Looking for a Space RTS!

[RicoADF]

I asked before, but I wanted to ask again about this genre. Are there any good combat focused Space RTS? I want something a little more Battlefleet gothic and a little less Age of Empires resource management.

Star Wars: Empire at War - No resource gathering, funds from planets you own.
Sins of a Solar Empire - Some resource gathering, but simple style.
Haegemonia: Legions of Iron - Same as SoSE, a few years old but still good. lesser known game but quite fun.
Homeworld 1+ Cataclysm+2 - One of the best space RTS games ever made, however the AI is showing its age abit, look for mods.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head, Homeworld and SoSE both have big modding communities and you can find just about anything you want, including battlestar galactica.

I can't think of any off hand. What would be awesome is if they made something kind of like Warcraft, but set in space, with space units like spaceships and stuff.

I would buy that.

Starcraft 2! *flies away*

While it is sci-fi, its not set in space. I always thought Blizzard should create a spin off space RTS Starcraft game.

 

[Rawne1980]

And I suppose you could try the X game series. I have them but haven't played them yet although reading up they are strategy"ish" games.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_(game_series)

The X series is not an RTS by any stretch of the imagination. It is a space simulation games with 4x economic systems in it.

In that quote, did you see me call them RTS games?

I'm curious because reading back what I typed i'm 100% certain I called them strategy"ish" games. As in, they require some form of strategy to do. An economic system buying/trading/upgrading yada yada is a form of strategy.

But nope, didn't see me put RTS anywhere.

 

[Abomination]

The Homeworld series is your best bet. Cataclysm had potentially one of the best stories I have ever encountered, because it combined mechanics with storytelling in a way that didn't feel ham-fisted.

Play Homeworld, then play Homeworld: Cataclysm, then play Homeworld 2. You will not regret the experience.

 

[RicoADF]

And I suppose you could try the X game series. I have them but haven't played them yet although reading up they are strategy"ish" games.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_(game_series)

The X series is not an RTS by any stretch of the imagination. It is a space simulation games with 4x economic systems in it.

In that quote, did you see me call them RTS games?

I'm curious because reading back what I typed i'm 100% certain I called them strategy"ish" games. As in, they require some form of strategy to do. An economic system buying/trading/upgrading yada yada is a form of strategy.

But nope, didn't see me put RTS anywhere.

The topic is asking about Space RTS games, thus the guy above pointing out your off topic.

 

[Tiger8gamer]

Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[Saviordd1]

Its pretty cheap on steam and has an excellent modding community, thank me later.

 

[Traun]

Homeworld, that's about it, the only one. It's the only Space RTS where you have to move your units in three dimensions. Unfortunetly everything else just seems like a re-skinned fantasy/WWII game.

Fortunetly for you it's resource light, so it may be exactly what you're looking for.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

Wait, whats wrong with Sins?

Its like, the pinnacle of the combat heavy space RTS. I prefer economic sim; so I gravitate more to Distant Worlds and the old MoO series rather than sins. Middle of the road would be Sword of the Stars (skip the sequel)

Sins of the Solar Empire is a 4X game isnt it? The Op doesn't want that he wan't something more like the Warhammer 40K space ship table top game called Battlefleet Gothic, (or Spacefleet if youre older)

To Op I dunno how Battlefleet Gothic play but I do know Spacefleet, the closet match to those would be Nexus and those old Star Trek games. Homeworld is more large scale (but better games imo) EDIT actually now I remeber better the scale of Spacefleet is somewhere inbetween, however Homeworld treats each ship like std RTS ground based games. Nexus and those Star Trek games are more like Spacefleet where you can micro manage each ship and they have more indepth subsystems and shields like Spacefleet has 4 directional facing shield banks to each ship.

Sins is more 4X lite with resources and diplomacy taking a back seat to the combat.

Hell most diplomacy missions are 'go wreck up another empire' anyway.

I think there is a 40k mod for it floating around but I can't remember where I saw it or even if it got made.

 

[The_Lost_King]

Wait, whats wrong with Sins?

Its like, the pinnacle of the combat heavy space RTS. I prefer economic sim; so I gravitate more to Distant Worlds and the old MoO series rather than sins. Middle of the road would be Sword of the Stars (skip the sequel)

Sins of the Solar Empire is a 4X game isnt it? The Op doesn't want that he wan't something more like the Warhammer 40K space ship table top game called Battlefleet Gothic, (or Spacefleet if youre older)

It's a mix of 4x and RTS seeing as it is all happening in real time but you are still trying to run a galactic empire.

is FTL an RTS?

If so, go with that.

It could be considered RTS, seeing as it is real time strategy, however, it is not what people generally think of when they think rts.

 

[Tiger8gamer]

Alright, I like the look of Home world 2. But is the website or amazon the only places to get it? can't find it on steam or GoG :/

 

[Fractral]

And I suppose you could try the X game series. I have them but haven't played them yet although reading up they are strategy"ish" games.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_(game_series)

The X series is not an RTS by any stretch of the imagination. It is a space simulation games with 4x economic systems in it.

In that quote, did you see me call them RTS games?

I'm curious because reading back what I typed i'm 100% certain I called them strategy"ish" games. As in, they require some form of strategy to do. An economic system buying/trading/upgrading yada yada is a form of strategy.

But nope, didn't see me put RTS anywhere.

They can be played kinda RTS style, if you want. But it takes a lot of effort to get to that point. They're unforgiving, confusing, complicated and have next to nothing in the way of help or guidance. Plus they're a massive grind to get any form of ship beyond the ones you start with. As in it can take ~20 hours of trading (real time) to be able to afford the M3 fighter, and the M2 Destroyer costs more than 30 times that. But when you get past that, they're fun, and the space combat is really good. It's just a shame that the AI autopillock is so bad.

 

[Aeshi]

I'll add my nomination for Homeworld 2. It's a pretty fun RTS and if you can find & install one of the Graphics/Shader mods it doesn't look half bad for a game its age either.

Sins of a Solar Empire is apparently made from the same mold, but I haven't played it myself.

Star Ruler might be worth a look, although that's getting to the more complex end of the RTS pool.

 

[Blade_125]

Star Ruler is good. More complex than a lot of games, but good if you like a lot of details.

Sins of a solar empire is good. Less complex, better graphics (the best space RTS I know of).

And Galatic Civilizations is a classic.

 

[Tiger8gamer]

I took a look at the Gemini wars. would that be any good?

 

[THIEFs]

I strongly suggest checking out the original "Sword of The Stars".. if you want fair non-cheating AI, challenging both in diplomacy, battle, strategy, where each AI wants to win just like HUMAN. Random tech trees are amazing, making each game different. The essence and philosophy of the game is it's simple and easy to play, and hard to master. It takes away all the useless micromanagement and annoying tinkering with sliders and numbers and allows you to focus on grand stategy (fast turns etc)
I'd start with vanilla game, latest patch, and once you have the grip.. add expansions 1 by 1 and play the new races and newly introduced mechanics. Each expansion also advances the story line and evolves the game and its mechanics.. adding trade.. etc.

it is closest thing to Master of Orion 2 ever made, if not even better.

It is sad to note that Sword of the Stars II has followed up the failure of Master Orion 3... simply doing complete opposite of what the SOTS1 was all about... too many sliders, overcomplicated tinkering from turn to turn, too many things happening but giving user very poor feedback, ships move like RTS, and... most of all.. its so overcomplicated that AI is totaly dead with diplomacy, designing ships, tactics, and most of all... managing its ecconomy (collapsing on itself).
I wish they kept the simplicity and speed of SOTS1, and simply added modern grapics, more modular ships, kept one planet systems (battles near planets only)