The Glade 4.0

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 coerced convinced her to try it out. I thought it was really fun, even though running a four man sub with two people was very difficult, and we ended up dying. But it showed the potential of playing a game like this with a full crew.

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?

_________________

That actually sounds kind of fun. Back in the day, a friend of mine and I would play F-14 Tomcat with one of us as pilot, the other as REO. It wasn't designed for that, but it was a fun way to do it.

I'll man a turret! I might have to check this out on Steam.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Look into Guns of Icarus as well, if you like steampunky airships XD

_________________

I saw that game while I was researching my post, but I saw the ps4 port and did not think the game was out yet. It looks interesting, although it is billed as an fps, rather than a simulation, and it sends to be PvP oriented.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

_________________

There's Artemis, which is a Star Trek bridge simulator.

But there is also an actual true Star Trek bridge simulator coming down the pipes for VR.

_________________
Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

That looks awesome!!!

_________________
Raell Kromwell

Over the holiday weekend, I clocked in 14 hours go playtime with Pulsar, according to Steam. I started a three person crew with my coworker as weapons officer, my wife as engineer/science officer, and myself as captain/pilot. We also had a SciBot and a PiBot, but I had them manning turrets instead of performing their named roles.

The game crashes. A lot. Every 2-3 systems, my game would crash. Just mine. I assume that is because I am hosting and not because my computer is broken. Judging by forum stuff I have read, this is not uncommon. So save after every warp jump. The save files only save basic information: your ship's location, its current reputation with the various factions, how much money you have, your ship upgrades, your AI tweaks, etc. It does not seem to save any player specific information, like your talent point assignments. So every time you crash and reload your save game, you have to reassign your talents. I suppose you could game this by purposefully reloading your game depending on the situation, but I do not know if that is worth the effort.

The quests are currently minimal. Depending on which ship you choose, you start at one of three bases. But if you are not at Outpost 448, the only quest available is a breadcrumb quest taking you to Outpost 448. This outpost has 4 quests, 3 of which are repeatable. Well, not quite repeatable, but the NPC gives you a followup quest after you turn in the previous one. Most of the quests involve going to an arbitrary system in the galaxy, investigating a planet to retrieve something or talk to someone, then heading back to the outpost. Whenever you warp, assuming you have not turned off this feature, you can receive a long distance communication giving you a time limited, local area quest. Go help out this ship that is under attack, go investigate that derelict space station, go clear that sector of space pirates, etc.

Overall, the experience was enjoyable for everyone, and we look forward to continuing our session next weekend. Maybe I can find an extra crew member or two to fill out the ranks.

_________________

I don't know, what sort of opportunities for phrases like "Here is us, on the raggedy edge" and "I aim to misbehave" are there?

_________________

Well, I cannot attest to those particular phrases, but you do have a pretty free reign over how you want to play. If you do not want to do quests, you can skip them, and just explore the galaxy. You can also attack "enemy" (by your definition) ships and either destroy them for scrap, capture them to replace your existing ship, or capture/salvage them for components. There is also a galactic infection that is spreading across the galaxy, so you can try to fight that as well, although I do not believe that the end game of the infected is coded yet.

_________________