I'd like to post on this because I am someone whose been registered for quite some time.

The demo is a let down in a few ways - here are the ones that occured to me now away from the game. Its really about depth and how long it will last on your hard drive.


Random Missions - in the history of the computer generated mission none have been too exciting. I'll accept them as a way to get equipment for my ship but they aren't a draw in themselves

Trading - Static prices. Plying the same route doesn't have the replaybility and depth of a dynamic economy. There aren't sudden planetary food shortages that you can leverage into making the big bucks.

Combat - The core liability of the Space Sim. We're looking at WWII inspired dogfighting in space in the way that Star Wars defined it. Without the effects of gravity or newtonian physics it devolves into turning radius. Unlike Freespace there isn't energy managment, a tool that gave you more tactical room.

In small ways Escape Velocity did more, holding a planet ransom anyone? And it also had cool little multistep missions. You could do commerce on a contract instead of just the capture/assasination/destruction ones that are in Freelancer.

I loved the Freelancer Demo in the scripted missions and I will buy it just for those. But I wonder if it will stay fun past that point. Anyway I'm looking foward to my preorder.

OK - I will let people allow to have their oppinions, and I just want to add the following: Every hyped up game will let some people down! No game will ever satisfy EVERYBODY. The vast majority I trust deems this a good and great game, with many enjoyable moments. It's not the perfect, end-all game, but it is a very grat game!

Best Regards
Christian "Bargib" Koerner
Editor in Chief, The Lancers Reactor

Wow, I have been reading the most recent posts with absolute astonishment and quite frankly I'm a bit shocked

I simply can't grasp why people are bashing FL and judging it negatively without even have played it or have played merely the Demo, one of the preview versions or even worse, a hacked and thus illegal copy downloaded from wherever !?! Did these people honestly think it would be Priv 3 ? I-War 3 perhaps ? Wing Commander 129 () ?

I think it would be only fair to make any comments (if you have them) after you bought (legally) the full version and have played it extensively and you see and judge the game on its one and not like some kind of sequel or something like that....
I think we owe at least that to the hard working people over at DA !! They truly deserve our objectivity.

Just think about it......



" Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable "

I like the demo...............the only things i didn't was....................i got attacked to often i think.........................I AND I WORKED SO HARD TO GET A BLOODHOUND AND AT THE LAST MOMENT MY DREAMS OF GETTING 1 WERE SHATTERD!

Apart from that it wasn't too bad. I rekon the prices of the goods at the stations and planet should Radomly change every hour. This would fix the problem of same old boring cargo trips. WHY AM I SO AMAZING!

Edited by - BLOODHOUND-wannabe on 24-02-2003 10:51:58

Number 1. Everybody is entitled to thier opinion for sure but guys don't write reviews like your word is gospel and that anyone who thinks differently is an idiot, it just entices a negative response. So don't look so shocked when you get one.

Number 2. Unfortunately the game has changed an aweful lot over the years and some things have been added, some things dropped and other things rearranged. Unfortunately this has led to a very confused community with half expecting one thing and the other half expecting something entirely different. Try to judge the game with zero expectations not with ideas of what you think it should be.

Personally I didn't expect the combat to play quite like that. I don't think you can really compare it to anything, it's certainly unlike anything I've ever played. I didn't know quite what to think to start with, but I am really getting into it now.



Ah, she's built like a steak house but she handles like a bistro. - Zapp Brannigan

I would hate to be a game developer...trying to please the majority of the people all the time. Im sure there are people who will love it, people who will hate it and people that fall somewhere between. Personally I like the demo, i suppose it depends on what you want from a game.

"Well, Im glad I'm not the only one dissapointed. I've been following the game for a long time and am a fan of the genre. Maybe that's why I am so dissapointed. This game (at leat the demo) was missing so MUCH. Trending away from sim, towards 'hack n' slash' shooter with little or no ambience or atmosphere, inconsequential characters, a meaningless planet experience that is inexplicably unimaginitve. I wanted to land on a planet and oooh and ahh at the scenery, the people and details, to feel like it was a living breathing part of a bigger universe, yadda yadda you get hte picture.

No real economy or meaningful trade system... Lots is missing from this game and I think many fans will come to the realization that it's potential far exceeds its current state. I would have waited another 6 months or year for the be-all-end-all version but I guess they ran outta money after 4 years... Not sure what they spent the 4 years on to tell you the truth. My guess is they dumped content in an effort to get it into multiplayer."

Clavicus, it sounds like you haven't played any of Derek Smart's Battlecruiser games then? Even the Battlecruiser Millennium game released in late 2001 is far more superior to this FL demo (dunno about the full game) and you can get it from Electronics Boutique or ebworld.com or the 3000ad.com website for about $10 now!!

And get this, its going to get even better with the upcoming Battlecruiser Generations now being published by Dreamcatcher. I hear that there is even a Battlecruiser Millennium Gold version due out next month - and with multiplayer. This came about from Smart's recent three-title publishing deal with Dreamcatcher.

Say one thing about that Derek Smart he continues to make space sims with no compromises. At first, BCM didn't quite grab me but the more you play it, the more it grows on you. Open ended game, dynamic universe, dynamic economy etc Which probably explains its popularity. As I've heard, it sold more units than any space sim since Freespace2 - including Freespace2 itself. Which probably explains why there is a new Battlecruiser game almost every two years or so.

If you take BCM and marry it with more features and a kick-ass graphics engine (trust me, go look at the screen shots, FL doesn't hold a single candle to them), you've got the most immersive space sim ever. X2 is very close second - but that one can get boring at times and its only space. BCM and the upcoming BCG, both have complete first person modes in space and on planets. Yes, you can drive, fly, do combat in first person in BCM and the upcoming BCG. And you have a ton of ships to fly, ranging from fighters and carriers to transports and shuttles. You can even drive vehicles on the planet!!!

To think that an obnoxious indie game developer is one of the leading space sim developers in recent memory is just puzzling. As others have said, hate the man, but you can't help liking his games if you are into space sims.

Here is a link to a boatload of shots that you simply won't believe until you actually see them. I hear that the upcoming Battlecruiser Millennium Gold, like Battlecruiser Generations, has multiplayer!! Just think about this; multiplayer in space, on planets, driving vehicles, running around in first person with weapons etc etc

http://www.gamescreenshots.com/smallthu ... ame_id=690
http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=8578

First of all: i am a space sim/shootem-up fan. I have games like Wing Commander (3,4,5) Privateer (1,2) Decent Freespace (1,2) Freelancer and Iwar (1,2) in my collection.

I have played the Freelancer demo for a while and a can't help but feeling a bit disapointed. This is the game i have waited for so long?

Yes, the Privateer engine has a 'Starlancer look' now and you don't have to spend an hour jumping and fighting random enemies (thanks to the cruise-option) before you reach your real target. In terms of gameplay however : it's been done before. But that's just my opninion.

Elpedro.