I-war 2 Edge of Chaos has a nice story and free-roaming piracy with larger ships. Haven't played I-war, but as far as I know it's similar, but less open.

Agree with Nozmajner on I-War 2. I also liked the stories of Tachyon: The Fringe and Starlancer as well. What is the trend here.... these are older games 😉

Please forgive the self-promotion, but I think you might like Transcendence:  http://transcendence.kronosaur.com/

It's a 2D space-sim and was heavily inspired by Star Control II (which has an awesome and deep storyline).

This page describes the kinds of things you can do in Transcendence, and hints at the richness of the universe:  http://transcendence.kronosaur.com/guidePage.hexm?id=transcendence20Things

Check it out and let me know what you think.

What is the trend here.... these are older games

Older games got soul!

I will add HardWar and Privateer 1&2.

Then i will add X-wing Alliance 😀

Then I will add Oolite, certain addons (or OXPs) can add stories that will send you all over the place in the game.

I just want to strongly second (or third it seems) the IWar2 recommendation.  It's probably my favorite space-sim of all time.  The plot had its share of weak spots, as I recall, but I do remember it having a relatively interesting storyline.  (I  tend to consider the story aspects of games to be garbage, and find that I must be extremely biased since many of the games I consider to have a good plot also had excellent gameplay.)

Thanks everyone!

Independence War II wins. I will post my impressions in a few days 😉

I know its not a Space Sim, but Star Wars - Knights of the Old Republic I & II have very good stories and are must plays and that goes for the Mass Effect series too as well. No real space combat in those games and they are more of an FPS, but still very good games you will get many hours of enjoyment out of.

Thanks everyone!

 

Independence War II wins. I will post my impressions in a few days 😉

You will need a joystick with Hat control on it otherwise the game can become hugely frustrating.

IMHO IWar 2's plot's good at first but it gets too rushed out in the final act.

T-16000M at your service!

Freelancer (2003).  

It has a very good plot line, memorable characters and looked pretty damn good for its time. No other space sim comes close to this one in terms of story, i guarantee it! I hope we'll see a Freelancer 2 in the future, ahh..fool's dreams.