I was reading that SBR quote and wondering who this goofy indie developer was, with delusions of grandeur about release windows.
Then I realized it’s Arcen. They’ve cranked out enough full games to know what they’re doing.
unic
2742
So, due to picking up Elite: Dangerous when it was on sale on Steam recently, I’m about to acquire a joystick (Thrustmaster T-16000M). And now, I’m wondering what other games there is for which I can use a joystick? Given that I have little interest in reality-focused earth-bound flight sims, this means space games (unless somebody has made a dragon flight sim)…
There are a bunch of older games on GOG - which ones are worth checking out? And what is there in the way of newer games, apart from Elite: Dangerous? As in, games that are released and available, not early access or such? I’d be happy to play both more linear mission-focused games, and open-world sandbox games… been a sci-fi junkie since childhood, so just want to immerse myself in flying a spaceship, fighting, trading, or exploring! Also, I’m quite happy to put up with older graphics - I tend to play a lot of older games.
Oh, and is it worthwhile picking up a separate throttle? (Either buy a T-Flight Hotas and use just the throttle half, or splash out and get a CH Pro throttle.)
unic
2743
Oh, and while I’m asking about spaceship games, are there any good tactical capital ship games? Like in the style of the Star Fleet Battles / Federation Commander board games - heavy on tactics, planning, maneuvering, light or non-existent on twitch skills?
For joystick games, you definitely want:
Freespace 2
TIE Fighter
I-WAR 2
Wing Commander: Privateer
all on GOG, as those are the best at what they do, really.
Capital ship games are a bit trickier, as there are very few of them. GOG has the first Starfleet Command game, but if you don’t mind going pretty old-school, get the old Rules of Engagement series from Impressions, as those are really the best cap ship games ever. Klingon Academy is a close runner up too, but you’d also have to track a copy of that down as it’s not available digitally.
I hope this helps!
magnet
2745
GOG also has Nexus: the Jupiter Incident, a decent capital ship game.
Oh, nice, yeah, I sadly always forget about that one. :(
tgb123
2747
A big second for the RoE series. You’ll have to go the abandonware route, and I have no idea if they can even be made to run on modern PC’s. I wish the people at GOG would get their mitts on them.
Also, Descent flies with a decent joystick. I can also recommend Sublevel Zero if you want a modern, more rogue-like take on it.
For what it’s worth, I personally enjoy the stately combat in Sword of the Stars. It’s certainly not of the same ilk, but you can get fleets blasting away at each other (somewhat abstracted - the game has a “control point” system that limits the number of ships in the field at any given moment, although fighter/drones don’t count toward the total).
They run great via DOSBox.
unic
2751
Wow, I remember considering getting that game (the 2nd, but ended up getting something else) way way back… still worth playing today then? I’ll have to check it out!
Oh god yes, they’re still wonderful, if challenging (in a good way). ROE2 was one of my first let’s play series, if you don’t mind me pimping it a bit:
Personally, if you’re gonna go that route? Scour eBay for a physical copies. The manuals are still some of the best ever written for any PC game ever, I think, especially for the second game. Sometimes I break 'em out just to read 'em.
Decent? Nexus is outstanding. No other game out like it. Still looks ridiculously good 10 years on.
True, but it’s also maddeningly and, I feel, annoyingly difficult with its puzzleness at times. I’ve bounced off the game several times at various points because I run out of patience with it, which is likely why it wasn’t at the front of my brain pan when cap ship games were asked for. But yes, it looks amazing.
As if on cue, Nexus is on sale on Steam this week for $2.49.
Heh, Freespace 2 is also on sale:
Personally, the GOG version of that one is better for modding and such, from what I understand, so you might wanna get it from GOG regardless.
Absolutely! The ideal thing you want in an Elite HOTAS setup is an analogue mini-stick to control the thrusters, which the CH Pro has.
Next up - rudder pedals. :)
So I found ROE, fired it up, made a captain, started the first mission (looks like it should be a milk run)… and I have NO IDEA what to do. I absolutely love the whole thing–I think–and I clicked some buttons and stuff, but… oh man. Guess I should find a manual or tutorial or something.
Oh yeah, that’s definitely a game where you have to RTFM. Here’s a link to a PDF of the manual for ROE2 that should help.
So… I managed to do the tutorial (I found a ROE1 manual). Seems cool. So then I go for another mission, and I choose the only other “very easy” one on there. Basically a drone target shoot. I go to board the scout–no problem. I fight the destroyer, takes a bit longer to get the shields and engines down, then I go to board, and I die in the assault. I guess that’s that!
Sounds about right. :-):-) Glad you’re enjoying it.
