Could you describe the controls? I really liked Homeworld and Nexus [ed. and Star Wolves] and am hoping for more of that style of gameplay.
I had briefly mentioned A paragraph-reading board wargame in another thread, and it made me think of this game that I cannot remember, so I’m asking for help from this brilliant space game hive mind!
I remember playing this game on my Apple IIe clone about 1988 or so? Maybe 1989. I have a vivid memory of playing it and listening to a ball game on the radio and Todd Worrell blew out his elbow pitching…so that would be 1989. But the game felt like it was older than that too – like this was a commercially published iteration of a game that was much older.
Anyway, it was a space game that involved exploring. But I think it may have been mostly text-based, with some ASCII characters or primitive graphics even for that time. And the game came with multiple books, and you’d do something and the game would prompt you to go to a given book, and look up a paragraph or sentence or even a page I think in a few cases, read, and then respond to the computer game prompt.
And I may be remembering wrong, but I think your ship had stats and cargo and whatnot, so that’s what kept this from being a straight “choose your own adventure” game and more of an interactive thing.
Any ideas?
For some reason Omnitrend Universe 1 or 2 is what comes to mind, but I’m not 100%. Check out this list I made, see if it helps jog your memory.
https://spacegamejunkie.com/wiki/index.php?title=Primary_List_of_Released_Games
That sounds like Star Saga.
That’s it!! Thanks copeknight!!
Ohhhh, well done! I’ve yet to play that one!
rei
5894
I remember salivating over the print ad for that one!
You can manually control but just enabling auto pilot and clicking on where you want to go ends up being my default control system.
Double click on a station or an asteroid to approach it , single click to scan (although auto scan is available).
Click a sector on the map and enable GPS auto pilot of the “g” key or the icon and it will auto steer you across longer distances.
Anyway you will not be fighting the controls in this space game. I am really enjoying it still.
Thanks! Can you direct wingmen manually? Or are they always out of your control?
Good question I dont know yet, sorry :( I haven’t been following a fleet or drone play style. I may do so this evening though, if so I will post.
SamS
5898
What does Astrox have for the person with Helium Rain and Objects in Space as their go to space flying/trading games?
Hmmm, let’s see. A lot more skills to learn. Mining. And I guess that’s it.
That said, the three are very different games. Objects in Space is all about the “submarine-like” experience. Helium Rain is all about the streamlined trading/contracts. And Astrox is about being EVE offline.
And there’s X4, which has a lot more than all those three combined, but again, it is its own thing.
Hey, gotta earn that “Brian’s sidekick” title! ;)
Was watching an Astrox tutorial.
One thing I miss about X-Wing/TIE Fighter was that space was black and stars were white. Not this “cotton-candy-exploded-on-my-screen” junk in every game since then.
:(
Bluddy
5903
The thing about space games is, they’re so technically easy to do, they feel a little too easy, and everyone who makes them wants to distinguish them somehow, usually by splashing color everywhere. There’s no animation to do, few if any background objects, and you don’t have to obey real physics because that’s too un-intuitive in space.
NOBODY TELL CHRIS ROBERTS THIS!!
RichVR
5906
Now, I am not saying that I like a bit of the green. Because where I am it is not yet fully legal. But I AM saying that, if I did enjoy such, I might have both a bit of vodka and the green. Just saying, you see, just maybe… mine the shit out of the asteroid 741 meters from my station’s door. And I might decide to mine the feck out of it. So that my apartment in the station might have a clear view of the god damned SCENERY!
If you understand…
I found playing a different soundtrack than the games helps too. Running a mix in a browser with the games music off. May I suggest this? If you like that sort of chill thing.
