[An4ximandros]

Why not do a Remake... of Freespace 2?

Take the story and rework it as an additional campaign that makes use of the advancements in FRED and the Engine. Something along the lines of ST:R.

It's pretty insane but, I might actually be up for it. (If I can figure out how to move the damn camera in FRED in a non-backaswardian fashion.)

Aside: Is there anyway to change keybinds on FRED?

[General Battuta]

A few of the missions are slightly creaky but all in all I'm not convinced FS2 needs it. The script is really, really tight, and that carries the rest.

[Lorric]

Freespace 2 could be expanded rather than remade. Add additional missions to what already exists. There are many references to other battles in Freespace 2 briefings and debriefings. These battles could be created.

[General Battuta]

I do think a Grizzly Bearbaiting style tune-up to a few missions (like Their Finest Hour, yeesh) would be a worthwhile endeavor, so Anax, maybe that'd be the first point to chase.

[The E]

Freespace 2 could be expanded rather than remade. Add additional missions to what already exists. There are many references to other battles in Freespace 2 briefings and debriefings. These battles could be created.

But why would one do that?

The great thing about FS2 is its minimalism, it's reduced to the bare minimum necessary to tell its story, and that's as much part of the "FreeSpace Experience" as anything else. The great thing about FS2 is that it lets us tell these stories, but that is only possible because a lot of the detail in the main campaign has been only sketched in. If we were to crowdsource embellishments to the story, we would lose some of that leanness. The game would be bigger, there would be more of it, but given that the overriding philosophy of FS2's game design is "do the most with the least", we would just be screwing with a design that is already pretty perfect.

I do think a Grizzly Bearbaiting style tune-up to a few missions (like Their Finest Hour, yeesh) would be a worthwhile endeavor, so Anax, maybe that'd be the first point to chase.

There is that. But that's more like trying to do stuff that  couldn't due to time constraints, not stuff that we have to invent from scratch.

[General Battuta]

Yeah, FS2 is lean as ****. If you check the raw script on the Wiki, the command briefings are all kinds of terse, but ~JASON SCOTT~ did such a good job with the density of it that every word hits above its weight. The word choice and scansion are perfect, shouldering worldbuilding, subtext, and plot exposition at the same time without a sweat.

I love the FS2 script.

[Lorric]

I do think a Grizzly Bearbaiting style tune-up to a few missions (like Their Finest Hour, yeesh) would be a worthwhile endeavor, so Anax, maybe that'd be the first point to chase.

There's a single-mission remake to Their Finest Hour. I don't think you would like it though due to implications the Sathanas is a dirty whore being raped by the Colossus if I remember right. I wasn't exactly keen on that either. Other than that, it's one of the more intense missions I've played if I remember right. Quite a rush. You get to kill one Sathanas, you might even get to kill 2 before the Colossus goes down, I'm not sure. Along with all kinds of other Shivans. It was a long time ago when I played it. It's on Freespacemods somewhere.

Freespace 2 could be expanded rather than remade. Add additional missions to what already exists. There are many references to other battles in Freespace 2 briefings and debriefings. These battles could be created.

But why would one do that?

The great thing about FS2 is its minimalism, it's reduced to the bare minimum necessary to tell its story, and that's as much part of the "FreeSpace Experience" as anything else. The great thing about FS2 is that it lets us tell these stories, but that is only possible because a lot of the detail in the main campaign has been only sketched in. If we were to crowdsource embellishments to the story, we would lose some of that leanness. The game would be bigger, there would be more of it, but given that the overriding philosophy of FS2's game design is "do the most with the least", we would just be screwing with a design that is already pretty perfect.

I would certainly not want these missions added in to Freespace 2. Leave that campaign as-is. But I could imagine another campaign, like an expansion, where you play the other missions, and the campaign briefings etc. talk about the exploits of Alpha 1 instead.

[Deepstar]

Actually i think that the first FreeSpace needs a "Reborn" much more than FreeSpace 2.

Alone because of these numerous incosistencies. Nodes or missing Flak and Anti-Fighter beams on Shivan ships..

In FreeSpace 2 there are only one or two missions that needs tweaking. High Noon and Their finest Hour comes to mind...

[Fury]

Script might be good enough to carry the story but missions themselves are bland and boring by today's standards. That goes for FSPort and ST:R as well since they only use features that were there in retail. To make any kind of remake worth considering, it would have to make good and interesting use of SCP features while not making the script any worse than it was originally.

But to do that you probably would have to redesign so much stuff people wouldn't want to call it FS any more.

[General Battuta]

Yeah, the big limitation is that you've got to stick to the existing VA.

[An4ximandros]

Can always put out a call for re-voicing minor roles, like squadmates; If it becomes really necessary.

Something I always wanted to fix was the Sathanass VS Colli Duel. Once the claws are gone it's just a playable cutscene, and not a good one.

And then there is the whole "Oh you prevented the Colossus from getting a single scratch. Nice work! It will now spend months in the shipyards because of all the damage it took from the Sathanas."

[niffiwan]

And then there is the whole "Oh you prevented the Colossus from getting a single scratch. Nice work! It will now spend months in the shipyards because of all the damage it took from the Sathanas."

I justify that to myself as the overdriven beams causing serious damage to the fire control systems of the Colly (yeah, it's not perfect...)

[TacOne]

Replace High Noon with something similar to the one Darius (I think) made, and we're good.

[Rheyah]

The Colossus overcharged her beams, slagged her heat sinks on every major weapons system and blew her backup power system completely.

She definitely needed a refit after that.

[Dragon]

This was already attempted, but aside from the two missions we have, nobody did anything more. Anyway, I'd certainly play FS2: Reborn. There are things that could use an STR-style touch.

[Megawolf492]

Actually i think that the first FreeSpace needs a "Reborn" much more than FreeSpace 2.

Alone because of these numerous incosistencies. Nodes or missing Flak and Anti-Fighter beams on Shivan ships..

In FreeSpace 2 there are only one or two missions that needs tweaking. High Noon and Their finest Hour comes to mind...

I would agree. One of the things I would change (other than node inconsistencies) is This. Would make it more like FS2 and it has some history to back it up.

If you are going to change FS2 at all, I would recommend This. Very minor change that I believe will make a big difference. I don't mind a bigger FS2 (or FS1, for that matter [Battle of Deneb...?]) main campaign. We all know it's not the original/real version, so I don't believe it will make that much of a difference to the overall feeling of the campaign, as long as you make the new missions well.

[yuezhi]

I agree to an fs1 reborn. There's even a wiki devoted to those plot holes.

[headdie]

been chewing over this sort of thing for a couple of years now on and off, though mostly aiming towards FS1 which I believe is much more in need of this sort of tretment to tighten up things like fluff consistency, but with either of these you have a massive obstacle which ST:R  had on a much smaller scale, which is the sheer volume of missions involved with either of the main campaigns. 

The original ST in terms of mission numbers matched about the length of a single Act in either main campaign iirc.  I am not saying it would be impossible, far from it, and there have been several very successful major projects but the challenge of maintaining momentum on such projects is not to be ignored, which given the high collapse rate of projects here in general, let alone ones of this scale I think you can see why I see this as such a big concern.

So
* yes possible
* yes I would love to see something which allows the telling of the FS story in a way that fixes the problems therein and takes advantage of relevant FSO functions
* but plan to have problems with motivation/staffing because you will have them in abundance.

On that note as I said I have had a few incoherent thoughts on this and I would be happy to discuss them but I dont think i have the time available to actually work on something like this at the moment

[mjn.mixael]

Not the first time its been thought... Not the last... And meh. It would have to be a hell of a remake of either fs1 or fs2 for it to do the same that ST:R did to ST.

And no offense, but someone who is still learning the camera controls in FRED likely doesn't have the motivation and longevity to get the job done. Because, make no mistake, we are talking at least a year of work, but probably much more.... Give or take depending on team size (if 'team' at all).

[General Battuta]

The Colossus overcharged her beams, slagged her heat sinks on every major weapons system and blew her backup power system completely.

She definitely needed a refit after that.

The problem is that the mission doesn't reliably create a situation where this kind of exigency-driven at-all-costs engagement was necessary. If the Sath comes into High Noon with no beams, or if you disable them all very quickly, the Colossus' urgency just comes off as comedy.