Great Games That Inspired Absolutely Nobody

[herkzter]

Homeworld is one that comes to mind. there were only 2-3 actual attempts at copying it, and most of them weren't good. the only Homeworld clone that I can clearly remember was ORB, because it at least tried to be good

[rusty_shackleford]

Hitman. The only game to try the framework is Death to Spies. Basically, isolated missions with a pre-mission loadout and a series of complex objectives. It doesn't have to be third person and doesn't even necessarily have to be stealth based or involve killing.

After writing this I realized that the closest analog to Hitman is Thief. Self-contained levels, pre-mission loadout, stealth based but not a stealth puzzle game, complex objectives, just replace killing a certain someone with stealing a certain something. Probably why they are two of my favorites series.

Hitman is the one stealth game I actually like, I find other stealth games to be significantly too arcade-y.

[Ratcatcher]

Elite Dangerous: the game is notoriously meh but if someone can point me towards a sim with a similarly detailed flight model, playable with or without flight assist AND that simulates the on-board systems with you having to navigate menus as part of the ship console itself, please do. I'm a sucker for such things and very few games do that, most sims give you abstract and convenient tools.

Kingdom Under Fire serie: recently ported to Steam, they are originally console cr4p, trying to tie musou gameplay with strategy. That is, you can both order regiments of troops around using a very basic minimap and fight 3rd person when switching to your main commander, sorta of a Dinasty Warriors lite. The games are very limited in both aspects but there's still plenty of gameplay and decisions to take, there's a rudimentary progression and equip system for your troops, officials and main commander and you can (usually) decide yourself which troops to field, according to what you have unlocked so far.
First game is smaller in scope but just better. Second one has loads more stuff but they changed some fundamental rules and the formula determining damage sustained which makes it less interesting for many people (<-- tl:dr version). Both have the same two races (Humans vs Orcs+Dark Elves). All dark elves units are female and fight in proper chain bikinis + enchanted tangas.

[Lich]

Isn't Star Shittizen like Elite Dangerous?

[Element]

But progress was so fast that nobody ever bothered replicating that style of gameplay: methodical platforming where you line up every jump, measure out the steps for each run up, etc.

Thank God.

The series got five installments in five years, so the demand for that methodical style of exploration was definitely there. And its implementation was far above half-assed platforming sections that were crammed into games like Soul Reaver.

[Mr.Wonderful]

Hitman. The only game to try the framework is Death to Spies. Basically, isolated missions with a pre-mission loadout and a series of complex objectives. It doesn't have to be third person and doesn't even necessarily have to be stealth based or involve killing.

After writing this I realized that the closest analog to Hitman is Thief. Self-contained levels, pre-mission loadout, stealth based but not a stealth puzzle game, complex objectives, just replace killing a certain someone with stealing a certain something. Probably why they are two of my favorites series.

Splinter Cell was made with a thought that it will send Hitman on a stretcher. 20 years later... Splinter Cell holds up fine while Hitman is unparalleled in atmosphere and also has a great reboot in modern times.

[NotAI]

Warzone 2100 ... but that's a strategy game not an RPG.

Battlezone 1, Battlezone 2 ... but that's a strategy game not an RPG.

RPG:

Arx Fatalis.

Stalker 1, 2, 3.

So many good ideas in each that hard to know where to start listing.

[Agesilaus]

Battletech: Crescent Hawk's Inception

First and only Battletech CRPG. Came out in the late 80s, a fun little romp that still holds up well today, but its sequel went in a totally different direction and it fell off the radar.

[Acrux]

In that vein, I'd say Mission:ForceCyberstorm. It's top-down tactical mech game set in the Earthsiege universe. I've never seen the vast number of customizations you can make to the HERCs in any other game, including non-offensive combat options like mining pods, ECMs, several different types of life support and scanners. Reactors, battery power, and HERC weight/reinforcement all matter and will affect movement and weapon fire rates. Something like Front Mission doesn't even come close.

[Agesilaus]

In that vein, I'd say Mission:ForceCyberstorm. It's top-down tactical mech game set in the Earthsiege universe. I've never seen the vast number of customizations you can make to the HERCs in any other game, including non-offensive combat options like mining pods, ECMs, several different types of life support and scanners. Reactors, battery power, and HERC weight/reinforcement all matter and will affect movement and weapon fire rates. Something like Front Mission doesn't even come close.

I enjoyed the MissionForce games, but they're more like the sequel to Crescent Hawk's Inception (albeit tbs).

Crescent Hawk's Inception really was a party based crpg. You had a player character that starts in a small town/academy and learns how to pilot a mech. Then an event happens and you find yourself having to explore the planet, locating party members and finding a secret mech cache/contacting Lyran authorities.