[edlib]

I think we're all in the same boat. I've been hoping for another quality space-flight-battle sim since I finished Freespace 2. I haven't heard anything that even remotely resembles what I want.

The new Galaxies Hyperspace expansion is supposed to be close, but I don't want to get involved with anything with a monthly fee attached.

I'm hoping that with the advent of playable vehicles in just about every FPS released nowadays that someone will get a hint and bring back the space-combat sim genre.
Not holding my breath on that one though.

As far as where to buy older games I couldn't begin to guess. Start with a search at Amazon. You can usually find new, unsold copies of older software there.
Get Freespace 2 if you can... it's totally worth whatever you have to pay for it, believe me.
Tachyon was an OK sim, a bit "eh..." but it had Bruce Campbell as the main VO actor so that kind of saved it from total blahness.
I thought the Independence War games totally sucked,.. but that just might be me. If you are really desperate you might want to give them a try for yourself.

Good luck with your quest. Let us know what you find.