[Scourge of Ages]

First: This was printed in the letters section of the March 2008 issue of PC Gamer.

Letter: "....blah....blah...Freelancer...blah...Darkstar One...blah...I would, however prefer to see FreeSpace 3...PLEASE!"
(Blahs and ellipses added by me)

Response: "We've got to disagree with you on Darkstar One -- it scored 65% in our October issue, and to quote the review, 'isn't the game that fans of Freelancer have been waiting for.' We can agree with you on the topic of FreeSpace's awesomeness, though -- FreeSpace 2 scored  93% way back in the January 2000 issue, so we'd love to see a sequel recapture the glory. The catch? The rights are still owned by Interplay, the zombie publisher that is neither living nor dead. You're better off begging Microsoft for a new and improved Freelancer game... though not a lot better off."

To me, this sounds like an open invitation for you guys to fire off a few expertly crafted emails/snail-mails.
It seems as though people are finally ready for another good space combat sim, and we already have one.
If you'd like, I'll volunteer to do it.

Also: please forgive me if this has already been suggested. I generally just hang out in the SWC and SOL forums, and just did a search for "PC Gamer."

[Snail]

To be perfectly honest, I'd rather not see FreeSpace 3. Our expectations are so high (or at least mine are) that whatever or Derek Smrat releases will be below my expectations, and I think that it will suck.

Besides, if it does get released it basically contradicts every single campaign out there set in Post-Capella, making all of them counter-canon.

[Mobius]

Why don't they tell everyone about HLP and other FS related sites?

[FSW]

To be perfectly honest, I'd rather not see FreeSpace 3. Our expectations are so high (or at least mine are) that whatever or Derek Smrat releases will be below my expectations, and I think that it will suck.

Besides, if it does get released it basically contradicts every single campaign out there set in Post-Capella, making all of them counter-canon.

Wait... you expect it to be bad because you expect it to be so good?

[karajorma]

Even if it's bad it still could be very divisive. Suppose 10% of the community thought it was okay while the rest of us hated it. Now imagine every single debate on Gen FS having problems with what is canon? Those who liked it might consider it canon. Hell if it were from even those who didn't like it might consider it so as it was obvious based on the understanding of the FS universe the other two games were based on.


That could easily cause problems for a community.

[Colonol Dekker]

If the boats rocked i'll just the myself to a fanbased lifeboat and hang on for dear life. As much as the idea of a canon fs3 intrigues me, things like inferno and blue planet, derelict above all others- are just too damn fun to ignore.

[Mongoose]

I still don't see how any canon extension of the FS storyline would invalidate the worthiness of any user-created campaigns in any significant way.  Were campaigns like Destiny of Peace or Cardinal Spear suddenly devalued when FS2 came out simply because they didn't match up with the newer game's story?

[Snail]

Even if it's bad it still could be very divisive. Suppose 10% of the community thought it was okay while the rest of us hated it. Now imagine every single debate on Gen FS having problems with what is canon? Those who liked it might consider it canon. Hell if it were from even those who didn't like it might consider it so as it was obvious based on the understanding of the FS universe the other two games were based on.

That could easily cause problems for a community.

I agree, the release of FS3 would be like the coming of an advanced alien race. Technology completely skyrockets, scientific beliefs and theories may be completely disproved, but at the cost of a complete, rapid social reformation which would definitely damage everything.

I still don't see how any canon extension of the FS storyline would invalidate the worthiness of any user-created campaigns in any significant way.  Were campaigns like Destiny of Peace or Cardinal Spear suddenly devalued when FS2 came out simply because they didn't match up with the newer game's story?

Yes.

If any FS1 campaigns were still in development near to the release of FS2, they were likely dropped.

[Mobius]

It depends on the importance the word "canon" has in this contest.

It's always good to have "What if...?" scenarios and stuff like that. A campaigns succeeds when 1) it's FREDding is good and 2) it has an original/enjoyable plot. Point 2) implies that a campaign doesn't really have to stay close to canon. What are you going to do with INF SCP and Steadfast? One is INF canon, the other's not. Are you going to exclude either campaign? I don't think so...

[Snail]

INF canon is completely different.


Point is, when FS3 comes, everything we've worked so hard for until that day is for nothing. Everything changes when it comes.

[Mobius]

You did it again!!!

Campaigns should show up different ideas, different ways to interpret things. Try to imagine an admirably FREDded FS2 era campaign without the NTF. Will you treat it badly? And what if the NTF is replaced with something else? What if the Shivans don't appear a second time?

[Snail]

Put it this way. FS3 is the definitive canon. Everything changes when FS3 comes.

[Mobius]

A good campaign is a good campaign, no matter of what's canon and what's not.

[Woolie Wool]

Besides, if it does get released it basically contradicts every single campaign out there set in Post-Capella, making all of them counter-canon.

I wouldn't care if my projects were defied by whatever happens in FreeSpace 3, I would just state that the campaign does not acknowledge FS3 in its continuity. Wing Commander Saga actually defies WC canon and they don't even seem to realize it (the Rapier was absolutely not replaced by the Hellcat V! In fact, Rapiers served through the Nephilim War, according to Arena, and the Rapier was introduced AFTER the Hellcat V. This is just one such problem with the Saga tech descriptions). Does this negatively impact WC Saga in any meaningful way? Not really, even to a WC1/2 fanboy like me.

[Mobius]

Don't forget BtRL.

[Scourge of Ages]

First: This was printed in the letters section of the March 2008 issue of PC Gamer.

We can agree with you on the topic of FreeSpace's awesomeness, though -- FreeSpace 2 scored  93% way back in the January 2000 issue, so we'd love to see a sequel recapture the glory. The catch? The rights are still owned by Interplay, the zombie publisher that is neither living nor dead. You're better off begging Microsoft for a new and improved Freelancer game... though not a lot better off."

To me, this sounds like an open invitation for you guys to fire off a few expertly crafted emails/snail-mails.
It seems as though people are finally ready for another good space combat sim, and we already have one.
If you'd like, I'll volunteer to do it.

I think you missed my point. While FS3 would indeed be awesome, we have a top-notch space sim already in FSO. With all the new campaigns, media vps, and everything else you guys have put into it, THIS could be the game people are waiting for!
I think PCG would love to know about it, and the people who complain about there not being any decent new games would go nuts.

[Colonol Dekker]

PCG are well aware already i reckon they'll ask permission to put it on the "indie" section within 6 months latest.

[Mongoose]

I still don't see how any canon extension of the FS storyline would invalidate the worthiness of any user-created campaigns in any significant way.  Were campaigns like Destiny of Peace or Cardinal Spear suddenly devalued when FS2 came out simply because they didn't match up with the newer game's story?

Yes.

If any FS1 campaigns were still in development near to the release of FS2, they were likely dropped.

I don't think you can quantitatively state that unless you were there and saw it happen.  And considering the fact that many people still hold up both of the campaigns I mentioned as solid offerings, I don't see how either of them has been compromised by not entirely fitting in with FS2's story.  It's not as though you can write based on what you don't know yet.

[Polpolion]

To be perfectly honest, I'd rather not see FreeSpace 3. Our expectations are so high (or at least mine are) that whatever or Derek Smrat releases will be below my expectations, and I think that it will suck.

Besides, if it does get released it basically contradicts every single campaign out there set in Post-Capella, making all of them counter-canon.

Then technically, your expectations are that the game will suck at a logically undefined, yet still sucky, level. However, the game will most likely not suck (assuming it's made by developers that aren't idiots), thereby exceeding your expectations even if the game isn't as good as FS1 or FS2.

[IceFire]

If Volition did FS3 and it was a spiritual successor of FreeSpace 2 but with all of the usual associated upgrades then I think that would meet my expectations.  That'd ensure that at least some of the folks who did the originals were still there and had the same concepts did the gameplay.  Story and the rest is important but a good editor, a good engine, and solid gameplay would make FreeSpace sequel a top notch product.

FreeSpace was so good when it came out because it was the synthesized version of TIE Fighter and Wing Commander and blended all of the good things from past games, added mega huge capital ships, fast gameplay, and fantastic graphics.  I WOULD be disappointed if a sequel went FreeLancer on us and did the mouse thing only...mouse is great and I'd expect it to be tweaked significantly to make it playable for everyone else in the FPS arena but the joystick is still where its at.