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Space Sims making a comeback (Chris Roberts)


cimerians

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Finally. Save us Chris Roberts. This almost makes me want to go back to pc gaming.

 

I don't know why, but all of a sudden video game publishers decided that gamers didn't want to zoom around the galaxy blasting things--what could be cooler than that? Chest high walls and a billion shades of brown just don't compare. Before this news the only people sticking to the genre were the germans. I would never advise attempting a german-made space sim unless you want to spend 3-4 hours setting up every single gerflogenspielenzeitgesunden.

 

I've read novels shorter than their manuals, and even their quickref cards are a bit over my head. Once while playing some variant of X3, I actually did manage to get into a battle.

Edited by Reaperman
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I still remember when Wing Commander Arena popped up on XBOX Live a few years ago. Didn't look at the screen shots, didn't download the demo.. just hit 'purchase'.

 

Then the game loaded up and I was like.. OK this is an overhead view until you get out into space and it goes First Person right? Alas, no.

 

Guess I shouldn't have expected a full flight sim for $10 but wasn't expecting a top down game either. It was still fun but dammit I wanted a legit space combat sim.

 

ANYWAY, yeah no clue on why this genre died out considering how popular it was in the late 80s/90s. I guess a few games didn't sell that well when the genre got a bit tired toward the end and then focus groups started coming back with 'whats a space combat sim?' as the genre has been dead for so long.

 

These kickstarter projects are turning up some exciting things. I'm definitely in for this.. Was well happy with the recent Tribes revival as well. It's like 1998 in here again, yay.

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I loved Wing Commander so I was very happy to hear this.

Then I found out it will be yet another MMO and I was unhappy to hear this.

 

However, if you guys like Wing Commander, I recommend Wing Commander Saga. It's a free fan made version with excellent production values

 

That is awesome.

 

Dont worry though I read that this will also be Wing Commander style single player mode included. Co-op too.

 

I think its great news, dying for something huge. A whole universe if you will.

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Considering how poorly several space sims have done on Kickstarter I can see why publishers avoid funding them.

I think that the key difference, is that there is a larger chance for this game not to suck, which is the problem that a lot of recent titles/ideas in that genre have had. Freelancer was the last good one that I played (which also had chris roberts influence).

 

Not that I'm backing this one anyway. It's only on PC.

Edited by Reaperman
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  • 3 weeks later...

No shock. This IS Chris Roberts we're talking about -- one of the legends of the business, and easily someone who could command major money just by being associated with a project.

 

I pledged this, and really excited about it also. Space sims are a genre that has just about vanished. We only get the occesional release.

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This one is interesting too. I would back it and I may still do it but I dont think I can handle spending money every month like this. Granted if it doesn't make it I wont get charged but there's so much cool stuff these days its awesome to be alive. :P

 

 

Divine Space

(Immersive universe of this sci-fi game is built based on real astronomical data. Build your ship to travel between real stars)

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dodogames/divine-space-sci-fi-space-arpg

 

 

I doubt this one will make it.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 9 months later...

Really? Cause they look like it to me. :P

Nah, these are way more fun than space 'sims.' A real space sim would actually be even more boring than anything the germans could think up. Nobody wants to play one of those. I want jump gates, comic book aircraft physics and exterior sounds. I don't even know what a "mass driver" is, but if my ship can't fire at least 4 at once, I'm going to be bummed.

Edited by Reaperman
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  • 8 months later...

So it's been quite some time, and oddly enough, I'm back into PC gaming. (I didn't see that coming way back when this thread started, thanks Sony)

 

I'm pretty excited about Star Citizen, though I haven't pledged yet. I've been enjoying the wealth of youtube content relating to this, however. I'm liking the ship commercials, 'next great starship' contest, and all the pre-alpha let's plays. Between the flight and the (currently unseen) fps combat/interaction, this seems to be nearly an ideal game from me. I'm seeing the potential for a lot of depth in this universe based on the levels of thought and detail shown for tiny items, but I've yet to see a 'general background of the star citizen universe' video yet. They're up to ~$45m in pre-sales on this one, so it'd better be good.

 

It looks like it costs $40 for a package with beta access for a game that's currently in pre-alpha.

They have a $5 booster to get access to the dogfighting test mode, which I believe has recently become active.

I think it's likely I'll go for the $40 when it hits beta and skip the pre-alpha and alpha phases.

 

Until beta, I've been using Star Conflict to scratch my space dogfighting needs. It's a pretty basic game, but it seems like a fairly complete dogfighting experience. I kind of miss open world trading, however.

Edited by Reaperman
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E3's star citizen video is below which covers the Arena Commander module's current state. Looks pretty good.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Drg6p924oF0

 

I've been thinking of pledging for the Aurora LN, which is the base ship with upgraded engines and weaponry (no stock jump engine, though). It's the $45 package including the game, beta access, budget hangar and ship. Judging by my tastes in Privateer, I'll be playing the legitimate trader up to the exact moment when I find somebody selling drugs or slaves and spend the rest of my game moving those about.

 

I've also been playing with a customizable tablet/PC interface on my 'easy chair PC gaming plank,' which I've currently got set up for Privateer. It's not velcroed down yet, but It adds a touch of Star Trek TNG, and works so well that I may consider constructing another gaming-plank with just throttle, stick and tablet later on.

post-17659-0-42266400-1402590812_thumb.jpg

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I dug out my old flight stick and velcroed everything down.

The tablet is working great in freelancer and privateer--but not star citizen yet. My guess is that it will start working at some point when control options become more robust. I've figured out how to do 'layers' meaning the row of buttons at the bottom switch everything above. The 'alert' layer is wired up to keys, however most of the 'main sys' keys haven't been defined in-game yet. I'm just playing with the layout.

 

post-17659-0-43501600-1403014480_thumb.jpg post-17659-0-40286700-1403014746_thumb.jpg post-17659-0-14512200-1403014765_thumb.jpg

Edited by Reaperman
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  • 2 weeks later...

So I've upgraded my pledge a couple times, and currently have a business class hanger with an avenger (former police ship) as well as a 300i that's a placeholder for use in arena commander until the avenger makes it in.

 

Arena commander, for a pre alpha, shows a lot of promise. One of the 'big deals' is the damage model, which is every bit as interesting as the ship models. It greatly impacts how they handle and function on a scale totally impossible in privateer/freelancer. Ships can be picked apart piece by piece visually as well as functionally. It's a really beautiful thing, and adds a lot of considerations as to what ship is purchased. For example the 300i that I use in Arena commander handles and fights very, very well until it takes some damage--its most vital bits are often the first to go leaving me dead in space with no engine, or spiraling wildly out of control with only a few hits. The cheap starting ship, the aurora, actually holds up a fair bit better. A video looking at its damage model is below.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMigRZBNTtU

Edited by Reaperman
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My number finally came up for the Arena Commander multiplayer alpha yesterday so I went and died a couple of times with no warning and then quit. That's pretty much what I expected to happen. I didn't back the game for the PVP dogfighting though so I'll go back to waiting for the parts of the game I care about.

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