and if only things could work that way, however everyone has their own ideas of how things should be - for example I'm working on a total conversion that replaces pretty much everything other than the core engine itself, whereas, there are a great majority of other smaller or similar sized mod teams out there simply content on creating new solars, new ships and gameplay alterations.

With the sheer diversity of what people are wanting to do themselves, things like this aren't really possible.

+++++++++MESSAGE ENDS+++++++++++

Illero - the simple problem is this. I have had around 5 poeple who can mod supposed to help me out. I gave them things to do, and they sometimes even said they did them.................only one ever turned something in, and it was incorrect....I ended up doing it myself.

Simply put, they find out there is alot more work then they realised. People think it will take a mere week to churn out something great.......it takes months of endless modding of all your time. Furthermore, poeple work at different rates. I work fast, and i only ever give out small amounts to be done, but when its supposed to be done (like 2 weeks later), i end up doing it myself. Furthermore - debugging others work is not fun. No offense to most, but there is no garuntee they did it right or anything else. It might seem to work, then crash. Personally i would love ot have company - but I no longer have time to teach them how to mod as i go along........and i mean NO TIME!, or they simply don't produce the work as they "lose interest" - usually without informing me at all as well. I am a nice guy to mod with, spend time helping to do stuff, but one person i must have literally walked him through building a system, and he lost it.............after about 3 weeks of the mod, me describing everything - he lost the system (no backups). Now its not his fault, but i invested alot of time, and he then gave up.....thats understandable, but i lost about 8 or more hours of MY time in that as well, for NOTHING, and to make matters worse - i could have (and did) make the system myself quicker............

Also - you get those who want super ships, super guns, etc etc - and then you get me who wants balance and gameplay over visuals and bluster........another reason........

(by the way, am talking about coders, not ship makers - cause of course i have PantherX - who is great......... - personally i am useless with ship designs and stuff - i don't know good work unless it looks lik e the game models - so he appraises everything for me. He is invaluable - and i don't know where i would be without him! lol)

Edited by - Chips on 2/23/2004 2:44:15 PM

Ok I understand fully what you are talking about chips... for most this is jusst a cool way to get that really big gun that goes boom.... or nerf the game for themselves in a way that strange or unusual... anyways... I have been modding games since about.. I think. 87? when doom 2 came out... sitting there makeing mods for it for me and my budys. any one remeber *.wad? anyways.... I know there is people out there like me...people who even as a hobbie would want to sit there and make something like I am talking about. duno.

I just found it strange when I came into this site that about the max I have seen for actual modders working toghether is like 5... mabey 6

anyways

if A/=A easter bunny is coming to getcha

hehe - its possible, just that eventually things go different ways. Personally i mod cause i love it - it keeps me entertained, and the side effect is that i make things that others like to play . That said, i am ALOT more laidback about modding than most others. I mean - I only got annoyed that people say they will do something.......then don't! lol - its cause its put ME out basically, but i am still friends with them - we haven't fallen out at all , also i would get upset IF people nicked my mod or my work, and called it as their own!.

However, some people take it way to seriously. For me - its fun, for others, they see it as possibilty of getting a job in the gaming industry . Personally - i see nothing here that would even get game execs excited. No-one is displaying any real talent apart from the modelers!.

That said, some are amazingly zealous of anyones work - especially if its good. Their is fierce competition for "top spot" as they call it, and wild accusations about copying and all sorts fly around. For me personally - i just want everyone to play the game as much as possible for as LONG as possible - cause then maybe MS will make a Freelancer 2!II That is my little dream, and my reason for doing this!!

Idealogy? perhaps - but we can dream . Therefore - my mods are just me doing my bit..............however, some really take this way to personal, and turn it into a massive competition. I welcome anyone on board here as long as they do what they say they will (my major problem with working with poeple is that they so far never have), and that we present what we set out to present to poeple (ie, they don't try to change the mod to what they want it to be......which has happened). Others, well, i was talking with another mod maker, and basically we were going to mix the two together - BUT the balance would have gone.
The way they did engines vs ours was not compatible, and same with weapons. We would have had a total mismatch, and basically a ruined mod. It would have been another mod of "fill it with ships and pay little attention to other details" which is all mods used to be! Of course - you would say "comprimise" - but ours is built upon what we have already - the stats, most importantly THE GAME IS STILL BALANCED (to the best of our ability).

Of course - games can be balanced again (so other mods have changed everything to be more distructive than it already is - so its balanced at a different point). Ours is based around the original games balance - its not trying to mold sci fi and tv series into Freelancer, we are just about trying to make Freelancer be what we think it should have been. At that point, us mixing with other mods is difficult....as everything has to fit with the original game, whereas most just plonk anything in and make a sci fi rehash bonanza! At that point, we would have had to practically rebuild both mods together -and both were WAY to far down the road to do that. Its sad, but neither of us were going to make amazing changes to mods that were against what we believed in and nor would others . Neither of us are right, we just had different agendas as to what to produce

Edited by - Chips on 2/24/2004 6:05:05 AM

YOU SAID IT MAN!!!!!!

I agree with you 100% the reason I am getting into modding FL is because I picked up the game... played the SP loved it... but was like man instead of just 4 stars this could have been 5 stars best game of the year etc... the only difference between 4 star game and 5 star is little details... things that nag on you while you are playing... comodities are one of the ones for me... just kinda was boring after a little bit because it isn't fluid at all and it wouldn't have taken much to put real time priceing into the game for it...
then there is the scale issue .... if I am in a light fighter it should take me at least a minute at cruise speed to go from one end of a capital ship to the other... and I should never be able to get the whole thing into my screen unless I am like 10k away from it and stations and planets should be massive....arg
and then.. there is this... any ship in the game any station in the game... any planet in the game.... anything that is in the game... no matter what it is... should be buyable... I don't care if it is the jump lanes? (toll booth anyone) to the planet pittsburg.. I should be able to buy it if I can pony up the insanly high price that a planet should run. beyond that a person should be able to have construction companies build a new station for them... in game without haveing to mod INI's...... arg....
it just little things that take it from just dogfighting.... to full scale all entrancing universe. a place where you can do what you forked out your hard earned cash to do...... be entertained.
arg
anyways I am just thinking that the engine itself is a good engine... just needs some tweaks and twists.... arg


If A=A then santa doesn't exist

sounds to me like you need to play x2

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- The home of Freelancer: Rebirth, the prequel to Freelancer!

Why not play X2 instead, with those boring and mechanical like AI's ... A real turn down to me...

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why not play x2? or star wars galaxies with the space expansion(is it even out yet?) because I like freelancer I like the look and feel of it especially with something like real space mod I like the combat system (even though the AI needs a big kick in the pants) I like the random missions (even though they need escort missions, large battle missions, and more variety) I like the trade lanes (even though it sucks to dock every minute or so) and I like the way in wich the game was made in general. I love this game but it just nags at me because it could have been so much better could have been the king of all space simulator/space combat games that ever was or ever will be... but instead.. it is just a really good game... thats what I mean. freelancer could have been the equvilent of doom or ultima 1 a game that starts a franchise a game that is a flagship. arg..........but it could be that almost... most of the mods you see here on TLR get it close but it is still not there.... the things still nag....
arg
ok enough ranting....

If A=A then santa doesn't exist

Maybe they are preparing Freelancer 2 or whatever it is, that way... let's wait and see and continue moding until our fingers bleed and eyes goes blury.... Lots of HARD, HARD, HARD WORK....

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