Misc: From X-Wing to X3: Space Combat Sim Timeline

[ph0b0s123]

Been playing Dark Star One on the PC recently. Solid Fun.

 

[rayen020]

Are we not including Descent here? i mean i know it isn't free space but it is three dimensional. I don't know if you counted it as on the rails, i didn't, but that's just my opinion.

 

[Irridium]

Where's Freelancer?

Whatever. Still a great list. And now I'm very sad that these games are no longer being made. Well, except the X-series. But no offence to Egosoft, we need more space-sim games.

 

[W3rK]

If you're pining for the return of a game like Elite, I highly recommend checking out Infinity: the Quest for Earth [http://www.infinity-universe.com/Infinity/], an MMO in development with newtonian flight, a procedurally-generated galaxy of billions of stars, etc.

It's still a good ways off from release (They're apparently working on commercializing the engine first, and then using the money on the game itself), but it's worth keeping an eye on.

Dear Mr A. Smith,

I wish to inform you that have just reinstated a purpose into my life. Allow me to explain.

I am a long-time gamer in his thirties who started off his 'career' with games that resembled nothing more than few barely animated pixels; to me small game called Elite, in which you were not bound to one single arbitrary playfied/dungeon/realm, but set upon a whole galaxy of worlds, seemed like a pinnacle of what gaming can achieve... that is until I played Elite II AKA Frontier on my Amiga.

You can imagine then, that no other game, not even other space sims (up until they met their demise in early '00s), could offer me the same level of sheer enjoyment of exploration and ( yes, I will dare to use that word) immersion in a seemingly infinite universe.

I have long since abandoned the hope of ever stepping again into the void that beckons just beyond the threshold of our world, even if only the voyage would've been an imaginary one... I have toys with an idea of creating such possibility myself, alas my life choices thus far prevented me from following that dream.

But now, thanks to the people at Novae Studios my hopes are renewed. Thank you as well, Mr A. Smith. My life seems much brighter now.

____
PS: If the tone of this post seems overly dramatic and grandiloquent it was absolutely intentional and instrumental to showing how excited I am over the prospect of a game like Infinity [http://www.infinity-universe.com/Infinity/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=17&Itemid=93] being in the works.
PPS: Also, to quote what a wise AI-core said to me once: "SPAAAAACE!".

 

[Baby Tea]

No Mantis?? (aka XF5700 Mantis Experimental Fighter)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XF5700_Mantis

1992. Got it for Christmas... came on 8 floppy disks lol.

...I still have the box!
Remember the reporter in the beginning being eaten by the bug?!

I thought I was the only one who ever played or heard of that game! That is beyond hilarious.
Ahh internet, sometimes you make me cringe, but today you make me smile.

More On Topic: I'm very sad to see a serious lack of Freelancer.
Freelancer, and Tie Fighter are probably my two favourite space sims (Admittedly light on the 'sim' aspect of things). And while it would be just criminal if Tie Fighter wasn't there, it's only sightly less criminal that Freelancer isn't there. But only slightly. I loved that game.

 

[JesterRaiin]

I miss early Wing Commander games.
Jazz you motherf... Ahem...

Also... Wooooow, momento... Freelancer ? DarkStar One ? Privateer 2 ? Frontier ?

 

[praetor_alpha]

Freelancer!

I got the original X3 about five years ago. That has got to be the most confusing and least engaging game I have ever played. I can't see myself ever finishing it.

 

[ResonanceSD]

From X-Wing to X3: Space Combat Sim Timeline

Grab your joystick, Red Five.

Read Full Article

Greg, I know I've been able to poke masses of fun at you after your Dragon Age 2 review.

just checking, where's Freelancer on this list?

 

[Moosejaw]

Like the others have said, Freelancer. It had so much potential and got rushed out the door at the end, but it was still an awesome game.

 

[Tohron]

anc[is]I couldn't even figure out how to cheat in X3. I blindly flew handfuls of random stuff around for hours trying to accomplish something while wishing the NPCs weren't so lifeless. I like to believe I have a decent amount of patience for games, but that was just too much.

The game does require willingness to use the forums/wiki to figure out how to advance. There is a cheat package you can download on the forums, and the best way to make money early on is through running the missions available from stations with an icon over them - if you don't know this, it can definitely be painfully slow in the beginning.

 

[Vzzdak]

I'm curious: why did you leave out Vendetta Online, the only twitch-based (as opposed to EVE Online's character skill-based and ship stat-based combat) fully open and dynamic space combat sim MMO? It's possibly no other game carries the tradition of Freelancer online and with such adrenaline. A dynamic economy, AI that expands and attempts to seize control of sectors of the galaxy, player-created missions and content, and distributed ship physics make Vendetta Online a great example of a space combat sim combined with a large, open and dynamic galaxy.

Indeed, Eve is technically just a strategy game where the weapons have a chance to hit based upon character stats and shipboard equipment. Perhaps it's a case of marketing, since Vendetta Online [http://www.vendetta-online.com] has been around since 2002. What struck me about Vendetta Online is their support for Mac/Windows/Linux, and apparently supporting tablets now.

 

[drednoahl]

X3 Terran Conflict is one of my favourite games, but even as a fan it's difficult to recommend because it is very tricky to get to grips with. There are a huge amount of mods for the game that do make things either easier, harder or just breathe new life into it. The learning curve for me was just as bad as leaning to dock in elite.

Anyway, Egosoft are working on a new game - X Rebirth. It isn't a sequel to the previous X games, and many of the fans on the Egosoft forums are a little worried that the new game has been dumbed down - here's a link to the alpha trailer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LabrDe4XJo0

I wish I'd seen Yahtzee's review of EVE before I tried it.

 

[MonkeyPunch]

No mention of Epic [http://hol.abime.net/2861]
That was actually the game I played most, seeing as I had an Amiga at the time and most of my friends had PC's and were busy playing WC and the like. Not that there wasn't also a PC version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrco0txG9XY

 

[JaredXE]

You put in the WC Movie, but left out WC 4 (IMHO one of the best game stories written) and Tachyon: The Fringe? Bruce Freakin Campbell?

 

[Jodan]

i loved freelancer and starlancer
man i hope this makes a comback scp was great fun and some of the mod campaigns had better stories and writing than most other games out now im still wishing for a freespace 3 though.

 

[Andy Chalk]

THIS LIST SUCKS BECAUSE IT DOESN'T INCLUDE THIS NICHE GAME THAT I PLAYED FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS IN 1993

Nice to see the X series getting some love. It's a vicious thing (although if you think X3 has a steep learning curve you should try its predecessors) but so huge and open-ended that it really doesn't matter. I've sunk quite literally dozens of hours into X2 and X3 and probably haven't done more than a half-dozen plot missions in either of them. It's just so easy to explore, to trade, to probe deeper and deeper into space (no jokes please) that the plot is rendered almost meaningless. And I tend to cleave to plots pretty closely in games, but in the X games it goes completely out the window.

Magnificent soundtrack, too.

 

[infohippie]

I find you lack of Independance War 1&2 as well as Nexus: The Jupiter Incident disturbing.

IW1&2 deserve a mention for being one of the very few space sims that had realistic physics, with things like acceleration and momentum playing an important part.

A thousand times this. I-War 1 & 2 were probably the best space sims ever released in my opinion, and I just want more in that style. Realistic physics, complex controls, a somewhat different take on the staples of the genre, like shields, mission types, etc.

 

[])rStrangelove]

Awww nice article. Still got my XvsTie pilot saved somewhere. You know, just in case.

 

[Fayathon]

No Freelancer or Black Prophecy? I am disappoint, Greg.

Damn you to the deepest pits of hell, I was gonna post that man... at least BP.

OT: What he said, what the hell guys? Also, does Descent work for this timeline or was it intentionally omitted?

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Man, Colony Wars was amazing. I feel like playing them all again.