Fizzlebop Smith Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 (edited) I've blown so much more on games since KSP2 dropped in EA, than i ever have befote. The underwhelming gameplay loop has me Jonesin something fierce for that "perfect" management game. Yes.. I like Rimworld.. but KSP1 filled a niche that satisfied both the management and Exploration loops I enjoy so much. Anyone check out "Rocket Science"? I've never been a very hopeful person by nature and I have pretty much given up on seeing KSP2 resemble anything I was excited about. I do enjoy Juno & Kithack so far.. but neither seem to scratch the itch. Space engineers & Stationeers are fun... but I need a constrained sandbox experience. Something tailored with Lore. Timberborn is doing a good job of idling away those early morning hours where the world is asleep... but i am not. Alas, it lacks the story I crave. Manor Lords is another game looking pretty awesome, but with less story than I desire. :Sigh: Back to writing irreverent fan fiction and trying to find that next game that really *hooks* me. Give it a like if you enjoy slightly crude humor. https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/topic/224640-my-kerbal-fan-fiction/#comment-4383495 What's Everyone Playing? Edited May 2 by Fizzlebop Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flush Foot Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 3 minutes ago, Fizzlebop Smith said: "perfect" management game DSP? Satisfactory? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLTay Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 Someone needs to do a KSP style physics game with exploration and voxel based resource extraction. If the physics are done well it could easily have combat-related functionality. A minecraft/KSP/from the depths/no man's sky hybrid would be a real hit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fizzlebop Smith Posted May 2 Author Share Posted May 2 I haven't checked out DSP, but it's on my list. I keep looking at the store page and vacilating back and forth. Played Satisfactory for a bit early but had some issues with my OCD & base restructuring. I have some friends that run a dedicated server and do enjoy playing multi-player. Like Planet Crafter a great deal as well, but have a hard time really connecting... for like a 1000 hour save. I've played Mundustry a lot If I were going to pick DSP or Factorioyou would recommend DSP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minmus Taster Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 Does anyone know any KSP alternatives other than Juno? I never enjoyed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flush Foot Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 1 minute ago, Fizzlebop Smith said: If I were going to pick DSP or Factorioyou would recommend DSP? I've never played Factorio, so I can't weigh in on that for you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PDCWolf Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 4 minutes ago, Minmus Taster said: Does anyone know any KSP alternatives other than Juno? I never enjoyed it. Not space but you can try HarvesteR's new game, Kithack Model Club. It uses the same building system as KSP but with some procedural parts (see? Harv did learn from previous games), and it's all about RC stuff, no helos yet tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefsbrian Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 10 minutes ago, Fizzlebop Smith said: The underwhelming gameplay loop has me Jonesin something fierce for that "perfect" management game. A feeling I know all too well. Depending on the kind of experience, a heavily modded bannerlords can provide some of it, adding new mechanical depth to the build up and existence of kingdom management, alongside its combat and army management elements. You did mention rimworld, but if you're looking to really deepen that, you could open the sealed curse of the HardcoreSK modpack. Turns huge parts of the game towards a much more involved and invested crafting and combat system that encourages inventive and new forms of play. The highly tiered production chains also heavily encourage exploration for the purposes of scavenging, and by extension all the support infrastructure to keep people fed, as advanced stuff like walk in refrigeration becomes something you often enough can't afford to set up right away. I call it a sealed curse because if it turns out to be the right kind of detailed management for you, its almost impossible to go back to a vanilla experience. As for something that hasn't been mentioned yet, you might find some fun in Avorion. Its got basic plot and lore to drive you towards an objective, its base gameplay is satisfying, there are fleet management elements around support ships both directly and indirectly, offers both very detailed voxel shipbuilding and a workshop to download other peoples very detailed ships. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fizzlebop Smith Posted May 2 Author Share Posted May 2 I'll have to add that one to the list. A brief 10 minute read through makes Avarion seem pretty cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLTay Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 11 minutes ago, PDCWolf said: Not space but you can try HarvesteR's new game, Kithack Model Club. It uses the same building system as KSP but with some procedural parts (see? Harv did learn from previous games), and it's all about RC stuff, no helos yet tho. Sadly, I think this kind of missed the mark on the premise of being a model building game. That's a very limiting foundation, but I guess they need to be worried about IP infringement and noncompetition issues since they basically ran Kerbal from day one. Really sad HarvesteR probably can't do a "legally distinct space program" kind of game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NH4Cl Enthusiast Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 29 minutes ago, Fizzlebop Smith said: The underwhelming gameplay loop has me Jonesin something fierce for that "perfect" management game. Yes.. I like Rimworld.. but KSP1 filled a niche that satisfied both the management and Exploration loops I enjoy so much. Have you checked out X4 Foundations? It's very good, though learning curve is pretty steep and the user experience can be a bit clunky at times. I find there's a nice mix of management, a bit of story but not overwhelming amount, deep deep deep sandbox and fantastic mod community. There's an entire Star Wars overhaul mod available if you're into that. There's also another big update just about to drop any day now but your save will be compatible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fizzlebop Smith Posted May 2 Author Share Posted May 2 (edited) 6 minutes ago, NH4Cl Enthusiast said: Have you checked out X4 Foundations? It's very good, though learning curve is pretty steep and the user experience can be a bit clunky at times. I find there's a nice mix of management, a bit of story but not overwhelming amount, deep deep deep sandbox and fantastic mod community. There's an entire Star Wars overhaul mod available if you're into that. There's also another big update just about to drop any day now but your save will be compatible. I have not but it looks pretty awesome. I imagine there are setting to fine tune difficulty? Or at least a relaxed pace? I've never been particularly good at 4x games, but did have a brief love affair with "Sins of Solar Empire" many years ago. This has made me feel a bit better about my current Blegh that trending. I really appreciate the recommendations. Edited May 2 by Fizzlebop Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilBroccoli Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 42 minutes ago, Fizzlebop Smith said: I haven't checked out DSP, but it's on my list. I keep looking at the store page and vacilating back and forth. Played Satisfactory for a bit early but had some issues with my OCD & base restructuring. I have some friends that run a dedicated server and do enjoy playing multi-player. Like Planet Crafter a great deal as well, but have a hard time really connecting... for like a 1000 hour save. I've played Mundustry a lot If I were going to pick DSP or Factorioyou would recommend DSP? Factorio will throw you in a deep rabbit hole of optimization (if thats your cup of tea then go for it), DSP is a bit more "Casual" if you can call it that way but just a tad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefsbrian Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 16 minutes ago, TLTay said: That's a very limiting foundation, but I guess they need to be worried about IP infringement and noncompetition issues since they basically ran Kerbal from day one. Really sad HarvesteR probably can't do a "legally distinct space program" kind of game. Probably not an issue actually, you can't really IP ideas. The idea of making a scaled down space program management game isn't patented or anything, as long as they didn't start blatantly copying their prior work they'd be fine. Same non-issue for noncompete. I honestly doubt Harvester wants to actually do that, the limiting foundation is probably the current technology and his own interests. None of the off the shelf engines do a great job at the sheer scale of a KSP style design, and Harvester isn't an engine dev, he's a game dev. And speaking from personal experience, game devs don't usually like retreading the same problem spaces over and over, he's probably done what he wants to do with spaceflight sims as a whole, probably for a long while. Why square up for yet another terrain rendering fight for planetoids when you can explore a new problem space you do find interesting. And while Harvester isn't exotically wealthy, he's well off enough from KSP that he can go off and explore these things and not worry about market limits or the like too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NH4Cl Enthusiast Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 Just now, Fizzlebop Smith said: I have not but it looks pretty awesome. I imagine there are setting to fine tune difficulty? Or at least a relaxed pace? I've never been particularly good at 4x games, but did have a brief love affair with "Sins of Solar Empire". Well difficulty in terms of weapon damages, prices and such is pretty much set, but the pacing is almost entirely up to you and how you want to play. It is slow paced regardless but if you don't actively engage in any wars yourself the major NPC factions are happy to all just trade with you and be friends. There are some villain factions and pirates that may cause trouble (sometimes big trouble) but part of the gameplay is that you will lose ships and even stations occasionally to them and have to solve economical problems like wares being overproduced or not available at all and stuff like that. The Xenons (evil robot faction) sometimes get a bit too aggressive but that's pretty much the only time you're not in control and every other faction will also fight them so it's a rare event. They still provide a good amount of fighting since they also drop good loot and you'll probably want to protect your own stations against them so it won't be boring either. The combat is not particularly difficult and as you progress from small fighters up to having fleets, it becomes more and more a game of logistics and fleet composition. Even in fighters it's more a question of who has more and better ships than any kind of microing or twitch skills. It resembles much more of management game than 4X type. You can play just as a trader, space trucker, industrial magnate, pirate, affiliate with a faction and participate in their war efforts or go full on war maniac against someone by yourself and conquer the galaxy. I mean it can sometimes be frustrating and the AI does dumb things a bit too often but overall there's no other game like it. Plus there's always a mod for most problems. For DLC you probably want in this order: split vendetta and cradle of humanity (both very good and worth getting on day one), tides of avarice, kingdom end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarecrow71 Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 43 minutes ago, TLTay said: Sadly, I think this kind of missed the mark on the premise of being a model building game. That's a very limiting foundation, but I guess they need to be worried about IP infringement and noncompetition issues since they basically ran Kerbal from day one. Really sad HarvesteR probably can't do a "legally distinct space program" kind of game. Well, the game does have model rockets in it. And from what I gather, people playing the game are trying to send said model rockets into space. So while he can't label it Kerbal anything, there is almost nothing stopping him from going the space simulator route again (although I'm sure TT wouldn't really like the original developer of KSP creating another sim to directly compete, but that's a whole other basket of golf balls). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheKrakenHerder Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 Some of my suggestions: -Ixion, a strategy/city-builder (known for being pretty difficult) about building an Elysium-esque space station. I found it to be pretty fun, and I like the art style and general vibes. Lots of lore and story. -Terraformers, a 4X turn-based strategy game about terraforming mars. Games only take about an hour or so to complete, and I found it to be fast paced and fun. The art and graphics are very cool as well. -Mars Horizon, a long strategy game about managing one of five real space agencies from early satellites to a manned mission to Mars. Pretty fun, and definitely competitive on higher difficulties. -EarthX, a low-poly management game made by about three people where you basically run SpaceX. -Barotrauma, a VERY fun, very funny 2D multiplayer survival game where you and your friends go on missions in a submarine into the ocean of Europa. Makes for some extremely funny memories. -Per Aspera, an extremely long, lore and story-rich game where you play as an AI tasked with terraforming Mars. Very immersive, and the story's pretty interesting. -Satisfactory, which you probably already know about. That's all I've got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fizzlebop Smith Posted May 2 Author Share Posted May 2 Just got Per Aspera, X4 Foundations, EarthX I'm looking forward to getting some game time this Saturday AM. I'm pretty stoked to play some of these, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acvila Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 (edited) Empyrion Galactic Survival, NMS, Avorion, also I had a great time with Stormworks(without space DLC) and TerraTech. Edited May 2 by Acvila Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanamonde Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 This section of the forum is for KSP2 discussions. There's already a spot elsewhere for recommendations of other games. Please take this discussion there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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