My weekend with Freelancer

[EEVIAC]

I've been playing this since Thursday, and although its not exactly as I'd hoped/wanted, the prospect of mods has heartened me after the relatively lackluster SP campaign.

Two issues I'd like to bring up :

I was at Freelancer Portal and taking a quick glance at the results of the poll, 2243 people (60%) voted they were most looking forawrd to open-ended gameplay while 25 people (of which I was one of, just to check that the vote worked) equivalent to not even one percent, were looking forward to the story. I'm assuming most of the people rabidly interested in the game (like me) were perhaps old Elite players that were looking for a new update. Judging by these results, and general talk on forums, reviews, I'm perplexed as to why they bothered writing the paltry SP story - as it is, it serves a 20 hour tutorial through half of the universe.

Luckily there are some mods around now that take out the single player story so it can be played like Elite. Head to Lancers Reactor if you're interested. Why we have to rely on modders to provide the games we actually want to play (NWN I'm looking at you too) I'll leave for another space.

Secondly, I'd just like to say how much I hate Trent. I hate him because I am not Trent, I don't look that way, I don't act that way, I'm much more polite, and I've never appeared in Beverly Hills 90210. The fact that I'm constantly reminded of who I am in the game and what I look like is probably what makes me hate Trent even more. I foresee a workaround for this :

> kill all Trent cutscenes from the game, edit out every skerrit of Trentness <

Can someone tell me why an npc says "excellent" after giving you information? And who the hell goes up to total stranger and says "whatchu got?" without expecting to get punched in the head?

Otherwise it was a pretty enjoyable weekend. Shame I missed the troll.

<edit> it also has a fair amount of Pirates feel to it, if that makes the game seem more attractive.

 

[Walks with the Snails]

I also liked, "Keep talking, I'm here." Who the hell says that? I just wound up punching the space button repeatedly to skip over the dialogue.

It could have been better. I was expecting them to put more mission types than shoot the bad guys in the full version. Once you get over the campaign, things get better. I retired after getting my Eagle and having a little fun with it. I'll have to try some of the campaign-killing mods sometime, they really should have put in an option to skip the campaign and just start out with a ship and some credits.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

I've been playing this since Thursday, and although its not exactly as I'd hoped/wanted, the prospect of mods has heartened me after the relatively lackluster SP campaign.

The problem with Freelancer is that the designers designed an open ended space game as if it were a space combat sim. You have fairly open ended design being totally screwed up by non-stop combat situations and the campaign which belongs in a space combat sim like Freespace, Tachyon, etc.

It's funny all the features they list on the box that get totally screwed over because of the campaign and the sheer amount of combat in the title.

I was at Freelancer Portal and taking a quick glance at the results of the poll, 2243 people (60%) voted they were most looking forawrd to open-ended gameplay while 25 people (of which I was one of, just to check that the vote worked) equivalent to not even one percent, were looking forward to the story. I'm assuming most of the people rabidly interested in the game (like me) were perhaps old Elite players that were looking for a new update. Judging by these results, and general talk on forums, reviews, I'm perplexed as to why they bothered writing the paltry SP story - as it is, it serves a 20 hour tutorial through half of the universe.

And ends with you having a very nice very heavy fighter.

I also think it's sad that there are no freighter equivalents of the upper powered heavy fighters and very heavy fighters. The Humpback can only have class 6 shields, IIRC, and class 6 weapons. It turns so slowly, that it can be picked apart by nearly any decent fighter grouping more powerful than Mollies. Even in multiplayer with two escorts, I had trouble in Rheinland space with a humpback.

This really illustrates one HUGE problem with Freelancer, IMHO. The fact you have to upgrade ships to get better weapons. It makes no sense to me why you can't upgrade the weapon mounts on ships to fit the weapons you want/need on the type of ship you want. It's completely ass that Liberty Space fighters are so pathetically wimpy because the mounts on them are ludricriously small. Compare this with Outcast fighters and ships with class 10 mounts.. They should have been able to wipe Liberty Space off the star map as powerful as they are compared to the Liberty Police and Navy.

But aside from it being silly in the context of the story, it's also lame because it forces a player to swap ships rather than actually get attached to a ship and it creates balance issues like the above mentioned freighter thing.

Secondly, I'd just like to say how much I hate Trent. I hate him because I am not Trent, I don't look that way, I don't act that way, I'm much more polite, and I've never appeared in Beverly Hills 90210. The fact that I'm constantly reminded of who I am in the game and what I look like is probably what makes me hate Trent even more. I foresee a workaround for this :

I agree. I'd love a mod where you could actually pick your appearance at the very least. Being able to pick what you say would be a HUGE plus as well.

 

[EEVIAC]

This really illustrates one HUGE problem with Freelancer, IMHO. The fact you have to upgrade ships to get better weapons. It makes no sense to me why you can't upgrade the weapon mounts on ships to fit the weapons you want/need on the type of ship you want. It's completely ass that Liberty Space fighters are so pathetically wimpy because the mounts on them are ludricriously small. Compare this with Outcast fighters and ships with class 10 mounts.. They should have been able to wipe Liberty Space off the star map as powerful as they are compared to the Liberty Police and Navy.

There is a mod that increases all hardpoints and shield mounts to lev10, which is what it should have been originally - or at least have an option for a shipwright to upgrade the hardpoints.

I also agree with your earlier point about freighters. I haven't even bothered touching one seeing as how quickly I could slice through the hull of any freighter with even a modest fighter. In single player, forget about it, unless you stick to friendly trade routes and get lucky with said friendly wings protecting you when you join their convoy. (I'm speculating because as I've said, I've never actually done it.) Which removes the option of doing "long haul" runs, shipping exotic Zoner goods to the vanilla markets of Manhattan.

I agree. I'd love a mod where you could actually pick your appearance at the very least. Being able to pick what you say would be a HUGE plus as well.

Hehe - Freelancer - the Troika mod - yes please!

 

[Walks with the Snails]

My strategy for being a trader was just bribe everyone to neutrality and run like hell if anyone gave me trouble. With class 7 shields and some shield batteries, you can usually use afterburners to get to the nearest base or jump gate in time. Having a freighter isn't much fun anyway, though; you can make an absurd amount of credits quickly with a Humpback, then what do you do? Whoopie, you've just fast-forwarded to the end, where you've got enough money to buy everything and there's nothing left to do.

Also, what good are high-level weapons on a low-level ship, anyway? You'd probably max out your heat levels with a couple of shots in a starter ship, unless you got nomad weapons. I wouldn't even use the maximum allowed weapons on a ship as it was. I would have preferred upgradable ships, too, though. There really was no good reason for them to do the ships like they did, it was silly how Liberty ships were a joke (other than the Eagle, which you never saw them actually use) and yet the sometimes antagonistic nations and pirates around them hadn't wiped the floor with them long ago. It was actually funny in the campaign where Jun'ko was piddling around in her crappy Liberty ship at the end, which mysteriously had powerful weapons mounted when I scanned it and also happened to be invincible.

They should have at least given everyone a mix of ships. A poor Rheinland boy's also got to start somewhere, after all. And it's not like you'd be the right level to buy an Eagle in Manhattan starting out anyway. It's a problem with games in general, though, how do you let beginners actually spend two seconds in space without getting greased while still make things somewhat more interesting for someone who's got all the best gear? You're naturally going to create tougher areas or else flatten out the differences between the different levels of equipment.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

There is a mod that increases all hardpoints and shield mounts to lev10, which is what it should have been originally - or at least have an option for a shipwright to upgrade the hardpoints.

Well, that would be rather unbalanced to just have them. However, buying them would be pretty nifty.

I also agree with your earlier point about freighters. I haven't even bothered touching one seeing as how quickly I could slice through the hull of any freighter with even a modest fighter. In single player, forget about it, unless you stick to friendly trade routes and get lucky with said friendly wings protecting you when you join their convoy. (I'm speculating because as I've said, I've never actually done it.) Which removes the option of doing "long haul" runs, shipping exotic Zoner goods to the vanilla markets of Manhattan.

Unfortunately, their living universe is really just smoke and mirrors. Follow a convoy through a jump gate or jump hole sometime, they won't be on the other side. You can also test this out in multiplayer by having two people on either side of the jump gate. Tell them just as a convoy enters the thing, then ask them if it ever comes out of it. It never will.

My strategy for being a trader was just bribe everyone to neutrality and run like hell if anyone gave me trouble. With class 7 shields and some shield batteries, you can usually use afterburners to get to the nearest base or jump gate in time.

That doesn't work well in the Rheinland and harder areas of space. Outcasts, Unioniers(whatever they're called), and so forth can take you out easily.

Freighters really need more shield batteries than they're allowed, frankly. 26 on a humpback is way too few. It only gives you about three full recharges there. The armor on a humpback is weak as well.

Having a freighter isn't much fun anyway, though; you can make an absurd amount of credits quickly with a Humpback, then what do you do? Whoopie, you've just fast-forwarded to the end, where you've got enough money to buy everything and there's nothing left to do.

I agree. This is my main beef with the game. It's where making a corporation would have really, really made this a smashing title. I'm shocked they didn't allow this, since they had four years to make this game and it's been a new standard for the genre since the late 1990s.

Also, what good are high-level weapons on a low-level ship, anyway? You'd probably max out your heat levels with a couple of shots in a starter ship, unless you got nomad weapons. I wouldn't even use the maximum allowed weapons on a ship as it was. I would have preferred upgradable ships, too, though.

Upgrade mounts kind of assumes upgraded energy source.

There really was no good reason for them to do the ships like they did, it was silly how Liberty ships were a joke (other than the Eagle, which you never saw them actually use) and yet the sometimes antagonistic nations and pirates around them hadn't wiped the floor with them long ago. It was actually funny in the campaign where Jun'ko was piddling around in her crappy Liberty ship at the end, which mysteriously had powerful weapons mounted when I scanned it and also happened to be invincible.

The Hawk, Falcon, and Eagle are civilian ships, actually. Think about that one! You have civilian ships that can absolutely spank the crap out of most navy and police ships in most sectors! The Hawk, which is the light fighter IIRC, is pretty close to the Bounty Hunter heavy fighter in terms of stats. It only has two less guns but it a hell of a lot more agile. I pretty much stick to the civilian line of ships when I played multiplayer because they're just so uber.

But the question is, if those civilian ships are so powerful, why doesn't Liberty, Bretonia, etc. just buy those civilian ships and use them instead of their shitty fighters?

It's also odd there's no civilian freighter class ship, either, which I think sucks.

All I really want is something like the Bretonia freighter with more armor, better energy source, better shields, and better guns. 120 holds, fairly manuverable, and can take a beating.

 

[Walks with the Snails]

Unfortunately, their living universe is really just smoke and mirrors. Follow a convoy through a jump gate or jump hole sometime, they won't be on the other side. You can also test this out in multiplayer by having two people on either side of the jump gate. Tell them just as a convoy enters the thing, then ask them if it ever comes out of it. It never will.

Yeah, I had an idea that was happening. It was especially bad when you'd take off through a jump gate or jump hole when you were getting pounded on and nobody would bother following you.

On the bright side, you could talk to ships about where they were going. It could give you a clue to good trade routes for systems you'd never been to, but it was usually easier to just fly there or buy information.

The Hawk, Falcon, and Eagle are civilian ships, actually. Think about that one! You have civilian ships that can absolutely spank the crap out of most navy and police ships in most sectors! The Hawk, which is the light fighter IIRC, is pretty close to the Bounty Hunter heavy fighter in terms of stats. It only has two less guns but it a hell of a lot more agile. I pretty much stick to the civilian line of ships when I played multiplayer because they're just so uber.

But the question is, if those civilian ships are so powerful, why doesn't Liberty, Bretonia, etc. just buy those civilian ships and use them instead of their shitty fighters?

I was just going by the description with the Eagle, protecting Liberty's interests and all. That's true, though, I guess Liberty depends on civilians to save its bacon. That's sure as hell what they seemed to need me for.

I didn't quite understand the classes myself; if the civilian ships are so uber, why are they the civilian ships? The general idea is usually to give the government all the firepower and just let ordinary civilians have enough to ward off the occasional pirate. If you want the nice gear yourself, you're probably going to have to suck up to your local officials a bit and buy a few permits. Not that you needed that to buy the crown jewel of a nation's fleet, anyway.

I thought it was rather silly that two of the best ships were pirate ships, too. Hmm, you've got government funding, research and manufacturing stations littering the place on the one side, and you've got a couple of bases in radioactive systems populated by fractious pirates who couldn't find anywhere better to live in the other. Yeah, I know who's going to win the R&D race there. I mean, if they stole them or bought them from some corrupt corporation with government ties it would be one thing, but they actually developed and built them?

It's also odd there's no civilian freighter class ship, either, which I think sucks.

Yeah, you'd think freighters would be one of the ships civilians would be most interested in as well as what the various governments would be most comfortable letting them buy freely.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

Yeah, I had an idea that was happening. It was especially bad when you'd take off through a jump gate or jump hole when you were getting pounded on and nobody would bother following you.

That's actually how we discovered it in multiplayer. I was trying to run some stuff through Rheinland. Me and my escort jumped through and ran across about a dozen or so high-end pirates, so I retreated back through the gate. While my escort was trying to engage them, several convoys entered that jumpgate heading to where the problem was. I told him a few convoys were coming through, and he replied, "Nothing's come out of this gate here."

That's a friggin shame, since that would actually be a big help for freighter pilots.

On the bright side, you could talk to ships about where they were going. It could give you a clue to good trade routes for systems you'd never been to, but it was usually easier to just fly there or buy information.

I've tried that, but most of the routes they talk about aren't very profitable, and some are even loss runs.

I didn't quite understand the classes myself; if the civilian ships are so uber, why are they the civilian ships? The general idea is usually to give the government all the firepower and just let ordinary civilians have enough to ward off the occasional pirate. If you want the nice gear yourself, you're probably going to have to suck up to your local officials a bit and buy a few permits. Not that you needed that to buy the crown jewel of a nation's fleet, anyway.

I agree. Even the bounty hunters have better ships than Liberty and Bretonia.

I thought it was rather silly that two of the best ships were pirate ships, too. Hmm, you've got government funding, research and manufacturing stations littering the place on the one side, and you've got a couple of bases in radioactive systems populated by fractious pirates who couldn't find anywhere better to live in the other. Yeah, I know who's going to win the R&D race there. I mean, if they stole them or bought them from some corrupt corporation with government ties it would be one thing, but they actually developed and built them?

I'd say a small squad of Outcasts in Stilletos and Sabres could easily wipe the floor with Liberty and Bretonia, probably the Japanese sector too. Corsairs also like civilian ships like the Hawk, Falcon, and Eagle, so they could easily take down Liberty and Bretonia as well, and even give the Japanese sector a run for the money. An Eagle is more than a match for their heavy fighter. I'd say the civilian light fighter could take out the Japanese heavy fighter pretty easily.

Yeah, you'd think freighters would be one of the ships civilians would be most interested in as well as what the various governments would be most comfortable letting them buy freely.

That and you'd think civilians would be the most likely people to run trade. It's kind of amazing that no one's taken the Bretonia freighter and suped it up a bit, which would make a fantastic basis for a really good medium hold freighter if it wasn't such a pathetic bitch of a ship.

I tried Bretonia freighters in single player, and frankly, I can't withstand hardly anything that can attack you in Bretonia. I could splash Rogues in Freelancer with the Liberty freighter, though.. But Xenos and Hackers could take me out in that thing with no problem.

Being able to hire wingmen would have gone a long way towards aiding freighter pilots as well..

 

[Section8]

I've been playing an inordinate amount of X:Tension recently, and from what I've heard about Freelancer, I don't really feel as though I've missed anything. X acually makes running freight almost as viable as combat (it's definitely a good thing to pursue early in the game before you can afford a decent combat vessel) but the real hooks lie in the fact that you can build a semi-automated trade empire of factories, that you can provide with transporters to keep stocked, and the fact that even though the cheapest ship cost's around 25,000 the most expensive costs 45,000,000 so there's plenty of scope to set goals of "I want this ship" "Now I want this bigger and better ship" "Now I want a ship so massive it can't actually dock at stations and needs a fleet of smaller ships to ferry cargo."

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

I really hope X2 impliments the Freelancer style control. Freelancer control and the design of the universe from X would simply own all.

 

[Jack_Deth]

I also liked, "Keep talking, I'm here." Who the hell says that? I just wound up punching the space button repeatedly to skip over the dialogue.

I do now... along with "I suppose", I never said that before.

 

[el Supremo]

"Mission commission signing out" is my favorite.

 

[Topher]

I've only ever played Freelancer after removing the, what I felt to be, very limiting story and the game still sucks because of the constant, literally, non-stop combat encounters. I initially tried to make a profit by mining but I never could. Right after I'd arrive at even the poorest of mining sites I'd be engaged almost immediately by pirates, using the map to avoid their 'patrol routes' did absolutely no good, and as soon as I'd kill the first batch another wave would already be arriving, total, non-stop, wave after wave. It didn't make any fucking sense and why would they bother with a cheap low-grade mining vessel anyway?

Total waste of a game. Had any of the other features been top notch I would have been willing to overlooking the combat but the weapons were too "samey", the ship options were limited and everything, every feature, every mechanic, just everything felt half-done and half-assed. The game was a literal pile of flaws.

Result... rage quit and uninstall. I'd love to see a solid overhaul mod but until then I've got the x-superbox, freespace and independence wars. Speaking of does anybody know of a good joystick these days? I don't have one anymore and I've been putting off playing these games.

 

[Turisas]

You played singleplayer? Of course it sucks, if you want to mine go play Discovery or something, their servers should still be pretty active.

http://discoveryfl.com/

 

[Trojan_generic]

Speaking of does anybody know of a good joystick these days? I don't have one anymore and I've been putting off playing these games.

Saitek Cyborg for the less expensive models, Thrustmaster HOTAS system for 2 hands and a big budget. Been using an old Cyborg Evo for about 4 years now, no problems.

 

[Stereotypical Villain]

You played singleplayer? Of course it sucks, if you want to mine go play Discovery or something, their servers should still be pretty active.

http://discoveryfl.com/

haha_oh_wow.jpg

Discovery is a really shitty mod, and the community connected to it can only be described as a colony of howler monkeys which flings shit around them twenty-four hours a day.