Best turn-based spaceship combat

What games, in your oppinion, best implement turn-based spaceship combat.
I am considering developing something in that direction, so I'm looking for games to look up.

 

Complex: Master of Orion 2
Simple: Ascendancy

 

<s>Simple</s> Crap: Ascendancy

I liked Space Empires combat (I mostly played SE3), but I have little basis for comparison (haven't played MOOx). One thing I would suggest doing differently from space empires style combat is the weapon ranges, and missile/ship speeds. The absolute weapon ranges and slow missile speeds relative to ship speeds quite often turned combat into an artificial chase where ships were often out of range and fleeing from large groups of missiles.

I'd suggest having at least a few types of weapons (perhaps all) with almost unlimited range, but with effectiveness reduced the longer the range (lower damage, accuracy etc.). Of course different weapons could lose effectiveness more/less quickly with range (or some could gain effectiveness with range). That way ships will still need to manoeuver to keep an effective distance, but you don't get the absurd situation of complete invulnerability.

If you include missiles/topedoes as objects which fly over several turns (which is perhaps a good idea in turn based combat, since that way they're really different from beams/guns...), I'd suggest making them much faster than ships. Ships might be able to dodge or shoot down missiles (you could limit the turning rate of a missile), but they shouldn't be able to outrun them.
[[[I think this is a good idea from a gameplay perspective, but I think it also makes sense from a coherency point of view. While large ships with large engines should be able to achieve greater speeds than missiles in space, they shouldn't be able to achieve greater accelerations (without warp/hyperspace...). Manned ships need to limit their conventional acceleration so as not to kill the crew; missiles do not. Over a short distance, a missile should catch any manned ship in a straight race. If you want unmanned ships / ships of a mech race... to outrun missiles, that's fine - I just think it should be a rare occurance.]]]

 

I rather like Starships Unlimited, it is available at Apezone. Nice 4x exploration and combat game. They have a demo which is worth playing.

 

Thanks all. I will look these up. I never got into 4x games (too many things to manage) so I missed them. The game I'm considering would be a sort of space trading/exploration/combat game, but unlike other (to my knowledge) games of this genre the player would get to control entire fleet instead of just a single ship.

 

Wait, is there any factual basis to suggets that missles will ever be used in space combat? I mean, considering the United States is developing a missle shield right now, I figured they were on the way out. Especially by the time space combat becomes common.

But then again I haven't played a space combat game since Star Wars.

 

Do you need realism?

 

"realism" isn't necessary, but coherence is always good.
It also adds something to the feel of a space / sci-fi setting when there are good explanations of the technologies involved - ones which fit with the game world, and help to explain how it operates/developed.

However, if anyone can't think of a possible use for missile-type weaponry in a futuristic/sci-fi setting, they're not trying very hard.

 

one series of sci fi books I read has missiles as guided laser-delivery systems. Basically, a micro-ship that flies to target (over a couple million kms), evades countermeasures, and lets loose with short-range laser blasts.

 

Space Rangers : Gay Name, cool game.

 

Well, could you give us any more details about this game of yours? I've been playing space sims and space cx4 games for the last 10 years of my life and would like to help you with ideas and insights, if you're really serious about this...

 

You could try Shadow Armada.

Not being developed any more but it's an interesting turn based ship combat system.

http://home.comcast.net/~shadowman131/ShadowArmada.htm

 

Critical Mass

http://www.windowsgames.co.uk/critical.html

 

Halo

 

In a realistic scenario? Outlook on missiles is pretty good. They have incredible range, and unless they run out of propellant or are scragged by hostile point defense, they'll always hit.

TV and Hollywood are completely useless when it comes to showing realistic space combat, though. Probably because realistic space combat would be rather boring. No fighters, long downtimes before getting into a battle, and most encounters would last mere seconds, as each opposing side whizzes past each other along their respective trajectories.

 

Wish there were more games like this.