[Prophet]

Most all the battles end up being BoE in nature which I'm not a fan.

Really? How many BoE battles with the Shadows did you see in the series? I saw one. And one that was borderline case (the Narn attack in the the Shadow ambush). But rest of the Shadow encouters shown were small scale. There's lots of story to be told in the Shadow war. One just needs that creative spark.

Not that I'm forcing anyone to do a campaing about it. Everyone is free to tell their stories as they wish.

[rynadrk]

The only battles I saw were large scale or a fighter pilot was not about to make the difference in the battle.

[Prophet]

A fighter pilot may not be able to do anything when a battlecrap rapes raider battlewagons, but it still is pretty small engagement. Certainly nothing I'd call Battle of Endor.

[IPAndrews]

To be fair Long Twilight Struggle, Shadow Dancing, and Into the Fire are all in BoE territory. Especially when it comes to how much influence a single fighter could have on the proceedings. Missions like that are okay but you can't have too many of them in a campaign. For a Shadow War campaign to work you'd have to have a story that elaborates on and weaves in and out of the stories in the series. Maybe a Narn or EA pilot who joins the rangers and gets to participate in some small scale skirmishes with the Shadows that way.

[Prophet]

If the player can't do anything meaningful in a mission, then it's badly designed mission. If the player can't do anything because bazillion ships in the mission are killing his compootar, it's a BoE mission... If a battle is big, it doesn't necessary classify as BoE if the player has something interesting to do (tatical goal or sumthin'), and that the mission doesn't choke up on itself. There's a difference. At least IMHO.

Shadow war missions. How about protecting civillian evacuation during a major assault. By intercepting any stray spitfires, while main Shadow forces are doing something else.
Or testing an experimental bio warhead on Shadow ships. And then trying to evade the slicer on the pissed off battlecrab when the test fails (requires lots of scripting methinks).
Trying to figure how to kill a crippled Shadow ship in an 'roid field.
Fighting against people who have sided with the Shadows (like Centauri did).

I'm not telling you more. But with a bit of pen and paper time, I could propably come up with a sane campaign...

[Roanoke]

Not a campaign but during Raider Wars my plan for a bonus version of No Retreat No Surrender went down the toilet when I saw how the Whitestars acted with bomber AI.....

[karajorma]

I did think up a plotline for a mission once where as a B5 starfury pilot you got orders to shoot down a ship bring supplies for the second B5 giftshop.

Of course the destruction of the cargo ship would send  small fleet of JS bears hurtling towards the station which you would then have to shoot down

[IPAndrews]

I did think up a plotline for a mission once where as a B5 starfury pilot you got orders to shoot down a ship bring supplies for the second B5 giftshop.

Of course the destruction of the cargo ship would send  small fleet of JS bears hurtling towards the station which you would then have to shoot down

I hate you for not making that mission.

[karajorma]

I'm tempted to give it a go after the BtRL release But I figured I'd write the idea down so that anyone who wants to give it a go can do it

[icewind_123]

I once had visions of the player controlling a shadow ship, following the instructions laid out  by the eye and helping to spread chaos to the non-aligned worlds like Brakiri and Vree. Like shooting Brakiri transports and putting the blame on the Vree ect.

Well i discarded it because this would need a ship of more intellect,(means a pilot) such as a Battlecrab, and not a scout, which is the only shadow unit you can play because i don't know if such small ships as scouts have their own thoughts or are just marionettes (that would not fit with a player changing course ect. the way he wants)

[hansebee]

A raider campaign, flying from the side of the raiders, any mission involving an assault on the EA or any other "proper" team = suicide/

haha that is funny enough to bump this thread after a year... because VIDMASTER has just released a very professionally done and entertaining Raider campaign you really should check out... not your usual Raiders that bunch!

But the Zephyrs are a major pain in the a...
 
I love situations where your main guns are so far apart and poorly placed on a fighter that you shoot past your Starfury or Sentri, one bolt misses left, the other on the right... you actually have to aim past the fighter to hit it with one barrel 

[Vidmaster]

haha that is funny enough to bump this thread after a year... because VIDMASTER has just released a very professionally done and entertaining Raider campaign you really should check out... not your usual Raiders that bunch!

*never read this thread before and suddenly, it's on the first page. Staring to to read. Looking at Dekker's statement. Strong wish to write something here about that, BUT...* ...you were first. 

I love situations where your main guns are so far apart and poorly placed on a fighter

yeah, the Zephyr is a nightmare and its gun ports are horrible. I even let the main character state exactly that

Shadow war missions

oh, there will be some soon and they won't be BoE all

If the player can't do anything meaningful in a mission, then it's badly designed mission.

Well actually, I absolutly disagree with that statement.
Check out mission 2 of the FS2 tango mini campaign, mission 6 (and in a way 7) in Fortune Hunters or mission 1 of Sol: A History. I love those moments, really!