Hello everyone,

I'm not here to bash anybody's MODs. I KNOW that you have put HOURS AND HOURS of work into them and so I don't want to disrespect the work that you have done. But something concerns me with the MODs that I have been using....

I used to love playing the Rebalance MOD. I thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I mean... Capital ship encounters, new ships, new weapons, new commodities, IT WAS GREAT...

And then it seemed to become somewhat ridiculous. X-Wings in Freelancer? If I wanted to play a Star Wars sim I would pick up my copy of X-Wing Alliance or X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter. Ships from Elite LOOKING like they were still in the BBC computer? I'm sorry but there's something called "Suspension of disbelief" in all good stories. That was ruined for me. There was so much going right with this MOD, but it was just trashed by going overboard. Babylon 5... Earth Alliance systems?! Just too much, man. After the latest update of the MOD, I have come to the conclusion that you are no longer IMPROVING the game, you're making it bigger.

So I moved on from the Rebalance MOD. I picked up Freelancer: The Next Generation. At first, I loved it! And I like Reynen's previous MOD (lost it now), so I had high hopes. I was reading the specs... and I was loving it. I launched in my cool Starflier... I was still loving it. Then I saw the Nexus. My first response was... "What the hell is that thing?" So I looked it up in the help files and understood. Then the Nexus became annoying. Everywhere you go, you still see it, bigger than the sun. That was probably the most annoying part... It was so big you could just never get away from looking at it. It was a real eyesore and became so aggravating to me that I put that MOD down as well.

Now recently I picked up Victor's MP MOD. I like it. I really wish that he would've added more commodities (more contraband would be good, too!). All MODders have done a great job at improving the combat aspect of this game, but there is great potential to make a better trading game as well. More commodities, more freighters... you get the idea. Then I realized something about Victor's MOD... the ships were ridiculously overpriced and sometimes overpowered. I like the idea that any ship can mount any weapon, but it may not have the power for it (Sort of Privateer-esque). But after I bought a Startracker, it's taken me DAYS to earn enough cash to even buy a Patriot! Therefore, the tediousness has started to get to me here, too.

So... here is my opinion of what I think a MOD should add (take it for what you will)

Capital ship encounters - It's a must.
More weapons - Flesh out the universe.
More ships - BUT NOTHING RIDICULOUS!
More PILOTABLE ships - BUT NOTHING RIDICULOUS!
More FREIGHTERS - This game has great potential for trading, let's take advantage of it.
Bigger cargo space for freighters - Every MOD I've ever played seems to understand this one, so I'm not going to say anything else.
More systems - I was cautious about saying this. Let create a better VARIETY of systems. Something else to explore... but again, I don't want to see Sol in the middle of Sirius.
Better mission variety - I don't even know if this one is possible.
Pilotable Cap Ships - I like this and it seems like a good goal for a player to achieve.

And I have one last suggestion... I don't know if it's possible/plausible/anything else, but I think it would add a HUGE element to the game.

When you die, you lose your ship. Or at least all of your money. This would add a real element of risk, and I think if a server had a responsible admin, could also make a great server MOD.

Please, don't take offense to any of my suggestions, here! I really do like all of your MODs, I just thought of some improvements.