» Fri May 15, 2009 10:51 pm If you are here you know about gamesas's resurrection and if you haven't also been avoiding anything that might be called "news" (i dunno... A psychosomatic allergy perhaps?) you know that this is the result of gamesas selling the Fallout IPO (rights to the license for non-lawyers... not that I'm calling any one a lawyer). You also may or may not know that gamesas retains use-it-in-4-years-or-lose-it exclusive rights to license the Fallout name and associated universe for an MMO. Say it with me children: They have a license to print money. and what's better for a business than a license to print money? A license to print more money.
Enter the Freespace MMO. Ok wait... no... those of you have played EVE have no idea what I'm talking about. I'm talking a lot less EVE and a lot more "well polished Jump to Lightspeed" crossed with X3 (look it up).
Let's get some facts about the world we live in out of the way first.
- The core draw of Space combat sims such as the Free space series back in the 90's was the fact that anything else running on 90's hardware had graphics was reminiscent of one of the Lego- games after it was sodomized by a one-eye pitbull with leprosy and beaten with every stick the ugly tree ever produced. If Crysis graphics had been possible at the time space combat sims would have had far less appeal.
- Near the end of the 90s space combat sims and all other kind of sim games started dying off. This was not only because the ability to generate realistic graphics for other games but also because th3e market was completely flooded with space combat sims, fighter jet sims, tank sims, helecopter sims, racing sims, etc. Some of these remained some of the best games on the market (freespace, freespace 2, xwing vs tie fighter,wing commander 4, x2, x3) but, by far, most were barely earning passing grades as games at all (a lot of cheap knock offs like "jetfighter" and "f-117" as well as "bombshells" like wing commander 5). People were quickly gaining a distaste for sims out of boredom with a decade of playign them and a market flooded with bad games.
- In the past decade there have been next to no releases of sim games on pc and, with the exception of racers, consoles. Sims are dead.
- MMO games are the current big trend in gaming. Of the countless MMOs that have been started next to none have actually failed to turn a profit and most backed by big names have been hugely successful.
- Freespace as it is has been dead for almost 8 years. Most gamers out there don't know of it... much less the history. This is not a huge issue but it could be one.
Why an MMO? Well... because a space combat MMO makes my inner child get up and dance... something that just doesn't happen much these days. Because when I was playing SWG the jump to lightspeed expansion was my favorite part of the game. Because there is huge potential for making something truely awesome while bringing back the space combat sim genre at the same time. Because there are no space combat sims out there worth mentioning and there are no space combat mmo's period (and believe me, I checked). Because... well... let me give you a scenario.
A large freighter stands at the edge of an asteroid field while a smaller but none-the-less sizable mining/cargo ship equipped with heavy duty mining lasers and tractor beams moves within. The mining vessel has separate stations for the various gun emplacements thought, allowing firing of the mining laser in many directions as well as tractoring the released ore into the cargo hold. Stations would also exist for navigation/tactical and pilot. Hard docks along the side of the vessel allow for several small fighters to be attached to provide for protection and scouting. Any one inside the vessels may change from a station to a fighter via a command.
So this vessel is within the asteroid field... 15 minutes at top speed from the edge in fact. The closeness of the asteroids forces three fighters to escort the freighter and defend it from collisions while also maintaining readiness for attacks. 4 more fighters remain docked for emergency use. Large amounts of background radiation make intra-system jumping impossible within the asteroid field and render long range sensors useless. The circumstances are perfect for a pirate attack... and the pirates know it.
One of the fighter escorts explodes. General alarm, pirate fighters approaching from behind. Another guild wants to reap the rewards of your labor. The mining laser operators within the freighter switch to their fighters and launch. The two remaining escorts are fighting for their lives. There are 12... no... 15 pirates out there... and three heavy bombers converted to hold cargo. You bank hard and open fire on the first pirate you see, he zips past in his lighter faster craft before you can get a bead. Rear shields fizzle as another pirate rakes you with an ion cannon. You bank and fire... his forward armor melts under the onslaught of your twin gauss cannons. In the back of your mind an angry accountant gives you a stern look. You switch to lasers. The pirate, having had his front armor all but liquefied, banks hard and spirals past you... you struggle to turn and fire again but your heavy fighter just can't keep up. Your rear shields fizzle and pop again as another fighter zips past. You target and fire again... and he walks right into your bolts... BOOM chacka chacka. A *cha-ching* from your pda alerts you to the additional money deposited into your account and you turn back toward the freighter to find your next payday.
Meanwhile aboard the freighter the navigator frantically tries to find the best route out of the asteroid field. He plots a course and sends it to the pilot while trying to keep an eye on the pirates as well. The pilot slams on the reverse thrusters to halt the hulking vessel and begins its laborious turn onto its new heading. A sudden "thunk" alerts all within the vessel that one of the modified bombers has clamped onto the hull. The pilot stops his turn and slams the throttle to full while the navigator sends out a call to the escorting fighters to get the pirates off the freaking hull.
As you turn the call comes through that the freighter is under direct attack by one of the bombers. You slam on afterburners while cursing the cost of fuel. You bank around the edge of the freighter in as tight a turn you can manage and spot the bomber... a cutting laser slowly slicing through the cargo-bay hull. You switch to gauss and slow up, then open fire. An instant later your shields light up like the forth of July. After burners again and a hard corkscrew to shake your unseen assailants. You bank around and turn to make another pass on the bomber... you line it up and fight... it fires its turret defenses under the control of the co-pilot. Forward shields buckle and collapse. Again you bank hard and spot three pirates chasing you. You let out a call for cover fire...
and so on and so forth.
Certainly a fun experiance. You could also do missions for the alliance and the GTA... or even remnants of the PTMC... in PvE. And build an empire in PvP.
Think like X3... build your own structures and complexes... mining facilities, ship yards, resorts in space (space stations) etc... or build a pirate empire... or a mercenary outfit... Players could claim ownership to structures, buy and sell structures, buy and sell resources, preform missions for the vessuvians, the alliance, the gta, ptmc, or even the hammer of light... buy and upgrade their vessels and ships... customize them to their hearts content... etc etc etc.
I think it would be awesome on a stick. Any thoughts?
Pilot Names: Space-Invader Klein | Memory Thief
