Or if you'd prefer full Battlestar, there's Diaspora, and Beyond the Red Line, a pair of multi-campaign total conversion mods set within the world of the Syfy Battlestar Galactica reboot. It's essentially a whole new game, a pair of massive campaigns covering 50-missions with entirely new weapons and ships (and with serious Battlestar Galactica vibes). The best fan-made campaign and, one of the most impressive mods I've ever seen, is the staggeringly ambitious Blue Planet.
FREESPACE 2 RESOLUTION MOD
(Unlike many sims, this one probably plays best with a mouse, leave the flightstick under the desk.) Apparently these are all muscle-memory for me - I was able to jump back into the action, simultaneously adjusting my shield power while cycling primary weapons, engaging afterburners and targeting the ship attacking my objective, without a sweat.īeyond the original campaigns, dive into the mod work and try Inferno Nostos, The Procyon Insurgency, and Wings of Dawn (though skip the cringey, optional, NSFW files for that one). Like most sim games, the control scheme for Freespace is extensive and complex, with dozens of hotkeys and at least 20 commands required for regular play. And for newcomers, the original campaigns are available with updated graphics and they're still amazing.
So how can you join in on the fun? First, you'll need a retail copy of Freespace 2 ($10 on GOG and Steam). The original game, great as it was, is nigh-unplayable these days in its un-modded state. The mods aren't without bugs, but they're generally stable. The modded version of the games (or "FSOpen") also bring a swath of quality of life improvements, like widescreen support, the ability to change screen resolution, or have a mouse work properly. And Hard Light isn't slowing down development, either: It released a new pack of graphical improvements (dubbed "MediaVPs") just two weeks ago. Space mining? Check.) It all comes with a fresh coat of graphical paint, adding high-res starscapes, modern glow and shadow effects, and better textures.ĭoes it look as good as a modern AAA game? Definitely not, but when you consider Freespace 2 came out 21 years ago, it's a massive improvement. Many of these expand on the original games with all new ships, weapons, even gameplay mechanics. Beyond the original games, there are dozens of custom made campaigns, some more than 20-missions long. So I was absolutely overjoyed to learn that the Freespace mod scene, which congregates on the website Hard Light, had developed and released Knossos: an honest-to-goodness, Steam-esque launcher app that presents you with a cornucopia of user-generated content, all just a click away. (I remember one session where, after beating a single particularly sadistic user-made level, I looked up and realized it was 6:30am.) Unfortunately, the process of installing and enabling everything was fiddly and kind of a pain. I played around with these mods in college and had a blast. This helped foster a fanatic modding scene that has been churning out custom ships, graphics improvements, and new campaigns for more than a decade. Unusually, the games were made open source by their developers, Volition (they of Red Faction and Saints Row fame). The real appeal of Freespace, and what has kept me coming back, is its community. I've replayed both the original and its sequel a half dozen times.īut the actual games are only a fraction of the story. Originally released in 1998, it blended frantic action with ship customization and a halfway decent storyline.
FREESPACE 2 RESOLUTION SERIES
I will go out on a limb and say I think Freespace is the best space sim series ever created (fight me, Wing Commander).
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