If so, you may want to give the beta of Starpoint Gemini 2 a try. I never got into the first SPG and I wasn't the world's biggest fan of Freelancer so I think the fact that I am enjoying this new title is a pretty significant statement. Yes, there is no bridge/cockpit view, so you do have a view of the exterior of your ship, and yes, you are meant to pilot with the mouse and keyboard. Still, the game still manages to draw you in and is very fun.
Its still in beta, but it appears to be very highly polished. It looks great, the world feels busy and there seems to be a lot to do. There are so many different commodities to trade and there are a lot of ways to make money. Right now, there is just a free roam mode, but the campaign will be added soon.
Anyway, if you like space trading games, and were let down by Rebirth, this one may scratch your itch.
The developers have always been very active with the community, for both titles, and responded well to player suggestions.
I like that they directly took inspiration from the old Star Fleet Command PC series for their games' combat and weapons customization. Those SFC games were loosely based on the old tabletop Star Fleet Battles, of course.
While the original SPG was obviously of indie quality, it had some merits. SPG2 looks like it will be a better realization of the concepts for the first, improving the original's weaknesses. I've been holding off playing it until it's at least close to release but I toyed with it some months ago, in Alpha, and liked what I was seeing.
^do yourself a favor and check it out now.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on April 27, 2014, 07:57:33 PM
^do yourself a favor and check it out now.
I've been wanting to but my WWI Crate Flying has got it's claws into me again. So much so that I've been spending the extra time to record and put some 'Lets Plays' on YouTube, which can be a game-time hog. I got the fever for wind in the wires, not yet space dust. :-*
Quote from: Nefaro on April 27, 2014, 07:48:55 PM
The developers have always been very active with the community, for both titles, and responded well to player suggestions.
I like that they directly took inspiration from the old Star Fleet Command PC series for their games' combat and weapons customization. Those SFC games were loosely based on the old tabletop Star Fleet Battles, of course.
While the original SPG was obviously of indie quality, it had some merits. SPG2 looks like it will be a better realization of the concepts for the first, improving the original's weaknesses. I've been holding off playing it until it's at least close to release but I toyed with it some months ago, in Alpha, and liked what I was seeing.
No idea this has some SFC dna. I loved that series. Could not get enough.
I never thought I would ever get to live in a world where there is too much sci goodness to take in all at once.
Hows the combat? Can you command a fleet or just one ship? one of my favorite things to do in X3TC was too spawn a small fleet of ships and jump into an enemy sector and just watch things blow up
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on April 27, 2014, 07:08:31 PM
If so, you may want to give the beta of Starpoint Gemini 2 a try. I never got into the first SPG and I wasn't the world's biggest fan of Freelancer so I think the fact that I am enjoying this new title is a pretty significant statement. Yes, there is no bridge/cockpit view, so you do have a view of the exterior of your ship, and yes, you are meant to pilot with the mouse and keyboard. Still, the game still manages to draw you in and is very fun.
Its still in beta, but it appears to be very highly polished. It looks great, the world feels busy and there seems to be a lot to do. There are so many different commodities to trade and there are a lot of ways to make money. Right now, there is just a free roam mode, but the campaign will be added soon.
Anyway, if you like space trading games, and were let down by Rebirth, this one may scratch your itch.
I am glad to hear that the sequel is shaping up nicely. I was hyped for the original but when I finally got around to trying the demo, I was not impressed. It seemed like a muddled mess at the time, and the tutorial was one of the worst I ever experienced. Don't know if it continued to improve after I tried the demo, though.
I hope GMG learned from their mistakes and SG2 comes out really good! Star Fleet Command was one of my favorite games, so if this can capture the magic of that classic, it will be a definite buy for me.
Quote from: Kushan on April 27, 2014, 08:14:48 PM
Hows the combat? Can you command a fleet or just one ship? one of my favorite things to do in X3TC was too spawn a small fleet of ships and jump into an enemy sector and just watch things blow up
I'm pretty sure it's just your one ship but you can buy many different models and out fit it with many different weapon systems, shields, etc. It's kinda like Freelancer with SFC-style ship systems.
I wouldn't say the combat is an exact SFC clone, but the way the ships are layed out.. weapon & equipment slots, for example.. is reminiscent. The original SPG had the flat SFC style movement but I think they've given SPG2 a full 3-dimensional range for maneuvering.
Remember how you could customize your equipment slots in SFC3? It's like that here, but there is a lot more RPG facets to this one so you can run around a galaxy sandbox doing various things, getting loot, hiring ship officers, and buying ship & equipment upgrades. 8)
Quote from: Kushan on April 27, 2014, 08:14:48 PM
Hows the combat? Can you command a fleet or just one ship? one of my favorite things to do in X3TC was too spawn a small fleet of ships and jump into an enemy sector and just watch things blow up
There are controls for fleets, so although I have not played with other ships in a squadron/fleet yet, the option is definitely there.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on April 27, 2014, 09:05:40 PM
Quote from: Kushan on April 27, 2014, 08:14:48 PM
Hows the combat? Can you command a fleet or just one ship? one of my favorite things to do in X3TC was too spawn a small fleet of ships and jump into an enemy sector and just watch things blow up
There are controls for fleets, so although I have not played with other ships in a squadron/fleet yet, the option is definitely there.
Wow! I didn't even know they planned to add that. It may not be filled out yet, however. I think they still need to add some of the other starter classes, amongst some other stuff.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on April 27, 2014, 09:05:40 PM
Quote from: Kushan on April 27, 2014, 08:14:48 PM
Hows the combat? Can you command a fleet or just one ship? one of my favorite things to do in X3TC was too spawn a small fleet of ships and jump into an enemy sector and just watch things blow up
There are controls for fleets, so although I have not played with other ships in a squadron/fleet yet, the option is definitely there.
Alright you sold me!
Quote from: Kushan on April 27, 2014, 09:15:50 PM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on April 27, 2014, 09:05:40 PM
Quote from: Kushan on April 27, 2014, 08:14:48 PM
Hows the combat? Can you command a fleet or just one ship? one of my favorite things to do in X3TC was too spawn a small fleet of ships and jump into an enemy sector and just watch things blow up
There are controls for fleets, so although I have not played with other ships in a squadron/fleet yet, the option is definitely there.
Alright you sold me!
I get the impression that you hire 2-3 mercenaries to join your fleet. I do not think that you can buy a bunch of ships and then hire crews to pilot them. In addition to the mercs you can hire, some of the ships you can buy are equipped with a hangar for fighter or bomber squadrons. Remember, you're not piloting a small ship, you're actually in a larger vessel ranging in size from a frigate/corvette, to a battleship.
I purchased this early on and liked it and thought it was exactly what I was looking for in a sandbox opened ended world... have not played it in a while but they have continued to add content to it.... I think it was worth it for me then and I am sure still is... the UI and mechanics are very good and the graphics as well.
PE
Quote from: Nefaro on April 27, 2014, 09:04:04 PM
Quote from: Kushan on April 27, 2014, 08:14:48 PM
Hows the combat? Can you command a fleet or just one ship? one of my favorite things to do in X3TC was too spawn a small fleet of ships and jump into an enemy sector and just watch things blow up
I'm pretty sure it's just your one ship but you can buy many different models and out fit it with many different weapon systems, shields, etc. It's kinda like Freelancer with SFC-style ship systems.
I wouldn't say the combat is an exact SFC clone, but the way the ships are layed out.. weapon & equipment slots, for example.. is reminiscent. The original SPG had the flat SFC style movement but I think they've given SPG2 a full 3-dimensional range for maneuvering.
Remember how you could customize your equipment slots in SFC3? It's like that here, but there is a lot more RPG facets to this one so you can run around a galaxy sandbox doing various things, getting loot, hiring ship officers, and buying ship & equipment upgrades. 8)
Very cool. A bit like Star Trek Online? MOAR would be better.
Quote from: skeptical.platypus on April 27, 2014, 11:03:58 PM
Quote from: Nefaro on April 27, 2014, 09:04:04 PM
Quote from: Kushan on April 27, 2014, 08:14:48 PM
Hows the combat? Can you command a fleet or just one ship? one of my favorite things to do in X3TC was too spawn a small fleet of ships and jump into an enemy sector and just watch things blow up
I'm pretty sure it's just your one ship but you can buy many different models and out fit it with many different weapon systems, shields, etc. It's kinda like Freelancer with SFC-style ship systems.
I wouldn't say the combat is an exact SFC clone, but the way the ships are layed out.. weapon & equipment slots, for example.. is reminiscent. The original SPG had the flat SFC style movement but I think they've given SPG2 a full 3-dimensional range for maneuvering.
Remember how you could customize your equipment slots in SFC3? It's like that here, but there is a lot more RPG facets to this one so you can run around a galaxy sandbox doing various things, getting loot, hiring ship officers, and buying ship & equipment upgrades. 8)
Very cool. A bit like Star Trek Online? MOAR would be better.
The controls are now more like the X series, IIRC. It's been awhile since I played so it's difficult to describe on a fuzzy memory.
Quote from: Nefaro on April 28, 2014, 03:58:43 AM
The controls are now more like the X series, IIRC. It's been awhile since I played so it's difficult to describe on a fuzzy memory.
Yea they are. Except SPG2 seems more orientated toward mouse + keyboard. I know you could do that in X3, but I always felt like I needed to pull out my X-52 in order to fly efficiently. Hard to describe, but the controls in SPG2 just feel better then X3. Only had time to play about a half hour last night. So far don't regret purchasing at all
Has been a while since I played and I know there have been several updates... so maybe time to fire-up again.
PE
The mouse control in SPG2 needs the same kind of pointer scaling (from the center) that many others have. Wherein the closer your aim point is to the center, the lower the turn rate. That one speed across the whole thing makes it jerky for fine aiming.
I'd be surprised if people playing the alpha and beta haven't suggested this many times before, but I haven't checked their official forums to find out.
X-Rebirth 2.0 was released today. Seems to add and fix a lot of stuff.
Sum-bitch....hadn't noticed. Thanks for the heads up!
Wow! It's beta but these are just the new things!
New Feature: Three new gamestarts, each with a new cockpit configuration.
• New Feature: Rebalanced combat with three difficulty settings.
• New Feature: Additional commands for your ships.
• New Feature: Autopilot can fly your ship while you are busy.
• New Feature: All new highway flight model.
• New Feature: Most tasks can now be performed without landing on stations.
• New Feature: Full screen HUD detail monitor option.
• New Feature: Clicks on event monitor now open relevant menus.
• New Feature: Map/radar on event monitor.
• New Feature: New ships in Omicron Lyrae.
• New Feature: Huge new Xenon ship.
• New Feature: Four new missile types.
• New Feature: Improved graphics for an even more beautiful universe.
• New Feature: New graphics options and presets.
• New Feature: New start menu scene.
• New Feature: New Steam achievements.
And the rest:
• Added support for up to 8 input devices (now even your pet octopus can get the most from the game).
• Added option to buy replacement player ship cockpit layout from certain traders.
• Added shield damage for collisions.
• Improved responsiveness of main menu and dialogs.
• Improved event monitor with more space for important information.
• Improved positioning of interface elements in first person mode.
• Fixed gamepad mode switching on when axis has non-zero value while at rest.
• Fixed problem with wrecked state of ship/station surface elements not always being loaded from savegames correctly.
• Fixed collectable objects not showing a target element.
• Fixed gates not showing a target element.
• Fixed info points not being displayed at drone launch pads.
• Fixed cases where clicking on larger targets didn't work.
• Fixed rare instance of mission objective bar being stuck on screen.
• Fixed text field not being reset when closing and reopening trade menu.
• Fixed problems with overlapping/truncated text on first person event monitor.
• Fixed cases resulting in jumping target elements.
• Fixed incorrect text in certain conversations.
• Fixed icon size in licence encyclopedia entry.
• Fixed distance sorting in trade menu.
• Fixed capital ships becoming invisible when boosting while player is close.
• Fixed several other causes of occasional crashes.
• Various optimisations resulting in small performance improvements.
Attached are 2 of the new cockpits and a new working radar! It "rolls" with your ship:
Take a look at this thread. Very positive and lots of new screenies
http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=366338&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15
QuoteMost tasks can now be performed without landing on stations.
Thank fookeen god.
If we're talking alternatives to X Rebirth, couldn't help but notice Jarhead's cool Freespace 2 Open Source Proj. screenshots in the stickied thread.
I know Freespace2 isn't open world -- but I'm seriously intrigued by the OSP, which I had no idea about (sounds like a slight headache to install though).
Thoughts on Freespace OSP vs. X Rebirth, Jarhead? Or are they just too 'apples & oranges' to compare -- ?
Quote from: sandman2575 on May 14, 2014, 02:35:38 PM
If we're talking alternatives to X Rebirth, couldn't help but notice Jarhead's cool Freespace 2 Open Source Proj. screenshots in the stickied thread.
I know Freespace2 isn't open world -- but I'm seriously intrigued by the OSP, which I had no idea about (sounds like a slight headache to install though).
Thoughts on Freespace OSP vs. X Rebirth, Jarhead? Or are they just too 'apples & oranges' to compare -- ?
Yes...very difficult to compare. FSO is pure combat. No trading, no economic simulation, no dynamic open world/galaxy. That being said, FSO excels at story telling, action and drama. There is room for both games on my hard drive.