[Raziaar]

I played this game for a bit after downloading it. Trying to find the time to play it some more. However, from what I have seen I love the combat system and stuff, and for being 5 years old, the graphics are still surprisingly good in my opinion compared to most games that old.

I wish there could be a game put together that encompasses several key things that I have been wanting to see in space sims for a while now.

I'd love for the combat/tactical system of this game, merged with some sort of economy style game, only much more dynamic and richly designed than freelancer.

With the options to do trade runs and stuff in small trading vessels, or gigantic cargo ships for profit and prestige, or by attacking enemy ships and/or pirating vessels to amass the resources to acquire large numbers of ships to add to your fleet, which in turn can be used for assaulting space stations, and enemy battleships or even besieging world's for further influence and domination of the solar system.

Furthermore, there would be the need to be able to pilot ever increasing sizes of ships instead of just fighters if one would like to, including freighters, cruisers, all the way up to battleships if the player could ever acquire such a monstrosity(likely only by disabling and boarding one with large numbers of trained troops to wipe out the opposition on the inside, and steal it)

Only thing that the space sim of my dreams would be missing, would be the multiplayer aspect of it. Hehe.

Sorry, just a random post, before heading to bed(very sleepy) to dream!

[Black Wolf]

Originally posted by Raziaar
I can dream can't I?

No! *Thwack* Bad Dreamer!

Actually, I think your dream will be realized, sooner or later. The space sim market (what little there is) does seem to be leaning in that direction at the moment, more so than campaign based shooters like FS2 anyway.

[Ransom]

The game you are describing sounds disturbingly like X2. Except that X2's fighting isn't anywhere near as good as FS2's IMO, but you might want to check it out anyway.

http://www.egosoft.com/x2/

[aldo_14]

Well, Elite 4 is due for 2006.........

[Swamp_Thing]

Originally posted by Ransom Arceihn
The game you are describing sounds disturbingly like X2. Except that X2's fighting isn't anywhere near as good as FS2's IMO, but you might want to check it out anyway.

http://www.egosoft.com/x2/

Yeah, good old X2... Great concept,  terrible combat system, zombie like in-game models with eyes that point in 10 diferent directions at the same time, the worst key mapping i´ve seen yet in a game, great ships, terrible IA, great graphics  bla bla bla... It´s a game of contradictions, i say.
X2 should be an example of what NOT to do, in a space sim. The game was in development for ages, and they felt pressed to release it before it was ready. Kinda reminds you of Doom 3, doesn´t it?  

::wonders if Half Life 2 will follow the same way of the dodo::

[aldo_14]

Apparently, the last patch masively improved the X2 AI in particular.  I've heard good things about it with that respect, albeit not played the game.

[Ghostavo]

Sounds like he's describing a uber-Battlezone in space...

X² is good to play... but now that I've got a very large bank account (thanks to invasion missions) I feel that I've got nothing left to do... I'm still trying to upgrade my destroyer so... we'll see

[Raziaar]

Well perhaps, but the game I'm dreaming of won't suck =P

[Lightspeed]

X² was the worst game I played in a long, long time.

There's absolutely no aspect to it that isn't messed up in some way. Story, absolutely boring and cut off. Graphics, absolutely horrible and ugly. Sound effects, anything but good. Music, total rubbish except for one track. Gameplay, severely lacking. AI, a total disaster. Variety, non-existant (you've seen one system, you've seen them all.).

It's horrible from A to Z.

[Ghostavo]

Have you patched it?

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by Raziaar
I played this game for a bit after downloading it. Trying to find the time to play it some more. However, from what I have seen I love the combat system and stuff, and for being 5 years old, the graphics are still surprisingly good in my opinion compared to most games that old.

I wish there could be a game put together that encompasses several key things that I have been wanting to see in space sims for a while now.

I'd love for the combat/tactical system of this game, merged with some sort of economy style game, only much more dynamic and richly designed than freelancer.

With the options to do trade runs and stuff in small trading vessels, or gigantic cargo ships for profit and prestige, or by attacking enemy ships and/or pirating vessels to amass the resources to acquire large numbers of ships to add to your fleet, which in turn can be used for assaulting space stations, and enemy battleships or even besieging world's for further influence and domination of the solar system.

Furthermore, there would be the need to be able to pilot ever increasing sizes of ships instead of just fighters if one would like to, including freighters, cruisers, all the way up to battleships if the player could ever acquire such a monstrosity(likely only by disabling and boarding one with large numbers of trained troops to wipe out the opposition on the inside, and steal it)

Only thing that the space sim of my dreams would be missing, would be the multiplayer aspect of it. Hehe.

Sorry, just a random post, before heading to bed(very sleepy) to dream!

Some of that can be done with I-War 2 and mods, of course.  (i.e. the one that lets you capture a fleet, in particular).  Economoy model isn;t particularly advanced, tho - i.e. can't blockade trade routs to a noticeable effect.

Oh, and (it really goes without saying) try the SCP RE: graphics.  Big improvement there even considering the currently incomplete state of the media vps.

[Swamp_Thing]

Originally posted by aldo_14
Apparently, the last patch masively improved the X2 AI in particular.  I've heard good things about it with that respect, albeit not played the game.

I had mine patched to 1.2, don´t know if there´s a newer patch, though. I left my copy to gather dust and await better days...
If they fix the key mapping, i could give it a try again...

Ghostavo, have you traveled to the unknown systems then?
After we do that, the game pretty much dies. We have a huge fleet, great somes of money, and nothing to spend it with...


If anyone is considering trying a space sim in the lines of FS2, i sugest Starlancer, if you don´t mind playing a Microsoft game. The game has the best radio chatter i´ve seen in a game, great missions, and allthough the cap ships are smaller in comparison, they are fun to kill. It came out about the same time as FS2, and never got any commercial sucess, but it´s worth the try.

[Deepstar]

Then try X-Tension

I play X(-T) a very long Time now and i like it.

@Topic

Privateer and Privateer 2 have a better Fighting System than X. And have a good Tradesystem, it's the best game for you, maybe.



The worst Space-Sims i've ever played were "Battlecruiser Millenium", "X-Com: Interceptor" and "Universal Combat"

[Ransom]

I never said I liked it. In fact I think it's horrible, but it seemed like the game Raziaar was describing.

[Ghostavo]

Swamp_Thing, the current patch is 1.4, you can now capture

Spoiler:

khaak

ships

and there is a new BBS mission which is commonly called invasion in which they say for you to go to an X system and wait. After you do (depending on the level) a whole fleet of Xenon ships appear for you to fight with. The more kills you get the more money you earn. Unfortunatly they kind of overloaded the money given to you, because if you kill just one Xenon K (easily done, easier than any fighter) you get not one, not two but 17M credits!!!!

I've travelled to all sectors except one unknown sector beyond another unknown sector... I hate those sectors... too empty. Gives me the chills

[Swamp_Thing]

You want some nice cheats? I have one that spawns any ship, factory or goods you want!!:D
Including Khaak!
I had another that would disclose all the systems locations, and you could then send your freighters in. And then there´s the 999999999 credits cheat...

[Kosh]

I'd love for the combat/tactical system of this game, merged with some sort of economy style game, only much more dynamic and richly designed than freelancer.

There is an extremely old (13 or 14 years IIRC) game that does include something similair to that (except you have one very customizable ship and the combat is top-down 2D). It also adds some exploration too. It's called Star Control 2. You con find more information about here:

www.star-control.com

Check it out. It is a most excellent game.

[Cabbie]

Yeah I've been waiting for somebody to do a new game and give it a Freespace style combat system but so far none out yet. If you can pick up Freelancer cheap at the discount bin then give the main campaign a spin. (the open ended part is zzzz though) That is,  if you don't mind  the lack of joystick control .

[Grug]

Give me 10 years or so to finish studying my courses, get a little practice in then start up me own Games Company, and I'll take a stab at doing something like this.

[Flaser]

I wonder why no one mentioned EVE yet - though AFAIK it completely lacks combat.

BTW Battlezone (1! 2 was crap) is something nothing has managed to live up to so far -except for Flashpoint, but it lacked the economy and full control- though some space based version could be real fun.

I think the capship problem could be solved in the Flashpoint manner combined with some first person rendering mehtod - you can wander around stations and inside ships. When you launch you hurry to your ship and actually hop in - and the same engine should be used for ship to ship comabt as well as FP rendering.

Inside a ship their are terminals, weapon stations - and simply put you can hop in just like with everything else.

The problem is letting the AI do things, and writting the AI for all tasks.

The whole thing may work out as an MMPORPG though - having recently watched Hack.Sign returned my optimism about the genre.