[Herra Tohtori]

Or make it realistic.

Character driven at first... but no one bothers learning the given names of replacements, much less make friends with'em... because they will be gone too soon. Random callsigns would do for replacements.

Although one measure of how well you play could be how good you are at keeping your wingmen alive. Custom wingmen would have non-generic voice acting, but if you let them die, you lose them... if it's not in the plot that they need to live. Of course there would always be one or two "veterans" in the flight, but replacements would only ever use the generic FS2 comm sounds, while the veterans would use their specific banters at suitable times.

Or something like that.

Of course you can always introduce a functional ejection mechanism along with Search&Rescue parties, which would explain why we hear the same voices and see the same faces in FS2 over and over again. Personally I prefer realistically mortal wingmen to characters kept alive by plot reasons... but the former is several metric tons difficult to pull properly than the latter.

[Androgeos Exeunt]

* Androgeos Exeunt has voted.

Why not take a leaf from Blue Planet and Derelict? In BP, Corey and Taylor are invulnerable, but Nehru can get splashed. In Derelict, Mackie and the other two are invulnerable.

The "Alpha 1" syndrome shouldn't exist because it's unrealistic. Have more Alpha 1s like Snipes or Mackie.

[Dilmah G]

Yeah

IMO I like to let some characters stay alive for plot reasons and let them die for a big "OMG!" moment. As long as the pilots in the wing are familiar to the player at least it's okay.

[Scooby_Doo]

You can also do "I'm popping the top, someone come get me."  If the wingmans hitpoints hit near zero, script it so he "ejects" and the ship blows up.

[Dilmah G]

You can also do "I'm popping the top, someone come get me."  If the wingmans hitpoints hit near zero, script it so he "ejects" and the ship blows up.

That would be interesting if technology like that was present in canon freespace. You'd think in the 24th Century they would've thought of something already...

[Snail]

Where's the Snuffleupagus option?

No, seriously. There are times where characters can be good for a campaign and others where I don't really find them appropriate-ish. For example there are campaigns like for example Procyon Insurgency which is based more around gameplay and the 'bigger picture' of the plot than actual characters. This works very well and I'm sure lots of people enjoyed the storyline of that campaign despite the fact it had no (wingmen-level) characters. In this case I don't think characters are needed, and nameless funnies do just fine.

But then there's stuff like Blue Planet which has one of the most mind blowing storylines out there. This campaign would be pretty much lost without characters since they added so much to the plot at the wingman's level. The background of the player character and his wingmen added a whole new dimension to the plot of the campaign. In this case I think characters are really good.

So, really IMO it depends on which type of campaign you're going for in terms of style. There are classic-style campaigns which don't really need characters and there are character-driven campaigns. Both are enjoyable.


So, Snuffleupagus.

[NGTM-1R]

Something that hasn't really been done, yet, and I'm rather shocked it hasn't, is that nobody has noticed the obvious standin for characters.

Ships. Capital ships.

We watched the Galatea get Killed Off For Real in FS1. We saw the Bastion pull a Redemption Equals Death in FS2 for its failure to get to the node in time to help fight the Lucifer back in FS1. The Colossus is a major character in FS2.

But the only fan-made campaign that really got this concept was Transcend, with the GTCv Generation.

[Androgeos Exeunt]

Something that hasn't really been done, yet, and I'm rather shocked it hasn't, is that nobody has noticed the obvious standin for characters.

Ships. Capital ships.

We watched the Galatea get Killed Off For Real in FS1. We saw the Bastion pull a Redemption Equals Death in FS2 for its failure to get to the node in time to help fight the Lucifer back in FS1. The Colossus is a major character in FS2.

But the only fan-made campaign that really got this concept was Transcend, with the GTCv Generation.

I'm not so sure. I've played Transcend, and I didn't think much about the Generation. I thought the SC Kuldar from Flaming_Sword's Shivans! v0.21 mod did it much better.

[Dilmah G]

Yes that's a good one.

Admiral Bei anybody?

Well generally speaking Command should have some kind of personality...hesitant in some locations to risk Alpha 1 depending on the campaign etc.

But as anyone in the military in some kind of front-line role or has served would know, the bonds between your squadmates are pretty tight. (I'm not talking from experience, but rather what Vet's have told me)

[Scotty]

I like the X pilot ejects if he's taken too much damage idea.

[NGTM-1R]

I'm not so sure. I've played Transcend, and I didn't think much about the Generation.

"But you're dead!"

[Rhymes]

I'm not so sure. I've played Transcend, and I didn't think much about the Generation.

"But you're dead!"

"Memories never die."

[attachment deleted by evil Tolwyn]

[General Battuta]

Something that hasn't really been done, yet, and I'm rather shocked it hasn't, is that nobody has noticed the obvious standin for characters.

Ships. Capital ships.

We watched the Galatea get Killed Off For Real in FS1. We saw the Bastion pull a Redemption Equals Death in FS2 for its failure to get to the node in time to help fight the Lucifer back in FS1. The Colossus is a major character in FS2.

But the only fan-made campaign that really got this concept was Transcend, with the GTCv Generation.

Blue Planet did it.

[IronBeer]

Lemme just jump in here with an example of wingmen that I personally liked- Starlancer. Love it, hate it, "WTF is Starlancer?" it, I do think they got the wingmen right. Your wingleader (you may be Alpha 1, but you aren't the CO as a player) changes several times over the course of the campaign, and your fellow pilots do actually have personalities. They can (and will) die, eject, banter with each other- the sorts of little things that humanize them.
On a slightly different note, I had an idea for a campaign I may start working on at some point that would have your wingmates jump out if they're ship has taken too much damage- tantamount to defeat or ejection, since you lose support, but the character can be kept alive in a less ham-fisted method than simply giving them ship-guardian.

[Dilmah G]

Yeah, the problem I find is creating "LIKEABLE" characters. I just FRED-ed a mission which featured some decent character development only to realise that it basically made you hate all of them for being so cynically minded.

[james777]

Highly character driven

[tinfoil]

Ohai James

First time I've ever agreed with you

[Mobius]

I use a compromise...

The main goal, IMO, is using alternate sources of plot description other than Command, brefings, debriefings, command briefings and ships' COs. Some characters also help with balance.

But character driven? IMO it shouldn't become common among user-made campaigns...it should be limited to only a few of them...

[tinfoil]

That's a good point. A campaign feels empty to me without a Snipes or Mackie but on the other hand, overdoing it would destroy the novelty of these characters.

[james777]

Ohai James

First time I've ever agreed with you

lol