[Jeff Vader]

Replay to Lobo
No if in 1998/1999 your average New computer Had a 256MB NVIDIA video card, 256 MB ram and a 3.5 GHz  Processor. video games for PC where like they are today.

I think that would end up in the same results we actually got back in '98 and '99. If, hypothetically speaking, computers were the kind you describe, surely all the games would take full advantage from them and therefore, graphically speaking, the FreeSpaces wouldn't be any more shocking than they originally were.

Conclusion: they'd be just the same they were originally. Not better, not worse.

[Turey]

Replay to Lobo
No if in 1998/1999 your average New computer Had a 256MB NVIDIA video card, 256 MB ram and a 3.5 GHz  Processor. video games for PC where like they are today. With Interplay still running strong how would FS1 and 2 come out?

seriously?

[Scooby_Doo]

Replay to Lobo
No if in 1998/1999 your average New computer Had a 256MB NVIDIA video card,256 MB ram and a 3.5 GHz  Processor. video games for PC where like they are today. With Interplay still running strong how would FS1 and 2 come out?

seriously?

seriously?

[corvette108048]

Replay to Lobo
No if in 1998/1999 your average New computer Had a 256MB NVIDIA video card, 256 MB ram and a 3.5 GHz  Processor. video games for PC where like they are today.

I think that would end up in the same results we actually got back in '98 and '99. If, hypothetically speaking, computers were the kind you describe, surely all the games would take full advantage from them and therefore, graphically speaking, the FreeSpaces wouldn't be any more shocking than they originally were.

Conclusion: they'd be just the same they were originally. Not better, not worse.

You sure what about the cutscenes? I mean it would have to be better look at Resident evil 4 compared to the Playstation Resident evil 1 big difference

[Jeff Vader]

Well, I'm quite sure that if computers had been more powerful, the games would have been bigger resource hogs, and therefore FreeSpace would have been relatively as fancy as it actually was in '98, compared to other games of that time. The cutscenes might have been purdier but that goes for other games as well. It's pretty biased to think about a scenario where the computers in '98 were as powerful as they are today but the only game to take advantage of it was FreeSpace.

No if in 1998/1999 your average New computer Had a 256MB NVIDIA video card, 256 MB ram and a 3.5 GHz  Processor.

And really. What the ****? Why would an average computer have 256mb ram if the graphics card already has such an amount of its own memory? The ram would be quite a bottleneck there.

[colecampbell666]

I think that it would come out under the name FreeSpace_Open.

[corvette108048]

Well, I'm quite sure that if computers had been more powerful, the games would have been bigger resource hogs, and therefore FreeSpace would have been relatively as fancy as it actually was in '98, compared to other games of that time. The cutscenes might have been purdier but that goes for other games as well. It's pretty biased to think about a scenario where the computers in '98 were as powerful as they are today but the only game to take advantage of it was FreeSpace.

No if in 1998/1999 your average New computer Had a 256MB NVIDIA video card, 256 MB ram and a 3.5 GHz  Processor.

And really. What the ****? Why would an average computer have 256mb ram if the graphics card already has such an amount of its own memory? The ram would be quite a bottleneck there.

768 sorry

[Turey]

768 sorry

More like 2048

[IceFire]

Folks I think the basic concept is this: what if Interplay and Volition were both still around/making PC games and they were making Descent: FreeSpace or FreeSpace 2...what would happen.  Purely hypothetical of course and in being hypothetical you need to suspend some reality in order to make it work.  The question is FreeSpace focused so ignore what other games there are except possibly to make comparisons.

I think I've already said what would happen and I don't think it'd be a huge difference.  Just a better looking game with essentially all of the other same things happening and all other considerations aside.

[AlphaOne]

Hey no offence but i dont seem to remember the  average computer to have a 3.5 Ghz processor back in 98 i think you myght be thinking about computers about 5 years later or more!

[Colonol Dekker]

It would probably be released for the consoles ---

 
All i can see when you said that is Project Sypheed on the 360 (Square Enix should never have strayed from RPG) and Battlestar Galactica on the original XBocks.


Both awful games 

[colecampbell666]

Hey no offence but i dont seem to remember the  average computer to have a 3.5 Ghz processor back in 98 i think you myght be thinking about computers about 5 years later or more!

He's saying if PCs in '98 had 3.5 Ghz processors.

[AlphaOne]

oh now i see! Whel if computers back in 98 would of been that powerfull you would of payd close to 3000 $ or more! ) But well lets just say it would of been interesting how advanced the graphix would of been! However i also wonder if the story would of been the same or even it would of been made for PC's and not consoles

[DivisionByZero]

This is easy, three things would be different in a modern release:

multiplayer, multiplayer and multiplayer.

as in more of it (more network handling etc), better support for it (probably MMO type tie ins/meta universe) and bigger implementations of it (more simultaneous players).

This was the trend several years ago already when Quake 3 toned down any sort of story (heck, it's a multiplayer arena, except bots is all single player is) and later examples got rid of it altogether.

[IceFire]

Excellent point!  FreeSpace 2 was making the motions in that direction but it never completely got there.  SquadWars was pretty innovative at the time actually...and its sort of hard to find anything that resembles even now.

[Fearless Leader]

I think it would be unrecognizable, different ships, different weapons, maybe even different  physics, better backgrounds. Everything that is new and that every other space flight sim had, nomatter if you did or did not want it...
maybe more pirate ships noting the popularity of pirate movies at this time.

but the story would be the same, one fighter against an unstopable armada of shivan ships, and win... maybe 

I hope the pour for souls in this "what if" universe that it dosent have alternate endings, or hard-light would have way more members 

[Mars]

Well if it had had a definitive ending Hard Light as we know it would not exist.

[Colonol Dekker]

Sure it would. there would just be a whole lot less open plot to play with.........

[redsniper]

Everyone would just try to make FS4 as their first campaign instead of FS3.

[Fearless Leader]

Everyone would just try to make FS4 as their first campaign instead of FS3.

  yes, who needs FS3? does anybody know if they are making a FS4?