Games similar to Delta V

[Uriel]

It was mentionned in a discussion with Koder some time ago, it could be useful to have a thread that groups suggestions for games similar to Delta V. Steam is notoriously bad at suggesting niche and unique games, so in this case the best information source are the players themselves. You may or may not like what is suggested, but at least, you'll have found it.

To be considered similar, a game must have several traits, not all obviously (else that game is Delta V), but at least some. This allows for similar games while also opening new horizons. So, the game should have a combination of several of the following traits :

- Theme is space (this one is hard to avoid, but hey, if you have Delta V but with dwarves in a medieval fantasy setting, why not ?).

- Has top-down view. Or maybe side-scrolling view.

- Has fairly realistic physics simulation.

- Is centered around, or an important part of the game is / can be, piloting some vehicles.

- Is centered around, or an important part of the game is / can be, mining / gathering ressources.

- Allows customization of avatar / vehicles / whatever your proxy is, and not just looks, but function.

- Is made by an indie studio or developper.

- Has good pop culture references, and / or a sense of humour.

If you guys feel like I forgot something important, feel free to mention it and I'll edit this post. Basically, anything that goes "if you like Delta V, X might interest you" works too :)

[Parchandri]

Try DeliSpace. Similarities with dV:

• Tank controls (there are only two thrusters so it's only 2DOF, not 3DOF like dV)
  
• Focus on traversing asteroid cluttered space
  
• Physics based gameplay
  
• Realistic (thruster based) controls
  
• Gameplay impacting collisions (you can damage the thrusters)
  
• Ship upgrades
  
• Dives (called shifts) - you decide how long you play, then return to base

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2797690/DeliSpace/

[Uriel]

Wishlisted, thanks mate :)

[McKillerroy]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/392080/Wayward_Terran_Frontier_Zero_Falls/

The price may be a bit juicy.
The low frequency of updates and the time the game spent in EA already may be alerting for some ppl.

However, I don't regret buying it and recommend it. Especially to ppl who are really into indie/niche games.

As far as I know, it is currently 1 dude coding and 1 dude for graphics related suff.

They had to completely rewrite a lot of code a little time ago, basically start from zero again. They started development on multiplayer as well (You can participate in mp-alpha test via their discord).
I guess that's the reason for delayed development and long EA.

If you want to go down this "rabbit hole" join their discord. Devs are very active there (compared to the games steam-forum).

The game is quite unique imo, regarding existing features and future goals.

Game is top-down. You can board any station or ship you find, even kill the crew inside them and take it over (only ships).

There are many ships in the game already, different in size, shape and purpose.

You can easily change the purpose tho, via an extensive building/customization editor. There are many ship modules, weapons and what not, which you can freely place anywhere on the ship. I.e. reactors for power, controll rooms and bridges to controll the ship and its weapons (independently from each other by assigning crew members to certain controll rooms), engines, thrusters and a lot more.

And everything has to be wired up properly to a reactor. Cables and capacitors have limited bandwidth tho, so you will probably be tinkering araound a lot untill you min-maxed a ships capabilities and available building space.

The games damage system is also very..."uncasual".
There are no hp bars. Shooting at ships will literally make them swiss cheese. Hitting certain modules can cause explosions and/or fire.
Even if there is only 1/3 of a ship remaining, if there is still a weaponmount, a reactor to power it, livesupport (oxygen) and a living crew on it, it will stand its ground against you.

You can fight, mine and trade (buy low, sell high).

[Uriel]

Wow, that one looks impressive. I'll keep an eye on it for sure. Thanks mate !

[McKillerroy]

Originally posted by Uriel:

Wow, that one looks impressive. I'll keep an eye on it for sure. Thanks mate !

You're welcome.

I had to actively dig, really deep, to actually find this one.

I had some conversations already with the devs on their DC. They seem to struggle really hard with visibility and marketing. Even though they hired a dude explicitly for that purpose.

I had no issues finding Delta V and a bunch of other cool games when I decided to look for some indie games.
Maybe because they have Kurki Games as their publisher? I have no idea how steam algorithm works. Their game really deserves to be seen aswell...

[Koder]

Originally posted by McKillerroy:

I had some conversations already with the devs on their DC. They seem to struggle really hard with visibility and marketing. Even though they hired a dude explicitly for that purpose.

Let me see if I can help with that.

[TheStechi]

Let me add a few of the indie games I have in my library or on my wishlist.
Tho some fit the criteria better than others.

First of all Ostranauts - this game is more about salvaging than mining and the piloting is seen by some as mini-gamey as it has Astroids (the retro game) vibes, but I personally like it.
The focus is more towards the ships, stripping down derelicts, repairing and building up your own ship or even buying derelicts repairing them and selling them for a profit.
The game is still in EA and is actively developed on.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1022980/Ostranauts/

Next is Nimbatus - it's out for a while now, but has it focus soley on building drones/ships and mining and fighting with them. The physics are more space lander style, but still fun.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/383840/Nimbatus__The_Space_Drone_Constructor/


The following games are less focused on piloting and physics, but still focus on space and ships.

The Last Starship - Build and manage your own ship, mine and process resources.
Like I said it has less piloting, but more a point and click approach. This game is also in EA.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1857080/The_Last_Starship/

Stardeus - now we are quite far away from the initial criteria, but I feel that a space ships builder with a portion of Rimworld needs at least to be mentioned. The game is in EA and the dev is streaming him working on the game.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1380910/Stardeus/

And another honourable mention - I Fetch Rocks
While it no top-down/sidescrolled but VR, it ticks most of the other boxes - space, piloting, physics, mining, customisation
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1543380/I_Fetch_Rocks/

I hope these are a few games some of you folks are interested in. :)

[McKillerroy]

Originally posted by Koder:

Originally posted by McKillerroy:

I had some conversations already with the devs on their DC. They seem to struggle really hard with visibility and marketing. Even though they hired a dude explicitly for that purpose.

Let me see if I can help with that.

That would be awesone, I really feel like they need help.

Great to see indies team up and help each other.

[aY227]

Originally posted by McKillerroy:

If you want to go down this "rabbit hole" join their discord. Devs are very active there (compared to the games steam-forum).

Maybe they should at least look at store page... even positive reviews says it's abandoned. Last update in august.


---
Similar to games you've played: Stardew Valley xDDD

[McKillerroy]

Originally posted by aY227:

Originally posted by McKillerroy:

If you want to go down this "rabbit hole" join their discord. Devs are very active there (compared to the games steam-forum).

Maybe they should at least look at store page... even positive reviews says it's abandoned. Last update in august.


---
Similar to games you've played: Stardew Valley xDDD

It's not abandonned. The thing is, dev doesn't do very much on the games steam-pages, You need to actually be on their discord to see it's not abandonned. Actually there is an update for singleplayer rolling out soon. But you would only know this if you joined their DC.
The game isn't exclusively available on steam, they have their own website where the game has its own launcher, but I agree they should give their games steam-page more attention.

After that update, multiplayer testing with us (the community) will continue.

[Martyn]

One game that might interest someone is ADIOS Amigos:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/725120/

I bought it to play couch co-op with my son. It can easily be played solo, or with others. You can stick together or split up, and if someone gets flung out into space you can attempt to rescue them. Things go wrong, a lot. It's fun to try to balance risk vs reward.

2D, basic-but-realistic space flight around mini solar systems, using gravity and slingslots to save fuel where possible. You can land on planets or visit abandoned space stations, scavenging for fuel and supplies as you try to make your way home. To jump to the next system, you have to earn stars by discovering items. Some discoveries can be used in later playthroughs. It's 80% space flight and 20% platformer. It's cute and endearing but also quite deadly, and very funny at times.

[Uriel]

Looks fun, and a bit whacky. Wishlisted :)

[NimrodX]

This one, sort of. It isn't nearly as "hard sci-fi" (tech not realistic) but at least the flight physics is euclidian-newtonian reaslitic and not more "airplane in space" or "ocean boat in space" stuff.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/398170/Evochron_Legacy_SE/

Realistic zero gravity inertia based 'Newtonian' style flight model including complete 3 axis rotation and 3 axis direction control with optional variable input. An advanced inertial dampening system helps keep flight control simple in space, atmospheres, and gravity fields. Physics systems also take into account mass (including additions for cargo), thrust, and vector calculations.

I didn't play that one but I played the previous game (Evochron mercenary). https://steamcommunity.com/id/nimrodx/recommended/71000?snr=1_5_9__402

[Uriel]

Evochron is one of my pet peeves. I mean, sure, it's a pretty decent game. But the way rebinding keys in this game works is atrocious. You can rebind pretty much everything, but it will ALWAYS show you the key that would be used if you were using a QWERTY layout.

As it so happens, my native language doesn't use a QWERTY board. Which means that I either need to learn the whole QWERTY layout by heart, or have a picture of one handy, just to know what key does what. or, according to the dev himself, I can go and edit some file to change the default corresponding keys, one by one.

In this day and age where you can map a key by its position on the board, that's pretty bad. Granted, that was the case for Mercenary, I haven't tried Legacy. I didn't want to try it after that.

Aside from that, it has some similitudes and from what I could get out of it it seemed like a pretty decent game.