Descent: Freespace scenario thread

Freespace is one of the greatest flight sims evar, and was way ahead of its time when it was released in 1998. Now I know you're probably thinking, how am I going to make a Civ3 scenario based on an 8-year-old flight sim?

I'm not. I'm going to make a Civ3 scenario based on the Freespace universe. The game begins in the middle of an interstellar war between Terrans (humans) and Vasudans (aliens) when another mysterious alien species, who are called the Shivans, appear out of nowhere. The Terrans and Vasudans, who have been fighting for years, set aside their differences temporarily to fight off this new seemingly unstoppable threat. The story is incredibly rich for a flight sim, and I think it would make a great Civ3 scenario.

Civilizations:
Galactic Terran Alliance (GTA)
Vasudans
Shivans
Hammer of Light (renegade Vasudans)


Unit types:
Fighters (air)
Bombers (air)
Cruisers
Destroyers (battelships)
Installations (space stations)
Science Cruisers?
Ground forces*

A full list of specifc units can be found here.
*Since Freespace is a flight sim, no ground troops appear in the game. The game is space based, and the scenario will emphasize "naval" combat.


Map:
The map will be mostly water, based on this map with some slight changes for gameplay:


Unless testing suggests a better option, systems will consist of a star (mountain) surrounded by 4 or 8 inner system tiles (hills). The tiles adjacent to the system will be system space (coast), and the rest of the map will be impassable outer space (ocean). Systems will be connected by single-tile sea lanes of subspace, as in the game. Controlling subspace lanes, especially the nodes at the ends, will be extremely important.




gotta go, I'll post more info later

*reserved for more info*

Wow! This sounds great! Lookin` forward to it

I like the ideea very much !! Freespace was my favourite game and I lost many nights fighting the Shivans...so sad when I finished the game. Good luck!

You're right. that is a good storylines!

sounds very interesting and it would make a good scenario!

LizardmenRule! said:

You're right. that is a good storylines!

sounds very interesting and it would make a good scenario!

Click to expand...

And that's only the beginning. I was very impressed with the depth of the game.

If you plan on playing the game, I wouldn't recommend reading this. It will completely ruin the suspense.

The map is finished (terrain, anyway). I had to change a few nodes that appeared to overlap in a 2D map, but for the most part this is accurate to the game.

Reminds me of the Space armada mod that was never finished...

I'll help if you need me.

Wooo! Sweeet! I can`t wait for this! Wooo!

I've been thinking about how to deal with the Lucifer.

Spacecraft:

TERRAN
Interceptor: GTF Valkyrie >> GTF Loki
Space Superiority: GTF Apollo >> GTF Ulysses
Heavy Assault: GTF Hercules >> GTB Athena
Bomber: GTB Medusa >> GTB Ursa
Cruiser: GTC Fenris >> GTC Leviathan
Destroyer: GTD Orion
Installation: GTI Arcadia
Sentry Gun: GTSG Watchdog
Transport: GTT Elysium

VASUDANS/HAMMER OF LIGHT
Interceptor: PVF Anubis >> PVF Horus
Space Superiority: PVF Seth >> PVF Thoth
Bomber: PVB Amun >> PVB Osiris
Cruiser: PVC Aten
Destroyer: PVD Typhon
Sentry Gun: PVSG Ankh
Transport: PVT Isis

SHIVANS
Interceptor: SF Manticore
Space Superiority: SF Dragon
Heavy Assault: SF Basilisk
Bomber: SB Shaitan >> SB Nephilim
Cruiser: SC Cain >> SC Lilith
Destroyer: SD Demon, SD Lucifer
Sentry Gun: SSG Trident
Transport: ST Azrael

Sweet! This will be good!

Whats all that GTF, PVF and others?

GT = Galactic Terran
PV = Parliamentary Vasudan
S = Shivan
The final letter(s) are unit types, such as fighter, bomber, cruiser, etc. Similar to designations like USS, HMS, etc in modern navies.

It's a good sign when I have to bump a thread just a few days old. lives!

You forgot to add that, in the scen, the HOL should appear and spring from the Vasudans...
I used to play the game in tandem, I was the gunner communications and auxiliary, me pal was the pilot, we had a nice joystick back then... started playing when I was 6 years old!
I remember we had to do the Taranis mission 17 times before actually passing... shame... should get a copy of the game to this PC... if I can get past all of Blip Blop on my own, why not this?

Takhisis said:

You forgot to add that, in the scen, the HOL should appear and spring from the Vasudans...

Click to expand...

I'm not sure how I'm going to implement the HoL in the scenario. I considered making them barbs, but they really deserve their own civ.

If they´re barbs, they´ll attack the Shivans also...
I think only Terrans should be playable, so first you battle the Vasudans and then you make terms with them and induce them to fight alongside your troops.

There´s a Freespace2, but I haven´t played it. Are you gonna include it?

Takhisis said:

I think only Terrans should be playable, so first you battle the Vasudans and then you make terms with them and induce them to fight alongside your troops.

Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking. I can force it to be more realistic if I limit it to one playable civ.

I'm not including FS2 material for now, but if the scenario is popular I'll make a sequel/X-Pack. I just found out that the FS2 source code was released and the game is available for free download, so I may be able to convert models and graphics directly from the game. I'll have to check on the legality of it.