Just wanted to register to express my appreciation for one of the best experiences in my last 15 years of gaming- this mod features a depth of narrative, world building and internal consistency that positively dwarfs the vast majority of "triple A" titles, not to mention gameplay that is both exciting and complex, a very difficult feat indeed.
What I like most is the nuanced and sophisticated take on questions of philosophy and human nature regarding the ethics of war, the mindsets of the invader and the defender are brought into sharp focus and the contrasts between them make much of the human drama. Most impressively, many of these questions are explored via the gameplay itself, rather than simply communicated via the narrative- the free natured yet brittle, disparate yet resourceful UEF fleets struggling to merely disable the deadly beam spam of the relentless, co-ordinated GTVA warmachine, itself roiling with its own internal contradictions and a victim of its irresistible momentum.
Every time a GTVA ship jumps out after having its weapons destroyed despite the best efforts of the UEF to finish them off, you can sense the hopelessness and frustration of the defender, just as you can sense their shock and despair as the GTVA beams almost instantly carve apart their best. The inequality of war and its psychological impact are rarely communicated in western game development, which mainly seeks to glorify it or sanitise it, for reasons of gory gratification or thinly veiled propaganda justifying current and past conflicts, e.g all WW2 shooters, COD series, Homefront and any games featuring "us vs terrorists" plots. Neither is it dealt with well in Japanese game development, which tend to be very heavy handed in their approach, simply serving to reveal the developers lack of life experience and understanding of historical conflicts.
The emotional hooks the player develops to individual ships and his War Gods' team mates are both subtly and organically embedded, they are a function of the desperate, system-wide conflict raging around the player and the knowledge that, despite his best efforts, his influence in these proceedings is limited, if nonetheless important. Every ally ship saved brings satisfying relief and the gratification that yes, in this small corner of the theatre, I made a difference (I cant count the number of times I replayed Aristeia to ensure that both Sanctus cruisers survived).
This is as far away from the cynical and overtly heavy handed "connection" the developers of Bioshock, (to take an example of a much lauded mainstream "mature" title) thrust upon the players in the form of the little sisters. Any feelings of protectiveness from the player or the moral dilemma the creators were ham-handedly trying to impose fell flat instantly, despite being a central feature of the game. In contrast, neither the Dea Bricta nor the Auxerre had any relevance to the plot aside from the mission they were featured in and their survival was ultimately insignificant in the success of mission, yet despite that I want to save them. Everytime.
As an aside, Blue Planet really deserves to be played through using a top end pair of headphones, on a properly amplified pair of Sennheiser HD800 Delenda Est is truly awe-inspiring, the chaos of the battlefield is really well portrayed, with flak pounding into your ears, bombs exploding and laserfire effects swarming all around you in multiple layers. And when the swelling chorus of immediatemusic3 kicks in, it sends down chills down the spine like nothing else I've experienced in gaming.
If this part also featured voice-acting, my brain would inevitably shut down from the combination sensory and emotional overload
A cheaper pair of AKG K701s would also do this mission justice (yes I'm a bit of a headphone geek)
All BP players should experience it!
Thanks for the amazing work you guys; I eagerly await the next installment
