[bloated]

Particularly since, while I didn't like the ending much either, I can tell you it definitely didn't take six days in a Herc.

Except so far as you've been able to provide reasoning for this, it's been proved wrong.

Of course I can't. However as long as you can't prove it is, I'm ahead of the game.

1: first off I didn't ask to be pushed... I said I hated the ending and that I was forced to do it with a cattle wagon..... "you didn't have to fly an Ursa"...... I did but regardless the herc almost as bad...... since I hadn't completed the mission in 9 years I decide to play through the whole game again which I just finished on hard 10 minutes ago in a Herc and it was a great example of why I am / was so disappointed with the ending the first time.......the herc was painfull it's slow, handles like crap, nice weapons loadout but you may as well go with a bomber... and now I'm reminded of other reasons why I disliked the ending so.... the developer wants me to play a game this way only....... while it didn't take 6 days it was like a diet, you don't live longer it just feels like it and it felt like 6 days of boredom..... agonisingly boring, repetition and crap.

as one poster was surprised and stated "you mean you guys didn't like the intense ending with the chase and so on".... I would have and I believe I did originally but once actual gameplay met storyline.... ughhh it was gameplay that suffered while ruining the excitement of the story .... it wore it's welcome out.

I'll demostrate the ending: you fly through a mission get scraped up as little as possible.... because next mission no shields.

so instead of playing spend a few minutes flying on max not fighting and jump through the node.... now you're chasing down Lucifer.... you fight a few times on the way and the fighters are Shivan dragons which on hard and insane are just that to take out while far faster and more maneuverable than your herc.... so unless you peg a few with missiles on the way in look forward to a long dogfight in a mission with a time limit, then after restarting several times you manage to get to the generators where you sit and shoot... and shoot... and shoot not flying just sitting and shooting for about a minute or so then a fighter backstabs you, chase it down then go back and sit and shoot for another minute to take out 1 of 5 generators then rinse and repeat as requried.

it just plain isn't a fun final pair of missons and compared to Freespace 2 where it was a knock down drag out fight to the finish requiring you to just survive and preferably save plenty of refugee's and wingmates in the process with a heroic incredibly rewarding ending that I literally watched as I was exhaling from the adrenaline of it all..... FS1 felt cheap and dirty in comparison.

2: it's an opinion and it's mine which means it's always the right one to me.

3: you've proven nothing.... in effect your completely wrong actually given I still hated the ending.

[Dilmah G]

Buddy, if you didn't like fighters tearing you up, turn the difficulty down.

Maybe if you did your job as a fighter pilot and destroyed all the hostile fighters and kept them off the tails of the Ursa bombers they would've been self-sufficient in neutralising the reactors without your help. I myself completed it on first try, on a poor hull integrity (12%) I think, after taking a hammering in the previous mission (it was on medium mind you). I don't see what the big deal is, however I haven't played the mission in a while, and I mean a while!

[General Battuta]

Bloated, you're entitled to your opinion (and in fact I agree with it), but if you state your opinion as fact, you're going to get flamed.

[bloated]

Buddy, if you didn't like fighters tearing you up, turn the difficulty down.

the problem is it becomes a hollow experience to go through the entire game on insane and then be forced to dial it down...... just really takes away from the whole experience.

if you state your opinion as fact, you're going to get flamed.

not worried about it.

[Scotty]

Maybe if you did your job as a fighter pilot and destroyed all the hostile fighters and kept them off the tails of the Ursa bombers they would've been self-sufficient in neutralising the reactors without your help.

^ This

[Dilmah G]

Buddy, if you didn't like fighters tearing you up, turn the difficulty down.

the problem is it becomes a hollow experience to go through the entire game on insane and then be forced to dial it down...... just really takes away from the whole experience.

if you state your opinion as fact, you're going to get flamed.

not worried about it.

INSANE! NO ****ING WONDER! Dude... you can't complain to us about this, simply put, it's a general rule of thumb that most missions are balanced for a medium difficulty level (around that). Insane is exactly that. You shouldn't feel afraid to tone down the difficulty, I missed many good campaigns earlier because I was like you and thought 1337 players played on hard with no question Thus getting stuck early on in campaigns.

[Uchuujinsan]

Seriously, FS is a whole new game on insane - and a lot more fun and better imho.
And if a mission or campaign is not playtested on insane to ensure it is doable (no instant kill swarm missiles directly after warp in plz), then someone made sth wrong imho. :/

[Rodo]

Play on easy...

it's good for stress control.

[William Wolfen]

Play on easy...

it's good for stress control.

This, i tend to play on Easy by myself, and Medium online...  It keeps the game fun, and even Easy forces you to not do anything stupid.

[Uchuujinsan]

well, b2t. I didn't like the last mission vs the luci myself.
The bearbaiting mission, where you have to fight against the sathanas is more interesting by far. (the mission before the last one in fs1 was nice, though)

[bloated]

Play on easy...

it's good for stress control.

it is very calming.

but I just prefer insane.

[Asteroth]

Play on easy...

it's good for stress control.

it is very calming.

but I just prefer insane.

Then don't complain how hard the game is.

[William Wolfen]

Play on easy...

it's good for stress control.

it is very calming.

but I just prefer insane.

Then don't complain how hard the game is.

QFT

[Nissan]

Play on easy...

it's good for stress control.

it is very calming.

but I just prefer insane.

Well, you mentioned how you got tired of shooting forever at the reactors... the thing is, rather than you having to do that, it's supposed to play out where Delta wing (the Ursas) take them out. Each Ursa targets a different reactor, and when those four are down, they all go after the last one. On lower difficulties, you don't have to worry about them too much, since Alpha, Beta, and Epsilon will keep them busy. If you play on Insane, though, chances are the Shivans will kill off all your wingmen quickly and blow the Ursas apart before they reach the reactors, and then you'll be forced to do it yourself.

It's actually kinda interesting, because your stated mission is to protect the bombers so they can deliver their payload. On easier difficulties you can probably get away with flying off and just taking on fighters wherever you want. But on Hard or Insane, you'd probably be better off sticking by the bombers and going after whichever Shivans actually target them... which is what you're really supposed to be doing. (kinda speculating here, since I haven't actually played through on higher than Medium, but yeah)

[Asteroth]

That was one thing that always bugged me about that mission. You weren't the guy killing the Lucifer. Instead of Alpha 1 being all badass and awesome it's like "They're the heros now, go and protect them". I ALWAYS pick an ursa in the immediately preceding mission, which allows me to actually make a difference, in my eyes.

[Sololop]

But without you, the bombers wouldn't have a chance of reaching the lucy. You were an essential part of destroying the ship. Not only are you a hero for being involved in that mission, but you also protected the lives of the bomber pilots chugging towards their objective .

[Scotty]

That, and try to thing the next best thing to realistically.  They wouldn't count on Alpha 1 specifically 1) because Command just doesn't get it and 2) it adds another level to the gameplay.  It becomes more than a "go there, shoot that" mission.

[Nissan]

Yeah. Keep in mind that the entire attack force was sent as a last resort. GTA Command initially intended for the Bastion to be the main attacker in subspace, and at the time the most important objective was to escort the Bastion to the node in one piece so it'd be able to battle the Lucifer. So if you had never played it before, you probably would have expected that The Great Hunt would involve guarding the Bastion against wave after wave of Shivan fighters... and it would have made more sense to take a Herc or some other fighter over an Ursa.

It was only when they realized the Lucifer was too far ahead that they deployed Delta and Epsilon wings and went with the purely fighter/bomber approach. Had Command known how things would turn out, maybe they would've sent you as part of a bomber wing instead, but they instead wanted you out there guarding what should have been the main attacker in the Bastion. I agree that it doesn't seem quite as epic since you're not the one delivering the knockout punch, but IMO the fact that you're clearing the way instead is a nice twist. For once, it's not on your head to do everything... which is nice, since realistically you can't in this case.

(related note: In "The Great Hunt", there's apparently a directive labeled "Escort Delta to Node" that appears late in the mission. I think that it might be similar to the situation in "Their Finest Hour", in that the original version made you protect the Ursas until they departed at the node. Dunno if that's the case, but that would've made for a really interesting mission--any damage you take, any missiles you waste would carry over into the subspace battle.)

[Mongoose]

(related note: In "The Great Hunt", there's apparently a directive labeled "Escort Delta to Node" that appears late in the mission. I think that it might be similar to the situation in "Their Finest Hour", in that the original version made you protect the Ursas until they departed at the node. Dunno if that's the case, but that would've made for a really interesting mission--any damage you take, any missiles you waste would carry over into the subspace battle.)

More often than not, I wind up flying the mission that way, just for the hell of it.  It never felt quite right for me to be ten kilometers away from my wingmen at the end of "The Great Hunt," and then have them magically appear right behind me at the start of "Good Luck."

[bloated]

That, and try to thing the next best thing to realistically.  They wouldn't count on Alpha 1 specifically 1) because Command just doesn't get it and 2) it adds another level to the gameplay.  It becomes more than a "go there, shoot that" mission.

realism has almost nothing to do with it.

your sent in because Lucifer was too far ahead..... the Ursa wing is a problem not because they don't try but because the AI is weak.... the ursa's get slaugtered...... their is some composition to the final mission that inherrently troublesome on the higher levels.

the Shivans don't defend with basilisks.... they use a few dragons and manticores and on insane level they tend to avoid your shots...... I mean really try.

using a herc on the mission simply isn't feasible it can't defend and keep up with the Ursa's and it can't maneuver fast enough to tag a manticore let alone a frenetic dragon and it's brother.

throw in insane levels power management desperation, the afterburner that lasts 2 seconds before needing refilling and a difficult mission becomes a pain the ass..... typically taking out a dragon requires a focused shot of everything in the hopes you peg it with lasers and dumbfires before it reacts.... if it does make a run you're screwd until it comes back around.

the ursa's will be destroyed by the manticores, your accompanying wing will be destroyed by the dragons..... if you order everyone to peg a dragon it will take more than 3 minutes for them to get 1 if they get one as it fly's crazily all over the map.

don't get me wrong it comes across as a challenge that quickly degrades to being a real pain in the ass because of the repetition.

I've done it but it leaves a terrible annoyed feeling after finishing.... and one that just feels like it could have been done much better.