Space, the most underrepresented frontier...

[The Last Laugh]

So I am starting a watch through of what I believe is the best of the Star Trek series and that would be of course DS9 (this is not a thread for that debate of course) but it made me realize how much I have been longing for a real space sim game especially one that also has a social aspect.
There are some gems out there do not get me wrong , we have Eve , Stellaris, Kerbal, Endless Space...but none seem to be giving me the experience that I am looking for. Many have parts of course. Star Trek Online has some appeal I think but I do not know.
It seems that since the days of connecting a Joystick to a PC and into these appeal to console gamer days it has been something needing a break through.
Are there any gems out there or any currently in the oven?

 

[Nintendo]

No Man's Sky in VR will be the ultimate space game.

 

[Cenauru]

You didn't mention Elite Dangerous, although I'd assume if you've been looking for a space sim, you'd have found it already and just forgot to mention it. But right now, all I can really recommend is Elite Dangerous.

 

[Kasai]

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel nails that early, gritty elwood frontier feeling of space that most games kind of lack, in my opinion.

It also help that the gravity is less than you're used to, so that's a major plus.

 

[Night Hunter]

First of all, you're completely right on the best ST series.

But second, what do you mean with Social Component? And I don't really get the jump from DS9 to Space Sim. DS9 was first and foremost a story and character driven series, that's why it holds up a lot better than the other Star Trek series.

So the closest to that would probably be Mass Effect

 

[The Last Laugh]

You didn't mention Elite Dangerous, although I'd assume if you've been looking for a space sim, you'd have found it already and just forgot to mention it. But right now, all I can really recommend is Elite Dangerous.

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Honestly no, and I am looking at it now. It looks great. I am going to try and find some videos to dig into and I appreciate you bringing this up.

 

[Deleted member 54320]

I want Squadron 42 and Star Citizen to be a proper thing already. I've been waiting so many bloody years for a full release.

I've gone through the last two years of secondary school, two years of college, four years of University, getting a job at IGN & still have yet to see something close to a full release.

I feel sad.

No Mans Sky VR might be the game I need to dive into to get my space fix. In No Mans Sky current state, is it fun?

 

[JustinH]

First of all, you're completely right on the best ST series.

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I mainly just wanted to agree with this.

I want Squadron 42 and Star Citizen to be a proper thing already. I've been waiting so many bloody years for a full release.

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Man, I am really hoping S42 scratches that Wing Commander itch for me. Just a couple months ago I randomly marathoned all the old Wing Commander 1 and 2 in-between mission cutscenes. Ah, the memories...

 

[Cenauru]

Honestly no, and I am looking at it now. It looks great. I am going to try and find some videos to dig into and I appreciate you bringing this up.

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In that case, I will mention, there's an update coming on April 23rd that is focusing on improving the new player experience. Currently it does a really poor job of introducing the game's systems, and you have to do alot of research on your own, so hopefully that's rectified with this upcoming update.

 

[Deleted member 29464]

I also wish for something similar, but find a lot of the space sims lean a bit too heavy on the "sim" side for me, and are not very accessible. I'm not sure if by social elements you mean online or having a more lively universe with characters and a perhaps crew.

My dream space game would have the exploration and economy elements but be more lived in, with characters, crews, lively hubs and areas, quests etc. I know a lot of space has to be empty but it always feels to me like the universes in these game are less populated than other games like The Witcher 3 or Spider-Man taking place in a tiny fraction of the "space".

 

[Thera]

but none seem to be giving me the experience that I am looking for.

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Which is?

 

[The Last Laugh]

I also wish for something similar, but find a lot of the space sims lean a bit too heavy on the "sim" side for me, and are not very accessible. I'm not sure if by social elements you mean online or having a more lively universe with characters and a perhaps crew.

My dream space game would have the exploration and economy elements but be more lived in, with characters, crews, lively hubs and areas, quests etc. I know a lot of space has to be empty but it always feels to me like the universes in these game are less populated than other games like The Witcher 3 or Spider-Man taking place in a tiny fraction of the "space".

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Which is?

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Mainly an online type component. In my mind's eye I would love something with the one thing that does seem to be out there and that is you and your ship exploring and it seems pirating and gathering are a popular activity and I am for that but something like that but with actual social hubs like Space Stations for interacting, mini games, finding crews/missions and just a change of pace. It is something that it seems Star Wars Old Republic and Star Trek Online have but from my honestly limited experience the space portions of those games are severely linear and lacking.
I remember back in the day when playing X-Wing or Wing Commander I just look forward to the day when I could fly anywhere and everywhere, stop at a station to sell my shit and repair and bullshit with friends and then fly off again when I felt like it. We have MMOs in every flavor of waifu sword slashing or the usual Orc and Elf but space is lacking as hell and we are lucky to get terrestrial mmos with space flying tacked on as an after thought.l

 

[Kwyjibo]

Sounds like you need to play a mixture of Elite/Stellaris/Dead Space and Mass effect !

 

[Stiler]

Mainly an online type component. In my mind's eye I would love something with the one thing that does seem to be out there and that is you and your ship exploring and it seems pirating and gathering are a popular activity and I am for that but something like that but with actual social hubs like Space Stations for interacting, mini games, finding crews/missions and just a change of pace. It is something that it seems Star Wars Old Republic and Star Trek Online have but from my honestly limited experience the space portions of those games are severely linear and lacking.
I remember back in the day when playing X-Wing or Wing Commander I just look forward to the day when I could fly anywhere and everywhere, stop at a station to sell my shit and repair and bullshit with friends and then fly off again when I felt like it. We have MMOs in every flavor of waifu sword slashing or the usual Orc and Elf but space is lacking as hell and we are lucky to get terrestrial mmos with space flying tacked on as an after thought.l

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Eve Online is one that fits that, but the combat and things are really lacking (at least when I played, it was tab targetting, etc), no full real time control of your ship when flying around. You just click on a point in space and your ship travels there where you clicked.

Your best bet is Star Citizen, this is exactly what it's going for.

As far as single player goes, maybe you missed some of the all time classics? Independence War I and II (aka I-War I and II, which has some of the most detailed flight models for space with full newtonian physics), Tachyon the Fringe, etc.

 

[Swenhir]

It's a telling of the state of the gaming industry that there are still no significant multiplayer space sim beyond E:D and NMS as far as I know.

Star Citizen is, in my opinion, a gem in the making. However a game of that scale starting from zero that also had to go through a scope expansion was always bound to take a lot of time. I can't recommend it right now because while the alpha does have awe-inspiring sights and moments, it's still a real alpha.

I think SWG was the closest thing to what we'd like. Star Trek Bridge Crew is also kinda close, but it's not really a space sim. I just hope more people keep trying to make these games. It's a genre that's still not far from dying off even after many game's recent successes.

 

[Darkstorne]

Mainly an online type component. In my mind's eye I would love something with the one thing that does seem to be out there and that is you and your ship exploring and it seems pirating and gathering are a popular activity and I am for that but something like that but with actual social hubs like Space Stations for interacting, mini games, finding crews/missions and just a change of pace. It is something that it seems Star Wars Old Republic and Star Trek Online have but from my honestly limited experience the space portions of those games are severely linear and lacking.
I remember back in the day when playing X-Wing or Wing Commander I just look forward to the day when I could fly anywhere and everywhere, stop at a station to sell my shit and repair and bullshit with friends and then fly off again when I felt like it. We have MMOs in every flavor of waifu sword slashing or the usual Orc and Elf but space is lacking as hell and we are lucky to get terrestrial mmos with space flying tacked on as an after thought.l

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Then you definitely want Elite Dangerous, and to keep a close eye on Star Citizen. Elite is available now with a new player update coming very soon, and Star Citizen is one of the most ambitious games ever made with a completely transparent dev process. So if you're interested in seeing dev process you can watch their YouTube channel (multiple videos per week), and if you want to pre purchase the game you can even play the current build with over 100k other players, but keep in mind it's nowhere near feature complete yet so I'd suggest sticking with Elite for now unless being a part of the dev process excites you.

Edit: Bethesda's Starfield could be a wildcard here too. But I doubt we'll be seeing anything about it before E3 2020 at the earliest. And the extent of a multiplayer side of the game is a huge unknown right now.

 

[UsoEwin]

Not what you are looking for, but in the context of Space being represented as a whole. Lone Echo is definitely in the top for me, such an amazing experience.

 

[Kalamour]

I would love a "Star Trek" style rpg. Ubisoft did the Bridge crew VR game, does that mean that they have access to the Trek license? Because I would love to see a Star Trek game from the AC Odyssey team, especially now that Mike Laidlaw joined them.

 

[Swenhir]

I would love a "Star Trek" style rpg. Ubisoft did the Bridge crew VR game, does that mean that they have access to the Trek license? Because I would love to see a Star Trek game from the AC Odyssey team, especially now that Mike Laidlaw joined them.

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That would be pretty amazing. I have my beef with Ubisoft regarding the formulaic way they approach game design but as you said they do have some wildcard creators in-house. Michel Ancel and BG&E2 comes to mind too :).

 

[Kalamour]

That would be pretty amazing. I have my beef with Ubisoft regarding the formulaic way they approach game design but as you said they do have some wildcard creators in-house. Michel Ancel and BG&E2 comes to mind too :).

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I don't find their games "formulaic" nowadays (each franchise have their own systems, and they are refined and mostly fun), but that's for another topic. I do agree that BG&E2 could be amazing but I still have no idea about what this game will be like when released, they are so focused on their technology I have no idea what king of game it is.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

I wish Savage Starlight was a real thing. I would love to see Naughty Dog's take on a Mass Effect-style space opera action-RPG.

 

[Deleted member 9971]

No Man's Sky in VR will be the ultimate space game.

Click to shrink...

.

 

[Mr.Deadshot]

Did you play the X series? I don't know in what state X4 is today but X3: Terran Conflict is basically the Skyrim of Space games with a huuuge modding community.

 

[Rygar 8Bit]

Maybe you'd like something like Empyrion

 

[Detail]

I want Squadron 42 and Star Citizen to be a proper thing already. I've been waiting so many bloody years for a full release.

I've gone through the last two years of secondary school, two years of college, four years of University, getting a job at IGN & still have yet to see something close to a full release.

I feel sad.

No Mans Sky VR might be the game I need to dive into to get my space fix. In No Mans Sky current state, is it fun?

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NMS is way better than it was at launch by some distance, I would recommend it even in its current state before the new update comes out (which will make it even better.)

It's also the most accessible of all space games, gives you that great feeling of exploration and wonder that a universe would bring but without the difficulty of being a full blown simulator.

 

[Swenhir]

I don't find their games "formulaic" nowadays (each franchise have their own systems, and they are refined and mostly fun), but that's for another topic. I do agree that BG&E2 could be amazing but I still have no idea about what this game will be like when released, they are so focused on their technology I have no idea what king of game it is.

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They are fun but they still feel like they are off the assembly line. I think it's mostly a product of Ubisoft's production process than anything related to the game designers themselves.

I really wonder how Ancel is going to reconcile BG&E's game design mindset with BG&E2's scaled up world. For example, for the photography stuff to work , they'd have to build quite the underlying systemic layer to the world. I'm not sure they are going to go that far but building the technology is a necessary step to it. Fingers crossed.

 

[I Wanna Be The Guy]

I just want a full AAA Star Trek game. Bridge Crew but with more ambition, budget and time. And a full single player with a proper story.

 

[Skyfireblaze]

I just want a full AAA Star Trek game. Bridge Crew but with more ambition, budget and time. And a full single player with a proper story.

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This existing in ancient times and it was great fun! I would be super happy if we ever get a (spiritual) sequel:

 

[More_Badass]

I also wish for something similar, but find a lot of the space sims lean a bit too heavy on the "sim" side for me, and are not very accessible. I'm not sure if by social elements you mean online or having a more lively universe with characters and a perhaps crew.

My dream space game would have the exploration and economy elements but be more lived in, with characters, crews, lively hubs and areas, quests etc. I know a lot of space has to be empty but it always feels to me like the universes in these game are less populated than other games like The Witcher 3 or Spider-Man taking place in a tiny fraction of the "space".

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You might like this. It combines adventure game interactions with space sim RPG/exploration

 

[Deleted member 19996]

Elite Dangerous has been the ultimate space game, especially in VR. Was the game that sold me into a VR future for the industry.

 

[I Wanna Be The Guy]

This existing in ancient times and it was great fun! I would be super happy if we ever get a (spiritual) sequel:

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So jealous I never got to play this. Always wanted to. This and Star Trek Armada. Sadly not a PC gamer.

As a console peasant, Star Trek Elite Force was my Star Trek game. It was a really good FPS for the time actually. I played it so much.

 

[ClarkusDarkus]

No mans Sky in VR is going to full fill all kinds of sci-fi needs.

 

[Kalamour]

They are fun but they still feel like they are off the assembly line. I think it's mostly a product of Ubisoft's production process than anything related to the game designers themselves.

I really wonder how Ancel is going to reconcile BG&E's game design mindset with BG&E2's scaled up world. For example, for the photography stuff to work , they'd have to build quite the underlying systemic layer to the world. I'm not sure they are going to go that far but building the technology is a necessary step to it. Fingers crossed.

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I had the same feeling last gen but after playing thru Watchdogs 2 and AC Odyssey I now find Ubisoft to be the most exciting of all big AAA publishers. Have you played those? Comparing the launch of The Division 2 to Destiny 2 or Anthem also shows that Ubisoft treats their product with more respect then most big publishers.

I certainly hope BG&E2 become this big space opera Ancel has been talking about. I would love to play something that gives the same vibe as those great CG trailers.

 

[Deleted member 44371]

I want Squadron 42 and Star Citizen to be a proper thing already. I've been waiting so many bloody years for a full release.

I've gone through the last two years of secondary school, two years of college, four years of University, getting a job at IGN & still have yet to see something close to a full release.

I feel sad.

No Mans Sky VR might be the game I need to dive into to get my space fix. In No Mans Sky current state, is it fun?

Click to shrink...

You should check out star citizen right now. they implemented a full planet wide space city a la coruscant, a new physics based flight model, new sounds, new progression missions and much more

 

[Deleted member 54320]

You should check out star citizen right now. they implemented a full planet wide space city a la coruscant, a new physics based flight model, new sounds, new progression missions and much more

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It's rather expensive to jump into as of now and to be honest, I might as well wait till the game is done.

 

[low-G]

It's rather expensive to jump into as of now and to be honest, I might as well wait till the game is done.

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Just curious, what did they change? I bought in back when it was SC & SQ42 for $35...

 

[KKRT]

OP if you are into EVE Online, there is a game thats basically an EVE Offline :)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/954870/Astrox_Imperium/


Ps. People mentioning NMS. I mean its fine game, i did even like it at release for what it was, but its still shallow from systems standpoint, also UI is just horrendous to use.
Thats said, i cant wait to buy next gen VR headset and play it, should fun for another 15-20h :)

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It's rather expensive to jump into as of now and to be honest, I might as well wait till the game is done.

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Look out for FreeFly week to check it for free, it will happen something in next few week for certain.

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Elite Dangerous has been the ultimate space game, especially in VR. Was the game that sold me into a VR future for the industry.

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Its good game, but after 25h i end up being disappointed and bored with it, because they messed up ship customization. Its just terrible and they i have not seen desire to fix.
The only thinking, when i was playing how EVE Online has 100x time better ship customization, you can do with your ship whatever you want and in Elite you are limited just to couple configurations ;/

 

[Skyfireblaze]

So jealous I never got to play this. Always wanted to. This and Star Trek Armada. Sadly not a PC gamer.

As a console peasant, Star Trek Elite Force was my Star Trek game. It was a really good FPS for the time actually. I played it so much.

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Honestly almost any Windows laptop or PC should run both these games nowadays no matter the hardware unless there's some Windows 10 weirdness going on, Star Trek Armada was also great fun. And yeah I agree on Elite Force for the time it was an amazing FPS of a licencesed property no less!

 

[Heid]

Elite Dangerous sounds like it coooould be the game for you..?



Pros - Huge focus on vast emptiness of space, lots of simulation (lots of astronomical bodies and star types and nebulas, docking procedures, power management, economy, factions etc), Battlefield/DICE tier sound design, VR + HOTAS support, freaking gorgeous game.

Seeing the Galaxy Map for the first time makes you feel like a meaningless fucking atom of a miniscule sand particle, which you are.

Cons - No real singleplayer story or campaign, no 'social aspect' that you talk about (except for multicrew multiplayer) and the new player experience can be a bit rough, but their latest tutorial has actual voice acting and stuff. For certain types of players/people, the lack of certain structure in a game can make it very unappealing.

 

[Deleted member 44371]

It's rather expensive to jump into as of now and to be honest, I might as well wait till the game is done.

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Starter pack costs only 45 bucks and you can buy most ships with ingame money now.

 

[Sotha_Sil]

Damn shame that Freespace II was a commercial failure back in the day. None of the current games really seem to capture that angle, either.

 

[Bansai]

You didn't mention Elite Dangerous, although I'd assume if you've been looking for a space sim, you'd have found it already and just forgot to mention it. But right now, all I can really recommend is Elite Dangerous.

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This.

So far I didn't play a better space sim

 

[Deleted member 54320]

Starter pack costs only 45 bucks and you can buy most ships with ingame money now.

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And actually keep them?

 

[Zalusithix]

And actually keep them?

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No. Resets are still common, and frankly even earning enough money to buy one before a reset would be an exercise in frustration right now. The feature is there in only the most technical sense. Outside of the PTU where you're given millions of in game credits to test things, I doubt many have actually bought any ship in the PU, let alone one of the expensive ones.

SC has potential, but just that. It's not something I'd recommend to anybody looking for an actual game right now. If the concept of it represents your dream game and you want to ride the wave of development, then feel free to back the project, but by no means go in expecting anything resembling an actual fully fledged game with proper gameplay loops and progression. It's still missing more than it actually has on that front, and what it does have is buggy. It's an alpha through and through.

 

[Anton Sugar]

Elite Dangerous, especially after the new update. There's nothing "huge" added but they did a lot of QoL improvements for new players, which really can't be understated in a game with an initial learning curve like ED.

 

[Daedardus]

And actually keep them?

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I'm pretty sure there are orgs out there full of nice and friendly people that would love to you to come fly on their $5K worth of ships.

 

[Hella]

star traders: frontiers is a kickass space exploration game. it's not as grand scale as other space games, but it does try to capture a ship-level feel very well, complete with RPG stats for crew and random events for personality. if you want an open-ended rpg set in space, that's the game for you.

 

[Swenhir]

I had the same feeling last gen but after playing thru Watchdogs 2 and AC Odyssey I now find Ubisoft to be the most exciting of all big AAA publishers. Have you played those? Comparing the launch of The Division 2 to Destiny 2 or Anthem also shows that Ubisoft treats their product with more respect then most big publishers.

I certainly hope BG&E2 become this big space opera Ancel has been talking about. I would love to play something that gives the same vibe as those great CG trailers.

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Honestly, yes. I haven't played WD2 but there is always a stilted nature to Ubi's open worlds. Gameplay never flows into story organically such as in Skyrim or TW3. There is always this very jarring switch from the open world to mission mode. Even world events are only barely randomized and you see the patterns very quickly.

I'm not going to go into a conversation of which publisher is worse, when all of them suck :p. At least Ubi allows some degree of freedoms to its auteurs and that's perhaps more than can be said of Activision, for example.

BG&E2 is, as far as I know, the only game funded by a big publisher that is trying to tackle space at its real scale by developing a proper engine for it beside FD and CIG. For that alone, they earn my praise. No other big publisher is so much as dipping a toe into the space genre so far.

 

[HylianSeven]

You didn't mention Elite Dangerous, although I'd assume if you've been looking for a space sim, you'd have found it already and just forgot to mention it. But right now, all I can really recommend is Elite Dangerous.

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Came here exactly for this. It is THE space game right now.

Only problem is it can be a mile-wide and an inch deep, but overall I'd still recommend it. Definitely has the most realistic space simulation elements to it. Hell the flight and physics model alone is excellent.

 

[Cenauru]

Came here exactly for this. It is THE space game right now.

Only problem is it can be a mile-wide and an inch deep, but overall I'd still recommend it. Definitely has the most realistic space simulation elements to it. Hell the flight and physics model alone is excellent.

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It's still the best space sim game if you want to just want an excuse to fly ships in space, they've absolutely nailed the flight model down and that's what keeps me coming back.