Pioneer

Old-time readers know I like to follow the game Pioneer. There's something massive and cool about this open-ended space game. It was over a year since the last release, so a lot has happened. There's a new mission, new star systems, new ships, new weapons, new music, new sound effects, overhauled icons, a flyby camera view, improved starfield rendering, audio alarms and so very many other things I could go on the rest of this day. (Read the entire changelog here.) There is also a fun option to remove the UI when taking screenshots, something I can imagine will be useful as the game has many breathtaking views.

Indeed a breathtaking view in Pioneer.

Aurora

Aurora is a roguelike space exploration game, in part inspired by Star Control 2. There are loads of features already implemented, incluing randomly generated galaxies, various star systems with planets and ships, simple space combat, planetary exploration, research, a dialogue system, quests, a global story, a diplomacy system and more. It looks really well-made and I appreciate the huge variation in gameplay elements that it's built around.

Planet exploration with combat in Aurora.

Oolite 1.88

Open-ended space opera Oolite has got lots of nice new stuff in it's 1.88 release. Perhaps most noticable are several graphical improvements. The game now has a much improved lighting system, making for some very dramatic and immersive scenes. Planets and atmospheres have also reveived nice improvements and look really pretty. There are also improvements to control, among which is the ability to use up to four joysticks as well as some improvements to AI and scripting. Together with add-ons in the form of expansion packs this can become the space-game of your dreams with a bit of tweaking, so make sure to take a look if it sounds like your thing.

Awwesome new lighting effects shown off in Oolite.

Meridian 59

Quite a while ago I covered Open Meridian, a new client for the classic MMORPG Meridian 59. It's source has been available for a while, and just now I noticed the original version of the game is also available to play, completely free. So if you want to rediscover this classic medieval fantasy adventure, complete with both co-operative and player-vs-player gameplay, you can get Meridian 59 from here.

There is something intriguing about the classic 3D-graphics in Meridian 59.

Beyond Dying Skies

Beyond Dying Skies is a 3D FPS-RPG with a futuristic setting, survival elements, crafting, a leveling system and classic skill-based FPS movement, inluding things like jet packs and grappling hooks. It's designed as a single-player experience, which is commendable as many games of this type seem to be multiplayer-focused. This unique genre-blend certainly has some interesting ideas and I was thrilled to read through the description thinking "This sounds really cool!". Development also seems really active. Have a look at some videos here and get the game here.

A glimpse into space from Beyond Dying Skies.

Pioneer - May 2017

And of course, cool and complex open-ended space sim Pioneer deserves a mention now and then. It was a while ago since last time now, so the changelog has really piled up. There seems to be several smart UI improvements, a new ship, a new advice and rumour module, real-time recording of ingame videos, police patrols have been added, etc, etc. Fixes and smaller improvements are even more numerous. Have a look at the details or just go try it!

Looking towards a space station in Pioneer.

Terasology - 1.4.0

The terribly advanced organic and evolving voxel-world of Terasology has reached alpha 7, also known as version 1.4.0. The changelog is as always impressive, and both the core game and many modules have received changes and improvements. Download it now and see this virtual world come alive even more than before!

A beautiful scene from Terasology.

Tales of Maj'Eyal - 1.5.0

Pretty roguelike Tales of Maj'Eyal got a new shiny major release. The entire list of news is way to long to post here, but major features include a Stone Warden class to play, an additional new class - the Possessor - for donators, rewritten Archer and Rogue classes, reworked chant and hymn trees, a much improved infinite dungeon, new visual effects for many talents, all artifacts have unique player doll images, etc, etc.

Living in different timelines seems to be a part of Tales of Maj'Eyal. Also note the beautiful UI.

OpenMW - 0.41

OpenMW, the Free re-implementation of the Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind engine, just reached 0.41 with a huge set of improvements and fixes. Visual and audio effects for spells are in, there are textures for particles now, improvements has been made to combat AI, etc, etc. Check the video below for a walkthrough:

HyperRogue

HyperRogue certainly fits in the "unique" category. This roguelike has a very special premise: it is set in a non-euclidian world; specifically it takes place on a hyperbolic plane. But if that sounds like techno-babble to you, just think of it as a game set in a world where the normal notions 2 or 3 dimensions work a bit differently and everything is very trippy. HyperRogue is not only a mathematical experiment, it's also a full roguelike consisting of 44 worlds with various gameplay mechanics and an adaptive difficulty and scoring system.
It also looks very cool!

It takes a while to get your head around HyperRogue, but it is surprisingly simple to play.

Stendhal - 1.22

Looking for a bit of christmas spirit and holiday feeling? The latest release of mmorpg Stendhal decorates the game with wintery feeling to match the season. There is even a new christmas song. :)

There is even presents and a christmas stocking. I wonder if there is equipment in it?

Terasology - 1.3.0

Another big numbered release for Terasology! 1.3.0, also known as Alpha 6, is dubbed "The lots of stuff release". It appears development took some extra time, so it's more filled with stuff than usual. Among lots of closed milestone issues and engine improvements are also a bunch of interesting-sounding modules. How about Alchemy, Cooking or Smithing? :) Those interested can check out the full extent of the release here.

Another breathtaking scene from Terasology, found on the official forum.

RogueBox Adventures - 2.1.0

RogueBox Adventures, roguelike and sandbox mix, keeps on giving. 2.1.0 was just released, focusing on bug fixes and sporting a long list of such. There's also a few new features, like info bars for monster behaviours, coloured item listings to make special items easier to find and GUI improvements in the form of icons showing available actions. Coming in the guture is an optional story mode, which sure sparks my interest more. :)

RogueBox Adventures showing the new action icons.

FlightGear 2016.4

Version 2016.4 of the mighty impressive flight simulator FlightGear was released a few days ago. Air Traffic Control chatter has been re-introduced, the amazingly detailed Space Shuttle seen below is available and a whole lot of other things have been improved.

The amount of detail on this Space Shuttle from FlightGear is almost crazy.

Lord of the Test

Lord of the Test was for me a rather odd name... until I figured out what it was: a Lord of the Rings-inspired continuation of Minetest. So you can explore, fight, farm, craft, build, etc in the world of Middle Earth. You can even make your own magic rings! :) It seems like a very ambitious project, and I have to appreciate that someone took the time to implement the LOTR world in this way. If you are a fan and like sandbox-style games this ought to be worth a try.

Exploring a forest in Lord of the Test. Might there be Ents hiding around the corner?

Nox Imperii 0.5.1

Did I mention space exploration game Nox Imperii has very active development? I was just informed that a new release has come out since my last post. 0.5.1 has a new looting system that seems to make piracy a more viable option (Nice, I like to play pirate!), AI ships have got individual names, player progression has been re-balanced, the shipyard UI has got improvements and it's possible to purchase  maps of surrounding systems. The usual list of smaller tweaks and bug-fixes is included as well. :) This game is certainly building up to a space adventure of massive proportions - one I'd like to sink my teeth into once I get the time.

Rich space backgrounds when exploring in Nox Imperii.

Endless Sky - 0.9.4

The very polished and well-made space exploration game Endless Sky has seen loads of development since I last mentioned it. The latest stable release is 0.9.4 and together with a few of the previous releases it comes with new ships and missions, lots of UI and engine improvements, mineable asteroids, tooltips, various improvements to graphics, sound and AI, pop-up mini-map when jumping, a dynamic economy system, new capabilities for weapons, and lots of other things. It has without doubt become a very impressive and fine game!

An epic space-battle taking place in Endless Sky.

Pioneer 2016-10-22

Pioneer - a game of lonely space adventure - keeps it's monthly releases up. Every release has it's share of features, fixes and internal changes, and they certainly do stack up over time. Among things I see thruster upgrades, new ship textures, nav-buttons to mission screens, other GUI improvements and loads of other items. It's cool to see this keep growing - it certainly has a lot going for it!

Blazing lazers in Pioneer.

Roguebox Adventures 2.0

I mentioned roguelike-sandbox gam RogueBox Adventures a while ago, and since then much has happened. There is a new location, new dungeons and a few old locations have a new generating algorithm that will make them more natural. Monsters are smarter, decorative clothing has been added and the game is now playable on the rather cool open game console GCW Zero.

Exploring a dungeon in RogueBox Advantures.

Nox Imperii

Nox Imperii is a space exploration game that seems to be built upon the great Naev-project. Nox Imperii has many new things though, like random systems and planets, a dynamic trade system, a crew system and the ability for missions and events to affect and change the universe. Sounds really cool to me! Nox Imperii also has lots of new art and development seems highly active. I'll be bookmarking this one!

Fighting barbarian ships in Nox Imperii.