay up by the time the trial expired, you got insta killed by another ship that chased you around. It was like Elite: you flew from planet to planet doing missions and trading. I'd love to play that game again if it still existed. I think the company that made it was called Ambrosia software or something?

I remember the name, but can’t remember if I liked it…

 

[madeirabhoy]

ive always been amazed that someone didnt get the rights to all the ambrosia games and put them out on iphone or android. simple games done really well. My favourite was Barrack, but Maelstrom was good, apeiron wasnt bad.

 

[dmr727]

Ambrosia was a big part of the Mac gaming landscape back then. I played Escape Velocity a bunch on my parents' IIcx. One of the coolest parts about it was the plugin system, and anyone with some time (and ResEdit) could create additional missions, ships, etc. More ambitious fans created entirely new storylines.

 

[Cromulent]

Ambrosia was a big part of the Mac gaming landscape back then. I played Escape Velocity a bunch on my parents' IIcx. One of the coolest parts about it was the plugin system, and anyone with some time (and ResEdit) could create additional missions, ships, etc. More ambitious fans created entirely new storylines.

Yes! I remember using ResEdit. Those were the days.

 

[nhaubner]

That game was epic, one of the first games I really got hooked on back in the days. There is actually a direct clone of the original Escape Velocity being made as a Browser Game as far as I know, it's not Cosmic Frontier. I spoke to one of the Days a while back and he said that they want to clone the game (with updated resolution on the graphics) to start with and then expand the game endlessly. Sounds fund and great.

If I find it I will let you guys know, maybe it will feed some of the longing to play the game again.

 

[rampancy]

Ah, EV. I must have sunk hundreds of thousands of hours into those games across the years.

The plug-in community was what really made the game come to life: Tim E. Isle's Empire series sprawled into a trilogy of total conversion plug-ins and two spin-offs, each of which had hundreds of completely new missions, systems, ships and weapons that were essentially standalone games. Martin Turner's The Frozen Heart was practically an interactive novel in the form of a plug-in for EV Override, that features one of the most novel forms of ship combat I've ever experienced. And when the teased expansion for EV Nova, New Breed failed to materialize, ARPIA basically took its place; the Arpian Sylvatha is still one of the most bad-ass ships I've ever flown in an EV scenario.

It's such a shame that Ambrosia Software just...evaporated, with nothing so much as a whisper of what happened to it. I really wish one day that someone will port their games over to more modern OSs and release their games on a place like GOG.