Good Open-Source 4X Space Strat Game

Where can I find one?

By Whiskey144 on August 25, 2009 11:56:48 AM from

Okay, so I've decided to make a foray into the world of the turn-based space strategy game. I've D/L PiArmada, which is based on the Vega Strike free-from FP space sim engine (I think), but what are some others?

EDIT: I've come up with some basic criteria. Additionally, I will accept fully turn-based, fully real-time, or a combination of the two.

IT MUST HAVE THE FOLLOWING FEATURES-

At least some measure of 4X elements, combative ability, and have a fairly sizeable research tree with a fairly wide range of subjects

Be semi-playable AND compatible with Vista 64-bit

I'D LIKE IT TO HAVE THE FOLLOWING-

A HUGE research tree, that takes ~6 hrs+ to completely finish (and that's w/ nonstop play) & a HUGE amount 4X elements, an easy-to-use UI, and an in-game unit designer

Play smoothly on Vista-64 bit

If it has 3D graphics, at least halfway decent, though I'll settle for poor graphics if the gameplay is AWESOME.

WHAT I'VE ALREADY TRIED-

PiArmada- D/Led, unzipped, and attempted to run; for some reason it doesn't like me.

The Ur-Quan Masters- D/Led, attempted install, installer freezes at some point and doesn't respond AT ALL, forcing me to abort it

FreeOrion- I like this one, very nice, it just takes a long time to really do anything. Still neat though. I think that I'll definitely try and get the newest release of this one.

+58 Karma | 8 Replies

Free Orion is one to keep an eye on. Still not game ready and is pretty slow on development, but the screenshots look quite nice.

www.freeorion.org

yeah, I've D/Led that one, and I think it's pretty interesting; but rather limited in what can be accomplished per turn IMO.

I wonder if there are any 'RT'4X style games, instead of just TB4X.

How turn-based are we talking? Is turn-based strategic yet real-time combat acceptable?

There really aren't any. If you don't want to spend money, you'd be better off downloading Master of Orion or Ur Quan Masters which have been released as freeware.

@SpardaSon21- generally, I consider TB4X to essentially be completely turn based. RT'4X' would be like Sins. A combination would be VERY interesting.

@zigzag- well, I haven't found MoO around (yet at least), and I've D/Led & tried installing UQM, but it doesn't really work for me on install for some reason.

I've tried to play PiArmada, which FAILS utterly (for some reason, not sure what); I've tinkered around a little with FreeOrion, which is interesting, but a little dull in terms of, well, just overall action. The research is VERY interesting, and the number of stars it can have is also neat.

Well, it isn't free, but its only like $30 on Impulse. The game I was talking about was Sword of the Stars: Ultimate Collection. It isn't your usual 4x game like GalCiv2 where combat takes a backseat to strategic planning. As you might imagine from a name like Sword of the Stars combat plays a major role in it, taking place in real-time battles that are up to 10 minutes long. Your average battle in SotS:UC is like playing Sins with the Dynamic Combat Mod, except all the projectiles use real-time tracking and per-polygon hit detection. Another plus is that the game has very little micro-management in it, since you as Galactic Overlord have minions to handle most of the minor details, unlike most 4X games which are adventures in spreadsheets. SotS:UC could be described as mashing GalCiv2 and Sins together and picking the best parts to make a 4X game.

Its strange how this question seems to get asked in a new thread every week.

Whisky - Try abandonia or download.com. IF that doesn't work, try poking around on the Atari website.

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Good Open-Source 4X Space Strat Game

Where can I find one?