Hard Light Productions Forums
General FreeSpace => FreeSpace Discussion => Topic started by: Darkenmal on May 04, 2010, 08:19:14 pm
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From GOG. :)
I also have a few questions, and if anyone could answer them that would be great! :P
1. So what can I expect from this game?
2. Is there any multiplayer up for this game? Can I play online?
3. Is there any way to spice the graphics up? Like in Duke Nukem 3D?
Thanks to whoever answers my questions.
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1. Expect awesomeness. It's a space flight/combat simulator. See: http://www.hard-light.net/wiki/index.php/Getting_started for answers to everything!
2. Yes there is, but you'll have to find somebody to play against.
3. Yes! I'm glad you asked! Do everything here: http://www.fsoinstaller.com/
EDIT: More specifically, here: http://www.fsoinstaller.com/downloads.html
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Do check this board (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?board=135.0) if you're interested in multiplayer.
Or talk to people on IRC to arrange games.
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The MediaVPs will bring the graphics up to near-modern standards.
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Additionally, expect a rich repository of fan-made campaigns. Blue Planet (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=68213.0) is one of the best there is, both in the quality of the storyline and of gameplay, and it's now fully voice-acted. I recommend playing the main FS2 campaign first, though. :)
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People spent sleepless nights and long weekends working on making this game better. When you put it that way, they sound like fools, but it's still good stuff regardless! :yes:
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:welcome:
You're in for a nice treat. Many people have put untold hours into modding and improving FS2, which should tell you how highly most of us regard the game. :)
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Let me also congratulate you on choosing to get this excellent game we all love so much.
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If you want to know how much the graphics improved thanks the the SCP and FSU teams take a look here: http://www.hard-light.net/wiki/index.php/GTF_Ulysses
The top picture is from the original, unmodified FreeSpace 2.
If you scroll down to the bottom you'll see the Ulysses in all it's SCP/FSU glory!
Bumpmapping, translucent cockpits with pilot inside, blinking lights on the wings, enviromental mapping (background mirroring from shiny surfaces), animated textures.... you name it the game got it now.
Not to mention a lot of bugfixes and added features (especially for the mission editor FRED).
The only thing I know of that the game doesn't have (yet) is ships casting shadows and ships mirroring on surfaces along with the background.
And as others mentioned before lots of good mods. Some of my favourits (in no particular order) are Blue Planet, Uncharted Terretory, Derelict, Silent Threat: Reborn and the Terran-Vasudan war demo.
Also there is the FS Port which brings the FreeSpace 1 campaign into FreeSpace 2. You might even want to play that before the actual FS2 campaign (followed by Silent Threat:R) to get the full story in the right order without having to read up on it in the Techroom.
There would also be the Drums of War trilogy and Raiderwars, but those are for The Babylon Project, not FreeSpace 2 SCP.
You might also take a look here http://www.hard-light.net/wiki/index.php/Sample_Lighting_Settings to get the game to look even better. Just pick the one you like most and then copy/paste the settings in the orange lines into the "Custom flags" line under the "Features" tab in the Launcher.
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Thanks guys. :)
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I recommend playing the main FS2 campaign first, though. :)
And I recommend playing FreeSpace Port first, followed by Silent Threat: Reborn.
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I recommend playing the main FS2 campaign first, though. :)
And I recommend playing FreeSpace Port first, followed by Silent Threat: Reborn.
this. play the games the way they are meant to be played, in the right order.
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i recommend playing through everything on retail first. :P
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Two or three times
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For two or three years... THEN get FSO. That way you can truly appreciate it.
/or not
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From GOG. :)
I also have a few questions, and if anyone could answer them that would be great! :P
1. So what can I expect from this game?
2. Is there any multiplayer up for this game? Can I play online?
3. Is there any way to spice the graphics up? Like in Duke Nukem 3D?
Thanks to whoever answers my questions.
Welcome to one of the best PC gaming experiences ever. :) Now, to answer your questions:
1. The pinnacle of space combat simulations on the PC surrounded by a gripping and well-written story that's one of the best of its kind.
2. Yes, but as others have set, you need to find people to play against. The office servers have been gone for ages.
3. Yes, use the previously linked FSO installer. For a nearly 11 year old game, it still looks amazing thanks to the talented people in this community and their hard work. :)
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Well I recommend playing Silent Threat before Silent Threat: Reborn. It's grueling, but it really pays off in appreciating ST:R. No I'm not kidding.
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Only because you realize how ****ty the first one was. That's like saying you should chew on some four month old moldy bread before eating freshly baked garlic toast, because it will make the latter "better".
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It is not like that. ST:R contained references to the original that you wouldn't get if you'd never played it. If you just want to compare a bad campaign to a good one, you could play SGWP2 and BP:AoA:DC back-to-back.
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Only because you realize how ****ty the first one was. That's like saying you should chew on some four month old moldy bread before eating freshly baked garlic toast, because it will make the latter "better".
i realized how ****ty it was after playing it the first time, long before FSO even existed. i played it again, trying to see if i just missed some stuff or didn't understand something right, but no. it was just ****ty.
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OK. So. ST.
Any and all exposition is sparse, if it exists at all. The only purpose served by the second mission is the appearance of the GTSC Einstein, which could have easily fit into the first mission. The third mission contains a destroyer named "GTD". The fourth mission can play indefinitely unless you go back several klicks to deal with a Shivan wing that just sits there. The sixth mission has a one-sentence debriefing after you just saved an entire station from non-canonical (yes I went there) pirates. The eighth mission does not inform you- at all- when to return to base. The last mission is more fun if you lodge yourself in a cranny of the GTD Hades and put a battery on your ctrl key. This is just off the top of my head, and those are only the most egregious errors.
It's like a couple bit-rate FREDders decided they'd try to make a campaign in two days, without testing it once, while drunk.
There is no way I would ever subject a fellow nerd, one of my own kind, to that kind of nonsense.
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Yep. With the release of ST:R, there is little to no real value beyond nostalgia to play the original Silent Threat.
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Yep. With the release of ST:R, there is little to no real value beyond nostalgia to play the original Silent Threat.
There is, however, value in watching the hidden videos in Silent Threat disk.
They explain many things you might have trouble putting in proper context from "huh wait that don't even make sense" to "oh, ha ha, I get it now, how witty". :headz:
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Well, there is the matter of knowing proper 'canon', but at least you can get most of it on (http://www.hard-light.net/wiki/index.php/Silent_Threat_Campaign_Walkthrough) FSWiki (http://www.hard-light.net/wiki/index.php/Silent_Threat_Campaign_Briefings).
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Yep. With the release of ST:R, there is little to no real value beyond nostalgia to play the original Silent Threat.
Actually, playing the original, either before or after playing ST:R, would give you full appreciation for just how much better the newer is over the original...
says the guy who hasn't played ST:R. :nervous:
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says the guy who hasn't played ST:R. :nervous:
You've GOT to be KIDDING me.
Seriously. That doesn't seem physically possible. What are you doing sitting in front of your screen instead of playing it ?
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Indeed, not playing ST:R is like trying to beat someone to death with his own skull. It simply doesn't seem physically possible.
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Indeed, not playing ST:R is like trying to beat someone to death with his own skull. It simply doesn't seem physically possible.
That's exactly what Jimmy said.
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I've never played either ST
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This doesn't seem physically possible... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkBli19MSG4)
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says the guy who hasn't played ST:R. :nervous:
You've GOT to be KIDDING me.
Seriously. That doesn't seem physically possible. What are you doing sitting in front of your screen instead of playing it ?
Indeed, not playing ST:R is like trying to beat someone to death with his own skull. It simply doesn't seem physically possible.
The reason that I haven't played it yet is simple... I haven't played FS at all in well over 2 years. I can't recall exactly how long ago, but its been just over 2 years since I moved into my new apartment and my Saitek X52 is still sitting in its box from when I moved. From before that however, I recall that I was getting tired earlier in the evenings (not go-to-bed tired but don't-have-the-energy-to-play-FS tired) so I found myself playing FS less and less. I continued to FRED somewhat, but since I wasn't testing my own missions, I eventually stopped doing that too. I even dropped out of the community for quite a while, resurfacing here between 6 to 10 month intervals. Hopefully I'll stick around this time.
As to why I don't play THESE days, it also comes down to the fact that I have a 2yr. old daughter who not only could get to and damage my stick, but who also requires constant attention... that is, to prevent her from injuring herself or damaging something in the apartment... as well as the daddy-daughter attention. TV helps fill in the gaps... thank GOD for Treehouse TV on digital cable.
I'd like to get back to doing FS... both FRED, gaming, and modding, hopefully once my baby gets a little older and a little more responsable. When that time comes and after I've played through the original campaigns to see all the new cool effects, ST:R will be at the top of my list of campaigns to play... then, back to my old projects.
Later!
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Indeed, not playing ST:R is like trying to beat someone to death with his own skull. It simply doesn't seem physically possible.
That's exactly what Jimmy said.
This doesn't seem physically possible... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkBli19MSG4)
Hehe, I see some people caught the private joke :p
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Well, I was just under the impression you were more active than that due to the 211 posts. Anyway, good luck, and hang in there.
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I can't hear the words 'physically possible' without thinking about RvB.
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I keep using it in every situation I can think of to see how many people catch the joke :P. Not the first time I use it in HLP though.