What are your favorite games of all time?

The demo is a bit outdated. There were some major updates fixing bugs and performance issues a while back. However the game does have a speed control *Upper right corner I believe* That allows one to drastically change the game speed. you can make all your orders while paused and play as a *Turn based* or similar style game also I suppose.

Server hosting I would almost say requires another computer to host from. There is a ton it needs to remember and keep track of as there is no finite limit to how large one makes their universe some servers need much better computers than others.

From what I could tell when I purchased the game a few months ago, people claimed its original release was lackluster and bug riddled, however things got fixed and added to make it an enjoyable game.

 

A kindred spirit!!
I am like you, not only with games but also books, and err... in my younger years.. adult material.

/back to topic

Another awesome WTFPWN game that's 4X and space is X3: Terran Conflict. I say that one because it's the one I played and loved most. It has a HUGE fan following and modding community and a semi-inbetween sequal Albion is out (haven't tried yet) and there's the new X Rebirth coming somewhere soonish.
It's HUGE, totally free sandboxy, there are storythreads you can follow and that take ages to complete (HUB Plot fr example) and you can make your own stories (some Dead is Dead Let's Plays are epic threads with very good writing and are good enough to reread even).

You can be a freelancer doing missions in a combat ship, you can be a good guy doing the universe a service through story missions, you can become a tycoon flying capital ships and building space your own space stations and production chains, you can be a space pirate, etc etc etc
Awesome game.

EDIT: about Star Ruler: I played it and it seems ok, but (I played it when it got out) I found it hard to see when enemies were actually roaming around in my space, haven't played it much.

 

Space Pirates and zombies is another fun one

 

I played SPaZ most of the way through. Once you break into the inner systems, prepare to reroll if you have not prepared for everything to hit the proverbial fan.

Few games have been so cruel as that one. I liked it until I got far enough in. It felt very much unfinished however.

I am actually playing MoO 2 right now. DosBox works wonders for it. It is probably my favorite strategy/4X game ever. Yes, I like MoO 2 more than MoO 1. I know most do not, but I do. So sue me.

 

STARFLIGHT

I myself played the mega drive version, but it doesn't really matter.
From wikipedia:

"Set in the year 4620, the game puts players in the role of a starship captain sent to explore the galaxy. There is no set path, allowing players to switch freely between mining, ship-to-ship combat, and alien diplomacy.[1] The story eventually expands to resemble a space opera à la Star Trek. Self-aware humor also plays a role within Starflight, such as an encounter with the Starship Enterprise, infrequent messages between a disgruntled loan shark and a smuggler, and a hidden binary code which reveals the telephone number of the developers' home office. In March 1987, Computer Gaming World declared it "the best science fiction game available on computer."[2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starflight#Mega_Drive.2FGenesis_version

It still has a cult following, with many remakes and sites dedicated to it.

http://necrobones.com/starflt/
http://www.starflt.com/
http://sites.google.com/site/starflighttlc/

If you want to know about it, read this: http://socksmakepeoplesexy.net/index.php?a=scottstar

Good times ^^

 

I don't recall the game very well, but I do remember playing it years ago (picked it up from one of those bargain bins).

There was another game I played -- it had a very similar title, but I can't recall it. I'd be greatful if someone else remembers the title. It was kind of a multiplayer adventure game that came with all of these books with paragraphs in them that you had to look up, and a real paper game map. You'd move your plastic pieces on the paper map and enter in where you moved to into the computer and the computer would spit out a paragraph number, or tell you if you had an encounter, or whatever. It was really spectacularly well-written and very funny. You kind of were competing against all the other players so you each had a different story to follow (you each played unique characters with different abilities). So while you were at the computer, everyone else had these paragraphs to read and you'd hear giggling coming from them while you were trying to do stuff yourself. It was for up to 6 players. You could pick up cargo, improve your ship, and trade items with the other players.

It took us a few months to complete it (simply because you had to play it hot-seat, and it was difficult to coordinate 4 different people meeting up to play). The end of the game turned out to be a surprise for everyone because even though we were competing, you ended up having to cooperate to complete the game. (No one actually knew that so up until then no one was sharing their parts of the story).

The game had no actual graphics, and it was the only computer game that I know of that tried to combine a physical board game with a computer game.

Also, I remember playing Infocom text adventures, and my all-time favorite of those was "Planetfall" It's one of the few games that I've played that I can honestly say I loved for the storytelling and prose. I believe you played a janitor on board a doomed spacecraft. Early on, you met up with this robot that became kind of like a companion to you. The story was both funny and moving.

 

Hmm it kinda rings a bell in the vast distance.
I might have once seen an advert for it and really fantasized about the possibilities, or something like that. Or there's another one that combined physical gameboard with pc, also possible. Sounds good anyway.

Hmm, you also reminded me of text adventures. I remember this one I played I really liked. I remember the box (yeah, it were cardboard boxes back then) had some kind of purple oval or circular shape... that's all

EDIT: All hail wikipedia, I found it!: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wishbringer

 

This was the game I was trying to remember: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Saga
The title kind of popped into my head just now. I do remember having a a whole lot of fun playing it with friends.

 

My favorite PC game is probably StarCraft 2. All the joy of the original with better tuned balance and some new interesting units without losing the old feel. I'm not an incredible player but I have a good time. I also enjoy some Team Fortress 2 every now and again. When no one else is about to play with, I typically default to DoD, since it's such an efficient time killer. I never really got into the starship captain, style PC games but my all time favorite PC game is X:COM. It's like 20 years old now and I still pull it out every now and again. It still has some of the most engrossing game play I've ever encountered.

 

Ah X-Com... There was a remake in the works for retail launch that apparently went poof. I cannot find any real information about it. The last time I searched, the developer was saying they would have it out in a month or two, but that has been six months.

There has been a half dozen unofficial games very similar to it, but with different interfaces. This one was promising though because it was going to be retail. Most of the remakes were freeware, and a few are still being worked on.

 

I've played a couple of the remakes but they all fell short in one way or another. To be fair X:COM was a very ambitious game. What with the destructable terrain, Geoscape, tech tree, financial structure, and great turn based squad combat. That game had it all.

 

X-Com was uber. I loved the tech trees and how well things were balanced. It was a hard game to be sure, and you could never win every battle. Often, I would retreat and even abandon some of my soldiers to retrieve the prized alien gadgets when I saw I could not win and would lose everyone if I persisted.

Most modern games do not even allow you to do this. Shame on them.

 

It was my understanding that the game (which was supposed to be a 1st person shooter) was postponed indefinitely and replaced with another X-Com game that will be more faithful to the original. What happened was that there was a huge outcry by fans. So far as I've been able to determine, this more faithful version is still on schedule to be released some time this year. (Official title is "XCOM Enemy Unknown"). Official site is here: http://www.xcom.com/enemyunknown/index.php

 

And btw, I loved the first two X-Com games, even though I never could finish either of them. Essentially, I'd eventually start doing so badly, losing funding, etc. and would end up quitting the game and starting over again from the start. It really was a very hard game.

 

Yeah. That is the one. It was saying the release date was ~Q1 2012, and now they are saying Q3 2012. I would almost bet it will be Christmas before they roll it out. And not for reasons of development, more for financial reasons. (They get many more sales at that time of year than any other time.)

Odd that the Website is hosted by an IP owned by Take Two Interactive, yet the game is supposedly owned and developed by 2K Games and Firaxis...

I have doubts about this one, but the videos do look good.

 

Well Firaxis made one of my favorite games of all time: "Alpha Centauri", so I'm very hopeful. I try not to be overly optimistic or pessimistic.

 

The best way to win is to abandon half of the Globe and make many small groups of expendable teams with the best cheap equipment you could make or buy for them. Send them in to areas you have basically abandoned exclusively to capture tech. Any time it becomes clear you cannot win, you should grab any unresearched tech items and retreat even if that means leaving some of your team to die.

Early on probably half the missions you go on are unwinable on normal or hard difficulty. Use smoke grenades in daytime to restrict vision of aliens that see like Humans do, and use lightsticks at night to allow you to see where things are. Capturing aliens is not worth bothering to attempt at all until you have the alien containment tech. Then it should be a priority and you should have no less than two on your squad with stunners/tranquilzers every time you go anywhere.

Note that it is literally impossible to win the game without capturing some aliens alive. In reality, you only need a few, but it is best to get at least one of every race if possible. The really tough ones can be softened with explosives before you attempt to stun/tranq them. Otherwise, you may as well tranq yourself. It will do exactly nothing until the big guys are weakened already.

*Edit* I could go on for pages on this subject. I loved the game.

Remember that you are paid by specific areas of the globe. So some should be priority defense points. Defend them at all costs. The rest are sadly going to cut your funding as you repeatedly fail to defend them. Too 'Effing bad. The aliens are very potent, and cannot be swatted like a fly, despite the best intentions and tech you have in the early to mid game. Prioritize the defense spots and keep them happy and they will keep you afloat.

I won both UFO Defense and Terror From The Deep. I even won TFtD on hard one single time. But I was purely lucky and managed to avoid half the unwinnable missions that time.

Once you get the missiles that have waypoints and can be plotted to go all around the map Blaster Launchers, you have essentially won. Those things are the best weapon in any game ever. No exaggeration on that point whatsoever.

*Edit* They are really a dumb name. I agree. I used them just as much as scouts as weapons. I made waypoints everywhere. I had those things running circles around the map until they hit something. I just love them. I wonder if we can make a scriptable spell/bolt to do something ludicrously awesome like that in DoD?

BTW, for anyone reading, I amended this after the next two posts, so bear that in mind.

 

Ah yes the Blaster Launcher. Stupidest name for a weapon ever, but it was ridiculously powerful. I once piloted a missile into the back end of a sectoid hover tank that was within a stone's throw of one of my troops. I hit just right so that the explosion was expanded backwards from the tank and miraculously the tanks itself went down and didn't explode. The game's physics engine was that impressive. Simple in it's own way but still with a ton of depth to it.

Early missions were winnable but definitely very difficult. You had to take casualties in the early game as a given. You couldn't afford to get too attached to your soldiers.

I never abandoned any part of the globe I could hold on to. At the start of the game you only start with one base and don't really have the funds to cover everything but you really want to start establishing shell bases with radar and a single hangar for an interceptor so you can knock down ships in multiple sectors of the world and clean up the pieces with your main crew once you have the funds. Slowly I'd upgrade these bases to function better as a whole. Oh and the first thing to research after laser pistols was always heavy plasma. That's still the most ridiculous shortcut in the tech tree.

I had so many good times with that game. I also heard of a third party company that's been working on a spiritual successor. You can get a look at it at www.xenonauts.com

 

Ah! The final is here at last! Check this out:
http://ufoai.org/wiki/index.php/News

It is a freeware successor to the original. I am not certain about the one you linked in above, I will check it out in a moment, but I wanted to spit this out first.

*Edit* Ah! I have seen this one. It looks good. I hope they really do make it work out. It is retail, so I am uncertain about it since there is an official X-Com in the making, and Xenonauts is on shaky ground since they are literally comparing it to X-Com while selling preorders of the game. I can see this one being delayed for years just prior to launch by a lawsuit if they do not watch what they say and what references they quote.

 

So that FPS abomination of X-COM has been postponed indefinitely? Some faith in humanity has been restored.