*nudges out Spiffor* I need a great Space STRATEGY game!

Boris Godunov · February 16, 2004, 13:12

It's like a quest for a holy grail.

Yesterday I went to the Hayden Planetarium here in NYC and saw the space show which gives the scope of the universe. It was rather awe-inspiring, and filled me once again with the desire to experience an atmospheric space strategy game.

Ok, here's what I own:

Imperium Galactica II
Master of Orion II
Ascendancy
Galactic Civilizations
Space Empires IV Gold
Star Wars: Rebellion

Now, Ascendancy has a special place in my heart because its atmosphere was so damn good. Unfortunately, the AI was braindead and method of ship movement tedious. I did love the battles, though.

IG2 also had good atmosphere and interface, and I liked the somewhat random events in the campaigns. But the late-game overrunning-the-galaxy-with-one-huge-fleet thing got tiresome.

MoO2 was good, but I am looking for something different. Plus the late-game battles were impossibly huge and tediously slow.

GalCiv...meh. Initially it was good, but the poor presentation and genericness of it wore thin quickly.

SEIV: Some great ideas, but B-level graphics and such = snooze.

SW: Rebellion: Stank. 'Nough said.

is Moo3 with patches now worth it? Is there anything esle? I need to experience the vastness of the cosmos from my desktop!!!

Spaced Cowboy · February 16, 2004, 13:18

Fellow 4x'er, I'm afraid that there is nothing to fill the void. There is an indie project (Free Orion), but we all know how those turn out.

SEV is on the horizon as well.

BTW I have all of those plus many, many others.

Boris Godunov · February 16, 2004, 13:30

Woe unto us. Weep ye, weep ye, sons of men...

Boris Godunov · February 16, 2004, 13:30

And name those many, many other, plz. Just so they're taken care of.

Father Beast · February 16, 2004, 13:52

I picked up a shareware game called Stars! a while back and paid for the full version within a month. It's like Master Of Orion (the original) with a bunch of improvements.

Of course, if B level graphics bothers you, it's not for you.

But it was fantastic for me. makes the original MOO look broken.

Other stuff...

Reach For The Stars is some fun, but not much depth.

Jamski · February 16, 2004, 14:20

MoO3 with patches = teh suxx0rs

However... I must admit I played a game the other day with some fan-made-fixes and it was pleasant. Not wonderful, but pleasant.

But the genre is looking empty at the moment

MoO2 is still the champ, and that really is pretty poor after nearly 10 years or something

-Jam

Skanky Burns · February 16, 2004, 14:21

MoO 3?

Jamski · February 16, 2004, 14:27

I realised it had been on my shelf for nearly a year, and I felt I had to justify the 55 euros I spent on it.

It was an ok way to wait for Eventis to come back on.

-Jam

Spaced Cowboy · February 16, 2004, 14:32

The first Imperium Galactium on the C64 (well, all my C64 went dumpster)

MoO
IG1 and 3 (IBM/modern)
BotF
Reach for the Stars
Stars!

And a couple of early stupid ones that I cannot remember.

Verto · February 16, 2004, 14:53

Quote:

SW: Rebellion: Stank. 'Nough said.

Blasphemy!

Sandman · February 16, 2004, 15:21

I also recommend Stars! Minimalist graphics, but plenty of depth. It's one of those games where learning to play is like taking a degree.

Spaced Cowboy · February 16, 2004, 15:28

I agree, if you haven't played Stars! Then it is worth the DL. It'll run on any windows os. Perfect for my old work NT laptop (not that i have a new one mind you).

Dis · February 16, 2004, 16:15

Eve

okay I say that all the time. There is some strategy to the combat. Although not that much. There are 2 main ways to go about it. Go with faster ships and longer range guns. Or go with slower ships, and more guns. But it's not that simple, there are jammers and many other things you can use in combat.

Agathon · February 16, 2004, 17:19

Quote:

Originally posted by Spaced Cowboy
The first Imperium Galactium on the C64 (well, all my C64 went dumpster)

I loved that game. Three friends and I used to multiplayer one night a week.

There's nothing like the feeling you get sending 255 (the limit) Large ships to purge your enemy's home planet.

Spaced Cowboy · February 16, 2004, 17:36

Quote:

Originally posted by Agathon

I loved that game. Three friends and I used to multiplayer one night a week.

There's nothing like the feeling you get sending 255 (the limit) Large ships to purge your enemy's home planet.

I loved the screen goes blank during a battle, and all you would hear is a boom, boom in the background (kinda letting you know that the program did not crash).

Az · February 16, 2004, 17:37

My personal favorite:

Fragile Allegiance.

http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.ph...ile+Allegiance

DrSpike · February 16, 2004, 19:15

Are you interested in Multiplayer Boris? Eve online is popular with some friends of mine........they've been playing it for months.

JohnT · February 16, 2004, 19:21

Stars! is a great game... for those who like playing with spreadsheets, that is.

Spiffor · February 16, 2004, 19:37

Quote:

*nudges out Spiffor*

Hey you! I was here first, you punk!

Provost Harrison · February 16, 2004, 20:02

Quote:

Originally posted by JohnT
Stars! is a great game... for those who like playing with spreadsheets, that is.

I like playing with spreadsheets

Hagbart · February 16, 2004, 20:37

....StarCraft?
I know it's old, but it's still agreat game. I bet you can find it very cheap. Probably isn't the type of game you are looking for.

Hagbart · February 16, 2004, 20:40

Just thougt of another one:
Homeworld (1 or 2) The graphics look great, I haven't played it much tho.

okblacke · February 16, 2004, 21:21

Quote:

Originally posted by Hagbart
....StarCraft?
I know it's old, but it's still agreat game. I bet you can find it very cheap. Probably isn't the type of game you are looking for.

StarCraft is a great game, but it has no scale. It all takes place on land. Small bits of land, even.

Homeworld has more scale but it's not really Galactic Empire scale.

You don't get a sense of running the galaxy. You know what's interesting, though: This is true of GalCiv and even Civ itself. That is, in GalCiv, you get the feeling of running a bunch of planets. In Civ, a bunch of cities. You don't get the sense of grandeur.

It's better in Civ 3, especially with the borders. You can see your empire sprawl and grow.

But in GalCiv, it feels all so disconnected. There's no sense of what your Race/Species/Empire is doing, just each planet.

[ok]

Imran Siddiqui · February 16, 2004, 21:28

I don't think I've ever really enjoyed a space strategy game. Moo2 was ok, but no Civ2. I don't enjoy fighting my own battles (I'd rather see a bunch of explosions on the main screen and have the computer sort it out). I'm not sure what it is, maybe the lack of good planets to colonize, not enough of a feeling of different species... it just doesn't capture the feel of Civ for me I guess.

Jaguar · February 16, 2004, 23:34

Quote:

Originally posted by Boris Godunov
Ok, here's what I own:

Imperium Galactica II
Master of Orion II
Ascendancy
Galactic Civilizations
Space Empires IV Gold
Star Wars: Rebellion

Geek sighting +1.

Agathon · February 17, 2004, 01:49

Quote:

Originally posted by Spaced Cowboy

I loved the screen goes blank during a battle, and all you would hear is a boom, boom in the background (kinda letting you know that the program did not crash).

Yeah.. those were the days.

Urban Ranger · February 17, 2004, 02:15

Master of Orion.

The graphics are dated, but it's an otherwise excellent 4x space game.

Grumbold · February 17, 2004, 06:38

If you want that feeling of galactic scope then patched MoO3 delivers imho. *ducks Jamskis' scornful reply* Its still not a good enough game to justify full price but I play and enjoy it from time to time because I really feel like I'm ruling an empire, not micromanaging a spreadsheet. MoO1 still remains the best game of the series (and genre) for overall play though.

Eve online was kind of interesting for a month but I wouldn't call it a strategy game. Its just you in your spaceship, maybe with a bunch of mates in their spaceships, click-fighting, click-mining or click-manufacturing. 10 out of 10 for eyecandy, 1 out of 10 for excitement.

Jamski · February 17, 2004, 07:26

*keeps scornful reply in check*

Like I said, I played a game last week, and it was "ok" It still completely lacks the "grab" factor though

But it passes the time, and it was quite satifying when my customised gasbags conquered the galaxy

-Jam

Boris Godunov · February 17, 2004, 15:56

What about the Pax Imperia games? The first one was Mac-only, IIRC, but I've heard nothing but praise for it. The second one wasn't so well received, though.