What happened to space combat games?
- Thread starter Zoe Castillo
- Start date
Recommended Videos
Well, Volition did say they wanted to do a Freespace 3 if they got the backing, so hope that they do I suppose.
I'll have to hunt up my copy of Freespace 2 now...
I'll have to hunt up my copy of Freespace 2 now...
After Freespace 2 was released what would be the point? The genre's been beaten. Freespace 2 won. Game Over man, Game Over! No one likes to play knowing they'll never be able to pass second place after all.
Seriously though, I recently saw an interview with Volition themselves saying that the space sim genre was closely linked to joysticks and as the use of those faded away, so did the genre for the most part. Still, you see examples of the genre popping up every here and there even if we're unlikely to see any AAA big budget releases any time soon.
Ah well. Thankfully Freespace 2 continues to withstand the test of time with new campaigns, mods, and visual improvements being steadily released to this very day well over ten years after the game hit shelves. Now that's lasting power!
Seriously though, I recently saw an interview with Volition themselves saying that the space sim genre was closely linked to joysticks and as the use of those faded away, so did the genre for the most part. Still, you see examples of the genre popping up every here and there even if we're unlikely to see any AAA big budget releases any time soon.
Ah well. Thankfully Freespace 2 continues to withstand the test of time with new campaigns, mods, and visual improvements being steadily released to this very day well over ten years after the game hit shelves. Now that's lasting power!
All that freedom to move around in 3D space is boring, it's just not the same dodging missiles in a 2D plain. That had real gameplay involved.
I know, I own both X3: Reunion and Terran Conflict. I got into the series with X2: The Threat. Good games, although I find their lack of focus annoying at times and their gameplay isn't nearly as satisfying or visceral as Freespace's. Still, they're also open world (Or would it be open space?) games which allow you to do a lot more than most other space sims ever had, which sorta makes up for things. Freespace doesn't allow you to own and operate multiple space station for example, nor pilot motherships.Kouryuu said:
I still find Freespace 2 and it's fan made campaign and expansion more compelling however, but that's just me.
Freespace for me, I always felt more involved than I did playing X3. But, Space faring tastes aside, did anyone else play Freelancer?
I remember playing Aces Online not to long ago, was quite a lot of fun. Found it while hunting for an Another Century's Episode 2 ROM to play, never could find one that worked right 
I would like a realistic space combat game. Newtons first law would apply (conservation of inertia). No sound (except music and AI warnings/UI sounds). No optical camera view. Just a strategic overlay generated by shipboard instruments and computers. Only two viable weapons; Missiles and particle beams. Both can be used defensively (shooting down enemy missiles). A missile hit would be instant death. A beam hit would depend on armor plating. Dodging or missing would be nigh impossible. The guy with the most missiles would generally win.
Sounds very much like X3. Maybe Terran Conflict is worse, but to be honest, X3 Reunion runs at about 18fps on my 5 year old laptop with everything at maximum except antialiasing. (and dropping the resolution down to 1024 x 600). - That laptop only has x1400 graphics, which is towards the low end, even when it was new...Vendur said:
Yes, it looks impressive, but I'd hardly call it demanding. On my desktop, the framerates at 2560x1024 (I use 2 monitors using ati Eyefinity) is still in excess of 80 fps even with 4x antialiasing switched on.
(That's a Radeon 5770 based system)
It's not that demanding, in other words. (But, it looks brilliant anyway. I love my Orca... - I actually think it says something about what the true focus of the game is that the prettiest ship in the game is a huge cargo transporter rather than some kind of warship.)
Anyway, I heard someone joke once that space sims stopped getting made because they're too easy to create. XD
That sounds stupid, and in a way it is, but it's true that a space combat engine doesn't need anywhere near as much optimisation of it's rendering systems because there's usually very little stuff in the environment.
Do games such as X3 require you to use a joystick or can you use Freelancer-like controls?
I always considered Freelancer (one of my top 10 all time games) to be more of an RPG than anything else. Hard to put old games from extinct genres into categories.
I always considered Freelancer (one of my top 10 all time games) to be more of an RPG than anything else. Hard to put old games from extinct genres into categories.