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Starsector 0.97a is out! (02/02/24); New blog post: Simulator Enhancements (03/13/24)

Author Topic: Palate Cleanser OR: What Now?  (Read 1119 times)

DialecticDetective

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Palate Cleanser OR: What Now?
« on: April 08, 2022, 11:32:59 AM »

Hello everyone!

I just sunk way too much time into my last playthrough. I'm looking for something with a similar vibe to our beloved Starsector to spend some time with while I check in with the world and assemble my next mod-pack. Any suggestions?

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"Gae awa' wi' ye, yer bogle!"

hydremajor

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Re: Palate Cleanser OR: What Now?
« Reply #1 on: April 08, 2022, 02:15:12 PM »

 Starpoint Gemini 2 ?

more of a star trekky vibe with the whole power grid management thing though

There's also the "Slizer Battle Management System"
a simplistic free RTS with various combat scenarios and units to work with, minimalistic graphics so do beware

in the vein of free games there's also Endless Sky, a free crowd-built game on steam that got more of a focus on the whole story-telling and RPG side of things though it DOES features ship customisation, mods and the possibility to make the biggest deathball of a fleet that world's ever seen

If you feel like having a more "zany" experience there's also the  SPAZ Games, stands for "Space Pirates And Zombies", its got that "zany" western "humor" that was popularised by stuff like borderlands but even if you despise that kinda stuff at least you can skip through it and should you do so, you can focus on combat and ship tinkering
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Hatter

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Re: Palate Cleanser OR: What Now?
« Reply #2 on: April 08, 2022, 03:56:17 PM »

Bringing up games in vague order of most to least Starsector-like:


Starcom Nexus - 2D Space exploration. I found it more puzzle-based and with too much flying around to get to places for my tastes. Build a spaceship with a hex-based grid, exploring a lively galaxy and unlocking more pieces or buffing your ship by advancing the tech tree.

Star Valor -2D,  RPG-like combat, but with spaceships. Level up, replace your Light Burst Laser with a Rare LBL for more damage. Currently under development, fleet management is awkward and crew member skills are very roulette based. Can run around trading resources

Reassembly - make a ship out of pieces. Strong modding community.

Cosmoteer - build spaceships out of blocks and fight them. Also watch tiny crew-members walk around carrying things and see their corpses when the ship burns to death. Free demo out which is currently the entirety of the game.

Transcendence - another 2D RPG with spaceships. Downside is that you can't fire more than one gun at a time. Fleet's aren't supported, if I remember correctly.

Three more games that are probably too far from Starsector, but should be noted anyways:

Sector Six - 2D arcade horizonal shoot-em-up with questionable balance choices. Make a spaceship out of blocks and fly through levels. Level up and buy skills.  I found it fun, but can see how it would be monotonous.

Shellcore Command Remastered: Based on a series of flash games from the 2000's, this remaster tries resurrecting it as a fan project. Tron-like 2D graphics, assembly a 'shellcore' out of various pieces and fight through a campaign. In development with a very long development cycle. Free.

Istrolid - build spaceships out of blocks, fight through a campaign for more blocks. I ran through the campaign once and put it down. Game is free.

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Histidine

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Re: Palate Cleanser OR: What Now?
« Reply #3 on: April 08, 2022, 06:45:55 PM »

Space Rangers HD: Fly around in your solo ship as a space hero and save the galaxy. In addition to the space RPG staples of trading and fighting, it features text adventure quests and a (somewhat janky) ground combat RTS minigame.

Games that I haven't played myself but people seem to like: Nebulous, Star Traders: Frontiers
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HopeFall

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Re: Palate Cleanser OR: What Now?
« Reply #4 on: April 08, 2022, 09:21:26 PM »

Honestly? Warbands/Bannerlord or Kenshi. While both aren't at all space games, the same themes of wandering the map, building up an 'army', and having integrated RPG elements are all featured in them.
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