Consider running a Space Engineers server

[Mumberthrax]

http://www.spaceengineersgame.com/

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/spaceengineers/

 

 

Space Engineers recently won the Indie Game of the Year award: http://www.indiedb.com/groups/2015-indie-of-the-year-awards/features/players-choice-indie-of-the-year-2015

 

It could probably be described as being like Minecraft in Space.

 

Some concerns:

1. it isn't free. Currently the game costs $25 USD
2. It is still under heavy development in open Alpha, on steam's Early Access list. New features are added weekly, and sometimes these come with bugs that break things.
3. Multiplayer is not quite as stable as singleplayer (though the primary development focus now that planets have been added is improving multiplayer stability)
4. Things sometimes bug out for unexpected reasons. Rotors, pistons, and landing gear have a history of occasionally causing explosions if not used cautiously.
5. Planets can be fps heavy, and worlds with planets can only be played on computers that support directx11
6. There are not many admin tools to protect against griefing presently.

Despite these issues, it is a very fun game, and there are tons of mods which enhance the game adding new aesthetics and novel gameplay elements (they are automatically downloaded when connecting to a server using them, so no hassle for players).

 

I would recommend creating a world without planets, so that those with computers that only manage dx9 can play, so that there are fewer issues like low fps and other quirks that Keen is still working out relating to planets. I would recommend using SE Server Extender and several of the plugins available for it that manage cleanup of unused debris. SEToolbox is also a very useful administrative utility.

 

The game has both a creative mode and survival mode. I play mostly in survival, but creative is fun too for trying out interesting designs.

 

I mentioned mods above - for an idea of what's out there, here's a list of some i play with which I feel enhance the game: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=583224819

and here's a collection I've cobbled together of interesting aesthetic mods: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=583259352

 

I feel like the kind of person who plays Minecraft would be much more likely to play a voxel game about spaceships and asteroid mining than playing a first person shooter like cs:go. If we want to go with games that are not free like Team Fortress, Space Engineers seems like a reasonable choice.

[EeHee2000]

This actually looks really viable. The scene from the trailer with the base covered in military units looked fucking awesome, and it could perhaps even lead to the sort of rivalry atmosphere that Survival once had, with different factions all vying for power. I'm actually going to give it a try myself, so even if this never becomes a nerd.nu thing you'll have perhaps convinced me to get a great game - cheers for that. 

[XkinOEC]

10/10 would play with nerd.nu crew