Hello, long time lurker here.
I've always been a fan of the FreeSpace SCP since I first discovered everyone a few years ago. I've owned FreeSpace and FreeSpace 2 (original retail cd's from 1999 no less!) and the series has always held a special place in that gamer-heart of mine. One day, oddly enough, while browsing a Wikipedia article on FreeSpace 2 did I come across the existence of the SCP itself. Thus, I was blown away ever since by the amount of work everyone here on these forums puts forth everyday, making amazing models, and newer builds. However, I've never really tried any sort of user-made campaign in all the years I've lurked here. I've been strictly playing the original campaigns with mediavps. I honestly never put much thought into them... but, one day, I decided to try out Blue Planet, with the quote: "From our odyssey into Hell, we return with a gift: the Ancient technology to build a portal between Delta Serpentis and Sol. To restore the link to our blue planet. To return home after all these years." alluring me...
And boy, was I ever blown away. So, to you, Darius. I thank you! For the extremely beautiful experience that was Blue Planet, from the very introduction cutscene to the very depressing (in a good, storytelling way) ending. I had always loved the story of the FreeSpace saga, but always felt it was cut short. But this, I honestly feel that this is a worthy continuation of the highest degree. The amount of polish, attention to detail, and work that must have gone into this campaign is beyond anything I could've ever imagined could've been possible with FreeSpace Open, let alone FRED in general! I know it has been released for a long time now, but that appeared to be a blessing since my campaign was relatively bug-free. (Thank god I didn't get the ending bug where none of the 14th Battlegroup arrives at Sol and thus you're stuck alone with the UEFg Renjian...)
The story and the missions involved, truly captivated me in a way only the original FreeSpace campaign did. I've seen many custom missions involving the Lucifer, but only here, when I once again destroyed it over Delta Serpentis (beautiful skybox, by the way!) did I feel the same accomplishment as when I first destroyed it back in subspace in 1998. =)
While yes, Forced Entry and Preserving the Balance were amazing missions, providing spectacular eye-candy and audio... I found ...With Vast Seas and Ceremony to be my favorites. This isn't a criticism of the combat missions, mind you, but rather more praise for your kick-ass storytelling. I've never felt so proud to be a GTVA pilot before than in Ceremony! Granted, that position changed later...but, you get the point!
Anyhow, TL;DR, cool story bro, blah blah...I've never felt compelled to post, but now, I had to offer my support and thanks. To Darius, and his team now working on War in Heaven, I hope that another hand of support and praise will continue to make the upcoming campaign an even better experience than before. No demands asking when it'll be done here. Just another person eagerly awaiting to see where this story will lead us next.
P.S. General Battuta, I believe, is the author of the prose on the Blue Planet site, yes? If so, your writing skills are fantastic. Looking forward to anything else you could possibly write!
