Finally a nice original game to pass the time, different from the usual, set in space . Oolite is a free and open source game that remakes the classic Elite space simulator.
It is a space simulation, different from Orbiter, the realistic space flight simulator.
Here the player is free to do whatever he wants : explore space, pirate and plunder other ships, collect mineral resources on the planets and trade.
You own a spaceship and some money with the aim of becoming an "Elite" or a celebrated captain of the galaxy.
The nice thing is that the goal can be reached in any way you want, with absolute freedom.
I think for anyone it will be one of the least linear games ever played.
There is no real specific purpose, you can play to be a merchant and make money to upgrade your spaceship or directly launch into combat, even without having any upgrades.
You can become a merchant, pirate or bounty hunter.
The money can be obtained by trading the materials found in the various planets or among the meteorites or by stealing them from other spaceships by destroying them.
In every solar system there is always a space station in which to dock as if it were a sea port.
Inside they can refuel, buy upgrades for the ship, equipment and weapons, deliver the captured criminals and collect the money of the bounty or receive rewards for missions or taxi jobs.
Special missions are part of the game and allow you to earn extra money or spaceship upgrades.
Oolite has the particularity of being able to be expanded by the players themselves who can create new spaceships, space stations, and design new missions.
Thanks to all these expansions that can be downloaded separately, the game becomes virtually infinite and has a very high durability, unless you get tired of it over time.
The graphics are certainly not Oolite's strong point, they are in 3D, very simple but very fluid and deep with objects visible even from afar.
The gameplay is also good although for the controls, which respond promptly and precisely, it is better to use a joystick because the keyboard is a bit complicated, at least at the beginning.
The audio in Oolite is inspired by the space simulators of the past and it almost seems to hear military spots in movement.
Oolite is a game of boundless spaceships, with a subjective view, set in a gigantic universe, all to be explored in which you can do anything recommended for lovers of the virtual life genre and space simulators.
Last but not least, Oolite can be played on Windows, Linux and Mac and is a 20 MB download.
Play Oolite
A game similar to Oolite is Vega Strike which is mentioned in the article on star and space wars games.
