Similar games?

[Miles Mayhem]

Until finding the both Starcom games at a random, I didn't know how immensly one can become hooked up on this genre and method of storytelling.
Curios now on what else I've missed - tell me and make me spend some money!

[SiliconWolf6]

Have you checked out Star Control 2 and Star Control Origins? They're pretty awesome.
(Star Control 1 is more like a demo. And do NOT play Star Control 3, nor should you buy the DLC for Star Control Origins. They suck.)

Btw, don't search Steam for 'Star Control 2'. There's a free version of the exact same game called Free Stars: The Ur-Quan Masters on Steam. You can also find Ur-Quan Masters as a free download on the internet.

[WildLynx]

Endless Sky. Free on Steam and also open source code on github. Modern and evolving.
Ur-Quan Masters. Free on Steam and also open source code on github. Good and old.
Event Horizon. Also flat, also can configure ships, ... but it's dumb. Only simple quests.

I can only hope Wx3 Labs will someday make Starcom 3.

[Miles Mayhem]

Originally posted by WildLynx:

Endless Sky. Free on Steam and also open source code on github. Modern and evolving.
Ur-Quan Masters. Free on Steam and also open source code on github. Good and old.
Event Horizon. Also flat, also can configure ships, ... but it's dumb. Only simple quests.

I can only hope Wx3 Labs will someday make Starcom 3.

Thanks!
Well, if the presentation / immersion is right for my taste for sth. to wind down during the week, dumb is not necessarily bad.
Will have a look at your recommendations, much appreciated!

[Luke]

Escape Velocity (series) is the inspiration for a lot of games like this, including Endless Sky and Naev (both free and open source)

3030 Death War is another very good one.

Star Valor. Gaia Beyond. Both worth a look.

Solar Winds was an old shareware game that was a little similar.

I think the Starcom games are actually inspired by a famous oldie called Starflight, even though they play more like EV. You might want to give Starflight a look, the Genesis version is widely considered to be the best.

[WildLynx]

Forgot about Naev, btw.

[Miles Mayhem]

Ooh Solar Winds - I remember having played the Shareware version back in the 90s. Good times.

Thank you, crew, for the recommendations!

[Khalan]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/107200/Space_Pirates_and_Zombies/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/788630/Gaia_Beyond/

[Joe the Tech]

Not technically sci-fi (much more steampunk), but with a lot of the same playstyle and really great storytelling: https://store.steampowered.com/app/596970/Sunless_Skies_Sovereign_Edition/
Great game, but I'd wait for a sale. They come up often.

Also, ΔV: Rings of Saturn. Again, similar playstyle, but grounded in pretty hard science with realistic physics.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/846030/V_Rings_of_Saturn/

[Agwulf]

Not in Steam, but this game reminded me of Starsector. You can check it out here: https://fractalsoftworks.com

[⚔TonkRogerio⚔]

I'm surprised no one mentioned the awesome og Space Rangers. This is a link to the HD version. It's a bit different and doesn't exactly follow the same starflight mould but it is an awesome game. watch the video because the pictures contain a lot of the side activity for some reason. also I don't know if they've changed it in HD but impossible is pretty much almost impossible.
Trading and upgrading in this game is a lot of fun. The world's tech advances with you and civilisations research new tech that you can keep upgrading. then each faction has their own unique parts, mix that with a great galactic news thingie and you can search for pieces using a menu in a station and then fly to those places that contain those rare pieces you're looking for to make your perfect ship (until technology goes up again that is). Great game.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/214730/Space_Rangers_HD_A_War_Apart/

[Albinosaurus]

Originally posted by Miles Mayhem:

Until finding the both Starcom games at a random, I didn't know how immensly one can become hooked up on this genre and method of storytelling.
Curios now on what else I've missed - tell me and make me spend some money!

Try these

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1332760/Nienix_Cosmic_Warfare/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1305310/Drox_Operative_2/

[Odin Greyhorn]

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/27414/Avorion__Complete_Edition/

[Miles Mayhem]

Originally posted by Odin Greyhorn:

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/27414/Avorion__Complete_Edition/

Ah right, having this on my wishlist for a while already.