Brian when he found the new copy:
Very accurate!
I prefer my 4x to be SUPER combat heavy. The other X’s are just there to fill in context and give me an extended timeline of research and design to then influence the battles. I play them sort of like an RTS, but played in turns with distinct region conquest. Towards that goal WH40K Gladius is my go to for ground games. My space game slot has sat open a long time. Sword of the Stars was the main winner as I adored that game back when, but I have not tried it in many years or on a modern rig. From YouTube, my memory may be better than reality at this point.
If you don’t want the broader elements of the “X’s” then Battlestar is a good tactical space romp. I wish I had more than that to offer, but I still hunting for a SotS replacement.
Star Ruler 2 has very in depth ship customisation. Although the real tactical game is coming up with designs that counter your opponent, rather than manoeuvring your fleet.
Honestly still the winner in this category I think, though I’m also partial to Imperium Galactica 2’s combat as well.
I started playing Starcom: Nexus yesterday. So far it’s an interesting mix of combat, ship design, and exploration mixed with just enough breadcrumbs to lead me through it’s story. (Exploration for exploration’s sake doesn’t work for me.)
As I’ve been playing it, however, I kept listening to the somewhat ominous and somber music and thinking “this is ok… but it really needs some Kyoto Connection!” And so I’m playing 3030 Deathwar instead. I still really dislike it’s save strategy, but it’s a great game nonetheless.
Save strategy? You can save out of missions at any time.
I wish it allowed you to save during a mission, is my point. I complained about it last time I playing too, so it’s really just me being picky.
Starcom autosaves every time you warp to a new system. With 3030, my temptation is to chain missions together: At system A, take missions to systems B and C. At B, take missions to systems C and D, etc. Restricting saves to outside of missions means I have to not do that at least occasionally. I’m sure there are very good technical reasons not to allow saves in missions, but it makes it more difficult to pick up and put down quickly than it needs to be.
Brian went viral.
Dumbest Tweet I’ve ever done.
Which is what it takes to go viral! ;)
OK, need a little guidance about something, and I figure this is probably the best place to ask. Over in the Ur Quan Masters 2 thread, @Alstein and @vinraith suggested a game to me called Approaching Infinity. In checking it out on Steam, I noticed it’s part of a bundle that’s currently on sale. The bundle contains the following games:
Rings of Saturn
Carrier Command: Gaea Mission
Star Explorers
Approaching Infinity
Take On Mars
Solar Settlers
Helium Rain
Star Singularity (this one has been on my wishlist for a while, actually)
EarthX
Absolute Territory
It’s going for $57.52, which like I mentioned may be a sale or maybe it’s just the going price for the bundle. I don’t really know much about any of these games, just curious if anyone had any strong feelings or recommendations about any of them, does this seem like something I should consider grabbing?
I haven’t played any of the other titles there. I’ll note that Approaching Infinity’s regular price on Steam is $12.99.
Save yourself the backlog stress - don’t do it. You’re never gonna play all those titles even if they’re all good (and they ain’t).
That’s true. But I don’t fear the backlog - in fact what most people call a backlog, I call a library. And I like having a healthy library.
I think @TurinTur might know about Take On Mars.
I think @BrianRubin recommended Helium Rain to me once.
You know, I really like Helium Rain. It’s like a streamlined X game that also takes a more “hard sci-fi” approach which I found very refreshing.
I bought delta-V: Rings of Saturn but I haven’t played it yet. Approaching Infinity is great if you like spacey roguelikes, and I recommend it.
That is a mostly fantastic bundle.
IIRC Helium Rain was in one of the itchio bundles, so maybe you have that one already?
I don’t. I know about their other ‘Take On’ game but that was pretty different!