Hard Light Productions Forums

General FreeSpace => FreeSpace Discussion => Topic started by: soilder198 on March 24, 2013, 07:03:38 pm

Title: Why Freespace?
Post by: soilder198 on March 24, 2013, 07:03:38 pm
In all the years of knowing this game, I never wondered about its title. Until now. Does anyone know why it was named Freespace?
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: An4ximandros on March 24, 2013, 07:06:49 pm
It had something to do with the first iteration of subspace Volition made, when it changed, it sort of lost the meaning. (AFAIK: Freespace was replaced by Subspace, in game.)
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: Phantom Hoover on March 24, 2013, 08:28:50 pm
Freespace sounds a lot more interesting than subspace, although that might just be due to some tenuous associations with category theory I made.
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: Woolie Wool on March 24, 2013, 08:40:12 pm
I always thought it was meant as a contrast to the Descent series, where you flew through very confined spaces (mine tunnels) and your movement was heavily restricted by level geometry. FS, being set in space, was an open environment ("free space") as opposed to the closed spaces of Descent.
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: yuezhi on March 24, 2013, 08:48:28 pm
^well, i don't find the name descent fitting for whatever "360 degrees of freedom" is :P
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: Rodo on March 24, 2013, 08:57:17 pm
I thought the exact same thing as Woolie.
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: deathspeed on March 24, 2013, 10:35:08 pm
From the intro of the FreeSpace Reference bible:

"When scientists discovered what used to be called “FreeSpace” (now referred to as “subspace”), an alternate plane of existence allowing ships to traverse great distances of space in little time, our minds reeled with the possibilities."
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: bigchunk1 on March 25, 2013, 12:06:46 am
It had something to do with the first iteration of subspace Volition made, when it changed, it sort of lost the meaning. (AFAIK: Freespace was replaced by Subspace, in game.)

That's a really cool insight.
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: Droid803 on March 25, 2013, 12:10:23 am
I always thought it was meant as a contrast to the Descent series, where you flew through very confined spaces (mine tunnels) and your movement was heavily restricted by level geometry. FS, being set in space, was an open environment ("free space") as opposed to the closed spaces of Descent.

This was what I thought too.


FreeSpace = Subspace isn't nearly as interesting... (also, subspace is a freakin' tunnel, not very "free" if you ask me!)
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: karajorma on March 25, 2013, 12:28:46 am
That might be why they changed it then.

That or cause they didn't think ExpensiveSpace would sell well. :p
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: Nohiki on March 25, 2013, 12:31:12 am
I always thought it was meant as a contrast to the Descent series, where you flew through very confined spaces (mine tunnels) and your movement was heavily restricted by level geometry. FS, being set in space, was an open environment ("free space") as opposed to the closed spaces of Descent.

this would be valid had it not been released as "Descent: Freespace" in some countries for marketing purposes.
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: General Battuta on March 25, 2013, 12:38:57 am
I always thought it was meant as a contrast to the Descent series, where you flew through very confined spaces (mine tunnels) and your movement was heavily restricted by level geometry. FS, being set in space, was an open environment ("free space") as opposed to the closed spaces of Descent.

this would be valid had it not been released as "Descent: Freespace" in some countries for marketing purposes.

I don't think you make a very good argument for the contrast being invalid when you point out that the title does, in fact, contain two words in contrast.
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: Goober5000 on March 25, 2013, 12:44:53 am
Both explanations are probably correct.  One of the major selling points of FS1 was that it was, indeed, in "free space" in contrast to the tunnels of Descent.  But then they may have decided they needed an in-universe explanation for the term.

Incidentally, the main reason for calling it "Descent: FreeSpace" was that FreeSpace, on its own, was the trademark of a disk management utility.
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: UnlimitedBacon on March 25, 2013, 02:38:58 am
At first I thought it was some half baked open source space game, named by some neckbeard who adopted the customary and unoriginal system of adding "free" or "open" to the front of a word to name his project. Perhaps it was fate that FS really did get open sourced in the end.
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: 666maslo666 on March 25, 2013, 03:48:49 am
I wonder where does the name "hard-light" come from?
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: Wobble73 on March 25, 2013, 06:41:17 am
I wonder where does the name "hard-light" come from?

I think that was a term used in Red Dwarf to describe Rimmer's new Hard Light Hologram.
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: Grizzly on March 25, 2013, 01:51:27 pm
I wonder where does the name "hard-light" come from?

I think that was a term used in Red Dwarf to describe Rimmer's new Hard Light Hologram.

So hard-light was choosen because modders turn a fantasy (light flashes of inspiration and all that stuff) into something which you can interact with (like the Holodeck from Star Trek)?
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: redsniper on March 25, 2013, 04:22:00 pm
Sort of, except I don't think Setekh meant it explicitly as a star trek reference. He said it was something to do with "dreams made real" or something. Light given substance.
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: Rodo on March 25, 2013, 04:55:04 pm
Sort of, except I don't think Setekh meant it explicitly as a star trek reference. He said it was something to do with "dreams made real" or something. Light given substance.

ah, now that is interesting stuff.

always wondered why it was called HLP.
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: Grizzly on March 25, 2013, 05:44:18 pm
Sort of, except I don't think Setekh meant it explicitly as a star trek reference. He said it was something to do with "dreams made real" or something. Light given substance.

Geussed that - ST just provided the easiest example :D.
Ooh, so this site was founded by Setekh? Or was he the one that came up with the name? How did this site came to be anyway?
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: Goober5000 on March 25, 2013, 09:11:59 pm
Setekh and Thunder (now Kalfireth Fineus) co-founded it back in 2001.  Here (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=1.0) is the first thread.
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: Beskargam on March 25, 2013, 09:47:31 pm
dost we get history lesson?
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: yuezhi on March 26, 2013, 01:30:39 am
"Hammer of HLP 0wnage"

wow, that is an awesome name :D
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: redsniper on March 26, 2013, 09:06:28 am
dost we get history lesson?

HLP was founded back when we still had the official Volition forums (VBB) and Volition Watch was still around (VWBB). There were several other FS sites around at the time too, like FS2 Sector and Ross 128. (F2S may have evolved into SectorGame, idk, some other vet will correct me surely). So, HLP was created specifically as a modders' site, an artists' site, and you can still sort of see that influence today. Then as other sites closed (particularly the VBB) and the SCP got started here, HLP kind of became the home for FS.

Oh, and HLP also covered I-War and Freelancer stuff for a while, but that fell by the wayside in favor of FS.
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: Mobius on March 26, 2013, 09:09:49 am
I may be wrong but GTD Bastion (the site) was quite old, too.
Title: Re: Why Freespace?
Post by: FreeSpaceFreak on March 26, 2013, 01:08:17 pm
(F2S may have evolved into SectorGame, idk, some other vet will correct me surely).
In fact it still exists (http://www.sectorgame.com/f2s/), though now as a subdivision of Sectorgame.