It seemed to be a promising game. Yet it fails technically - my three recent saves contain 0 money and no inventory items except for the main weapon. Another pain is the combat system, which is totally chaotic. I never see what I'm aiming at, the sub is in the way. I'm sorry to say, but to pay for it would be a waste of money AND time. Uninstalling.
First-off: although I played the GOG version to the end, I didn't encounter any bugs. The game plays very well, offers a lot of flexibility in terms of exploration as well as ship building. Story is very well thought out and complex. The last star is missing because of two drawbacks. 1. Not nearly enough guidance through quests. There's a lot of information presented and I often failed to recognize what's important and what's not. Therefore, a lot of googling was required to move ahead with some of the late-game quests. 2. Some quests are bound to fail without a reload. A good example is the conversation with the Araona chief-in-command. He asks you questions and you have the answers in your log. But there is no way to interrupt the conversation and look for the relevant data. Also, you don't know how that conversation goes beforehand. Without google or a reload, I don't see how I could have not failed this conversation. Anyway, if you like sci-fi RPGs with a good story and strong exploration mechanics, go for this little gem.
Just as the title says. FYI, the best space sim ever is its successor, Tie Fighter. Buy both - and a joystick.
It's as simple as the title says. You will need a joystick, though.
Even with today's tech, this game has lost nothing. Even playable with a mouse!
