- Joined
- Jun 18, 2018
- Messages
- 352
It always felt to me like Freespace 2 is the definitive space combat sim, to which very few games came close. Sure, X-Wings and TIE-Fighters were all solid, very good games and all, but I'd always pick F2 over any of those. I've had a few free evenings a while ago and stumbled upon a discount for it on GoG, so I thought 'eh, why not'.
Problem is - while the main campaign is written very well, by now I knew it by heart. It's always pleasant to re-read a liked book, but when part of the charm is the mission structure and having to react to changing conditions on the fly, as well as not being 100% aware when you can actually make a difference, and when some event is scripted, this becomes a problem. I dogfought, intercepted, and bombed through a few missions, before coming to a conclusion that, much like a double cheese/jalapeno/potato pizza at 2 AM, this is going to give me less pleasure than expected.
But then I thought to myself - "dude, there was a pretty cool mod you've played a few years ago, so it might be worth checking if the community spun anything else up". Lo and behold, I found a nifty app called "Knossos" that wraps around your game files to allow easy mod/ additional campaign management. The modding scene for F2 seems to still be somewhat active, with updates to the mods (and, hopefully, new mods) still being worked on/released. I played through a few new campaigns, and thought that I'd be happy to learn which others do you think are worth playing - as well as to share my opinion on those I played/started.
- Derelict -
- Blue Planet -
- Wing Commander Saga -
For the next one, I'm hesitating between Shadow Genesis, Silent Threat: Reborn, and finishing the War in Heaven pt. 2 (I think it got an update recenlty). Anything you could recommend?
Problem is - while the main campaign is written very well, by now I knew it by heart. It's always pleasant to re-read a liked book, but when part of the charm is the mission structure and having to react to changing conditions on the fly, as well as not being 100% aware when you can actually make a difference, and when some event is scripted, this becomes a problem. I dogfought, intercepted, and bombed through a few missions, before coming to a conclusion that, much like a double cheese/jalapeno/potato pizza at 2 AM, this is going to give me less pleasure than expected.
But then I thought to myself - "dude, there was a pretty cool mod you've played a few years ago, so it might be worth checking if the community spun anything else up". Lo and behold, I found a nifty app called "Knossos" that wraps around your game files to allow easy mod/ additional campaign management. The modding scene for F2 seems to still be somewhat active, with updates to the mods (and, hopefully, new mods) still being worked on/released. I played through a few new campaigns, and thought that I'd be happy to learn which others do you think are worth playing - as well as to share my opinion on those I played/started.
- Derelict -
so, this is the mod that I played quite a few years ago. I cheat a bit by mentioning it here, as I didn't replay it recently - I do have rather fond memories of it, though. Fully voiced, with a storyline that starts very small - as a member of a group your main mission is to protect civilian traffic and mostly keep pirates at bay. I remember the beats of increasing pirate activity, corporate activity, and mysterious derelict arriving in the system dragging me in, with missions that were a tiny bit more difficult than those of the base game making me stay. Recommended, although I probably should replay it to make sure I'm not making a fool of myself.
- Blue Planet -
this is the big one. Fan continuation of the base game, split into few parts. Its story is not finished yet, and we should probably expect the last installment sometime in the next century. My take on it differs greatly between the subinstallments of it. Expect rough spoilers ahead.
- Age of Aquarius -
- War in Heaven pt I -
- War in Heaven pt 2 -
- Age of Aquarius -
picks up where the base game finished. A few years in the future, GDVA attempts to recreate a device that would allow for restabilization of the subspace lane between Sol and Sigma Draconis (...hope I remembered the name right). A battlegroup is assembled to attempt to cross the re-created lane and reestablish contact with Earth. I loved how the GTVA modernized itself in the few years since the end of the last war, and I generally appreciated how the missions were structured. What I wasn't too fond of, was the modders adding a new alien race to the mix, and occasionally trying to move too much into the space horror/fantasy territory. Still - I strongly recommend it. The voice acting occasionally brought a smirk to my face but was otherwise solid for a mod.
this is pretty much the creme de la crop. To explain what I love about it I'd probably need to go a bit deeper into the spoiler territory, but suffice it to say - these are some of the greatest Freespace 2 missions ever made.
So, at the end of AoA, turns out that the whole expedition was actually a coverup for GTVA attempting to conquer, rather than reconnect with Earth (...but why?). With their developed beam and AWACs technologies they probably hoped for a quick win, but the Solarians worked hard in the meantime, to get ready for another Shivan invasion. Their developments were mostly in kinetics/ missile areas; while this still leaves them hopelessly outgunned against most of the GTVA fleet, this gives them a fighting chance (...at least they figured shields out). You play one of the pilots on the Sol side, trying their damnest to survive and possibly help the war effort. Features some interpersonal drama, some politics which are rather reasonable (if you accept the premises), and huge, amazing battles where you actually are encouraged to follow orders and can make a difference. 10/10, a must-play if you're a Freespace fan and don't mind the occasional trips into the science-fantasy territory.
So, at the end of AoA, turns out that the whole expedition was actually a coverup for GTVA attempting to conquer, rather than reconnect with Earth (...but why?). With their developed beam and AWACs technologies they probably hoped for a quick win, but the Solarians worked hard in the meantime, to get ready for another Shivan invasion. Their developments were mostly in kinetics/ missile areas; while this still leaves them hopelessly outgunned against most of the GTVA fleet, this gives them a fighting chance (...at least they figured shields out). You play one of the pilots on the Sol side, trying their damnest to survive and possibly help the war effort. Features some interpersonal drama, some politics which are rather reasonable (if you accept the premises), and huge, amazing battles where you actually are encouraged to follow orders and can make a difference. 10/10, a must-play if you're a Freespace fan and don't mind the occasional trips into the science-fantasy territory.
I, uh, didn't finish it. I'm planning on going back to it, but it felt a bit like the modding team learned so much about how to use the engine, that they wanted to create a campaign based entirely on gimmicks, rather than military storytelling. It's impressive technologically, true, but lacks what I loved about WiH pt. 1. Also, unlike previous entries, doesn't have voice acting.
- Wing Commander Saga -
an attempt at continuing the WC series in the Freespace engine. The mod changes a lot of things, including how the interface operates, and how the gameplay feels. There's much more importance placed on managing your energy, and the general difficulty level spikes through the roof. Expect a lot (and I mean a lot) of missile intercepting. A lot of heart went into this one, but it can be easy to burn out due to failures coming so easily.
For the next one, I'm hesitating between Shadow Genesis, Silent Threat: Reborn, and finishing the War in Heaven pt. 2 (I think it got an update recenlty). Anything you could recommend?
