# The PC Space Combat Sim is back! **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 5, 2012, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pc-space-combat-sim-is-back/639941 "2012-11-05T08:32:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2012, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pc-space-combat-sim-is-back/639941/1 "2012-11-05T08:32:29Z")
And it’s Chris Roberts of Wing Commander fame at the helm! > **[Roberts Space Industries | Follow the development of Star Citizen and...](https://robertsspaceindustries.com/)** > > Roberts Space Industries is the official go-to website for all news about Star Citizen and Squadron 42. It also hosts the online store for game items and merch, as well as all the community tools used by our fans. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pc-space-combat-sim-is-back/639941/2 "2012-11-05T16:25:38Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > And it’s Chris Roberts of Wing Commander fame at the helm! > > [http://www.robertsspaceindustries.com/](http://www.robertsspaceindustries.com/) and it has a kickstarter project attached to it. Wanna spend the day with CR himself…its in there. [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cig/star-citizen](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cig/star-citizen) ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pc-space-combat-sim-is-back/639941/3 "2012-11-05T16:34:34Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > And it’s Chris Roberts of Wing Commander fame at the helm! > > [http://www.robertsspaceindustries.com/](http://www.robertsspaceindustries.com/) Let’s not count our horses before they’re baked here. It’s great that he’s managed to persuade a bunch of hapless people to give him money for an insanely ambitious project, but even if he’s not pulling a Peter Molyneux and promising a jillion times more than he can ever hope to deliver, he’s not going to be releasing this until November 2014. Which makes announcements of “The PC Space Combat Sim is back” as a result of this project seem a bit premature. And honestly, my money is “Molyneux Syndrome” here. What was the last successful game this guy made? Do we have any reason to believe he can handle a project of this scope after his previous effort in this direction…didn’t entirely pan out? It’s great that he’s the Guy That Made Wing Commander™ but still. Anyway, if you’re looking for a PC Space Combat Sim that’s coming out in less than two years (And I’m a bit skeptical of “November 2014” date considering the scope of what is promised, but I figure he’s more likely to deliver a stripped down product by that date than he is to push the date out.), [Strike Suit Zero](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/43153532/strike-suit-zero) is planning to launch in January, is basically done and is “Kickending” for polish time, and is, in my considered opinion, a lot less overpromised. So yeah, PC Space Combat Sims are back, but it’s not because of Star Citizen. Yet, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pc-space-combat-sim-is-back/639941/4 "2012-11-06T01:38:22Z")
Are there any space combat sims since Elite that aren’t airplanes in space? Airplanes in space are boring. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pc-space-combat-sim-is-back/639941/5 "2012-11-06T04:09:51Z")
I really hope he changes some of the design. Spaceships with fans (like fans for a radiator on a car) in the nose I just can’t get my head around. It’s a freaking spaceship! Fans are useless! More generally, while the graphics engine looks slick there is just something about the overall feel that leaves me cold and I say that as a huge fan of the early WC games. It is this weird hybrid of hi and low tech. I dunno…have to think on it more. I’m with SenorBeef though…airplanes in space is meh. That said I know a lot of people want that. Can’t count how many times playing EVE Online someone would bitch it wasn’t airplanes in space. ---
**Author:** ![jayarrell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@jayarrell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayarrell)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pc-space-combat-sim-is-back/639941/6 "2012-11-06T08:02:54Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Are there any space combat sims since Elite that aren’t airplanes in space? Airplanes in space are boring. I wouldn’t consider Independence War 1 and 2 as airplanes in space. And I’ve never played it but Starshatter may be another one. I hope Chris Roberts pulls this off. I purchased wing commanders 1-4 and privateer a few months ago. 2 years should give me enough time to re-immerse myself in space sims. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pc-space-combat-sim-is-back/639941/7 "2012-11-06T08:31:02Z")
> [@jayarrell](#): > > I wouldn’t consider Independence War 1 and 2 as airplanes in space. Loved I-War. It was semi planes in space. Sure you were flying a ship bigger than a plane but in the end it was kinda planes in space. Still, great game. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pc-space-combat-sim-is-back/639941/8 "2012-11-06T08:39:52Z")
Star Wars Battlefront 2 had a space combat mode that was sort of Planes in Space, though it did have the cool extra element of being able to fly a transport over to the other team’s capital ship/spawn point and try to take it down from the inside instead of destroying hardpoints from the outside. ETA: Oh who am I kidding, it was totally and completely Planes in Space(+ Naval Carriers in 3 Dimensions instead of 2) like the rest of Star Wars. ---
**Author:** ![Bakhesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Bakhesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakhesh)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pc-space-combat-sim-is-back/639941/9 "2012-11-06T09:33:33Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > And it’s Chris Roberts of Wing Commander fame at the helm! > > [http://www.robertsspaceindustries.com/](http://www.robertsspaceindustries.com/) He’s not the only one… [Classic video game Elite is getting a 21st Century makeover.](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20165344) ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pc-space-combat-sim-is-back/639941/10 "2012-11-06T17:04:35Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Loved I-War. > > It was semi planes in space. Sure you were flying a ship bigger than a plane but in the end it was kinda planes in space. > > Still, great game. Okay, now I’m just confused. I figured people meant “Silly non-Newtonian flight model” when they said “planes in space” but you basically just said I-War, which was a completely “realistic” Newtonian inertia-based model was “planes in space” so now I have no idea WTF people are talking about when they say that. ---
**Author:** ![Enilno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58f4c7/32.png) [@Enilno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enilno)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pc-space-combat-sim-is-back/639941/11 "2012-11-06T17:24:44Z")
Maybe something more like “submarines in space” where the focus is on detection, plotting courses and acquiring firing solutions at extended ranges rather than close range dogfighting? Not sure how much appeal that would have to most people, but it’d certainly be different from “planes in space”. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pc-space-combat-sim-is-back/639941/12 "2012-11-06T18:21:19Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Are there any space combat sims since Elite that aren’t airplanes in space? EVE Online and Vega Strike. ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pc-space-combat-sim-is-back/639941/13 "2012-11-06T18:41:09Z")
> [@Enilno](#): > > Maybe something more like “submarines in space” where the focus is on detection, plotting courses and acquiring firing solutions at extended ranges rather than close range dogfighting? Not sure how much appeal that would have to most people, but it’d certainly be different from “planes in space”. Oh, so it’s a question of SCALE? What about Artemis? Though frankly, I’ve never really understood the “I want to be able to fly a capital ship” mentality, because it sounds boring as hell to me. Spreadsheet land kind of boring. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pc-space-combat-sim-is-back/639941/14 "2012-11-06T19:06:49Z")
It looks very generic. Like it was literally pulled from the Aliens / Starship Troopers / HALO / Battlestar Galactica design school of [ISO Standard Human Spaceships.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ISOStandardHumanSpaceship) ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pc-space-combat-sim-is-back/639941/15 "2012-11-06T21:53:45Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > It looks very generic. Like it was literally pulled from the Aliens / Starship Troopers / HALO / Battlestar Galactica design school of [ISO Standard Human Spaceships.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ISOStandardHumanSpaceship) Strike Suit Zero has actual art design too. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pc-space-combat-sim-is-back/639941/16 "2012-11-06T22:53:09Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > It looks very generic. Like it was literally pulled from the Aliens / Starship Troopers / HALO / Battlestar Galactica design school of [ISO Standard Human Spaceships.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ISOStandardHumanSpaceship) And he played a large part in developing that school, didn’t he? ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pc-space-combat-sim-is-back/639941/17 "2012-11-06T23:40:47Z")
> [@Airk](#): > > Strike Suit Zero has actual art design too. 😉 Yes, the art of Homeworld getting raped by a Gundam suit.😃 > [@Quartz](#): > > And he played a large part in developing that school, didn’t he? He did. And it’s all derived from the George Lucas Doctrine on space combat. Large, mile long capital ships drifting through space like blimps while tiny fighters weave in and out firing rockets and tracers at nearly point blank range. ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pc-space-combat-sim-is-back/639941/18 "2012-11-07T15:24:27Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Yes, the art of Homeworld getting raped by a Gundam suit.😃 Either you are being sarcastic and adding nothing to the discussion, or you have no idea what a Gundam looks like or you think all “humanoid mecha” look the same. None of these are good reasons to post this. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pc-space-combat-sim-is-back/639941/19 "2012-11-07T15:29:03Z")
> [@Airk](#): > > Okay, now I’m just confused. I figured people meant “Silly non-Newtonian flight model” when they said “planes in space” but you basically just said I-War, which was a completely “realistic” Newtonian inertia-based model was “planes in space” so now I have no idea WTF people are talking about when they say that. Non-Newtonian flight model is what I meant. Never played I-War, so I don’t know, but I want a space fighter game that functions like the starfuries in babylon 5 more or less. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pc-space-combat-sim-is-back/639941/20 "2012-11-07T15:36:13Z")
> [@Airk](#): > > And honestly, my money is “Molyneux Syndrome” here. What was the last successful game this guy made? Apart from his flub with the Wing Commander movie, he’s done decently in the film industry. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pc-space-combat-sim-is-back/639941.md?page=2)