After a long time in adrift in space, the sequel to the seminal space combat fleet command game Nexus: The Jupiter Incident is in development, and a funding drive is currently underway. A still-relevant trailer for the sequel can be seen here.
Unlike many of its kind today (such as Sword of the Stars or Sins of a Solar Empire) Nexus: TJI1 was among the very few to treat outer space realistically. For convenience's sake (and to allow a top-down "God view" or strategic view), many strategic space games from Homeworld to Imperium Galactica to Haegemonia treat space either like a flat table (where all ships are bound to one horizontal plane and can't move above or below that plane), or like a parking garage (where all ships can move up and down, but always have to return to a common horizontal orientation). As TVTropes editors might say, "Space does NOT work that way!".
A video showing the "parking garage" interpretation of space in games is here.
In Nexus: TJI (and its upcoming sequel) this tabletop/parking garage interpretation of outer space is dispensed with, in favour of more realism. Ships in Nexus can move and attack in any direction, in any orientation, and don't need to return to a common one, allowing more tactical moves, as can be seen here. As a result it feels a whole lot less artificial, and freer. As a bonus, the game uses actual Newtonian physics for its spacecraft, which is good for fans of Babylon 5 or the newer Battlestar Galactica since the space combat of both franchises relies on Newtonian physics.
A testament to the versatility of the original game's engine can be seen in how mods for various sci-fi franchises have been successfully made. These range from mods for Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5, Stargate SG-1, the Freespace series, or even the Halo universe, and the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Hopefully, the developers' funding drive will succeed, because what they have is next to non-existent now on the PC, or even the TV (since space-based sci-fi shows have largely disappeared from TV line-ups for the foreseeable future).
Unlike many of its kind today (such as Sword of the Stars or Sins of a Solar Empire) Nexus: TJI1 was among the very few to treat outer space realistically. For convenience's sake (and to allow a top-down "God view" or strategic view), many strategic space games from Homeworld to Imperium Galactica to Haegemonia treat space either like a flat table (where all ships are bound to one horizontal plane and can't move above or below that plane), or like a parking garage (where all ships can move up and down, but always have to return to a common horizontal orientation). As TVTropes editors might say, "Space does NOT work that way!".
A video showing the "parking garage" interpretation of space in games is here.
In Nexus: TJI (and its upcoming sequel) this tabletop/parking garage interpretation of outer space is dispensed with, in favour of more realism. Ships in Nexus can move and attack in any direction, in any orientation, and don't need to return to a common one, allowing more tactical moves, as can be seen here. As a result it feels a whole lot less artificial, and freer. As a bonus, the game uses actual Newtonian physics for its spacecraft, which is good for fans of Babylon 5 or the newer Battlestar Galactica since the space combat of both franchises relies on Newtonian physics.
A testament to the versatility of the original game's engine can be seen in how mods for various sci-fi franchises have been successfully made. These range from mods for Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5, Stargate SG-1, the Freespace series, or even the Halo universe, and the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Hopefully, the developers' funding drive will succeed, because what they have is next to non-existent now on the PC, or even the TV (since space-based sci-fi shows have largely disappeared from TV line-ups for the foreseeable future).