For those who miss the Space Combat/Sim genre...

[Zalis]

Remember enjoying games like Wing Commander, Descent, and Freespace? Unsatisfied with the most recent (and lackluster) space offerings like Starlancer, Freelancer, and Darkstar One? There is hope.

Radicc and some of our other friends (Verin, Codfael, etc) were at a lan party recently and found ourselves talking about some games we missed. Freespace 2 was mentioned, and it was especially nostalgic because the retail version of the game can't be installed on computers w/ Windows XP or Vista. (so... you can't play them)

Radicc found a link for me and I proceeded to dive into what's known as the FS2 Open Source Project. Basically, Volition (Freespace's developers) released the source code back in '02 the community has been modding and improving the game ever since. The entire game is available for download (legally, mind you) thanks to the odd way that the game was licensed. All you have to do is download the installer, run it, and then choose which components you want/need to install. (it downloads quite a bit... so I did mine overnight)

It takes a little effort, but you get the whole game functioning and free on a modern day computer. Woohoo. The best part is, there are user-made enhancements to give it some of the eye candy we've grown used to with this generation of games. (glow maps, specular lighting, etc)

As for mods, the most notable one I've found is a total conversion that turns FS2 into a Battlestar Galactica game. Music, ships, dialogue, everything. It's only in the demo stages, but has multiplayer. Definitely worth checking out if you're a BSG fan and like space shooter games.

So anyway... this is all just a distraction from Guild Wars. But I find it a welcome one since GW:EN isn't here yet. Heck... maybe I'm a sucker for gaming nostalgia and free stuff.

Links:
Freespace 2 Open Source Project
FSSCP Wiki
Some Screenies
Beyond The Red Line: A Battlestar Galactica total conversion for FS2

Screenshot from Beyond The Red Line:

[Thalion Orbdrin]

I thought Freelancer was fairly fun while it lasted - nothing on the classics like Wing Commander, Privateer etc. but still good.

Heh, fooled around with the open sourced FS2 a while back, been trying out the open sourced Babylon 5 space sim lately - controls aren't too good though. Or it could be the weird engine system used for the Star Furies.

[Radicc Tyranntt]

Still waiting on my mobo to come back but I'm gonna be hitting up some good ol' freespace when it does.

[paleblade]

Oh wow, that really brings back some memories for me. I didn't play the original WC, but I have WC2,3,4 and WC Prophecies. Wasn't into StarLancer but I played FreeLancer A LOT (and later with community mods). Had hoped that FreeLancer 2 was gonna come out till MS closed down Digital Anvil.

Thanks for the links Zalis. If you don't see me on this weekend....I'll be in deep space again! LOL

The BSG mod looks really well done. I'll be downloading this tonight to check it out. Time to wipe the dust off my Gravis Black Hawk joystick ;D

[Zalis]

If people like the BSG mod enough, we should try out the multiplayer. I did a little of it w/ Verin last night and it seems like a nifty concept. (even if you don't like BSG, but moreso if you do)

The idea of a gamepad w/ rumble sounds really good at first, but I find there are a few too many controls for me to be comfortable doing that. My current control setup uses a mix of mouse controls for throttle/firing etc, then WASD + a few keys for misc controls like thrust left/right/up/down and targeting stuff. So the left hand can sit on WASD, then drift around when you need to do anything else within reach.