Hard Light Productions Forums
Community Projects => The FreeSpace Campaign Restoration Project => Topic started by: Macfie on October 13, 2010, 12:07:52 am
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Deep Blood: A Freespace 2 campaign.
Designed, created and produced by: Arron "Gai Daigoji" Alderson
Testing: James and Lisa.
Restored by the FreeSpace Campaign Restoration Project.
Two years have passed since the destruction of the Capella star, two years since both the Terran and Vasudan peoples almost lost their homes, their worlds, their empires.
Two years have passed since we stopped the Shivan advance in the Capella system. Since then the GTVA has had the long and hard task of relocating the Capellan refugees as well as dealing with the economic factors of the war. The fleet is a mere shadow of its former self and is mainly acting as a police force due to its reduced strength. We are no longer the fit and strong fighting force we once were.
For two hard years the Capellan refugees struggled to find a place to call home, GTVA command decided to explore the Jump Node that led from Altair - a Node they had never been through before. Luckily they found seven worlds that they gave to the Capellan refugees, the new system was designated as Orion.
The Orion system is located beyond the newly discovered jump node in Altair. One year ago, GTVA Command ordered the system to be explored. It holds seven M class planets and a jump node leading out of the system that is as yet unexplored. Since then the system has been colonized by the Capellan refugees.
The GTVA is about to pay for its failure to explore the jump node leading out of the Orion system.
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I want to get excited, but that campaign blurb certainly hasn't been restored. :nervous:
EDIT: mostly fixed.
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Just curious: In the original, were there lots of stars and nebulae? Not telling you to change it if it didnt'. It looks great. :D
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I remember this as being pretty much a clone of Derelict.
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Kinda like transcend and synch
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Kinda like transcend and synch
Wait, it's kind of like Transcend and Sync, or Transcend and Sync are Derelict clones?
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Transcend and Synch are no more clones of each other than Deep Blood and Derelict. That would be my point.
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Transcend and Synch are no more clones of each other than Deep Blood and Derelict. That would be my point.
Ah, right.
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I vaguely remember this one, but I don't know if I ever played it or just downloaded it. Either way, it'll seem new, so that's what counts. :yes:
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This looks like something I'd want to play in the future.
Also, please use better JPG compression next time. </nitpick>
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Ooh, someone wants wallpaepears ;) Looks interesting; do they play I Spy a lot?
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They do it once. :)
Question: do you guys like the nebula backgrounds showed in those pics?
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I really like nebulae, and am tired of playing missions without them, but unfortunately the color scheme in those nebula layouts makes them pretty hideous. Remember one of the first rules of graphic design: the fewer colors the better. A given system should stick to a consistent scheme, which can really help set the mood.
Those are unfortunately sort of a watercolor mess. Less is more when it comes to colors (as with text, and so many other things).
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Kinda like transcend and synch
Unless it's changed. I remember it being exactly the same as Derelict. Random backwater, random Shivans. They even have a random Gorgon cannon.
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I really like nebulae, and am tired of playing missions without them, but unfortunately the color scheme in those nebula layouts makes them pretty hideous. Remember one of the first rules of graphic design: the fewer colors the better. A given system should stick to a consistent scheme, which can really help set the mood.
Those are unfortunately sort of a watercolor mess. Less is more when it comes to colors (as with text, and so many other things).
Good point here, but I tend to use as many nebulae as possible for the sake of variety. In the best scenario, we have circa 15 nebula bitmaps of the same color, meaning that you'd see the same bitmap an average 3-4 times in a single background. I'd really like to use well defined schemes, but the number of bitmaps at our disposal prevents me from doing so.
Thanks for posting your opinion, anyway. :)
Unless it's changed.
The plot hasn't changed, obviously.
I remember it being exactly the same as Derelict. Random backwater, random Shivans. They even have a random Gorgon cannon.
The two campaigns have many things in common, but also differ under many points of view. TBH when I played Deep Blood for the first time I went through it without thinking of any particular similarities with Derelict other than the whole Orion/Tau Sigma deal.
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Good point here, but I tend to use as many nebulae as possible for the sake of variety. In the best scenario, we have circa 15 nebula bitmaps of the same color, meaning that you'd see the same bitmap an average 3-4 times in a single background. I'd really like to use well defined schemes, but the number of bitmaps at our disposal prevents me from doing so.
From a technical POV, using fewer nebula bitmaps is a very good idea, as these thingies are incredibly expensive in terms of render time. Best to use custom skyboxes/skyspheres.
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I can get 100+ nebulae in a single mission without causing the game to slow down, so they mustn't be that expensive. And my computer isn't anything next gen, as it is almost 5 years old.
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I really like nebulae, and am tired of playing missions without them, but unfortunately the color scheme in those nebula layouts makes them pretty hideous. Remember one of the first rules of graphic design: the fewer colors the better. A given system should stick to a consistent scheme, which can really help set the mood.
Those are unfortunately sort of a watercolor mess. Less is more when it comes to colors (as with text, and so many other things).
Good point here, but I tend to use as many nebulae as possible for the sake of variety. In the best scenario, we have circa 15 nebula bitmaps of the same color, meaning that you'd see the same bitmap an average 3-4 times in a single background. I'd really like to use well defined schemes, but the number of bitmaps at our disposal prevents me from doing so.
Just do whatever's necessary to have your nebulae all be a fairly uniform color scheme. Whatever it takes to not look like those screenshots above.
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Sure, but first I need to know if it that's universal truth, and not a mere matter of tastes. Do we have anything saying that all nebulae in a single background should have the same scheme?
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Sure, but first I need to know if it that's universal truth, and not a mere matter of tastes. Do we have anything saying that all nebulae in a single background should have the same scheme?
Well, I dunno. I think it's a pretty universal thing that a splash of one or two colours looks better than every colour splattered everywhere.
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Sure, but first I need to know if it that's universal truth, and not a mere matter of tastes. Do we have anything saying that all nebulae in a single background should have the same scheme?
Fortunately for you, artists have spent hundreds of years coming up with rules to handle stuff like this. Have you heard of the 60-30-10 rule? You want 60% of your primary color, 30% of your secondary color, and then 10% as an accent color which you use to draw a little bit of elegance.
Nobody's going to call it 'universal', but it's universally good advice if nothing else.
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Also, you don't want those primary and secondary colors to clash in some horrible way, which I think is going on in a few of the shots you posted. Certain nebula combinations work much better than others; I know that blue and green, or red and gold, seem to look really good if used properly.
Note: I am not an artist.
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Sure, but first I need to know if it that's universal truth, and not a mere matter of tastes. Do we have anything saying that all nebulae in a single background should have the same scheme?
Well, I dunno. I think it's a pretty universal thing that a splash of one or two colours looks better than every colour splattered everywhere.
This is what I was taught.
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Transcend did an excellent job of color balance with nebula and stars. Each system looked coherent and natural. Those pics just don't look like they would ever form in nature.
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I've played DB again in the past days for testing purposes, and realized the Orion system background wouldn't be the same if it followed a single color scheme. IMHO there are background that work fine with just one color and others that require at least 2 of them: everything depends on the way the nebulae are sorted.
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I've played DB again in the past days for testing purposes, and realized the Orion system background wouldn't be the same if it followed a single color scheme. IMHO there are background that work fine with just one color and others that require at least 2 of them: everything depends on the way the nebulae are sorted.
3 colors is, like I said above, a pretty sensible limit.
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Backgrounds are so various I don't think there's a limit to the number of colors. The way it currently is, that background can ensure a couple of features which IMHO just wouldn't be possible with a different scheme/placement. Just wait until DB (re)comes out. :)
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Backgrounds are so various I don't think there's a limit to the number of colors. The way it currently is, that background can ensure a couple of features which IMHO just wouldn't be possible with a different scheme/placement. Just wait until DB (re)comes out. :)
I don't understand what this post means, but if you're saying you want to retain the existing background schema, feel free. Just reread the last few posts before doing so.
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No, I'm saying that the background is an experiment, and it'll be possible to determine wheter or not it worked only after playing the first half of DB.
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Am I the only on who like the sharp contrast in the nebula?
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No. :)
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Right now I have no reason to want to play this campaign and a set of eye-wateringly bad nebula screenshots telling me not to play it. What should tip me back in the other direction?
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Common sense and total rejection of trolling, perhaps?
EDIT: Alright, what I posted above is a bit too harsh, but TBH I don't like the "Let's boycott Deep Blood!" feeling I could notice there as it sounds like an insult. That is bad.
The current background is meant to be an experiment. Half the campaign takes place in the Orion system, which is known to be very big (hence the presence of multiple star bitmaps to represent that, to some degree), so the background serves the purpose of adding more variety to the missions taking place there. Planet bitmap X in mission Y covers a number of nebulae, which become visible in mission Z; during my playthrough, it felt like there were unique backgrounds in every mission. Under that point of view, the experiment succeeded: there's more variety. The background itself follows a 360°x360° style I'm also experimenting, and that's impossible to notice in those screenshots.
Obviously, I'm not saying that the background will always remain as it is: should the testers raise concern over it, I'd be glad to follow their hints. Until then, the background will remain as it is... let's not argue again because of personal tastes. :)
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No, this is a serious question. What is the campaign about? Why should I care? All we've seen of it is that brief plot blurb and a lot of rainbow-brite backgrounds. It's not that I don't want to like it - it represents a lot of hard work by a fair number of people - but it's not giving me much either.
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Replying to edits: I'm open to the idea that these backgrounds could be cool, and it's really not a major issue in the overall quality of the campaign, but my question is honest and more general: what is this campaign about and why should we play it? Sell it.
This isn't just for my sake. It's a skill you should have if you want your work to pay out.
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And I reply with another question:
Do all campaigns need serious advertisement to be played and enjoyed? Do community members need reasons to play a given campaign other than "I played everything else, and I want more"?
Sure, restored campaigns probably aren't anywhere as interesting as brand new ones for a number of reasons (people already know them and are not willing to replay those campaigns, people already know these campaigns won't be featuring interesting stuff like cutscenes and fanfics) but they're still worth some attention.
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Fine, fine, all fair, but here is me asking:
What is this campaign about? What's awesome in it? Sell me on it.
I need more reason to play a given campaign other than 'I played everything else'.
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Read the first post? There's a short description of this campaign.
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I have to agree with batman, the description doesn't really sell it.
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Read the first post? There's a short description of this campaign.
Macfie edited in a better version this afternoon, after my last post, but if you see here:
No, this is a serious question. What is the campaign about? Why should I care? All we've seen of it is that brief plot blurb and a lot of rainbow-brite backgrounds. It's not that I don't want to like it - it represents a lot of hard work by a fair number of people - but it's not giving me much either.
I'd already read the first post and my complaint was specifically that it was totally inadequate. Macfie did a great job improving it.
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And I just want to let you know, Mobius, for all I'm hard on you I think you're a great modder and you've already sold me on your own main project. This isn't about you.
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Well you can add this mini-review of mine to that description, just to have a better idea of what I think about Deep Blood:
This doesn't qualify as the classic uber campaign from back in the days, but that doesn't mean players can't find it enjoyable. Snail underlined the analogies with Derelict which, while notable at first, don't compromise this campaign's partial originality. The ending answers one of the many questions fans can think of after playing FreeSpace 2, and TBH I don't understand why this campaign doesn't have a sequel.
FREDding wasn't that great: most of the edits are, in fact, focused on improving that aspect of the campaign. Missing directives, bugs... many things affected gameplay in the old version and it took quite a few hours to hunt down these problems and solve them. Also included in the process is the addition of a number of FSO features you're going to see. :)