The Escapist, Issue 54: In Spaaaace!

[Evil Avatar]

Khan may have said that it's very cold in space, but we are heating things up with a phaser barrage of space gaming! So, man action stations as The Escapist (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/issue/54) hits warp 54 in this week’s issue, “In Spaaace," in 3, 2, 1 ...

Allen Varney: Wing Leader (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/issue/54/4)
"The once-dignified halls of the Consumer Electronics Show turned raucous. That day, the entire Lucasfilm booth staff huddled in a tight, silent knot before the Wing Commander monitors. They watched for a long time." In Wing Leader, Allen Varney tells the story of a company named Origin and the space game that changed the world.

Adam LaMosca: Lost in the Void (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/issue/54/10)
The Unfortunate Trajectory of the Space Sim Game"I was raised on science-fiction as much as science fact. My imagination populated the cold, sterile universe depicted by that poster on my bedroom wall with exotic alien races and epic conflicts. Yet I look at the science-fiction games of today and I can't help but feel saddened." Adam LaMosca's Lost in the Void traces the decline of the space sim.

Phillip Scuderi: Footprints in Moondust (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/issue/54/15)
"There is an air of tragedy about Noctis . As I peer from the narrow confines of my helmet, my natural excitement at gazing upon features that nobody has ever seen before is always muted by the knowledge that nobody ever will see them, except for me." Phil Scuderi explores space and the meaning of free will in Footprints in Moondust.

Pat Miller: My Own Private Galaxy (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/issue/54/19)
"Space is pretty cool, I guess. Ships, you know. Guns and aliens and cargo smuggling and intergalactic rebellion and all that. But you know, there's an awful lot of it. People kind of forget that, I think." Pat Miller muses on the emptiness of space, and the perfection of Escape Velocity in My Own Private Galaxy.

Shannon Drake: Development in a Vacuum (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/issue/54/21)
"Being stuck on an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean definitely carves deep markings into the way we approach game design." Shannon Drake interviews Magnus Bergsson, of Icelandik developer CCP.

[fitbabits]

And not for the last time I'm going to proclaim my admiration for The Escapist and express my wish that it was in print format.

[Khash]

Holy cow, an entire issue about my favorite video game genre. How I long for the days of Freespace.

[Heretic Machine]

Hey, they mentioned Noctis... I could never figure out how to pilot my damn ship in that game, so I can't say that I ever actually got around to exploring :p

I'm surprised no one brought up the Battlecruiser series.

[zipR]

Wing Commander III was one of the coolest games I ever had for my first PC, and the first game that I bought that came on CD-ROM.

It was also one of the few games where for the most part the cutscenes were more interesting that the actual gameplay.

[Evil Avatar]

I'm surprised no one brought up the Battlecruiser series.

I was under the impression it was just a single game released over and over and not a series.

[fitbabits]

I was under the impression it was just a single game released over and over and not a series.
That, friends, is where with ....With Attitude comes from! :D

[Rifter]

I remember when Wing Commander I came out, and I bought a SOUND CARD, just to play the music! I remember hearing voices in a game, for the first time from this series, too (not tinny PC Speaker voices, either). ah, the old ISA 8-bit Soundblaster. My god, that was cool. I will NEVER forget feeling like such a doofus, when I hooked it up. I got the card plugged in, the drivers installed... and it was SILENT. After troubleshooting for an hour, I called up tech support. They asked me, Did I plug in the speakers. I was like, Speakers? DOH!!! :-) Jeeze, now I support those type of people. :-) This is also one of my favorite genres. There has been FAR too long withought a game like Freespace, Privateer, Wing Commander, or Tie Fighter.

Though, I finally picked up X3 today, and can't wait to check it out (I hate Starforce, so I did not buy it for a very long time) and I have some excitement seeing Dark Star one coming out.

I am always surprised by these articles. They never mention one of Origin's OLDER games... Rogue. It predates Wing Commander by a fair margin, and played similiar to Elite. Then, there was a small resurgance in 2000, featuring Tachyon, Allegience (VERY cool game/concept, killed by Microsoft Stupidity), and something else. It is a damn shame to see this genre dying. :(

[Heretic Machine]

I was under the impression it was just a single game released over and over and not a series.

Well, to be fair, it was one game released twice, and then another game, and then two more games which were a whole lot like the second game but in MMO form.

[captainstrombosis]

I was flipping through a very old (December 1995) Issue of PCgamer I found in storage. I came across a Battlecruiser 3000 A.D. ad.

It has a picture of the box art on one side, and a picture of a real hottie in her sexy silk nightgown on the other, with the text "Just a minute...I promise!!!

...Engage tractor beam on rocket launchers...CHECK
...Launch probe to investigate terrain...CHECK
...Prepare BATTLECRUISER for combat..."

"Revolutionary neural-net based AI system. Stunning SVGA space and ground based combat. Immense 3D galaxy with 12 AI-controlled alien species and 225 unique planets. Strategically manage and control your battlecruiser and it's resources including interceptors, ATV's, and marines."

"Detek Smart's BATTLECRUISER 3000AD. THE LAST THING YOU'LL EVER DESIRE."

Hahahahahahahahahahaha...sorry, it's just funny how much bullshit they spouted.

[MosBen]

Say what you want about the Battlecruiser series, it's definitely a good concept that somebody will eventually do right.

I played the earlier Wing Commander games on my parents' PC, but the first PC that I got of my very own was Wing Commander IV on DVD. Man, that was a sweet freakin' game. I totally wish they would update the gameplay (hell, maybe even just the graphics) and re-release it. I think there were some story branches that I never fully explored.

I know it's not really a space sim, but this topic really reminded me of the original Decent. What a disorienting but awesome game.

[jpublic]

On Battlecruiser: A rather long time ago (almost 10 years, God I feel old) I was the RPG Editor for the now-defunct Online Gaming Review. I was 'assigned' to deal with Derek Smart and Battlecruiser, and as such, I was given access to several betas, including the 'release' version. I remember having all sorts of arguments with my editor about reviewing that, particularly the argument that I couldn't review a game that was still Alpha.

On the articles:
I'm suprised no one mentioned Dark Star One. I was pretty impressed with the demo, and it looks to be the only space sim to look forward to.

Independance War 2 remains one of my favorite space sims. I bought a new joystick for my replays of that game.

It remains a pity X3 uses Starforce. I'd love to try it, but until they remove the SF protection like the did from X2, it's going to just molder on my shelf.

[sanatos]

Man, I really need to register EV.

[Khash]

Here's hoping Dark Star One doesn't totally suck

[Goronmon]

Reading that EVE Online stuff really makes me want to get back into that game. It really is great. Its just that, in order for me to truly be productive, I need to have 2 accounts, and spending $30 a month on a single game is just not something I'd like to do anytime soon. :(