Imaginary games that you plan on getting (in your mind) this year

[OB1]

No, its just too dumbed down to be as fun as real space sims.

How does Freelancer have deeper combat than the X-Wing series? I don't see any way that that is possible.

The combat itself is deeper. The combat in X-Wing is just shoot, turn real slowly, shoot, turn, repeat.

But also because they are quite long and challenging...

Not that long. It should only take a couple of months to beat them.

Why do you never believe me when I'm joking? It gets frusterating...

You're not a joking kind of person.

But as I said, the power management is absolutely central to the gameplay and without it the game would be a shell of what it is... no way would it be half as fun...

But then it's just a power management game and not a space combat one.

I played through the demo and don't remember that ever happening.

Why am I not surprised?

So? I'm talking about TIE Fighter mostly here, a game I have put a lot of hours into...

And you make it seem like the power management is optional, or added, or something! It is the heart of the entire gameplay system, and makes the whole game work! Combat? Yes, you do a lot of it... but the combat would be RADICALLY different without that power system, as you know if you've played these games as much as you say.

You don't get what I'm saying. Again. What I'm telling you is that the power management is there is to make the combat somewhat complex. Yes it is important, but only because that's the only way they could make it more complex.

Can't agree there, given how I love TIE Fighter's fighter controls, and think that the X-Wing series has the best flight model in the genre.

I just love how the planes fly, how they feel, the pace and complexity of the combat... its all done nearly perfectly...

Oh yeah, and you misrepresent it so badly there... this isn't a case of 'good controls' vs 'bad controls'. Its two totally different, diametrically opposing styles -- simple and easy to target and shoot versus much harder to target and shoot. I happen to love the complexity of the latter system...

Did I find Freelancer's combat fun? Yeah, but it has NO sense of immersion. I don't feel like I'm flying the ship... I feel like I'm flying a ship in a action game or something. What's so great about space sims is that they really make you feel like you're THERE! That's another way that the mouse system totally fails, in addition to all the ones I've said so far...

Oh pul-leez, you're using a cheap little joystick to play the games! It doesn't feel like you're in an actual spaceship, just like playing Pong with a joysick didn't make me feel like I was a real tennis player or anything like that.

It is absolutely about bad control vs. good control. In Freelancer you have to fight the good enemy AI (a few hours into the game), while in X-Wing you have to fight the crappy controls. It's as simple as that.

Cheap? CHEAP? Uhh... you are insane. Its called strategy. Strategy. Its about making the game more complex and deep... in a way that adds a lot of complexity and fun to the simulation. X-Wing with no power management would be a much simpler game... but by making you manage your lazers, shields, and engines, it achieves good depth in a way that is fun. Well, fun to me anyway... I always liked the power management systems. If you're low on shields you move over power from lazers, then you can't shoot for a while...

And there's nothing like when your ship has been badly hit, you have no insturment panels, no radar, targetting, shields, other cockpit panels... you're nearly flying blind. If you can then manage to survive... its really cool. I thought it was great that ship damage wasn't just cosmetic -- get hit and you can take damage that will greatly affect the rest of the mission, generally for the worse...

Then it's all about power management!! The actual combat is very simplistic and very dull, so the only way they could make the game seem complex is by adding in the power management part! If you care about combat then X-Wing is not the game to play. If you care about power managment then it is.