I recently got ZigFrak on offer and enjoyed controlling a space ship but was immediately frustrated with all its arcadey contrivances. Planets and scenarios are backdrops towards which you can't actually move, your ship loses momentum when you stop applying thrust (because of all that air resistance in space), the combat is basically World of Warcraft with fewer buttons, you collect things by flying through them...it's a pretty basic indie game. So what I realised in the process was that I'd really like to try a hands-on game (as opposed to a space sim where you don't actually control a ship but just tell it to go places). Though not necessarily a space combat sim; the idea that grabbed me most was of just flying around space, exploring. It's pretty much how I played all the Elder Scrolls games, just wandering about going "oooh, pretty". But I hanker more for nebulae and asteroids than fields and dungeons, now. I'm currently firing up Space Engine to give that a look, but it's not really a game at all and I suspect the novelty will wear off fast. I'm completely out of the loop. What're the best/prettiest space games at the moment? edit - I tried to go 2300x the speed of light and the game crashed, so +1 for realism.
Pick up one of the older X games? There's hours and hours of content there, I just can't think of that many Hands on Space Games that actually include Newtonian motion rather than auto-stop magic friction that does the job. Honorary mention goes to Nexus: The Jupiter Incident for being one of the best little space strategies i've played this side of Homeworld, but sadly not exactly what you're looking for.
I was looking at X3: Terran Conflict, but I wondered whether the graphics might've aged a bit. I was going to try Rebirth, but it has a metacritic score of 33, which is pretty awful, and there's no smoke without fire... I got the impression Kerbal was a sort of managerial strategy/builder game, rather than a hands-on flying game? I didn't look into it very far though.
i've been playing all three you mention. x3 is awesome, but you're a bit dependant on auto-pilot and seta (time acceleration) to get around with any haste. x rebirth has a lot more stuff in it, and uses a big boost engine and 'highways' rather than auto-pilot and acceleration. it looks gorgeous, but that's not to say x3 looks particularly bad, especially given it's age. KSP i'm not very good at, but it's good for a laugh. i think there must be a dozen dead kerbals floating around somewhere in space thanks to my obsession with breaking orbit with a ship i can fly about in to look at things. I did land safely. once.
This have a look at some off the later posts in this thread http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=212970 So addictive & in space no one can hit the brakes (unless you do an aero brake maneuver or a deceleration burn)
Cheers guys. Think I'm gonna have to go for X3:TC, it's increasingly obvious from reading around the net that it's the Bible of space sims. I tried KSP's demo and it's awesome, much more hands-on and detailed than I expected. Gonna buy it as soon as it comes up cheap somewhere.
Good choice! IMHO the graphics are still lovely to look at. You don't have to fight either - become a successful merchant! Then you can buy big ships to do your fighting for you... Also, for the love of all that is good, install this mod. Make sure you install the bonus package for the game from Egosoft first though.
Another recommendation for KSP from me. Even though it's unfinished, it's got loads of content and very few bugs in my experience, with lots more content still to come.
I think I'm going to try that mod, because so far I'm finding the game ****ing unplayable. I can get along okay with the basics, but (to echo very common complaints) the interface is terrible and the friendly AI is broken. Literally broken. I don't know if the mod addresses these problems, but I'm already getting an Elder Scrolls vibe about this game (i.e. requires mods to be worth playing). Also, after reading around the forums I've realised that X3 fans are right up there with Apple fans for sneering condescension - the very worst of PC gamer mentality. Typical response from an X3 fan to criticism of the game:
yeah, yopu get that. and i had the same issue, what got me over it was actually playing rebirth, where the interface is much simpler, but still has some pretty big flaws. Trying to get more into it drove me to playing X3 with the XRM mod. the controls are complicated, but you come to appreciate the flexibility they offer you.
I think the mod does improve overall game behaviour but I've never really noticed as I always play the lone wolf type. I know the autopilot is a death sentence though. It does irk me how 'live' combat works out differently from out of sector combat, though you can argue it adds more tactical thinking to the game. I've never really noticed it to be honest but I've never actively complained about it (though I know it has its flaws). I think a rather large number of people have gone back to X3 and its derivatives after Rebirth - myself included.
I'm gonna suggest Eve, mainly for the exploration side of it. It's not exactly a sit in the cockpit kinda game, but it is very intricate. If you want an extended trial give us a shout. If that doesn't tickle your fancy, coming soon (TM) is going to be http://evevalkyrie.com/ Which will fully support the Occulus Rift hardware.
Have you already played FS2? If not, I'd suggest giving it a go. It's the best space combat game bar none. While I haven't tried it myself, the late-90s graphics can be updated with FSOpen and MediaVPs mods. There's a keen community developing hi-poly and hi-res models (and there probably will be until Star Citizen comes out)
+1 for FreeSpace 2. Available from Good Old Games for about £8, plus the free mods from hard-light.net. I can recommend mods Diaspora (BSG), Blue Planet, & Wings of Dawn (Anime).
ref: Temp home before star citizen I'm going to be giving Diaspora at try, I just ordered a Warthog Hotas for tomorrow for it, I'm also going to be connecting it up for War Thunder (plus rift) which is easily the best game I have ever played in my life, its like really being in a ww2 war bird.
Eve is fecking awesome imo, if it gets you in a head lock you aren't getting out. Some people may say its pretty hands off but if you get into small scale PVP it actually requires a lot of manual piloting if you to get the edge on your opponent.
