- Joined
- Jun 5, 2011
- Messages
- 788
***INCOMING TRANSMISSION***
Dear THW members... i want to present you today, a game to which i am now really fond to.
This game features an unique world... it's own gameplay... and most of all... a 100% Role-play experience (as long as you like RPG).
When Wing Commander creator Chris Roberts announced that he was leaving Origin Systems, fans of his games were concerned that he had abandoned the space simulation genre. In 1999, those concerns were replaced with eager anticipation when Roberts announced that his next game, Freelancer, would be one of the most ambitious space simulations yet. But then Roberts left the project, and gradually several of its more innovative features were scaled down or dropped altogether while its target release date was constantly postponed. Freelancer has finally arrived, and while it's not the revolutionary title it initially promised to be, it delivers the exact combination of addictive and accessible gameplay that the genre has needed for a long time.
One of the most distinctive features of Freelancer is its control scheme. Perhaps in order to appeal to a broader audience than die-hard simulation fans, the game eschews the use of a joystick altogether and instead offers a simplified mouse-and-keyboard interface. While other space sims have allowed the use of a mouse to emulate a joystick's functions, mouse control in such games was generally a poor alternative. Freelancer, on the other hand, was designed with the limitations and advantages of that input device in mind, and as a result its mouse control works efficiently and actually enhances the gameplay.
You can opt for either a mouse-look system that steers your ship in whichever direction you move the curser toward or a system that requires you to hold down the left mouse button in order to change your vessel's direction, and you can quickly switch between the two by tapping your keyboard's space bar. The mouse control lets you direct fire at opponents anywhere in sight instead of merely those in the center of the screen, while simultaneously having your ship strafe, move backward, or charge forward using keyboard controls similar to those used to effect similar commands in most action games. It's an elegantly simple and effective control scheme that should both be accessible to simulation neophytes and satisfy fans of traditional space sims.
Initially you'll be challenged by only a handful of enemies, but the final battles feature dozens of ships.
Freelancer consistently straddles the line between an arcade-style action game and a more hard-core space simulation. On one hand, most of the control and interface conventions of the space simulation genre have been ejected entirely or simplified considerably in order to make gameplay more manageable for beginners. There's no radar to track the positions of your opponents; there's no power allocation system to adjust the strength of your vessel's shields or weapons; and even if your mouse had a hat switch, there's no way to check what's happening anywhere other than directly in front of or behind your ship. You also never have to wait for weapons such as missiles and torpedoes to lock onto a target, and, if you have the requisite supplies, you can instantly and fully repair your craft's shields or armor with the click of a button. The default camera perspective is behind your ship, although a cockpit perspective is also available and works well.
On the other hand, while fans of traditional space simulations may initially object to its simplified control scheme, Freelancer offers the sort of free-form gaming world that such fans have been clamoring for since the original Elite and Privateer games. It's a gaming world that's truly massive and full of colorful interstellar phenomena and a wide variety of potential enemy types, and the single-player campaign exposes you to less than half of it. While recent space simulations have provided similarly expansive gaming worlds to discover, they've also required you to micromanage controls and master situational awareness in order to succeed in your explorations. Freelancer offers simplified gameplay but makes it easier for you to quickly discover the appeal of the genre's action-oriented gameplay and free-form exploration.
One of the most distinctive features of Freelancer is its control scheme. Perhaps in order to appeal to a broader audience than die-hard simulation fans, the game eschews the use of a joystick altogether and instead offers a simplified mouse-and-keyboard interface. While other space sims have allowed the use of a mouse to emulate a joystick's functions, mouse control in such games was generally a poor alternative. Freelancer, on the other hand, was designed with the limitations and advantages of that input device in mind, and as a result its mouse control works efficiently and actually enhances the gameplay.
You can opt for either a mouse-look system that steers your ship in whichever direction you move the curser toward or a system that requires you to hold down the left mouse button in order to change your vessel's direction, and you can quickly switch between the two by tapping your keyboard's space bar. The mouse control lets you direct fire at opponents anywhere in sight instead of merely those in the center of the screen, while simultaneously having your ship strafe, move backward, or charge forward using keyboard controls similar to those used to effect similar commands in most action games. It's an elegantly simple and effective control scheme that should both be accessible to simulation neophytes and satisfy fans of traditional space sims.
Initially you'll be challenged by only a handful of enemies, but the final battles feature dozens of ships.
Freelancer consistently straddles the line between an arcade-style action game and a more hard-core space simulation. On one hand, most of the control and interface conventions of the space simulation genre have been ejected entirely or simplified considerably in order to make gameplay more manageable for beginners. There's no radar to track the positions of your opponents; there's no power allocation system to adjust the strength of your vessel's shields or weapons; and even if your mouse had a hat switch, there's no way to check what's happening anywhere other than directly in front of or behind your ship. You also never have to wait for weapons such as missiles and torpedoes to lock onto a target, and, if you have the requisite supplies, you can instantly and fully repair your craft's shields or armor with the click of a button. The default camera perspective is behind your ship, although a cockpit perspective is also available and works well.
On the other hand, while fans of traditional space simulations may initially object to its simplified control scheme, Freelancer offers the sort of free-form gaming world that such fans have been clamoring for since the original Elite and Privateer games. It's a gaming world that's truly massive and full of colorful interstellar phenomena and a wide variety of potential enemy types, and the single-player campaign exposes you to less than half of it. While recent space simulations have provided similarly expansive gaming worlds to discover, they've also required you to micromanage controls and master situational awareness in order to succeed in your explorations. Freelancer offers simplified gameplay but makes it easier for you to quickly discover the appeal of the genre's action-oriented gameplay and free-form exploration.
What could i add... well of course... i don't agree with the part that says "There's no radar to track the positions of your opponents;". The game features a scanner (radar-like) system shown on the bottom left side of the interface. Enemies appear on it... and you are shown the distance between you and them, while little arrows appear around the screen to point out their direction.
The game basically let's the player be the pilot of a starship and fly around in space doing whatever you can do in space... or dock on planets/stations in order to buy equipment/other ships, take missions, find news, get repairs, etc.
Also... i must say that the ship itself will always have 3 "stats":
- Hull - the health of the ship so to speak... it's shown with a red bar. When the hull is damaged it can only be repaired by nanobots or docking on a station/planet and it does not regenerate... also when the hull is damaged... there is a chance that many of the ships equipment will also be damaged.
The maximum hull usually depends on the ship the player uses, whether you are using a better ship, a bigger or a smaller one... you see my point. - Shield - the shield is like an armor, it's shown by a blue bar and it's the first thing enemies hit when they shoot at you. The shield recharges by itself after hit... but in a slow rate... and it can also be recharged with batteries of by docking.
The maximum shield and it's recharging rate depend on the shield generator which the player uses on it's ship. - Energy - the energy it's the power cap of the ship, it's what makes most weapons work. When you fire with laser/pulse/energy/other weapons... the energy is decreased and if it reaches zero you can't fire. Of course it recharges by it's own.
The maximum energy, like the hull, depends on the ship.
Something else i want to tell you about are the Cruise Engine, the Trade Lanes and the Jump Gates/Holes:
- Cruise Engine is a certain type of "ability" any ship has... it's the mode in which your ship engages the engines to full power giving a great boost of speed for as long as you want, but makes you incapable of firing until you stop the cruise.
- Trade lanes are some sort of... system "space-buses" so to speak... they are artificial human-made constructions in which a ship can dock and it will go with immense speed to the other end of the trade lane, trough some sort of a matter tunnel. These are usually found in populated systems and they are used to fast travel around, but you can't really control where you go... they simply take you in a straight line from one end to another. They are useful though.
- Jump holes are a stream of matter that transports you from one place to another in just a few seconds... being the way you travel between two systems. Jump holes are usually found lying around and most of them are secret and rarely used in central systems. But they are strongly used in border systems where there are no jump gates.
- Jump gates are human-made artificial jump holes. They are found in almost all central systems and they are usually used by lawful people... while the jump holes are used as an alternative by the unlawful.
One important thing that i might add: Freelancer itself is a game which recommend only to be played in single-player campaign. But in the last years many mods have been made so it would be played online. All mods present some unique personal features and stories... but i myself play on the one called Discovery.
The current version of this mod is 4.85 (Reunion) but the officials have said that a new patch will be released on 30 December this year.
Some of the features that the Discovery mod adds to the game are:
-
Freelancer 1.0 map -47 systems
Freelancer Discovery 4.85 map -148 systems - The possibility to fly using a lot more ships than ever before. It also allows the players to fly not just fighter or transport ships but also bombers, gunboats and battleships/capital ships.
- An unique 100% RP story and gameplay, players that really role-play. I myself really like to role-play along everyone around the game.
- Many other amazing things that i'm certain only this mod can offer.
For more information about the Discovery mod you can visit:
- The Forums: http://discoverygc.com/forums/index.php
- The Wiki: http://www.discoverygc.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
- And for info about the new patch you can see the main page of the forums (listed above).
One more thing i could add... well for those of you who already know the game, note that i play this on the official Discovery Freelancer RP 24/7 server. I am an agent of the Order, the organisation that protects humanity against Nomads (the aliens that threated the Sirius Sector).
>>>This message was sent by: Tyrael "Ty" Johnson, pilot of the Aether~Aurora.<<<
***TRANSMISSION ENDED***
***TRANSMISSION ENDED***
1) Please understand that i am still a Warcraft III player and i will be for life, it's just that i like diversity and i wanted to try another game... and since i'm a SF fan... i chose this one... and now i want to share my experience with all those who might want.
2) For anyone who want's to play with me on the official Discovery server just send me a VM or PM.
3) This is not some advertisement for a server or anything... it's just something i want to share.
4)*Please feel free to comment, add or ask for info and discuss the game.
2) For anyone who want's to play with me on the official Discovery server just send me a VM or PM.
3) This is not some advertisement for a server or anything... it's just something i want to share.
4)*Please feel free to comment, add or ask for info and discuss the game.
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