I’m curious what game you guys have sunk the most hours into. Mine has to be RuneScape, I don’t know the total hours because I’ve had so many accounts over the years I don’t even remember half my passwords, but it’s definitely in the thousands of hours now. I’ve played on/off RS2, OSRS, and RS3 since 2004.
I’ve also probably sunk anywhere from hundreds to 1000+ hours into Skyrim and Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura, though I don’t know the counts there either since neither were through Steam. Embarrassingly enough I’ve never completed either of those two games - I get sidetracked making so many alt characters.
What about you guys? & What got you hooked on said game?


Late to the party, but for me Endless Sky: https://github.com/endless-sky
As far as I know, it’s the only open source and crowed developed game out there.
If you remember EV series, it’s basically that. But better and under constant development.
Allow me to introduce you to BAR. (Also open source)
https://www.beyondallreason.info/
That looks really good and will scratch the ancient Starcraft itch. Thanks!
I’ve played it. It’s much more like Total Annihilation and Supreme Commander.
God I miss the heyday of playing TA online.
TA was great too.
Endless Sky looks cool. Definitely going to give it a try.
My two favorite open source games are Thrive and Cataclysm DDA
Thrive is an evolutionary survival game. Similar to Spore, you start as a single-cell microbe. You gather nutrients, evade dangers, and evolve adaptations. Eventually, you can progress to the multicellular stage, then macroscopic, etc. up to spacefaring. Currently everything after multicellular is placeholder, but the cellular gameplay is fun and has enough viable strategies to make replaying interesting. https://github.com/Revolutionary-Games/Thrive
Cataclysm DDA is a zombie-survival rogue-like simulation game. You start as a single survivor and need to scavenge for food, shelter, and protection. If you like games that focus on system/simulation complexity over visuals (e.g. dwarf fortress) I’d recommend this one. For example, the vehicle system allows you to build custom vehicles, which can be anything from a dinky wooden bicycle to a monstrous RV-turned deathdozer+mobile base-on-wheels. https://github.com/CleverRaven/Cataclysm-DDA
I bought Spore for my kids when it came out but wound up playing it far more than them!
Spode demanding tribute to their religion again? Oh no! I destroyed all your cities and turned your planet into a nature preserve so you can never come back.
I had mixed reactions about Spore. The ambition/breadth of gameplay was impressive. The creature creator was impressive, and it was fun to see other people’s creatures show up in-game. I was disappointed at the shallowness of individual stages, how little earlier stages affected later stages, and the tediousness of space. I think without the pre-game hype, the balance would have been more positive feeling than negative for me, but I mostly remember it as few gems wrapped in disappointment.
My eldest son shares your views entirely.