Alright so this thread's been quiet, mostly because it seems games like Limit Theory, EVE Valkyrie, and No Man's Sky has been fairly quiet too. Sure they all have little announcements here and there, and I'm hoping NMS will be on PS3 also (so mine can do more than stream Netflix and Plex).
The "Big Two" are noisy as ever.
Elite is on the cusp of the largest update yet, 1.3. Which brings some much needed changes to the table, like drones to aid in assisting of the mining process, improve player-to-player trading and supplies, and other things like a revamped mission system that affects the entire game and how it plays out. There's a list about a mile long for the changes in just the beta for 1.3, so I'm sure the final release will have some good things to donate to the pretty solid 1.2 update. Almost 6 months after release and this is still my go-to Space Sim, though I must admit I just graduated from college a mere two weeks ago and still don't have a lot of free time to play games going straight to "beyond full-time" work, family, honey-do lists, etc. But when I have spare time, this game gets most of it. I have enjoyed partaking in a couple of community goals, though I haven't had enough time to actually earn more than an extra 100k or so. But hey, extra credits is that much more towards my next upgrade or ship! On that note, I've decided to keep all of my ships from here-on out. I miss my original Sidey and Freagle from Gamma. My T6 has been sitting idle for weeks now while my Cobra has been getting modded over and over to find that right combination to be effective in combat within my budget, without running out of juice or ammo.
The options you can do to your ships sort of reminds me of Tanarus, the old Sony Online Entertainment (RIP) online tank combat game from the mid-to-late 90s. And each update seems to add more goodies and options to really make your ship your own, I really hope this trend keeps going. I will say that most of my friends have grown bored with this game and moved on, most needing an end-game to keep going. So I try to tell others moving forward that if they need an end-game or hand holding to wait, because that's not in the game yet...try to save them from buyer's remorse. I'm perfectly happy wandering random systems looking for trouble to get into, or taking a mission to improve my ranks. I'm also game for combat zones where I can pick a side and earn some serious credits. Anything to get out of the trade grind I was stuck in for far too long. The nice thing about being so limited on time, is this game really hasn't grown stale to me yet, I LOVE IT! For me this is THE space sim I've been waiting for since X-Wing and Tie Fighter. Though, those guys are coming out with a new action-online space combat sim, I forget the name but it's up for crowd funding and I'll post it if I remember.
I have noticed that my run in with more pilots has improved, and I've actually had a lot of positive run-ins with other players. Though I still play solo a lot too, I'm more open to playing Open mode now. And I can't wait to get in a wing with my fellow TPU'ers and go tear up some enemies! With that said, there is rumors that there could be enemy race(s) coming in the next patch, and David Braben even going so far as to say they've been there since 1.2... Maybe there's more to that story than I know, because I really haven't been keeping up to the newest of the new. If you know, please share!
Star Citizen has been churning out more frequent updates to the AC module, and a lot of news has been posted about the FPS module as well. I am still so-so on this title because it's not as fun to fly around in the limited environment nor is it as engaging. The combat is good, though still feels more like CoD in space ships to me...which I don't like. I do like how the flight model has been improved some and the play-style is truly unique to this game. I also appreciate the amazing visuals, the physics, the environment, etc. But after about 20-30 minutes, the shininess wears off and it's time to close and go back to Elite. Not being much into FPS games anymore I don't see the FPS module doing a whole lot for me either. Meh... I know many are touting this to be the best space sim ever, and I hope they're right...but for me, so far Elite is the one doing more right than wrong, though both have their caveats, and one is a released title, while the other still brandishes the Alpha pre-release title.
The control section of the game still sucks compared to almost every other title on the market for the past 20+ years that I've been playing, and that's really saying something. At least have it so if you bind a key or axis to something that it AT LEAST flags the items using the same key/axis, or remove the original entry. I don't feel that is asking too much, AAAAAAND it took far too long to implement more than two axis support IMHO. Plus how the interface works to scroll around and choose buttons/keys is bulky and a pain in the ass overall. I will be backing up my settings moving forward in the hopes that future versions will support the layout. The good news about controls, is there's a lot to play with, even some items nobody else is offering, the axis curves. Pretty neat for those that use it, I haven't yet.
The ships are flying really nice and all the ones I have tried feel unique, the gameplay is getting smoother, hopefully the MP can get managed better for lag and hacks (the most recent update was supposed to fix both iirc, but really hasn't), and I hope they release some real open space to play in! Even Elite's famed "pill universe" had dozens of systems to explore and enjoy. I know SC will be great, but it's got a lot to get done with the space-sim side of things to really convince me. Though they've got time, and I'd rather wait for them to release the product we all want than rush something out. So on that aspect, I am sure it'll be well worth the wait!
I still think any true space sim fan should own these two titles and support them, keep the genre going and staying back alive. Plus if you get bored of either, GoG does have X-wing, Tie Fighter and all the other Lucas Arts space sims. AWESOMENESS!
I will also admit I reloaded Freespace 2 Open with the 2014 mods, and I'm pretty damn impressed. This game has a great story and action, sure the flight model is uber arcadey, it fits with game and the presentation it offers and is gobs of fun for a super cheap price (GoG or Steam). I hope that Squadron 48 pays homage to this and titles of yore with real quality story(ies), and seems that Chris Roberts is happy with how it's progressing thus far. If he's happy, we should be happy it seems. With that, I'm off to play some Elite, see you on the frontier!
), and while it's fun for a couple of matches, for me it still gets old. Maybe it's because I have a crappy Aurora, or maybe it's just because the "pre-alpha" is so limited. Looks great, plays smooth, the action is pretty good and intense at times, but it still has that "CoD in Space Ships" feel to it. Eagerly awaiting a real universe to fly around in. I know SC will be epic, it's just not right now imho.
