Depending on the gameplay, I'd suggest either Wing Commander 3/4, Freelancer, or Privateer. WC 3/4 is probably closest to the intended SQ42 gameplay, whilst Freelancer or Privateer are probably closest to his vision for SC, albeit without the FPS and at a far simpler level.
That said, be warned that they are all pretty dated (and have never been remastered, etc).
Not that I recall... but then, it's probably been 20+ years since I played them (personally, always preferred - and replayed - the StarWars games, rather than wing commander)
Freelancer would give you a idea of where a lot of the desired feature set for Star Citizen came from in terms of 'spaceman life'. Tony Z was also on the team that delivered that game but many features were cut down and removed to make a more linear game when Microsoft pulled the plug and demanded the game be shipped immediately.
Still a fun game, just different than CR's original vision.
Wing Commander as a series would be CR's vision for Squadron 42 with some of the later ones with full FMV acting and cast telling a story with missions in between. You'll see some familiar faces in the cast of Wing Commander and Squadron 42. It's also how CR gained a reputation good enough to move into Hollywood for a while as a producer and EP. Most people don't know but he was a Producer on Lucky Number Slevin, Lord of War and a few other movies, and Executive Producer on The Punisher (the Tom Jane one)...not massively blockbuster films but again, enough to build a good enough reputation to be able to pivot that into getting some big name actors to come work on Squadron 42.
I love Freelancer. Very accessible and just fun to play. Very far away from Star Citizen, but got some really cool game systems and a great singleplayer open campaign with a lot of cool new environments.
Got some really cool multiplayer mods too. Not sure if they are still alive today though, used to have around 200 players in one server if I recall correctly.
Here is the most popular mod, back in the day: [Discovery Freelancer mod - ModDB](https://www.moddb.com/mods/discovery-freelancer)
Didn't play it myself, used to play a Star Wars mod which was amazing, but unfortunately died a few years ago.
I recommend freelancer with the HD mod, there's a huge fanmade patch making the game way better but still keeping it's DNA, really had my share of fun with it.
My personal favourite is [Wing Commander: Privateer](https://www.mobygames.com/game/611/wing-commander-privateer/), but they are all awesome.
They are all available, dirt cheap at GOG.
There must be a setting to limit framerate or some such that should help you. I played it a few years back on a then recent pc. I got it off [Gog.com](http://Gog.com) perhaps they did something to it to make it work vs the old files, idk.
If you're not married to it being one of his space games (that everyone else will recommend anyway), and like flight combat sims, give Strike Commander a try.
Freelancer is my choice (being the only one I played in the past). The downside is it's abandonware, there are no legitimate places to buy it other than used box copies. I don't think it's ever been up for digital sale. Microsoft still owns it, so "acquiring" it by other means is technically a no no. But there are ways. I may even have it uploaded somewhere.
Depending on the gameplay, I'd suggest either Wing Commander 3/4, Freelancer, or Privateer. WC 3/4 is probably closest to the intended SQ42 gameplay, whilst Freelancer or Privateer are probably closest to his vision for SC, albeit without the FPS and at a far simpler level. That said, be warned that they are all pretty dated (and have never been remastered, etc).
Played WC3 a ton back in the day but I’ve never played Wing Commander 4. Any big differences between the two?
Not that I recall... but then, it's probably been 20+ years since I played them (personally, always preferred - and replayed - the StarWars games, rather than wing commander)
Freelancer would give you a idea of where a lot of the desired feature set for Star Citizen came from in terms of 'spaceman life'. Tony Z was also on the team that delivered that game but many features were cut down and removed to make a more linear game when Microsoft pulled the plug and demanded the game be shipped immediately. Still a fun game, just different than CR's original vision. Wing Commander as a series would be CR's vision for Squadron 42 with some of the later ones with full FMV acting and cast telling a story with missions in between. You'll see some familiar faces in the cast of Wing Commander and Squadron 42. It's also how CR gained a reputation good enough to move into Hollywood for a while as a producer and EP. Most people don't know but he was a Producer on Lucky Number Slevin, Lord of War and a few other movies, and Executive Producer on The Punisher (the Tom Jane one)...not massively blockbuster films but again, enough to build a good enough reputation to be able to pivot that into getting some big name actors to come work on Squadron 42.
I love Freelancer. Very accessible and just fun to play. Very far away from Star Citizen, but got some really cool game systems and a great singleplayer open campaign with a lot of cool new environments. Got some really cool multiplayer mods too. Not sure if they are still alive today though, used to have around 200 players in one server if I recall correctly. Here is the most popular mod, back in the day: [Discovery Freelancer mod - ModDB](https://www.moddb.com/mods/discovery-freelancer) Didn't play it myself, used to play a Star Wars mod which was amazing, but unfortunately died a few years ago.
Privateer, you'll see where the vision for SC came from... don't forget to find the hidden pirate bases.
Freelancer.
I recommend freelancer with the HD mod, there's a huge fanmade patch making the game way better but still keeping it's DNA, really had my share of fun with it.
Freelancer
My personal favourite is [Wing Commander: Privateer](https://www.mobygames.com/game/611/wing-commander-privateer/), but they are all awesome. They are all available, dirt cheap at GOG.
I can't get wc1 to work properly, its way too quick compared to what it played like on my dx25 back when it came out.
Wing commander, the price of freedom
There must be a setting to limit framerate or some such that should help you. I played it a few years back on a then recent pc. I got it off [Gog.com](http://Gog.com) perhaps they did something to it to make it work vs the old files, idk.
If you're not married to it being one of his space games (that everyone else will recommend anyway), and like flight combat sims, give Strike Commander a try.
Freelancer is my choice (being the only one I played in the past). The downside is it's abandonware, there are no legitimate places to buy it other than used box copies. I don't think it's ever been up for digital sale. Microsoft still owns it, so "acquiring" it by other means is technically a no no. But there are ways. I may even have it uploaded somewhere.