Space Sims/Strategy Games Catch-All

SOLD !!

Robear wrote:

Filthy enabler, thank you. On the list it goes. :-)

As it should. It's a really good game, imho. It's in the vein of X3 but not as overbearingly obtuse.

Edit: Edited to say, Elite is probably a better comparison, but basically it's a giant sandbox. Also, it has seamless mp, which something like X3 doesn't.

I *loved* Elite, back in the day.

garion333 wrote:

As it should. It's a really good game, imho. It's in the vein of X3 but not as overbearingly obtuse.

Edit: Edited to say, Elite is probably a better comparison, but basically it's a giant sandbox. Also, it has seamless mp, which something like X3 doesn't.

I've struggled getting started with X3. Should I bear with it, or try Evo:Merc?

Evochron has a learning curve, but it's not quite as harsh as X3 imo. You won't be flying capital ships in an Evochron game as it focuses on smaller ships. The controls in Evochron are much, much better than X3 (and it has Newtonian physics). Both involve trading, but handle it in their own ways.

This may be a poor comparison, but X3 reminds me much more of EVE while the Evochron series is much more akin to the aforementioned Elite or Freelancer. Don't get me wrong, X3 is very much akin to Elite, but I think it skews farther away from it.

Both are sandboxes, so regardless of which way you go they have learning curves that you have to fight through. The plus here is that Evochron makes more sense from the get go, while X3 looks better but has an absurdly designed UI. The only way to get into these games is to stick with it. You'll feel lost for a while, but I think it's more extreme in X3 (which is why people suggest playing Terran Conflict and doing the story missions). It took me three or four tries with the X games before it struck home.

Edit: Oh, and the Evochron games have generously timed demos, so I suggest you download the Mercenary demo and give it a shot. It may be that you feel it too is not to your liking.

garion333 wrote:

Evochron has a learning curve, but it's not quite as harsh as X3 imo. You won't be flying capital ships in an Evochron game as it focuses on smaller ships. The controls in Evochron are much, much better than X3 (and it has Newtonian physics). Both involve trading, but handle it in their own ways.

This may be a poor comparison, but X3 reminds me much more of EVE while the Evochron series is much more akin to the aforementioned Elite or Freelancer. Don't get me wrong, X3 is very much akin to Elite, but I think it skews farther away from it.

Both are sandboxes, so regardless of which way you go they have learning curves that you have to fight through. The plus here is that Evochron makes more sense from the get go, while X3 looks better but has an absurdly designed UI. The only way to get into these games is to stick with it. You'll feel lost for a while, but I think it's more extreme in X3 (which is why people suggest playing Terran Conflict and doing the story missions). It took me three or four tries with the X games before it struck home.

Edit: Oh, and the Evochron games have generously timed demos, so I suggest you download the Mercenary demo and give it a shot. It may be that you feel it too is not to your liking.

Thanks for the run-down. I've not played EVE, but I get what you're going for.

The thing that I struggled with in X3 was the UI. I'm pretty time-poor at the moment, so I haven't tried to crack it properly, but its right up my alley in terms of gaming, so I want to make sure I give it a fair shot before I drop it completely.

That said, Evochron sounds much more 'pick up and play' and might scratch the same itch, so I'm downloading the demo now. We'll see which one wins out (when I'm done with my first Skyrim playthrough!)

Can anyone recommend a good joystick with a throttle slider for use with these games? It's been a few years since I bought one. I'm *not* looking for the full bore separate throttle and stick Thrustmaster types, just a good joystick that has some additional bits stuck to it for convenience. Something like the Saitek 290, perhaps, but with the throttle roller on the left side for ease of use...?

Oh, yeah, a twist-rudder function would be really good, too.

Logitech used to make a dual-analog PS2-type gamepad with a throttle on the top edge in front of the R1 button. But I haven't seen one in years, since mine broke. It used to work pretty well though. Played a lot of X-Wing Alliance with that one.

Robear wrote:

Can anyone recommend a good joystick with a throttle slider for use with these games? It's been a few years since I bought one. I'm *not* looking for the full bore separate throttle and stick Thrustmaster types, just a good joystick that has some additional bits stuck to it for convenience. Something like the Saitek 290, perhaps, but with the throttle roller on the left side for ease of use...?

Oh, yeah, a twist-rudder function would be really good, too.

This has been awesome. I highly recommend it, especially for the money.

Coldstream wrote:

This has been awesome. I highly recommend it, especially for the money.

Works on PS3 too. Neat.

Robear wrote:

Can anyone recommend a good joystick with a throttle slider for use with these games?

My current favorite to recommend people for this is the Saitek Aviator which comes in PC/360 and PC/PS3 versions for around $30. I've played with a friend's and liked it so much that I'm seriously considering picking up one myself for when I'm playing a simple game that I don't really want to set up my full X52 HOTAS for.

Coldstream, unfortunately I don't have room in front of the keyboard/screen to use a side-by-side controller. I need an all in one that can sit with my right hand. I can reach over to mess with the throttle, or put it in my lap if I need to. But that one does look good.

I'll check out the Aviator, that has potential.

If it helps, the one Coldstream linked can be separated. You can have the throttle and stick almost 2' apart.

Man, I wish everything was on Steam. I bought Starfarer yesterday. Today I searched my Gmail to find my activation key and found out that I had purchased it back in August. Good thing I got in on the 50% savings period!

Thanks, Liquid. No room for that, either, or I'd be into a full-on stick and throttle like I used to have.

Okay, I grabbed the Aviator-3 from Saitek and it arrived today. It's recognized by Win 7 64 bit, and a driver is loaded. However, I had to make it the "preferred device for older games" in the Control Panel - Game Controllers menu before it could actually be seen by anything and used in the game. Just FYI. Saitek's drivers and programming software will not recognize it under Windows 7, even the ones that list it. That's even though the system detects it just fine.

At least it's working now. Just wanted folks to know.

Hay guys, I was able to snag a copy of the upcoming space combat game, SOL: Exodus, and just played through a few missions. WOW is it fun. Stay tuned for my game diaries.

garion333 wrote:

...it has Newtonian physics...involve trading...much more akin to...Freelancer.

F*cking SOLD.

So, no one's mentioned it, but the orbital station defense simulation* "Unstoppable Gorg" is now out. Anyone tried it yet?

*for suitably wide definitions of sim, sure.

Oooo! SOL: Exodus releases Wednesday for $10 on Steam. Guess I'll be buying a couple of copies. Too bad it's not multi-player.

LiquidMantis wrote:

Oooo! SOL: Exodus releases Wednesday for $10 on Steam. Guess I'll be buying a couple of copies. Too bad it's not multi-player.

Ooooooooo!

Robear wrote:

So, no one's mentioned it, but the orbital station defense simulation* "Unstoppable Gorg" is now out. Anyone tried it yet?

*for suitably wide definitions of sim, sure.

I'm assuming you're joking about it fitting into any definition of sim, seeing as it's just a tower defense game.

I got the game for free when it released, and I've gotta say it's not very engaging. Basically the whole gimmick of the game is that you place your towers on orbits, and the orbits can be rotated as enemies start coming in from different directions. It has great 50's inspired cutscenes, and totally mediocre tower defense gameplay.

Okay, thanks.

My first SOL: Exodus diary will go live tomorrow guys. Fun game so far.

OK.

1) What's the deal with Evochron Mercenary? Which game in the Evochron series is the best looking one?

2) SOL Exodus or Evochron Mercenary? Which one looks better?

3) Yes. It is all about appearances with these titles.

4) Do either of the two games look better than X3: Terran Conflict?

Can someone help me out?

EDIT: Never mind. I read a bit on Evochron Mercenary and will amend my graphic-whoring ways. It looks good. Planetary atmosphere? Surface buildings? Trading that is not as insane as X3:TC? Yes, yes and yes.

1. The Latest One.

2. It's kinda apples and oranges really, they both look good.

3. Yup.

4. Not really...

Anyone have some tips on how to get into Evochron Mercenary. I loved freelancer but I never could play complicated spaces sims. This annoys me to no end as I try to play them and it's a total uphill battle for me. I suppose I just prefer the game play to be more arcadey.

Hey y'all, I've got a Q&A up with the lead designer of SOL: Exodus, which is out tomorrow:

http://www.spacegamejunkie.com/1499/...

Enjoy!

Sounds great!

Back to the old space jockey formula. Have definitely missed those more focused space flight games.

Looks like it's supposed to release on Steam, but there's no price showing yet.

EDIT: Duh the web site says $9.99

EDIT2: Joystiq preview

Hey guys, my first game diary for SOL: Exodus is up:

http://www.spacegamejunkie.com/1440/...

Enjoy!