[Dilmah G]

Mongoose, I don't believe we could think more differently on the topic of the Alliance if we tried.

[T-Man]

Spoiler:

I identify with the Federation: Sociology and politics are big passions of mine, so I was really interested when I read up on the Federation's system. I worry sometimes that the majority of humans are becoming so selfish and materialistic without guiding morals like religion that we're forgetting the very things that define us as something higher than common animals; ethics, right & wrong and consideration of (as many religions refer to it) 'supreme truth'. The Federation's focus on spiritual study, education and reasoning over simply throwing money or guns around really appeals to me, not to mention the Elders (who I respect for still being relatively democratic despite their  privileged position) overcoming the one single obstacle for altruistic movements; mortality (someone can try all their lives to do good, but the moment they die anyone it was all for naught most of the time).
   I can definitely sympathise with the GTVA's position, but suddenly turning up, demanding surrender, and then launching an all out assault against targets, even if civilian, without even an attempt at mediation does not help their position in my eyes. The Federation has flaws, I wouldn't doubt for a second, but they seem a lot better than the GTVA at the moment, especially considering tricking the Vasudans and (what appears to be) them supporting the GeF, a clearly off-the-rails terrorist force.

I used a checkpoint at least once in the campaign: Amazing idea (hats off to whoever's it was, the only other campaign I know to have done it was PI). Didn't use it a great deal but certainly saved me from frustration on  Aristeia.

I called the bluff in M05: Judged they wouldn't care about the pilot, and attacking them wouldn't delay them, so seemed the best option.

I thought Darkest Hour was just right: Assuming darkest hour is the one over Earth, loved it (though admittedly I did accidentally have it on easy, shall try it on medium next time). Would help if the Diomedies didn't wipe me out with its first beam swipe 99% of the time.

I killed Xinny and Zero: I completely forgot they were from Lion's den. At first they did pwn my wingman and then me and I got the bonus objective... but then the debriefing told me who was on the cruiser (fav. Character from BP) so I replayed and somehow proceeded to massacre them without loosing either wingman. (For the record, if any of the BP team are reading this, I havent just sent Al Fadil off to a torture camp or anything have I? )

I found the Simms conversation easy: Not stupidly so but easy enough as the guidance was good. Made a really interesting change from usual game play.

I understood the pointbuy system in Aristeia: As with the checkpoint system, a really interesting idea. Allows people to choose how they want to approach the situation.

I thought the Vasudan logistics incident was a terrible accident: Things were going so well too. The artillery frigate commander got a serious reprimand for that I hope.

I felt good in One Perfect Moment: T'was a nice restfull mission. Was going to explore the city but decided to remain with the transport.

As for Steele... Grr. He's a decent strategist clearly, but then he went and attacked civilians and lost all sense of honor in my eyes. Maybe he was justified in some way (I recall a 'thousand now, ten million later thing'), but I don't really care... Its The Hague for you, buddy

[Snail]

Spoiler:

I killed Xinny and Zero: I completely forgot they were from Lion's den. At first they did pwn my wingman and then me and I got the bonus objective... but then the debriefing told me who was on the cruiser (fav. Character from BP) so I replayed and somehow proceeded to massacre them without loosing either wingman. (For the record, if any of the BP team are reading this, I havent just sent Al Fadil off to a torture camp or anything have I? )

Spoiler:

Yeah. The Buntu are totally going to brainwash him and torture him until he admits there are five lights. It's what they do.

[-Norbert-]

And what are they going to tortue him with? Pictues of cute Kittens?

[Mongoose]

Oh man, I completely forgot about that.

[NGTM-1R]

And what are they going to tortue him with? Pictues of cute Kittens?

lolcats

[Scourge of Ages]

Here we go:

I identify with both factions. How could I not have a shred of GTVA-ness after two games and myriad campaigns fighting Shivans, rebels, Zods, and watching so many ships and worlds burn? We know what happened, and we know that the vast majority of the pilots and crews just want peace, but they think that their leaders know the best way to that is fighting.
And of course the Feds are fighting for their very survival against overwhelming odds. What's not to like about that? They also have seen countless ships and cities burn, and they also are willing to sacrifice themselves to save their comrades.
It's all messed up.

Man I used so many checkpoints... Admittedly few once I figured out how to win: Combined arms, stick with your frigate and follow orders! Every time!

Called the bluff. The objective was to stall, and that's the best way to delay somebody.

Darkest hour. The toughest part was preserving the rooks and the V-whatever it's called ship.

Xinny... Zero... they're dogfighting with angels now... 
I'd have let them win if they didn't

Spoiler:

blow up my transport when they were done! jerks!

EDIT: Couldn't remember the Nyx fight, so it probably wasn't that tough for me.

Understood the point buy system because I remember hearing about it earlier. I think it bugged on me though, I ended up with about 9 points worth of reinforcements.

Vasudan logistics: treachery. There was a

Spoiler:

contact/spy within the UEF, feeding them some good, and some bad information. He probably let slip that there was a Tev corvette engaged with a UEF frigate, and the captain did the rest. Bam. Cease-fire avoided, Vasudans angry and hostile to the UEF.

One Perfect Moment was incredible, with the atmosphere of the mission and dialogue, the cold beauty of the moon, and the awe of flying above the surface of something in FS! I'd heard that it'd be done, but I had no idea it'd be so incredible.

I'm surprisingly neutral on the assassination.

The entire soundtrack was awesome, so I can safely assume that I really loved it at the end of Pawns.

Dalenda Est. Again, it seems hard until you realize that your objective is to just protect the Indus. if there are no fighters about, order your wings to take out a cruiser. Throw some topedos at a beam cannon once in a while and you're good.

And I added my vote to love/want to kill Steele both.

[-Norbert-]

and the awe of flying above the surface of something in FS! I'd heard that it'd be done, but I had no idea it'd be so incredible.

Well... that isn't anything new to be honest. I've flown over a surface like that in a campaign for TBP over a year ago.... and it wasn't new back then either, just new for me. Though I didn't see a city made out of individual buildings and a model for the streets before!

[-Sara-]

Spoiler:

I killed Xinny and Zero: I completely forgot they were from Lion's den. At first they did pwn my wingman and then me and I got the bonus objective... but then the debriefing told me who was on the cruiser (fav. Character from BP) so I replayed and somehow proceeded to massacre them without loosing either wingman. (For the record, if any of the BP team are reading this, I havent just sent Al Fadil off to a torture camp or anything have I? )

Spoiler:

I think more likely Sam Bei may talk some sense into him, maybe even win his sympathy. I guess they may keep him awake and feed him little to none if they want info out of him, but I doubt they'd hang him from his feet to beat the information out of him. If you want to be a real jerk, try to see if that transport boards to rescue Al'fadil, then blow the transport up.

[Aardwolf]

Vasudan logistics: treachery. There was a

Spoiler:

contact/spy within the UEF, feeding them some good, and some bad information. He probably let slip that there was a Tev corvette engaged with a UEF frigate, and the captain did the rest. Bam. Cease-fire avoided, Vasudans angry and hostile to the UEF.

Wait, what? Did I miss something? Was that in the mission, the debrief, one of the later missions, or what?

[Scourge of Ages]

Wait, what? Did I miss something? Was that in the mission, the debrief, one of the later missions, or what?

Nope, pure speculation, but was the reason for my vote.
EDIT: Unless you're speaking of the BIG

Spoiler:

Contact/Spy within the UEF feeding them information, in which case it was stated pretty clearly.

[Aardwolf]

Wait, what? Did I miss something? Was that in the mission, the debrief, one of the later missions, or what?

Nope, pure speculation, but was the reason for my vote.
EDIT: Unless you're speaking of the BIG

Spoiler:

Contact/Spy within the UEF feeding them information, in which case it was stated pretty clearly.

I don't remember anything like that. I remember there being a GTVA contact giving mixed-quality info to the UEF, but no explicitly stated UEF guys giving mixed-quality intel to the GTVA.

Also, screw spoiler tags, it says "SPOILERS" in the title for a reason.

[Scourge of Ages]

Vasudan logistics: treachery. There was a

Spoiler:

contact/spy within the UEF, feeding them some good, and some bad information. He probably let slip that there was a Tev corvette engaged with a UEF frigate, and the captain did the rest. Bam. Cease-fire avoided, Vasudans angry and hostile to the UEF.

Allow me to clarify: A contact within the UEF, feeding the UEF some good (Tev logistics ship) and some bad (Yeah it's totally safe to go meet this Zod in the middle of nowhere) information. He suggests to the UEF intelligence or command - before they suspected him - that there would be a Tev corvette engaged with the UEF frigate sent to rescue the Zod logistics ship, and the captain of the relief frigate did the rest. Bam, etc. etc.
Sorry for the confusion, that seemed perfectly coherent when I wrote it.

[Aardwolf]

But it was a contact within the GTVA who gave them the info about the Anemoi! And I don't remember anything about someone tipping off that Narayana, all I remember is that they said they had lost contact with the Indus (read: when that Deimos started jamming them) and had come to investigate/rescue them. Or did I miss something in the debriefing?

And I don't remember who suggested that meeting place, but I'm fairly certain it wasn't the same guy... in fact, wasn't it the Vasudan admiral himself who picked the location?

[The E]

But it was a contact within the GTVA who gave them the info about the Anemoi! And I don't remember anything about someone tipping off that Narayana, all I remember is that they said they had lost contact with the Indus (read: when that Deimos started jamming them) and had come to investigate/rescue them. Or did I miss something in the debriefing?

And I don't remember who suggested that meeting place, but I'm fairly certain it wasn't the same guy... in fact, wasn't it the Vasudan admiral himself who picked the location?

Aardwolf is correct on all counts.

There are two intelligence sources that have an impact on the campaign. One is the source in the GTVA, that leaked the Agincourt's deployment schedule to the UEF. The other is the one in the Federation that leaked the location of the meeting site to Admiral Steele.

[Scourge of Ages]

Well then, I suppose that's a comprehension failure on my part. Thanks for clearing that up.

[Aardwolf]

Wow, I was right. Awesome

[Javito1986]

Spoiler:

I identify with the Federation
     They know what's out there as well as the GTVA does and I really do have faith in Byrne and the Elders. There was a few moments there (particularly after Darkest Hour) where my faith in the Elders started to waver and I turned my support more towards the Admirals but now with the ending I'm back with the Ubuntu where I should have been all along. The Shivans CANNOT be defeated militarily and it's futile to try.

   
I used a checkpoint at least once in the campaign
     Yep, checkpoints worked marvelously for me. Loved them! Thank you for including them, they were extremely helpful.

I called the bluff in M05
     Seemed like the thing to do.

I thought Darkest Hour was just right
     Played it on Insane. Died a few times. It was challenging but all the times I died were due to errors I made (getting caught in flak, getting separated from the wing and picked off by fighters, running into a beam, etc).

I found the Simms conversation easy
     No problems here.

I thought the Nyx dogfight was okay
     It was hard but you're specifically told to execute evasive maneuvers! I made it through on Insane though I did have to call for Simms to help me twice. I did NOT try to get shots off (though if one of them wandered into my gunsights I opened up with everything I had), I just juked, weaved, and rolled like a wildman.

I understood the pointbuy system in Aristeia    81 (5.8%)
     It was almost like Freespace became an RTS for a minute!

I thought the Vasudan logistics incident was a terrible accident
     Trigger happy frigate captain. Not implausible.

I felt good in One Perfect Moment
     I loved seeing Luna City! The whole scene was a nice little rest.

I was shocked and appalled by the assassination
    Didn't even see those stealths coming. Which I guess is the whole point. And yes, it was horrible.

I thought the assassination was a good move
     Reminded me of Tywin Lannister's plot in A Song of Ice and Fire.

I really loved the soundtrack at the end of Pawns
    The whole soundtrack was amazing, but yes this was a great moment.

[spoilers]I thought Delenda Est was just right
     Did it on Insane. The Indus was hit to 8% at the start, that was very very rough going but I was happy she could repair herself somewhat. The hardest part was finding the right turrets to go after, I failed the mission twice because of that. BUT thankfully the checkpoint system was very helpful and I finished it fine on the third attempt.

I love Admiral Steele
     Steele is a military leader in the tradition of many other greats before him. He's brilliant and worthy of his enemy's respect. I imagine he's the sort whose cabin on the Atreus is filled with all kinds of books, well decorated, his crew loves him, and he's got a family back home he cares deeply for. He's doing his duty and he does it very, very well. If he dies in the war it'd be sad but fitting. Still, I hope he makes it through. Strikes me as a Robert E. Lee type or an Erwin Rommel. He's certainly more clever than Calder or Neterba (spelling?) who played right into his hands at Saturn. He KNEW Calder and Neterba were hot blooded and aggressive and he used it against them. As he said himself in Darkest Hour, 'well played'.

[-Norbert-]

Spoiler:

I love Admiral Steele
     Steele is a military leader in the tradition of many other greats before him. He's brilliant and worthy of his enemy's respect. I imagine he's the sort whose cabin on the Atreus is filled with all kinds of books, well decorated, his crew loves him,

Spoiler:

Considering how many people died in his attack on Earth and for setting up the ambush in Delena Est I very much doubt that his subordinates love him. Respect maybe, but not love.
And that's not even considering what he pulled off with the Elder and the Vasudans. His jumptactics are gambling with his ship and the crews life and the Vqasudan deception is gambling with the very existance of the alliance.

[Snail]

Spoiler:

Considering how many people died in his attack on Earth and for setting up the ambush in Delena Est I very much doubt that his subordinates love him. Respect maybe, but not love.
And that's not even considering what he pulled off with the Elder and the Vasudans. His jumptactics are gambling with his ship and the crews life and the Vqasudan deception is gambling with the very existance of the alliance.

Spoiler:

Remember that directly preceding Steele was a certain Cyrus Severanti, who had practically zero regard for human life as long as the job was completed eventually. He was committed to a protracted war of attrition that would claim millions of lives over several years. Steele by contrast wants to win the war now, if that costs a few thousand lives on the way, so be it. Ten thousand now is better than ten million later.