Just wanted to send out a quick thank you to the several people who told me I need to get my hands on Freespace 2. Well, I downloaded the demo a few days ago, and now I know I WILL buy it as soon as I can. I like how I'm not actually getting 15 kills in a mission while the other ships combined get around 2. The explosions are incredible, as are the way ships disintegrate and leave debris.

Beam cannons! In all sizes and colors! Nuff said!

I pulled out my copy and started over again after reading the posts. It was nice to go back to and especially appealing since I have gotten a new Sidewinder Precision 2 joystick and the GeForce2 since its release. The game runs like "buttah" on my machine in highest detail and I've got the right control for the job again too. Glad the game came up...

--Dave

It's a classic!!

>It's a classic!!

Completely agree. I like no game that's been released during the past several years more than FreeSpace 2. I've played the campaign through several times, while most games I don't ever boot up again after I've completed the single player campaign.

So I went to Volition right? To look at Red Faction and Summoner. Had a good time, got some great interviews and then it's time to go. So I'm taken to a nice big HUGE office... oak desk, view of the parking lot (hey, it was a business park), the whole deal.

The producer I've been talking to says:
"Hey, Andrew, I'd like you to meet Mike Kulas"
I shake his hand.
He says "So, what'd you think of Freespace 2?"
I realize that I have Freespace 2 but I've never played Freespace 2! So I stammer and lamely say "I think it should have sold better."

Situation diffused, laughter ensued and I began my four hour trek home.

-Andrew
PS: I've since played it. I love it.

One thing though. Much to my dismay, after spending god knows how much on the last three force-feedback sticks I've owned, I discovered something very disturbing:

The mouse kicks MAJOR ass in this game.

Seriously. Try it. I guarantee you will get far better gun accuracy using the mouse vs. joystick.

It's almost unfair actually. And contrary to what some people on this board *cough*bub*cough* would have you believe, I do have excellent mouse skills. And I challenge anyone who thinks I don't to a counter-strike match. ;)

And if FS2 didn't sell well, it's not my fault. I ended up buying two copies, I liked it so much. The only other game I've liked enough to do that for is Total Annihilation. I bought two copies of the outstanding Core Contingency expansion too. Krogoth rocks my world!

wumpus http://www.gamebasement.com

Yeah, it's a damn shame about the sales of Freespace 2. If ever a game showed that a genre just doesn't hold any appeal to people anymore no matter how good the game, this was the one. It's damn near a perfect space-sim and yet anyone you tell about it says... "Bah... space sims...plbthbtbt"

I paid full price for it the day of release. Like 2 months later it was already $20 and the "Game of the Year" edition was heading to shelves.

Speaking of Core Contingency...I had never bought it until just last week. It's $2.99 at EB right now. It could end up being one of the best $3 game purchases ever!

--Dave

Freespace 2 was just so immersive. I just finished it fairly recently. I should go back and play through again. I don't know about the mouse Wumpus but the force feedback effects in that game are so incredible I don't know if I could pass up playing it with my Wingman Force Feedback. Flak cannons were the best!

BTW wumpus, I am a pretty decent CS player and get invited to join clans on a weekly basis. If you are a 24/7 CS clan boy I probably can't take you but I am sure I could hold my own for the most part. :)

-- Xaroc

Makes me wonder how Independance War II is going to fare. I liked the first one, except for the puzzle-based mission goals

I never played Independance War, but the sequal sounds really good. I like the idea of having a Newtonian physics model for the ships, though hopefully they include a hefty tutorial for learning how to control it. I do know they're supposed to have a "fly-by-wire" toggle that makes the ships easier to fly. I'm glad that the space combat genre isn't completely dead, though if I-War2 flops it might be just that.

I have the beta test of I-War 2 and have played team dm against the bots. The fly by wire system is still far from say an X-Wing or Wing Commander type flight model. You still have inertia effects and in no way does the ship turn on a dime. You turn then wait as your ship moves towards the new heading. It is neat because you can go past an enemy do a 180 and be firing at them as you are going away from them while you are slowing down. You can toggle the auto flight assist on and off to enable you to strafe by things as well (sort of like powersliding in WC3 but more refined).

Anyway the multiplayer (all that is in the beta) seems decent and the bots are decent competition to begin with at least. The graphics are superb and are supposed to take advantage of the GeForce 3 I believe.

I never finished the first one although I really liked it and am looking forward to this sequel. I enjoyed Frontier: Elite as well and this game looks to be a combination of the two.

-- Xaroc

---

Quote:

The mouse kicks MAJOR ass in this game.

Seriously. Try it. I guarantee you will get far better gun accuracy using the mouse vs. joystick.

---

Didn't you guys see Star Trek: Insurrection?
A thrustmaster style joystick is obviously the best way to pilot a starship.

Hehehe, LOL, I loved that!

Seeing a CH Flightstick Pro in the cockpit of the "Blackbird" in X-men was just as funny.

Even though there's only two single player missions in the Freespace 2 demo (3 if you count the training mission), I keep playing them over and over. My new goal is to fly into the path one of those big ship beam cannons and see what happens.

Mark Bussman wrote:

/quote{My new goal is to fly into the path one of those big ship beam cannons and see what happens. }

Let's just say it isn't pretty. :)

-- Xaroc

I have mad proofreading sk1LLz. ;)

-- Xaroc