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Spaceship simulator
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RPGDot Forums > Absolutely Off Topic

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ScOut3R
Tempered Warlord
Tempered Warlord




Joined: 15 Feb 2002
Posts: 299
Location: Hungary
Spaceship simulator
   

Hi All!

I'm asking You that does anyone know a good spaceship simulator? I'm looking for a game like Star Trek: Bridge commander, when you controll a big ship, not a small fighter type. I hope somebody can help! Thx:)
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Post Sun Feb 08, 2004 10:10 pm
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dteowner
Shoegazer
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Joined: 21 Mar 2002
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Location: Third Hero of Erathia
   

"X^2: The Threat" might fit the bill, although you'll have to work your way up to the big ship.
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Post Sun Feb 08, 2004 10:51 pm
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Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
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Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia
   

Independence War 2: Edge of Chaos (Particle Systems, published by Atari, 2001?) starts off with a Corvette IRC and lets you pilot capital ships as you get into the game. Fantastic if you want a complex space combat sim with "real" physics - but pretty hard.

X2: The Threat lets you own and fly as many Destroyers, Carriers and Corvettes as you can afford *BUT* be warned it's primarily an economic sim *not* a combat sim and it will easily take ~100 hours play to afford a destroyer.

FreeSpace 2 is probably the best combat sim ever IMO but you don't fly capital ships although you regularly attack cap ships in some spectacular battles.
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Post Sun Feb 08, 2004 11:02 pm
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piln
High Emperor
High Emperor




Joined: 22 May 2003
Posts: 906
Location: Leeds, UK
   

Anyone play that Battlecruiser3000AD? I remember reading a load of horror stories about its development, and that the creator worked on it himself for years after release to make it into a decent game... and wasn't there a sequel of sorts, a year or two ago? .... but I never actually found out if it was any good in the end. I like the idea though... might be what ScOut3R is looking for (as long as it's not rubbish).
Post Sun Feb 08, 2004 11:54 pm
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mkreku
Keeper of the Gates
Keeper of the Gates




Joined: 22 Oct 2003
Posts: 112
Location: Uppsala, Sweden
   

quote:
Originally posted by piln
Anyone play that Battlecruiser3000AD? I remember reading a load of horror stories about its development, and that the creator worked on it himself for years after release to make it into a decent game... and wasn't there a sequel of sorts, a year or two ago? .... but I never actually found out if it was any good in the end. I like the idea though... might be what ScOut3R is looking for (as long as it's not rubbish).

That might be Universal Combat (I think it was called), published by Dreamcatcher Games, created by the "one of a kind" programmer Derek Smart.

Check out this link for more information about Universal Combat.
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Post Mon Feb 09, 2004 12:26 am
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piln
High Emperor
High Emperor




Joined: 22 May 2003
Posts: 906
Location: Leeds, UK
   

Yeah, Derek Smart... that's the chap. I found the homepage for all those games:

http://www.3000ad.com/products/index.shtml

BC3000AD came out in '96, and iirc Derek had a huge moan about publishers and the like, and then in '99 BC3000AD version 2 came out. That version (2.09, actually ) is now available as a free download (134MB).
Then there was a BC Millenium, and now Universal Combat. While I was looking for stuff, I saw a link to a news site saying erek Smart is now complaining about Dreamcatcher selling Universal Combat too cheaply. There's no pleasing some people - I guess this guy's just not happy unless he's having a whinge about something.
Post Mon Feb 09, 2004 1:04 am
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Gorath
Mostly Harmless
Mostly Harmless




Joined: 03 Sep 2001
Posts: 6327
Location: NRW, Germany
   

You can find many discussions about the brand new Universal Combat at GoneGold. So far it looks deep and very good if you´re willing to invest the time. Derek Smart himself posts there. So far the game makes such a good impression that even the flame war against Derek almost stopped.
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Post Mon Feb 09, 2004 5:58 am
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piln
High Emperor
High Emperor




Joined: 22 May 2003
Posts: 906
Location: Leeds, UK
   

Ahhh... Universal Combat is a "new" name for the Battlecruiser series - it was going to be called "Battlecruiser Generations." From what I've gathered, the BC games give more of a feeling of being a fleet commander on the bridge of a capital ship, while UC is a bit more action-oriented and varied.

I downloaded some UC movies - I was underwhelmed, but it really doesn't look like the kind of game that benefits from rolling gameplay footage. I'm having difficulty finding much useful info in amongst the threads of Derek arguing with people . Can't find a demo download.

Anyway, ScOut3R, it seems one of these games might be right up your alley. Universal Combat is out, apparently, and on sale for 20 dollars (US), and Battlecruiser3000AD (version 2.09 which is pretty good, apparently) is downloadable free from various places (link), and here is a snippet from its review on Home of the Underdogs:

quote:
"Battlecruiser 3000 AD V2.0 is the Star Trek-like game that I searched for these many years. Let us understand something at the outset of this review. BC3K is a command level space simulation strategy game. It is not a X-Wing, Tie Fighter... or even I-War type of game. You will initially command a battlecruiser and later an entire fleet that has internal dynamics (a living crew, ships, and other logistics) and external dynamics (a living universe with all sorts of events occurring in real time)...

There are a number of emotional critics of the BC3K game and its developer, but when asked to judge the game in an objective manner one cannot help but notice the brilliance of what Derek Smart is both attempting to do and what BC3K accomplishes. This game is not going to be everyone's cup of tea. This is a very deep strategy game with even deeper tactical elements wrapped in a package with a somewhat confusing interface and system that takes a while to learn... If you have the time to spare and put some effort into learning the BC3K system, I believe that your efforts will be rewarded with a space strategy simulation experience whose depth cannot be found in PC games."
Post Mon Feb 09, 2004 6:31 am
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Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
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Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia
   

I've got my eye on Universal Combat so if anyone picks it up - post some impressions. I'll head over to GoneGold in the meantime - thanks for the tip, Gorath.
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Post Mon Feb 09, 2004 7:50 am
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ScOut3R
Tempered Warlord
Tempered Warlord




Joined: 15 Feb 2002
Posts: 299
Location: Hungary
   

First of all thanks for you help! I didn't hope that i get so much recommendations in short time.
I think i'll give a try to Universal combat, X^2 and Independece war 2.
Battlecruiser 3000AD looks like to me a strategy game, not quite a simulator. But i didn't try it, just saw the screenshots, so if i'm wrong please tell me:)
But these games are first-person simulations (at least on screenshots:))
In Star Trek: Bridge commander you sit in the captain's place in the bridge and give out orders to the officer around you and they do the hard part:) You can do their job of course from your place, but for most of the time you can be the captain who just give orders and focus on tactics:)
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Post Mon Feb 09, 2004 10:08 am
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piln
High Emperor
High Emperor




Joined: 22 May 2003
Posts: 906
Location: Leeds, UK
   

quote:
Originally posted by ScOut3R
In Star Trek: Bridge commander you sit in the captain's place in the bridge and give out orders to the officer around you and they do the hard part:) You can do their job of course from your place, but for most of the time you can be the captain who just give orders and focus on tactics:)


Well, I've been searching for reviews and info, and that sounds like what you get with the BC games... I recommend the gamesdomain review (and have a look at the screenshots - a couple of them show the commander's view from the bridge, with other crew members seated all around). It does sound like a very in-depth simulator, in which you can do everything from the captain's chair by giving orders to crew (or you can fly fighters or join ground teams in person, if you prefer). The game even keeps track of exactly where each crewman is on the ship, apparently (making it possible for them to become delayed or trapped by ship damage), as well as their morale, fatigue, skill checks, etc. You can even be given command of a solar system's forces to take into battle with your own fleet. The detail and scope sound incredible, but the downside seems to be that it's so detailed, and more free-roaming than structured, that some players find it offputting. I don't know whether I will or not, I'm downloading it to find out

Can't be sure, but the official website seems to imply that UC is a bit more accessible, and a bit less concerned with minute detail - which may not be a bad thing, as the BC titles certainly do not sound like games you can have a "quick blast" on.
Post Mon Feb 09, 2004 2:13 pm
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cfmdobbie
High Emperor
High Emperor




Joined: 01 Jul 2002
Posts: 1859
Location: London, England
   

FWIW, I recommend avoiding Freespace 2.

I bought it some time ago looking for a decent space combat sim, but it's never worked properly. I can start a new game and play a couple of missions, but then I try to start the next mission and the computer locks up. It never fails on the same mission, and once it's locked for the first time nothing will ressurect it - rebooting doesn't help, a new character doesn't help. The only thing that will resurrect the game is reinstalling, so I reinstall, play a couple of missions and then it locks again.

Apparently it's a common problem for some people, but the latest (final) patch doesn't fix it for me. A bit of a shame - I was looking for a replacement for my Privateer and Wing Commander games and FS2 looked like it, but all it's given me is hours of frustration. It now sits on my shelf gathering dust.

You might not be one of the unlucky ones, but who knows?
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Post Mon Feb 09, 2004 2:35 pm
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ScOut3R
Tempered Warlord
Tempered Warlord




Joined: 15 Feb 2002
Posts: 299
Location: Hungary
   

I'm downloading now the BC3000AD. I'm curious about it:)
Isn't Freespace 2 a fighter-type simulator? I mean you can't fly capital ships.
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Post Mon Feb 09, 2004 3:26 pm
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piln
High Emperor
High Emperor




Joined: 22 May 2003
Posts: 906
Location: Leeds, UK
   

Shame about Freespace 2. I got it & the prequel in a double pack ages ago and haven't got round to playing either yet; I hope I don't have the same trouble.

At the risk of sounding like a total cheapskate, I noticed that Privateer 2 is now freely downloadable from Underdogs too, as is Privateer and its expansion pack. Not exactly what ScOut3R was asking for, but still good games worth a look. Although I have the feeling P2 will be stripped of its movie scenes.

I've had a bit of a nightmare downloading BC3k from filepanet/gamplanet - in case anyone else is suffering, here's a link not listed on the official download page, which has been working well for me:

ftp://ftp.wh9.tu-dresden.de/pub/windows/games/bc3K209free.exe
Post Mon Feb 09, 2004 5:35 pm
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ScOut3R
Tempered Warlord
Tempered Warlord




Joined: 15 Feb 2002
Posts: 299
Location: Hungary
   

I've downloaded BC3K and tried to run, but it started under DOS mode, made a few checks then exit to Desktop. I've found a zip which contains files for running under Windows. I've uncompressed it just like said in the instruction.
After that it started but ask for the game CD, and the drive letter, which it gave me, was my hard drive. Did anyone of you meet the same problem?
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