General FreeSpace > FreeSpace Discussion
What Freespace are you (Re)Playing Now?
Iain Baker:
FSPort: ReCharged, since I’m playing it as I make it 😜
FrizzySpizzXTREEM:
Got myself a fancy new VKB HOTAS setup and decided to dive back into FreeSpace, starting fresh with the retail FS1 and 2 campaigns. My setup now is totally overkill for FreeSpace - I literally have more buttons than I know what to do with, which is the opposite problem with my old X52. I can even have an entire hat dedicated to subsystem and turret targeting! Anyways, as I replay these campaigns, I'm struck by how a lot of the the infamously hard missions I dreaded playing were actually fairly easy and maybe even fun(???) this time around.
Specifically, I found Playing Judas was a lot easier than I remember. It might have something to do with the plethora of buttons I now have on my VKB sticks, but I also like to think that for anyone who's played FreeSpace for this long, managing stuff like targeting becomes second nature. Playing Judas really highlights for me one of the things that has long set FS apart from other space combat games - it's the emphasis on tactics and managing avionics. Deciding in the moment which objectives and threats to prioritize, targeting the right thing at the right time - stuff like that elevates the gameplay beyond just the dogfights. In a mission where there's practically no dogfighting, those mechanics really get their time to shine. I'm saying that Playing Judas is good, actually. Fight me :D
Bearbaiting in FS2 was another mission I had always really dreaded. On replaying it, I won't say that mechanically it's all that fun; however the the sense of terror and desperation still holds up. The mission is really just a case of knowing the right way to take out the Sath's beams (dual fire Helios at close range while slamming afterburners), but once I got it down it became pretty easy. There was great satisfaction in taking out all the beams (previously I'd probably only managed to destroy 2) and then going into High Noon and watching the Colossus just go to town on a helpless Sathanas. Of course, I also fired a few Helios at it myself in order to get the Sath onto my kill list.
Anyways, I'm onto replaying Silent Threat: Reborn and I'm almost near the end. There's really nothing I could say in praise of it that hasn't already been said. It's simply an incredible showcase of how this community can create a work that can so closely match (and even exceed) :v:'s craft in both style and polish. There's certainly more polish in ST:R than in retail FS2, now that I think about it.
Not sure what's next after I've finished what I consider the "base" campaigns (ST:R is definitely included in that definition). After playing all these OG staples, Solaris looks very shiny and appealing to me. Whenever I revisit this game and community, I'm always floored by what has been accomplished in my absence. However, I've also never touched any of the campaigns by the legendary Ransom Arceihn, so Sync and Transcend are definitely on my to-do list. All that being said, my propensity for being obsessed with obscure old stuff might lead me to Operation Templar or something like Alliance Fights Back.
Slightly off topic, but since I'm deep in thought about old stuff: Still sad that that :v: got killed for good. They've left behind an inimitable legacy of classics across so many different genres. At the very least, I'm thankful that FreeSpace can outlive its original creators and still be going strong after all these years.
+ Rennie Ash +:
Most recently I played through FreeSpace (2) Blue, then Blue Planet (All).
I loved spamming Piranha missiles - they never used to be this good right?
Using Stiletto and EMP Adv. to kill Tiamat. You won't get away this time!
Disabling fighters in High Noon and launching Helios at them. (Put away any wingmen that have damaging weapons)
Warping out just as Bastion explodes from purposely failing mission and my ship missing the warp effect due to the shockwave ;p
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