I don't mean the ability to stretch one view horizontally across screens, but the ability to move whole panels to other screens. Like having the ability to drag the fleet list over to a different screen to the side while the main game interface is open, and such.

I'm told Star Sector can do this, is this true? Any other games have this ability?

So something I’ve been super keen on trying are those games where you play as the bridge crew of a starship. Like the first one I knew about was Artemis, but that one you all had to be in one place (and who these days has the space to turn a room into a makeshift bridge anyway hehe). Then there is the one on PSVR, Star Trek: Bridge Crew, and well I don’t have VR. I have recently seen Pulsar: Lost Colony and it’s on cheap sale, but wondering if it’s actually worth it. Anyway, what would you guys call this very nice genre and do you have any suggestions?

Both games are on sale and I haven't really tried any space sim games so if there is any other recommendation aside from any of those two games let me know.

A sidebar for recommended subreddits has been added. Please feel free to post an r/ link to any space sim sub you'd like to recommend. Cheers!

I like rpgs and LOVE space games, have already done elite dangerous and am looking for another, possibly newer one that has a good amount of player to player interaction and a good number of people online.

I love space games so much. But it always feels like they are missing something. No Mans sky is amazing but lacks a little realism, Elite is awesome fun but I want base building and more story nteractions. Star citizen is immerisve and fun but might never be finished and is buggy as hell. If all 3 of these games were combined it would be amazing. But thst reality is no where. I know I'm being difficult trust me. It just feels like a pit that's been there. Lol

Games I've played:

Elite dangerous, No mans Sky, Star citizen, Spacebourne 2, Empyrion, Everspace 2, Stars end, Space engineers, Breathedge, Osiris New Dawn

There's others I don't remember, but I've played so many and they all feel like they're missing something. Or one has something I like bit at the cost of something else from another game. Multiplayer is whatever to me. I just want to live in a awesome universe lol

Just got a Notification saying we hit 9,000 members. I don't think that's going to change much around here, but I figured I'd take the time and ask the community if there's anything you'd like changed and/or added to the subreddit?

I think that for me it comes down to 3 things that simply no other (sub)genre can offer — or at least it can’t offer them in a way that tickles my brain just right. These things are

• Sense of scale and scope— More precisely, how small (but not necessarily insignificant) you feel, as well as the feel for the vastness of the galaxy you’re exploring. Even if it’s a focused setting where you’re just managing a space station like in the recent Heliopolis Six with all its different modules and equipment, or something like Space Engineers with the focus on minute details of space launches/flights. Or simulating an entire civilization like in Stellaris (yeah I know it’s technically just 4X in space). It just physically feels bigger and and more all-encompassing just by the merit of those feelings of vastness that the black of space evokes
• Science-based progression — Hard to describe, but the element of seeing tangible progress in superior technologies you unlock and the ways you either customize your spaceships, rockets, stations, or what have you, building them from the ground up and “layering them” in an increasingly complex system. The fact that it feels like the accumulation of actual scientific effort rather than gratuitous magic like in fantasy RPGs. For me, at least, it makes the game feel far more “real” and meaningful
• Overall strangeness of space — Or rather, the fact that no matter the setting, it feels unexplored and brimming with mysteries. Well, I suppose a great sim should at least partially simulate that feeling of you entering the great beyond, a realm that’s every bit as strange and weird as anything that classic fantasy can come up with. It’s a specific Lovecraftian feeling in my case (even when there’s no Lovecraftian elements in the game…) but one that gives my experience that added layer, I guess

Goes without saying that this is all totally subjective, of course — so I expect no less subjective takes on this. Feel free to give as many examples as you like hahahah

Hey! Like the title says, I’m wondering if there is a space sim game that is akin to Nucleares. For those who don’t know, Nucleares is a simulator where you walk (run really) around a nuclear power plant and maintain its day to day operations. It is super in depth and detail oriented. I would kill for a similar game where I’m tending to a starbase or ship, maybe even with conditions? (Shields are down in a firefight, engineering get them back up stat!).

This is obviously a super specific ask, but I’m wondering if anyone knows about any games like that?

I first played elite dangerous, which I loved because of the non-linear gameplay. I also found a game called Void Crew which has been one of my favorite games. What other space sims do you all recommend?

I want to do a web series where I was hoping to create an interior area of a spaceship for it in a game. Basically going around in a photo mode or the like to get backgrounds to put the characters in front of a greenscreen into.

What game would best work for such a concept. Just allowing me to build & design the interiors to work with?

https://preview.redd.it/d50e4u4opz5d1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=6402040fbf1d04c5303f94d4f34c3ca7d20e1c64

A while ago I posted for ideas for a spacesim. I got a ton of reactions so I started making a spacesim and implementing your ideas. If you are interested in the development you can join the discorrd:

https://discord.gg/uMBMCGxWeU

Hello everyone!

We are Acid Mines, a 2-man indie development team with a passion for creating sophisticated base building and management games — and Heliopolis Six is the most recent spacefaring project we’ve poured all our love in!

Inspired by current space travel, books, films and series from the sci-fi genre — such as Contact, Interstellar or Babylon 5 — Heliopolis Six is primarily a single-player economic simulation. The setting is a buildable space station in our solar system in the near future. The technical aspects of the game world, such as the movements of the spaceships or the function of the station components, are based on real laws of physics.

In short, Heliopolis Six is space station simulator that revolves around 3 key elements:

1. Space Station Design — Construct drills and probes, modular habitats, life support systems, turrets for self-defense, and customize your station with various other pieces for maximum efficiency (and according to your personal style!)
2. Resource Management — Manage resources such as water, oxygen, energy, and other more exotic resources and minerals to keep your station operational. Optimize resource funneling, raise resource caps, and ensure all demands are met to flourish in the depths of space!
3. Science & Research— Invest in research labs and unlock new technologies to create new tools and discover new possibilities, ever striving to create a sturdier, more endurable and more self-sufficient space station!

If any of this appeals to you, we’d also like to invite you to try out our free demo, and tell us what you think. The full game is also currently on a Steam sale if you want the full experience! This project means a lot to us and all feedback is greatly appreciated. :) 

Disclaimer I am not a space sim veteran and I'm kinda new to the genre.

So I was kinda tired that for x4 you need to watch hours worth of videos to understand anything in that game and I have heard many people say that Freelancer is the best space sim to this day so obviously I got curious and went and downloaded it and the HD mod and played it.

What I have liked so far:

• Easy to understand
• Really like the character design, it has a lot of charm in this department
• I like the main character
• It seems that for its time it was a very decent gameplay loop
• It's good to have some story that enriches the experience
• Video coms for missions, comms from enemies dying, comms from ships doing something, it makes it feel lively

What I don't like:

• The ring space travel, it's really stupid
• So far ship design looks awful, the starter ship is a joke and then later the best ship i found looks almost exactly the same obviously I am at the beginning of the game probably but it seems really lacking
• Combat feels too arcadey and enemies cheat a lot doing impossible maneuvers etc
• Potions for ships, I just can't suspend my disbelief when I can "drink" potions to restore shields or my hull damage
• I have read that whenever you advance in chapters parts of the world become locked forever so that is a waste, so much for "open space"
• Static economy
• Planets don't feel like planets more like balls that are there and you can actually get too close to them and it feels very fake
• Very repetitive side missions
• Only one speed for all ships
• So far seems like missile weapons are kinda worthless and seem really dumb to buy missiles when you can just use the other weapons that don't consume ammo

So far I am disappointed with "the best Space Sim ever released to this date" seems like this is truly a case of severe nostalgia googles, I'm not saying the game is bad but it clearly lacks in major areas, what I do think the game has over other games is the comms, video comms makes the game feel more alive and the NPC design is imo very good, also having a story helps to make you want to immerse yourself in the world and obviously the easy to understand UI, controls etc.

It probably was great when it launched but I don't think it can even compare to what the genre has become but newer games SHOULD learn from this game and stop making their games overly complicated for no reason and explaining better their mechanics because X4 ends up being really obnoxious and makes wanting to get into it like a chore, like instead of playing a game you are going to study or some shit not actually have fun.

Hello! I’m looking for an endless type of game (not necessarily of the 4X genre) that I can play forever with developing factions, wars, and things that change over time so the run can go forever with different changes and challenges.

Stellaris is pretty great but the lag gets unbearable after some time, so please maintain the game suggestions from low to mid specs. Anything with exploration sounds amazing, but I want the run to be infinite and to be interesting with factions and random events

Thanks!

Hello! I’ve been looking for a not too hardware expensive space game that has factions that actually develop (Factions that can take systems, make a full war, etc.) so the universe feels more alive. For now the only one I’ve found is StarSector with some mods but Evochron seems fun too, I just don’t know if it has what I’m looking for.

Something like Eve but offline and with low specs would be cool maybe, just let all your suggestions below!

Hi!

Im looking for a new game set in a space scenario. I know there are quite a few options out there, but many of them feel too random/fake, because they don't actually simulate a universe with NPCs or factions in it who interact with each other.

What I am looking for is some kind of game like the x series, or Star sector, where you actually have an impact on the universe around you. Where NPCs aren't just decoration. I guess I already know quite a lot of them games, but there are so many out there that I surely missed one or the other