Space Games

[Merkavar]

So I have had this urge to play a space game laterly. But its not a genre I'm to familiar with.

Can anyone suggest a good space game to me.

The things I think I want in the game is control over individual ships. so not just moving entire fleets around and having them auto attack other fleets.

Ship building/customisation. Maybe not to the extent of minecraft in space but a bit of control over the ship being built like maybe make a slow ship with a giant freaking space gun or fast little wasp like ships.

Freedom to kill/destroy stuff. If a guy on a space station over charged me for shiney rims on my space ship i can go back and blow it up.

So im not sure if any of this is even possible or avaliable but i hope it gives you an idea of what i feel like playing.

Thanks

 

[Aeshi]

Space Pirates and Zombies fills just about all of those requirements, though it is a bit small-scale (you can only have 3 ships at a time for most of the game, and even after that it only goes up to 4[footnote]Though there is a mod that ups this to 8 ships for the entire game, but if you use that mod I advise playing on a high difficulty because it'll be far too easy otherwise, since the game's still balanced for 3-4 ships.[/footnote])

And if you don't mind sacrificing the "Ship Customization" rule, then one of the X-Universe games might be to your liking as well (the only bits of a ship you can really customize there are weapons, and even that tends to vary from ship to ship)

 

[Pink Gregory]

I get the impression that Sins of a Solar Empire is like this, but I haven't played it.

See also Sword of the Stars.

Homeworld, naturally, though I don't think there's any ship designing in that.

I hear Galactic Civilizations II is a pinnacle of the genre (I prefer Endless Space myself, but I understand that GalCiv II is a bit more extensive, both are 4x games).

I don't know what the X series is like, but I hear that's more about trading?

 

[shrekfan246]

I get the impression that Sins of a Solar Empire is like this, but I haven't played it.

See also Sword of the Stars.

Homeworld, naturally, though I don't think there's any ship designing in that.

I hear Galactic Civilizations II is a pinnacle of the genre (I prefer Endless Space myself, but I understand that GalCiv II is a bit more extensive, both are 4x games).

I don't know what the X series is like, but I hear that's more about trading?

Problem is that OP is looking for games where you directly control your ship instead of ordering fleets around, which I imagine rules out most 4X games.

And on that note there really haven't been many games which would scratch that particular urge in the past decade or so, and even less which have actually been any good.

If you don't have a problem with Free-To-Play MMOs, a bit of grind, and poor pacing, Star Trek Online might be a good bet, OP. Its storyline doesn't really require knowledge of the Star Trek universe but there are a lot of little nods to people who are fans, between the three factions you can choose there are many, many different ships to choose from (admittedly there is a power curve to them, and the more powerful and useful ones at higher levels tend to be larger, bulkier ones unless you buy some of the "refits" from their in-game store; There is a way to get the Free-To-Play currency just by playing as well, though it can be slow), and the ship-to-ship combat is probably what I would say is the best in what remains of the genre, though I was never a particular fan of the fighter dogfights in games like Wing Commander. I like being able to command battleships, not strafe around them in dinky little shuttles.

 

[Foolery]

Freespace 2. Mod that game up, and you can have all sorts of space battle mayhem.

 

[Xeorm]

There's also EVE online. Has a fairly nice 14 day free trial if you think it might be interested. The gameplay is a little odd at times, but it certainly is gorgeous.

 

[bliebblob]

That pretty much sounds like a word for word description of freespace 2.

 

[Genocidicles]

There's Space Engineers on Steam. Sort of like Minecraft in space where you mine asteroids and build spaceships and spacestations. You can also mess around with the artificial gravity which is cool.

It's pretty good, but it's Early Access so expect some bugs.

 

[Lazy Kitty]

If you want freedom in customizing your ship, you could try Starmade. Though that is pretty much to the extent of minecraft in space.
You can build a tiny ship. Or a huge ship, covered in turrets.
You can build a space station or build on a planet.

 

[direkiller]

So I have had this urge to play a space game laterly. But its not a genre I'm to familiar with.

Can anyone suggest a good space game to me.

The things I think I want in the game is control over individual ships. so not just moving entire fleets around and having them auto attack other fleets.

Ship building/customisation. Maybe not to the extent of minecraft in space but a bit of control over the ship being built like maybe make a slow ship with a giant freaking space gun or fast little wasp like ships.

Freedom to kill/destroy stuff. If a guy on a space station over charged me for shiney rims on my space ship i can go back and blow it up.

So im not sure if any of this is even possible or avaliable but i hope it gives you an idea of what i feel like playing.

Thanks

The X series
you do not design the hulls but you can customise and upgrade them. and you can lead fleets but you are in direct control of only one of them.

The newest one(X:Rebirth) was sorta meh, and plays like a console port but is PC exclusive. It also lacks ship customzation, and you are only in direct control of one ship rather then the ability to swich ships like is past versions.
if you want to go old school Wing commander privateer series would fit the bill.

 

[Smooth Operator]

I'll second Space Pirates and Zombies(plus Bounty Hunters), that is a top down sprite based twin-stick shootery adventure through space with your small group of ships. You buy or steal new upgrades to add to your arsenal and build up your attack squad which you then control by flying one ship yourself while the others are run by AI. Has a pretty good campaign that doesn't do much on story but gives plenty opportunities to explore, loot and fight.

The other things mentioned here:
- Sins of a Solar Empire is an RTS
- Sword of the Stars and Galactic Civ are 4x strategy games
- X series are full on space flight simulations, you need to be willing to learn hundreds of controls and flight settings before that gets fun
- Freespace is a space dogfighting adventure, not much customizing but it has a great campaign (story and all)
- Space Engineers and Starmade are literally Minecraft in space, great for full on brick by brick ship builds but not much else
- EVE Online... if you are into maximising your profits with a space background

 

[Tanis]

So, yeah, because of GOG I ended up nabbing the WHOLE Wing Commander series.
Have all of them installed on my computer.
XD

Totally worth it for you to try for them.

 

[Isalan]

Freespace 2 has been mentioned before but bears repeating.

Privateer 2 is also pretty damn good, though if your playing it on a new system your gonna want to patch it a bit, the FMV's really aren't designed for modern systems.

The Wing Commander series is pretty good too, though they can be a bit hit and miss.

 

[weirdsoup]

Try Star Control II. It's got combat, resource management, space exploration and a brilliant storyline

Oh, and it's free http://sc2.sourceforge.net/

 

[syaoran728]

Seeing how no one has mentioned Freelancer, I've got to speak up. Its a pretty fun game but a bit old now. The gameplay is solid and it does a good job of making space feel big without making you spend too much time traveling.

 

[Britpoint]

Escape Velocity: Nova was really good. Top down perspective but a decent amount of freedom. We could really do with a new EV game...

 

[Signa]

I'm saddened that no one mentioned Freelancer. Besides Freespace, it's one of the best space games.

 

[moggett88]

Master of Orion 2. It's a 4X strategy game, so you don't fly and shoot ships FPS style, but you do have the option of controlling each ship in your fleet individually during battles. Also, it's a masterpiece in every other aspect too

 

[ZZoMBiE13]

There's Space Engineers on Steam. Sort of like Minecraft in space where you mine asteroids and build spaceships and spacestations. You can also mess around with the artificial gravity which is cool.

It's pretty good, but it's Early Access so expect some bugs.

So you have played Space Engineers? I've had it in my wishlist forever but I've yet to find anyone who could actually tell me the answer to the one central question: Is it any good? Or at least fun?

 

[Nix33]

I'd thoroughly recommend Star Conflict. It's a f2p MMO by Gaijin Entertainment, the same people who brought you War Thunder. It's like World of Tanks RECYCLED IN SPACE. I played it with my brother and it's really very fun. It is kind of hard to get into, and you die a lot at first, but the graphics are great for something that's F2P and it has an immensely friendly player base.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/212070/