As far as I can tell, our only option if we want to seriously work on making a better FL is to make it ourselves. Unless Openlancer has some seriously skilled developers on hand, I doubt it will work. Serious developers like those who do things like this for a living.

I must admit to being skeptical about Openlancer on the whole, simple because it is another attempt to make a FL2. Tried many times, no doubt, and never suceeded. If OL does work, i will never be as happy to be proven wrong again.

>So this question comes to mind, "IS FREELANCER OUT OF GAS?"

Negative, just have a look at the major Multiplayer FLServers.
Player numbers have not dropped seriously since ~2004

The question of whether or not FL is "out of gas" probably shouldn't be simply answered with the impossible FL2. My new answer in the form of a question (to the modders, bless their souls) is: is it possible that all FL needs is something NEW?? Granted, current mods are great but almost all of them still revolve around Manhattan, Liberty, Bertonia, et cetera (yes, that is how you spell etc.) What FL needs is for modders to create a whole new bloody universe, scrap Liberty, the old ships/systems/factions. My best memories of playing FL are from whenever I found something NEW. Playing for the first time and discovering pirate bases and new ships and how everything fit toghether was amazing. What I'm talking about here isn't a "total conversion" mod but something new, cooked up by FL players, new ships, new weapons, new ship heirarchies (sp?), new factions, new systems. The best way of doing this would probably be to start small, say an 8 system universe with some ships and stuff (maybe just 1 or 2 systems would be better for a start). Start a new Forum Thread Post thingie to get input from TLR community and get it started, small at first, creating a new universe with back history, politics, commodities, techs, and locations isn't easy, I've tried (on paper). Borrowing ideas from other games may be neccesary (ex: X1,2,3, I-War2, Freespace 2, Tachyon, Hegemonia, Homeworld, Starwars, Startrek, Galciv, Wing commander, etc.) but outright copying stuff from them ie: ships, would ruin the entire point. I hope that with this post I have accomplised something other than fueling the useless debate over FL2, or Openlancer (good luck), but rather give a good realistic idea about something DOABLE. I wish you all well, may God bless.

"These tears we spill,
They haunt us still,
Cries of the weak
Lie silent in sleep,
Beneath our feet,"- Demon Hunter

In effect your talking about building a new canon. Without the core systems, factions, and Sirius sector setting from FL it may as well be a completely new canon. This leads into something thats been stewing in the background for a while. I'll leave it at that until TLR makes an official decision on this issue.


-Burn

Don't TC's do that already ender314?

Edited by - flybyu on 7/27/2006 6:29:11 AM

Yes, TC's do what I'm taking about, sort of. TC's do convert everything fromFL to something different, but not really new. Essentialy What I'm reccomending is a FL2 TC. While eliminating EVERYTHING from FL probably wouldn't be nesecary it would be building a new universe. It could remain connected to FL, just in a different sector than Sirus, say thay found an uber jump hole that took them to a different sector that had enntirely new systems, mostly new ships, and mostly new factions. I don't know any of the legal technicalities involving canon and whatnot, but wouldn't it be possible from a modding standpoint to do something like this. If so it would sure beat sitting around complaining about why FL2 will never happen and examining why.

"IF you're smiling after you've made a mistake you've already thought of someone else to blame"- unknown