Trade/travel games?

Tricky · #1 (**permalink**) 02-24-2008, 12:44 PM

I spend some time playing X3: Reunion this weekend, and I was kind of surprised how much I like the Elite theme it has. Unfortunately though it fails to deliver on a couple of gameplay elements that are IMO crucial, so I'm looking for something else.

I don't know if there is an specific name for this subgenre of simulations, but I was wondering if anyone can recommend me some more games like that. Travelling around, trading a bit here and there, building some cool things and maybe following up on the occasional quest. It shouldn't necessarily have to be an RPG also. Another game like X3: Reunion (with preferably more Newtonian physics) would be cool, but I realize the whole concept of trading and travelling around doesn't necessarily have to be in space. It might as well be for example you on your little catamaran in Waterworld, floating around and trying to make a living by trading stuff in between atoll colonies. Ha.. I think I'd prefer that even. No seriously though, between that and spacey science fiction anything could be interesting. I don't want to limit my question to all these Elite-likes.

I *think* I have seen a few RTS games that had some trade elements in them (something that Sid Meyer might have created), but that's not really what I'm looking for. I don't find RTS games very immersive.

Soo.. break me in fellas, where can I get the good stuff?

fable · #2 (**permalink**) 02-24-2008, 03:19 PM

Patrician III is an excellent sim that combines trading with a few quests, some city building, and combat, but it's very numbers heavy for the trading part. It's been out a few years, so the price is quite reasonable, but don't expect anything better than later SimCity style graphics.

Tricky · #3 (**permalink**) 02-25-2008, 02:14 AM

I'll keep an eye out for it, thanks.

Strange flashbacks last night. I remembered how I spend a summer vacation at an Aunt's house close to the North Sea Coast with my brother, who knew how to 'operate' their Commodore. We didn't go to the beach much though. He spend most of our time playing Elite, and explaining to me how it worked (I was about 7 or 8) as I watched him play from a chair behind him. He didn't let me play though, and I think I didn't need to. When we got back I spend the first few weeks of school wrapped up in a fantasy world, trading goods and docking into space stations.

Elite is indisputably the best game I've never played.

DesR85 · #4 (**permalink**) 02-25-2008, 04:43 AM

Freelancer might be your cup of tea, even though it's a space sim. There is travelling and trading in this game, though I can't recall much as it's been a while after it's release a few years ago.

Tricky · #5 (**permalink**) 02-25-2008, 01:55 PM

I played the demo a long time ago. Back then I had a few problems with it. They are not quite the same as my X3 gripes, but they come down to the same thing: complete lack of immersion.

Maybe I've just been spoiled by Freespace, even though it didn't have any trade elements or anything. And again completely unrealistic space physics.

Nukester · #6 (**permalink**) 02-28-2008, 02:31 PM

Have you tried Space Rangers 2 ? It has pretty much everything you seem to be looking for. It has a bunch of space travel, trade is one of the bigger elements, its mostly turn-based with the exception of the land battles and some black hole battles, build your own ship, forge relations with other races, etc.

The only thing is its not a big "OMG look at the graphics" game like X3 or Freelancer. The graphics are more like civilization type graphics. Great game though

Kipi · #7 (**permalink**) 02-29-2008, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fable

Patrician III is an excellent sim that combines trading with a few quests, some city building, and combat, but it's very numbers heavy for the trading part. It's been out a few years, so the price is quite reasonable, but don't expect anything better than later SimCity style graphics.

Port Royale is another similiar game. Not bad at all, though I like Patrician III better (own a cd which contains both games).

Also, if you are ready to do a bit more for gaming, I would recommend old game called "Privateer II: The Darkening". Good game despite some critics it has got. The only problems are that it's old, and thus hard to find, though I heard it's abandonware now. The second problem comes in getting it to work. DosBOX should help though I vaguelly remember it involving copying all the cd's to HD before installation.

Tricky · #8 (**permalink**) 02-29-2008, 03:21 PM

Thanks. I'm not sure if any of these appeal to me too much though. Privateer maybe. And.. this is unrelated to the subject matter at hand, but some Space Rangers 2 screenshots of buildings and structures look a lot like stuff I've seen in Pandemic's Battlezone 2. The resemblance is more than a bit uncanny. I played BZ1 and 2 quite a bit too, back before the Planet Network took over the main portal site and its mod community got completely shot.

I don't know. I don't like RTS games, but I can appreciate the few strategy/economy elements in X3. Brings out the capitalist in me. But the entirety of the game has no immersion factor at all. You're glued to the same HUD for the entire game. Can't tell the difference if you're in a different ship, or even outside of it. No engine sounds unless you're viewing your ship from the outside, in the vacuum of space (wait..). Characters are talking heads (generic animation) in a tiny HUD window, but there is zero interaction with them. I could go on and on. But as far as the trading 'n travelling goes, A+.

Maybe I'm just trying to find my own personal Kwisatz Haderach or something. All these damn almosts.