Quote: You mean like solving a space mystery and running around a space station/ship trying to figure out what went wrong? See: Double Helix, System Shock and that Tia Carrere game from 1992/1993 that featured FMV.


Dont forget some of the early Star Trek games like Final Unity and 25th anniver.

The game is a blast to play online. 1st time I played I got a pretty good score even though I only destroyed 1 ship. 2nd time I got like a -200 I should have stayed in battle instead of jumping out

The first review is in on it. It's in Dutch but it was given a 9.2


(my fan site. Check it out)
http://home.earthlink.net/~cgh5541/

This comment was edited on Oct 23, 01:08.

Combat. Can no one come up with anything else? Is fighting the only thing to do in space? Jeez, developers, get yer heads outta yer asses and come up with something new. One can only stomach so many "whoopee, real time 3D space flight combat!!" games. God forbid you come up with something intriguing, fascinating, something to tantalize the mind, in the realm of space. Go watch 2001 and 2010."

You mean like solving a space mystery and running around a space station/ship trying to figure out what went wrong? See: Double Helix, System Shock and that Tia Carrere game from 1992/1993 that featured FMV. "

Thanks Shadowcat, yep, I already have it.

I'd like to see someone finally (why is this taking so long) integrate all (okay, more) aspects of "being in space" - not just "being a ship in space." I want to be able to pilot the ship around of course. But I should also be able to set a course and then go walking among my crew. I should be able to land on a planet or at a station, and then go back into first person mode, and walk about, whether it's in a populated area or not, and *explore*. And I do not mean lame-ass Freelancer style.

That's the game I wait for. Where the story goes from there is up to the developer.

Is anyone here old and grizzled enough (like myself) to remember "(The) Cosmic Balance" and "Cosmic Balance II" for the C64 and Atari 400/800? I wish someone would remake those two games. Man.

"Cosmic Balance" was a sci-fi, turn-based, tactical, fleet combat game that let you design your own ships (you could do wacky stuff like build ships that had all their guns and armor on one side and were meant to circle an enemy ship) then pit them against some stock, A.I. ships or your ultimate foe's (in my case, my older brother's) fleet of custom ships.

The graphics were just this side of Pong... and it was a great game! I remember scribbling ship designs on graph paper during class then racing home to build my ultimate fleet... only to see my brother crush it in an hour or two of taking turns at the keyboard, entering out fleet orders then watching the turn play out in real-time. Just awesome.

"Cosmic Balance II" was a single or multi-player strategy game that had you build a space empire. The twist? You could let the computer calculate the victor of a battle or you could jump into "Cosmic Balance I", get your hands dirty, then go back to CB II and tell the game who won. Brilliant. Too much fun.

Anyway... I'd love to see what someone could do with the Cosmic Balance I/II concept, a kick-ass 3D engine, and internet multiplayer.

"... or barring that, any of the Man/K'zin Wars stuff by Niven and that other guy (whose name eludes me at the moment).'

You undoubtedly mean Jerry Pournelle. I wouldn't want a Ringworld game (they tried a Rama game, but they made it insanely difficult) because Niven's a good scientist but a terrible writer. Great settings but shit for characters and plot.

Give me something from Vinge, Gibson, Bujold, or Cherryh first (or a new book from them, what the hell is taking!?!). But come on, if they won't make these great stories into movies they aren't going to make them into games.

As for this one, it's like Homeworld except without all the colors and the huge differences between ships. That's my major problem with this game, it uses system management for strategy instead of fleet management. If you like the Starfleet Command games you should check this out though.

Edit: fixed italics formatting

This comment was edited on Oct 21, 20:20.

I was referring to the mention of how "this engine would be perfect for a Freespace 3 game," which Derek Smart has the rights for.

He doesn't have the rights for Freespace, he just wants to get them.

Combat. Can no one come up with anything else? Is fighting the only thing to do in space?

You're in luck:
http://www.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/~martins/orbit/orbit.html

I fear there's a chance that you won't find that a fun game, though. Which brings me to a famous quote: "Space is big. Really, really, big."

A very large proportion of computer games in general are about fighting, and the games that also feature more complex activities tend to have complex environments to make use of. But how do you make a huge empty void into a fun game? Is it any wonder given the number of combat games set on solid ground that the usual solution to the big empty void problem is the same?

Sure you could have a game set on a ship or Space Station (go play the System Shocks or Startopia!), but then the "being in space" bit is almost incidental for the core gameplay. There are also games like MOO2 and "Strange Adventures in Infinite Space" which don't only involve combat, but aren't in 3D. You could have a sci-fi adventure where you need to travel through space to different locations, but if there's no danger in the travelling then it's probably more engaging to set the game on terra firma and have the player travel through something a little less void-like.

Feel free to brain-storm an awesome new space-based game dessign, though. I'm sure there are some good ones out there waiting to be made, I'm just not even remotely surprised that virtually all of the 3D space games out there are combat games.

Bucky, if you want to pause the game anytime during combat just hit the spacebar and you can issue commands to your ships, then unpause and watch the carnage. All said thats about as close to a turn based game as you're gonna get. Anyone not trying this is missing out or you just don't like space games. And if anyone needs any help just go over to www.nexusthegame.com forums and post in there. Chip is pretty helpful and always seems to respond promptly to anyone's threads.

I was referring to the mention of how "this engine would be perfect for a Freespace 3 game," which Derek Smart has the rights for.

I've always wanted a space adventure/RPG type game based on Ringworld by Larry Niven

... or barring that, any of the Man/K'zin Wars stuff by Niven and that other guy (whose name eludes me at the moment).

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"I want my lamp back. I'm gonna need it to get out of this slimy mudhole."

Two Words: Derek Smart.

Thankfully this game got nothing to do with Derek Smart who single handedly ruined the space genre.

Personally I'd love some sort of space combat that was turn based. Hell, anything turn based would have me crying for joy.

I always cringe when I hear the words "Real Time Strategy" because that 'Real Time' part is apparently all that most developers ever focus on.

With all that said, I'll go (somewhat) on topic: Just downloaded the SP demo and will give it a try later. Here's to hoping for strategy.

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Gameplay before graphics.

Combat. Can no one come up with anything else? Is fighting the only thing to do in space? Jeez, developers, get yer heads outta yer asses and come up with something new. One can only stomach so many "whoopee, real time 3D space flight combat!!" games. God forbid you come up with something intriguing, fascinating, something to tantalize the mind, in the realm of space. Go watch 2001 and 2010.

Which brings me to my question, worth the d/l?

Heh, by the name I didn't know this was Imperium Galactica 3. OR at least that's what it was called. Then it was canned, but came back with a new name like Galaxy Andromada something. Now the names been changed a third time.

If I recall the original demo during it's original name, it's worth checking out. The graphics were really good back then and probably better now.

This comment was edited on Oct 21, 16:51.

Two Words: Derek Smart.

"Freespace 3," "Derek Smart," and "Perfect" don't ever go together.

this engine wouldve been perfect for a Freespace 3 game.

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What Would Fred Do?