Hey all, I'm curious if anyone knows about games based on large ship combat and command? One i'm currently looking into is Independence War. Are there any others out there that anyone knows about? At the same time, does anyone know if there are any multi-player bridge simulations? A long while back, I had found one that was played over LAN where a single person would just be in control of a single station, and through the LAN, would connect to other computers, in control of other stations, to simulate an environment like i'm looking for, but I can't seem to find any trace of that whatsoever. Any ideas?
There's Starshatter which covers both fighters and cap ships. It's more simulation oriented than story driven like WC. I've been playing around with it and it's not too bad. Then there's also Star Trek Bridge Commander, which I'm not familiar with, but I've heard it's the best simulation of Star Trek ships.
Im familiar with Bridge Commander, and its quite a great game. But not so familiar with Starshatter, though I have heard of it. As far as story goes, Either-Or works for me. I'm just lately itching to get behind the control of some of the bigger guns.
Allegiance is multilayer strategy/action There is always the unmentionable Battlecruiser series...(wait...did I just say it?) oh yes I forgot: there is the Infinity Combat Prototype. Its not the full game its a test for the game engine's combat Also there is Babylon 5: I've found her. It's more story than simulation. This game is your a fighter pilot, but there are capital ship engagements
Starshatter - definetely a good one, however as Shaggy mentioned it's pure space sim with only minimal plot. Battlecruiser 3000 AD - imho most advanced (and complicated) capship sim ever made. Homeworld series - though it's rather RTS than a space sim.
Well.. after nearly 6 years of trying to find the LAN game I mentioned in that old post of mine, I finally found it. I submit this for your scrutiny! http://community.ise.canberra.edu.au/AmGame/bcrew/default.html The concept is sound enough in my head, though I haven't had a chance to try it over TCP/IP yet. I'm hoping to be able to test it out at the upcoming PDXLAN in a couple of weeks. I have a few friends that might be willing to torture themselves with the concept.
I have to agree with dumpshock, I've never played a game like Bridge Commander before. If only it was less linear...
Back when I was playing ST: Bridge Commander, I never really got into the plot too much. Mostly I played some Multiplayer battles and modded the skirmish mode. A lot of the mods out there add a lot more depth to the game, including a form of Free-Roam. The Battlecruiser series (I own Universal Combat) could have a lot more potential to be a great game if Derek Smart would get his head out of his back-end and actually listen to the player base instead of Insta-Banning them for constructive (or any kind of) criticism.
Freelancer was a pretty fun game, even if at times it feels a bit shallow. Not sure if it really fits into a "large starship" game though (unless of course you are using mods but even then, its generally a point/click game without much strategy or tactics involved)
I actually have a new one to post. In the MMO category. StarQuest http://www.castlethornsoftware.com/sq.html The game is actually pretty cool. Been playing for two days now. The graphics aren't flashy or anything. One of the players said it was actually developed off of one of the Ultima engines, though I'm not sure about that one personally. Very in depth. Lots to do. It has a bit of a learning curve at the beginning, but once you find a ship to crew with, it seems to get alot better. Anyone finds the game interesting, they sure could use some more players
While not bridge simulator games, there were the ST: Starfleet Command games. I believe there were three of them, the first two focusing on the TOS and movie era but following a different timeline than one fans of the show are familiar with. There were more alien races and Starfleet saw more combat. Then the third game took place in the TNG era. All of them used the same concept, you started off in command of a smaller ship, and then as you completed missions and won battles you gained prestige which you could use to get larger ships or command multiple ships.
Starquest looks interesting...but it seems like it maybe a little TOO role playing and TOO persistent-universe...as in, you have to bathe your character, use the latrine, drink, eat, change clothes... You can't log off with your character in any position where they could be attacked because they can be killed before you login, looted, carried off, etc. I dunno that I'd be interested in paying money for a game where I have to wash, poop, and hover over my character for fear she'll die of disease because she hasn't showered in two days or be hacked to pieces without the ability to defend herself because I'm not logged on at the moment some no-life korean (or other player) decides to see how badly they can destroy my avatar. Maybe I'm not giving the game a fair shake from my four hours of playing it last night...some aspects are really quite cool, but the intensive maint and steep "how the hell do I DO anything" learning curve cool me off.
Was that game finished? I'd always remembered seeing it was still in development. It looked like it could have been interesting.
They got a prologue campaign done a while back and with the current engine are creating a new Campaign called Delta Wing while the rest of the team is working on updating their engine.
The game isn't really as bad as you think in those terms. I've actually run a character for about 2 days so far with only needing to meet Feeding and Water Needs, which are very easy as long as you have a vending machine and water fountin/sink nearby. If you like, I might be able to bring your character on board the ship I'm flying on. Good pay, decent play, though always looking for better of course. Alot better than sitting back on Terra. (or wherever you started). It seems we generally run Cargo runs between Terra and a colony that the Captain owns. If your interested, post here or PM me.
So far, Bridge Commander has come out best for me. Thanks to a busy modding community the external ship graphics (though not the bridge ones so much) are pretty damn spanking. The campaign was okay but could have been a lot better; however the quick battles do give longevity.
There was an old game by Ocean called I-War where you command a Dreadnought Class Corvette. Still got that game knocking around somewhere.
Performing a little necro here, but as I have a new game to add to the list, I think it's worth reviving. As was detailed in my original post, I was searching for a game which simulated a star ship bridge environment where control of sub-systems was delegated to multiple crew members. Found this little diamond in the rough called Artemis: Spaceship Bridge Simulator http://artemis.eochu.com/ For a rather geeky example of the game play as well: Youtube I've only played the offered demo so far, but the concept seems promising. The demo provides a limited number of stations (Helm and Tactical) for your use, while the full version opens up everything. Asking price is pretty steep though at $40.00 for full version.
