I've seen some images of things in space, errr some just yesterday on the National Geographic channel I believe, which I've never ever seen before. In games or movies. It was through that satellite that NASA had to repair the mirror on. There truely are spectacular views out there. Spiritual type views. Effects guys could lose themselves.

As for Star Control, absolutely. For myself, that game remains the best space game of all time. I really hope you guys got to play the 3DO version of Star Control II. It had updated graphics and all of the voice acting included. That version was even better than part III for the PC, in my opinion. Hmm, I think I'll hook that thing back up...

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Original post by Kest It was through that satellite that NASA had to repair the mirror on. There truely are spectacular views out there. Spiritual type views. Effects guys could lose themselves.

That would be The Hubble Space Telescope. Anyhow, that's all I have to add, no new stuff from me.

Vopisk

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Original post by sanch3x @Wavinator: You're making a space sim, how come that wasn't mentioned? :P

You mean blanketing the Game Design board with zillions of questions isn't enough??? [lol]

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Original post by Kest Quote: Original post by sanch3x @Wavinator: You're making a space sim, how come that wasn't mentioned? :P I think it was, in a way :P

*ahem* Uh, yeah, moving right along... [wink]

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There wasn't so much seeing empty space, but a very strong feeling of being alone in space.

Actually, this is a pet peeve but your comment reminded me-- with the huge "Hubble-ization" of space game backgrounds (massive glowing nebula skyboxes & such), what's happened to simply making the stars themselves hauntingly beautiful? I liked the cloud nebula lighting in Freelancer, it was awesome, but I found myself roaming some X2 system just because they were dark. That created in me the feeling of vast aloneness, which is part of what makes the mystery of space so cool.

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Original post by Dobbs Ever read the Hyperion series by Dan Simmons? I'd love to see a Swarm floating through the void, with mile wide solar sailed angels flying around. Or a treeship. Not all spaceships have to made of metal.

Yes! Ouster society was awesome! That was one of the most imaginative series I've ever read. Mile high trees, right-angle waterfalls, kayaking through a jovian atmosphere, homes of the ultrarich with rooms on multiple planets... it makes me think there should be a sort of sci-fi game creator boot camp with a required reading list.

Of course, maybe it's better for the competition if they don't read that stuff...[evil]

You know what, we can all sit around and pat each other on the back or disagree in nice, placating voices. But I say no! Where is my "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" Open-Ended, free-for-all, fun-fest of a game?! I would play that for EVER! So long as it was truly open-ended and provided plenty of fun and whacky scenarios for me to get myself into...

Seriously, I like that idea...

Anyway, I think that the whole topic has gotten away from the original posters real concern...

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Other than major franchise games, such as Star Wars or Star Trek...there hasn't been a SINGLE decent space game for consoles in a LONG time! Sure, the space genre has mostly resided on PCs.

Yet here we are, shooting off at the hip about this PC game or that that we've played and just absolutely adore...

I don't know, but I just thought I'd mention that to see if we could get more along the lines of console games and the lack of sci-fi programming in that realm. Anyway, my further two cents, some food for thought.

Vopisk

In regards to Star Control. I agree. The 3DO Star Control II is the best space game ever created. I've always wondered what a game such as that would look like with modern graphics and beefed up gameplay. And that's exactly the kind of game I've wanted to play for the past...oh...10 years? I did play SC3 all the way through, though it fell short in a lot of ways.

And yes! There are many amazingly beautiful things in space that have never made it into the entertainment realm! Also, there's the fact that, since we truly know so little about space...the possibilities are endless.

The reasons I never bothered to play EVE Online or Earth & Beyond is the fact that I heard so many bad reviews/opinions about both of them. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try if there was some sort of temporary trial demo. I did play Freelancer for a bit. It was...okay. :/ To be honest, I was disappointed with the lack of personality in the game. And the missions were repeditive and boring. I heard good things about X2, but never had the chance to try it. In fact, that one slipped by me altogether...as I didn't even HEAR about it until earlier this year. I might look into X3. And Masters of Orion...well...not really my kind of game. I'm not big into strategy.

Anyway, I don't believe it would take a full keyboard and mouse to to operate a starship. Sure, no matter what you're going to have that extra degree of control on a PC.

Also, for any of you interested in playing Star Control II. You can download it here:
http://sc2.sourceforge.net/

Oh, and if anyone is seeking a decent game artist for a space project, lemme know. All this space talk is really getting me in the mood to create something.

Dear original poster:

Do you want an actual space-flight sim?

I have one, I love it and its get this: free!
http://www.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/~martins/orbit/orbit.html

fun, realistic.
PC only, but even my computer can handle it.

Steep learning curve, but once you have everything figured out (go to the forums, the documentation for some basic operations hasn't been updated for several releases), you can do anything you like.

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Original post by Vopisk You know what, we can all sit around and pat each other on the back or disagree in nice, placating voices. But I say no! Where is my "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" Open-Ended, free-for-all, fun-fest of a game?! I would play that for EVER! So long as it was truly open-ended and provided plenty of fun and whacky scenarios for me to get myself into...

http://www.douglasadams.com/creations/infocomjava.html
???

Hey,

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Other than major franchise games, such as (...) Star Trek...there hasn't been a SINGLE decent space game

There was a decent Star Trek?!? when did that happen? Just kidding.

But no, Eve Online does really prove that you can do purty graphics in space. Didn't it win gamespot's 'prettiest game' award a couple of years back? I've never played it myself, but a couple of friends of mine swear by it.

My personal opinion is that space games are really well suited to the MMO setup [because they're easily graphically scalable and other stuff like that], but not so well suited to the non-online setup [need to provide a universe worth of depth, which players probably aren't going to use all of], and it really does show when you don't have that depth in space games.

Just an opinion,

--CJM

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Original post by CJM Hey, Quote: Other than major franchise games, such as (...) Star Trek...there hasn't been a SINGLE decent space game There was a decent Star Trek?!? when did that happen? Just kidding. But no, Eve Online does really prove that you can do purty graphics in space. Didn't it win gamespot's 'prettiest game' award a couple of years back? I've never played it myself, but a couple of friends of mine swear by it. My personal opinion is that space games are really well suited to the MMO setup [because they're easily graphically scalable and other stuff like that], but not so well suited to the non-online setup [need to provide a universe worth of depth, which players probably aren't going to use all of], and it really does show when you don't have that depth in space games. Just an opinion, --CJM

Not in a realistic space flight sim.

You spend so much time working out correct orbits that there is no way in heck that you'll ever do everything, especially with all the new add-ons.

I said it before and I'll say it again:
Orbiter is the best free (heck, just the best) space sim I've ever played.

A game like this would be relatively difficult to play with an xbox controller...

Earth and Beyond was a pretty fun MMO, but then EA decided to cut it off.

There is a game in development that is supposed to be like it, called Unknown Abyss that you should check out. There isn't really any screenshots up yet, but from everything I've heard it's going to be pretty great.

As for console, I completely agree with you. If only consoles had some of the capabilities of computers, then developers could bring us some pretty good MMORPG's. Starwars Galaxies was in development for the XBox at one time, but sadly it was canceled.

Maybe these new next gen consoles will bring more online role playing games?