Well, in the unlikely event that I am successful then that can certainly be looked into, the FSO creativity is one of the reasons the game still thrives 20 years later.
On your point if its not V it ain't FS3, I agree. I've loved some of the' parallel universe' storytelling people have shown but it would be a political nightmare to do get the community to agree on a story.
A few things spring to mind:
1. Have we pushed the current engine as far as it will go, i.e. would a new engine be needed, possibly
2. If the story was written by Volition then maybe the community could create it under guidance, just an initial thought.
As has been said, better not to get people's hopes up too much, I have contacted my IP lawyer and the proposed sum is not impossible for me. This will not be a quick process though!
Does anybody senior on the forum have any contact with Volition do you know? Not much point in doing it if they aren't interested!
Chris