Looking for suggestions for simulation/relaxed strategy game

[DoPo]

I feel like playing something more...soothing and not that involved. Some sort of sim/tycoon/strategy, so I'm taking suggestions. Be they building my own (business) empire in some sort of tycoon or just ruling over my people or something - I just want to be there, be in control and have underlings doing stuff without me worrying about "winning" or "losing" and similar stuff. Although, I'll also take a game with an end goal, too, if it doesn't really require that much thought and/or is really engaging.

Real time or turn based doesn't really matter, also age is of very little relevance. Let's see - examples of what I'm thinking of:

- I've played Sims and it was allright but I don't think I want to continue (unless I get really good recommendation for a particular expansion).
- I've also played SimCity...not sure which one but it was old, really old - probably 2000, dunno - I enjoyed it much more and I think I'd like something in that style.
- I've played some tycoons but they just seem a bit...bland, I suppose, although I'd probably like something more interesting, if there is anything.
- Endgame: Singularity [http://www.emhsoft.com/singularity/] is a game in which you control a sentient AI which has to hide from the world but also evolve, so you build bases and such. It's also free. Not sure how to categorise it but I'll be interested to see more games like it.
- I rather like god simulators - Dungeon Keeper is an excellent game, and even though it has My Pet Dungeon mode (which is pretty much "do whatever you like), even the missions are a lot of fun and most don't rush you. I've also played Black & White 1 and 2. Erm, 1 just stopped working at one point (after installing a new graphics card), so I never finished it, 2 I also didn't finish because it was all missions (I think) with no free mode. I'll also take the opportunity to plug Ghost Master - I really liked it even though I'd have liked it more if it had some amount of freedom - you can replay old missions but you don't get the stuff you got from the rest of the game in them...

So...something like this, I suppose - I'd want to just cater to my virtual underlings/people/city/something.

 

[Orange12345]

Bit of a stretch but have you ever tried Harvest Moon? it's a game about running a farm. You start out with basically nothing but some rusted tools and a pack of seeds and you have to build and grow your farm upgrading you tools, house and stuff. There is no combat and the game can be quite relaxing if you get into a nice groove.

 

[Frankster]

Looks like we got similar tastes, first time i seen endgame:singularity mentioned on this forum
Btw for Ghost Masters theres a patch or mod that allows you to use new ghosts for previous missions, i remember having the exact same complaint as you there.

Some reccomendations:

Tropico 4: Alas you just missed out on the 75% sale on steam, but i think it would strike your fancy big time.
Music personally gets on my nerves a bit but otherwise this is one of my fav sim cityish style games (albeit on a smaller scale).

Restaurant Empire 2: A tycoonish/sim game where you open up restaurants over a story driven campaign, participate in grand chef competitions and end up with a restaurant empire across the world. A nice chilled game overall with a touch of the sims in that you gotta decorate your restaurants and think about the layout and stuff.
Iirc its best to get it on impulse, you get restaurant empire 1+2 and the expansion pack.

Evil Genius: This is more of a dungeon keeperesque game, though with a persistent island/dungeon that serves as a hub from which you command your minions to go into the world and do evil deeds.
Pace can be slow at times when you're waiting for stuff to happen and your minions are busy, but its a great game.

Circus Empire: Im not sure i can entirely reccomend this game on account that i haven't been able to finish it due to some of the win conditions being really obtuse. Its a niche game so theres little walkthroughs or anyplace you can turn to for help if you get stuck (even mighty gamefaqs is useless, the only walkthrough lists win conditions without actually telling you a way of beating them) and ive basically been unable to progress past a certain point in the 2nd campaign out of 3.
BUT playing the game in sandbox without the frustrating win conditions is great fun, if you see this really cheap somewhere, consider giving it a try.

Startopia:This is a space station management sim where you manage the needs of the station across 3 levels (biodome where you keep plants and where residents go to relax, recreation level where your residents have fun and industrial level where your industries and facilities are) aswell as the whims of alien species. I found the campaign a bit hit and miss (and you certainly can't take your time with most of them) but sandbox should keep you happy.

Space Colony: This is more sims like in that you have a limited crew for each mission and need to manage their abilities and needs as best as you can. I had fun with it but ultimately was frustrated by a lack of true sandbox where you can choose whichever crew you want as well as planet conditions.
Check its page on gog.com, maybe you'll like the look of it?

ps: if you ever find a game like endgame:singularity, pm me at once!

 

[lRookiel]

Stronghold is pretty slow paced as an RTS and is a nice medieval castle simulator. I'd recommend the following stronghold games:

-Stronghold (Best game IMO
-Stronghold crusader + extreme
-Stronghold 3

Stronghold 2 was meh and then you have Legends which is a sort of king arthur twist on the stronghold games including fantasy units and stuff. It was ok but I feel it was too silly : P

 

[Christopher Fisher]

Try FTL (Faster than light); I am playing it atm and it's amazing.

 

[Bostur]

Did you ever play Capitalism?
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/capitalism_2

It has a pretty deep economic simulation for a Tycoon game. I find that many of the popular games are shallow in the way they handle the actual economic simulation. The only ones that really worked for me was this and the Railroad Tycoon series.

 

[veloper]

Play Theme Park. It's a classic.

I also second Tropico 4 and Startopia.

 

[Karoshi]

Eufloria is the definition of a soothing strategy game.

Game starts of simple: You need to plant trees and send the seeds to other planets, thereby spreading life to all the universe. Soon you meet an enemy which seeks to destroy (a plant, just like you) and the game slowly grows to be a lot more challenging.

You can change the colour scheme of the plants and the speed at which you play, therefore it can be meditative just as a nerve-wracking experience. I enjoyed it a lot, despite not being a big strategy fan.