Best Single Player Space "War" Game?

[Grim.Reaper]

Just curious if anyone has recommendations for the best single-player space "war" game.....what I mean by this is a game where the focus is on war, diplomacy, and weapons versus exploration/colonization, mining resources, etc.  Thinking my definition rules out games like Stellaris (own), Distant Worlds (own), GalCiv III (own), Master of Orion (own), Polaris Sector, etc. unless I am missing something in those games.  I know each of those have war components, but don't necessarily enjoy the grind of exploring and such.  Would basically like there to be defined factions who are at odds with each other, fighting for supremacy of the galaxies!

Any thoughts?

[Anguille]

Maybe you could try Imperium Galactica I (1997). It has just been released on GOG. It is very much story based (campaign) 4x and you start in a war zone and the enemies are defined. The campaign is long and enjoyable...a fairly unique experience as 4x game.

https://www.gog.com/game/imperium_galactica

I have another game but it might be difficult to find it:

Reach for the stars from SSG (2000)

http://www.ssg.com.au/rfts.htm

The game has tons of scenarios and is really a war game. The interface was hard for me at the beginning and i didn't like it but it's a hard and challenging war game set in space.

[Jarhead0331]

Emperor of the Fading Suns is EXACTLY what you are looking for. It is faction based combat for supremacy over the universe. There are several great noble houses vying for control, with the influence of other factions such as the Universal Church, and the Merchant League.  On top of this, you can get your faction appointed to one of three positions of power which will give you powerful resources, such as an Imperial fleet, ground combat forces, etc.  It is up to you whether you use these forces to further the goals of your House, or if you use them for more official, lawful purposes. There is some limited diplomacy, research and economic management, but it is all geared toward the war effort.  Additionally, most of the worlds have already been explored, so exploration is not really a factor here. In EotFS, you will experience combat in space, and then you will land forces onto worlds, at which point, you will engage in turn-based combat for control of key cities on the surface. Few games have managed to capture, or even attempt, such an elegant transition from a space-based strategic map, to planetary surface based tactical combat.

Really, EotFS is one of the greatest games EVER made. You can probably download a copy legally for free at this point.

Also, what about Armada 2526? It has been a long time since I have really played it, but if I recall, the "exploration", "science" and "diplomatic" aspects were pretty light. Just build ships, all different kinds of ground forces and send them out to conquer.

[Hartford688]

A bit of a stretch, but perhaps a modded version of Star Wars: Empires at War? Can be multiple factions - no diplomacy but loads of combat and conquest. Depends a lot if Star Wars is your thing of course.

[Bison]

Sword of the Stars.  Yes it has exploration and development, but the core of the game is researching ship upgrades to design your own fleets to subjugate the galaxy.

[Jarhead0331]

Sword of the Stars.  Yes it has exploration and development, but the core of the game is researching ship upgrades to design your own fleets to subjugate the galaxy.

Good call. I second this.

[Nefaro]

SotS definitely has more focus on the ship battles than others. 

There is still exploration and colonization, but those are pretty simplified in comparison.  It's all about researching and building your fleets as the real-time space battles is where the most depth is.



If you only want to construct fleets of ships, set their strategy, and have them go at each other then Gratuitous Space Battles might be an option, if you can find the whole (original) pack on the cheap.  It's only about designing & setting fleet strategies and has a good bit of ship customization and factions available.   I'd recommend the original series, as the second version was a lesser re-hash. 

I still wish a 4X game had the interesting GSB setup for it's ship designs and battles.  The campaign expansion for GSB was just a simple vehicle for letting you choose battles, which may be more enticing to you.

[DoctorQuest]

Sword of the Stars.  Yes it has exploration and development, but the core of the game is researching ship upgrades to design your own fleets to subjugate the galaxy.

Good call. I second this.

And you can get it at GoG.

[Bison]

Sword of the Stars.  Yes it has exploration and development, but the core of the game is researching ship upgrades to design your own fleets to subjugate the galaxy.

Good call. I second this.

And you can get it at GoG.

$10 for the complete version is a hell of a value too.  I have it on steam and paid something similar during a sale several years ago.

[glen55]

It's $10 for Complete on Steam right now.

[Grim.Reaper]

Thanks guys....I do own SOTS and Armada as well...just don't recall these scratching the itch, but maybe I'll install and try again.  Or possibly what I am looking for just doesn't exist.

[mikeck]

SOTS 2 would fit. As stated, it's light on colony stuff and heavy on ship and fleet design. I just  wish there was a mod to dilute the colors so it doesn't look so cartoonish

This is a stretch, but if you're willing to entertain first person games then I would recommend "elite dangerous".  There is a large galactic war on going and you can simply join one side or even work for specific people as a mercenary. You can have multiple shifts though only you can fly them and if you play in open world your actions and the actions of other players have a direct impact on the war itself

[Grim.Reaper]

SOTS 2 would fit. As stated, it's light on colony stuff and heavy on ship and fleet design. I just  wish there was a mod to dilute the colors so it doesn't look so cartoonish

This is a stretch, but if you're willing to entertain first person games then I would recommend "elite dangerous".  There is a large galactic war on going and you can simply join one side or even work for specific people as a mercenary. You can have multiple shifts though only you can fly them and if you play in open world your actions and the actions of other players have a direct impact on the war itself

Thanks, I do also own Elite, initially got into it but didn't last long for me and in this case, probably not something that would fill the void.

I'll look at a number of the suggestions in this thread, but just might be me in a funk where nothing quite fits the bill...

[Tuna]

SOTS 2 would fit. As stated, it's light on colony stuff and heavy on ship and fleet design. I just  wish there was a mod to dilute the colors so it doesn't look so cartoonish

This is a stretch, but if you're willing to entertain first person games then I would recommend "elite dangerous".  There is a large galactic war on going and you can simply join one side or even work for specific people as a mercenary. You can have multiple shifts though only you can fly them and if you play in open world your actions and the actions of other players have a direct impact on the war itself

It's not cartoonish, it's just outright offensive! Civ VI is cartoonish and easy on the eyes and playable.. SOTS 2 is overbearingly bright colors that are painful to look at!

[FarAway Sooner]

Polaris Sector is a 4x, albeit it's far more heavily weighted towards ship design and combat than the other space 4x games you mentioned owning.

Wasn't there a Star Fleet Battles PC game released about 10-12 years ago?  Starfleet Command or some such name?  I never played it, but I know it's on GOG.