Children of a Dead Earth
Children of a Dead Earth, henceforward CoaDE, is an experience all by it self.
There is really no simple way to summarize what CoaDE is, but i will try to summarize it as this: a Space Opera Simulator with a strong emphasis on technical details in general , and combat/orbital spaceflight in particular , with a touch of survivalism philosophy, and politics and daughter-mother shinnanigans in a complete and (relatively) intuitive form.
And it is in scientific accuracy the game shines. Sure, you have to accept the setting of modern-ish day technology (Solid-State laser, NTR with isp in the range of 6-9km/s, missile are heat-seeking-only and railguns are not that accurate) but you can’t help noticing the N-body simulation that blew me away. Aside from possibly solar-sandbox™,Nothing like this have been done in recent years and it really shows the developer’s insistence on realism. Unlike KSP’s simple one-body sim. And the fact that everything in the game is newtonian (dev nicely explained the troubles of implementing relativistic in-game), conservation of mementum and energy, etc, etc.
– Real player with 317.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Space Sci-fi Games.
I’m not sure how to adequately explain just how intricate and addictive this game is.
You play through the first few campaign missions, and you start to get a feel for how things work. Missile salvos, intercepts, adjusting your orbit, etc. Keep going, and you unlock ship design. This is essential for beating the infamous mission, Vesta Overkill (protip: bring lots of Stinger Drones, Flak Missiles too if they fit in your mass budget). Once you conquer Vesta, you unlock Module Design (unless you cheat, that is, but why not go for the achievement?). This is where the real meat and potatoes of the game is.
– Real player with 298.4 hrs in game
Rocket Explorer
A fun program/game that allows you to play around with a good amount of real-life rockets. There is a decent amount of bugs, and the GUI is not very intuitive. However, it is a beta release, and I’m sure all of these flaws will be fixed in the near future.
– Real player with 3.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best Space Exploration Games.
Hi,
As a Space fan, I was looking forward to this game.
But paying around 10 Euros wasn’t worth at all. The achievement system doesn’t work, a lot of details are missing (for example the engines which come in form of basic shapes, …), a lot of rockets just warp into the sky when launching, etc…
On the other side, I see a lot of potential, the described flaws are all solvable by code or design. Maybe a feature could be added where you could see what’s going on inside the rockets. Ich which parts are the tanks for Oxygen, Hydrogen, Methane, RP1, where is cargo storage, where does the crew sit…
– Real player with 2.9 hrs in game
SpaceEngine
This game/simulator is incredible and has me hooked. Breathtaking and it really gives me an idea of the scale of our universe. Worth x4 the price in my opinion but must be experienced in VR with a fast computer (mighty GPU) and it is very important to read the manual at the very least and learn the graphics settings and the other facets of this wonderful piece of software before you dive in to get the best experience…
– Real player with 82.5 hrs in game
Read More: Best Space Science Games.
This is a space wallpaper maker! You can take very stunning HD screenshots while exploring an entire universe. I love taking the time to get the perfect shot, adjusting gamma, brightness, the amount of stars you can see, type of lens flare, nebulous, gas giants, black holes! the list goes on and the possibilities are endless, if you are a space nerd get this game…game? it’s kinda a game, you can fly around in a ship too if you wanted and pretend your a space pirate or something.
– Real player with 67.8 hrs in game
Reentry - An Orbital Simulator
Usually If I do a review it’s mostly something short and not really relevant. This one deserves a bit more attention.
If you are into space then this is a title you must add to your collection. At the time of writing this the sim offers 3 programs the USA undertook in the 50’s 60’s and 70’s namely the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. The developer is a one man team who so far has done an amazing job bringing these programs to live with a very high level of detail and accuracy, basically every switch there was on these spacecrafts, is or will be in the sim and will have a function and affect your systems. The simulator has a learning curve especially when diving into the Apollo, LM lessons/academy.
– Real player with 531.3 hrs in game
This is a full fidelity cockpit simulator of the American spacecraft that were used during the Space Race. To keep this review from being unnecessarily long, I am going to break down the features of this game into a list.
Features in this game (what you can do).
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Fly the Saturn V and all it’s modules, Mercury Redstone, Mercury Atlas, Gemini Titan, and drive the Moon Buggy.
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Create custom missions for different objectives and scenarios.
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Play as Mission Control for Project Mercury and Project Apollo. Please note that Mission Control in this game is not limited to just one person, and you could have a full room assisting and guiding a single astronaut. (Cockpit coop is not a feature yet, and the developer is using Mission Control to test the logic and systems).
– Real player with 104.5 hrs in game
Rogue System
I watched this game for a long time before I committed to backing it. I love the idea of the game; but what persuaded me to commit was my perception of the developer, Michael. His intent is to make a spaceship game with integrity, based on real world physics, and technology that can be scientifically plausible.
He goes the whole way–what can only be described as the hardcore way–ship systems with actual functionality, interactions and dependencies, in space that is correctly simulated with actual full Newtonian flight and orbital mechanics. You need to learn how to operate your ship and actually pilot it. This is not an arcade game, and I love it for that reason.
– Real player with 37.4 hrs in game
So you’ve successfully started up the A-10C in DCS and flew it around. Congratulations.
But what if…what if I told you that there is an A-10C in space, cold and dark and ready for you to get it started? How does that make you feel?
If the answer is “excited”, or at least “intrigued”, then you’ve found the game for you.
Rogue System’s ships are not quite like the A-10 yet, in fact what we have now is a support ship(with functional space claw, to boot!) and not a warship. But there are other two spaceships planned that are fighters and bombers, and who knows how much else if we get to the expansion modules.
– Real player with 37.3 hrs in game
Universe Sandbox
the physics are really good.. NO..more like PERFECT. The physics is based on Newtonian Physics, although this game isn’t using Einstein’s General Relativity, this physics is really accurate. If you lower the timelapse, the physics is more accurate. But if you add the speed of the timelapse, the physics is less accurate. Nonetheless, this game is not only stunning, awsome and satisfying ( Except if its lagging lol) But also Educational and Usefull. Perfect. [Note to player: if you have something wrong, just go to settings , there are so many tools.]
– Real player with 98.7 hrs in game
I wish universe sandbox would add a feature where you can change the type of clouds a gas giant has along with more materials
– Real player with 75.2 hrs in game
Watch Your Helmet
You still could not even imagine how difficult it is to control a spacesuit with a jet engine in space. Thanks to this game, you will realize how interesting and exciting it is, especially if you need to escape from moving asteroids, dodge moving planets, collect fuel and minerals, and complete a rescue mission.
Test and then improve your spatial awareness and rocket management skills in zero gravity at 45 levels full of minerals, dangerous asteroids, planets and abandoned cats in space that need rescue.
Ancient Space
The Story, Voice, Music and overall ambiency is in my opinion, very well done. I like the way they used “ingamestoryreasons” to justify enclosed places and the use of buildings, which can be customized to heal, or shoot a specific damage type, or support, or whatever, like tower defense.
With respect to the main gameplay mechanic - ship combat - I think it resembles much Nexus, but it is done in a more micro-intense matter, because you have to SPACEBAR-pause every few seconds to allocate a power, swap repairs, spawn a replacement unit, or issue new orders. This game is thus not really real time strategy but more real time tactics, like ground control, with some Z-axis movement to call it 3D.
– Real player with 31.1 hrs in game
“Ancient Space” is a really decent entry into the space RTS genre, which (very refreshingly) gets away from the ironically boring routine of just having to be fast, fast, FAST!
Indeed, the game pretty much goes in the opposite direction. Many missions are downright…contemplative in pacing. However, this isn’t to say that there aren’t some pulse-pounding moments where you have to think quickly. Indeed, if you forget that you can “get on the gas,” you probably won’t complete all the missions.
Going along with the previous paragraph, I’m very pleased to say that this title emphasizes giving things thought, especially in terms of figuring out what fleet configuration works for you. Frantic micromanagement really isn’t the order of the day, although some micromanagement helps you get the most out of your units. The friendly ship AI isn’t brilliant, but it’s good enough that you can often let them make a number of decisions themselves. This emphasis on strategy (as opposed to hotkey mashing) even applies to those moments where you can’t dawdle: You have to recognize what’s going on and react swiftly but deliberately, whether it’s proceeding with a certain kind of build or just running away.
– Real player with 21.8 hrs in game
BLACKBODY THEORY OF MOTION
This game is still in early stages, but it is addictive and genuinely scary.
There are some much-needed improvements, including
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Better controls for up/down, a function to reset to the “normal” plane where most asteroids are located,
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View distance that doesn’t look unnatural (now the objects just spawn out of blackness),
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Saves,
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Goals, achievements,
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Softer sounds, current ones are way too harsh.
– Real player with 0.3 hrs in game
Lunar Flight
–— ADDITIONAL EDIT —–
It’s been 2½ years since my original review (see below) which still stands. However, I’ve now been able to play this game in VR (Vive) and felt compelled to update my thoughts.
This game is the best VR experience I’ve had to date! It’s easily a better VR experience that DCS which I also spend a lot of time with. Why the high praise? There are a few reasons:
GOOD FRAME RATES - Perhaps due to the fact that this is a relatively simple game, framerates remain high enough to give a good experience.
– Real player with 155.7 hrs in game
This little gem is the perfect homage to 50 years of human spaceflight, and classic Lunar Lander games (originating way back on 1969 text-only computers).
It takes the idea of the old 2D arcade games with realistic physics, and perfectly transcends them into 3D - plus VR support! The audio deserves special mention: the mesmerizing music, plus voice recordings from real NASA missions, create an intriguing ambience.
Considering the ‘Newtonian’ flight dynamics, this game is of “Easy to learn, difficult to master” flavor. There is a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it feels AMAZING to fly around. The satisfaction of completing Mars missions is just so rewarding!
– Real player with 101.4 hrs in game