Tachyon: The Fringe

About: 2669, Gemini Sector, Troy System. The Terran frontier between the Kilrathi Empire and the unknown. Privateer takes you to the seamy side of the Wing Commander universe. In the far reaches of space, you live by no man's rules but your own. The fringes are populated by a volatile mix of pirates, miners, mercs cutthroats, and Kilrathi, all struggling to make a life for themselves. In this open-ended game you can choose from many paths. You start with a rusted scout ship and a handful of credits in your pocket It isn't much, but the universe is there for you to explore in search for profitable opportunities. Become a patient, law-abiding merchant, a smuggler far away from the normal space lanes, a pirate preying on the weak, or a professional mercenary hunting down criminal scum. Or just do whatever suits you at the time. At the end of the day, it's all about money and survival. Mostly money. Are you determined enough to forge your own destiny?

Starlancer is a space-based science fiction flight simulator computer game, created by Erin Roberts, Chris Roberts, and Warthog PLC under the auspices of Digital Anvil. It is the year 2160. Mankind has colonized the solar system and two political entities have emerged: the Alliance consisting of American, Australian, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, British and German forces, and The Coalition of Russian, Chinese and Middle-Eastern interests. The game begins with a surprise attack on Fort Kennedy, where a peace treaty turns into a bloodbath: all of the inner four planets are overrun, including Terra herself, and the Italian and French fleets are utterly lost. The Alliance fleet regroups at Triton, Neptune's moon, and attempts to regain lost territory. The player takes the role of a rookie pilot in the international 45th Volunteers squadron, under the command of Captain Robert Foster and Wing Commander Maria Enriquez, aboard the re-commissioned British carrier ANS Reliant. As with Wing Commander: Prophecy, the pilot's flying ability is the only meter by which success and failure is measured, though Starlancer does not feature as many branching mission paths. As in Wing Commander I the pilot may be promoted throughout the course of the campaign; unlike WCI, their rank determines which fighters and missiles they may choose to employ during each mission. The game provides a "virtual carrier" through which to navigate, including nearby crewmembers whose reaction to you depends on your current rank and standing. However, the true gem of the game lies in its textual and video news broadcasts, which keep the player informed as to the status of the rest of the war, which seems to be progressing just over the horizon. Players frequently find themselves flying alongside squadrons and pilots they have heard about on the news just recently, providing a dose of 'celebrity exposure' and also increasing the sensation that they are just one part of a much larger war effort. Starlancer's story is continued in Chris Roberts' Freelancer project, though the two belong to different subgenres (the first is purely focused on action, the latter also features trading and the player can freely move through the game's universe when they are not on a mission.)

Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter is the third release of the X-Wing computer game series. The player has the ability to choose for each mission which squadron he or she wants to fly in (e.g. either the Y-wings that disable a ship for capture or the X-wings that support them), his or her specific ship type, and the ship's armaments.

OGame is a strategy game set in space, with thousands of players from across the world competing at the same time. You only need a regular web browser to play. You start out with just one undeveloped world and turn that into a mighty empire able to defend your hard earned colonies. Create an economic and military infrastructure to support your quest for the next greatest technological achievements. Wage war against other empires as you struggle with other players to gain the materials. Negotiate with other emperors and create an alliance or trade for much needed resources. Build an armada to enforce your will throughout the universe. Hoard your resources behind an impregnable wall of planetary defences. Whatever you wish to do, OGame can let you do it. Will you terrorize the area around you? Or will you strike fear into the hearts of those who attack the helpless?

Eight hundred years prior to the start of our story, bitter conflict divided all of mankind. A handful of colonists struck out on their own to begin anew - far away from the Earth and its turmoil. Several ships were launched with enough equipment and supplies to give the hundreds onboard a fighting chance - but since the area around far-off Sirius had never been surveyed, no one really knew what to expect. What they found was a new frontier of free-flowing natural resources, unexplored territories, great wonders and lurking dangers. Each ship, representing the clusters of people and their earthly place of origin, settled into different parts of the galaxy pre-selected by their ship-board computer to give them the best chance of survival. Life was hard in the beginning, but over the 800 years the different colonies prospered and expanded their territories, claiming more and more systems for their own. Survival and propagation eventually led to growth and profit as each of the colonies developed specialties and fostered commerce. As the colonies grew and time passed their connections with their roots on Earth dwindled and they lost their memories of the conflicts of the past. Soon their attention was dominated by new, more immediate conflicts. Feelings of lost ancestral connection spurred anachronism in the look of the great cities, and created a somewhat distorted image of each colony's cultural heritage. In the ever-expanding outer edge of the territories, frontier lawlessness prevailed. The Houses: Each shipboard colony that left Earth carried some memory of its origins in its name. The Liberty carried Americans, The Bretonia flew from The United Kingdom and surrounding territory, The Kusari from Asia, and the Rheinland launched with Germanic cargo. As each ship settled and colonies began to expand, they knew little about each other and their advancing development. Finally, little by little, the individual colonies found each other and began to set up trade routes to link their systems for commerce and solidarity. Today, with each colony firmly rooted in its respective corner of the galaxy, the colonies rely heavily on each other for trade and industry but also compete for resources and new territories in the Border Worlds. The colonies mandate member governments in "The New Alliance" within the Sirius sector. To control conflicts, each colony has forged alliances and treaties with others as they have grown. Competition remains fierce, however. Struggles rage for supremacy in business, commerce, resources, power and control. There can be tenuous peace between colonies' political agendas, but the grabs for holdings constantly unsettle the volatile frontier.

Star Raiders is a first-person space combat simulator for the Atari 8-bit family of computers. It was written by Doug Neubauer, an Atari employee, and released as a cartridge by Atari in 1979. The game is considered the platform's killer app. It was later ported to the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, and Atari ST. The game simulates 3D space combat between the player's ship and an invading fleet of alien "Zylon" vessels. Star Raiders was distinctive for its graphics, which, in addition to various map and long range scan views, provided forward and aft first-person views, with movement conveyed by a streaming 3D starfield as the player engaged enemy spacecraft. While there had already been target-shooting games using the first person perspective (including 1978's Cosmic Conflict), Star Raiders had considerably higher quality visuals and more complex gameplay. It inspired imitators throughout the 1980s as well as later-generation space combat simulation games including Elite, Wing Commander, and Star Wars: X-Wing. In 2007, Star Raiders was included in a list of the 10 most important video games of all time, as compiled by Stanford University's History of Science and Technology Collections.

Wing Commander: Prophecy, the fifth installment in the acclaimed space combat series, introduces a new generation of pilots in a post-war galaxy. Players assume the role of rookie Lance Casey aboard the TCS Midway, facing an unexpected alien threat foretold by ancient Kilrathi prophecy. Set against the backdrop of a fragile peace following the Border Worlds conflict, the game combines intense space combat with late 90s FMV storytelling. Pilots engage in dangerous missions, wielding an arsenal of advanced weaponry to defend the Confederation against a mysterious force that threatens the universe's existence.

Dark Star One combines the popular elements of a business simulation, a role-playing game and an action game to an epic space experience! An exciting story, full of intrigue and inter-stellar conflict are the main pillars of a multiple number of missions to survive on Dark Star One!

The conflict is escalating... A neutral family fights for its business - and its survival - and is swept up in the struggle against the encroaching Empire. You must defy the strong-arm tactics of a rival family who will stop at nothing to destroy your trading company. Ultimately, you will join the Rebel Alliance for a series of covert assignments and uncover information about the Empire's second Death Star project. The finale? You'll find yourself at the controls of the legendary Millennium Falcon , flying against the massive Imperial fleet in the Battle of Endor. Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance puts you right in the middle of the epic Star Wars conflict - and takes space combat excitement to new heights.

Serve the Emperor, join the Imperial Navy, and save the galaxy. Become a recruit of the Imperial Navy under the command of Darth Vader, and pilot space vehicles that will leave you breathless. In the wake of the Battle of Hoth, through their treachery at Yavin, the alliance of Rebels and other criminals have threatened the very foundation of the peaceful Empire. The Imperial Navy is called upon to eradicate the last of the rebellion and restore law and order. As an Imperial navy starfighter pilot, you will safeguard imperiled lives thoughout the galaxy. Join the Emperor's cause in eliminating the Rebel uprising as the Empire strikes back!