GamingSpace simulationspace combat

What are the best space combat games for the Vive?

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Elite Dangerous vs House of the Dying Sun vs Space Rift

Specs

Steam Rating

Mostly Positive

Genre

Space trading and combat game

Release Date

2014

Level design

Open World

Co-Op

Multiplayer

Controller Support

Full

# Players

Greater than 1,000,000

Multiplayer

Open Play / Solo Play / Private Group

Learning Curve

VERY Steep

Internet Connection

Required

Game World Size

Milky Way Galaxy [Diameter: ~100,000 Light-Years]

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Genre

Space combat game

Release Date

2016

Level design

level

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

# Players

-

Multiplayer

-

Learning Curve

-

Internet Connection

-

Game World Size

-

Steam Rating

Mostly Positive

Genre

-

Release Date

-

Level design

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

# Players

-

Multiplayer

-

Learning Curve

-

Internet Connection

-

Game World Size

-

Pros + Cons

Con
 "Mile Wide and an Inch Deep"

The game has a serious problem with depth and requires the user to repeat the same few fun actions over and over again. The world is massive and beautiful but feels empty. The game gets stale quickly despite being visually stunning.
Comment

Pro
 Being in the cockpit creates near perfect VR immersion

More so than FPS games, Elite Dangerous achieves incredible immersion by positioning the player where the pilot is. When using a HOTAS (flight stick and throttle), player's arms are positioned exactly as they are in game, and move in game when the player moves them. This puts the player's entire body in the same position as the character, which adds to the feeling of actually being there.
Comment

Pro
 No VR sickness

In games that have you moving around, it is very easy to get motion sickness from the disjointed experience between the character walking while the player's sitting still. By being a cockpit game, Elite Dangerous provides a frame of reference for the player's mind to attach himself to, preventing motion sickness.
Comment

Pro
 Very realistic representation of space & star systems

Elite Dangerous uses publicly available real world star maps that are available of the Milky Way consisting of 150,000 star systems. Although in the current beta, full access to the entire galaxy is limited, in the final game, it will be possible to visit any of the 400 billion stars in our galaxy on a 1:1 scale. Stars that are known of are properly mapped in place and are of the correct type given the information known about them. Stars that don't have collected data on are procedurally generated which allows exploring any of the 400 billion of them. Star systems are intelligently simulated using the "Star Forge", a generator that simulates the creation of a star system forming from its nebular cloud to determine what celestial bodies appear and what orbits they have. This feature leads to many varied and unique star systems possibly with planets that can co-orbit around each other, or with binary star systems, and infinitely more possibilities.
Comment

Pro
 Exploration at every level of detail

Full exploration of the galaxy is planned, allowing the player to be able to jump from star system to star system, and fly around within a solar system from planet to planet, eventually going all the way down to a planet's surface at a 1:1 scale in a later update. Planetary landings will require a lot of details to be developed and designed, but the player can still see the level of detail shift in action when flying into a planet's rings, where getting close enough show the individual asteroids within, which the player can then interact with through mining, or by having a battle among them.
Comment

Con
 Really complicated to learn

Looking up FAQs and trade routes from first hand users will be the norm for figuring out many aspects of Elite: Dangerous. On top of this notes will have to be taken, which is made more difficult by the fact the game does not support in-game note taking. So a pad and paper is recommended to remember all of the minutia of the game.
Comment

Pro
 Built with future expansion in mind

When Elite Dangerous comes out, development won't stop. To build a game with the huge scope of Elite Dangerous, not all of it can be done at once, so the developers have adopted an approach of incremental improvement. Various gameplay elements are being designed as a foundation for later features. For example, although planetary landings were only added with the Horizons Season Pass, the engine has been designed to be able to support going from lightyears away to meters away.
Comment

Con
 Some areas/settings cause judder

Shadows are something that can really help immersion and realism, however the current implementation of shadows in the game makes judder unbearable in a lot of areas, such as inside stations or in some high-density asteroid belts. Turning off shadows is currently recommended for a smooth VR experience, but fixing shadows would be better. There's also some temporary judder issues when entering or exiting hyperspace (though it's better than it was in beta) and occasionally when you get close to a planet. Still not bad enough to stop me playing it for hours, but definitely has room for improvement.
Comment

Pro
 VR & Monitor Support

Designed for both traditional monitors and VR headsets such as the HTC Vive. It also supports 21:9 displays.
Comment

Pro
 Simple and intuitive controls

The cockpit interface for controlling ones ship (where the majority of the gameplay takes place) is pretty minimal but easy to understand. The player will not be bogged down with too many controls and menus, meaning it is easy to figure out what to do and how to do it.
Comment

Pro
 Good story

For an indie VR title, to see a fleshed out story is a very welcome thing. On top of this it is not a story that has been done to death, while some tropes are recognizable, the overall experience is quite fresh and well thought out.
Comment

Con
 A bit too easy

While there may be some challenge at first, learning how to play the game, once the mechanics are figured out the gameplay itself can be on the easy side.
Comment

Con
 Visuals are at times odd

Objects tend to not have any particular certainty of size. Sometimes a desk may appear as though it is for a child, while other times an object may be way too big for what it is. On top of this the textures when close to objects are not that great. basically it is quite easy to see that there is a lack of polish in the game, while it does not detract from the gameplay itself, it does interfere with the immersiveness of the title.
Comment
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