Thoughts on the Demise of Spaceflight Simulators

[Crazyshak48]

As a person who grew up playing space simulator games like Independence War, Freespace 2, Wing Commander Prophecy, and the X-Wing series (and someone who invested $150 in a really nice joystick setup), it should surprise no one that my joystick hand gets twitchy every once in a while, and I peruse the market trying to find a good simulator game, since most of my old ones don't work on newer PCs. Recently, I noticed one called Dark Horizons on the Gamestop website, and the only reason it was notable was that it was the only title in the genre list. However, being a cautious shopper, I looked at some reviews, and the general consensus was that it was a horrible game that was an embarassment to the previous games of the genre.

This got me thinking about simulation games in general, and space sims in particular. Namely, I started thinking about how there hasn't been any sim release of note in years. In a series of idle moments, I even started putting together in my head what I thought would be a good design for a new simulator game. It even got to the point that I was actually considering typing up some literature and sending it to a developer, as I have neither the money to finance an upstart game studio nor the software writing skills to try and do it myself. This got me depressed all over again, as I realized that most of the best developers of space simulator games have either gone under completely (such as Particle Systems and Origin) or have gone to producing other types of games (such as Lucasarts and Volition). Basically, I realized at this point that even if I came up with the most perfect spacesim game ever designed, the most likely developers either wouldn't be interested or are no longer around to be interested. Assuming of course that they care that I even exist in the first place, which is a long shot in and of itself.

I suppose this is really little more than a bout of nostalgia, but I still can't say I understand the demise of the genre. Unlike point and click adventure games (to compare with Yahtzee's favorite dead genre) I don't feel that flight simulators suffered from an inherently bad interface (I could play as well on the keyboard as I could the joystick), and many had quite good storylines, so I think they could still be good titles, even in this twitchy console FPS/RPG age. I guess I'm not so much wishing for the revival of the old titles as I'm wishing for the revival of the genre in general. I'm happy to let Freespace and Independence War remain sublime titles, and I am quite content if no one tries to remake them or add new sequels. However, I think it would at least be nice if someone somewhere made a half decent space simulator game. With modern graphics and whatnot, they could be spectacular, if they can get the gameplay, story, and some good multiplayer right.

In any case, those are my thoughts. What are yours?

 

[meatloaf231]

Wasn't X3 supposed to be solid?

 

[Crazyshak48]

I'm not familiar with the title. Is that an upcoming release?

Edit: Ok, I just wiki'd it, and that actually looks pretty cool. I'll have to see where I can find that. Thanks!

 

[Crazyshak48]

Alright, I just bought and played X3, and while it was a good concept (actually it was eerily similar in concept to the game I had been daydreaming about), the entire thing is hideously and completely marred by bad execution. In fact, the first things that ring to mind are Yahtzee's reviews of Alone in the Dark, Fable 2, and the Witcher, all rolled up into one game and set in space. The problems plaguing the game include but are not limited to:

- An enormous but empty universe with extremely weak fast travel options and slow ships.
-Lackluster combat.
-The flight interface is ok, but the inventory and ship loadout interfaces are so clunky and unintuitive that it literally took me 15 minutes to figure out how to move stuff from one ship to another.
-Confusing backstory that seems to have nothing to do with the actual game.
-Missions that take a week and a half to complete, and you have to pay to save your game in open space, so if you die at the end of your mission, you end up at your previous autosave (which can be a couple hours in the past) unless you shell out 3 grand for a single save.

In any case, I'm left disappointed and joystick twitchy again. Before I try to get my money back from Steam and once again try to breathe life into Freespace or Tachyon on my new machine, I think I might type up some literature for Volition or somebody on my idea for a space sim game and send it in, just to sooth my soul a little bit.

 

[Zac_Dai]

I was thinking the exact same thing last night.

Anyway X3 kind of sucks but the expansion Terran Conflict, which I'm playing now fixes a lot of the problems I had with the game originally. Its still very complex game though, but I like that.

Seeing as you won't get refunded on Steam for X3 you might as well try out the massive X-Tended [http://www.thexuniverse.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12886] mod.

In fact X is a bit like Oblivion in the aspect that the mod community makes the game playable.

Hope that helps a little, sucks buying something you don't like.

 

[Crazyshak48]

Terran Conflict is the one I bought. I'm terrified to think what the previous titles must have been like. I like complex games too, but the truth of the matter is I could do most of the same stuff on EVE, and actually enjoy people's company at the same time.

And anyways, it could be worse. I only spent 40 bucks on it. I probably should have tried a demo first, but that's my fault for impulse shopping. Oh well

 

[Theo Samaritan]

Nevermind, it took me so long to post I missed your vedict

 

[yonsito]

It is kind of sad. Probably due to the lack of mass market appeal of the genre (or rather the perceived lack thereof).

Apparently, there are some indie games though. A quick search for games done by independent developers turns up this list:
http://www.rampantgames.com/blog/2008/12/fourteen-indie-3d-space-combat-games.html
though I haven't tried any of those games.

X3 is not bad but not terribly good, either. My main complaint is that it takes ages to get started. I haven't spent much time with the X-tended mod but it seems to be more of the same.

I still play Freelancer from time to time and there are still people writing mods for it. This one looks quite promising, for instance: http://www.plasmafire.net/upload/index.php?showtopic=406

Should you come across something worth playing, please do share.

 

[Nordstrom]

If you're having trouble getting old games working, Freespace and some other space sim games are available at gog.com for cheap.

 

[Flitcraft]

You know, I'm a little mystified as well. I guess I agree with yonsito, in that it is a genre that publishers perceive as having limited appeal. The fact that a really good one requires a joystick probably further reduces the appeal of making one.

It doesn't help that LucasArts released the lackluster X-Wing vs. TIE-Figher without a campaign mode. Just pretty graphics and multiplayer that didn't work so well over the 56K modem connections most people had back then. X-Wing Alliance added a campaign stocked with insufferable characters and viciously hard missions. I mean, one of the Rebel training missions required that you destroy three different convoys over the course of about 40 minutes, the last convoy under heavy escort. Meanwhile, the Star Wars prequels were busy devaluing the entire franchise in the eyes of its old fanbase.

Freespace 2 and Independence War were both brilliant, but I-War was again savagely difficult and neither were based on well-known properties. Chris Roberts extended the Wing Commander franchise well past its expiration date (the games were good, but I'd argue that WC3 was the pinnacle of the series, and should have been the conclusion to the story).

But I think we all know the solution to this malaise. Someone needs to license Battlestar Galactica and produce a combat flight simulator where people can pilot the Vipers and the Raptor, and maybe even Cylon ships in a few special cases. BSG is still a hot property and if it was attached to a flight sim with AAA values, I think it'd get a lot of people's attention.

 

[ForrestDixon]

If you're having trouble getting old games working, Freespace and some other space sim games are available at gog.com for cheap.

Yah what he said

 

[Nighth@wk]

finding a good game is always difficult. and i have to agree, that fp space simulators are extremely rare.

i wish i could do something about that myself. since i can't there is no other choice than to adapt your taste to whatever is offered.
my first space-sim was freelancer, so i'm probably speaking out of place, but X-3 was a massive improvement (imo) to that. for sheer simulation that is.
i came across screenshots of some of the older games, and if you want an action game, then freelancer is most likely a better choice than X-3. X-3 is in some regard the simcity of space simulators.

 

[GothmogII]

I don't know if you've tried it, but Darkstar One is a pretty good recent effort in this regard...the plot and character interaction are however are crap to say the least, some awful dialogue too. But the game itself I thought was pretty fun. There's other neat little things, like having only a single ship but letting it grow and transform as you advance.

 

[Crazyshak48]

I don't know if you've tried it, but Darkstar One is a pretty good recent effort in this regard...the plot and character interaction are however are crap to say the least, some awful dialogue too. But the game itself I thought was pretty fun. There's other neat little things, like having only a single ship but letting it grow and transform as you advance.

I just checked that out, and it looks interesting. I might have to find me a demo somewhere. I also think the BSG idea could work well. Let's keep the ideas coming.

 

[OuroborosChoked]

Am I the only one who thinks Bethesda Softworks' style of game creation would be perfect for space simulations? Imagine flying across the universe, meeting up with other ships, either engaging them in combat, helping them, trading with them, or being otherwise diplomatic. Instead of a single player character, you could have a whole ship that you could hire a crew for. You could buy new ships, upgrade your current ship, etc. I think they'd be the ones who could finally do a Star Trek game right.

 

[Arachon]

Evochron: Renegades is quite nice. One nice feature is that it features seamless transition from space to atmospheric flight, docking at cities and in space stations and its ship customization system. However, I've only played the demo, and have been unable to find a copy of the full version.

 

[yonsito]

I don't know if you've tried it, but Darkstar One is a pretty good recent effort in this regard...the plot and character interaction are however are crap to say the least, some awful dialogue too. But the game itself I thought was pretty fun. There's other neat little things, like having only a single ship but letting it grow and transform as you advance.

Exactly what I think. The story is somewhere between awful and unintentionally funny, the game is very linear but I enjoyed playing it. They sell it on gog as well, at 10$.

 

[Crazyshak48]

The reason for the demise of spaceflight simulators, as I see it, is a case of a lot of development required for a niche product. Frontier: Elite II had the sort of details attached to it in the floppy disc era that other developers couldn't grasp today with a full Blu-ray disc. I'd like to see some new ones, particularly the release of Elite 4, but I'm not holding my breath. They're always highly elaborate, and probably too elaborate for most computer gamers today.

I think an additional part of the problem is that many developers today feel that PC exclusive games have to be super-complex and unintuitive (I'm referring back to Yahtzee's reviews of The Witcher and Crysis here). Flight sims (and particularly space sims) have a reputation as being complex in the first place, which further turns people off of it, and we're left with games that you need a master's degree from the University of Smartass to play. On the other hand, the few big name flight sims that are released are often either over-condensed so that they can be played on the consoles, or are arcade style flight sims such as the Ace Combat and Rogue Squadron series'. I just think that a well balanced and fun PC space sim shouldn't be so hard to develop, and in my completely unqualified forum dweller opinion, I think it would sell better than most developers think. This could be especially true if it was tied to a non-Star Wars big name franchise like Battlestar Galactica or something similar.

 

[Phyroxis]

Terran Conflict is the one I bought. I'm terrified to think what the previous titles must have been like. I like complex games too, but the truth of the matter is I could do most of the same stuff on EVE, and actually enjoy people's company at the same time.

And anyways, it could be worse. I only spent 40 bucks on it. I probably should have tried a demo first, but that's my fault for impulse shopping. Oh well

The previous (X2 and X3: The Reunion) provided A TON of the backstory that you don't get in X3:TC. Fast travel is handled by Jumpdrives.

Its a decent game, just doesn't hold my interest long.