A couple good space 4x/sand box games - Distant Worlds : Universe - Similar to Galciv but with a much steeper learning curve. It brings something different in that it's not turn based and runs in real time. Can be customised between fully automated (to the point you can just let it run by itself) to manual everything. I have to say its far superior to Galciv2 in every way but requires beastly ram to get to end game. Steam store page recommends 4g but I would say dont bother unless you have 8g. It also has a $60 price tag and is unlikely to ever be on sale. X3 : Albion Prelude - The most sandboxy single player space sim ever made are the X series. Skip all past and future X games (I'm looking at you X : Rebirth you P.O.S) this is the one to get. Unlike most games in the genre it is all in 3d and beautiful on max settings. AP is almost identical to Terran conflict but has the annoying things from it cut out. It gets even better if you heavily mod it (Khaak are absent from AP but some good mods out there bring them back). Features -Massive universe connected by warp gates. EVE borrowed many things from the X series since it pre-dates it. -6 major races - Each with their own ship types and loadouts. The major races don't put up with any nonsense. If you blast them they will turn hostile. 2 Enemy races (3 if you mod back the Khaak). The Xenon are a hostile A.I race that sends out patrols from their owned sectors to terrorise everyone else. The Khaak are a hive mind race but little else is known about them. Unlike the Xenon they use unfocused jump drives to warp in from un-connected space. And of course pirates. -100's of different ships. From the tiny m5 fighter to the massive m1 carriers and m2 destroyers and everything in between (like missile frigates, cruisers and transport) you can pilot anything. Ships can use defence drones, missiles,mines and wide array of weapon loadouts. Bigger ships have automated turrents. Some of the bigger destroyers have 40+ turrents. Carriers have ship hangers that can hold smaller fighters. Send out your minions! -Station building and trading. See a shortage in an area of the universe you can capitilise on it by planting your own space station and providing for the area. Transports can be automated to trade remotely. Build a financial empire. -NO LIMITS - You can own as many ships and stations as you please. Each can be given orders remotely. Cargo ships can be automated to do supply runs. Combat ships can be grouped up to run patrols. The game can do this because it handles entities differently when they are out of the current system you are in. The down-side is that your Malefician loadouts on remotely commanded ships do not operate as well OoS. Cons -No hand holding - I dont mind this so much in already simple games but in AP the tutorial is buggy, lasts about 3 minutes and explains about .001% of the game. I pity someone new to the series. - No end game or direction - The goals and how you play are entirely in your hands. There is no campaign. The only thing to do in AP is build wealth, build reputation (or ruin rep) with the 6 races and amass enormous fleets. In AP the reward is in the journey. -Kinda Sucks without mods - Has a great modding community on the egosoft forums though. Albion is pure sandbox. It does have missions that can net you some cool stuff like a player owned HQ that you can build ships from (good for building ships you cannot buy) or a Gateway hub that can be used to link up previously distant parts of the universe. It has a crazy learning curve though (why am I drawn to these games?). Every key on your keyboard does.... something. You figure out whats vital first and learn the rest as you play. If you like sandbox/space ships/nerdy games give it a go.
I looked into Albion twice and decided that it wasn't worth the effort to delve deep into it, especially since I kinda already delved into EVE ... oh my
Can't believe I forgot to post it here, but Humble Bundle is having their End of Summer Sale! 4 days left.
https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/minimetro_storefront I highly recommend Mini Metro. It's not for everyone, but if the concept appeals to you, it is quite well done and I have lost hours to this thing even during pre-alpha.
So Poxnora number 1 ofc After seeing some of you guys playing world of warships i tried it, and i liked it. This is what i am looking for... A game like world of tanks/warships or mechwarrior online or the likes. But with extencive skills and talentree. So not only the shoting part i will be able to customize my captain for the playstyle i like. Is there any such games? Granted i did not get to lvl 5 in world of warships so i dont know how extensive the skill selection(crew) part of the game is. thanks for the help
Both World of Tanks/Warships have skills, but for the most part they are solved in that there is a "best set" for every type of tank/ship, so there's no real customization there - it's more just mindless grind and everyone should end up with the same build. In general, games that combine chassis (tank/ship/class) progression AND crew/character progression will usually favor chassis differentiation as the main difference maker. This makes sense both as a matter of "make you buy stuff" but also design wise, as you really don't want a heavy tank playing like a light tank just because the player specced their character/crew differently, etc. it just breaks too many design rules and expectations. The closest thing I can think of is the original Mechwarrior games (before Mechwarrior IV), where you can actually kit your mechs very differently and they had very little restrictions other than space and speed. You can add Jump Jets and run all Machine Guns onto the heaviest mech in the game if you want, or you can make a light mech into a mini-missile boat. Unfortunately, it's not like you will be able to play that competitively online. Mechwarrior Online, unfortunately, falls into the paradigm I mention above, where they want to keep the differentiation on the chassis level. I enjoy WOT a lot personally, if you are interested in playing it more, I can help you out there And while you can't customize much, you CAN pick a tank with a playstyle you like and master it.
