I don't think noodlezombie's griping about the fact that BP has a story, though...it's mainly the plot execution and themes running through it that he didn't either like or agree with: that's fine. There's always room for improvement when one's starting to FRED for the first time, and I certainly didn't expect to please everybody with it 
I'm also not going to say that his view that Sync/Transcend did this kind of story better than BP is rubbish (indeed it was Ransom's storytelling execution that inspired me). It's just the way he said it that came across as disrespectful (and people here should know my stance on basic human respect after playing the campaign 
)
So while I appreciate everyone's support we shouldn't slam him for not liking BP. Only the way he put it across.
Since this appears to be the 'criticize Blue Planet' thread, I might as well contribute.
I agree with a few of his points. The whole 'chosen one' thing and the 'timeless superalien' thing could really have done with some more foreshadowing. The implementation and exposition were just a wee bit clunky.
It's the whole 'show don't tell' rule of writing; a Vishnan ship is really just a superfighter. There's not much gameplay or stylistic difference in your piloting, besides the fact that you're flying a superfighter. That's one thing that could be improved, though I really like the Vishnan missions. I understand the Vishnans took Bei because of his tactical knowledge, but it still feels too GTVA-ey, though that might be deliberate, as I suppose that Bei would identify tactics that way even as a Vishnan fighter.
(May I suggest your try
The Babylon Project's Dark Children campaign? You fly a Shadow fighter in that one, and it's very nice and alien. Your wingmates are your 'brothers' (they have these adorable cute little voices...) and because you're a living, arrogant little superfighter, the enemy wings eventually get designated as 'Pitiful', 'Weak', 'Victims' and so on. Flying the fighter is also a different experience; you aren't completely invincible, and you can be shot down if you're not careful. It's a very atmospheric campaign.)
Also I don't think the whole 'benevolent superalien' thing really fits with the Freespace universe either, but that's just me. Maybe Star Trek, or B5, but not really Freespace.
I also think it cheapens the motivations of the Shivans a bit to have them as overzealous members of some superalien council. At the end of the campaign the Vishnans were all 'you're out of the council dudes' and basically telling them to go to bed without their supper. Their inscrutability and awe-inspiring nature is lost because they have just been told to leave and they did so without complaint.
Oh, and the whole "conquer Earth" thing makes Command out to be a bunch of gibbering morons. They sent in an invasion fleet which was full of Earth fanboys. Then they don't brief the fleet on the fact that they
are an invasion fleet.
Clever, Command. I'm sure there won't be mass defection
at all.Also, High Command's motivations are very strange. They have to know that public opinion will turn against them if they go to war with the extremely romanticized human homeworld. Why would they attempt gunboat diplomacy without even attempting peaceful contact first?
In fact, a war between the two doesn't really make much sense. The GTVA have slightly superior ships and outnumber Earth considerably. Any war would not be profitable for either side.
The GTVA doesn't really need Earth besides as a symbol, and any war against Earth would likely have no public support because of Earth's massive romanticization by the Lost Generation; morale on the GTVA side would not be high whenever they fight Earth forces. I suppose the GTVA could go for the propaganda route and establish themselves as 'liberators' against 'the new tyrants of the human homeworld', but unless they lie about the details of first contact, not many people are going to believe them.
Earth itself is obviously self-sufficient, and in any case, they shouldn't be capable of maintaining hostilities with an entity the size of the GTVA for any long period of time. The weight of numbers would just be against them.
(I originally figured the task force was just to serve as a statement of force, and as a peacekeeping force in case Earth was less peaceful than expected. I figured it also contained diplomatic personnel to bring the new Earth government up to speed with recent history. I was not expecting their policy to be "
JOIN US OR WE WILL SHOOT YOU".)
I also don't like your use of cutscenes. Cutscenes aren't Freespacey! You're in the cockpit, and there you stay. It makes sense occasionally, like the Vishnan/Shivan discussion at the end, but there's really no need to make the first meeting with the Sanctuary's pilots into a cutscene. Nor during the destruction of the Ravana during the first Knossos mission. Though, thinking about it, I think I understand the reasons for the cutscene in that last case; you probably didn't want to have the player wait for the Orestes to jump through the Knossos, and so you just ended the mission after the Ravana was destroyed.
That's not to say that I didn't like Blue Planet. To praise: The sound design and mission structure were both exceedingly well done. You also managed to convey a story without using too many 'fly and listen to your wingmen talk' missions, unlike say, Sync or Transcend. You've hit a good balance between gameplay and story. Well done!
