Author Topic: First impressions of a longtime Starlancer player.  (Read 4760 times)

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First impressions of a longtime Starlancer player.
Downloaded FS2open yesterday (after leaving the computer on overnight, it took aaages). Never played any of the games in the series before, only Starlancer and Freelancer, and I love both of those games. While the ai is is undeniably better in FS than in either of those games, and dogfighting feels better, so far I've found the missions in FreeSpace 2 a bit on the short side. I also miss the walking through the ship sections of Starlancer because you saw something different happen each time, and npcs saluted you or made comments depending on your rank, and it really immersed you. Because FS doesn't even make you go back to the main menu, all you get is mission briefing text after mission briefing text (whereas in Starlancer, you actually sat down in a briefing room, and saw your commander read the briefing). But the actualy gameplay feels better.

I've only gotten as far as the mission where you have to defend the Trinity from Shivan attack, in the nebula. Is it possible to save the Trinity? I think I'm just being slow. A wing always jumps in and immediately launches loads of missiles; is it possible to stop them? And do the missions get longer as the game progresses?

 

Offline TrashMan

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Re: First impressions of a longtime Starlancer player.
Welecome to the forums!

*Insert welecome speech here*

To answer your questions:
Nope..you can't save the Trinity. It's doomed so don't worry about that. Youre still at the begining of hte game so you can expect the missions to build up quite a momentum.


*What's that welecome beam tag?*
Oh well, this will have to do
:beamz:
Nobody dies as a virgin - the life ****s us all!

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Offline Hades

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Re: First impressions of a longtime Starlancer player.
:welcomegreen:
[22:29] <sigtau> Hello, #hard-light?  I'm trying to tell a girl she looks really good for someone who doesn't exercise.  How do I word that non-offensively?
[22:29] <RangerKarl|AtWork> "you look like a big tasty muffin"
----
<batwota> wouldn’t that mean that it’s prepared to kiss your ass if you flank it :p
<batwota> wow
<batwota> KILL

 

Offline Flipside

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Re: First impressions of a longtime Starlancer player.
Welcome aboard!

I'll agree that the 'front end' of the game looks a little dated compared to more modern attempts, it's all done in 2d using icons etc, rather than more modern Rendered interfaces. Parts of that is changing slowly, such as using a proper model of the ship in the Loadout screen etc, but much of it is simply down to the way the game is written, it would be nice to have the ability to feel more a 'part' of the crew during a campaign (Freespace 1 did this to a small degree using cutscenes) but it's a huge job, and not one I really see taking precedence at this time.

As for short missions, I noticed that too, it's partly because, in the original FS2, you cannot get your hull repaired in-mission, so your surviveability drops quite a lot compared to games in which you can. The missions do get longer and more drawn out nearer the end of the campaign, but not exceptionally so. That will probably change in Mods with the new features of the SCP.

 

Offline karajorma

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Re: First impressions of a longtime Starlancer player.
To be honest the Starlancer walkthrough bits got on my nerves cause after you'd seen them a few times they were just a delay between you and the next mission. FS2 came from a different school of design. One that said "Never get between the player and the game" So no in-game cutscenes, no shots of your player climbing into the cockpit. Just mission brief, optional armament and ship selection and then straight to the game.

For that reason I absolutely loved the clean interface of FS2 even though Starlancer is a good game too.
Karajorma's Freespace FAQ. It's almost like asking me yourself.

[ Diaspora ] - [ Seeds Of Rebellion ] - [ Mind Games ]

 

Offline Woolie Wool

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Re: First impressions of a longtime Starlancer player.
Downloaded FS2open yesterday (after leaving the computer on overnight, it took aaages). Never played any of the games in the series before, only Starlancer and Freelancer, and I love both of those games. While the ai is is undeniably better in FS than in either of those games, and dogfighting feels better, so far I've found the missions in FreeSpace 2 a bit on the short side. I also miss the walking through the ship sections of Starlancer because you saw something different happen each time, and npcs saluted you or made comments depending on your rank, and it really immersed you. Because FS doesn't even make you go back to the main menu, all you get is mission briefing text after mission briefing text (whereas in Starlancer, you actually sat down in a briefing room, and saw your commander read the briefing). But the actualy gameplay feels better.

I've only gotten as far as the mission where you have to defend the Trinity from Shivan attack, in the nebula. Is it possible to save the Trinity? I think I'm just being slow. A wing always jumps in and immediately launches loads of missiles; is it possible to stop them? And do the missions get longer as the game progresses?


To answer your questions, yes (but you shouldn't) and yes. You can hold off the enemy fighters nearly indefinitely if you're good enough, but it's pointless as the Trinity is supposed to die. Don't worry about it. And yes, the missions get longer, and a hell of a lot more intense. The later missions can last upwards of 12 minutes.
16:46   Quanto   ****, a mosquito somehow managed to bite the side of my palm
16:46   Quanto   it itches like hell
16:46   Woolie   !8ball does Quanto have malaria
16:46   BotenAnna   Woolie: The outlook is good.
16:47   Quanto   D:

"did they use anesthetic when they removed your sense of humor or did you have to weep and struggle like a tiny baby"
--General Battuta

 

Offline Mathwiz6

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Re: First impressions of a longtime Starlancer player.
Some missions that were made here got as long as 20 minutes, but they're a PAIN. That particular one that I remember, you spend 10 minutes drifting with the occasional fight, get to your destination, then huge numbers of enemies appear, and you have to survive a pretty annoying attack for ten minutes. If you die, of course, you have to restart  :doubt:

x64 speed FTW!

 
Re: First impressions of a longtime Starlancer player.
Thanks for the info. Ahar, that's my second welcome beam! Lucky me. Yeah, I think the fact that the gameplay itself is so great more than makes up for the slightly dated interface.

 
Re: First impressions of a longtime Starlancer player.
Welcome to HLP mate. P.S , you didnt come from WAR alliance forums per chance did you? I've been doing some recruiting there  ;)

What did you think of the beam cannons?

 

Offline TrashMan

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Re: First impressions of a longtime Starlancer player.
Welecome to the HLP station. Exits are to your left, right, rear,  upwards and downwards (3D mate ;)) Don't bother to try to exit tough, they're shut tight and there's only vacuum on the other side - your'e stuck here FOREVER. In case of emergency you can and WILL be used a flotation device. There are flamethrowers under your seats, but due to budget cuts they are filled only with holy water, so unless theres an undead invasion you're pretty much screwed.
In case of n00b there are lockers contaning high-tech plasma rifles, but are acessible only to [V], hyperintelligent shade of blue and God. If you happen to run into a shivan in the ariducts it's probably just Carl (probably..rumor sez he's stuck in there somewhere), so give him your lunch and you should be OK. If you find a box labeled "HEADZ" DON'T open it!
Oh, do not mention the unholy name of Derek Smart or the symbols "F", "S" & "3" in that order unless you want to be eaten alive by n00bs. In case of trolls or flame wars call the admins for only they posses the HLP BannHammer of Justice.

Enjoy your stay..who're we kidding, you stuck here anyway...

Nobody dies as a virgin - the life ****s us all!

You're a wrongularity from which no right can escape!

 

Offline karajorma

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Re: First impressions of a longtime Starlancer player.
Um Trashman. We killed the welcome speech about 2 months ago. Didn't you get the memo?
Karajorma's Freespace FAQ. It's almost like asking me yourself.

[ Diaspora ] - [ Seeds Of Rebellion ] - [ Mind Games ]

  
Re: First impressions of a longtime Starlancer player.
Quote
Some missions that were made here got as long as 20 minutes....

I've done a couple of 30-45 minute missions before ("Project Roadblock," a standalone mission and "Open Season," from Second Front come to mind).  On the development side, they're a real pain because, as you build each part of the mission, you have to continue playing through the early bits to test the later bits.  After a while, debugging the final bits (especially the debriefing) reaches a level of tedium that can chew away at your will to live.  In retrospect, on all the epic-length missions I've made, I can see about where I peetered out and decided I just wanted to get the damn thing done.  Dropping a month-and-a-half on a single mission in the middle of a summer vacation kind of sucked....

 

Offline TrashMan

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Re: First impressions of a longtime Starlancer player.
Um Trashman. We killed the welcome speech about 2 months ago. Didn't you get the memo?

Apparently no... :nervous:
Nobody dies as a virgin - the life ****s us all!

You're a wrongularity from which no right can escape!

 
Re: First impressions of a longtime Starlancer player.
Who is Derek Smart? And I don't understand why there is a Shivan named Carl. Who IS Carl?... I'm so lost.

 

Offline Woolie Wool

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Re: First impressions of a longtime Starlancer player.
Carl is a former administrator around here. I haven't seen him in ages. The hyperintelligent shade of blue is a reference to a novel called Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Um Trashman. We killed the welcome speech about 2 months ago. Didn't you get the memo?

Apparently no... :nervous:

They used to be funny until the traditional welcome message became constantly warped and distorted into a mockery of its former self.
16:46   Quanto   ****, a mosquito somehow managed to bite the side of my palm
16:46   Quanto   it itches like hell
16:46   Woolie   !8ball does Quanto have malaria
16:46   BotenAnna   Woolie: The outlook is good.
16:47   Quanto   D:

"did they use anesthetic when they removed your sense of humor or did you have to weep and struggle like a tiny baby"
--General Battuta

 

Offline Mad Bomber

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Re: First impressions of a longtime Starlancer player.
Who is Derek Smart?

The less said, the better.
"What the hell!? I've got a Snuffleupagus on my scanners! The Snuffleupagus is active!"

 

Offline Hades

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Re: First impressions of a longtime Starlancer player.
No kidding..... :lol:
[22:29] <sigtau> Hello, #hard-light?  I'm trying to tell a girl she looks really good for someone who doesn't exercise.  How do I word that non-offensively?
[22:29] <RangerKarl|AtWork> "you look like a big tasty muffin"
----
<batwota> wouldn’t that mean that it’s prepared to kiss your ass if you flank it :p
<batwota> wow
<batwota> KILL

 
Re: First impressions of a longtime Starlancer player.
After you play the FS2 campaign, use the mod feature to enable FSPort, and play through the FS1 campaign and see how it all started.  It's a bit of a letdown after FS2, no beam weaponry, no flak, no shields until a few missions after your first Shivan encounter, but it's still a lot of fun.
Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made
Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade
To write the love of God above, would drain the ocean dry
Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky!

 

Offline jr2

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Re: First impressions of a longtime Starlancer player.
That's why I tell ppl to play FSPort first.

 
Re: First impressions of a longtime Starlancer player.
but if you play FSport first, you get a major spoiler at the end with the final cutscene in FS2 being played in the end of FSport . What was up with that?