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Looking for space opera privateer type game
echoota
Member Posts: 7
I've always enjoyed the old sci-fi genre of privateer type space opera, games like Elite, Starflight, Megatraveller, Privateer, etc. where you start off as a trader with a ship. You go on missions to deliver cargo here and there and over time you make enough money to upgrade your ship, your personal equipment for planetary exploration, learn new skills and so on.
What mmorpg out there would let me do all of that but in a multiplayer format? The last game I played like this was in the early 90's called Privateer. I want to be able to pilot my ship while friends jump into gun turrents, act as navigators or other useful ship functions while we go on missions. We make shipping runs, act like pirates, explore space hulks, land on planets and discover ancient alien technology, etc.
I want all the detail of money management, ship upgrades and storyline from games like Privateer, but also the great space dog fighting from games like X-Wing, Tie Fighter and Wing Commander. Along with planets, space stations and whatnot to explore.
What does all of that and does it well?
What mmorpg out there would let me do all of that but in a multiplayer format? The last game I played like this was in the early 90's called Privateer. I want to be able to pilot my ship while friends jump into gun turrents, act as navigators or other useful ship functions while we go on missions. We make shipping runs, act like pirates, explore space hulks, land on planets and discover ancient alien technology, etc.
I want all the detail of money management, ship upgrades and storyline from games like Privateer, but also the great space dog fighting from games like X-Wing, Tie Fighter and Wing Commander. Along with planets, space stations and whatnot to explore.
What does all of that and does it well?
Comments
Unfortunatly I don't know the details as I havn't played it, but have a look at it.
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Kibs
Avatar by Ema
Playing: The Saga of Ryzom since march 2004
You can't land on planets in EVE. In fact the main point of EVE is..erm..make money? If EVE allowed you to land on planets and then you transported to an Anarchy Online world that would be the most awesome mmorpg, it would be a massive massive morpg. Expect another story about how EVE broke number of online players on one cluster in about, oh couple of weeks.
No annoying animated GIF here!
Eve Online is the nearest fit. The forum can be found here.
Eve Online is a different experience than Elite, Frontier, Privateer, X-Beyond the Frontier, etc. First of all, it is a sandbox game i.e. open-ended, where players decide their own roles within the game and create their own content (to a limited extent). Eve is predominantly - although not necessarily - a large scale Corporation game, where Corporations compete over limited resources. The game engine and mechanics certainly support and push the game in that direction, but you do not have to engage in PvP [player vs player] or enter low security space. There are many non and passive PvPers - those who do not want to engage in PvP or will not initiate PvP - eeking a living either mining, trading, making shipping runs or hunting rats (NPCs).
Eve can be a very harsh game because it is FFA PvP [Free for all - PvP], with a full looting system and the cost of both ships and equipment can be exhorbitant. Space is divided into high security, low security, 0.0 empire controlled space and 0.0 space. The level of protection decreases dramatically as you enter lower security systems. Due to the extreme death penalty, players have to learn risk mitigation i.e. learn to use the star chart to plan their routes to avoid systems that have a large number of ship or pod kills (killing of the actual piloit), player activity or to avoid low sec space. Risk mitigation also means thorough planning by ensuring that you have either friends, Corporation members or Mercenaries acting as Scouts or Security; not to mention ensuring that you PLAN for the worst case scenario i.e. your ship is recycled and all of your cargo is plundered.
The skill system is innovative in that skill is Real-Time based i.e. skills will take a fixed amount of minutes, hours, days and even weeks to learn (Learning skills can dramatically reduce the RL time it takes to learn a skill). Even the simplest functions require a basic learning of certain skills before you can fly certain ships, install and use ship equipment - which is why Eve requires a great deal of thought and planning. It has a steep learning curve that rewards players who think about their career path and can plan each stage.
You need to forget all about combat in other space games because Eve is much more tactical (plays more like Frontier to an extent) and is dependent on how you set-up your ship (what type of ship, short or long range, drones, missiles, what type of guns, what function the ship performs), what set-up your opponent is using, as well as what type of skills you have and at what skill rank.
Ships have different functions and different set-ups, dependent on what their role is, what your playing style is, what skills you have - a lot of ships require very high skill ranks to be effective - and how you have set your ship up. There generally isn't an 'I Win' button - although certain class ships do tend to indicate a highly skilled pilot, with a particular set-up - because even huge, capital ships cannot perform every single role. The big determinate is down to: 1. Skill rank (how effective you are as a pilot in flying a ship and using particular equipment and 2. ISK (ingame currency). Economic warfare is a big factor in Eve due to the exhorbitant cost to purchase and equip big, capital ships. There have been plenty of cases of newbie players purchasing Battleships, only to see them blown apart 5 minutes after leaving a station. Think about it: 90 million BS [Battle-ship] plus equipment versus 8 sub 1 million ships plus equipment. Doesn't matter if those 8 ships are destroyed if they can take down a BS.
Remember: it's ALL about the set-up.
The economy is rich, detailed and extremely deep - not to mention competitive. ISK can be made through mining, trading - either buying or selling minerals/commodities or selling goods to other players - shipping runs, Npc missions, pirating, manufacturing and producing, etc. There are plenty of diverse ways to make ISK. The economy is very much run by other players and lots of players just indulge in the economic side of game.
The problem with Eve is that it is an extremely slow game. It takes patience and time to develop your character and requires thought. You never really leave your ship (no player avatar), and interaction is based through chat channels (market channels, group channels, corporation channels), passing various ships on their way to and from systems or starring at the hard-point of multiple ship turrets when you've just been ganked :P
Travel is a major issue. Unless you utilize a technique known as Bookmarking - placing bookmarks at certain points in the system to allow you to jump directly to that point - then you will spend a LONG, LONG time starring at your screen or your navel if you need to travel multiple systems. Some pilots have been known to put the ship on auto-pilot and cook supper or do the ironing (I've done both when I previously subbed :P) - but you take the risk of having your ship recycled by either rats (Npcs or) or other players if you're AFK in low sec space.
Combat is never fully realised because due to the game mechanics, you cannot engage ships that have jumped (warped). Therefore, engagement ususally takes place at locations - astroid belts, gates, stations - and only at locations where players are generally unable to jump i.e. warp or enter a gate. This is usually at a gate when players either exit warp to a gate or have exited a gate. Unless you have made a Bookmark, your ship is usually 15-20 Km from a gate and you need to be within 2.5 Km (or thereabouts, memory failing me!) before you can jump. Your ship is most vulnerable straight out of warp (at a gate), or exiting a gate. Therefore, there is a tremendous amount of gate-camping to ensure that pirates can get the 'jump' on ships before they warp away or enter/exit a gate. There are other tactics - warp bubbles, aligning interceptor class ships in a certain formation, etc - but generally gate camping is forced upon players.
Due to the harsh death penalty, mass ship to ship combat is never realised because the penalties for the losers is total destruction - ship, equipment, any implants if pod-killed - and the massive investment in ISK.
Eve certainly fulfils the space opera criterion, and is predominantly player-driven. It has a very mature community, is complex, deep, hynoptic and rewarding - if you are the type of player that has more than a modicum of intelligence, ability to plan, to think tactically, not to mention think long-term. If you're thinking of trying Eve then either try with friends or be sure to find a decent (I place a LOT of emphasis on 'decent') Corporation that fits your playing style. If you want action, then joining a mining corporation that mines 24/7 will drive you to despair. I cannot emphasize enough that Eve is extremely social - but due to the dynamics, socialization does form around Corporations (harsh death penalty, lack of trust, etc). The solo side of Eve [PvE] has been developed but you really need to play with other players because the PvE aspect is lacking compared to other games.
Eve's dynamics are all player-centric, focusing on the actual player deciding what role he/she wishes to take within the game. If you are interested and this post has whetted your appetite, then PLEASE read around on the Eve forum (see above link) first because the game is completely different to anything else on the market. You'll either fall deeply in love or will hate it within a week.
Regards,
Riotgirl
"If you think I'm plucky and scrappy and all I need is love, you're in way over your head. I don't have a heart of gold or get nice. There are a lot nicer people coming up. We call them losers."
both are listed on the game list here, check them out.
Me, i'm waiting for Elite-Online, as i've tried them all now. and imo Jumpgate and Vendetta are the most immersive of the space-flight MMO's atm.
Why is it whenever anyone mentions space mmos its automatically assumed EVE or other space sim games. The impression I got was the OP wanted a space flight sim where friends could be on the same ship, but fufill different positions. Then with the option or ability to explore planets. To the best of my experience none of the games mentioned to far offer those. It pains me to say it, but I think the closest game to what the OP was looking for is SWG. Dog fighting in space, pilot sim, gun turret sim (on ships that have them) and planets to explore. The downside to all this is that it is SWG. The ideas right, but the game is in a tailspin caused by both SOE and LAE.
And before anyone says anything, I have played EVE. I didn't like it, but still thought it was a really well made game and beautiful to boot. I would personally like to see the gameplay of SWG w/Jump to Lightspeed mixed with the concepts in EVE or similar games. The end result would be kind of like an online version of Traveller. I don't know if there's anything else even close to that, but rumour-mill whispers of Steve Jackson Games making Gurps Online: Transhuman Space, but SJG is being obsessively tight-lipped about it.
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Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth. - Oscar Wilde
Tailspin... that's the kindest way I've ever heard SWG described in it's current condition.
I tend to lean more towards the... Tail gone, fusilage on fire, cockpit shattered and bunring, wings about to tear off, landing gear gone, parachute mangled, heading straight towards the ground at terminal velocity, approach myself.
As for EVE. I agree with you here. I played it for a while and it is a well made game and it is very beautiful. But I just couldn't get into it. Wasn't a fan of the space combat either.
To the rumor about SJG and an MMO. WOW! I've played Gurps for a long time and that would , if done right by the right company, have a lot of potential.
Personally I'd very much like to see a RIFTS MMO. I imagine it'll never happen.
EVE online no doubt about it, I've been playing EVE for over a year now and was a big fan of Elite on the Atari ST which is why I gave it a go in the first place.
As for SWG just give the money to a beggar and save yourself the time!
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience"
CS Lewis
Wow RIOTGIRL pretty much sumed it up....
I too would have suggested SWG but the recent debacle has turned me off of that game, it was looking like it was going to become the game that I had always dreamed of.. a real space opera where you could do everything.
I play EVE right now and it can be intense and can be intensly boring at times..... but it is a lot of fun once you get to a certain level of training and equipment.
Witty saying to amuse you goes here.
Vendetta Online is also sorta an option, free trial so may as well look at it also.
The only thing i can suggest is trying the free trials of these games and deciding which is for you.
Since ive started playing mmo's have taken a backseat.
Want to ENJOY an mmo?
Dont start a guild and dont be a leader or volunteer to be coleader or captain.
Just play the damn game:)
X3 is a good game but I wouldn't insert that disc into your system, unless you like to buy new disc drives constatnly.
It uses Starforce which causes damage to alot of computers. Some companies are finally realizing that destroying a consumer's computer is a bad thing and don't use it anymore. X2 no longer uses it, but X3 does still.
Starforce info
I STILL have all my drives intact and have not had any system slowdowns at all.
Yeah ive got a link as well its an old 1 but it looks like STARFORCE is willing to stand by its product.
Want to ENJOY an mmo?
Dont start a guild and dont be a leader or volunteer to be coleader or captain.
Just play the damn game:)
So their solution to the security holes that their product creates is to sell you software to fix it? Why fix one prodcut when you can sell another product to someone just to get money out of them
By the by, none of the members of the various lawsuits against Starforce can apply to that offer. Doing so would create and agreement that would superseed the lawsuits, which are suing for far more than $10k so why drop a case when you have proof? Some areas even requires notification of software using Starforce before purchase. Here if you purchase X3 (like I did) you get a warning about it printed on your receipt (how I learned about the issues).
The contest is publicity and an attempt to invalidate lawsuits while selling security software to fix the eploints Starforce adds to your system. I never said all CD drives suffer from the issue, but claiming it is a rumor then selling you a product to fix the issue, well if you have to fix the issue how much of a rumor is it?
What you did do was make general sweeping accusation about X3 using starforce for copyright protection that would cause harm to most anyone's system.
All i can say is prove it.
NOTHING has happened to my PC.
Want to ENJOY an mmo?
Dont start a guild and dont be a leader or volunteer to be coleader or captain.
Just play the damn game:)
Member of the Phoenix Alliance Guild
in Vendetta Online
www.vendetta-online.com
vendetta has to be the only space sim mmorpg right now, although there aren't too many people playing it. There is also Jumpgate, but that is too old now.
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Emperium Online
Someone mentioned Traveller, that's exactly what I want in a game. An open ended sci fi sim that lets you wander anywhere, be it space or on a planet, as a character that actually walks around and "plugs in" to work vehicles or other complicated devices. My friends and I have really enjoyed Operation Flashpoint, which is a kind of FPS simulation. It's an open ended game with a high level of realism. We'd just like to take that experience and bring it into an rpg character development setting with a lot of exploration.
I may try Vendetta Online. It doesn't do it all, but it seems the closest to Privateer and so is worth a look.