Gryphon Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 Okay, I hope we can make this into a sticky. There's been talk lately that the space sim genre is toast. Kaput. Gone the way of the...I was about to say the Adventure genre, but there's been plenty of action there. Honestly, the genres that has come close to death --- RPGs and Adventure, most notably --- have always been brought back from the brink by some fabulous, last minute titles. Well, let's see if we can't stir the waters for Space Sims. I've found quite a few sims created by small developers in my travels, and I'd like to list them here. I hope everyone else will post what they are watching/know of, also. The ideal is to compile the list into something we can use as a reference, from time to time. So, without further ado... --------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- 3000AD (Of Course!) This one goes without saying. Derek Smart's games have been ground breaking in ways we can all appreciate. Cyberspace's Star Wraith series I've been watching this small developer for some time. His graphics can be likened to Wing Commander 3 & 4 era graphics --- blocky. However, the demos are good fun --- he even has a "Privateer" style game called "RiftSpace." Try downloading his demos --- he also released an older version of Star Wraith as freeware! Rampant Games' Void war Looks pretty slick. Haven't tried it yet myself. Galactic Federation Also one I haven't tried, but looks quite yummy. Purports to allow battles involving hundreds of ships! Starshatter Bloody fine game. Great graphics, fly a starfighter or a capital ship, control squadrons, planetary or space fighting --- overall thumbs up. Microsoft's Allegiance Okay, its Microsoft...but it's now freeware --- heck, they even released the source code for it. It is a multiplayer online game that has some deep strategy elements. Graphics are still quite yummy. Rack up enough cash in game and you can even pilot capital ships! --------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- That's all I've got for now. Please list any small developer, open source, or freeware titles you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gol_Stoan Posted October 13, 2004 Report Share Posted October 13, 2004 This would be in the category of "So old it's probably freeware by now." Wing Commander: Combat Information Center (CIC) Is dedicated to keeping Wing Commander alive. They have information about how to get the old beasts to run in Windows, as well as a lot of general WC info. If you are so inclined, the entire thirteen episode cartoon series (USA Network 1996, I never saw any myself) is available for download. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamotto Posted October 13, 2004 Report Share Posted October 13, 2004 Starfight VI: Gatekeepers Babylon 5 ÔÇ£I've Found HerÔÇØ prequel campaign Mars Simulation Project not really a space sim but still fun, it is more like SimIsle on Mars. Wing Commander: Unknown Enemy very nice add-on for Wing Commander: Secret Ops Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruis.In Posted October 13, 2004 Report Share Posted October 13, 2004 Vega Strike, vegastrike.sourceforge.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamotto Posted October 14, 2004 Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Cruis.In: Vega Strike, vegastrike.sourceforge.netHey, this looks neat. Have you played it Cruis.In? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shingen Posted October 14, 2004 Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 It's a pretty kewl game, but it's basically still in alpha, so YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gryphon Posted October 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2004 Here's a new one. It's a home brew effort by a gentleman named "Ed Benowitz" --- Flight Commander, heavily inspired by Wing Commander. Freeware Flight Commander And of course, there's the game the SC just reported --- Space Interceptor. I think they qualify as a small developer. Space Interceptor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamotto Posted November 8, 2004 Report Share Posted November 8, 2004 Space Empires: Starfury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamotto Posted November 9, 2004 Report Share Posted November 9, 2004 oolite written for Mac OS X ORBIT -- A Freeware Space Combat Simulator get it here I played Orbit some 5 years ago. It was fun making your own mission's plus it had the source code with it which is always cool. It is no longer being developed [ 11-08-2004, 10:54 PM: Message edited by: jamotto ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamotto Posted November 9, 2004 Report Share Posted November 9, 2004 Resilience A 2D top down shooter hellfighter My favorite 2D top down arcade space sim. Version 20.3 has all the unique fighters, Version 21.01 lacks most of the fighters but has MP support Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almostpilot Posted November 10, 2004 Report Share Posted November 10, 2004 It┬┤s just a simple but funny Star Wars game, and for free !!!! enjoy.... www.bruneras.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruis.In Posted November 10, 2004 Report Share Posted November 10, 2004 I remember 5 years ago, the hellfighter author said he was going 3d, guess he didn't make it. hell fighter was quite fun. sorry for the late reply jamatto, been in training....however yes ive played it, and while its free form and works well, it lacks content. still a good engine to work with though I'd say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamotto Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Cruis.In: I remember 5 years ago, the hellfighter author said he was going 3d, guess he didn't make it. hell fighter was quite fun.ya, he didn't quite make it. He released a video showing some of it though. quote: sorry for the late reply jamatto, been in training....however yes ive played it, and while its free form and works well, it lacks content. still a good engine to work with though I'd say.as for content it just needs a little imagination and this utility for making better battles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamotto Posted November 11, 2004 Report Share Posted November 11, 2004 Maverick Looks like it is not being developed anymore. Kind of reminds me of privateer. SPACE RANGERS original was never released here in the US as far as I know, However there is a sequel coming though. [ 11-10-2004, 10:55 PM: Message edited by: jamotto ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamotto Posted December 8, 2004 Report Share Posted December 8, 2004 SPACE COMBAT 1.40 from the people who made X-Plane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freyar Posted December 9, 2004 Report Share Posted December 9, 2004 Alliegence has some hefty ports it needs opened, so if you have a very strict router system (like I do > Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamotto Posted December 10, 2004 Report Share Posted December 10, 2004 ColdFire Windows and Linux versions available. Source code included with the Linux version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Cmdr Posted December 10, 2004 Report Share Posted December 10, 2004 Jamotto, Cc sent you a PM and it bounced because the email address in your profile is incorrect. Fix it or your profile will be deleted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamotto Posted December 17, 2004 Report Share Posted December 17, 2004 Wazzal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebeard Posted December 17, 2004 Report Share Posted December 17, 2004 Egosofts X Series Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gryphon Posted December 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2004 Hey, this has turned out to be a damn good thread. Good quality posts. Remember to post 'em when you find 'em, folks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamotto Posted December 30, 2004 Report Share Posted December 30, 2004 Parsec not real sure if this is vapour ware or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfheart Posted January 2, 2005 Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 Celestia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamotto Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 PiArmada A work in progress. Might be interesting when it is finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almostpilot Posted January 20, 2005 Report Share Posted January 20, 2005 A Brazilian MMOG in development (until now only in portuguese) : www.taikodom.com.br see the screenshots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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