Space Commander: War and Trade is a space combat and commerce RPG with excellent graphics, sound effects, and a well-imagined world, all at a budget price. But it operates quite differently from most space combat and trading games, and those differences have thrown many of the reviewers.
Combat and trade are generally separate activities. Warships have no cargo holds, and cargo shipsSpace Commander: War and Trade is a space combat and commerce RPG with excellent graphics, sound effects, and a well-imagined world, all at a budget price. But it operates quite differently from most space combat and trading games, and those differences have thrown many of the reviewers.
Combat and trade are generally separate activities. Warships have no cargo holds, and cargo ships have only some weak defensive weapons. Straight cargo runs don't involve any combat unless you take too long in transit, which can allow pirates to catch up. Even then you can usually just run away.
Combat missions other than campaign-related ones are obtained via contracts that you can pick up at various stations. Running around looking for someone to fight isn't going to be productive. Combat contracts often don't pay enough to cover your expenses (fuel, repairs, rearming), and campaign missions don't pay you anything at all. You need to do some serious trading to afford combat.
The combat is arcade-style, not full 6-degree-of-freedom space combat. In fact, the flight controls operate the same in space as in atmosphere. There's an up and a down, with a ceiling and a floor. Combat against smaller ships is also arcade style, involving multiple waves of fairly easily destroyed enemies. Combat against bigger ships, and destroying structures, can require some tactical thought if you want to survive. In the bigger battles you encounter later in the game, the simplified flight system turns out to be very helpful in keeping from getting disoriented.
Trade is mainly handled via contracts that you can pick up at various stations. You certainly can trade independently, but it's hard to make much money at it. The contracts are where the money is.
The economic system is very unusual. The needs and products of each station depend almost entirely on the mining and industrial facilities at that station, and they don't vary much over time. Those, in turn, are influenced by the location within the solar system and the faction running the station. Mining products and industrial materials can't be sold except to stations advertising that they use them, and many of the higher-priced goods aren't in much demand except when a contract calls for them.
Later in the game, you get the opportunity to start building up a manufacturing operation of your own. You can buy stations and build mining or industrial facilities as appropriate. Don't expect to be profitable right away, but in the long term a well-run operation can produce significant profits.
Also later in the game, wormholes open up to other star systems. Unfortunately, that part of the game is very disappointing. There's little of value in the other star systems except that you can build up a separate manufacturing operation in each one. Considering them for that purpose, the star systems range from fairly easy (e.g. Alpha Centauri) to very challenging (e.g. Sirius). You're able to have as many as 54 separate manufacturing operations within your one game save: one in each star system.
The main campaign story line ends with a surprise twist. That twist, however, doesn't actually affect the game play.
After the main campaign story finishes, war regularly breaks out between the various factions. You'll have the opportunity to engage in large-scale battles, often involving maybe half a dozen enemy capital ships and dozens of enemy light craft already on the battlefield, with more light craft waiting. Many of the battles also feature a number of friendly forces, and the battle zone can get a bit crowded. It's nothing like the simple skirmishes of the early parts of the game.
Two additional campaigns are focused entirely on arcade-style combat. The Tau Ceti campaign is set following the main campaign, while the other campaign is combat simulator training.
Considering its budget price, Space Commander: War and Trade offers a lot of value for those who generally prefer the trading side over the combat side. Fans of arcade space combat would probably enjoy it, too.… Expand
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