Author Topic: FreeSpace movie - good idea or bad idea?  (Read 11030 times)

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Offline Eishtmo

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Re: FreeSpace movie - good idea or bad idea?
To be blunt:  I'm afraid an FS movie is going to suck balls.  Given the track record of game movies, I can only see it being bad to begin with.  Then you look at stuff like Wing Commander, which probably has more in one game than FS has period, and then look at the movie they produced, and I get sick.

That said, I did come up with a rough plot for a movie that MIGHT work, but I'd still be hesitant to give it to the movie industry.
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Offline sigtau

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Re: FreeSpace movie - good idea or bad idea?
To be blunt:  I'm afraid an FS movie is going to suck balls.  Given the track record of game movies, I can only see it being bad to begin with.  Then you look at stuff like Wing Commander, which probably has more in one game than FS has period, and then look at the movie they produced, and I get sick.

That said, I did come up with a rough plot for a movie that MIGHT work, but I'd still be hesitant to give it to the movie industry.

From the logic you've been using in all of your posts, you make it sound like you believe that anything that is both FreeSpace and fanmade is a bad thing.  Honestly, I agree that a FreeSpace movie can never be completely "true to the story."  That's why when watching the movie (if one is ever made) you should take it with a grain of salt, just like you would with any fanmade campaign, because neither of them will ever be canon.
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Offline darkdaej

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Re: FreeSpace movie - good idea or bad idea?
  Then you look at stuff like Wing Commander, which probably has more in one game than FS has period, and then look at the movie they produced, and I get sick.

While I must agree that the wing commander movie sucked massively, they made a few more games than the duo of FS games.  Silent Threat and Op Templar are expansions and thus cannot count as full games.

wing commander game list
Wing Commander
both Secret Missions expansions and the 3do Super Wing Commander
Wing Commander II:Vengeance of the Kilrathi
2 Special Ops expansions
Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger
Wing Commander IV:The Price of Freedom
Wing Commander: Prophecy
Wing Commander: Secret Ops

This does not count the spinoffs either...(including Privateer)

As the FreeSpace Universe only includes 2 games and their respective expansions, wing commander had a bit more public knowledge to make it into a movie.

An FS movie wouldnt be great, but as they make everything into trilogies these days, they COULD technically cover all the important aspects of The Great War...

 

Offline wistler

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Re: FreeSpace movie - good idea or bad idea?
I'd rather keep FreeSpace as brilliant games and avoid an embarrasing stain of a FreeSpace movie.

 

Offline Sushi

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Re: FreeSpace movie - good idea or bad idea?
The only way I can see to make this maybe work would be to do it as a miniseries, something of a cross between Babylon 5 and BSG. Focus on a small group of people aboard the Galatea (and later, critical plot characters moved to the Bastion).

If you take enough liberties with the Freespace story, I'm sure you could eventually make something like that work. The question is, by the time you were done, what would you have left? Something unique and interesting, or a washed-out "B5 clone?"

 

Offline darkdaej

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Re: FreeSpace movie - good idea or bad idea?
Something unique and interesting, or a washed-out "B5 clone?"

Or a story that looks like Space: Above and Beyond which KINDA had a similar feel to FS with ground troops instead of space fighters, but there was some space combat as well.  Story was basically that of Terrans at war with a mysterious enemy that just attacked them out of nowhere and their desperate retaliation.

Problem is, that series suffered from low budget and subpar acting and was cut after 24 episodes and no clear ending...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space:_Above_And_Beyond

 

Offline General Battuta

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Re: FreeSpace movie - good idea or bad idea?
To be blunt:  I'm afraid an FS movie is going to suck balls.  Given the track record of game movies, I can only see it being bad to begin with.  Then you look at stuff like Wing Commander, which probably has more in one game than FS has period, and then look at the movie they produced, and I get sick.

That said, I did come up with a rough plot for a movie that MIGHT work, but I'd still be hesitant to give it to the movie industry.

From the logic you've been using in all of your posts, you make it sound like you believe that anything that is both FreeSpace and fanmade is a bad thing.  Honestly, I agree that a FreeSpace movie can never be completely "true to the story."  That's why when watching the movie (if one is ever made) you should take it with a grain of salt, just like you would with any fanmade campaign, because neither of them will ever be canon.

 :lol:

You clearly don't know who you're talking to here.

 

Offline TrashMan

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Re: FreeSpace movie - good idea or bad idea?
While I must agree that the wing commander movie sucked massively, they made a few more games than the duo of FS games.  Silent Threat and Op Templar are expansions and thus cannot count as full games.

wing commander game list
Wing Commander
both Secret Missions expansions and the 3do Super Wing Commander
Wing Commander II:Vengeance of the Kilrathi
2 Special Ops expansions
Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger
Wing Commander IV:The Price of Freedom
Wing Commander: Prophecy
Wing Commander: Secret Ops

WC started earlier, in the golden age of space sims/shooters...so more sequels is just logical.
Not to mention that all the WC's combined don't hold a candle to FS
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Offline Eishtmo

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Re: FreeSpace movie - good idea or bad idea?
Problem is, that series suffered from low budget and subpar acting and was cut after 24 episodes and no clear ending...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space:_Above_And_Beyond

I have it on DVD.  It has it's moments (Angriest Angel), but it isn't great.  It had some potential, and if it was made 10 years later and given another season (it was on Fox, so fat chance of that), maybe it could have been something pretty damn good.

At the same time, it also reveals why FS wouldn't work as a TV show:  Space fighter battles are interesting once in a while, but you can't make EVERY episode about it.  SAaB did this by making the main characters Marines, so they could do ground pounder episodes, and some were actually pretty good.  But it was jarring, so much so they actually had McQueen talk about it in one episode.  FS is almost universally a space battle, so doing an entire series like that would stall it out quick.  Can only do so many escort, attack, defend episodes after all.

A movie would work BETTER, but would suffer from the same problems Wing Commander had.  So there you have it.

I would rather leave them as games with a bit of fanfiction running around.  It's better that way.
Warpstorm  Bringing Disorder to Chaos, And Eventually We'll Get It Right.

---------

I know there is a method, but all I see is madness.

  
Re: FreeSpace movie - good idea or bad idea?
Quote
At the same time, it also reveals why FS wouldn't work as a TV show:  Space fighter battles are interesting once in a while, but you can't make EVERY episode about it.  SAaB did this by making the main characters Marines, so they could do ground pounder episodes, and some were actually pretty good.  But it was jarring, so much so they actually had McQueen talk about it in one episode.

 FS is almost universally a space battle, so doing an entire series like that would stall it out quick.  Can only do so many escort, attack, defend episodes after all.
That's why you don't follow alpha 1 in your freespace movie/series, but tell the story of other people. Here, because you have the freedom to do nearly anything you like with a paralell story (because the fs universe is so "incomplete", you have a very low chance in conflicting with canon), you can focus more on relationship and the persons, not the space battles. BSG somehow worked like this, too, though I wouldn't think of a BSG rip-off. Just an example that it CAN work.
You can transport the feeling of despair present in the fs games very well with actors instead of fighting and fighting enemies you obviously can't defeat (ingame).
Battle scenes I would include for a movie:
1.) An intro battle, introducing the shivans
2.) Probably a battle relevant for the story itself - it is mentioned that others than alpha 1 have located other sathanas, this could be the inspiration for the main story. But this is maybe not necessary.
3.) The destruction of the first Sathanas (either bearbaiting only or bearbaiting and high noon (both very shortened))
4.) A final battle before/during the evacuation, maybe hindering a Sathanas to do an attack run against the Bastion
4.b) Escaping the Supernova (doesn't need to be with a fight, just watching the outside fight as passengers of a medic ship will be enough :) )

If you give each 4-5 minutes, that would mean 20-25 minutes of the movie would be action/space battle, but 1.) and 2.) can probably shortened to 1-2 minutes of battle each. The Rest of the 70 minutes: Characters+character interaction.
This 70 minutes might consist of arguing about politics (the NTF rebellion), talking about history(T-V war), a love story (plz, calm down everyone, i had to mention this :> ), a story of friendship, a tragedy or whatever you would like to fill it with (as long as it fits the general tone of the game)

But I'm sure you could even do a good movie in the universe without any battles, though it might be missing a good opportunity for some eye candy. :)

What I wouldn't include:
a)The NTF rebellion as a major plot point - too much for only 1 movie imho, but i can be proven wrong.
b)A part of the story on a vasudan ship: Design of the interiour will be complicated, and as long as the Vasudans are not a main part of the story, the viewer will have difficulties feeling comfortable "there".

After all, it's all about the shivans kicking our ass. :>


 

Offline TrashMan

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Re: FreeSpace movie - good idea or bad idea?
I'd say the "pilots who are also marines, and commandos and diplomats and whatever the episode needs them to be" is the product of BAD WRITING. Simple as that.

It's never about just what you do, it's also how you do it. Something that might seem boring can be done to be fresh and interesting - if that wasn't the case, nobody would ever play any of the many custom FS campaign - I mean, we all flew escorts a million times, right?

The trick is not to have a cast of multi-role characters, but a cast of different characters that each do his part. Have a few marines, a few pilots, some officers, etc... and have each do his own thing. Like I said, everything an be done good,m if done properly.
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Offline Eishtmo

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Re: FreeSpace movie - good idea or bad idea?
I hate it when an idea gets into my head.  Here, now I'm done with this discussion.

Freespace:  The Last Immortal
Movie Summary

We open on Tombaugh Station in the Ribos system.  Below sits Ribos (#), a blue green world much like Earth.  Through a subspace portal, a pair of Elysium transports tow the crippled SC Taranis to the station.  From the windows, on lookers watch as the GTA captures its first Shivan warship.

Our Hero (O.H.) is a pilot of one of the fighters sent to escort the cruiser.  Background information is filled in as they near the station.

Warnings go off in the CIC of the GTD Reliant, stationed to guard Tombaugh.  A massive subspace portal opens near the station and the SD Lucifer appears.  Reliant’s Admiral orders all fighters scrambled.  Fighters pour out of the hanger bay, and as they do, the Lucifer responds in kind.  Laser blasts light up the sky and O.H. asks if he should stay on post.  He’s told to forget the cruiser, get into the fight.

Fighters explode around him, ships are going down, pilots are screaming over the comms.  Even as he gets yet another kill, he is hailed by the Reliant.  The great ship is taking a pounding from the Lucifer.  Tombaugh is as well, and it’s only because both are there that they’ve lasted this long.  Civilians are trying to get away, but there are so many Shivan fighters, it seems none can get through.  O.H. is ordered to take data logs from the station, Reliant and anything else with sensors and bug out.  O.H. protests, but the Admiral orders him more forcefully.

With the data uploaded to his fighter, O.H. looks back on the battle.  The Reliant explodes as the Lucifer hits it with a beam weapon.  With a slam, he activates his jump drive and disappears into a portal. . .

He then wakes up in a transport.  Across from him is The Chick (TC), the female protagonist (and possible love interest) of the film.  They talk quietly for a bit, TC confirming that 1) she is a new pilot for Random station, 2) her original training is in psychology and 3) Odds are good everyone on Random will know he’s the last member of the 10th Immortal squadron.  The last part bothers him the most.

On the station, civilian side.  Lots of people, human and Vasudan wander around.  OH not exactly happy to see the Vasudans, but takes interest when a human and Vasudan start getting into an argument.  He and another Vasudan, Quarter Master (QM), break them up (and OH tells the human that the Vasudan will BREAK him).  QM is an officer, responsible for transferring Vasudans through the station and to their various colonies after the destruction and escape from their homeworld.

One last stop at the Admiral in charge of Random.  He confirms that there has still been no response from Earth since the Lucifer was destroyed, and the Shivan threat seems to be diminishing.  In the meantime, OH is named squad commander (despite objections) and to get to work, now.

In the hanger we are finally introduced to The Asshole (TA) who is second in command of the squadron and doesn’t like OH coming in and taking over.  He also messily hits on TC (Earth’s gone baby, we need to repopulate or something).  All this ends when a Shivan Demon class destroyer appears and attacks.

OH and the rest jump in their fighters and back out into combat, but OH is having trouble concentrating.  Flash backs to the Lucifer and the masacure at Tombaugh bother him throughout the fight, and eventually he’s hit enough to lose control of his fighter.  He swerves off, and notices a Shivan transport bearing down on the station, but can’t do anything as he crashes into the station himself.

He wakes up a bit later and crawls out of his wrecked fighter into a now force field sealed section of the station.  The space battle is apparently over, so he crawls to the hallway where he runs into a squad of Terran and Vasudan Marines.  OH is told the battle is over and the Demon left, but the Shivan transport crashed into the station and Shivans are all over the place, killing people and sabatoching equipment.  Oh, and the Admiral and the rest of the command staff were killed by errant missiles or something.

Together they start making their way back through the station.  At one point, one of the Vasudans and one of the humans get into an argument, and the Vasudan picks him up by his neck, only for the whole group to be interrupted by a Shivan.  They kill that Shivan, only there are more coming, so they run.  Eventually they get to a very large door and another group of Marines.  They fire into the Shivans until everyone (who is alive) gets behind the door then slam it shut.  Then the automated defenses come online on the Shivan side.  There was much rejoicing.

In between running and gunning Shivans, we return to TC and TA, who are panicked about the death of the Admiral.  It appears QM, being the most senior military officer on the station, has taken command, and TA doesn’t like it.  TC is actually worried about OH, not because she likes him (OF COURSE!), but because she had orders from Command to try to figure out why he’s not up for being made a big damn hero for Tombaugh (GTA Command, still not getting it).

Anyway, OH returns, QM admits he isn’t really command type, but OH doesn’t want to take over (despite now being senior Terran officer on the station).  He finds out about TC’s extra orders, and is pissed.  Lots of yelling.  Also we’re told that the long range comms are down and any attempt to fly to the node and call for help has been brutally slapped down by Shivan fighters.  Finally we get down to the meat of the matter:  Why are they still alive?

A Demon destroyer had appeared, and had NOT destroyed the station and killed everyone there, and there’s a question about that.  It’s concluded that they don’t have the firepower to do it.  What’s more, the Shivans may not have the power to hold off an attack on the Demon itself.  The allies hatch a plan to take out the Demon by baiting it’s fighters with a bunch of civilian transports heading for a nearby planet.

Before the plan is enacted, TC and OH kind of make up.  Then they find out that OH’s Apollo from the Tombaugh mission is on the station (got to love Command for that).  After a lot of yelling, and realizing they need every fighter that can fly (extra pilots from the Vasudans on the station), OH takes the Apollo.

So OH leads the group against the Demon (TC on the squad) and TA leads the group defending the transports.  Things work well, at first, and the Demon takes hits, but then more Shivan fighters show up and OH and his group are fighting for their lives.  OH then starts having his flashbacks again, but this time TC notices and talks him through it.  Eventually he snaps back to reality and lays down the hammer.  The Demon is destroyed, the Shivans are on the run and everyone is happy.

Warpstorm  Bringing Disorder to Chaos, And Eventually We'll Get It Right.

---------

I know there is a method, but all I see is madness.

 

Offline Killer Whale

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Re: FreeSpace movie - good idea or bad idea?
... talking about history(T-V war), a love story (plz, calm down everyone, i had to mention this :> ), a story of friendship, a tragedy...


*snip*
:yes2: Nice work :yes:
« Last Edit: June 27, 2009, 04:48:18 am by Killer Whale »

 

Offline ssmit132

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Re: FreeSpace movie - good idea or bad idea?
... talking about history(T-V war), a love story (plz, calm down everyone, i had to mention this :> ), a story of friendship, a tragedy...
You were supposed to calm down. :p

 

Offline Scotty

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Re: FreeSpace movie - good idea or bad idea?
How did you use that smiley?  :confused:

 

Offline sigtau

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Re: FreeSpace movie - good idea or bad idea?
I was thinking of something along the lines of a story told almost entirely through interviews, and the scenes of the movie are separated by different interviews.  The action in the movie itself is presented through full-color "flashbacks" where the action itself takes place.

Hell, I could do that myself if I wanted to.   :drevil:
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Offline Killer Whale

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Re: FreeSpace movie - good idea or bad idea?
I don't particularly like interview stories with flashbacks. They seem not to have that suspense and the action doesn't seem real. Personally.

I got that smilie by google imaging "suicide smiley".

 

Offline General Battuta

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Re: FreeSpace movie - good idea or bad idea?
I was thinking of something along the lines of a story told almost entirely through interviews, and the scenes of the movie are separated by different interviews.  The action in the movie itself is presented through full-color "flashbacks" where the action itself takes place.

Hell, I could do that myself if I wanted to.   :drevil:

But why would they not be full-color?

 

Offline Killer Whale

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Re: FreeSpace movie - good idea or bad idea?
some movies do that for flashbacks

 

Offline Woolie Wool

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Re: FreeSpace movie - good idea or bad idea?
I would prefer not following around Alpha 1. We already know what happens, so tell some new stories.

I personally like the idea of a FreeSpace TV series or anime following a rinky-dink carrier group led by Admiral Captain Wolf sometime around 2327, trapped behind enemy lines during a major Vasudan surge into Terran space, where we can see Wolf earn command of a ship like the Galatea and the GTF Apollo actually be a desirable and glamorous fighter that everyone wants to fly.
16:46   Quanto   ****, a mosquito somehow managed to bite the side of my palm
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