[General Battuta]

When work is done on Blue Planet in all its message-heavy words-a-licious triple-stage-mission HUDtastic glory, I want to do a minimalist, stripped-down campaign that looks only to FreeSpace 2 for its narrative and thematic stylings. Missions would fall in the 5-7 minute range and focus on flow, zen element deployment, and smooth escalation. The plot would use elements established in FreeSpace 2 and carry them forward to a conclusion, rather than focusing on a side story. There might be some branching. Development would focus on rapid iteration by a team of mostly FREDders (plus NGTM1R to bang on tonal things), since the project wouldn't require any new assets.

As the title suggests, this is merely idle fantasy - but of the mission design innovations made in recent years, the features enabled by the SCP, and the HTL models made available by the community's pooled effort, what would people most like to see included?

e: To clarify, this would be set probably ~20-30 years post-FS2.

[Colonol Dekker]

Events hinted at but not seen in the campaign. Like NTF assaults on positions.

GVD (Insert name here) aspolding.

And The rest of Kappa wings whereabouts.

[Sombre]

I am totally with you except for setting it 20-30 years after FS2. I would actually prefer to see this kind of minimalist, elegant campaign take place within the FS2 time frame or slightly before it. There's plenty of stuff that's hinted at in FS2 but never explored, a lot of it to do with the NTF. A low key series of engagements at the start of the NTF conflict would be good with the kind of escalation Derelict aimed at; you start small not as part of some elite wing but as a guy out there where resources are stretched trying to do the right thing.

I get the feeling that an extreme focus on fredding rather than plot or assets doesn't fire up the imagination of many modders though.

[General Battuta]

It'd be interesting, but it doesn't leave much for new technologies I'd like to bring in as standard issue, like capship countermeasures and SSMs.

The plot would be hammered out and written down to the level of necessary flexibility beforehand.

[mjn.mixael]

It'd be interesting, but it doesn't leave much for new technologies I'd like to bring in as standard issue, like capship countermeasures and SSMs.

Meh. Someday I'd like to play a new campaign where I don't have to learn the ins and outs of new ships and weapon types. Good ol' fashioned, FS2 era shoot em up.

[General Battuta]

It'd be interesting, but it doesn't leave much for new technologies I'd like to bring in as standard issue, like capship countermeasures and SSMs.

Meh. Someday I'd like to play a new campaign where I don't have to learn the ins and outs of new ships and weapon types. Good ol' fashioned, FS2 era shoot em up.

We have plenty of those, and there's nothing wrong with them.

[mjn.mixael]

I guess I'm just not really interested in another post FS2 era campaign.. especially if it's just for the sake of being able to use certain technologies. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it though. By all means go for it. I'm sure it would be good.

[General Battuta]

Interesting - I've always felt like we had too many FS1/FS2 era campaigns and not enough exploration of new territory. Different strokes.

It's certainly not 'just for the sake of being able to use certain technologies.' I'm not really interested in doing a narrative contemporaneous with one of the existing games.

e: Also I want to do something with the FS3 plot material we got from V.

[crizza]

Would love to lend a hand as storywriter, but I guess I'll read it if it's done^^

[MatthTheGeek]

I've always felt like we had too many FS1/FS2 era campaigns and not enough exploration of new territory.

...wut

More than half the campaigns are post-Capella. Are you living in a different universe ?

[Sombre]

There are quite a few FS1 and FS2 era missions and campaigns that have kinda been left behind and forgotten which would make up the numbers.

Many of the most famous campaigns like Warzone, Derelict, Homesick, Transcend are basically FS2 era.

[General Battuta]

Released campaigns? Huh, I wouldn't have guessed that.

Anyway, diversity of interests is a strength of the community!

[Lorric]

De-emphasise missile combat. Bring in close up dogfighting with guns and dumbfires. Could make an excuse that countermeasures technology has overpowered missile technology too much to make missiles viable anymore.

[General Battuta]

De-emphasise missile combat. Bring in close up dogfighting with guns and dumbfires. Could make an excuse that countermeasures technology has overpowered missile technology too much to make missiles viable anymore.

Could do, but bear in mind that this was already 90% of FreeSpace 2 (followed by a couple missions of poke-the-bomber-with-the-Trebuchet).

[swashmebuckle]

-SHOWDOWN@SHIVANTOWN-

Sounds like a good plan.  What I notice about the retail campaigns as compared to most of the fan stuff I've played and tried to make is that they move forward at a much more brisk pace, both in terms of gameplay (scan/kill this, then return to base) and in the mission to mission story (constant strategic shifts, destroyers moving from system to system, the player being transferred to new squadrons, etc).  This reward structure is very satisfying, and the sense of propulsion makes me want to keep playing.  If either side of things (gameplay or plot progression) gets bogged down, I start to lose interest, but if you can get both those elements in the gaming sweet spot, I'll stick with it through thick and thin.

[General Battuta]

Three missions and one squadron per story arc!

[The E]

That sort of thing would work quite well if you were playing several pilots across several squadrons all involved in the same operation.

[Lorric]

De-emphasise missile combat. Bring in close up dogfighting with guns and dumbfires. Could make an excuse that countermeasures technology has overpowered missile technology too much to make missiles viable anymore.

Could do, but bear in mind that this was already 90% of FreeSpace 2 (followed by a couple missions of poke-the-bomber-with-the-Trebuchet).

Do you mean missiles or dogfighting was 90% of Freespace 2? Because I know some like missiles and some like tearing things up with dumbfires anyway.

Btw, what does "zen element deployment" mean?

[swashmebuckle]

Three missions and one squadron per story arc!

Yeah pretty much.  I'm assuming if you are going to emulate the style of the campaigns that you don't intend to focus on the player character anyway (at least not beyond "Alpha 1 is brave and good at killing the enemy"), so it certainly wouldn't hurt the story any to jump around between different pilots as E said.  IMO, having the central character be someone like the Admiral of the destroyer where the player squadrons are stationed is a good choice, as it gives you the opportunity to develop a character over the entire campaign without having to put words in the player avatar's mouth.  Plus then you can have a big climactic mission where the player finally gets to play as the main character and shoot beams and stuff.

[NGTM-1R]

It's like you read my mind.

And all the terrible, terrible story concepts I had four or five years ago. Or maybe it was just I couldn't FRED that made them terrible, either way.