Author Topic: FreeSpace Blue Planet article part 1 on Coin-Drop.com  (Read 9556 times)

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Offline Iain Baker

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FreeSpace Blue Planet article part 1 on Coin-Drop.com
Hi all!

FYI the first part of my two part review and in-depth analysis of Blue Planet is now up on Coin-Drop.com

Part 2 - which has all the links to knossos, HLP etc. will go up by the middle of next week at the latest.

Thank you to everyone who has helped with the creation of this piece, be it from recording videos to constructive criticism of its earlier drafts.

Hope you all like it, and I hope I have done HLP justice.

http://coin-drop.com/freespace-blue-planet-masterclass-video-game-storytelling/
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Offline Colonol Dekker

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Re: FreeSpace Blue Planet article part 1 on Coin-Drop.com
I didn't realise you were English mate.   Cheers for a good read.
Campaigns I've added my distinctiveness to-
- Blue Planet: Battle Captains
-Battle of Neptune
-Between the Ashes 2
-Blue planet: Age of Aquarius
-FOTG?
-Inferno R1
-Ribos: The aftermath / -Retreat from Deneb
-Sol: A History
-TBP EACW teaser
-Earth Brakiri war
-TBP Fortune Hunters (I think?)
-TBP Relic
-Trancsend (Possibly?)
-Uncharted Territory
-Vassagos Dirge
-War Machine
(Others lost to the mists of time and no discernible audit trail)

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Secret bomb God.
That one time I got permabanned and got to read who was being bitxhy about me :p....
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Offline AdmiralRalwood

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Re: FreeSpace Blue Planet article part 1 on Coin-Drop.com
Quote
Blue Planet is intended to be a trilogy, separated into five acts. The first part of the trilogy, Age of Aquarius, was released in 2007 and constitutes act 1. This was followed by War in Heaven part 1 in 2010 and then part 2 in 2013. These are acts 2 and 3 respectively in the overall Blue Planet timeline. The third part of the trilogy, comprising of acts 4 and 5 has yet to be released.
...No. Blue Planet is intended to be a trilogy, and War in Heaven—the middle entry of that trilogy—is separated into five acts. War in Heaven's initial release was the first two acts, and act 3 was released in 2013. War in Heaven acts 4 and 5 will complete just War in Heaven; Blue Planet 3 would be a completely separate thing (which is planned to be focused more on the Vasudans, IIRC).
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Codethulhu GitHub wgah'nagl fhtagn.

schrödinbug (noun) - a bug that manifests itself in running software after a programmer notices that the code should never have worked in the first place.

When you gaze long into BMPMAN, BMPMAN also gazes into you.

"I am one of the best FREDders on Earth" -General Battuta

<Aesaar> literary criticism is vladimir putin

<MageKing17> "There's probably a reason the code is the way it is" is a very dangerous line of thought. :P
<MageKing17> Because the "reason" often turns out to be "nobody noticed it was wrong".
(the very next day)
<MageKing17> this ****ing code did it to me again
<MageKing17> "That doesn't really make sense to me, but I'll assume it was being done for a reason."
<MageKing17> **** ME
<MageKing17> THE REASON IS PEOPLE ARE STUPID
<MageKing17> ESPECIALLY ME

<MageKing17> God damn, I do not understand how this is breaking.
<MageKing17> Everything points to "this should work fine", and yet it's clearly not working.
<MjnMixael> 2 hours later... "God damn, how did this ever work at all?!"
(...)
<MageKing17> so
<MageKing17> more than two hours
<MageKing17> but once again we have reached the inevitable conclusion
<MageKing17> How did this code ever work in the first place!?

<@The_E> Welcome to OpenGL, where standards compliance is optional, and error reporting inconsistent

<MageKing17> It was all working perfectly until I actually tried it on an actual mission.

<IronWorks> I am useful for FSO stuff again. This is a red-letter day!
* z64555 erases "Thursday" and rewrites it in red ink

<MageKing17> TIL the entire homing code is held up by shoestrings and duct tape, basically.

 

Offline Iain Baker

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Re: FreeSpace Blue Planet article part 1 on Coin-Drop.com
Quote
Blue Planet is intended to be a trilogy, separated into five acts. The first part of the trilogy, Age of Aquarius, was released in 2007 and constitutes act 1. This was followed by War in Heaven part 1 in 2010 and then part 2 in 2013. These are acts 2 and 3 respectively in the overall Blue Planet timeline. The third part of the trilogy, comprising of acts 4 and 5 has yet to be released.
...No. Blue Planet is intended to be a trilogy, and War in Heaven—the middle entry of that trilogy—is separated into five acts. War in Heaven's initial release was the first two acts, and act 3 was released in 2013. War in Heaven acts 4 and 5 will complete just War in Heaven; Blue Planet 3 would be a completely separate thing (which is planned to be focused more on the Vasudans, IIRC).

Thanks for the heads up. I have edited the first article to take this into account. Feel free to take a look (link is the same)
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Offline Cyborg17

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Re: FreeSpace Blue Planet article part 1 on Coin-Drop.com
I just took a look. Good read.  Make sure to also fix the reference near the end of the article that also mentions LaPorte being the main character of "Part 2 and 3". 

 

Offline Iain Baker

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Re: FreeSpace Blue Planet article part 1 on Coin-Drop.com
I just took a look. Good read.  Make sure to also fix the reference near the end of the article that also mentions LaPorte being the main character of "Part 2 and 3".

Thanks for the heads up. Do you mean this bit:?

"Homophobia has likewise been consigned to the trash can of history. This is exemplified by Noemi Laporte, the central character in acts 2 and 3. She is either bisexual, or a lesbian, and it is implied she is from Africa. Her love interest, Lorna Simms, is white and from Mars. In the 24th century, this is not considered out of the ordinary. The ‘forbidden’ aspect of the love story stems entirely from Simms being Laporte’s superior officer, and that fraternization in the ranks is still against military regulations."

I think 'acts 2 and 3' is correct, if I have understood BPs parts vs acts structure correctly: AoA = Act 1, WiH = acts 2-3 and possibly 4-5 as well, BP 3 = acts 6+

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Re: FreeSpace Blue Planet article part 1 on Coin-Drop.com
I think 'acts 2 and 3' is correct, if I have understood BPs parts vs acts structure correctly: AoA = Act 1, WiH = acts 2-3 and possibly 4-5 as well, BP 3 = acts 6+

Did you never played BP? ;)

The loading screen indicates that pretty clear IMO in which Act of WiH you are, starting at Act I and going to III (right now).

Also, BP3 is not WiH 6+ but something independent (in the same sense that the narrative of WiH was different to AoA), which could very well start with Act I.

 

Offline Iain Baker

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Re: FreeSpace Blue Planet article part 1 on Coin-Drop.com
I think 'acts 2 and 3' is correct, if I have understood BPs parts vs acts structure correctly: AoA = Act 1, WiH = acts 2-3 and possibly 4-5 as well, BP 3 = acts 6+

Did you never played BP? ;)

The loading screen indicates that pretty clear IMO in which Act of WiH you are, starting at Act I and going to III (right now).

Also, BP3 is not WiH 6+ but something independent (in the same sense that the narrative of WiH was different to AoA), which could very well start with Act I.

I think my confusion has come from different people using different non-official name and numbering systems when talking about it informally. For example:

Some refereed to AoA as BP1, and WiH as BP2.

Some refereed to WiH as WiH1 and WiH2 (indicated the voice acted bit up to 'Sunglare' and then the Fedayeen missions.)

Some refereed to AoA as being BP act 1, and WiH up to sunglare as BP act 2 and the Fedayeen missions as BP act 3.

The AoA walkthrough does not mention acts at all, where as the WiH walkthrough states: Act 1: Chrysalis, Act 2: Apotheosis, Act 3: Tenebra

So that's clear as mud.  :lol: I did ask for clarification whilst first writing it but I didn't get a clear answer.

"And lo, the ancient texts tell us that thus did start the HLP nomenclature war, in the before times, when the stars went nova and the keyboards of the holy FREDers were sacrificed in the ritual of 'rage-quit'."  :lol:

Thankfully I didn't mention anything about BP3 having acts.

So, is there an official numbering and naming system? General Battuta, Darius, do you guys want to wade in and put this to bed before my brain has a melt down  :P?

 
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Offline The E

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Re: FreeSpace Blue Planet article part 1 on Coin-Drop.com
BP1 is BP: Age of Aquarius.
BP2 is BP: War In Heaven as a complete entity.
WiH1 is War In Heaven as first released, containing everything up to Sunglare and the end of the Wargods story arc (Acts 1 and 2 of War In Heaven).
WiH2 is the second release of War In Heaven, containing the Fedayeen arc. This is also referred to as WiH Act 3.
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I came from chasing dreams to feel alone
There must be changes, miss to feel strong
I really need lifе to touch me
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Offline 0rph3u5

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Re: FreeSpace Blue Planet article part 1 on Coin-Drop.com
To clear up the distinctions:

In Drama you seperate a work into Acts (which then are subdivided in Scenes) - which commonly are either 3 (Exposition, Conflict, Resoution) or 5 (Exposition, Building Tension, Raising Tension, Climax, Resolution). It often gets a bit muddied because there are also "Prologue" (ancient Greek for "Foreword") and "Epilogue" (ancient Greek for "Afterword") which stand seperate and apart from these, but may be included in any work of drama.

(Note: Less and more than 3 or 5 Acts are also possible, esspecially in experimental works)

This can all work differently on how you are modeling your Plot, as this detmines they way tension is raised - there are three different ways that can happen:
- Linear progression: Tension builds up step by step but at the same pace.
- Progression along a curve: Tension builds up step by step but the pace increases over time.
- Oscilating proression: Tnesion builds up over all, but may rise and fall before reaching the climax.

As Age of Aquarius is not divied into episodes of release, it has a complete curved progression which is presented unbroken, there is no need to distinguish the actual acts formally for most people.

War in Heaven due to the fact that it has been divided into episodes of release, has oscilating progression (each episode has its own curve) - but the in the distinction into Acts 1-3 there developers have staked a claim as to where the climax point of the actual story is, that is still to come (EDIT: another hint is the title of WiH's 3rd Act, "Tenebrae"; which is in reference to the latin phrase "post tenbrae lux" which translates into the "the light after the darkness")
(Hence calling BP as whole a "masterclass" might be premature, even if the skill involved is impressive.)

The structure of Acts however does not neccessarily transition to episodes of a series - so you cannot infer that BP3 will be "just resolution".

ps. @Iain: and now you know why Vega must burn is 5 missions long in a single playthrough, although the tension curve there dips down for mission 2 in execution.
« Last Edit: April 18, 2019, 09:32:55 am by 0rph3u5 »
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

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"...because they are not Dragons."

 

Offline Iain Baker

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Re: FreeSpace Blue Planet article part 1 on Coin-Drop.com
BP1 is BP: Age of Aquarius.
BP2 is BP: War In Heaven as a complete entity.
WiH1 is War In Heaven as first released, containing everything up to Sunglare and the end of the Wargods story arc (Acts 1 and 2 of War In Heaven).
WiH2 is the second release of War In Heaven, containing the Fedayeen arc. This is also referred to as WiH Act 3.

Thanks for the clarification. I think my brain gets it now. I will go through the three articles if I get time and make adjustments as needed.
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Offline Iain Baker

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Re: FreeSpace Blue Planet article part 1 on Coin-Drop.com
To clear up the distinctions:

In Drama you seperate a work into Acts (which then are subdivided in Scenes) - which commonly are either 3 (Exposition, Conflict, Resoution) or 5 (Exposition, Building Tension, Raising Tension, Climax, Resolution). It often gets a bit muddied because there are also "Prologue" (ancient Greek for "Foreword") and "Epilogue" (ancient Greek for "Afterword") which stand seperate and apart from these, but may be included in any work of drama.

(Note: Less and more than 3 or 5 Acts are also possible, esspecially in experimental works)

This can all work differently on how you are modeling your Plot, as this detmines they way tension is raised - there are three different ways that can happen:
- Linear progression: Tension builds up step by step but at the same pace.
- Progression along a curve: Tension builds up step by step but the pace increases over time.
- Oscilating proression: Tnesion builds up over all, but may rise and fall before reaching the climax.

As Age of Aquarius is not divied into episodes of release, it has a complete curved progression which is presented unbroken, there is no need to distinguish the actual acts formally for most people.

War in Heaven due to the fact that it has been divided into episodes of release, has oscilating progression (each episode has its own curve) - but the in the distinction into Acts 1-3 there developers have staked a claim as to where the climax point of the actual story is, that is still to come.
(Hence calling BP as whole a "mastercalls" might be premature, even if the skill involved is impressive.)

The structure of Acts however does not neccessarily transition to episodes of a series - so you cannot infer that BP3 will be "just resolution".

ps. @Iain: and now you know why Vega must burn is 5 missions long in a single playthrough.

Thank you for that, it all starts to make sense now :-) I guess you are the person to ask when it comes to performing arts and what not. Being a bit of a philistine I'm a bit clueless  ;-P
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