Single ship space exploration recommendations

[flyingjohn]

A friend would like to play a space game(regardless of genre) where you control a single upgradable ship and the focus in on exploration and there is bare minium or no focus on micromanaging colonies,other units,etc.
I know that you can play the popular games(x series,starsector,etc) with a single ship,but their focus still seems to be on micromanaging a lot of stuff.But i could be wrong about that.

So,is there such a game?

EDIT:Decided to make a list of everybody's rec's:
Old Windows/Dos:
Noctis IV
Space Rogue(clasic)
Wing Commander Privateer
Ironseed
Starflight 1/2
Star control II
Elite series

Modern windows:
Starcom Nexus
FTL
Ironseed anniversary edition
Space Rangers series
Star control 2 open source version called ur-quan masters
Star Control: Origins.
Escape velocity nova
Duskers
Outer wilds
Shortest Trip to Earth.
The Long Journey Home.
Freelancer

Special codex goty pick:
No man sky

 

[manifest]

Noctis IV?

 

[rusty_shackleford]

does it have to be 3D?

 

[flyingjohn]

does it have to be 3D?

Nope,any genre and it can be either 2d or 3d.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

does it have to be 3D?

Nope,any genre and it can be either 2d or 3d.

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads...n-world-space-action-rpg.135103/#post-6920531

 

[LarryTyphoid]

Space Rogue (Classic).

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

no man's sky

 

[LarryTyphoid]

I haven't played it yet but Wing Commander Privateer seems to fit the bill here.

 

[SerratedBiz]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/753640/Outer_Wilds/

 

[Heroic Liberator]

does it have to be 3D?

Nope,any genre and it can be either 2d or 3d.

If it counts,

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

Ironseed fits the bill. Though I say this and it does have a minor degree of resource management, in that you need to get a lot of resources over the course of the game.
It comes in two flavors, the original, which despite the link to an abandonware website was released for free many years ago. Then there's the remake, which as I understand fixes the resource issue above, along with other things and generally makes it look very nice.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

If old games are on the table, then Starflight 1 & 2
https://af.gog.com/en/game/starflight_1_2?as=1649904300

the amiga versions are superior, but I suppose the PC versions are easier to play now

 

[Jvegi]

Star Control II.

Duh.

 

[whocares]

I will not eat the bugs. I will not live in a pod. I will not use 2FA.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

A friend would like to play a space game(regardless of genre) where you control a single upgradable ship and the focus in on exploration and there is bare minium or no focus on micromanaging colonies,other units,etc.
I know that you can play the popular games(x series,starsector,etc) with a single ship,but their focus still seems to be on micromanaging a lot of stuff.But i could be wrong about that.

So,is there such a game?

Space Rangers seems to fit the bill. Unfortunately you pretty much can't buy it anywhere. The first one straight up doesn't exist on any store and the second one is actually a scam - a shitty mod developed by random nonames is presented as the actual game. But if you can find pristine versions on the high seas, then the actual games are solid.

There's also Soldak's Drox Operative. Never played them myself, but they're described as playing as a single ship with the AI factions playing a 4X around you. I could never get into Soldak games but some prestigious people seem to like them.

I don't understand Space Rangers in the least due to all the releases/re-releases, but I know I've seen "Space Rangers HD: A War Apart" praised before.
seems to have a lot of dev overlap with the original Space Rangers, at least
https://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/space-rangers/credits

 

[whocares]

I will not eat the bugs. I will not live in a pod. I will not use 2FA.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

A friend would like to play a space game(regardless of genre) where you control a single upgradable ship and the focus in on exploration and there is bare minium or no focus on micromanaging colonies,other units,etc.
I know that you can play the popular games(x series,starsector,etc) with a single ship,but their focus still seems to be on micromanaging a lot of stuff.But i could be wrong about that.

So,is there such a game?

Space Rangers seems to fit the bill. Unfortunately you pretty much can't buy it anywhere. The first one straight up doesn't exist on any store and the second one is actually a scam - a shitty mod developed by random nonames is presented as the actual game. But if you can find pristine versions on the high seas, then the actual games are solid.

There's also Soldak's Drox Operative. Never played them myself, but they're described as playing as a single ship with the AI factions playing a 4X around you. I could never get into Soldak games but some prestigious people seem to like them.

I don't understand Space Rangers in the least due to all the releases/re-releases, but I know I've seen "Space Rangers HD: A War Apart" praised before.
seems to have a lot of dev overlap with the original Space Rangers, at least
https://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/space-rangers/credits

I actually don't see any overlap with the original you've linked - https://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/space-rangers-hd-a-war-apart/credits

And it's the scam I was talking about. First thing they do to throw you off is never mention in the title that it's actually an "upgrade" of the second game, not the first. Then, the official Steam description mentioning a collaboration with "fans of the series" is a red flag and a code for fan-fiction. And that's the best way to describe this thing. All the usual Space Rangers flavor is gone from the new content - writing is dull, music is worse. And to top it off, most systems got overhauled in nonsensical ways, as you would expect from a mod.

Collaborations

People who have worked on this game have also collaborated on the creation of the following games:

Space Rangers HD: A War Apart, a group of 15 people

 

[SexExitium]

I liked Escape Velocity Nova a lot and I hate micromanaging

 

[motherfucker]

DUSKERS

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Shortest Trip to Earth.
The Long Journey Home.
Star Control: Origins.

 

[flyingjohn]

I can't believe i forgot about sundog frozen legacy.I recommend anybody to try the game out.
https://www.mobygames.com/game/sundog-frozen-legacy
The apple ii is version is preferred but the Atari st port is decent i guess(more buggy).

 

[Modron]

There was that Armada game for the Dreamcast, it even has some rpg leveling mechanics.

Edit:

https://www.mobygames.com/game/dreamcast/armada how hard was that?

 

[what am i doing]

I know that you can play the popular games(x series,starsector,etc) with a single ship,but their focus still seems to be on micromanaging a lot of stuff.But i could be wrong about that.

Starsector does have a lot of fleet design micromanagement (and you do need a fleet, if only for fuel tankers), but colonies aren't it. They are very rudimentary, run themselves, and are basically intended to just fund big fleets in the late game. They're also completely optional. Fleet micro can mostly be dealt with via templates, but it is true that it does take up some amount of attention particularly if you want an optimal, combat-effective fleet.

Personally I just fly the Doom and use a red-blue character build, and do most of the combat myself, the rest of the ships in the fleet use stock templates and are largely just there to mop up stragglers and make sure the enemy doesn't focus all their fire on me at once. Even after the nerf, the Doom is still ridiculously good.

 

[no-return]

I'm trying to choose one of these:
Space haven
Comoteer
Starsector

 

[Burning Bridges]

Hellion if you can still find it somewhere