Looking for a space sim/RPG...

I'm looking for a PC spaceship sim/RPG. The conditions are as follows:

1. Not too complicated and not too easy. I want to enjoy the game without having to spend two weeks in learning how to play.
2. Big ships. Smallcraft are fine for starters, but I want to fly frigates, cruisers, transports, destroyers, dreadnoughts, that sort of stuff.
3. I'd prefer not to fly a grey block constisting of four pixels. Good graphics are a plus, but not mandatory, though.
4. Singleplayer or F2P multiplayer. Anyone who wanted to say EVE Online - I wish, but paying a monthly fee is a no-go.

Hit me.

@jovanroland:

Unfortunately, you are limiting your options with some of the things you want. The ability to pilot larger ships tends to only be in the more complex games of the genre. You are looking for games in the "Privateer" genre but there aren't a ton of those.

Darkstar One - Fun and medium to low complexity Privateer-style game. Doesn't take long to learn and it has a pretty streamlined interface for docking, trading, etc. Only drawback is the story revolves around your ship so you cannot purchase/fly other ships in this game beyond the one that you continually upgrade.

Tachyon - More linear but similar game. Main character is voiced by Bruce Campbell. Still no flying capital ships that I remember. Also it's pretty dated these days.

Freelancer - Microsoft developed open universe version of Starlancer. Fun, open ended gameplay that was one of the first space flight sims to be designed for mouse control. Still no capital ships.

The X series (excluding Rebirth) - A fun but dauntingly complex open universe space flight sim game. The level of detail and complexity is amazing. These games have a real economy that changes in the game based on the behavior of NPCs as well as your own actions, you can buy almost anything you can find in the game, up to and including capital ships, carriers, and you can even build your own space stations. You can capture enemy ships if the pilots bail out, you can buy complex AI software for your ships for trading, combat and mining, you can buy law enforcement licenses so you can earn money for pirate and hostile alien kills, you can even build your own trading empire with a fleet of your own ships. All of this complexity comes at the cost of a steep learning curve, but besides that it's he only series of games that has everything you are looking for. The X games have been out for a while so there are plenty of learning resources and wikis out there to get you started.

X Rebirth - Basically take all of the cool shit from the previous paragraph and remove it and you have X Rebirth. It was supposed to be a more accessible reboot to the series but they ended up ruining it. If you've never played an X game, you might think it's ok but to anyone who's a fan of the series it's an abomination.

Elite Dangerous - Currently in semi-private beta (technically closed but you can buy the game and your way into early access for $75) and scheduled for release sometime this year, this is one of the few games that's a space flight/combat sim -and- is an MMO. Actually pilot your ship and fly around the universe doing whatever you please just like the other games in this list, but this one takes place over the entire Milky Way. The beta currently has 55 solar systems, but the final version will have 400 billion because they are using procedural generation to create them. I don't have a very clear picture of what the final game will look like because I've only played the beta, but it's shaping up to be pretty complex so I can't comment on the learning curve.

Star Citizen - Also still in development and scheduled for release sometime next year, this game promises to be crazy complex. Real economy, lots of ships to buy, persistent online world, and even an FPS module for when you are outside your ship. This and Elite are the two most promising games in this genre by far, and Star Citizen is even more ambitious than Elite.

-Byshop

Check out FTL Faster Than Light. The learning curve is pretty simple and it has an in depth tutorial. It's a fun game.

@Byshop: I totally agree to all you've said, especially X Rebirth (should've been named "X Abortion" lol

Star Citizen... lol, it's still not out, very little playable and IMO ok if you want to focus on combat and have your hands held.

E:D, that's the real deal, except building / owning of space stations and production (therefore also no EVE-like mass-production) of items / equipment / space crafts, ...

First expansion (Horizons) been out for about a year now, next one should be coming next year. In the meantime patches for basic E:D and also Horizons are coming out, with multi-crew ships (next year AFAIK), a fighter bay and having multiple fighters is already possible (in the 1.2 beta patch, to be released coming days / weeks). Character editor also coming probably next major patch in a few months, plus landing on planets with atmosphere (right now only on non-atmospheric planets); not sure yet when you can land on colonized planets. You can already ride around (provided you have a "rover" equipped) on planets, though requires the Horizons expansion. E:D and expansion(s) are on Steam, just put into your wishlist and wait for notification that it's on sale, unless you don't mind spending $30 (used to be $40) for it and the same amount for each of the expansions.

@max2go: Thanks, Max, but this thread is nearly two years old at this point so I'll have to lock it. Feel free to create a new thread on this topic if you'd like to continue the discussion.

-Byshop