So I have a goal, call me crazy, but I like this goal. It’s to own all of the space-based flight sims ever made…primarily for the PC. That being said, I’m trying to put together a comprehensive list of all the space sims, and so far this is what I’ve come up with:
Allegiance
Ares Rising
Arvoch Conflict
Bang! Gunship Elite
Battlecruiser 3000AD
Battlecruiser Millennium
Bridge Commander
Codename MAT
Colony Wars
Colony Wars: Vengeance
Colony Wars: Red Sun
Darklight Conflict
Dark Horizon
Dark Star
DarkStar One
Deep Space
Descent: Freespace
Deep Space: Operation Copernicus
Echelon
Elite
Elite 2: Frontier
Elite 3: First Encounters
Epic
Evochron
Evochron Alliance
Evochron Legends
Evochron Renegades
Federation of Free Traders
Forbidden Planet
Forced Alliance
Freelancer
Freespace 2
Hardwar
Homeplanet
Hyperspeed
I-War
I-War 2
Inferno
Jumpgate
The Last Dynasty
Linewars
Linewars 2
Lightspeed
Microsoft Space Simulator
Millennia: Altered Destinies
No Gravity
No Gravity: The Plague of Mind
Nomad
Orbiter
Parkan
Parkan 2
Phoenix
Project Sylpheed
Protostar
Renegade: Battle for Jacob’s Star
RiftSpace
Rules of Engagement
Rules of Engagement 2
Starfleet Academy
Klingon Academy
Riftspace
Space Empires: Starfury
Spaceforce: Rogue Universe
Space Interceptor
Space Rogue
Space School Simulator: The Academy
Star Assault
StarCalibur
Star Crusader
Starglider
Starion
Starlancer
Star Raiders
Star Rangers
Starshatter
Starshatter: The Gathering Storm
Starstrike
Starstrike II
Star Trader
Star Wars Galaxies (Space Sim Component)
Star Wraith
Star Wraith 2
Star Wraith 3: Shadows of Orion
Star Wraith 4: Reviction
SunDog: Frozen Legacy
Tachyon: The Fringe
Tarr Chronicles
Tau Ceti
Terminus
The Tomorrow War
Tie Fighter
Time-Gate
Universal Combat
Vega Strike
Vendetta Online
Void War
Warhead
Wing Commander
Wing Commander 2: Revenge of the Kilrathi
Wing Commander 3: The Heart of the Tiger
Wing Commander 4: The Price of Freedom
Wing Commander: Prophecy
Wing Commander: Special Ops
Wing Commander: Armada
Wing Commander: Academy
Wing Commander: Privateer
Wing Commander: Privateer 2
Wing Commander: Arena
X
X 2
X 3
X-Com Interceptor
XF5700 Mantis Experimental Fighter
X-Plane: Space Combat Sim
X-Wing
X-Wing Alliance
X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter
Can y’all think of any to add that I might not have on that list? Thanks!
Again, we’re looking for simulation games…i.e. flight simulators in space.
Edit: Games like Nexus: The Jupiter Incident or Space Rangers don’t count because they’re tactical combat games, not space sims, FYI. ;)
If Star Rangers is a space sim, Eve Online is. Simulating the experience of commanding a capital class vessel is one area Eve does pretty well. Sure, it’s not very granular and is highly abstracted, but it feels about right. For more of a “hands on” feel the Interceptors come fairly close. Then there’s the whole space economy. Space politics. Aesthetics. Etc.
Universal Combat is lumped in with the BC300AD series.
I honestly don’t think Eve is a sim. It’s more of an abstracted tactical combat game rather than a flat out simulation. Star Rangers is totally a sim, you know, the one Interactive Magic made a while back. If you’re thinking Space Rangers than no, that isn’t a sim, IMO.
Pfft, Star Crusader, good call, how could I forget that one? I actually OWN it. headdesk
Protostar is more of a sim, I think, because you have a cockpit view of sorts. Starflight might me walking a fine line, but I think that’s more on an RPG. I honestly don’t think of it as a sim, honestly. Could I be wrong?
Ah, that’s where I was confused. Does the space sim element in Star Wars Galaxies count as part of the X-Wing/TIE Fighter series? They’re really not the same thing but very similar. And it is a real space sim with joystick controls and all that good stuff. Even fully rendered multiplayer ships.
