Over the last few months I've seen a couple of new entries into the fledgling "co-op simulation game" genre. I say fledgling because, though I've heard of games based on this mechanic for years, I have not really seen many/any actual examples. By co-op simulation, I mean a game where a small group of people get together and cooperate to simulate something. Like a D&D RPG game, except instead of being in an adventure party, you are members of a crew operating a .. thing. I have vague recollections of a Star Trek MMO that was supposed to allow multiple people to get together and operate a starship, or a pirate game that had the same mechanic. I don't know if those games actually came out.
I first heard of Pulsar:Lost Colony around the end of 2015/beginning of 2016, and the game piqued my interest. You log in, join a session, and pick one of five roles: captain, pilot, science officer, weapons officer, or engineer. You then perform your specialized role on the starship in order to explore the galaxy, fight bad guys, run missions, etc. The game was and still is pretty crude; the content is almost nonexistent and there are graphics glitches and gameplay bugs. But the idea intrigued me. I watched a few YT videos and streams of the game, and it looked really fun. But it was rough and incomplete, and my wife showed no interest in the game, so I let it go.
I recently found, while roaming around Reddit, a new game called HMS Marulken. The idea is similar, except substitute a WWII era submarine for a starship. Instead of five roles, there are only four: captain, engineer, intelligence officer, and navigator/weapons officer. I think. The game is VERY much in alpha; there is only one mission, and basic things like player rendering don't exist. The reason I am not sure about the roles is that they are not designated like they are in Pulsar. Instead of joining a session and claiming a crew spot, you join a session and walk over to a station and start doing stuff. There is a free demo of the game, in its current state, at the linked website. Since it is free, I downloaded it, installed it on my and my wife's computers, and
Another thing trying out HMS Marulken did was reinvigorate my interest in Pulsar. I checked out a stream on Twitch, and I saw that they added a lot more content/gameplay than they had last time I looked. I also saw that the game is currently on sale on Steam.
Yay! After trying the sub game, my wife was more amenable to trying out the space simulator, so I picked up two copies. We tried it out last night, and I hope to play some more this weekend, with a fuller crew.
So, what do you think of the idea of the game(s)? Does the concept in small group co-op simulation appeal? Have you heard of or played any other games in this vein? Do you have any interest in getting Pulsar and exploring the galaxy together?