Topic: OP vs SFC3?

[spiderhole]

As a fan of the original Starship Combat Sim boardgame and someone who prefers "reaslism" over fast action, would I be better off with OP over SFC3?

Thanks!

[KBF-Crim]

OP...hands down..

But I will say this....SFC3 still has way more features than Legacy

Hell...SFC1 has more features even...even a blue screen of death...

[GermzSlap]

I must agree with the previous post on one thing, both SCF 1 and SCF3 do have have more features than OP, however the biggest drawback of SFC3, in my opinion is the number of playable races (4), while OP has 8, plus 8 playable pirate cartels. That particular feature makes the game attractive since you can play as a pirate as well as as a member of a star empire. There was actually supposed to be 9 playable races in SFC3, but unforunately that never happened for a variety of reasons. Though to be fair i must add that there is a way to create a 9 race map in SFC3, instructions on how to do it can be found at the Starfleet Universe website, i cant post a link since its been a while since i downloaded that stuff and cant remember exactly where to look for it. Plus various mods for SFC3 game add more races as well, but the same is true for OP.

The other thing you may want to think about before choosing which game to buy is its price. SFC3 goes for up to $100 on ebay, if not more. On amazon it starts from about $70. OP on the other hand can be acquired for much less, i just seen a brand new copyon amazon, several in fact, starting from just $12, that is a very good price for a brand new game this old, obviously as years go by there is fewer and fewer copies left, so if you are a gamer, and a fan of trek games in particular, i would get both games now! Give yourself a treat for the holidays. But, on the other hand, if money is tight, go with OP.

Well, i hope this helps.

GermzSlap

[spiderhole]

Thanks for the reply.

So, what features does SFC3 have that OP doesn't?  Also, how do the graphics and sound between the two compare?

-M

[Lieutenant_Q]

I wouldn't exactly call it features.  OP has more micromanagement options than 3 does.  But 3 has the ability to go reverse, and do tactical warp out of the box.  3 Also allows for customization of any ship, while in OP you have to pick from a Shiplist.

3 is a decent game, but it doesn't really have a replay value in my opinion.  I haven't even installed it on my new computer.  We cannot guarantee the continued existance of the Dynaverse 3, since that is run by Activision and they are very content to let the program die.  OP will have the D2 running until people stop playing, or this site runs out of cash.  (Honestly I see the former happening before the latter)

[GermzSlap]

One thing i always liked about SCF3 (and SFC1 for that matter) is the ability to recruit officers for one's ship, where the performance of the shp depends on the officers ability and experience. I find that feature to be particularly realistic, since thats how things would be on a real starship. Sadly, that feature was not included in SFC2 and OP in the way it was in the the other 2 games.

The situation with Dynaverse 2 and 3, as Lieutenant_Q pointed out, is another reason to go with OP, if you are into online play. I personally havent played SFC3 online much, so i'm not familiar with the level of support for D3 from Activision. But it seems strange, that they would just let it die like that, i mean people are still playing the game, so why not support it, or let the SFC3 player community take over? It's just a shame to let it go to waste.

GermzSlap

[Lieutenant_Q]

The odd thing is though, the Officers are still there in EAW and OP, I wonder if there's a way to get at the officers, obviously not from the UI, but maybe from the OCI?

[NuclearWessels]

The odd thing is though, the Officers are still there in EAW and OP, I wonder if there's a way to get at the officers, obviously not from the UI, but maybe from the OCI?

The officers can still be set and used during a mission (scriptside), but the database blob that records ship data no longer has the sections for storing officer information, so it's all lost at the end of each mission.

What's interesting is that the blob still has space for the old SFC1 style of shuttle information - where you purchased wild weasels, troop, and suicide shuttles in the shipyard.  So it is possible for the OCI or a database editor to assign ships an extra supply of these directly to the ship, and they're ready for launch at the start of the mission.

dave

[Skaren]

I think although I only read quickly

The biggest difference is that a cloak really works as in you cannot see the other ship when cloaked PERIOD !

Fighting someone who completely disappears is very different !  That is what I liked a lot about the game.

Now I am having second thoughts on my for sale offer.  50 + shipping.

[GermzSlap]

I think although I only read quickly

The biggest difference is that a cloak really works as in you cannot see the other ship when cloaked PERIOD !

Fighting someone who completely disappears is very different !  That is what I liked a lot about the game.

Now I am having second thoughts on my for sale offer.  50 + shipping.

Yea, i totally agree about the cloak thing, that is  something i always disliked about SFC2 and OP , the ability to actually see the cloaked ship. The game's developers explain this by telling us that "the effect of it's cloaking field can be seen by the distotion of light from the backround of stars", i'm not sure if a cloaked vessel can actually be detected in a way they describe.

As for the $50 sale offer, that does sound a bit low, where are you sellin it, ebay, amazon?

[kephren]

SFC 3 with the Dom Wars mod is the best version of SFC, hands down.  A couple of dozen races, better customization capabilities, improved combat graphics, hundreds of new ships, new campaign missions.  SFC3/DW  is as close as we'll ever get to SFC 4, especially now that Legacy has turned out to be a piece of crap.

[Fedman NCC-3758]

The best feature of SFC3 for me is, one has complete control of ones vessel. From shield strength, to armor, to weapons systems.

I have both OP and SFC3 loaded. I occasionally load up OP just to play the Gorn and hit the taunt, "That is why the creator made sensor decoys."