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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Gaming => Topic started by: motorollin on February 03, 2007, 04:42:37 PM
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Is there a multiplayer online Elite-style game, either for MacOS, Windows or Amiga? I'm hoping to find a MMORPG-style space trading/combat game, with your counterparts being other online players rather than AI. I tried Eve Online, but it was far too complex :-?
Cheers
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moto
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While looking for flight sims, I came across this (http://www.aminet.net/package/game/misc/warrior). Being so ancient, I didn't bother investigating it. Probably not what you want anyway...
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Hmmm no not what I had in mind. Thanks anyway.
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moto
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While looking for flight sims, I came across this. Being so ancient, I didn't bother investigating it. Probably not what you want anyway...
Although it's old, it has a damn realistic flight model. The bad part is that you can't play it over the internet. You have to dial in a BBS, iirc. :-/
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How about either Oolite (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oolite_%28computer_game%29) or Vega Strike (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vega_Strike)?
Not sure if the multiplayer options are there yet, but according to the Vega Strike web page, "Initial internet multi-player support has been implemented, and is in (pre-alpha) testing (functional, but buggy, and subject to frequent revision). Other mods are also participating in testing out multiplayer features"
- Ali
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I'll check out Vega Strike, thanks. I did actually start writing my own online space trading game. Unfortunately the only "online" language I know is PHP. The engine actually worked very well in single player mode. You could travel to planets within a star system, scan the sector for other star systems and travel to them, or enter hyperspace to travel between sectors. You could land on planets and trade with them, and also refuel and recharge your hyperdrive. You could scan for other vessels (players) and even exchange messages. The problems with this engine started with things which needed to be real-time: i.e. combat. With a scripting language like PHP, it just didn't work properly :-(
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moto
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You might be interested in this one (http://amigaworld.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=22051&forum=4) (linked to a thread on AW, to lazy to get all the links over here)
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There is an golden oldie for windows called Freelancer which is exactly like you describe. You can play it offline in campaign mode or online on one of the many servers available. There are also some very nice community made addons for it that gives access to ships like X-Ving and Tie fighters found in StarWars or Organic Vorlon ships like those in Babylon 5.
I picked it up in a games shop for 50NOK about two years ago.
For more info see this link : http://www.microsoft.com/games/freelancer/
Tjomp
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Don´t eat yellow snow.
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Hi
I would recomend you to try the game EVE-Online wich you find on www.eve-online.com where you can download the game and get a free trial (14 days) to check it out.
The game is for Windows but have heard people play it on Linux among others...
Some even experiment with it on Cellphones... well remote windows or something hehe.
I have played this game for like 3 years now and it is great, one server... from 25000 to 33 000 players online at the same time, you can be a smuggler, trader, producer, fighter, CEO for a small corp, big corp alliance with thousands of members... even if you like so you can be a Pirate :-)
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@motorollin
There's a pretty impressive one in development right now called Infinity (http://www.fl-tw.com/Infinity/). It won't be ready for a year or two yet, but they have a combat protoype up and running. It does require quite a bit of RAM.
Hans
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Hi, Agree with Articblue. I had a 30 day trial of EVE Online 2 years ago and it is a superb game. I would have signed up on the spot if it wasn't for the time factor. You can spend a 4 hour session online without even noticing it. It was affecting my work as I was up till 3 am way too often. If you want to get away to an alternate reality in a space trading game, this is it. But you need to sign up with some friends or get in with a team to get the best out of it quickly. Not that the game doesnt protect noobs with some clever features like safe systems. Its obvious the origins of the game are Elite/EliteII based. The flight interface is cool and the game play is "out of this world" pun intended.
FYI, there are multiple servers but they are all linked into one big system. Cool+ :-)
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@Hans: Infinity looks very impressive! I really like the seamless transition between planetary / atmospheric flight and spaceflight shown in the videos... A bit like good old Damocles (http://amigareviews.classicgaming.gamespy.com/damocles.htm) but with slightly better graphics and a slightly bigger universe!!! :-)
- Ali
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@seer / Hans
Infinity does look good. Shame it won't be ready for another 2 years :-(
@Tjomp
Freelancer looks great! Do you know if the demo lets you play online?
@Arcticblue / gertsy
As I said I did try Eve Online but it seemed far too complicated. I got bored going through the tutorial and gave up. IMO this type of game should be pickup-and-play.
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moto
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>Freelancer looks great! Do you know if the demo lets you play online?
I never tried the online demo, so I don´t know. But I´m sure you´ll be able to pick up Freelancer so cheap that It wouldn´t hurt you much if you didn´t like it all that mutch anyway.
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Are there missions in the multiplayer part of Freelancer? (like the quests in World of Warcraft) Is it possible to communicate freely with other players?
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moto
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Quite extensive list of online games in http://jogosmp.no.sapo.pt/
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motorollin wrote:
complicated. I got bored going through the tutorial and gave up. IMO this type of game should be pickup-and-play.
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moto
Now that would be boring.
I am getting interestied in this game, now.
The more complicated a game is, the longer you have motivation to play it.
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Wishmaster wrote:
The more complicated a game is, the longer you have motivation to play it.
Maybe, but I want a game where I can get immersed in the environent, communicating with other players, trading with them, joining up to carry out missions etc. IMO a complicated game engine are not necessary for this, and get in the way.
@Pentrite
Thanks for the links! I have just signed up for Merchant Empires and found that it is written in PHP. This has given me new-found motivation to finish my own online space trading/combat game. I just need to engage in combat to figure out how combat in a turn-based game would work.
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moto
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motorollin wrote:
Is there a multiplayer online Elite-style game, either for MacOS, Windows or Amiga?
Elite 4, whenever it happens?
http://www.frontier.co.uk/games/elite4/faq.html
When asked if the game would ever be released, Braben responded "We will do Elite 4 after Outsider, so it will benefit from everything we've done in Outsider". To give an indication of timescales he estimed the release of The Outsider to be "around the end of 2008 to early 2009".
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elite_4
"The Oustider" is a GTA-alike upcoming game for XBox360, and was previewed recently in Edge magazine. Elite 4 was highly visible on the FrontierDevelopments website the last time I checked, but is absent from the new Flash version of their site, save for the Elite 4 FAQ page linked above.
On PC, X: Beyond the Frontier and the X:BTF expansion pack might be just what you're after in the single-player meantime. It's a few years old now, so looks positively yummy on modern PC graphics hardware. Firing your rocket boosters is very cool. I've dabbled with the now-old PC Starlancer and Freelancer games, but it's just not quite the same as I remember Frontier being in 1995 :)
Like other Space-Combat-Trading-games and Frontier itself, there's quite a bit of a learning curve involved in getting into a new game. Beware!
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>Are there missions in the multiplayer part of Freelancer? >(like the quests in World of Warcraft) Is it possible to >communicate freely with other players?
Yes there are. The ultimate goal is to earn money. Money you would spend on upgrading ship, weapon, armor, etc. Or buying a new ship. In every spaceport you can take on missions that will give money as reward. You also need to be friendly to trade with that solar system. So it´s also necessary to do missions to alter friendly/hated relationship.
Somce races are hard to get friendly with and thats the races that sell the ships you want to buy :-)
If I remember correctly you can speak freely with ppl in your group and those that are close by your ship.
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Thanks for all the replies. Looks like I've got 3 options:
1. Go for Freelancer - which I have read a few bad reviews about (limited number of ships you can buy being the worst criticism)
2. Invest the time in Eve
3. Make my own :-)
Amazon are selling Freelancer for a fiver, so I think I'll give it a try.
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moto
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Freelancer is brill but it's even better with some of the user mods added :-)
http://lancersreactor.com/t/download/default.asp?game=Starlancer
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Yeah the tutorial of EVE-Online can be abit much, ALOT have changed since I started up early 2004.. back then the tutorial was something like.
Fly out to a asteroid, use your basic miner try that on the asteroid.
Lock at that drone flying around you, shoot it with your basic gunner.
Warp to station, dock, sell your ore
Thank you, you now can enjoy your game :-)
And then I undocked, shot the Police... got killed by the police, undocking with a brand new ship, get killed by the police who is now camping the station I where in, third time I get killed by the police I starts to think I might have broken my game !!! 8-)
I start a new account, played for 3 years so far.. never really regreted doing so.
But yeah I have heard the new tutorial is like several hours long !!! hehe, then again... it can be useful unless you like to learn things the hard way like I have done.
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I can't believe I almost gave up on Eve. I signed up for another 14 day trial yesteday, reinstalled Boot Camp on my Mac so I can run Windows, installed Eve, and forced myself to work through the tutorial. And you know what? It's really not that complicated. I love it :-)
I just wish it ran under Mac OSX, as I have had to install Windows just for this game. There is an online petition to have Eve ported to Mac OSX. Please, if you play this game and want to see it on OSX, take a few moments to sign the pettion.
Linkage has occurred (http://www.petitiononline.com/eve2106/petition.html)
Thanks to those who encouraged me to stick with Eve - see you in space :-)
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moto