13 replies to this topic

[Orymus3]

Hello Community!

Today I inquire to your global knowledge of released games.
I'm looking for a game about startship command.
Basically, anything that pits you as the captain or admiral of a single ship, managing crew, etc.
I'd like to stay away from games like Freelancers, because the crew management aspect isn't quite there.
One of the best examples I've seen so far is the unreleased Starship Corporation, but I'm wondering if there are more?

Key thing here, I'm looking for a game where combat isn't necessarily the main focus. If you have ideas of starship games where the goal is to explore systems, analyze minerology, acquire data, trade, etc. I'm all ears.

Thanks!

[slicer4ever]

FTL, although it centers around combat alot more than you probably like, it's really a great addicting game.

Edited by slicer4ever, 21 October 2012 - 08:03 PM.

[Hodgman]

FTL is an amazing game

If you've got 6 PC's between yourself and 5 friends (and for full effect, a large projector for the captain's main screen), there's Artemis.

[Orymus3]

Ya sadly, I was asking 'cause I'm done with FTL already. It was a great experience, although a bit too 'accessible' (simplified and abstracted).
I want the real (complex) thing really.
I really liked how it emphasized crew management, and that's what I'm after now. I'm ok with not seeing much space as long as I get to manage resources and people ;)

[slicer4ever]

If you've got 6 PC's between yourself and 5 friends (and for full effect, a large projector for the captain's main screen), there's Artemis.

crap, that looks awesome, i think me and my friends are ganna try it.

[Orymus3]

So ya, I guess I'm looking for a dusty DOS-era game that's similar to FTL but more complete.
I liked Solar for the record, but there wasn't crew management involved sadly.

[irreversible]

The absolute best in the business: http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/star_control_1_2

An in many cases worthy, albeit different followup: http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/star_control_3



Start with SC2 (1 and 2 come bundled for the measly price). Although with regards to the OP, in many cases you can't really ignore space combat (although in SC it's highly enjoyable).

[Orymus3]

I'm ok with combat, as I said, I just want to look at other space-related gameplay. So long as its in there, I'm going to enjoy it.
This looks like a sweet series, I'll have a look, thanks a lot for your input!

[irreversible]

Oh, by the by - you'll likely want to look into the freeware port of SC2 as well.

[Waterlimon]

Google isnt very helpful when it comes to finding new games you and probably many other people havent heard of...
It would be useful to sort them by relative growth rather than by popularity...

[Orymus3]

Oh, by the by - you'll likely want to look into the freeware port of SC2 as well.

That's what I did, as I wasn't quite sure I wanted to pay for it, unknowingly of whether the game would fit my criterias.
Thanks for pointing it out though!

[Orymus3]

On second thought, this isn't quite the type of game I was after. The crew management component is merely using a number. Crew is considered a metric of survivability basically, and you're not exactly managing them into efficient positions, etc.

[capn_midnight]

I've played quite a bit of Artemis. It sucks. After the first hour, there is no challenge left. You start to just do ridiculous things to come up with harder things to do.

[Geoffrey]

OK, this is what sprung to mind:

FTL (mentioned previously) - indie game about ship and crew management, but mostly combat

Artemis (also mentioned previously) - why control a virtual crew when you could invite five real friends round to play?

Starflight - classic space exploration

Elite II - explore, trade, fight, and learn why realistic space physics in games is a bad idea! I recommend the JJFFE bug fixed version of Frontier: First Encounters

Starfleet Command - tactical starship combat, more about maneuvers and power management than crew but it certainly has depth