FL dramatically scaled back

Tue Mar 25, 2003 5:09 am by Paul MJH

So how many of you have noticed that FL seems to have been trimmed to the bone before shipping?

Examples:
The original Trailer/Intro indicates that the Nomads are the nastiest boogeyman the human race could dream up. What happened to the star killing super gun? What happened to the Earth? Did the young General come to Sirius?

End game, the redistribution of power line from Casper is more than a bit on the lame side.

Limited number of Mission types (1) Shoot ships (2) Shoot ships retrieve cargo or life pod (3) Shoot ships and weapons platform/base. Where are the escort missions? How about the vital shipment of supplies to Freeport 2 to fight the plague? Or the shipment of Gate lane parts to Hokkaido for big profits. Oh my brother always wanted to be a pro racer on the circuit.

SP Campaign is short. There are just to many things you do not get to do or use in SP. And there are several items that seem to have no use at all or have been removed. Shields cut from player access (Champion) but available to NPCs, check out those GMG Eagles. Why can you find paralizer missiles but no launcher? Why have the starslayer torpedo at all?

FL seems like a great movie that was chopped and hacked at by the bean counters at corporate to fit in the 90-minute time frame when it needs to be more. The core is solid but some of the expected bits seem to have been left on the cutting room floor. So many little things that it is hard to nail down.

Would be nice if the universe of FL was a bit more dynamic. Would be nice to get to purchase your very own base with all the, err counters, you have for being a mule. Be able to join a faction and fight the evil pirates or despicable oppressors. Not just shoot a never ending stream of fodder. Would be interesting to over through the Kusari government with the Dragons. I guess if you want an FPS in space this is a nice game. Those of us expecting a bit more RPG in this thing are going to be disapointed.................

Tue Mar 25, 2003 6:03 am by Easy Rhino

No... YOU'RE dramatically scaled back!!

... uh, never mind

The mention of a mission to take gate/lane parts to Hokkaido for big profits is kind of specious, since taking gate/lane parts to Hokkaido will indeed get you big profits. You don't need a mission for it. Now, if the mission was to take water to New Berlin or something, that might need a mission in order to make it worthwhile.

ER

Tue Mar 25, 2003 1:36 pm by TazzNz

Firstly, lay off rhino - the mans just telling his tale.

Secondly, Hes correct. the game has been scaled down - BEFORE - anyone flames me, look at the FACTS. the developement sites are full of extra features that never made it into the game , like the ever changing economy of supply and demand effecting prices, the escort runs, wingmen (for god sake D/A where are the wingmen? i though you guys worked on privateer?). More proof of an unfinished product are level 10 freighter sheilds but no frieghter capable of taking them, try and cover that up with some nice little piece of fiction.

i agree that its a great game, but i think D/A (digital Anvil) is following the trend of 'leave the good bits for the sequel' attidude that is popular these days, it could be the best game. needs a little work

ps. im not interested in fairy tails about why the sheilds can't be used or why you get attacked by a pirate whos on fire, on his own, with ten cops on him but decides you are the greatest threat in the universe and his own life is meaning less if he gets at lest on shot at you before he blow up.

The AI could be improved too..........

Tue Mar 25, 2003 4:35 pm by V1_Lev

Or when you've kill a legion of pirates they dont get the idea "hey maybe we ought to leave him alone or offer him a job or something". Instead they try and ambush you and the next jump gate and they all die anyway. stupid ai

You would think you could try a little more diplomacy than just paying to have your record hacked. Such as hailing them and actually getting a response or finding one the faction people in the bar and trying to negotiate an 'understanding'.

Comments, ideas?

Tue Mar 25, 2003 5:02 pm by Ether Dragon

I've tried to avoid dwelling on how much is missing from this game. I learned long ago that game previews are chock full of features that you'll never see in the final release. Truely, Freelancer is probably one of the worst examples of this outside of an MMORPG. Much of this I forgave due to the winding development path this game took to completion. Still, four years of development deserved more of a showing than this simplified shooter.

My only hope rests in expansion packs, but I doubt they'll fix the fundamental problems, as they'de have to change the core features of the release version. Can you go back and add engine upgrades that change ship speeds, or sensor packages that adjust sensor range and lead reticles, without completely changing the game play?

What is missing? I know a lot of you will jump to this game's defense at my statements above, but it's not my intention to attack the game. Simply put, this isn't the game originally promised. Look at the early previews we were tempted and teased with. From Gamespy (less than a year ago):
"As this simulation of the universe runs, economics, missions and political boundaries will fluctuate."
"While these servers run, the world will persist and continue to evolve even if the players are not active."

That gives you an idea of some of the expectations fans were given. Earlier previews mentioned all kinds of fantastic stuff. AI dogfight routines that could be bought as ship upgrades, pirates monitoring tradelanes to determine the best pickings, police monitoring pirate attacks to determine patrol routes, not to mention an actual MMOG expansion planned for release within six months of the single player version's release.

Tue Mar 25, 2003 6:24 pm by O-O-O

One thing I have done to really spice the game up is play it in tandem with Unreal II

Fly around in Freelancer, kill some stuff, land on a planet, then load Unreal 2 and play some missions. Then reload your ship, rinse and repeat. Its like you get the space trader/dogfight stuff and the ground unit FPS killing as well

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