The onlything about exploration in Freelancer is that it's to easy. All you have to do is press the 'Patrol Path' button on your map display, then fly to the end of the white line and find what's there... ohh then you can repeat the same process for the next system... exciting stuff aint it?

Hengist.

I think there is a similar conversation going on in another thread... something like "expansion pack wish list" or similar title...

Wich ever of ya said that 'yes' good game, but 'could' have been sooo much better. I have to agree. I played the whole story line before I had found this page and all the hints and cheats etc... Was a really good story that personally I found kept me really 'into' the whole experience...

But then after finishing story mode, and extensive exploring and the usual flying back to liberty space and taking revenge on the unioners etc...
It really did get boring. My gripe is that it would have been such a small easy lilttle extra bit of work for the creators of the game to have kept it interesting after...

I would have been happy with the odd battleship or space station to destroy....
or even if after you finish the story mode and they 'know' you are are at least level 20 or 30ish.... boost up the difficulty and reward for all the missions in all the systems according to your level. Maybe take a mission from planet manhatten that will make you fly all the way to omicron gamma and worth your while. Or insted of just doing the same old missions, now that your better equiped.... send you on missions to wipe out entire factions (that can always gradually spring back up)

Or maybe at the very least reward my efforts for getting pounded and shot up just to land on what I think is a new and exciting system to explore just to talk to a bunch of monkeys that are totally useless.

forget the hull breach, what about the FIRE?[!?[!?

Hmm, It sounds like alot of you guys should go have a look at Earth and Beyond - there is a fun online game, a universe bigger the FL and packed with players - thousands of players. Downside is many things had to be simplified to cut down on data transfer, no collision detection, simplified combat (computer aims for you) and pay-to-play (20permonth) There is a free 5-day trial if you can get you're hands on the game (1 gig download - worth it)
Freelancer would have benefited from the sort of variety of missions you got in the Freespace campeign. Fleet battles, covert ops, recon etc.
But I wouldn't complain about lack of clans, 32 player limits and technology limits. What you are asking of the developers is called "scope creep" and becomes unmanageable if you want to develope the game within a couple of years.
The game is very nice for it's SP campeign (how do you spell that ?) at the same time as providing a reasonable MP experience.
Whereas E&B can be a blast when in a group, but can quickly lose it's luster when playing by yourself.
Comparing E&B and FL would probably show you what I mean when I say that the best of both worlds is probably a bit much to ask for at present.

Even a kick up the pants is a step forwards...