Freelancer 2 (?)

Bobthemanofsteel wrote:

Zyos wrote:
is the community really that selfishly driven still?

That depends who you ask.
The egos hanging about are much too big to work together without butting oversized heads at any given moment.

Well, I have to admit I have a huge ego but still I’m willing to put in unlimited work hours in such a project if a REAL one was to ever take place … however I’ve been willing to do that for many years now, yet all such “theory” projects never survived for more than a few months, due to various reasons, ego being one of them hehe.
This is actually one of the main reasons I’m keeping a close eye on LancerSolurus’ game, because I want to see how far the game gets cause in theory it has all the things that could make it great, possibly the best project that could ever get close enough to being called FL2.

We need to overcome our egos and realize that everybody could get their idea into a new game if only we get together to make it happen.

The reason why modders are not coming together to make Freelancer 2 is mostly because they disagree on the plot. Nobody wants to give up his/her plot because it is so important to how the world looks like.

I have read the stories of some here and I think all are great. I’m good at modelling and particles. But I’m horrible at texturing because I don’t have a touchpen and have never done digital painting.

I also think I would only be ready to join a Freelancer 2 project if we migrate to an engine that will cover our butts for the next 2 decades. I’ve been talking about CryEngine 3 for a while and I really think it is great and with the know-how, you could re-create the Freelancer world.

The most difficult part would be to program all the NPCs and how they travel as well as the dynamic trade system. But mods like Hamburg City Server which improved the trade system, show that people DO have the know-how.

So it all boils down to ego and when all sides are going to realize that the Freelancer Community is shrinking and we’ll soon have no other choice than to do one mod together or no mod at all.

Creativity is power.
But about plot, it must be standing in the last. It’s nothing in comparison with a making game-engine, shaders, models, AI and a lot of program code .

Bringing all together in short times with leading towards ambitions only is not good idea. Without great knowledges in coding C++/C#/asm/Whatever - everything is nada. Till there’s no genius who can code just anythin’ - FL2/FLHD remains a dream =(

wait a mo, “till”…, “until”…, i don’t get it…the way of using it xD

True. Without some software engineers, Freelancer 2 won’t make it. It’s kinda sad that Microsoft just dropped Digital Anvil despite the fact that it was the best in its class.

Part of what has made Freelancer last this long is the ease of modification (in some areas) so you’d need to find an engine that has the capabilities needed that is almost as easily modifiable.

Otherwise you end up with a new game yes but at the same time finite in lifespan.

In my view nothing should change with the plot, only how it is presented in terms of music, textures etc. Not changed just improved and repackaged as if it was a newly released game. Thats my intention anyways, and part of that will require programmers due to the launcher needed and the FLHook segments, we already have all the required knowledge spread amongst us.

It will just take time…

Freelancer is probably the closest I’ve ever found to the perfect kind of space game - one that isn’t bogged down in pointless and depressing realism, that doesn’t force you to grind a trade route for days before you can have fun, one that understands most people are looking for a romantic style of space combat over a highly simulated one. I agree it’s not a question of how to patch the faults and gaps in Freelancer, but why they haven’t been patched yet. Things like player cap ships, jump drives, bigger universes, better AI, to my knowledge these are all possible and in existance across a number of different mods, but each mod I’ve seen in Freelancer misses the almighty point by a noticeable margin and focuses on the wrong kind of experience. Obviously there’s an element of differing opinions to consider, but I really believe most people want what I want from this game - the fun, easy-to-learn hard-to-master gameplay of Freelancer, set in the same kind of interesting, engaging, visually beautiful universe, but enhanced and improved to its limits.

I’d love to make it, but I’m not a tech guy. I could write you pages and pages of how to design this perfect FL mod, but I have no clue how to actually tinker with the game itself. And that’s sad, because I know it’s possible, I’ve seen elements of this perfect mod all across the community of Freelancer, and I’d love nothing more than to see them all brought together and make this game something really special; all it takes is the right design focus and some co-operation, and we’d have it.

If anyone ever wants help with designing that kind of project - please, let me know, because I’d love to see it become a reality.

First port basic freelancer to some new engine(like BUDU_KRATOK tried), that’s the first step to save FL.

Feel sad about openlancer and hopeful about GE.

imho

Beagle wrote:
the fun, easy-to-learn hard-to-master gameplay of Freelancer, set in the same kind of interesting, engaging, visually beautiful universe, but enhanced and improved to its limits.

We’ll have to see what I can come up with once I have my new PC and when FriendlyFire can release all that snazzy DX9 stuff … But something like what you suggest is my own personal plan.

When I have re-mastered New York is most likely when I’ll release a demo of it to get opinions on it. But for now it’s in a planning process.

Actually I am looking for a story writer atm, don’t have much time to work on that aspect.

Also I wonder if anyone knows of a list of all of the storyline commands that FL uses?

Thanks Vital, I’m still working on it a year and a half later, making good progress

Honestly I think what w0dk4’s been doing is sufficient to keep Freelancer alive for a while longer. Rebuilding the game from scratch in a new engine takes an incredible amount of work (far more than you can imagine) and at that point it’d be stupid not to also improve upon the base recipe, a bit like what LS is doing.

Freelancer’s attracted so many because its gameplay is solid and it’s the last of its generation (by that I mean a AAA space simulator). I wouldn’t want a possible spiritual successor to just ape Freelancer exactly, I’d want it to do more, better. For the time being, our best bet is to keep improving upon the base game that we have.

For the time being, our best bet is to keep improving upon the base game that we have.

We need the proper sur-maker that would also support animation models like Jump-Gates. SUR-files are real pain in the ass last years.

SUr-Builder 0.0.3 works absolutely incorrect. Output sur is awful.
Obj->sur converter works better, but output sur is still awful.

Those sur-makers cover all model over, they’re looking for nearest vertexes and connecting 'em without leaving any holes in models.
They turn the model into “looks like original form, okay, he is an idiot, he won’t notice mwuhahaha”. We need exact sur-model from original form. Now i’m thinking to learn sur-splicer, mb it can make it good.

I really don’t agree about theObj->Sur converter. I hitboxed this with it and the hitbox is about as good as it gets. The rings you can fly through and so on. It did take a bit of tweaking though. but not too much.

http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j362/Narcotic235/Freelancer Discovery/Freelancer2012-01-0801-21-29-09.jpg

SilentAssassin82 wrote:
The rings you can fly through and so on.

Whta?! You can fly through between those two rings? In my cases suchlike constructions with spaces were capped with polygons, wtf…

Yes, the OBJ converter is definitely good enough to do everything we need. SURs are no more an issue with this.

However, please remember that this isn’t the thread to talk about that. Feel free to make a new topic (or even better, continue the OBJ->SUR converter topic) about it.

i am doing a little something in my man cave right now. as for a name i am calling it the alaska expansion it looks pretty neat. i replaced the mine field with junk and replaced the pointy anoying things in alaska with ice. i have about 5 bases added that have missions including juno and prison base mitchell. i have beta testing it my self for months still need time to edit info cards and names. would like to play around in the unknown section . it ir only open single player right now.
http://evilempirerevolution.forumotion.net/t168-new-freelancer-mod-i-am-working-on heres a link to my videos
but all of our mods are freelancer 2 we dont need a free lancer 2

WhiskasTM wrote:

SilentAssassin82 wrote:
The rings you can fly through and so on.

Whta?! You can fly through between those two rings? In my cases suchlike constructions with spaces were capped with polygons, wtf…

If I remember (from like 3 or 4 years back) there was a trick to get around the poly count. Had something to do with creating the base into sections and then joining them, then the total mass can far exceed the polycount. Don’t ask me how modelling has never been my thing but I believe the basic work was done by some guy that created those “modular bases”.

FriendlyFire makes a good point. Freelancer 2 would probably have to take it to a new level.

The part that fascinated me the most is not the action, but the thousands of background stories explaining where all the faction came from, why a station is placed here and there is even information on astronomical objects (clouds, asteroid fields, etc.) You can communicate to any neutral and friendly spaceship and it will communicate back. The illusion that the whole universe is a breathing system is there!

You won’t find this in ANY space game in such a beautiful detail. And you know why? Because no developer is ready to spend this amount of energy and time into such a game as Digital Anvil did. Heck, they even had to “cut” because Microsoft pressured them to release the game. I can only imagine what the game could have been if they got the time.

Also, until today the view of the planets haunts me. I think if there ever was a Freelancer 2, it should allow the player to walk around on those planets, or at least the capital.

Emmanuel wrote:
The part that fascinated me the most is not the action, but the thousands of background stories explaining where all the faction came from, why a station is placed here and there is even information on astronomical objects (clouds, asteroid fields, etc.) You can communicate to any neutral and friendly spaceship and it will communicate back. The illusion that the whole universe is a breathing system is there!
You won’t find this in ANY space game in such a beautiful detail.

Hmm, till now I really couldn’t put my finger on the thing that makes Freelancer as good as it is, however now that you mentioned it, you’re absolutely right. All these “details” really make up a great living universe around you and thus a great gaming experience.

Part of freelancers success is that it failed its goals during development.
It was meant to be a MMORPG.
I guess they didn’t plan to release the server software - but after microsofts “cut” they had to release what they had.
Thats why we have such a feature rich freelancer AND the ability to mod it.

And thats the reason why nobody released something better yet - its simply to expensiv without adding a monthly fee.

“It was meant to be a MMORPG.”
source?