[Goober5000]

Yep, really.  FreeSpace 1 was released 20 years ago today.

They arrived by the thousands, suddenly and without warning.

The ruthless Shivans emerged through subspace near Earth, harbouring technology light years ahead of anything seen before. They made no attempt to communicate. They did not respond to your heralds. They simply attacked -- and destroyed everything in their path.

As a pilot for the Galactic Terran Alliance you are no stranger to war. However, when racing through space to engage your new enemy for the first time, you sense something different. Suddenly, darkness blankets your spacecraft. Your stomach sinks as your eye pan across the Shivan flagship's massive body. Then it begins. Swarms of fighters pour from the belly of the flagship and scream toward you. You're about to discover everything you though you knew about space combat -- just changed.

This is the beginning of the Great War.

• 30 branching single-player missions and 20 multiplayer missions.
• 3 unique species, each with their own strengths, weaknesses, tactics, ships, and fighting characteristics.
• Over 40 jaw-dropping real-time ships with dynamic lighting, stunning effects, animation and unprecedented levels of realism and detail.
• Create your own detailed missions using "FRED", the fully-featured mission editor.
• Up to 12 players over the Internet plus real-time voice-messaging allows you to send custom messages during multiplayer games.

Some of the reviews:

Phenomenal graphics, the best yet in a space combat game. Good plotline, but no character development or interaction. The combat model is excellent, and Freespace blends fighting and commanding seamlessly for a total immersive experience. It may not be the most original game on the market, but it sure is a ton of fun. Fans of the genre should absolutely love this game.

Though Descent: Freespace bears the brand name PC gamers know and love, this title is nothing like the previous games in the Descent series, as it's a space combat simulator that has more in common with the Wing Commander titles than anything Descent fans have seen before. Despite comments from some previous Descent players who weren't pleased to see the series taking a new turn, Freespace is a refreshingly new addition to the series, and one just about everybody should enjoy.

A Frankenstein's monster of several different space sims, patched together with today's computer and graphics technology, Descent: Freespace works because above everything else, it adhere's to the cardinal rule of computer games -- it's fun. Interplay is definitely onto something here, and with a few refinements -- like a more fleshed-out back story, better character interaction, and more original elements, Descent: Freespace could blossom into a series that rivals even Wing Commander. Until then, sit back, hold that force feedback joystick with a tight grip, and prepare your blood for a good boiling.

Pre-release trailers:

You learn something new every day... apparently the working title was Mahabarata.

[karajorma]

Well we already knew Volition were into Hindu symbolism.

Anyway, Happy Birthday Freespace!

[tomimaki]

Good that they changed name. Mahabarata2open sounds weird

[Novachen]

Ugh Spacey... you were an very ugly baby at birth, you know? 

But fortunately you become the most beautiful guy/girl in the world

*kissing* Happy birthday.

[HLD_Prophecy]

Wow, didn't even know there were trailers! Thwy're remarkably good given what they had to work with.

Thanks for the reminder Goober. Cheers!

[Mongoose]

Damn, we old.

[Goober5000]

Ugh Spacey... you were an very ugly baby at birth, you know? 

Not according to the reviews!

"the graphics are amazing ... the visuals produced are stunning ... Truly the best looking space simulation on the market."

"graphics that'll blow you away!"

"The graphics in Freespace are the best yet in a space combat game - period. ... Phenomenal graphics"

"Graphically, comparisons to Wing Commander: Prophecy can pretty much be expected; both games offer state-of-the-art visuals, and squeeze every last dazzling effect out of your 3D accelerator."

You whippersnappers don't appreciate what you have.   Dial back the hedonic adaptation a bit.  Especially because, 20 years before Descent: FreeSpace, the cutting edge in video games was Space Invaders.

[Nightmare]

But that would be 40 years before present day

[Jadehawk]

I remember the trailers back in these years. I was single just got through a nasty divorce and this was my outlet from daily life. 20 years later, I am married again and my lady is worth her weight in gold! I remember my first missions, how my hands got sweaty from the excitement of making a kill, staying alive and all that. total fun!

We need official continuation of the saga!

ok, maybe not, but still had to try

[Cobra]

Ugh Spacey... you were an very ugly baby at birth, you know? 

Man, you're older than me. You should know the graphics back then were fantastic.

[DefCynodont119]

Anyone else notice that two days after Freespace's birthday, Wikipedia's featured article is Capella?


99% a coincidence, but I found it funny. 

[Novachen]

Ugh Spacey... you were an very ugly baby at birth, you know? 

Man, you're older than me. You should know the graphics back then were fantastic.

Freespace 1 was actually before my time. I began with gaming 1999... and my first games were Need for Speed High Stakes and Freespace 2 only and even there are only one year younger than this...they already look much better. But i think the reason in this is, that these trailers seems to be created in Software Mode only, because i think that Wing Commander Prophecy (one year older) in 3dfx looked also much better than Freespace in this trailers did.

Also i have to say, i never played the original retail Freespace... my first time with Freespace: The Great War was with a Freespace Port version, which i remember was still far off the original game, because Enter the Dragon and Playing Judas were part of an optional loop (maybe Port 2.x?)  And that was with SCP graphics already.

Sure, since 1999 i have also played several games that were much older than this, but well... especially in comparsion to FS2... it looks ugly 

[Nyctaeus]

Were planets possible in FS1 o___O?

[Novachen]

Were planets possible in FS1 o___O?

Interestingly this feature was removed from the full version. But was reimplemented in the 10-missions spanning long MMX edition of the game. (aka Freespace: Darkness Rising)

[Nightmare]

Were planets possible in FS1 o___O?

Yes... as 3D objects...

[Goober5000]

But that would be 40 years before present day

I see you can add.   The purpose of that comparison was to show that the 20 years leading up to 1998 saw substantially more advancement than the 20 years leading up to 2018.  It was the rising part of the exponential curve.

Cobra hasn't become too jaded to appreciate it, I see.

Were planets possible in FS1 o___O?

Interestingly this feature was removed from the full version. But was reimplemented in the 10-missions spanning long MMX edition of the game. (aka Freespace: Darkness Rising)

It was implemented in the DVD release of the full game, as were afterburner trails.  It came bundled with certain DVD-ROM drives and you needed a Pentium III.

[Hunter]

I believe FreeSpace was a birthday or Christmas present when I was 14 (pretty sure it was released later in Europe, can't recall tho..). I don't remember much more than that...  Getting old 

I do remember playing around with 3D planet models, though. Those were on Freespace 2 Sector at some point.

[Firesteel]

I remember my friend in second or third grade telling me about it in class one day and then showing me the opening cutscene when I went over to his house and here I am. This was 2002 or 2003 so I was pretty late to the party as a kid but hey, I'm still around.

Descent Freespace was the second game I ever purchased with my own money after saving up for it for about a month and damn was it a good purchase.

[deathspeed]

FreeSpace was what inspired me to buy a PC.  By the time I had save up enough to get one, FreeSpace 2 had been released.  Still have the retail discs, and still among my favorite games.

[Grug]

Good lord this makes me feel old. So many memories though, so many memories...