Hard Light Productions Forums

Modding, Mission Design, and Coding => The FRED Workshop => Topic started by: General Battuta on June 27, 2010, 12:41:43 pm

Title: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: General Battuta on June 27, 2010, 12:41:43 pm
HAI GUYZ

There are three big campaigns on the edge of release that I'm pumped for. We should do some plot speculation and anticipation.

TopAce's Descendants of Sol looks like an original-universe story with an interesting branching plot structure. You can get the details on the Wiki or ModDB.

What I'm interested in is where the plot's going. It sounds like Earth is screwed and colonization is difficult, so the Proxima Centauri colonies are the best hope mankind has. But then we've got this problem with the plague  on the biggest colony, Yartis, and the resulting blockade.

We don't know all that much about the plague but apparently it's bad. So is the blockade, though - a bunch of naval officers have defected and formed a resistance movement. So I'm going to take a stab at plot prediction here and suggest that maybe the choice that leads to the campaign fork involves defection from the Solarian navy to the anti-blockade group?

It's an interesting moral dilemma too. If conditions on Yartis are really bad, the blockade may only be making things worse - but if the plague is virulent and horrible then the blockade may actually be necessary in spite of the humanitarian cost.

Dilemmas, dilemmas.
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: headdie on June 27, 2010, 12:45:10 pm
having played one of spoon's WoD betas (i presume thats what you meant by dawn) I am eagerly waiting for that one
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: General Battuta on June 27, 2010, 12:47:58 pm
Yep. I've played Dirge of Vassago and it's excellent too.

With four high-quality campaigns about to release, things are looking nice.
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Rodo on June 27, 2010, 12:53:56 pm
I've been following the progress on "Descendants of Sol" through ModDB and from recent updates it seems the campaign is almost done YAY! :nod:
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: The E on June 27, 2010, 01:50:06 pm
Well, apart from those, Wings looks mighty promising.
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Rodo on June 27, 2010, 02:22:57 pm
Agreed.
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Sushi on June 27, 2010, 03:16:17 pm
Blast. This means I may have to actually play Freespace again instead of just modding/writing code for it. :p
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Spoon on June 27, 2010, 07:36:49 pm
Blast. This means I may have to actually play Freespace again instead of just modding/writing code for it. :p
Should be fun actually seeing your coding efforts being put to use right?  :P

having played one of spoon's WoD betas (i presume thats what you meant by dawn) I am eagerly waiting for that one
Things changed quite a bit in those 6 months  ;)


Vassago's Dirge is almost completed, however its Release date is a Closely guarded secret. Not even the wise council of 4 knows. Rumor has it, that Axem is waiting for something.
Look forward to it, for it is an excellent campaign indeed :)

So can we be anticipating WiH in here too or?
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Axem on June 27, 2010, 07:56:25 pm
My interest has piqued at this description of Descendants of Sol. I heard the name get tossed around a bit, but didn't look into it. Definitely sounds worth playing.

This does look like a good summer for releases. :)

And real sly there Spoon...
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: NGTM-1R on June 27, 2010, 08:01:39 pm
I'm not really interested in any of them. :P
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: General Battuta on June 27, 2010, 08:11:57 pm
So can we be anticipating WiH in here too or?

Please do. It's sitting on the launchpad being fueled.

I'm not really interested in any of them. :P

You are a curmudgeonly grognard and can be excused.
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Mongoose on June 27, 2010, 09:39:16 pm
I'm behind on at least a half-dozen campaigns released over the past year or two, and I didn't even know about one or two of these before this thread.  Evidently, I need to start putting my new video card through its paces. :p
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: NGTM-1R on June 28, 2010, 01:41:58 am
You are a curmudgeonly grognard and can be excused.

Nah I'm kidding, I look forward to Dirge since I saw bits and pieces before my burnout.

Descendants makes my head hurt with the concept of being able to blockade a complete planet in a universe that's drawing its ships and weaponry, and hence presumably their capablities at least in gross, from FS.
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Spoon on June 28, 2010, 08:28:08 am
Quote
And real sly there Spoon...
:ha:



 :warp:
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Ravenholme on June 28, 2010, 09:36:31 am
The four campaigns mentioned in this thread (The titular 3 and WiH) are some of the ones I'm most looking forward to - and their releases are all imminent? Oh Happy days :D
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: TopAce on June 28, 2010, 09:39:56 am
And what a fight there will be for highlights and which one deserves to be featured in the Wiki..
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Ravenholme on June 28, 2010, 09:51:36 am
And what a fight there will be for highlights and which one deserves to be featured in the Wiki..

That's a point, by the sound of it they'd all be equally deserving...

BRB, loading photoshop to make a quartered highlight/feature banner for all four campaigns/mods :P


Well, I would if I had images and official title art for each to use :P
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: AndrewofDoom on June 28, 2010, 10:01:15 am
And what a fight there will be for highlights and which one deserves to be featured in the Wiki..

There's 4 campaigns, 4 highlight slots, plenty of slots to go to each of them. The Wiki is different story...
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Axem on June 28, 2010, 10:04:34 am
Until some bastard comes along with a surprise campaign release, pushing the poor guy who decided to release first off the board.  :(
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: AndrewofDoom on June 28, 2010, 10:17:57 am
Until some bastard comes along with a surprise campaign release, pushing the poor guy who decided to release first off the board.  :(

You know, they could just not highlight the surprise campaigns, but that would be so mean of them. =P
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: headdie on June 28, 2010, 10:21:11 am
are we limited to 4 slots?
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Ravenholme on June 28, 2010, 10:48:36 am
Hmm, I hope someone releases this Thursday (Not because it's my birthday, no sir, not at all)
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Rodo on June 28, 2010, 10:52:52 am
It doesn't matter, we are all following these campaigns very closely, we're not gonna miss the releases just because they get highlighted or not.
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Mongoose on June 28, 2010, 02:58:50 pm
Until some bastard comes along with a surprise campaign release, pushing the poor guy who decided to release first off the board.  :(
Come to think of it, we haven't seen Blaise around here for a long while...
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Snail on June 28, 2010, 03:29:24 pm
Until some bastard comes along with a surprise campaign release, pushing the poor guy who decided to release first off the board.  :(
Come to think of it, we haven't seen Blaise around here for a long while...
Yeah. He's either disappeared working on another 30-mission double release or has disappeared.
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: T-Man on June 28, 2010, 04:45:59 pm
And what a fight there will be for highlights and which one deserves to be featured in the Wiki..

They could do one highlight for all three maybe, if their release is going to be mega close together.

For the Wiki feature however, all bets are off. :lol:
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: SpardaSon21 on June 29, 2010, 12:18:00 am
Steel internet cage deathmatch on FreeSpace2 multi?
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: General Battuta on July 06, 2010, 05:36:15 pm
As a beta tester I feel qualified to issue the following statement:

Dirge of Vassago is a godDAMN fine piece of work sir

that is all
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Spoon on July 06, 2010, 06:43:41 pm
As a beta tester I feel qualified to issue the following statement:

Dirge of Vassago is a godDAMN fine piece of work sir

that is all
Seconded
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Dilmah G on July 06, 2010, 10:07:50 pm
Until some bastard comes along with a surprise campaign release, pushing the poor guy who decided to release first off the board.  :(
Come to think of it, we haven't seen Blaise around here for a long while...
Yeah. He's either disappeared working on another 30-mission double release or has disappeared.
Or got a life?  :D

No, but seriously, my money's on the 30-mission double release.
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: AndrewofDoom on July 07, 2010, 11:25:43 pm
Steel internet cage deathmatch on FreeSpace2 multi?

War in Heaven has QuantumDelta, so I know who won already in that...
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: SC4RY_Z0MB13 on July 28, 2010, 01:46:09 am
Well one of the three campaigns is now in the wild.  Vassago's Dirge is one for the ages.  Axem really knocked his campaign out of the park.  Now just for Descendants, Dawn and Heaven.  Which are hopefully going to release very soon.
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Spoon on July 28, 2010, 05:29:33 am
I have no clue about Descendants but Heaven shouldn't be too far off now. That's most likely going to be the next one to hit us
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Ravenholme on July 28, 2010, 05:42:21 am
I have no clue about Descendants but Heaven shouldn't be too far off now. That's most likely going to be the next one to hit us

I hope Wings of Dawn isn't too far behind it :P

Now, I've got to finish Vassago's Dirge before work
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: TopAce on July 28, 2010, 09:07:55 am
I have no clue about Descendants but Heaven shouldn't be too far off now. That's most likely going to be the next one to hit us

Descendants of Sol will be released by the end of September the latest, and the middle of August the soonest.

I'm not sure about War in Heaven, but I remember Battuta saying that it will be out simultaneously with  FSO 3.6.12 Final.
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: The E on July 28, 2010, 09:09:59 am
Well, as simultaneously as we can manage it, anyway.
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: General Battuta on July 28, 2010, 10:42:12 am
Hooray! It is a good summer for FreeSpace!

BATTUTA HUG ALL CAMPAIGNS
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: NGTM-1R on July 29, 2010, 04:01:11 am
BATTUTA HUG ALL CAMPAIGNS

I'm actually worried this will discourage new people or older campaigns that haven't released, personally, because if everything's as quality as this it'd be incredibly daunting to release after them.

I know that's why I dropped out of FREDding; my skills weren't equal to the stuff coming out.
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Dilmah G on July 29, 2010, 04:14:29 am
Yeah, I got that vibe as well.
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: The E on July 29, 2010, 04:18:03 am
Oh, come on.

Seriously, guys? Battuta saying that he "hugs all campaigns" is "discouraging"?

...

What?
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Spoon on July 29, 2010, 05:26:35 am
NGTM-1R may have a legitimate concern... I just dont see how its related to Battuta hugging things
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: TopAce on July 29, 2010, 05:39:12 am
NGTM thought Battuta meant only the campaigns in this title's thread. He mentioned these three campaigns because otherwise his alliteration wouldn't work. :P
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Dilmah G on July 29, 2010, 05:40:27 am
Well not from that specifically, but you'd think that perhaps a newcomer to the community or someone intent on releasing a campaign would second guess themselves when there's an anticipation thread for some 'big 3' campaigns, and believes from it that most of the attention would be directed on those campaigns and if that person released, it wouldn't get much attention and thus not really worth the effort.

Of course, to anyone with such concerns reading this, release something decent and as long as one community member plays it and likes it, the rest of the community will probably follow suit when you have the IRC channel as an extremely fast way of your campaign traveling by word of mouth.

EDIT: And TopAce beat me to it. Bastard. :P

Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: The E on July 29, 2010, 05:45:11 am
Even so, it is my belief that excellent campaigns like the ones mentioned here, or Spoon's Wings of Dawn (or WiH) don't stifle creativity but rather fan it. Showcases like these, that show the rest of us just what can be done using FS2's gameplay and the engine (and yes, even as a team member of BP, I am frequently astonished at the mad genius some guys possess) are necessary, and a damn good thing to have.
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Spoon on July 29, 2010, 05:49:20 am
What The E said
Also, I personally always found it a great help to take a look at how other FREDer's did their SEXP's to acomplish something.
I'm pretty darn sure Vassago&WiH will be a great help for many a FREDer

Quote
Well not from that specifically, but you'd think that perhaps a newcomer to the community or someone intent on releasing a campaign would second guess themselves when there's an anticipation thread for some 'big 3' campaigns, and believes from it that most of the attention would be directed on those campaigns and if that person released, it wouldn't get much attention and thus not really worth the effort.
Well that's how things go in the games industry.
Its best to set your release at a time when no other 'heavy hitters' will be coming out if you want as much attention as possible. Far too many good games have made that mistake... 
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Dilmah G on July 29, 2010, 05:51:00 am
Yeah, I agree with that (AoA is what inspired me to learn FRED, and I subsequently learned FRED from opening AoA's missions up), but it's just something I could see someone doing.

Also, agreed with what ^Spoon said.
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Axem on July 29, 2010, 07:28:42 am
I hope other FREDders won't feel intimidated by these campaigns. They should realize that these three "D" campaigns, and even BP:AoA's first release were all one man ventures (not to mention Sync and Transcend). No big teams were required, everything in them was either made by themselves or taken from available assets around the community. Nothing stops you from making a great campaign if you're willing to see it through.
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: General Battuta on July 29, 2010, 11:48:55 am
Yeah, I was inspired to learn FRED by Blue Planet's original release, a one-man job. Descendants of Sol is a one-man job. Wings of Dawn is a one-man job. Vassago's Dirge was a one-man job. Transcend...you get the idea.

Any newcomer paying the slightest bit of attention will be encouraged.

And I'm sorry but complaining about high quality releases is just reaching.
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Dilmah G on July 30, 2010, 03:18:40 am
Hey, no-one was complaining.

I'm looking forward to playing one of these releases myself when I get home from work tonight.
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: General Battuta on July 30, 2010, 10:20:48 am
Hey, no-one was complaining.

what

do you read threads
Title: Re: Descendants, Dawn, and Dirge anticipation thread!
Post by: Dilmah G on July 30, 2010, 11:08:59 am
You said high quality releases, Battuta. :P I was talking about the potential for the thread to be misinterpreted by newcomers, not to say it would always be misinterpreted, but it was something I could probably see after NGTM-1R brought it up.

Anyway, I'm far too tired for this, guys.