I'm pretty sure there was a "space race" game in the 90s that let you manage a space program on the large scale and probably had some budget challenges, but I doubt it let you design spaceships in a meaningful way. What do you think of this game idea? No pressure since I'm not going to actually develop such a game.
Hm, actually it could work as a space-race role playing game.
(2) Thu May 01 2008 22:01 Space Game:
I had an idea for a game and immediately started expanding the scope of the game beyond all reason, but let's keep it relatively simple. This is a game where you run a space program. You've got a mission, let's say putting a man on the moon and bringing him back safely. You get to design the spaceship, landing module, etc (I think we're at a point where you could design these in a fair amount of detail and it could be made fun). Then you do the launch, deal with any problems that come up, and try to carry out the mission.
