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thoughts on post''rs (longer than expected)

This is a free discussion forum on Freelancer. This is the place to discuss Freelancer issues NOT covered by the other boards!

Post Fri Feb 28, 2003 1:08 am

thoughts on post''rs (longer than expected)

I find it funny to read many of these posts. What I find most comical, is all this trash talk back and forth about whether the "universe" is dynamic enough, the lighting is/isn't right, the AI is/isn't smart enough, yada yada yada.

Most of the complainers complain why it's in this shape after a 5 yr development. Hell, be glad you're getting the game period. Who would have thought MS would let them keep going after year 3, let alone after Roberts left? Sure, if DA hadn't had as many issues as they did, had Roberts's original vision not been so large in scope, the game would have been out 2 years ago, and the graphics would be top notch.

there are a few things people need to keep in mind here:
1) Patches: just be patient, send in ideas on what features/bugs need to work for post release patches. Is there any game that doesn't need a patch within a month of release? I think it is intentionally done in a way that the source is stable, may be missing a couple of things, made gold, and while the pressing is being done, the dev's are working on that first patch that usually shows up in the first week that fixes a few of the things people thought should have been in the gold (but would have held the game up an extra 3-4 weeks).

2) The game was originally an MMOG, and trimming it to SP took changes. Due to the extensive dev cycle, obviously MS didn't want the dev's to waste their time reworking the entire graphical system and redoing all the models just so they'd be up to date. They wanted the game to 'work' so "WE" could play it. If the game is well received, which is has been by those not 'trying' to rip it apart, then they have a baseline for developing an expansion or FL2.

3) This is the first space sim from DA, so everything from Engine up is new. It's not like Roberts was able to bring all his work from Origin and build from there. Starlancer was done outside, it was just a game in developement with no set story to hook the gamer. So altering Warthog's product to fit in Freelancer's world gave it a purpose, and a reason for us gamers to buy it. Otherwise, would any of us have bought it? So give DA a break from having to get the tools, people, politics, money, etc. worked out so they could actually deliver the game.

It's not the end all, be all of games. It's Privateer 2003. About the only real annoyance I have is I wish they'd kept the 3 missions at a time feature from Privateer, and the mission generator, which allowed you to request more missions if you didn't like those first offered. I hate only being able to do a single kill mission. I want to be on a cargo mission, and be able to also pick up some hunting missions to do along my way

it's going to be a nice game, and hopefully, MS will allow DA to give us some nice post release upgrades to the game that will fill out some of the gripes here, which are unwarrented at this stage (as no game ever lives up to exactly what is originally conceived). Let the game come out, let them work out any issues and maybe some AI features, and hopefully an expansion, which will create more story lines or possible more spinoff stories. Even if the base story was the same, but they created a special set of missions based on which factions you are aligning with, that would be cool.

I also find it strange that someone who finds this game unenjoyable would take the time to come to a site for fans of the game and constantly post how bad it is. Why are you visiting a "fan" site if you're not a fan? Obviously the "fans" aren't going to be in agreement with you, and flame wars will ensue, and most of any good points you make will be lost in the mix. I think most of the "fans" are people who've been waiting a long time, with a mix of people just learning about it, and not having played a sim like it before. For us old gamers, who played games like Elite or Privateer (Privateer2 doesn't count, that didn't deserve the name Privateer), we may be spoiled or jaded, but just like Privateer was not like other games on the PC at the time, FL isn't like the other games out on the PC right now.

It may not be perfect, but no game is. Just enjoy the game, or don't, but allow those who wish to enjoy it and be immersed in it to do so without constant griping about things you have no control over, nor any idea why they aren't in the game or might be coming shortly.

if you don't like the game, that's fine, then you should be reading websites related to games or topics you like. What kind of perverted mental illness causes you to come back to something you don't find enjoyable, just to pick fights with others? Start enjoying your life and do things you like rather than complaning about those you don't and can't change.



regards,

RogueOne


Edited by - rogueone on 28-02-2003 01:08:46

Post Fri Feb 28, 2003 1:21 am

The real problem is the marketing; Freelancer isn't a "Space Sim", it's more of an interactive movie adventure with an arcade game for continuity.

Edited for flagrant promotion of a different game. Capn, I do like the game you mentioned, but this is a Freelancer site, ok?

Edited by - Boscoe on 28-02-2003 01:54:44

Post Fri Feb 28, 2003 1:40 am


If more people knew about ********* there would be a lot less going-on about Freelancer.


You're assuming that things like "dynamic trade" and "realistic flight" are *really* the things most gamers are after, which is not true, because a lot of us have tried the first X, I-War 2, etc., and they just don't have what it takes to make playing them compelling (for most gamers).

Here's a repost of something I posted on FiringSquad:

I'm not replying specifically to your other
objections, because they're mostly just
preferences about what *you think* any good space
sim should have. I'm not going to say you're
wrong for having them. I'm also not going to say
I think Freelancer wouldn't be better if they
implemented those preferences. I just happen to
think that the game, as a whole, manages to get
the fundamental experience right. That it doesn't
implement those preferences, doesn't ruin the game
for me.

Like I said, there are other aspects of Freelancer
which clearly do kick the pants off previous games
of this type, even as it fails to live up to them
in other aspects, and I think it's important to
point out that FL has these other things going for
it. These are things which other games of this
type have completely failed on, and despite having
more complex gameplay models, have nevertheless
failed to be very memorable or appealing for most
of us. So for many of us, at least, it's not the
complex gameplay model which you revere that
"makes the game," so to speak. I think
it's more about those areas that FL *does* do well
in that "make the game." And I just
want to guard against filling players who haven't
tried it yet with preconceptions about what any
good space sim should have, and going in biased
when they finally play it, concentrating so much
on these other aspects as to ignore the effect of
the ones FL really does well. Because, all things
considered, I don't think most people will find
your objections as powerful as you do, given that
they're not swayed one way or the other right from
the start.

Edited to modify quote of previous post.



Hehe, titbits.

Edited by - Boscoe on 28-02-2003 01:55:48

Post Fri Feb 28, 2003 2:09 am

Excellent post RogueOne

I really don't understand the hostility on this board. Even if DA did nothing the game is still good. People should be supporting Freelancer because guess what. THERE IS NOTHING ELSE. If Freelancer revives the space sim genre, than we all win. Nitpicking Freelancer to death only hurts your chances of getting the game you want in the end. Suggestion for improvement are fine (but remember DA has limited resources). Thoughtful criticism is fine. Bitching about how Freelancer is not <insert favorite spacesim> is utterly pointless. Bitching about the lack of joystick support is anal. Trying to beat down people's expectations is just mean spirited.

BTW
Freelancer was always a single player game. Chris later wanted to expand it MMOG later (at about the same time Origin announced Privateer Online ).

Post Fri Feb 28, 2003 2:10 am

I never made any value judgments; I'm simply suggesting the same thing you are, namely that some people want the kinds of things found in X2, while others want things that Freelancer offers. No game can be all things to all people.

A lot of people who really should be looking at X2 come to the Freelancer boards and wonder why Freelancer "doesn't fit". The reason is not because of anything bad about Freelancer; it's simply a question of the right audience being directed to the right game.

Once I found X2 I never had another serious complaint about Freelancer; seeing X2 helped me to see what Freelancer IS instead of what it isn't. I think all of the noise about Freelancer would die out tomorrow if more of the "natural X2 audience" found thier niche ... just as I did.

Post Fri Feb 28, 2003 2:20 am

Okay, point taken, Aye Capn. Although I don't think all of it would die down, because much of the people who are trying to knock Freelancer are just the ones who are trying to promote X2, or say how FL isn't as good compared to XBTF in all these uber-important ways. Some people here just have an agenda to sway other people into thinking FL is bad.

Post Fri Feb 28, 2003 2:33 am

If that's what you were trying to state Capn, then forgive me. Unfortunately we had a real issue here a few weeks ago from some Kiddie Trolls from X2 boards. The mods and webmasters at those boards took care of them, for which we're grateful. I'm NOT implying you are trolling, just that we're a bit sensitive about it. Agreed, X2 looks like a great game, so does Freelancer. Wow, both games being enjoyed, what a concept!!!!

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
The Next Thing I Say To You Will Be True
The Last Thing I Said Was False

Post Fri Feb 28, 2003 2:36 am

I am not one of those people. Sometimes you want Freelancer, sometimes you want X2. Sometimes you want a tasty apple, and sometimes you want a delicious orange. Some people even like both. There is room there for every kind of game fan.

I have a cousin who once told me, "I don't want to have to think when I'm playing games."

He's the CEO of a major (well, okay, medium-sized) corporation. He's one of the sharpest people I know, and has a drive to succeed that all leaders of major endeavors possess.

When he tells me, "I don't play those thinking games, I get enough of that at work," I respect that, and what the heck? I played as much DOOM as any other guy, myself.

Post Fri Feb 28, 2003 2:43 am

Gotta love that! I like gaming for the exact same reason as your cousin, so I can have some dumb fun. Give me a ship, some guns, and some bogies to shoot at, and I'm a happy camper.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
The Next Thing I Say To You Will Be True
The Last Thing I Said Was False

Post Fri Feb 28, 2003 3:03 am

Oh yeah, also wanted to pay my respects to RogueOne's post, which gets precisely to the point.

Post Fri Feb 28, 2003 6:07 am

I haven't read the post RogueOne wrote but since everyone like it I will say that I love it too .
Actually I read it.

-----

Bazil, M. P.
Webmaster and founder of Roughnecks -Freelancer Division
"If you would care to follow me... " -- DEATH of the Discworld

Post Fri Feb 28, 2003 8:30 am

Very nice post rogueone You've put it nicely.

Post Fri Feb 28, 2003 8:57 am

rogueone, just so you know, Freelancer isn't the first space SIM MS have created.
(not that FL is a SIM)
Do anyone recall "MS Space SIM" it's maybe 15 years old! and actually one of the coolest things i have ever seen. You could explore the whole milkyway galaxy, and in quite good detail.
While it wasn't actually a game(imo), there were some small missions, like landing the on the moon or something....

Edited by - 2KoRn on 28-02-2003 08:58:26

Post Fri Feb 28, 2003 9:08 am

*clap *clap *clap *clap

thank you rogueone.

K

"If this is what you want to do, you'll do it, no matter how long it takes..........and usually the longer it takes the more fun you've had!"

Post Fri Feb 28, 2003 9:17 am

R1: AMEN!

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

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