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[GDJustin]

The topic title is pretty self explanatory. Are there any games where you build/run/grow a single space station? I'm thinking about something Sim-ish. You need to place different rooms to accomodate different groups, make money to reinvest in more structures, research, etc.

The only one I could think of was the criminally-underrated Outpost Kaloki X:

The game is great, but are there any others that have more of a sim angle, with a persistent station? Probably on PC?

I got to thinking about this when looking up ship-based space-trading games like Freelancer, and wondered if there were any that let you built up a DS9-style station, in a similar method to Sim City...

Edit: It was specifically reading about X: Rebirth that got me thinking about this: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/04/20/born-again-x-rebirth-announced/

 

[BeeDog]

I recall an RTS called Startopia which is pretty similar to what you're describing. I remember it being pretty good as well, though I didn't play it much at a friend's place.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Startopia

The player is tasked with developing a series of space stations according to the wishes of various employers. The game is set after an apocalyptic galactic war, and many of the stations are in a state of considerable disrepair. It is hinted that these space stations are essentially the last few space-based environments available to the denizens of StarTopia, as most of them had been destroyed during the war.

The player has no direct control over the aliens that wander about the station. Instead, it is the player's job to construct rooms and hire aliens to staff them. The rooms provide basic necessities as well as recreation, encouraging visitors to remain on the station and continue spending money. Each type of alien is suited to a particular kind of task, and individual aliens have a set of statistics that determine their value as an employee. The actual goal for the player varies from one scenario to the next; in some scenarios, the player is expected to meet an economic goal, while in other scenarios the player is required to perform a specific task such as converting a certain number of aliens, or taking over the entire station by force. A sandbox mode is also available.

StarTopia draws inspiration from and makes frequent references to mainstream science fiction, such as Star Trek, 2001: A Space Odyssey (the player's assistant computer VAL, is a parody of Space Odyssey's HAL), Red Dwarf, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. StarTopia is dedicated to the memory of Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide, who died during the game's production.

 

[capitalCORN]

Startopia is the game you're looking for.

 

[CushVA]

Can't think of any games where you run a single station . For ship based trading games, there's always the "X" series from Egosoft. Kind of a steep learning curve

 

[Tremis]

Space Station 13 maybe? It's collaborative too. Pretty complex at first though.

 

[dofry]

Emulator goodness:
Millenium 2.2

 

[Sober]

Startopia is the game you're looking for.

Now I wish I could find a copy of this ANYWHERE, from what I played from the demo ages ago it was pretty fun.

 

[GDJustin]

Thanks for the replies.

Startopia seems ace, but it isn't on Steam, and the company that made it went out of business. Would obviously rather not resort to piracy, if I can avoid it.

I actually haven't played any of the X games before, but they seem like they might scratch the itch as well, even though they don't focus on a single space station. Steam has an X mega-pack for $40. I'll think about nabbing that if it's ~20 in the next steam sale.

 

[nli10]

I forget where I obtained the game in the OP from (An Arcade compilation disk maybe) but it was fun enough and sucked away a fair few hours.

It just never seemed to do much and was all about the right things in the right order and never had much scope. Maybe I was just a beginner. Think I never did the 2nd campaign so should go back to it one day...

 

[Old Gimlet Eyes]

Came in expecting Outpost Kaloki X and was not disappointed. That was my first XBLA game and I played it a ton. I believe there was some DLC expansion missions, but I never bought them. Kaloki is a very fun, relaxed and unique experience. Ninjabee has been pretty prolific with their games since then, but I would love to see them make another Outpost Kaloki sometime.

Not sure if there are any other games like it, at least that I am aware of. It's too bad, I love simulation games and the more variety in that genre, the better.

 

[atre324]

I looooove Outpost Kaloki X, the campaigns for that are actually available for ios too

On ipad/iphone there's the Space Station Frontier game, too

 

[dofry]

Looks like Startopia might be on sale on Amazon based on that Moby Games link on the Wikipedia pages:

Amazon uk

 

[dionysus]

X's station mechanics are some of the simplest in the game, still complicated compared to other games though. If you want to manage space stations, X is not really the game for you as you will spend much more of your time doing other things. If you want a deep space simulation that simulates all kinds of things, X is great.

Also I don't think there is much purpose in buying all the X games. Just get Terran Conflict and if you still need more X after 500 hours of gameplay, you can buy Reunion.

 

[SpartanDL]

EVE Online allows you to run a Space Station, but it takes forever to be able to do so and once it is set up you have to put more hours in the game than you do at work just to keep it sustained. Above all that, you have to hope someone who has a huge following doesn't feel like destroying some space stations.

 

[Raist]

Ogame? Kindof?

There was Utopia on the snes too. Sim/RTS game. Was pretty cool.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

An oldie but goodie, one of Larry Holland's first projects, he of SWOTL/X-Wing/TIE Fighter fame:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Space_Station
http://www.giantbomb.com/project-space-station/61-20147/

It was surprisingly deep for a C64 game.

You have to hire staff, buy equipment and material to build the station, plan and schedule shuttle launches to deliver said equipment/material (and if the weather doesn't cooperate you'll have to scrub a launch and push it back, costing you money), build the station, select R&D projects to fund, staff the station with the right types of scientists for said R&D, launch satellites every now and then for more income, and all the while keep your budget balanced. You also have some control over the shuttle's flight path during launch and re-entry as well as have to control it during final descent for landing.

I'd loooooooooooooooooove to see a remake.

 

[DurielBlack]

I could see potential for a game like Minecraft, where you could have total freedom on how to build your station, but space-themes. Call it Starcraft...I mean Spacecraft. Ok, name would need work.

 

[larvi]

Sierra's Outpost and Alien Legacy are both sims which deal with colonizing a planet in space. Not exacly a space station based sim but similar challenges.