Space Travel & Exploration 20 Years Ago - Freelancer

[Mister Burkes]

This is a clip I found last night of someone playing Freelancer HD mod - just as a reference point of where space sims were at 20 years ago in regards to space travel & exploration.

https://youtu.be/M6jkE5z5cB4?si=WRo1EsfpJtQHHUAb&t=1086

[13xforever]

And before that was Elite, so? The scope and scale are very different, and the main focus of the games are very different. It's dumb comparing them just because they're somehow related to space.

If you want something closer to Freelancer, try Everspace 2.

If you want more exploration and trading, try No Man's Sky.

If you want more complex resource gathering/manufacturing/trading, try X4.

If you want space combat, try Elite Dangerous (or Chorus for more arcade-y experience).

There's plenty to choose from.

[BSNB]

I use to play that on the weekend. good times.

[Blackfrost]

Originally posted by Mister Burkes:

This is a clip I found last night of someone playing Freelancer HD mod - just as a reference point of where space sims were at 20 years ago in regards to space travel & exploration.

https://youtu.be/M6jkE5z5cB4?si=WRo1EsfpJtQHHUAb&t=1086

Bro be careful, you're inviting the screeching hordes...
Get ready for "THIS IS AN RPG NOT A SPACE GAME REEEEEEEEE IT DOESN'T NEED TRAVEL MECHANICS I LOVE HOLDING X TO FAST TRAVEL"

[finaljedi]

Freelancer is a game where I feel like it's a crime it hasn't been out out on Steam or GoG. Loved that game, only way to play it is original disc or bootleg now.

[Spanky]

Originally posted by Mister Burkes:

This is a clip I found last night of someone playing Freelancer HD mod - just as a reference point of where space sims were at 20 years ago in regards to space travel & exploration.

https://youtu.be/M6jkE5z5cB4?si=WRo1EsfpJtQHHUAb&t=1086

got in this game more than 20k hours. best space sim evah

[13xforever]

Originally posted by finaljedi:

Freelancer is a game where I feel like it's a crime it hasn't been out out on Steam or GoG. Loved that game, only way to play it is original disc or bootleg now.

It' in the top of the requested games[www.gog.com], but the rights situation is murky, so it won't happen any time soon.

[Mister Burkes]

Originally posted by 13xforever:

And before that was Elite, so? The scope and scale are very different, and the main focus of the games are very different. It's dumb comparing them just because they're somehow related to space.

If you want something closer to Freelancer, try Everspace 2. If you want more exploration and trading, try No Man's Sky. If you want space combat, try Elite Dangerous. There's plenty to choose from.

A lot of people on this forum only have NMS as a reference point. So I think it's important they see some other examples.

[Dootslayer]

But this game never intended to be a space sim?

[Jack9999]

In this case, the justification for Starfield is that it was made for 25 years, i.e., unfortunately, the developers could not see examples of good exploring.

[Wingnut Mcmoomoo]

people really need to learn about how games are designed and how scope is decided is such a setting. Its like we're stuck in the 80s and everyone things video games have to be mind blowing tech advances instead of just a fun toy to play with.

also i ignored everything about this game until last week but i learned even then that they told the truth on the exploration a while ago so anyone going in surprised paid less attention than me which is impressive for someone also making complaints tbh because i didn't care at all lol

[Mister Burkes]

Originally posted by Dootslayer:

But this game never intended to be a space sim?

Freelancer has loading screen tech that actually predates than Morrowind's (loading adjacent tiles as you approach the edge and hiding it behind LOD was a Bethesda innovation), and yet the overall design of the travel & exploration leads it to not detract much from gameplay and immersion.

[Bearsuit]

This game isn't a space sim.

[Eightball]

Interestingly even current games suffer from finding a balance when dealing with game scale and travel mechanics.

For instance in Elite D the game universe is immense and traversing it takes a huge amount of time. Players often just set up their cruise profile and then go do something else in RL while their ship plows forward. Do such travel mechanics add to immersion? Sure? Do they functionally add any enjoyment to the game? Debatable.

I have played MMOs in which the developers had designed maps with huge open areas that added little to actual game play as they were mostly devoid of anything of interest (rather like open space) yet they still had to be traversed over and over. Did such areas add to immersions and give the sense that the 'world' was a very large place? Sure? Did traversing these areas over and over add any game play value? Debatable. And, more often than not, the result was players wanting 'fast travel' options because once you had been there you had seen it all.

So there is a balance between travel, scale and game play value that is difficult to reach. And not everyone will be happy regardless the approach.

[Wingnut Mcmoomoo]

Originally posted by Mister Burkes:

Originally posted by 13xforever:

And before that was Elite, so? The scope and scale are very different, and the main focus of the games are very different. It's dumb comparing them just because they're somehow related to space.

If you want something closer to Freelancer, try Everspace 2. If you want more exploration and trading, try No Man's Sky. If you want space combat, try Elite Dangerous. There's plenty to choose from.

A lot of people on this forum only have NMS as a reference point. So I think it's important they see some other examples.

you're confusing trolls trying to make people mad by bringing up NMS with people not knowing what freelancer is... trust me people know that game, space game people really know that game, so everyone complaining in that way are probably doing so just to kick dirt and get replies

[Mister Burkes]

Originally posted by 13xforever:

Originally posted by finaljedi:

Freelancer is a game where I feel like it's a crime it hasn't been out out on Steam or GoG. Loved that game, only way to play it is original disc or bootleg now.

It' in the top of the requested games[www.gog.com], but the rights situation is murky, so it won't happen any time soon.

Lmao, I had a good chuckle seeing this and also #2 and #3. Looks like a lot of old vets are reminiscing about Freelancer and ME after playing Starfield.