[MetalDestroyer]

To answer to your questions:
1. When I came visit my older cousin, I watched him play to his computer on X wing, then on Tie Fighter. I was amazed (I was 7 or 8, don't really remember).  My very first PC video game was Mechwarrior 2 & X Wing vs Tie Fighter. I was 12 years old or 13. And since I love all subject related to space and futuristic content. Well, it was just simple for me. Freespace is a space sim shooter, so I could only love it. However, finding Freespace 1 and 2, in France ans specifically in Paris and his suburbs, was very challenging on day one. There wasn't enought copy in the surrounding retailers. However, I got one.

2. I found HLP because of Google. I was searching some news contents for Freespace 2. Like new campaigns, or new ships or whatever. At first, I discovered Sector Game then later HLP.

3. There's a great communty here. But I'm more interested about mods and how to enhanced the actual gameplay/visuals (fredding, and so on).

Now, I'm still talking about Freespace 2 when people search some space sim shooter with some modern visual, on several french forum. Plus, some friends and me, we've just opened a dedicated website for all kind of sci-fi video games (PC, X360, PS3 and so on).
If you can understand French, here the website I'm talking about: http://www.spaceanomaly.com .

[Sushi]

Because How many people of all that are contributing to the experience o these games yes they are joining yes they are communicating but how many of them are like i seem. just around waiting and hey may as well join while I'm at. The feel of dying is from how until recently its been so...its hard to explain I'm sorry my vocabulary doesn't do it just..its...like..hmm maybe decaying would be better. I ran across a post by fury at one point..he brought up the fact that yes talent i s here....that you kusanagi an dother you are doing a lot to introduce people..it just seems like..there isn't enough of that. besides I'm curious to see why people are still here..why they feel like staying with HLP..is it the mods..the people or maybe they have forgotten. Tell me Battuta..before I am ABSOLUTELY murdered for this post and the entire HLP community.
Why do you stay. Spare no detail.. please let us all know whatever you can.
As you said partially, it isn't the only reason but its a major one if i am understanding "because of Three Excellent Campaigns."

Man, we're gonna ration your ellipses starting right now.

call me an idiot but that went STRAIGHT over my head.....

 

[Meatball]

I doubt it's dying. Actually, since this site, community and everyone here that are dedicated to keeping it alive started. It's just going back up.
All the ones that had the Original game from their childhood, would probably wanna try it out again, probably finds this page.
Well at least I did, because i KNEW there were a lot more fans of this game then me, and someone must have made some graphics improvement and mods. Voila, welcome to Hard Light Productions.

Actually Blue Planet campaigns acts like Freespace 3, which is awesome. Though Freespace 2 was clearly showing it had ended after you completed Freespace 2 Campaign and they wouldn't be making a Freespace 3.
Big credits to the creators and producers of Blue Planet. It's an awesome Campaign.

[The E]

There are many, many campaigns that pick up the story threads left from FS2's ending. BP, while one of the better ones, can not and does not make the claim to be FS3.

[headdie]

having said that BP does start at a logical point for a FS3 if it was ever to be made to have started especially with the closing cutscenes from FS2 mentioning the Knossos research

[rscaper1070]

A little over a month ago I was digging around an old box of disks and came across my F2. "Oh yeah, this was a lot of fun. I wonder if it will work with Vista." A google search later I found this place and all those awesome upgrades and campaigns. It was a real piece of kismet finding those disks right when so many releases were happening. Now I'm learning how to 3d model. Who would have guessed?

[Mobius]

I like all claims about the community not dying, and in fact there's plenty of proof showing that it's alive and well, but it's somehow... different than before. Threads in General FreeSpace Discussion used to be focused on the Universe and the games, but things have changed a bit. There are so many new members, but they don't seem to be contributing to forum activity by creating discussions related to the FreeSpace Universe. Either those newcomers don't want to share their views on the Universe or they come here, play the latest campaigns and simply vanish. It's a bit sad, IMHO.

[General Battuta]

The BP forums at least are thriving with universe-related activity, most of it driven by newcomers.

I, for one, have been talking about this stuff for ten years. After a point you realize that it's up to you to decide what to think, and the discussions are so calcified that they usually devolve into spouting dogma. I don't think any portions of our little sky are falling.

[bahijal74]

I like all claims about the community not dying, and in fact there's plenty of proof showing that it's alive and well, but it's somehow... different than before. Threads in General FreeSpace Discussion used to be focused on the Universe and the games, but things have changed a bit. There are so many new members, but they don't seem to be contributing to forum activity by creating discussions related to the FreeSpace Universe. Either those newcomers don't want to share their views on the Universe or they come here, play the latest campaigns and simply vanish. It's a bit sad, IMHO.

thats kinda what i think....
im still afraid the e is gonna shoot me.

[Meatball]

There are many, many campaigns that pick up the story threads left from FS2's ending. BP, while one of the better ones, can not and does not make the claim to be FS3.

I didn't mean it should or claims to be a sequel to Freespace 2. But it Acts like one.
Right after you complete it, they say that we have defeated the shivans, probably forever. And when you destroy the knossos portal they say we have the req info to rebuild it.

BP starts at such a great point after that. The build one knosses of their own to finally return to earth.
And "probably" we had defeated the shivans forever was just his guessing. When they destroy the Star you see some juggernauts jumping out, and there were probably shivans still in the sol system or anyone connected to it after the ending of Freespace 1.

So, BP is the best and most professionally-like made to be a sequel to FS2. (Named FS3.)
I have seen many other campaigns that shows up after FS2 yes, but its just a saying. BP is the best one yet. And its only part one. War in Heaven is excellent to as part 2.

I like all claims about the community not dying, and in fact there's plenty of proof showing that it's alive and well, but it's somehow... different than before. Threads in General FreeSpace Discussion used to be focused on the Universe and the games, but things have changed a bit. There are so many new members, but they don't seem to be contributing to forum activity by creating discussions related to the FreeSpace Universe. Either those newcomers don't want to share their views on the Universe or they come here, play the latest campaigns and simply vanish. It's a bit sad, IMHO.

Threads in General FreeSpace Discussion, is just General.
And I think when it was not "diffrent" maybe a couple years ago, was because you didn't have to many new members, and most members this community had was very experienced in the game and many probably used FRED at least if not more.

Now it's really flourishing. So many new members, and most of those members are probably just FS2 Gamers because this is really beginning to show it self to many more ppl, and result in just more minor related topics to the Freespace Universe

[The E]

I like all claims about the community not dying, and in fact there's plenty of proof showing that it's alive and well, but it's somehow... different than before. Threads in General FreeSpace Discussion used to be focused on the Universe and the games, but things have changed a bit. There are so many new members, but they don't seem to be contributing to forum activity by creating discussions related to the FreeSpace Universe. Either those newcomers don't want to share their views on the Universe or they come here, play the latest campaigns and simply vanish. It's a bit sad, IMHO.

Mobius, if you don't like the fact that new members do not act like old members, and that communities tend to change over time, get used to it. Also, have you read this thread? It's all about one persons' "views on the Universe".

[Mobius]

People discussing the universe and/or games show a lot of interest over the whole series and give a real boost to campaign concepts and other things. I remember learning quite a lot from said discussions and also got a chance to realize that pretty much everyone here has his own Shivan/Ancient/NTF theory, which is definitely worth sharing.

Forum veterans no longer partecipate to such discussions because there's nothing more for them to discuss, so the "problem" here is that newcomers don't seem interested on sharing their views. Under that point of view, the community's frozen and I hope things will change in the future, perhaps with a flood of new theories about previously unexplained matters.

Just an opinion.

[Charismatic]

Did I hear FS3?
*makes dramatic entrance: standing on a mountain waving a Derek Smrt flag with a epic look on my face*
Im still here guys. Just lurking lately. Anyone miss me?

As to the origional post,
wow that looked like my first post here.. mine was worse 
I am surprised that he received no flames. So quit saying 'im gonna get murdered' etc... no one made a move.
This forum is not dying, it has a great community.

Note one of his comments was not that most members dont post enough but that 'what if all the community learnrd a useful skill such as moding or freding etc'. I do intend on learning MODing or FREDing one day. I am learning Visual Basic now and it is programming... so I assume Ill be able to pick up FRED much easier.


EDIT: Why the edit?

[MatthTheGeek]

What's with all those people talking with funny colors ?

[Sushi]

It appears that Battuta is working on it.

[karajorma]

I am learning Visual Basic now and it is programming... so I assume Ill be able to pick up FRED much easier.

You will.

FREDding and coding are reasonably distant from each other and experience in one isn't that much help directly for the other but what a course in programming will teach you is how to think "If A has happened I want B to happen unless C is true" which is pretty much the majority of what you are doing when making events with SEXPs.

[bahijal74]

Did I hear FS3?
*makes dramatic entrance: standing on a mountain waving a Derek Smrt flag with a epic look on my face*
Im still here guys. Just lurking lately. Anyone miss me?

As to the origional post,
wow that looked like my first post here.. mine was worse  
I am surprised that he received no flames. So quit saying 'im gonna get murdered' etc... no one made a move.
This forum is not dying, it has a great community.

Note one of his comments was not that most members dont post enough but that 'what if all the community learnrd a useful skill such as moding or freding etc'. I do intend on learning MODing or FREDing one day. I am learning Visual Basic now and it is programming... so I assume Ill be able to pick up FRED much easier.

Same here The E actually and others have helped me start learning ..well relearning then learning it again. I am slowly seeing I am wrong. Exactly what i wnat. and also AGAIN want to have new members see teh experiances this game has brought us and HLP and more NOT just that!
so again...I am glad not to be flamed. newcomers who see this will probbaly feel a lot more welcome due to this.

[Charismatic]

What's with all those people talking with funny colors ?

So my post gets color-removed and the two others on this page dont? Why?

[General Battuta]

I like the irony of Matth's being the only one. 

[bahijal74]

So anyone else among the millions have any stories?