Greetings! I'm doing research for an upcoming thread that I'll be writing about vehicular combat in Destiny and I'd like some good starting points. In your opinion, which games are the golden standard for space exploration and / or space combat, and why? Additionally, if you feel that there are any games that have particularly strong ground vehicle exploration and combat, I'd like to know more about those as well.
Thanks for your input!
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Look into the game [i]Star Citizen[/i].
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Edited by Gnoizic: 5/2/2014 5:06:27 PMActual space combat? X-Wing, TIE Fighter, X-Wing Alliance (that one really added some dynamics to the flight mechanics). Less so: Rogue Squadron (mostly atmospheric, comparatively limited range/scope). The why: The X-Wing series of games is where I got my video game start, but it's a great atmosphere to jump into and dogfight (often with capital ships present). X-Wing Alliance went so far as to include hyperspace jump points, which meant you could explore several areas of space, each with different (story-driven) challenges. In space, a lot of it feels the same, but that game really brought the atmosphere in every mission.
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No game of this variety ever captured my attention as much as [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elite_%28video_game%29][b]Elite[/b][/url]. [url=http://elite.frontier.co.uk/][b]Elite: Dangerous[/b][/url], the upcoming new MP continuation of the series.
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Exploration- Mass Effect Combat- Shit, I dunno. Halo I guess?
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Halo 2 had good aerial action. I also thought Star Wars Battlefront 2 was fantastic.
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Haven't seen Galak Z mentioned here yet. It's not out yet but I've been keeping an eye on it for a while and looking forward to it. Claims Halo and Red Dead Redemption inspirations in development, particularly with enemy AI (Halo) and world design (Red Dead). Procedural asteroid fields that link more instanced specific missions. Ship upgrades as you progress. So it really seems to embody the exploration and combat you may be looking for in a discussion. Obviously it might be a little hard to discuss since no one has really played it outside the development team but throwing a few links here for you to get a feel for the gameplay. [url=http://www.ign.com/videos/2014/03/25/galak-z-developer-commentary]IGN Developer Commentary[/url] [url=http://galak-z.com/]Homepage[/url] [url=http://www.twitch.tv/raptr/c/3166638]30 Min Gameplay (older)[/url] Hope this helps a little bit
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The only game that played that have good vehicle movement is halo. You probably already considered that.
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Mass Effect[spoiler]HUE[/spoiler]
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not exactly space, but Crimson Skies had a really fun MP, IMO.
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EVE Online is a given. It's really the only true sandbox game in existence and it's set in space to boot.
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I've probably enjoyed the space combat in Star Wars Galaxies more than any other game. Though it's likely better attributed the ability to configure you own ships with player crafted components to optimize your ability to succeed in certain situations, rather than the dogfighting mechanics themselves. I believe that Freespace 2 still holds that standard. However, I have yet to play another space sim that had anything mechanically similar to SWG's multi-passenger ships. Being able to fly around in a giant ship with 7 of your friends manning the turrets, running around the ship making vital repairs, and managing the ship's special abilities like shunting the shields or diverting power to where it's most needed is something I dearly miss.
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[i] [/i]
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[quote]golden standard for space exploration and / or space combat, and why?[/quote]EVE Online [url=http://www.polygon.com/2014/1/28/5352774/eve-online-wages-largest-battle-in-its-10-year-history]because this[/url].
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Edited by Gabe Newell: 5/2/2014 2:04:22 AMKerbal space program [spoiler]f*cking [b]huge[/b] exploration[/spoiler]
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Battlefront
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EVE Online, of course.
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Star Trek Online.
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Kerbal Space Program obviously is based entirely around space exploration. I feel like a game like Space Engineers could be really good at both space exploration and combat, but it's really basic at this point.
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Edited by DEZARATH: 5/2/2014 1:21:13 AMCurrently the top holder is EVE online for it's massive exploration in multiple systems and community social orders. You can go back to Wing Commander for being the top break out space sim for its day. It would be eclipsed by Xwing and then Tiefighter. Microsoft had a bevy of space sims next to Jane's military titles. Right now I'd check out Space Engineers. It has the potential for being a run away hit due to its Minecraft roots. You've seen the promo for No Man's Sky and that has the strongest chance of meeting both the Space Fighter and Exploration component that many space sim players are looking for. Star Citizen as it progresses along with crowd funding also has the potential of being one of the top Space sims since Freelancer. Even Spore when you get past the cute alien horrors that were made by its community is actually on paper a good space exploration and empire builder, while affording the player a certain window into their own generated content. There's plenty of other examples. Personally I believe if the Developer can give the players the tools to create their own ships and adventures in procedural generated universes they will see a stronger interest in space sims. You might also want to check out some of the earlier builds of Infinity quest for earth. They had some nice footage on entering and exiting atmosphere into space and gives a window into the possibilities of exploration.
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Edited by Fresh Pancake: 5/2/2014 1:52:25 AMKerbal Space Program is an excellent example of a game with space exploration
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[quote]golden standard for space exploration[/quote] Don't know if this counts but JFG was a great game it had planet exploration exploring not only planets but space ships also
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Outerwilds is the best spess exploran simulator out there. No combat though.
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Edited by Raptor: 5/1/2014 11:56:21 PM"Freelancer" while I haven't played it is considered one of the best space combat/adventure games ever made. The creator of Freelancer is also now making the most successful kickstarter game "Star Citizen" which looks like it is going to be the best one since. Hope that helps!