Star Trek Klingon Academy?

All of the X games (Xbtf/x2/x3/x3tc)

What I would like to see in a game:  Take Fallout 3's fpsrpg engine, a space combat stratagy engine (Like Homeworld 2 or Space Wolves 2), and wrap it all up in a Privateer bow to the tune of open ended campaign with story missioons in space and on the ground.  Imagine, if you will, a game where you can do fps, space combat rts, or (If you choose to be a fighter pilot instead of a capital ship captain) a space combat sim.

Hehehe I ask a lot but then I come from the paper and pencil d&d generation of rpg gamers =-P

X3:R is indeed slow paced. It's possible to skip the "trading" part of the game and focus on fighting, but it's still slow.
X3:TC is said to be faster, making capital ships accessible earlier in the game (and said to have more capital ship to capital ship battles )

More new... last stable version is from April 2008... and it is free !!!

Try Vega Strike : http://vegastrike.sourceforge.net/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vega_Strike

And is you wish, you have some total conversion mod for it... nothing stop you to import a model a use it in the game... limit for capitalship is around the 50k poly who is more that the double that sins allow... they are working to a migration on the Ogre engine who is full of promise...

It was my only space game for Linux until Sins was coming... it is full of potential but they use 3Dmodels who sµck ( Vegas, not Sins )... To few good modder there and too much good coder/programmer...

Since it is free, give it a try.... Win/Mac/Linux version

In the same time, take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_space_flight_simulator_games ... a huge list of all who have existed, all who exist and all who will exist...

It depends, if you're looking for a more open gamestyle like the X-series

Freelancer isn't bad, if a bit old.

Darkstar One, also decent, from back in 06,

For more action-pased, scripted, less open games, I have never found anything that measures up the the style and of the old Star Wars X-Wing/Tie Fighter/X-Wing Alliance run god, if they'd actually bother to remake those. The graphics aren't great, but the gameplay still can hold my attention for hours on end.

X3 terran conflict allow you to have mariens to be trained and used to board anc capture ships.  The thing is that even though if there is a game that does a perfect simulation of a starship, you don't feel like much in command of a crew because you will still be responsbile for piloting the ship within the game and you don't really have to worry about the engines, med bay, etc.  Because your AI crew mate usually takes care of it.   I think the closest idea you get is the Battlecruiser/Universal combat series.  But then again, i think it might be better if you have some sort of like a starship sims aka simcity type kind of game, where you have to run a starship and having to keep your crew happy.  If that is a focus, it might be easier to pull it off.  Like i said, as a player, you won't be able to concentrate on two different things at the same time if you have a game that does both SimCity like style game play and X3 Terran conflict.  

X3's graphics are inferior to Freelancer!?!?  I suspect you tried it prior to 2.0 being released 'cs the game looks awesome.

Not sure if you can use a HOTAS with Freelancer although I found it almost impossible to pilot a ship in X3 without mine.  The biggest turn off I had from x3 was that it's so damned huge it feels as if it should be a multiplayer game. 

Simulators NEVER repeat NEVER make tons of money, they're niche markets, especially because people interested in one type of simulator (eg Spaceship) often aren't interested in another (eg Helicopter). There are plenty of simulators out there, but they're not going to be AAA games with nice engines and shiny engines, they're going to be done by people that often have a different day job and are making a simulator because they enjoy the niche.

The fact that simulators don't make a lot of money is why they aren't made by large game companies any longer.

Infinity, currently WIP, I would estimate a release date sometime in 2010, so dont get your hopes up for it anytime soon...

It looks like it is shaping up to be an excellent game, the engine is almost done by the looks of it (the engine is being done by a single guy!) and as of last I've seen, he has started working on modeling the Earth. While there will be some custom built solar systems (like earth's system) most will be procedurally generated. Not entirely sure of the exact figure, but I've heard theres gonna be around 100 million star systems, and will be very similar to our galaxy in composition... The game will take place entirely in our galaxy by the way. Newtonian physics, player built outposts, yada yada yada... MMO by the way. No choke points, which means no Eve style gate camping. Massive? of course, no single person could hope to see 1% of the universe, which is a good thing as far as I am concerned... space is big. Scale in Infinity will be correct (planets are thousands of kilometers across). Oh yes, and seamless player controlled landing on those procedurally generated planets.

Anyway, enough of my rambling, on to the links!

http://www.infinity-universe.com/
And heres a link to an old video demonstrating going down to a planet. If I remember correctly it is over a year old, their site was redone though so it says August 12 for anything from earlier than the new site. Since then it has only gotten better. http://www.infinity-universe.com/Infinity/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=44&Itemid=93

As far as the genre is concerned... It WILL pick up soon. Space flight is finally coming closer to a reality in the ways it is depicted in these games. The cost of spaceflight is coming down, and in a few years commercial spaceflight will be developed enough for games based on real technologies to come about... Especially after the Google Lunar X Prize is won, I would predict interest in space will spur the development of new games about it. Just hold out a little while longer, and space titles will start pouring in.

Sometimes they are, though.  Ubisoft seems to be contentedly churning out its wonderful Silent Hunter sims (if only those guys would take a crack at a space sim!).  I think all it takes is someone to have an interest in a particular genre at a major studio. 

I think the biggest anchor around the space sim genre is that we haven't seen a really big hit in quite awhile, causing the pubs to forget all about it.  Also, the gaming industry has been moving in a "causal" direction for a number of years now; sims seem just too "hardcore" to be a mainstream hit (not my logic, but I suspect the logic of the publishers).  

I am hopeful all of this will change.  I think EVE has proven that a space game centered around vessel command, with more than a little complexity, can be a lucrative hit (I am often amused when I read articles by industry insiders who are still scratching their head over why EVE has proven so popular in such a "casual gaming" environment).  I mean, all of a sudden we have a bunch of similar MMOs appearing on the horizon, from Jumpgate to Infinity.  Sins has also helped by snagging all those industry awards.  I think we might see a renaissance in space sims in the near future.

Unfortunately, though, I think the renaissaince is going to continue to be centered around the fighter pilot mode of spaceship command, where even though you might be commanding a huge ship, you're still doing all the work of flying and firing weapons.  Wing Commander left just too big an impression on the industry.    Like I said initially, I want to be able to stand on a bridge and see my crew working their stations.  I want to give the orders and manage the crew.  Again, basically, Silent Hunter in space.  Alas, I think that type of game is going to be a long time coming as I know of no game that is embracing such an idea since Bridge Commander and that Klingon Academy from many years ago. 

Thanks for the list!  I'll check them out!

I never tried it, but there is another game called Dark Horizon, but I think that is more of a fighter type game...again. 

What I really want is a game similar to Klingon Academy thats more like starshatter with a nice large Star Destroyer bridge to stroll around. This would give the feeling of a large ship in combat. Starshatter can do this as it can give cap ships cockpits if you wish. But have not seen them yet. Only used the basic capital ship hud.

Be aware also that the starshatter demo is very old iirc. The updated Gathering Storm has much improved graphics.

A pic of Starshatter: the gathering storm for ya: Starshatter has a dynamic campaign that enables you to do amazing things with your fleet. Your actions affect the outcome of the war and the game knows when you lose cap ships that they affect the war. When in game you can jump ships in and out of solar systems and to planets whenever you like. You can send probes to look for the enemy, protect convoys, starbases etc etc. Each time you finish a mission the game generates new missions based on how the war is going and what sectors are affected. I was impressed that the game did not limit me if I wanted to run, I fired up the hyperdrives and got the hell out of dodge. I could jump back in whenever I wanted.

The only thing with this game is that time compression is not fast enough, you have to know your stuff and be alert and aware of the situation surrounding you to find the enemy fast in some missions. In other word its an excellent game that does not give much to noobs so to speak.

A pic of NExus the jupiter incident for ya: the problem with Nexus is that the missions are scripted for the most part and multiplayer is really just deathmatch. Klingon Academy is also canned missions so these two games are similar, except KA puts you in the cockpit of a starship, nexus merely lets you manage your starships in third person.

Klingon Academy may be old but it is still very fun. A bit like playing the original XWing missions with a large starship

Thought I'd throw in a shot of the "ship" rather than starship fleet simulator I am playing called Jutland. This is a gem, its like total war for ww1 ships. Real Time campaign map zooms into battles and save at any time. Brilliant.