Hard Light Productions Forums
General FreeSpace => FreeSpace Discussion => Topic started by: Goober5000 on November 05, 2002, 08:55:55 pm
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Ladies and gentlemen, I present...
Deus Ex Machina
A FreeSpace 2 Campaign
Story
You're a new recruit to the NTF, and you've come at a crucial time for the survival of the rebellion. GTVA attacks have been severely damaging morale. Pilots are frustrated. Wingmen are dying. It's up to you, Alpha 1, to save the day again.
Your squadron, the 47th Red Shirts, has been called in on a mission of utmost importance. Allied raiding parties have seized several shipments of Bosch Beer, and the Bosch shipping lanes are in danger of falling to GTVA control. The Admiral wants the shipping lanes secured at all costs.
Your job won't be easy, pilot. Command bureaucracy, continuity glitches, and impossible mission goals abound. Your wingmen are incompetent. Your fighter is a piece of junk. And, as usual, you're the only pilot who uses his own brain. Are you up to the challenge?
Features- Encounter the Colossus, the Sathanas, AND the Lucifer all in the same campaign!
- Watch Allied Command reach a landmark new level of stupidity!
- See Alpha 1's wingmen all die in the first 30 seconds!
- Witness when ETAK first goes on-line!
- Meet the mission designer face to face!
- Plot holes!
- Surprises!
- And much, much more!
This campaign is more or less a parody of Freespace. I got a good deal of inspiration from the forums here, especially from the Aeolus thread a while back: e.g. "We've got two incoming cargo containers! Scramble the fighters, this is gonna be rough!" :D It's quite short, only five missions long - with two of the missions acting as cutscenes. Nevertheless, I think it's fun. :) Go here (http://www.geocities.com/ipw47/dem.html) to download, and tell me what you think. :cool:
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Originally posted by Goober5000
Encounter the Colossus, the Sathanas, AND the Lucifer all in the same campaign!
Cliched ships, and i hate the colossus
Watch Allied Command reach a landmark new level of stupidity!
Why? thats not really fun
See Alpha 1's wingmen all die in the first 30 seconds!
How is that useful
Witness when ETAK first goes on-line!
It already went online, didn't you play talking in tounge (sp?)
Meet the mission designer face to face!
why? your all ugly nerds
Plot holes!
Those are what you hope to eliminate
Surprises!
Lets hope so, this is a basic
And much, much more!
I sure hope its none of this crap
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Bleh... I guess it's good to have one of these every once in a while but I'm more partial to the 'serious' campaigns. ;)
BTW: I rolled on the floor when I saw the mission objective 'Cure Cancer'. :lol:
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Ooh goody, replies! :cool:
vadar_1: It's a parody; it includes the cliches in order to make fun of them. :rolleyes: Play it. You might like what happens to the Colossus. :)
Joey_21: The problem with the serious campaigns is that none of them are done yet. ;) I think it's cool to have minicampaigns released every once in a while. And I think we need more comedic campaigns; AFAIK mine is the only one that's ever been released.
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impressive goober...i like your sense of humor; its kinda like mine ;)
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Thank you very much! :D
Read the readme.txt file for links to where on the HLPBB I got some of the inspiration for stuff. :)
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Originally posted by Goober5000
Joey_21: The problem with the serious campaigns is that none of them are done yet. ;) I think it's cool to have minicampaigns released every once in a while. And I think we need more comedic campaigns; AFAIK mine is the only one that's ever been released.
One thing about parodies though is that they're easy to make up a story for. Plus they do not make very long play, ya know (I finished it under an hour). :D
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Originally posted by Joey_21
One thing about parodies though is that they're easy to make up a story for.
I suppose so...but then why don't we see more of them? ;)
Plus they do not make very long play, ya know (I finished it under an hour). :D
Meh, unfortunately true. (BUT were you able to finish it without looking at the readme file for hints? ;))
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This looks great; now all you need to add in is a mission parser error. :D
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Originally posted by CP5670
...now all you need to add in is a mission parser error. :D
AUGH!
*runs away*
:p ;)
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Originally posted by vadar_1
You're being an asshole. Stop being an asshole.
Reminds me of a semi-joke campaign I was going to make. No NTF rebellion, Bosch was going to be on the Colossus as the CO so you'd have some weird twists on original missions. Plus, I could hack and slash :v: dialogue for it. :D
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Originally posted by Shrike
Reminds me of a semi-joke campaign I was going to make. No NTF rebellion, Bosch was going to be on the Colossus as the CO so you'd have some weird twists on original missions. Plus, I could hack and slash :v: dialogue for it. :D
Sounds like it would be fun. :) Make it, if you get the opportunity - I'd play it. :D
btw, any chance I could get the first post listed as a main page announcement?
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Drop windrunner a line, he'll put it up.
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Originally posted by Goober5000
- Watch Allied Command reach a landmark new level of stupidity!
[/B]
I'm gonna download it just for that! I don't see how that can be possible, so I want to be proved otherwise!
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Yeah, I like these comedy missions. I have already done one that isn't so much a mission as a cutscene, based around the troubles of the Freespace sector, and have another planned from a conversation. If you guys would like, I could sub-host all of these comic little campaigns on a page in the ITHOV space. I really don't mind, and I was going to have a page for my comedic work anyway. Any takers?
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:lol: That was fantastic! I loved it!
New smilies?
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Just finished playing it. It had some really good LMAO times. Such as the Gratuitious Sathanas Appearance. And the Q-like Mission Designer. And the newbie mission. And the beam-free-all pun was just magnificent. And there were more.
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Originally posted by Goober5000
I suppose so...but then why don't we see more of them? ;)
Now if you can't figure that out...:doubt:
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Thor: Fine with me. I was wondering about putting it up in my T-V war directory too, once I get FTP access.
GalacticEmperor: New smilies? Hmm... :drevil: Such as? ;7
Thanks all, for the feedback! :D
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karajorma noticed a small bug in mission 1 that would sometimes cause it to not red-alert properly. This has now been fixed.
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i almost died because i was laughing so hard during mission 1
edit: 1337 post!
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okay, I finally have some time tonight to try this. downloading now... :D
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Gotta say, aint a bad piece of work. I finally get to download and try out a new campign in so many months... Made my day :)
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My only complaint about this campaign is that it really needs voice acting cause it's hard to read all the dialogue and fight. But apart from that it's as funny as hell.
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Plus you put it all in one VP file. Very convienient. :):yes:
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Thanks for the feedback. :)
F4 is helpful for reading the dialogue, especially the Shivan translations that scroll by so fast. But I agree, voice acting would be nice. Would anyone be up for volunteering to voice act for this? ;7
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I don`t mind. (well I did suggest it so it's only fair :) )
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Okay, anyone who wants to voice act, post what character you'd be interested in. (I suppose I'm the de facto Mission Designer. :))
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Not having the chance to play it yet, I'll blindly sign up for something.
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You can request a part. I just need a voice sample. :)
Methinks I'll start a new thread specifically for this. Meantime, please continue to post your compliments about the campaign. ;)
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I feel sorry for the poor bugger who's gonna try and pronounce that destroyers name.
Good luck :p
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Goober5000 can do it:lol:
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That is by far the funniest campaign I've ever played in my life. :D What's funny is that when you loose, the mission kills you. :p Then there's the random deaths of the redshirts. :D
Poor Colossus! :lol:
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:lol: ;)
For all those curious on how to pronounce Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, I've attached a WAV file I found of someone saying it. I taught myself over the course of about a day, based on the sound, and put a pronunciation guide in the readme. :D
EDIT: I also put this in the voice acting thread.
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I've been there!!!! Sweet little place, took a picture of the sign and a garden gnome. (It's somewhat of a tradition, take a gnome on vacation and get pictures of it in historical/cool places. Gets a laugh everytime it appears :D)
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Hee hee. Maybe you should try photoshopping the gnome into a FS screenshot. :)
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"Visit the sunny beaches of Capella IV!"
(http://www.3dap.com/hlp/hosted/fsport/working/capella.jpg)
Remember to bring your SPF 1,000,000 sunblock.
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Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysilio
does that mean "whats for dinner?" in russian or something?
i suppose i should d/l the campaign tommarow. :p
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Originally posted by GalacticEmperor
"Visit the sunny beaches of Capella IV!"
(http://www.3dap.com/hlp/hosted/fsport/working/capella.jpg)
Remember to bring your SPF 1,000,000 sunblock.
:lol: :lol: :lol:
Knight Templar (and others): to learn about the city, go to this site (http://www.ricksteves.com/news/0202/llanfair.htm). And yes, download the campaign. :p
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Originally posted by GalacticEmperor
"Visit the sunny beaches of Capella IV!"
(http://www.3dap.com/hlp/hosted/fsport/working/capella.jpg)
Remember to bring your SPF 1,000,000 sunblock.
Dammit, now my ribs hurt! :lol:
btw, is it possible to beat that final mission with the Iceni being surrounded by the shivans?
(rest of question hidden for those that haven't played it yet)
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I there, I've just played Deus Ex Machina and it was actually quite funny though you could really do with some voice actors, but I see you are already in the process of sorting that out.
Aside from that I would suggest putting some background nebulas and planets in there, its a bit dull in that sence.
Overall, worth downloading, you guys are a bit mad.
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Originally posted by Vertigo1
btw, is it possible to beat that final mission
Check the readme that came with the campaign. Full instructions in there. :D
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Originally posted by RandomTiger
I there, I've just played Deus Ex Machina and it was actually quite funny though you could really do with some voice actors, but I see you are already in the process of sorting that out.
Thanks! :D
Aside from that I would suggest putting some background nebulas and planets in there, its a bit dull in that sence.
Meh, I would have, but I'm not really good in that department. Do the missions need them, you think?
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:D
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Makes sense. But the system is never actually named...I wasn't sure where to put it, so I kept it vague. Any suggestions?
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put some random stuff in in random places. Barring that, pick some place that has a :v: mission in it, and copy that.
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i have yet to actually play the camp yet. What system is this?
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Originally posted by Knight Templar
i have yet to actually play the camp yet. What system is this?
Originally posted by Goober5000
Makes sense. But the system is never actually named...I wasn't sure where to put it, so I kept it vague. Any suggestions?
:p
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:p
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I found a prog a while back that automatically put in backgrounds. I'll dig it up later.
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Originally posted by Goober5000
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch
:eek2: :wtf: :wtf: :eek2: Glad I don't live there. :) (But now it seems I'll have to check this thing out.)
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Originally posted by karajorma
Check the readme that came with the campaign. Full instructions in there. :D
Yeah, for the FIRST HALF. I fly to an open spot and hit 1, but nothing happens. There obviously isn't enough time to take out the Rakshaksa blocking the route. Hell, even cheating by using ~k doesn't work cuz the ship is scripted to die on its own whether or not the beam hits the ship. :p
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Keep reading some more
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Ok, having played the campaign and read the readme, I have but one thing to say: Goober, what were you smoking when you made this thing? ;) That's gotta be some of the weirdest missions ever made. (And is that Argo 24 in the really bad mission actually supposed to run into you?)
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Keep reading, Vertigo. There's a bit more after the Mission Hints section. :)
EdrickV: :D
I started out with a single mission, getting inspiration from the boards (links in the readme), and it just grew out of control. I thought, why not make this into a campaign, and while I'm at it, make it the funniest Freespace parody I can. :cool:
As for the Argo, I couldn't decide whether to have it hit you or just get in the way, so I settled on a third option. If you don't move at the beginning, the Argo jumps in and comes to a stop blocking your entire field of view. It also gives you a small nudge with one of its protrusions. So yes, it does hit you, but not by much. ;)
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BTW, there isn't anything on the readme after mission tips.... FYI...
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try reading the bit titled How To Survive the Last Mission!
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Originally posted by karajorma
try reading the bit titled How To Survive the Last Mission!
THAT IS NOT WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT. Can you not read?
I'm referring to the part where you have to 'plot' a new course for the Iceni because of the Rakshaksa blocking its path. I can fly around and hit '1' all day long and NOTHING HAPPENS.
THERE IS NO MENTION OF HOW TO DO THIS OTHER THAN A QUICK REFERENCE TO STAR TREK II.
Understand now?
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Originally posted by Vertigo1
THAT IS NOT WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT. Can you not read?
I'm referring to the part where you have to 'plot' a new course for the Iceni because of the Rakshaksa blocking its path. I can fly around and hit '1' all day long and NOTHING HAPPENS.
THERE IS NO MENTION OF HOW TO DO THIS OTHER THAN A QUICK REFERENCE TO STAR TREK II.
Understand now?
You`ve obviously got a different version of the readme from me. Have you tried the link at the top of this thread? Goober fixed a bug at one point and maybe he changed the readme while doing that.
Anyway I`ll post the relevant bit in black
How To Survive the Last Mission
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We've all experienced the frustration of winning a hard-fought battle only to get destroyed at the last second as we jump out, and have to replay the mission. I figured that this would be a fitting end to a campaign parody: it's impossible to complete the last mission and so it's impossible to finish the campaign. (You can't jump out without dying in missions 1 and 2 either, but this isn't really noticeable because of the red-alerts. And you can't jump out at all in mission 3.) Alpha 1 flies for the 47th Red Shirts in this campaign, and we all know what happens to red shirts. :)
But this gets frustrating after a few runs through, so I built a cheat code into mission 5 that lets you survive. At any time before jumping out, press Alt-J, then hit Escape and press Alt-J again. Pressing Alt-J twice within two seconds deactivates the Alpha 1 self-destruct SEXP.
There you go. Learn to read black on a black background to read it :D
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Um, kajorama, I think he just doesn't know where to plot the point. If you plot the point in the wrong place, the Iceni just dies, saying there isn't room to maneuver. Here is how to plot the exit path correctly (hidden text)...
THERE we go! The green background is #192319. :)
To plot the correct exit point, fly to a spot some distance either directly above or directly below the Iceni, then press 1. This will plot a vertical exit path, and the Iceni will pitch up or down a few degrees, then jump out as soon as it's clear.
The reason I referenced Star Trek II is because of the scene in the nebula where Khan is hunting Kirk, but using a two-dimensional search pattern. Kirk wins simply by dropping down along the z-axis, then rising right back up and blasting away.
I put this in the campaign to make fun of missions that take place on the two-dimensional plane. Many people (including, apparently, everyone on the Iceni except Bosch, and he was unconscious) forget that space has a third axis. They thought that the ring formation surrounded them, when they can easily just escape upward or downward. :)
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Dang, there really is a way to finish that mission? Will have to try that then. My copy of the ReadMe has the STII note (which I wasn't sure how to interpret, since STII is also where the no-win scenerio idea was introduced) but doesn't have anything more detailed on how to actually win it. :)
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:)
Forgot about the no-win scenario wrinkle, but that's an interesting perspective. However, I wanted to avoid frustration by ensuring that the mission was actually beatable, even if there was a trick to it. :)
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That was one twisted mini-campaign. I've never seen this confusing and hilarious campaign as this...
Maybe I should make those voice clips now. :lol:
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That was fun :D
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Originally posted by Goober5000
Um, kajorama, I think he just doesn't know where to plot the point. If you plot the point in the wrong place, the Iceni just dies, saying there isn't room to maneuver. Here is how to plot the exit path correctly (hidden text)...
THANK YOU! *Finally* someone with actual comprehension skills. That is EXACTLY what I was saying.
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(http://dynamic4.gamespy.com/~freespace/ubb/noncgi/bump.gif)
You're welcome. :)
So, Vertigo1, did you ever finish? ;)
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Yeah. I though it was cute that you die right after the shivans jump out. Pity they didn't stick around cuz I wanted to take them out. :D
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wow....what a revalation....shivans speak 1337....
and abso****ingloutly hillarious!!!
"Will you guys cut that out! Those fighters aren't cheap!"
"...and what are you doing with my head ani!?"