I've been wanting to make the same very same thread. Blue Planet works for me on so many levels, it's unreal, and it's really hard to explain to someone who has never played it or FreeSpace just why BP is so special.
I played the Director's Cut of AoA as my first taster of Blue Planet, and I was extremely impressed by the production values, writing and the general feeling that this was a new era of FreeSpace, a third era following the Great War and Second Shivan Incursion. I was looking forward immensely to War in Heaven but I had absolutely no idea how much it was going to dominate my thoughts for the next couple of years.
What I really wasn't expecting was a fully worked out fictional universe akin to Star Wars, Mass Effect, LOTR etc. To see the FreeSpace mythos updated, refined and matured in such a spectacular way is something I truly appreciate. FreeSpace to me will always be one of those sacred, untouchable things from my childhood I won't ever lose affection for, and I feel Blue Planet has allowed the setting to really 'breathe' and become alive in a way the original games never really did (in hindsight). During One Perfect Moment, when Simms and Laporte are discussing Sol before the GTVA returned, when they resent how "the Tevs kicked the door in and ruined it all" I totally empathised with them and it was there I realised how much I'd fallen in love with the world the team had created. I realised that I myself felt angry at the Tevs. Enlightenment had been achieved, and now, as usual, the suits were coming in to ruin everyone's good time. Right there, I wanted to defend the UEF and their way of life. I was invested in their world, as opposed to the original FreeSpace games (and really, most games of any ilk) where I'm kind of going through the story in an objective manner.
One of the most important things for me when it comes to totally falling for a fictional universe is the music, and I can only say the BP team have done far better than I could have ever hoped for. I love the Middle-Eastern flavour you've chosen for the series. It not only seems very 'current' and in keeping with a cinematic military feel, but it also works so well for BP anyway with the allusions to Hindu mythology and general apocalyptic feel. I know a lot of the music is stuff you've chosen and not composed specifically for BP, but that in itself is a tricky thing to get right and I appreciate that you did. What's really cool is that before starting Tenebra I thought to myself, "I'm about to hear some awesome mystical Middle-Eastern sounding tracks now", and what was I greeted with after Icarus? Sunglare Nasheed, which not only totally speaks to me about pretty much every theme Blue Planet is about, but was also the exact type of thing I was hoping to hear from BP. I know it seems like a little thing to go on about, but for me, the soundtrack of BP is really one of the things that keeps me coming back to it.
I won't go into spoiler territory here but the other thing I need to mention is BP's treatment of the Shivans. For me, the Shivans are one of the few alien species in fiction I really felt were kept 'alien', which is basically down to Volition's refusal to elaborate on the motivations behind them. Blue Planet has chosen to go in a kind of continuation of FreeSpace 2, and so logically they do need to expand a little on the Shivans, and far from ruining the mystery I believe the team has done them justice. I was fascinated by the writing for the Shivans, it was incomprehensible with just a hint of purpose. I won't go any further into this for risk of spoilers but this is an aspect (no pun intended) of BP I really enjoy.
I also enjoy wondering which of you guys created what. For me, I really enjoy the restrained skyboxes. I know it's kind of not your choice, because of the setting being mostly in a single system, but I find just a black starfield more immersive than crazy coloured nebulas all over the place. It makes a mission above Saturn's rings much more spectacular as it's a striking contrast to the dark skyboxes that come before. If I'm not mistaken I believe it was Herra who worked on the backgrounds? And that he took pains to make sure the planets, Sun etc were all rendered at an accurate distance? If so, I hope you guys realise there are people out there who very much appreciate that stuff. I was also really looking forward to seeing Axem's contribution in Tenebra, and I have to say, it feels very much like a piece of his work, Universal Truth in particular was like a more epic-scale version of the ending of Vassago's Dirge. I loved seeing a Cretheus in Icarus, by the way. But really I have the utmost respect for each and every member of the team or even people not on the team but who designed the beautiful models and effects. I would love to read an in-depth interview with you guys, fully going into the themes and structure of Blue Planet and also your ideas on the universe, military history, cultural inspirations etc etc.
I really didn't intend this to be a huge rambling post, it's just for a long time I've been enraptured by the BP universe and never really taken the time to write a proper review as I just feel I can't do it justice. I know in this post I've said a lot without really saying anything of substance and that frustrates me. One day I will write a well-thought review of War in Heaven that does encapsulate just why it's literally one of the best games, movies, stories, etc I've read. All I can say is, I truly hope you guys can find some way to finish your saga that to me, far outstrips anything the major publishers have put out in years. I don't know how many people there are out there like me who never really post on HLP but who really love the world you guys have created.
Gonna go now before I embarrass myself further with this gushing love letter
EDIT: You guys should have had a credit sequence after Tenebra, black screen with each member's name fading in and out, with the Sunglare Nasheed remix playing over the top. Would have been awesome.
