[General Battuta]

The fiction viewer is Laporte's journal before each mission.

[Ryuseiken]

Just to make sure, there aren't supposed to be fiction viewer segments at the beginning of the last 2 missions correct?

[knossosfs2]

If that's the case, then yes I have seen her journals. I was actually expecting intel entries. My mistake.

[manwiththemachinegun]

See, you have four combat missions in this act which contain very little story and comparably little text. And then you have these dreamscape missions in-between which consist only of text. Seven to ten minutes long. And this is boring.

Well, a lot of the complaints about WiH1 were that there was too much talking during combat-heavy missions. So, we fixed that. Seems like we can't indeed please everyone.

The dreamscape: The story here is superb, foreshadowing stuff and characterizing people, as well as opinions, forces, lore and the world in general. I did not miss any conversation and did not want to. But the execution is flawed: The necessity to fly around is boring, once you enter a conversation you sit still again.
I liked the solar system map (ignoring the crazy texture bugs I sometimes had with it) but the rest...   meeehh 
My recommendation would be to replace these sequences by a "ingame menu like level". Displaying the solar system texture in the background, the user could simply be presented with the "ships" currently present in the dreamscape. The "shivan ship scaling up" sequence in the last level shows promise. Basically, take us out of the cockpit, eliminiate the flying around part.

People in WiH1 were complaining that we have too many fiction viewer sequences and wanted something more interactive. We gave em. Again, seems like it's a "can't please everybody" scenario.

I liked the addition of non-combat story missions. You can always skip them if you want. Much better than time dilating through a dialogue chunk.

[Flak]

Don't have to be completely non-combat either, some 'breather level' with some skippable dialogue is fine too.

[Black Wolf]

What makes you think they ever got their hands on the blueprints ? It's a full-bred NTF design, remember?

Lies.

The Iceni is the NTF command frigate, built under Admiral Bosch's direction at the Freedom shipyards in Polaris, captured by the Neo-Terran Front at the start of their rebellion.

It was built while Bosch was still ostensibly a loyal GTVA officer, of course they have the plans.

[Phantom Hoover]

yes i'm sure bosch lodged the plans for his secret command frigate with his local gtva planning department before he started building it in his secret base in the middle of an asteroid field in preparation for his secret plans to rebel

[General Battuta]

I don't think it's super hard to believe it was built as a legitimate GTVA project but with the intent of nabbing it when the rebellion started.

[Phantom Hoover]

then why was everyone all surprised when they found a mysterious asteroid and the iceni came out

[Ryuseiken]

Well it's possible the Iceni itself was built in a shipyard and the asteroid casing was added after the rebellion started. I would think the shock would come more from the realization that the asteroid base contained a warship at all, regardless of it's class.

[General Battuta]

then why was everyone all surprised when they found a mysterious asteroid and the iceni came out

I think GTI knew all about the Iceni and kinda suspected it had gone to ground (inside an asteroid, maybe to get ETAK built?) and wanted to flush it out.

It just doesn't seem like the Polaris shipyards were literally an asteroid.

[James Razor]

I am pretty sure the Iceni was conventionaly build and even saw some combat action during the initial stage of the war. I mean, the Icenis tech room entry suggests that the ship with Bosch in command is a match for every destroyer groupe the GTVA has, this reputation needs to come from somewhere, and i belive that it comes from actual engagements.

Keep in mind, before the Collossus was deployed things looked not even bad for the rebellion. I think Bosch went underground (litteraly) when his troups had half way secured Deneb, so he could study ancient artifacts. And before that he played a active role in the campaign.

Also, i belive that command actually did jump on the bargain Bosch offered: His escape for the retreate of his troups out of Deneb. They just couldnt do it too obvious or officialy.

[AtomicCuttlefish]

I am absolutely in awe, not only of the superb story telling and game play, but of the optimization of the technical aspects.

Spoiler:

I love love love love loved the dreamscape missions and especially the last one, I was simultaneously terrified and exhilarated. (I looked back the first run of that mission =P) The whatever the hell it was tube thing was terrifying as well. And once I realized the Vishnans weren't terribly friendly... Just... Amazing. Any extra information about the acid trip would be great, it's really the highlight of this release for me.

[FSW]

Beam fade appears to be gone in the most recent release. Is this as intended?

[MatthTheGeek]

Uh, it's been gone already in the previous release two years ago or so ?

[General Battuta]

Beam fade appears to be gone in the most recent release. Is this as intended?

Yep. It would've broken a few missions pretty bad.

[Buckshee Rounds]

Is the Typhon meant to have the new model in this release? It's got the old model in-game for me.

[MatthTheGeek]

It's not BP's job to pack improved retail models, that's MVP's. You'll have the new Typhon if you put it in your MVPs or, for more safety, when it'll be included in the next MVPs.

[-Sara-]

A thought. The Carthage is damaged but captured (I imagine this may be the canonical proceeding of the story), they have the colony ship from AoA which is made of Orion parts. Wouldn't swapping damaged parts from the Carthage with those from that ship (although outdated) allow for a surprise destroyer, a trump card? Although I remember vague mention of the colony ship having a secret mission.

[Crybertrance]

So yeah, I finished Act 3 and I guess congratulations are in order! The BP Team have done it again! Raising the bar even higher with Act 3 

I know this review is a bit long; but I felt an awesome Act like this deserved a full fledged review.
My heartfelt review per mission follows:

Spoiler:

Intro (Icarus): The introductory cutscene was top notch, it really gave the magnitude to the event that occured during Delenda Est. And the music choice for the Introduction gave the sense of "once great, but now, reduced to ashes" kind of feeling.

I rate the Intro 8/10 (surpassed by Sunglare)

Dreamscape: All the Dreamscape missions were well crafted and gave a good dose of that little extra immersive experience that I crave for in modern games. To be honest, I never expected such a concept to work out in FS, but I glad to say that I was wrong. I literally listened to every dialog and repeatedly "Fired" to get most of the one-liners as possible. While I strongly think that everyone playing must strive to get all the info in the dreamscapes, the option to simply skip it all was a good move! The dreamscape missions added a nice breather and was a refreshing break from the boring old "Mission->Briefing->Mission" style that we've gotten used to! The music was sublime during the dreamscape missions, and really added to the atmosphere.
The galaxy map (or should I say "solar map") was a really ingenious idea... Although I'm quite disappointing that we only got to see, like, two versions of it (pre- and post-Neptune). I'd love to see it implemented further through the game in some way or the other.
Oh! and how can I forget "Fire to ROCK OUT"! That brought such a grin to my face!

The only critique would be to make the "dream-fighter" faster...It gets quite boring after a while to fly around to get to an entity

All in all, I rate all the Dreamscape missions collectively a 9/10


Nothing is True: So, my first mission running ops for the Fedayeen...cool. At first I thought it was just another boring "Destroy the convoy" kinda mission, but, I was truly surprised! The various strategies; Electronic Warfare, stealth, etc. and the emotional response illicited (Brutally kill the gefs, or let them go; killing 2 Fleet Officers yourself, or let your team-mates do it for you) simply amazing!
While it took several tries to pass the mission, I never felt frustrated or bored... I wondered "what happens if I do that?" and developed many new strategies till I finally finished the mission. By that one mission alone, I felt so awesome, like a badass Deus Ex ninja; Hackin ships and takin names! I could tell that this was a start to a great campaign.

I rate Nothing is True a 8.5/10!


Everything is Permitted: Quite frankly, I never thought we'd be assassinating an Elder anytime soon. It kinda hurt a bit, but the way you carried it out...freaking awesome! Scan the comms so you can intercept encrypted messages, scan the Sensors....EMP flashbang... and it gets better! Scan the weapons subsystem, and you get a neat Mjolnir cannon to play with! Im not kidding, but when I just warped at Artemis for the first time, I thought to myself, "What if some freak accident caused those Mjolnirs to fire at the Elder....LOL" and this was my reaction when I discovered I could actually do it    However, the Mjolnir missed...and I was, well...****'d. 

But I did eventually develop a neat strategy which involved precision timing with the emp flashbang, the missiles, and my guns...and got away unscathed (didn't even have to use Alt-X)

I rate Everything is Permitted a 8/10

One Future: So we get to fly another capship again, huh...epic! This mission, while a little less intense than the others in Act 3, was great nevertheless. And my oh my...those cap-ship flares...the feeling of watching swarms of VLS Torpedoes just brush my your ship....priceless . Although I needed a couple of tries with this mission, it was worth watching that huge ass mothership burn. I killed it and every other damn turret, Anacama, fighter...just to capture the base and save innocent lives...Now, that is what I call awesomeness. And, to top it all off, I waited in bated breath as the counter ticked down...10..9..8..No news from the commandos... ...5...4...3..2.. ...and then, just as the counter reaches 1... Success! Now that is what I call ****ing epic!

I rate One Future a 7/10 (mainly because it was a tad bit boring in the beginning)


Her Finest Hour: Ah now this is the biggie! "Delenda Est all over again" I thought in my head. So we have Artillery (check), Beam cannons of doom (check), Carthage (check). But wait...now we have this whole bunch of other stuff to do to save the day! I must admit that the mission (and the briefing) is kinda overwhelming at first, and you have to keep track of all the hotkeys (which, believe me, are super useful for those having problems with this mission), all the objectives etc. And the mission timer doesn't help the situation I died a good 10~15 times...But I felt that the mission was so cool...I just wanted more...I tried countless new tactics, new approaches, different orders, etc. And let me tell you. That one Perfect Moment, when I saw the Carthage being pummeled with Mass Drivers. Guass Cannons, Torpedoes from the Arty's, Gunboats and Bombers; its cover blown wide open; defenseless...coupled with that awesome music...

I lost 30 spaceframes that day but...
IT WAS WORTH IT!

This mission was THE BEST MISSION IN ACT 3 for me!

Rating: 11/10 (I Don't give a **** what others think...this was truly epic)


Eye in the Storm: I considered this mission a kind of a breather...a break of sorts from all the epicness and chaos. The atmospheric effects in this mission were truly top notch, kudos! I liked the concept and the execution was top notch. From the tank selection interface to the orbital strike...truly top notch work! Setting up the turrets and then ambushing the convoy with the guass guns blazing and flak clouds all around...felt very satisfying! Also, this is the first mission where I discovered the power of the UX Accelerator sniping against fighters 

My rating of Eye in the Storm: 7.5/10

Now...


Universal Truth: Mental Integrity: Hello
Now this mission is truly terrifying...from Hallucinations to flicks of startling images. Simply marvelous and terrifying in some strange equation. Watching the Shivans attack Earth, learning their history, turning all that I knew and believed about the Vishnans on its head....wtf 
But let me just say...the execution was impeccable...from the Shivan Node interfaces to the skyboxes of the nebula, then "Saturn" set-piece, and even that brief glimpse of that "Debriefing" screen with "BAAAAAAAA....." written on it, when you pass through one of those nodes....A FRED masterpiece...
Everything felt strange and unusual and ancient...yet everything made sense...it all fit with an unusual harmony.

And also in the end... DAT SKYBOX  I would die of awesomeness from that skybox.

My Rating of Universal Truth: 9.6/10 (simply a masterpiece)

Spoiler:

War In Heaven: The ending cutscene was good and made me all pumped for acts 4,5,6 ...Simply aweseome.

All in all the Act 3 is a frikkin must play for any FS fan.

The missions were true FRED masterpieces offering tremendous re-play value the likes of which were never before seen in FS. I actually felt "involved" in the missions, and commanding whole scenarios with multiple fleet assets never felt better. I didn't feel bored like I do with the missions which follow the same basic formula over and over...

For those having trouble with some missions; think outside the box, make sure you look at most of the HUD guages and most importantly USE YOUR HOTKEYS!
But really, the best approach is just to think with a clear head, and devise a basic strategy on the briefing itself.

The plot twist at the end was truly unexpected for me...the story is truly once for the ages!

Despite what others might say, I urge the BP devs to tone down, but ever so slightly, the "crazy" factor...I enjoyed being "involved" in missions and I'd be very disappointed if we have the "tried and tested formula" in future acts.

There were a few technical issues (Due to the pilot code and what not), but I played the campaign in its entirety at a solid 30 fps (dipping in rare situations), this on my old HD 5770. Just goes to show the level of optimization you guys and the SCP have done! 

Thank you BP Devs...Thank you for giving me the most memorable gaming experience of my life.

And so, ultimately, I'd probably rate BP WiH A3 a 9.8/10