Recommend a space sim

[jgreen726]

Hi,

Anyone recommend me a spacesim? Been looking for ages.

Tries Eve and although i love it i can't pay for something without first person, i have treid but its just not me.

Also tried x3 terran conflict but again something was missing for me, i see people talking about shattered horizon but it doesn't have much longevity for me.

I loved

Wing commander series
Homeworld series
Eve but needs first person for me.

Anyone got any current favourites? Would be nice to find something with good graphics and great gameplay

 

[jgreen726]

There is only one you need.

Freespace 2

Cool, ill go and have a look now

Cheers

edit: there has got to be something newer lol

 

[jgreen726]

I-War with graphics update. I played the original (old graphics) a while after it came out, and it is the only 'true' space sim I've ever come across, thanks to the fact that it handled inertia realistically i.e. there is no max speed in space*. I believe there was a gfx update to it (still was ages ago so will still look dated)

The most fun I have had out of a non 'realistic' space sim was Wing Commander: Prophecy (III was amazing and IV was pretty good, but would look horrendously dated now, except for the video cutscenes with Luke Skywalker, a porn star, Gimli, Linderman from Heroes, and more)

*ok, so it doesn't factor in relativity. never tried to reach the speed of light, as even using 'warp' drive in it you can only get to 1/3rd LS iirc, but you get the idea

I also loved Phophecy and i just been watching some vids of it, have you seen how much some peopl are willing to pay for a boxed version of the old wing commander games

Look here:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17987559

This intersting, never knew there was soooo much aboutit. thanks

Not exactly a space sim, but since you mentioned Homeworld you might want to try Sins of a Solar Empire. Think HW but on a massive scale.

Thanks a lot im looking at that now....mmmmm massive!...wouldnt it be great if that appeared on the Steam sale today

Freespace 2 has a complete graphics overhaul mod that makes it look pretty ok, and once you've played a few missions you won't care anyway

I know what you mean ill give it a good look instead of 'its old, im not interested'

 

[jgreen726]

If you wanted an online one then maybe EVE ? Not sure about any other space sims.

Played Eve for a couple of months but i found it to be a bit of a grind. Missed first person and they did some upgrade which meant that i ended with less points than a player who had played for a week in some areas!

 

[jgreen726]

EDIT: below
I need to teach myself to read the complete OP post before replying

thanks though

 

[jgreen726]

Evochron Legends is going cheap on Impulse at the moment, haven't played it, but it looks like it might be worth a look for a more Elite type experience.

Looking at that now

It's also bugged to heck With the patch being worse than the un-patched game (for me at least). Shame as I really enjoyed it otherwise.

akakjs

Been having a go since last night at the demo and overall i like it (is there proper controls in the full game as i cant use joystick\pad in the demo!)

Sins of a Solar Empire - RTS that's a bit slow to get going (depending on game settings) but rewards you with some epic battles

Star Lancer - I personally really enjoyed this. Simple yet engaging storyline using a tried and tested formulae (think Wing Commander) executed exceptionally well with enough interesting additions to keep it fresh, well, for it's time anyway. Not sure if there are any texture packs or mods for this though, may have to play it “as is” but it’s still playable if a little dated. The way capital ships break up after being torpedoed is one of many highlights - Has excellent intro / cutscenes!

Another vote for Freespace 2... excellent story told very well. Use the link posted by HeX, all you need is there... play the first and then the second, no excuse really... looks absolutely gorgeous despite it's age. Besides, it's the playability right!?

I loved I-War but imagine it would be a labour of love and difficult to get into for some, especially now. I used to play it all the time when it was first released and for many years after. Haven’t touched it in years now though. Worth a try! Again, excellent story and as someone already stated, the true (or near enough) Newtonian physics engine makes for a really unique experience… combat is both exciting and as in depth as you want it to be… for example, leave everything on auto and you can fly around, shoot things and complete missions. But if you want to get hands-on and take control, feel like the captain of a vessel, you can take things to a whole new level using the various console screens… gunnery for advanced targeting and engineering for manual damage control.

I-War 2 is a game I loved to play but never had the time to finish. Takes I-War to a whole new level from a graphical perspective and overhauls the interface / control system to make it less intrusive and more user-friendly. To be honest, it took me a while to get used to it and I missed the various elements that made the original I-War the perfect game for me but it certainly wasn’t a bad sequel.

As for the X series of games, never had time for them. Someone will do doubt correct me if I’m wrong but my understanding is that they are very demanding of ones time and can be difficult to get into due to the sheer scope of things. So if you have the time to invest in X3 / Terran Conflict (which I believe is said to be more first time user-friendly) then go for it! In a nutshell… gorgeous, deep and time consuming!

All in my humble opinion of course

Thanks for taking the time to write this and to all of you posting opinions and Freespace 2 recommendations. I am reading through the links as we speak and i will give it a good go.

After i looked at this and waited for you all to post with some inof i looked back through my games and realised that there have been very few (what i would call good ) new games out for the PC since about 2005\6 in most genres. Funny when you look on congo and realise that they just arent making as many game at all for PC anymore. I know that this is in many threads but it was only today i realised just how bad it was. You know its bad when you think ' Wow that Zoo tycoon looks good'

The company that brings out a game like EVE but with first person battles should make a fortune!