Good space exploration/combat/colonising games

sam13lfc

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Oct 29, 2008
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Hey, I'm looking for some good PC space strategies - ie those where you get to roam around the galaxy making fleets, space stations, colonising worlds, fighting aliens etc

Anyone got any good reccommendations?
 

Salomega

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Nov 15, 2011
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You could also try Galactic Civilizations, I believe the gold version with all the content is pretty cheap now. It has the fighting, colonizing and space exploration you might be looking for, but it is, at its core, turn based.:)
 

Tratchet

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Jul 22, 2011
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I know its already been mentioned, but Sins of a Solar Empire is really good in my opinion.
 

Airhead

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May 8, 2008
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First one that comes to mind is the classic Master of Orion. 2 is great, I haven't played 3 but apparently it's a disaster.
 

somonels

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Oct 12, 2010
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Here is a veriety of space strategies: Master of Orion/2, Star control/2, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, Homeworld/2.
http://www.spacesector.com/ - a site you should browse through.
 

Dandark

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Sep 2, 2011
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Star wars: Empire at war and it's expansion corruption are both great games and have pretty good combat.

There is also Sins of a solar empire but i'd still really recommend Empire at war, it's been my favorite space combat game.
 

Iwata

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Feb 25, 2010
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Master of Orion II rules this genre. There are other good ones, but this is THE game that serves as a reference to the rest.
 

Frankster

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Mar 13, 2009
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If you don't mind old games Star Control 2 could be right up your alley. Oh someone already said that, color me impressed.

Moo2, galciv 2, homeworld 2....Ok looks like most of your bases are covered so gonna reccomend some more obscure/less popular ones.

Star Wolves games. You can buy them for cheap on steam and though not comparable to the above games in quality (if i were to give out a number, this series of games would be in the 6-7/10 region) and has more of an rts/rpg focus then a grand strategy perspective, it could be an interesting choice if you like space games and are willing to experiment a bit.

Star Ruler: An indie 4x with a rather elegant research and ship design system. It's constantly being updated and improved and is also one of the most realistic space strategy games in how it uses newtonian physics and in its ship design. Well worth a look as an alternative to the other 4x space strategy games.
 

Owyn_Merrilin

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May 22, 2010
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Op, the genre you'r elooking for is called "4X." If you do some searches on that, you'll find a /ton/ of stuff that fits the bill. The main series have already been suggested (Master of Orion, Galciv, Alpha Centauri..., but there's other lesser known series that you may also be interested, like Space Empires. Also, if you don't mind a non-scifi setting, there's even more classics in the genre -- in particular, Sid Meier's Civilization is considered the first example of the modern form of the genre. There were several earlier examples of the genre, but it wouldn't be too far off the mark to call most modern 4X games Civ clones, while earlier entries in the genre have relatively few direct descendants, if any at all.
 

teebeeohh

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Jun 17, 2009
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the best one is probably still Moo2 but my personal favorite is alpha centauri since i love civ but prefer the setting
 

Bassik

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Jun 15, 2011
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Oh, man. Alpha Centauri was more then just a strategy game, it was an adventure! Mankind surviving on an alien world that gets increasingly bizarre the more secrets your scientists uncover.

And the factions are divided by ideology, not nationality or race! That was an incredibly cool concept if you ask me.
You got the theocrats, science guys, eco warriors(?), militaristic dudes, capitalists, space North Korea, and the United Nations. And very scary aliens.

The best thing about these factions is that the game presents them in a neutral light; you have to make up your own mind about them. And your opinion will change with every game you play.
For instance, the Lord's Believers: insane fanatics of Christianity, or the last bastion of humanity in a sea of transhumans? Is the University of Planet a faction run by mad scientists, or by people who realise that knowledge is the key to survival for the human race? Are Gaia's Stepdaughters just filthy hippies that dance naked, or is their empathy with Planet the only thing that stands between them and oblivion? Are the mindworms and other alien lifeforms on Planet out to kill humanity? (Yes.)