[Phenix]

First of all, a big thanks to all the Saga Team who has done a fantastic job. This mod IS the best WC game I ever played (on pair with WC3) and without doubt the BEST FS mod out there at the moment (the critics/attacks I have been reading on the Hard Light Forums are proof that someone/many other FS modders are pissed/jelous about this great mod :-P)

I must say all those years were worth waiting. Every single day!
The end result shows the amount of love the team put into their "baby" and it has grown to be the best FS mod out there. No doubt in my mind :-)

1) The story is brilliantly intertwined with the WC3 era.
2) The main character is a good example of a newbie thrown into the battle (he is not supposed to be the new Blair, nor a Wing commander, he is a new recruit on his first battle after the academy).
3) The voice acting is great (consiering it's a mod, I could say it's fantastic, very professional). The "cameo" apperance of the victory characters (Blair, Maniac,..) brought a tear to my eyes. Really catapulted me 20 years back in time :-)
4) The ship models are B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. I was doing many fly-bys of capital ships after every mission, expecially in the last 10 missions when the combat fleet becomes really BIG (4 carriers with support ships!!!). The confed starbase was JAWDROPPING when I first saw it.
5) The mission lenght is perfect, I personaly love that they are not 5 minute-deals. I love the chatter between pilots and the mission pacing was near perfect. The difficulty level vas just right (I don't play on the hardest setting thow)
6) The game is very polished. I found only a few small bugs here and there (nothing a future patch couldn't solve) but the game run like butter, I didn't experience a single problem ingame. Not a single one. And I played on my laptop (I5, 4gb ram, ATI 5650m 1gb, Win7 64bit).
7) The quality and amount of MOVIES and ANIMATIONS you put ingame and as cutscenes is staggering. It really felt like a true WC3 game.

The only (small) problem I have is related to my onboard Realtek soundcard. I'm pretty sure it doesn't support hardware acceleration of sound (can chose only software audio) and because of this, every time a pilot speaks ingame, I get a few millisecond of shuttering (even when the game is at 60fps). This happens even with the last drivers (Realtek R2.68). Also, with ATI Catalyst 12.3 I can't turn on Antialiasing (corrupts the menu screens and sometimes hangs WC saga, but I can still access windows. I know both problems are already known to the Saga Team. 

Final score: 98/100

A huge (Kilrathi) hug to all the Saga Team! Now go get some rest, you deserve it :-D

[General Battuta]

First of all, a big thanks to all the Saga Team who has done a fantastic job. This mod IS the best WC game I ever played (on pair with WC3) and without doubt the BEST FS mod out there at the moment (the critics/attacks I have been reading on the Hard Light Forums are proof that someone/many other FS modders are pissed/jelous about this great mod :-P)

Please, please don't do this.

[General Battuta]

I'll clarify: I think that WCS is an amazing mod, and I think everyone on HLP should be incredibly grateful for the exposure it'll bring.

I think it is absolutely useless and counterproductive for anyone to compare mods, especially if that comparison involves aggrandizing one and belittling others. This goes for criticizing WCS as well as praising it. It goes for comparisons between any other mod or campaign. This kind of discussion only creates bitterness and divisions between people who should be recognizing each others' achievements.

Work should be praised or criticized on its own terms.  The WCS team has proven that it values and responds to feedback. I'm sure they don't want fans fighting over whose game is better when they could be providing useful input.

Let's not form teams like a bunch of schoolchildren.

[Spoon]

First of all, a big thanks to all the Saga Team who has done a fantastic job. This mod IS the best WC game I ever played (on pair with WC3) and without doubt the BEST FS mod out there at the moment (the critics/attacks I have been reading on the Hard Light Forums are proof that someone/many other FS modders are pissed/jelous about this great mod :-P)

That must be it! We're all just a bunch of jealous BABIES.
ENTIRE HLP IS BABIES.

[Flipside]

Very tempted to lock this, despite the fact it is indeed true that WCS is an awesome mod and every bit of praise for the hard work of a decade is fully deserved by the team.

I do NOT like the idea of people claiming 'jealousy' is the only possible motivator people could have for criticism of ANY mod.

I'll leave this open for now, but lets show a little respect for the hard work of everyone who is working on Mods, whether it be this one or any other.

[Mikes]

From my perspective... every single awesome FSO mod contributes to the awesomeness of FSO as a whole.

[General Battuta]

From my perspective... every single awesome FSO mod contributes to the awesomeness of FSO as a whole.

if i were to quote this it might be to show my respect and approval

[Sombre]

From my perspective... every single awesome FSO mod contributes to the awesomeness of FSO as a whole.

Even an objectively bad mod would still be free content published for others to enjoy. So the thought is still there.

Battuta: I think there is plenty of room to compare mods as long as it is done tactfully and constructively. There are always things to be learned from what others have done differently and it's enlightening and natural to hold them up against each other. The good and the bad are clearer that way. I defer to your experience of how that actually turns out on HLP though. Maybe it does piss people off too much.

Anecdotally; I make mods for Dominions 3 and I've always encouraged people to feed back however they like, including by direct comparison. Some of my earliest mods were compared very unfavourably with the current heavyweights and it just encouraged me to brush up my limited skills.

[karajorma]

Comparing mods in terms of constructive criticism is one thing, trying to claim that one mod is objectively or even subjectively better than another is something completely different.

Say what you like and dislike about the mod and leave it at that. Use examples from other mods to help explain that if need be. But saying I think Mod X is better than Mod Y is rather pointless in the end.

[Paladin1]

Its been a very long time since I actually posted on these boards, despite lurking around fairly often. But I just want to give my praise to the team as The Darkest Dawn was an amazing experience, for me it captured perfectly the atmosphere and excitement that made me a fan of the frenchise in the first place having been introduced to the series via Wing Commander 3.

All I can say is well done guys, you did an outstanding job, bravo!

[Renegade]

Its been a very long time since I actually posted on these boards, despite lurking around fairly often. But I just want to give my praise to the team as The Darkest Dawn was an amazing experience, for me it captured perfectly the atmosphere and excitement that made me a fan of the frenchise in the first place having been introduced to the series via Wing Commander 3.

All I can say is well done guys, you did an outstanding job, bravo!

100% signed