Author Topic: Best space game ever, lets hear em'!  (Read 44288 times)

Offline TexasRED

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Re: Best space game ever, lets hear em'!
« Reply #60 on: 11/22/2010 04:24 pm »
Two more games I haven't seen mentioned here are the free Bayblon 5 game I've Found Her and X-Com Ufo Defense. The physics in IFH are probably the most realistic in any space game. None of that flying around like a fighter jet like in the Star Wars games. Although X-Com is pretty old these days, its a classic.

Oh man I still play x-com via DosBox.  Though I noticed a time unit bug (that is already well known) so my soldiers have too many time units, and then it overflows and you only get the remainder so they have like 8 TU total haha. I need to install the patch...

I like the old quarter eating game called "Lunar Lander" by Atari.

Hell yeah! I played that a decent amount a couple of months ago at a local retro arcade. (Joystix)

Most of the classics I played have already been mentioned cept maybe DOOM. Not really a space game even though its on Phobos...but I've probably spent more time on DOOM than anything.

I'm still rocking an AGP desktop  :-\ so newer games are pretty much not an option for me on PC. This machine shall become the brains of a MAME cabinet one day.

For newer stuff, on xbox I've been playing Mass Effect and I like it a lot. That and the Soyuz launch level on the new COD is pretty cool.
« Last Edit: 11/22/2010 05:42 pm by TexasRED »

Offline manboy

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Re: Best space game ever, lets hear em'!
« Reply #61 on: 11/22/2010 10:54 pm »
I like the old quarter eating game called "Lunar Lander" by Atari.
I was wondering when someone was going to mention that.
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Offline jeklund

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Re: Best space game ever, lets hear em'!
« Reply #62 on: 11/23/2010 02:19 pm »
Unfortunately, I am old enough to remember when Space Invaders first came out.  In high school, spent alot of quarters and time on Asteroids.   Stilll have it on my PC. 

Offline MediumFidelity

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Re: Best space game ever, lets hear em'!
« Reply #63 on: 11/23/2010 09:51 pm »
I have fond memories of "Apollo 18" on my Commodore 64.



It was the first C64 game (that I owned/remember) that played back recorded voice.  Fancy stuff.

Later,
MF

Offline Pheogh

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Re: Best space game ever, lets hear em'!
« Reply #64 on: 11/23/2010 10:39 pm »
Tie Fighter or X-Wing for sure

Offline Cinder

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Re: Best space game ever, lets hear em'!
« Reply #65 on: 11/25/2010 05:22 am »
Freespace 2, which btw is officially free for distribution IIRC.
Orbiter sure looks fun as far as hard physics realism goes, but the interface is such a buffer that it removes most of what little immersion the esthetics provide, for the space enthusiast that's only casually tech-savvy.

First computer IIRC was an Amstrad PC1512.

Mass effect has that Star Trek feel of exploration and a half decent story.
It had that single scene where you're pitched into catastrophic vacuum, and then absolutely nothing else that compares.  A real shame.
« Last Edit: 11/25/2010 05:25 am by Cinder »
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Offline gomorrha

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Re: Best space game ever, lets hear em'!
« Reply #66 on: 11/25/2010 10:24 am »
Best space game(s) ever?

1. Galaga
2. Xevious
3. Moon Patrol

Offline truth is life

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Re: Best space game ever, lets hear em'!
« Reply #67 on: 12/02/2010 11:40 pm »
It had that single scene where you're pitched into catastrophic vacuum, and then absolutely nothing else that compares.  A real shame.

Depends on what you're looking for, although that was a really good scene. Second game though, first didn't have anything like that (well, unless you count jumping out the Citadel elevators at the end...no spoilers there)

It's probably been mentioned, but my favorite (bar none) "space" game is Race Into Space, which is the Windows/Linux remake of the game "Buzz Aldrin's Race Into Space". You are basically James Webb or Sergei Korolov (that's even "your" name), running NASA or (ahistorically but necessarily, given the state of knowledge when they came up with the game) the Soviet space program with the objective of landing on the Moon by 1969. It has...well, not *all* but definitely *many* of the actual programs and proposals there, all for you to play with. Great fun.

Offline pberrett

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Re: Best space game ever, lets hear em'!
« Reply #68 on: 12/03/2010 10:08 am »
Hi all

I will second Galaga. Whenever I see a Galaga machine in a fish and chip shop I am still drawn to play it. It is as relevant today as it was 20-30 years ago.

That aside there is one other notable space game that stands out - no 1 for attitude



cheers Peter

 
« Last Edit: 12/03/2010 10:12 am by pberrett »

Offline Cinder

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Re: Best space game ever, lets hear em'!
« Reply #69 on: 12/04/2010 01:54 pm »
It had that single scene where you're pitched into catastrophic vacuum, and then absolutely nothing else that compares.  A real shame.

Depends on what you're looking for, although that was a really good scene.
Ok, maybe my memory's no good.  What other space scene is there in the second game?  The only other segment I recall that's got you doing something nearly space-bound is when you dock with that nasty alien ship, with the party dressed like it's out clubbing.  Except for this crappy little hospital oxygen mask.   :P

There just isn't any game I can recall, recently, that exploits the sheer coolness of outer space.  Which is a real shame cause with today's hardware there's the means to really thrill anyone with even a little imagination.  Especially given that relatively long absence of any games really set in space.  Opposite this is the never-ending trend of WWII and zombie games and movies.

Games/Sims like Orbiter don't count.  They're only cool if you know the physics and other context of everything it offers.  Someone who doesn't have that understanding needs to have it made more accessible, more fundamentally demonstrated, to genuinely appreciate them.  Just like when you're a kid you learn the underlying workings of nature by seeing dead simple things like heat waves off turbines, or ground effect machines like Ekranoplan, or the first time you see separate explosive shockwaves for sound/earth/etc.  When you put these in a game with simplified esthetics like Orbiter, it's reduced to e.g. an Ekranoplan just rising from underwater without the exact visual of water's behavior that intuitively explains the fluid dynamics at work.

Another example: NASA's moonbase alpha game.  There's no sense of the moon's gravity or vacuum.  Not even as a separate "realism mode".
« Last Edit: 12/04/2010 02:07 pm by Cinder »
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Offline Cog_in_the_machine

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Re: Best space game ever, lets hear em'!
« Reply #70 on: 12/04/2010 10:51 pm »
There just isn't any game I can recall, recently, that exploits the sheer coolness of outer space.  Which is a real shame cause with today's hardware there's the means to really thrill anyone with even a little imagination.  Especially given that relatively long absence of any games really set in space.  Opposite this is the never-ending trend of WWII and zombie games and movies.

That's because that's what's popular. Big epic games are really costly to make and investors are willing to fund something, only if you can show it will succeed. That's why there's a never-ending precession of ripofs clogging mainstream gaming (and everything actually). Very few people are willing to give indie game designers serious cash, so they can't go nuts and experiment a lot. Almost everything is a remake, reboot, reimagining, regurgitation of previous ideas, because that's the formula for making easy money without much effort. Also, imo most designers just recreate memes that they grew up with and love, with only minor alterations. If space games feel stale, it's because no one is trying to break the mold. There's sound in space, spaceships behave like airplanes or sea ships, there's "artificial gravity" etc. in damn near every game out there, because again that's the familiar formula. It takes someone with a really unique mindset to come up with significant innovations, a genius if you will (or in George Lucas' case, dumb luck).
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Offline Cinder

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Re: Best space game ever, lets hear em'!
« Reply #71 on: 12/05/2010 09:45 am »
Lucas' space ships make those rude flyby noises in vacuum, so he only puts realism to use when it suits his films.

I agree the movie and games industry's pretty lazy that way, but on the other hand I don't think it takes a fortune to give an authentic experience of space with today's hardware and software.  I think the main thing is that no one's daring enough to try it.

Computer will only get faster and cheaper in the future, so on the good side, it's probably just a matter of time.
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Offline Cog_in_the_machine

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Re: Best space game ever, lets hear em'!
« Reply #72 on: 12/05/2010 11:26 am »
Lucas' space ships make those rude flyby noises in vacuum, so he only puts realism to use when it suits his films.

I know, his contributions had more to do with characters and alien design. Also the jedi and sith - probably the most recognizable space wizards. The ships and space physics are pretty run of the mill and I didn't mention him, because of the realism in his stuff. I just like ripping on him :) One good joke I heard recently about him is "what George Lucas does isn't writing, it's more like vomiting through a pen". But I digress.

Quote
I agree the movie and games industry's pretty lazy that way, but on the other hand I don't think it takes a fortune to give an authentic experience of space with today's hardware and software.  I think the main thing is that no one's daring enough to try it.

By authentic I assume you mean that ships don't fly around like airplanes or float like sea ships in an invisible sea. This also puzzles me. Even in Homeworld, where you can issue 3 dimensional move orders, the ships still behave like they're floating on invisible water. Is it really so hard to simplify orbital trajectories and make the thing spin around a planet? Like you said, I think no one is trying, because they're sticking to what's familiar from previous sci-fi. Also it's probably a good idea not to make space too authentic, or you might end up boring people to death.

By the way, kinda unrelated to your point, but I just saw the trailer for Sword of the Stars II - Lords of Winter. Imo the two main things wrong with the first game are:
 - the random tech and research tree. Probably the most annoying game play mechanic ever conceived. Although I guess that's how it would work in real life, it's still frustrating and that's not what you want in a game.
Oh, joy, they're keeping it >:(
 - it uses the "sea ship in space" method of movement and star systems have only one planet, for some reason. The second one will have systems with more than one planet, but I don't know if they'll do anything about the movement.

Judging by the trailer According to the interview, they won't.
Also, ouch, ouch, OUCH, at the bad voice acting in the trailer!
Whatever happened to the good old days when they could produce cheesy, yet good vocals:
Exhibit A
Exhibit B
« Last Edit: 12/05/2010 01:46 pm by Cog_in_the_machine »
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Offline nickyp

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Re: Best space game ever, lets hear em'!
« Reply #73 on: 12/05/2010 02:26 pm »
Not really a ''game'', but Orbiter is a fantastic simulator, especially with the Apollo 12 soundpack for AMSO, its great fun just listening to Pete and the boys yak on about things :)

Offline Cinder

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Re: Best space game ever, lets hear em'!
« Reply #74 on: 12/05/2010 05:24 pm »
Yep authentic as in realistic physics.  Nowadays most other genres have moved pretty close to reality, anytime it matters.  E.G. in movies you don't have people jerking handguns with each shot as if they meant to add to each bullet's speed; the pornographic effect of firearms is mostly exhausted, now it's more important to actually do something cool with firearms.  Space needs that same treatment.  It's not just about gratuitous eye candy, it's about making the physics so clear and intuitive that they're palpable.  So that people really grok what space and being in space is like.

I haven't played too many games, incl SoS, so I can't comment.  I do remember one old game that had easily the best voice acting I've ever heard (and it's set in space as well): System Shock 2.

I remember Homeworld, and what it looked like is that they probably were concerned with keeping it accessible.  Newtonian physics and full six degrees of maneuvering freedom gets hairy real quick when you have to control more than a handful of combat units. 
« Last Edit: 12/05/2010 05:24 pm by Cinder »
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Offline Cog_in_the_machine

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Re: Best space game ever, lets hear em'!
« Reply #75 on: 12/05/2010 05:50 pm »
So that people really grok what space and being in space is like.

Idk. I lean toward the opinion that nothing will get the message across, short of flying them there. That said though, games with less bad physics would be nice.

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I haven't played too many games, incl SoS, so I can't comment.

Think of it this way: the development team could have chosen to revamp their game, say by adding more believable movement mechanics (and nuking the random research tree to hell). Instead what did they do? Upgraded graphics and added another biga$$ ship, because you know, Dreadnoughts with 20-something weapons just aren't huge enough. About the only innovative change seems to be creating more complex/realistic star systems.
It's a good example of repeating old memes, with minor tweaking so they can say the new game is better.

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I do remember one old game that had easily the best voice acting I've ever heard (and it's set in space as well): System Shock 2.

Never played that. I hear it's like the cyberpunk predecessor to Bio Shock, only it's much harder. Anyway, I wouldn't have brought up the vocals if they didn't make me cringe so hard.

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I remember Homeworld, and what it looked like is that they probably were concerned with keeping it accessible.  Newtonian physics and full six degrees of maneuvering freedom gets hairy real quick when you have to control more than a handful of combat units. 

Yeah, I don't fault them for that. It's still the best approximation for space movement I've seen, in an RTS, and hats of to the team for making it the way they did. And they did a really good job actually. Controlling units with Alt, Ctrl, Space, Shift, Mouse Scroll, LM $ RM buttons is really easy. No need for a physics Phd, like in Orbiter. Wish they'd make a 3rd game :(
« Last Edit: 12/05/2010 05:52 pm by Cog_in_the_machine »
^^ Warning! Contains opinions. ^^ 

Offline Cinder

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Re: Best space game ever, lets hear em'!
« Reply #76 on: 12/05/2010 06:06 pm »
On the first point - I had more or less that opinion till I played that one part in ME2 where you walk thru a breached hull section.  It was just that cool.  It's just such an underexploited adventure potential...

On SoS: What can I say?  The games industry gets away with that sort of thing because these things are basically toys.  There's no pressure to make them into the works of art they could be, the way writers and movie makers are expected to.

SS2: It's worth trying.  It's about as enjoyable as a really good SF movie.
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Offline Cog_in_the_machine

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Re: Best space game ever, lets hear em'!
« Reply #77 on: 12/05/2010 06:54 pm »
On the first point - I had more or less that opinion till I played that one part in ME2 where you walk thru a breached hull section.  It was just that cool.  It's just such an underexploited adventure potential...

Hmm, not familiar with that one. Don't even know what ME stands for. Was it anything like the zero-g sections in Dead Space? I really like how they muffled the surrounding sounds and made the character's breathing more audible. That's about as best that can be done to make the player aware of the vacuum, like you mentioned a while back.

Regarding games as an art form, let's not open that can of worms.

Quote
SS2: It's worth trying.  It's about as enjoyable as a really good SF movie.

Oh, make no mistake. SOTS was good and II will likely be as well, but it probably could have been more.
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Offline truth is life

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Re: Best space game ever, lets hear em'!
« Reply #78 on: 12/05/2010 10:05 pm »
Ok, maybe my memory's no good.  What other space scene is there in the second game?  The only other segment I recall that's got you doing something nearly space-bound is when you dock with that nasty alien ship, with the party dressed like it's out clubbing.  Except for this crappy little hospital oxygen mask.   :P

Oh, I think you misunderstood me. I was just saying that there were other good scenes, although not involving space, and the game itself was fun. As far as the Collector ship, you're absolutely right, people complain about it over on the Bioware forums, and I personally always have characters who don't do that (Garrus, Tali, for instance) because otherwise...yeah.

@Cog_in_the_machine: "ME" stands for "Mass Effect," the series of sci-fi video roleplaying games from Bioware. They did mute other sounds than the breathing of the character in that scene. (Then they went and ruined it by using the silliest-looking explosion animation they could find, apparently...)

Offline Cog_in_the_machine

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Re: Best space game ever, lets hear em'!
« Reply #79 on: 12/05/2010 10:39 pm »
@Cog_in_the_machine: "ME" stands for "Mass Effect,"

Ahh, I've played the first one. Started with a dude, but completed it as a woman :-*
Yyyeah, Dead Space's version of a vacuum and zero g environment is better imo. Better walking animations, you can jump from wall to wall, your oxygen is draining quickly and if you don't move it you end up watching your character screaming in agony as he floats away in space...
Good times.

LOL, this guy knows what I mean.
« Last Edit: 12/05/2010 10:48 pm by Cog_in_the_machine »
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