[Macfie]

Deep Blood: A Freespace 2 campaign.

Designed, created and produced by: Arron "Gai Daigoji" Alderson
Testing: James and Lisa.

Restored by the FreeSpace Campaign Restoration Project.

Two years have passed since the destruction of the Capella star, two years since both the Terran and Vasudan peoples almost lost their homes, their worlds, their empires.
 
Two years have passed since we stopped the Shivan advance in the Capella system. Since then the GTVA has had the long and hard task of relocating the Capellan refugees as well as dealing with the economic factors of the war.  The fleet is a mere shadow of its former self and is mainly acting as a police force due to its reduced strength.  We are no longer the fit and strong fighting force we once were.

For two hard years the Capellan refugees struggled to find a place to call home, GTVA command decided to explore the Jump Node that led from Altair - a Node they had never been through before. Luckily they found seven worlds that they gave to the Capellan refugees, the new system was designated as Orion.

The Orion system is located beyond the newly discovered jump node in Altair.  One year ago, GTVA Command ordered the system to be explored.  It holds seven M class planets and a jump node leading out of the system that is as yet unexplored.  Since then the system has been colonized by the Capellan refugees. 

The GTVA is about to pay for its failure to explore the jump node leading out of the Orion system.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[General Battuta]

I want to get excited, but that campaign blurb certainly hasn't been restored.  

EDIT: mostly fixed.

[SypheDMar]

Just curious: In the original, were there lots of stars and nebulae? Not telling you to change it if it didnt'. It looks great.

[Snail]

I remember this as being pretty much a clone of Derelict.

[Macfie]

Kinda like transcend and synch

[General Battuta]

Kinda like transcend and synch

Wait, it's kind of like Transcend and Sync, or Transcend and Sync are Derelict clones?

[Macfie]

Transcend and Synch are no more clones of each other than Deep Blood and Derelict.  That would be my point.

[General Battuta]

Transcend and Synch are no more clones of each other than Deep Blood and Derelict.  That would be my point.

Ah, right.

[Mongoose]

I vaguely remember this one, but I don't know if I ever played it or just downloaded it.  Either way, it'll seem new, so that's what counts. 

[sigtau]

This looks like something I'd want to play in the future.

Also, please use better JPG compression next time.  </nitpick>

[Enigmatic Entity]

Ooh, someone wants wallpaepears Looks interesting; do they play I Spy a lot?

[Mobius]

They do it once.

Question: do you guys like the nebula backgrounds showed in those pics?

[General Battuta]

I really like nebulae, and am tired of playing missions without them, but unfortunately the color scheme in those nebula layouts makes them pretty hideous. Remember one of the first rules of graphic design: the fewer colors the better. A given system should stick to a consistent scheme, which can really help set the mood.

Those are unfortunately sort of a watercolor mess. Less is more when it comes to colors (as with text, and so many other things).

[Snail]

Kinda like transcend and synch

Unless it's changed. I remember it being exactly the same as Derelict. Random backwater, random Shivans. They even have a random Gorgon cannon.

[Mobius]

I really like nebulae, and am tired of playing missions without them, but unfortunately the color scheme in those nebula layouts makes them pretty hideous. Remember one of the first rules of graphic design: the fewer colors the better. A given system should stick to a consistent scheme, which can really help set the mood.

Those are unfortunately sort of a watercolor mess. Less is more when it comes to colors (as with text, and so many other things).

Good point here, but I tend to use as many nebulae as possible for the sake of variety. In the best scenario, we have circa 15 nebula bitmaps of the same color, meaning that you'd see the same bitmap an average 3-4 times in a single background. I'd really like to use well defined schemes, but the number of bitmaps at our disposal prevents me from doing so.

Thanks for posting your opinion, anyway.

Unless it's changed.

The plot hasn't changed, obviously.

I remember it being exactly the same as Derelict. Random backwater, random Shivans. They even have a random Gorgon cannon.

The two campaigns have many things in common, but also differ under many points of view. TBH when I played Deep Blood for the first time I went through it without thinking of any particular similarities with Derelict other than the whole Orion/Tau Sigma deal.

[The E]

Good point here, but I tend to use as many nebulae as possible for the sake of variety. In the best scenario, we have circa 15 nebula bitmaps of the same color, meaning that you'd see the same bitmap an average 3-4 times in a single background. I'd really like to use well defined schemes, but the number of bitmaps at our disposal prevents me from doing so.

From a technical POV, using fewer nebula bitmaps is a very good idea, as these thingies are incredibly expensive in terms of render time. Best to use custom skyboxes/skyspheres.

[Mobius]

I can get 100+ nebulae in a single mission without causing the game to slow down, so they mustn't be that expensive. And my computer isn't anything next gen, as it is almost 5 years old.

[General Battuta]

I really like nebulae, and am tired of playing missions without them, but unfortunately the color scheme in those nebula layouts makes them pretty hideous. Remember one of the first rules of graphic design: the fewer colors the better. A given system should stick to a consistent scheme, which can really help set the mood.

Those are unfortunately sort of a watercolor mess. Less is more when it comes to colors (as with text, and so many other things).

Good point here, but I tend to use as many nebulae as possible for the sake of variety. In the best scenario, we have circa 15 nebula bitmaps of the same color, meaning that you'd see the same bitmap an average 3-4 times in a single background. I'd really like to use well defined schemes, but the number of bitmaps at our disposal prevents me from doing so.

Just do whatever's necessary to have your nebulae all be a fairly uniform color scheme. Whatever it takes to not look like those screenshots above.

[Mobius]

Sure, but first I need to know if it that's universal truth, and not a mere matter of tastes. Do we have anything saying that all nebulae in a single background should have the same scheme?

[Snail]

Sure, but first I need to know if it that's universal truth, and not a mere matter of tastes. Do we have anything saying that all nebulae in a single background should have the same scheme?

Well, I dunno. I think it's a pretty universal thing that a splash of one or two colours looks better than every colour splattered everywhere.