Okay, I completed this campaign a little while back, but I just (re?)discovered this thread, so here 'goes.
It was a very interesting concept that was executed fairly well. There were plenty of intriguing twists and turns, as well as fantastic settings, situations, and setpieces. I enjoyed several of the missions greatly. But perhaps my favorite aspect was how it made every little thing seem so valuable and useful--never before have I looked at a single Fenris cruiser (especially an FS1-era one) and thought how awesome and valuable it was to have.
However, there were several major problems I had with the mod that left a rather bitter taste in my mouth. I'll try to take it categorically and hopefully make it constructive.
--Plot:
Quite a few of the biggest plot points were just so jarring, unbelievable, and frustrating to me that I had to try and just enjoy the mod in-the-moment in order to not get blown off by the story.
1) That initial GTVA security checkpoint--given how large of a GTVA presence there was, how long could "waiting in line" possibly take? What makes them think that taking a lesser-known and more-dangerous jump-node detour would actually be worth it? On top of the asteroid field you have to worry about (and tin-can ships that highly vulnerable to it), it's theperfect place for pirates to ambush merchant ships. Which is exactly what the convoy is trying to avoid, and seeing as they've been attacked by pirates several times already, you'd think they'd just want to play it safe by now. But even if there wasn't any pirates at that node, it makes no sense that the GTVA wouldn't both know about the node and have some kind of checkpoint there themselves (if they're being this paranoid about something bad getting smuggled somewhere, they'd be total idiots to leave a node with plenty of "cover" completely unguarded).
2) The GTVA decides to shoot kill everyone first and ask ignore all questions and offers of surrender later. What.
Okay, for one, that's a ridiculously blatant violation of BETAC and just about every canonical portrayal of the GTVA. Secondly, it makes no sense whatsoever from just about any standpoint that the GTVA security checkpoint would privately find something in one ship and then decide to instantly--and without any warning or provocation--open fire on every ship in the vicinity. You can actually do something similar in nature during the FS2 SOC loop--which promptly gets you tried for war crimes and mass murder of civilians. Sounds awfully familiar.
3) The GTVA instantly and arbitrarily brands every ship that was present at the GTVA-run massacre of civilians as a terrorist to be unhesitatingly killed...even when said ships proclaim their innocence, total confusion as to what's going on, insist there's some kind of major misunderstanding, and offer their total surrender.
4) The GTVA seems awfully determined to wipe out every last civilian that was present at the massacre. As in suicidally determined.
5) Jump nodes instantly collapse if a single ship above bomber-size blows up? Look...artistic license can work here, I understand that, but it still blatantly contradicts canon and it's not even lampshaded or handwaved, making the whole thing as a gigantic plot point that kicks off the story a point of total confusion.
6) Why is the GTVI acting exactly like the GTI during Silent Threat?
7) The Custodian gets killed by that Demon destroyer by its forward beam cannons. Which I personally destroyed beforehand. To prevent that exact event from occurring.
8) The ending. Dear god, the ending. In which the GTVA acts a lot like the Shivans (or NTF at best) and has no problem whatsoever with massacring civilians offering their surrender and proclaiming their innocence for any real wrongdoing. And in which the entire story is rendered pointless, as everyone dies for nonsensical and jarring reasons, nothing is accomplished, and everyone acts completely out of character. And no one acts with common sense when it matters most. Look at the bright side, though! We made it back home, finally! What's that, the good guys are here to slaughter us without hesitation or any actual reason even though we pose no threat, proclaim our innocence, and offer our total surrender?
It was like being cast out of the town by the townspeople, going on a suicide mission to save their collective arse anyway, returning back with proof of our heroic deeds, and offering the townspeople a load of gold...only to be unceremoniously slaughtered for no reason. Am I supposed to feel satisfied by an ending like that? Sorry if that comes across as harsh, but I was already raging at the plot by that point, and then the ending came and baffled me in a very bad way.
So in summary, I thought it was great in so many aspects, except for the story, which totally ruined my experience with it. Most of the time, I'd try and ignore the larger plot issues to enjoy and get immersed in the moment, and when I was able to do that, it was fantastic. But then something else would come along and totally break all enjoyment and immersion, and that happened too many times for my enjoyment of the mod to tolerate. Don't get me wrong--there was so much good about this mod that I would love to see your other work, and there's so much that's done so damn well that I'd love to see more of it.
