Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => Gaming Discussion => Topic started by: Fineus on June 30, 2011, 05:11:55 pm
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Ello all!
I made the mistake(?) of re-watching the original Trilogy over the last couple of days and it has re-ignited my love of the Star Wars universe. I fancy some gaming.
What are the current best space combat games set in the Star Wars universe (mods are OK) and what are the best FPS / other games set in the Star Wars universe?
I'm looking for great, modern graphics and game play. So as fun as Tie Fighter was.. it's a bit dated now. High end graphics please!
Suggestions folks? :D
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Current space combat games? No such species exists.
I mean, I guess you could wait until SW:TOR and then pay a monthly subscription fee to participate in tunnel shooters in SPAAAAACE, but...
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There's a pretty technically-great Star Wars mod for Freelancer called FreeWorlds (http://www.moddb.com/mods/fwtow) and it actually managed to get Direct X 9 graphics in Freelancer. It's not out yet, so you'd have to wait on this one.
There's a mod for Homeworld 2 called Star Wars Warlords (http://www.moddb.com/mods/star-wars-warlords).
Another mod for Nexus: The Jupiter Incident called Eternal Conflicts (http://www.moddb.com/mods/star-wars-eternal-conflicts)
As for games themselves? I don't think there have actually been any recent ones, although there is a MMO called The Old Republic which is coming soon. I don't know of any more mods and if those aren't what you were looking for, I apologize.
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Ello all!
I made the mistake(?) of re-watching the original Trilogy over the last couple of days and it has re-ignited my love of the Star Wars universe. I fancy some gaming.
What are the current best space combat games set in the Star Wars universe (mods are OK) and what are the best FPS / other games set in the Star Wars universe?
I'm looking for great, modern graphics and game play. So as fun as Tie Fighter was.. it's a bit dated now. High end graphics please!
Suggestions folks? :D
On the FPS side, you're going to want Republic Commando and Battlefront 1/2. Commando is an excellent FPS in its own right, if a bit short, and it's also mercifully free of Jedi "**** you" powers and stuff. Battlefront is pretty good and has a really larcadey space combat gametype if you can stomach it.
On the RPG side, Knights of the Old Republic are both very good, the first one in all aspects, and the second one until the end of the game when it really falls apart. It's basically the Star Wars RPG module put into pseudo real-time and set to a *****in story.
There are a lot more I haven't played or been able to go into in great depth, including Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy, both of which are 1st/3rd person action games with some rather interesting lightsaber combat.
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I'm a fan of the Phoenix Rising (http://eawpr.net/) mod for Empire at War: Forces of Corruption. It attempts to make everything closer to "canon" (no such thing as true canon in Star Wars) with regards to scaling, fighter squadron size, and weapon loadout for ships and weapon damage and range. There's some new ships added, and everything is relatively balanced. There's a 1.2 release coming soon, but we all know how soon "soon" really is. :D Land combat sucks due to vehicles and raiding being completely broken, but who plays Empire at War for Land combat?
And yes, it makes Star Destroyers feel awesome and powerful.
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The other alternative is being patient until Fate of the Galaxy puts out their initial release. :D
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If you want to experience the Star Wars universe in game form you should head over to Steam and get Knights of the Old Republic. Best of the best as far as I'm concerned.
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On the RPG side, Knights of the Old Republic are both very good, the first one in all aspects, and the second one until the end of the game when it really falls apart. It's basically the Star Wars RPG module put into pseudo real-time and set to a *****in story.
Pssst! (http://knightsoftheoldrepublic.filefront.com/file/;115177) The Restored Content Mod has something to say about that...
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Empire at War, now I wasn't particularly expecting much when I bought it but man did it turn out to be so much worse then I could have possibly imagined... and I can imagine quite a bit.
The space combat was graphically and gameplay wise extremely dated, literally a decade behind Homewold, yet Homeworld was at the time seven years older. I can't even call it a space RTS with a straight face since it actually took place over a 2D plane with a space background. No commanding your task groups in a three dimensional battle zone, no sir! You get to watch your low poly, poorly textured models meander around on a flat plane like they where a wet navy.
The ground combat component was unanaesthetized tooth pullingly painful. Literally once I had my black nerf hide gloved mitts on a Death Star any planet that was Rebel Alliance controlled was automatically obliterated just to avoid having to fight ground battles they where that friggin' bad. I couldn't even compare it with any of the contemporary ground combat RTS games from when it was released since it would be like fighting a platoon of M1A2 Tusks with a Renault FT. 2D sprite driven RTS games from 1990 where more enjoyable, it's only benefit was that it made the space component better by comparison.
This game left the worst taste in my mouth of any Star Wars game I have purchased, after completing the Imperial Campaign I just wanted it gone for good, I never wished I could sell back a game more in my life. If it weren't for the fact it was hitched onto the Star Wars IP, Empire at War would have been consigned to fade into obscurity like it so richly deserves.
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Well, at least it was super easy to mod. I had a lot of fun ****ing around with the game, but ran into a lot of hardcoded **** :(
I have to thank it for teaching me how to use 3DS Max :P
EDIT:
Warlords has also been ported to Sins of a Solar Empire, but I donno, it just doesn't feel "star warsy".
All Sins mods ultimately still feel like...Sins, due to the game mechanics.
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Well, at least it was super easy to mod. I had a lot of fun ****ing around with the game, but ran into a lot of hardcoded **** :(
I have to thank it for teaching me how to use 3DS Max :P
EDIT:
Warlords has also been ported to Sins of a Solar Empire, but I donno, it just doesn't feel "star warsy".
All Sins mods ultimately still feel like...Sins, due to the game mechanics.
That's really only because the gameplay of Sins is pretty unique.
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I hear X-Wing Alliance has their own SCP-type project, but I know nothing about it.
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X-Wing: Alliance.
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If you haven't played them already, jedi outcast and academy are the way to go. Not modern graphics by any stretch, but nothing yet has come close in terms of emulating lightsabre combat in a game JKA multiplayer is especially fun.
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^
Better to play an awesome game with dated graphics than a crappy game with awesome graphics (it's just my opinion though, if someone prefers graphics over other aspects, suit yourself). If single-player is your thing, I'd recommend focusing on Outcast. Academy may have more lightsaber moves (and lightsabers) and more Force powers, but the story is dumb and is really only really handled in a few missions, which in turn are separated by sets of five missions that are remotely related to the main plot. Outcast story isn't literature bliss either, but at least it should manage to provide a motivation to keep playing.
And Kyle goddamn Katarn (http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2010/10/18/6c332e54-875e-439c-a382-fd9da48cac19.jpg): you won't play as him in Academy, so better to invest on Outcast.
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In the RTS section, Empire at War and it's expansion Forces of Corruption. Though you should really only play the mod Phoenix Rising SpardaSon21 mentioned and a select few other mods. If you have Sins you could try out Sins of a Galactic Empire (http://www.moddb.com/mods/sins-of-a-galactic-empire), though it unfinished so it lacks refinement enough to be really enjoyable IMO.
In the FPS section, Star Wars: Republic Commando is the way to go. It's one of my favorite FPS's ever... I can delve into it more, but it's been a long long time since I last played it. Even though the prequel trilogy was pretty horrible, the game did it's best to make the experience as Star Wars-y as possible IMO.
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Empire at War? Severe disappointment.
Rebellion (or Supremacy). Really good.
EaW was too different from it, didnt really work well at all. Like, I enjoyed it while I played it but... switched back to Rebellion pretty quickly.
- KotOR 1/2
- Republic Commando (needs a 2 IMO)
- Battlefront 1/2
- Outcast/Academy
Would also be worth some play time.
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As far as pure Tie Fighter style space sim/shooters with modern graphics go, barring a miracle... Help me, Fate of The Galaxy, you're my only hope..
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I hear X-Wing Alliance has their own SCP-type project, but I know nothing about it.
You'll need to search for the X-Wing Alliance Upgrade Project. It's a bit dated looking due to tools and software available to the team, but it looks like a great project. Your only problem now is in finding a copy of XWA.
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There is a beta version of Sins of a Galactic Empire for the latest version of Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment. It adds quite a bit more to SOGE than the old public release, including new planet types, ships, and expanded research trees. It is downloaded via SVN, so you'll have to register on the Warlords forums and apply to be a beta tester before you get access to it. Link (http://forums.swrebellion.com/viewtopic.php?f=589&t=27668).
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I'd say go for Jedi Knight 2: Outcast, it's story wise lightyears ahead of Academy, feels more Star Wars-ish, has awesome cutscenes ( approach to Bespin anyone? ) and Kyle Katarn.
Academy in comparison, has a average Story despite visiting known locations like echo base and Tatooine.
The lightsaber fights are more interessting though( in MP at least, once you figured out the moves, the Bossfights are rather easy).
Some levels are just awesome, imo, like Chandrila.
Academy isn't a bad game by all means, it's just doesn't feel fleshed out like Outcast does.
If you are a fan of the movies ( including the prequels) The Moviebattles mod ( SP) is a must have.
There's also one for MP, which alters the gameplay significantly.
Battlefront 1 and 2 are quite good, even though graphics a bit dated.
But there's a lot of fun SP and MP wise. There's no real SP story in there, but i found it to be more fun then a lot of SP FPS with storyline.
You should take a bit time and search starwarsbattlefront_dot_filefront_dot_com for mods, lotsa great stuff there.
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Speaking of this topic, there are a few Star Wars games on sale in today's Steam Summer Camp daily deal, including KOTOR 1 for all of $2.50. I don't even really play RPGs, but even I had to pick that up. Maybe now I can finally learn who this HK-47 guy is.
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For a space experience, you can always try X-Wing Alliance, X-Wing, X-Wing vs Tie-Fighter and Tie-Fighter. Star Wars Galaxies had a fun space system but that game is being shut down, it has been emulated but the space part is lacking I think. Personally I had fun playing the Rogue Squadron games on the GameCube, being a Nintendo girl myself. :P
For other Star Wars experiences, you can always try the Jedi Knight series (Jedi Outcast and Academy), the Force Unleashed 1 & 2 or KotOR 1 & 2. The latter, KotOR 2, is being modded I believe to contain all the removed quests and a removed planet. Supposedly the KotOR MMO is disappointing already according to previews and is based on fighting mostly alone, where you only run into friends in specific zones or if the mission is designed to allow for inviting friends along, great voice acting is that game's strenght which is almost a first for a MMO. You got to pay for it too, given it's a MMO. Supposedly there'll be a X-Box 360 kinect Star Wars. I'm guessing you'll swing a toy saber while the game mimics your moves. It seems to be based on the period before and after Episode 3.
There's possibly a great number of mods out there themed around the Star Wars worlds as well. I saw a nice FPS using I think the Crysis engine but I don't remember it's name. MODdb is bound to have it if you search for Star Wars. I know there's one in the making for the Freespace we all play.
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Speaking of this topic, there are a few Star Wars games on sale in today's Steam Summer Camp daily deal, including KOTOR 1 for all of $2.50. I don't even really play RPGs, but even I had to pick that up. Maybe now I can finally learn who this HK-47 guy is.
Yeah KOTOR is teh awesum!
You gonna love HK-47!
Gameplay tip: during the beginning, you have to level once to continue. Do not further level up! Wait 'till you become a Jedi.
Taris shouldn't be too difficult to play on level 2.
Unless you play with certain mods from the start, that is.
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^ must disagree with the above.
Level up all you want. Then change your spec when you get a Jedi class. I ususally take Scoundrel to start, get all my skills as high as I can, then take Jedi Guardian for the combat abilities.
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^ must disagree with the above.
Level up all you want. Then change your spec when you get a Jedi class. I ususally take Scoundrel to start, get all my skills as high as I can, then take Jedi Guardian for the combat abilities.
yeah, but this way you loose points you could spend on Forcepowers and Jediabilities.
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If you do play KOTOR, try my mod...TWO-HANDED LIGHTSABERS!!! Twice the reach, twice the carnage!
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Empire at War, now I wasn't particularly expecting much when I bought it but man did it turn out to be so much worse then I could have possibly imagined... and I can imagine quite a bit.
Basically, I shouldn't get the Gold Pack for 4.99?
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^ must disagree with the above.
Level up all you want. Then change your spec when you get a Jedi class. I ususally take Scoundrel to start, get all my skills as high as I can, then take Jedi Guardian for the combat abilities.
yeah, but this way you loose points you could spend on Forcepowers and Jediabilities.
But you gain two full sets of skills. You don't need all that many force powers or jedi abilities to beat the **** out of everything.
Maybe it's just because I played as Light Side, where most of the powers aren't offensive enough for my liking, so I just ignore them.
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Empire at War, now I wasn't particularly expecting much when I bought it but man did it turn out to be so much worse then I could have possibly imagined... and I can imagine quite a bit.
Basically, I shouldn't get the Gold Pack for 4.99?
If you reaally reaally want to, but I personally think they produced a crappy unimaginative game and banked on the IP to get sales. If it had been based on original IP I can't imagine the game having had any success whatsoever. Given the potential of the universe the developer had a giant sandbox to produce a really interesting strategy game and this just wasn't it. I mean, just consider the diplomatic gameplay opportunities presented with forming a Rebellion or exerting an iron fist across the Empire. Legislation, Trade, Diplomacy none of those avenues for a innovative game where explored, its strictly a vehicle for presenting a series of very badly executed space and ground battles.
Take it with a grain of salt, perhaps I have extremely over inflated standards when it comes to RTS games and am given to grandiose negativity about minor issues, but I believe I went into it with already low easily satisfied expectations and was severely disappointed with the product.
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I mean, I guess you could wait until SW:TOR and then pay a monthly subscription fee to participate in tunnel shooters in SPAAAAACE, but...
Going to have Bioware story... tacked on to WoW clone gameplay. /sigh. Such a disappointment.
Kotor would definitely get my vote for the best Star Wars computer experience.
Aside from that... The Force Unleashed may be worth a look depending on how much you are craving a Star Wars game. ;)
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The Force Unleashed could have been a wonderful game, but was instead reduced to a befuddling plot, repetetive button mashing gameplay, and nice looking but repetetive and boring QTEs.
I'd pass, unless you just REALLY want to subject yourself to that.
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Granted it could be a certain degree of nostalgia creep, but I recall Dark Forces II Jedi Knight being totally BOSS back in the day. Heck, they actually even thought to have civilians going about their business in the environments you traveled through, something they didn't bother to do even in Outcast. Which is too bad, because it managed to add a feeling of the worlds seem lived in rather than a just a shooting or chopping gallery populated by stormies or mercs. I also have hazy recollections of some sweet weapons like the concussion rifle and cool live action cutscenes. I am certain that the actress they had play Jan Ors was pretty cute though.
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Your memory does not steer you too wrongly, there.
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This thread got me to reinstall XWA and go 'pew some TIEs.
'cept I forgot all the controls.
TIEs pew'd me instead.
Shortly after running out of weapons energy with no way to get it back cause HOW DO YOU ETS AGAIN?
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But you gain two full sets of skills. You don't need all that many force powers or jedi abilities to beat the **** out of everything.
Maybe it's just because I played as Light Side, where most of the powers aren't offensive enough for my liking, so I just ignore them.
**** light powers, I played a light side character and picked all dark side powers aside from the healing one.
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More FPS fun: There's this awesome looking mod for Battlefield 2142 called First Strike (http://www.moddb.com/mods/first-strike). It looks way more fun than Battlefront, but Battlefront wasn't bad either IMO.
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Take it with a grain of salt, perhaps I have extremely over inflated standards when it comes to RTS games and am given to grandiose negativity about minor issues, but I believe I went into it with already low easily satisfied expectations and was severely disappointed with the product.
Next time, just tell me no.
Please.
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When I was 13 and it came out, I enjoyed it.
Now I ask myself why as I cry myself to sleep when I play it again.
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Yeah, listening to Friedrick The Great isn't doing me much good here. At all. He who defends everything wins this game, except when he doesn't.
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More FPS fun: There's this awesome looking mod for Battlefield 2142 called First Strike (http://www.moddb.com/mods/first-strike). It looks way more fun than Battlefront, but Battlefront wasn't bad either IMO.
I play First Strike each Weekend, and it is indeed more fun than Battlefront ;)
If you want to play Multiplayer. Battlefront I & II has some nice Singleplayer Missions, but lacks the kind of Teamwork Tools that Battlefield 2142 has.
See more about that here:
http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=77081.msg1531291#msg1531291
(thx to Pred the Penguin: This answer to your posting was the reason for me to register after 4 years of lurking Hard Light :D )