Multiplayer online Elite-style game?

[motorollin]

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

[motorollin]

Hmmm no not what I had in mind. Thanks anyway.

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moto

[motorollin]

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

[motorollin]

@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

[motorollin]

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

[motorollin]

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

[motorollin]

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

[motorollin]

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

Thanks to those who encouraged me to stick with Eve - see you in space :-)

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moto