Not a spoiler. The intro you saw was probably the early concept they had for the game. They shortened it to fit the storyline that the budget cuts forced them to make, creating a sort of bastardized version of the creator's dream. Although, it also leaves what I personally hope to be a third installment possible for the future. Just my hopes; nothing substantiated. But the intro you saw, assuming you got it from TLR with the filename "flintro," was the early idea they had. 6 minutes of me drooling all over the keyboard at the sight of the sheer magnitude of eye-candy. That thing was freakin' sweet! The graphics ROCKED and the storyline just in the intro alone was incredible. I really wish they'd left it in, but I guess because of the budget cuts, they had to shorten it. Ya know, 'cuz it cost an extra nickel to put 6 minutes of intro on each copy as opposed to 2. (I don't know that. I'm just making reference to Microsoft's cheapskate approach on productivity)

So, to answer your question, it's not quite a mop, and it's not quite a puppet, but, man....oh, man! I don't know.

"Mercy is the mark of a great man. ::stabs guy with sword:: Guess that makes me a good man. ::stabs guy again:: Well, I'm all right." - Malcom Reynolds, Captain, Firefly-class Starship "Serenity"

Maybe the left it in to continue the series though.

I mean we never really did find out what happened with the coalition and the earth system in freelancer did we?

Noop. It is my hope that a third installment will be released (hopefully within the decade) in which the Coalition will find a jump hole from SOL to Sirius, attack Sirius, lose the upper-hand, retreat back to SOL, be followed and, finally, defeated, giving the Alliance, which is not mentioned in Feelancer probably because everyone there has descended from the Alliance, so it kinda doesn't need to be mentioned anymore.

Maybe, in keeping with the decision-making aspect of Freelancer, players could be offered the choice behind joining the Coalition or the Alliance. I just hope they bring the Nomads back in JUST so we can completely annihilate them and rid the story of infectious, assimilant, symbiotic lifeforms.

Then, once the war is finished, the Alliance having been the victor, the player can have clear-cut, sanctioned decisions to make, allowing the main character to literally join the Navy or Police or Bounty Hunters and leave trading and pirating for people to simply do if they want. Maybe, to appease the nay-sayers who flip out over the lack of joystick support, the heavy combat careers (Bounty Hunters, NAVY, Police,...) could require a simple 2-button, 2-axis joystick.

Again, this is nothing of any authority. It's simply what I would like to see.

"Mercy is the mark of a great man. ::stabs guy with sword:: Guess that makes me a good man. ::stabs guy again:: Well, I'm all right." - Malcom Reynolds, Captain, Firefly-class Starship "Serenity"

Anywhere I can download this first (6 minute) video? I'm just curious and'd like to see it. Thanks.

You can get it right....here.

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Thank you very much. Looked in the files section briefly but didn't see it!