I've got DS1, not a bad game. Actually I'm surprise nobody showed any interest in it, based on some of the games that people DO show interest in here. I never finished it though, got through half way and started getting bored with the same old missions types over & over. The cut scenes were great though, the story was good, and I will finish it at some point. Definitely better than many space sims I've played.

Agreed. I never finished it myself and I think one of the only reasons it isn't that popular was the support the game got and no modding capabilities. DS1 website is totally down now 🙁

Not being a true die-hard with space sims (experience-wise at least), I never realized that the ability to mod was so important. I just assumed that only a fraction of the gaming public would even know how to mod in the first place. So is mod capability a pre-requisite of greatness for all space-sims then?

It is a big one I think FL, FS and IWAR still having mods created for them or least mods in general to enhance or add to the game experience. There has been a dry spell in the world of space sim games and without the modding I think a lot of the games would be on a shelf. Look at WC games (great and epic in my mind) but after you have played them 1-2x it gets old because there is nothing but the story and if you know it by hard it gets boring.

I have played some great FL mods and now some FS2 mods with the FSO project. Plus you let your community keep your game alive and current.

Makes sense enough, but I'm wondering how many more games the companies involved would sell by adding support/mod capability. They don't really have a mechanism to make money on either, and I'm guessing mod or no mods, those inclined to play space sims will buy the game either way.

BTW, I've never tried the WC games, having only been playing PC games for the last year or so. But I keep hearing about the series. I'm tempted to try them but I really question whether or not I can enjoy a game made in the mid 90s'. FS2 was done in 2000, I-war 2 thereabouts, and I'm finding those graphics hard to tolerate. Heck FL was older than I wanted to go, but I'm sure glad I made the exception there.

You will problerly have a bad time if you cant hack the look of Freespace/I-War2,but thay are worth playing.

Wing Commander

Wing Commander 3

Thanks for those, mate. I'm really tempted to try them. Were there any mods made to upgrade the graphics, perhaps?

You know I don't know,there has been a number of fan games/remakes based on Wing Commander,best place to look is on the CIC site.

http://www.wcnews.com/

Yeah, there's no way I can handle that. I don't know what I was thinking to consider going back that far. BTW, was that Kirsten Duntz in that second video?? And Luke Skywalker???

Nope its the porn star Ginger Lynn Allen and yep Luke wandering around with Malcolm McDowell

and John Rhys-Davies among others.

Aww you are really missing out on a great game. Origin Systems did great things with this series and yeah its a bit dated but the story telling is great... least that's my opinion but I am a WC fanboy 🙂

I want to try man, really do. But I wouldn't feel like I'm in space, I'd feel like I was in an Atari 2600 nightmare.

If you have the time Shant, check this post out and download and watch the movies since you say you might not play the games. See mark Hamill in action....

wing-commander-series-f43/full-length-and-movies-t641.html

Is the combat portion of WC4 a big improvement over WC3? Haven't seen it yet. Maybe if it looks much better than 3 I could suck it up and try.

Well they stepped it up each time, WC5 has the best visually but you have to remember the games are still old WC5 is 1997, WC4 is 1995 and WC3 is 1994.

Everyone is different... I really don't care about graphics quality. Especially when I add up the money I have spent on video cards over the years. 🙂

I had more fun with Duke Nukem's simple graphics than with Quake 3's fancy-creepy-shadowy-ultra-graphics.

To each his own.

But thanks for reminding me about Ginger Lynn... she was so great as the shop mechanic!

There should be more girls in these sci-fi games. I miss Angel's voice from Wing Commander... Colonel Jeannette Devereaux, where are you now?

B

I realize graphics don't make the game, but for me in a space sim, so much of my enjoyment is the beauty of space and feeling like I'm out there. And you have the subtle differences that make it possible to distinguish systems, like gas clouds, asteroid belts, etc...You don't get any of that when you back to the 90s'.

I'm watching WC 3 as we speak...Hobbs that traitor what a bastard!

To me the WC series is all about the story. You do the space missions just to advance the story.

Hello Shant

I'm new to the board but I've done all the WC games and your post brought up some great memories and a question I've always had and never knew the answer to. What turned Hobbs??? As i recall I never took the mission to chase after Hobbs after he jumped ship and killed that pilot in his escape. Was he a deep cover operative from the get go or was he under some form of control/conversion and was turned back to his "cat" roots???

Thanks for any clarity you can provide.

DarKenK

I think he was a sleeper agent. (If I remember corectly).

Hey DarKenK, welcome aboard mate! Yeah I think captainKai is right, he appeared to be a spy from the get go. You've got a lot of members here who are WC die-hards though, unlike me. I'm sure somebody's gotta have more background info on Hobbs. D1? Pinback?

The problem with good sleeper agents is that they are difficult to detect. I am surprised that Hobbs did not have a little more supervision just due to profiling. He did kind of stand out in a crowd.

But he had my back on many missions... it was hard NOT to trust the guy after years of watching him blast away at Kilrathi raiders with the best of my wingmen.

Still... he's a frickin' cat. They're just plain moody!

That is exactly my experience with it. DarkStar One got a lot of pre-release publicity on the old TLR. Everyone was looking forward to it as the successor to Freelancer. For those who have not followed TLR, it is/was The Lancer's Reactor. Historically, TLR was the center of the universe for Freelancer modding until they suddenly and mysteriously blew up, just like Freeport 7. All that is left is an "asteroid field" of a web site, with a few half-good wrecks floating around.

Anyway, I was looking forward to DS1, and was really disappointed by the rapid onset of boredom.

IMHO, Freelancer needed to be sped up a little, and it needs to be fleshed out, with different bar conversations and more variety. I had hoped that DS1 would fix those issues. Instead, DS1 is worse in some ways.

Hello Folks

I hate to say it but "BOREDOM" has been my major problem with Space Combat Sims in the last few years. I absolutely loved X-Wing, TIE Fighter, Wing Commander(s), Free-Space and the rest of the "old" favorites because there was something there .............. something that made you want to play that next mission even though it was 2:30 am and you have been playing for hours. It was more then just eye-candy, you were DRAWN IN!!!. However lately I just can't seem to get ......... there. I too was looking forward to Darkstar - 1 and then I got about a 3rd of the the way through and yawn it became repetitious, boring and I just couldn't finish.

I hope I can get that feeling back in the games I have yet to play that I have found on this site and board.

DarKenK