Masaq
29-01-08, 13:26
Dunno if any of you are BSG fans. Not a great lover of the original series, but the new series are outstanding.
Anyways, I was checking out the ModDB top mods (PR came second overall for released mods, again), and noticed "Beyond the Red Line" in the Indie Games category...
Website is here: http://www.game-warden.com/bsg/
It uses Freespace 2, and it's a Total Conversion mod using the FS2 Open engine; so it's a completely free download.
At the minute it's in demo stages. I immediately downloaded and installed, and I've done nothing but play it for the last two hours.
It's amazing, a *really* good game. Actually, scratch that. It's stunning.
Controls are really intuitive (especially to anyone who ever played the Star Wars: X-Wing series (TIE Fighter remains my favourite PC game, ever. I still play it completely through at least once a year)), and the way the Vipers handle is excellent. Combat feels like you're in the damn series, it's hectic, full of turns and crazy manouvers, and the cylon raiders move in the same way they do on-screen - long, fast run-ins with everything blazing at you, then pulling away. Vipers are agile, twisty beasts.
Unfortunately FS2 doesn't have newtonian physics built in, but they've done a pretty good job of implementing a "glide mode" activated by key-press, that allows you to rotate your ship without chaging your velocity and vector; so it's entirely possible to pull the very neat trick of flying along a path, rotate your ship 180 degrees while continuing to fly in the same direction you were going, and then fire your cannons at a persuing craft. (As soon as you deactivate glide mode you start accelerating in the new heading though.)
Unfortunately you don't get a cockpit, but you do get a very nice HUD.
The game screen is very swish, and the briefings and debriefings in the Demo campaign are excellent. I mean, excellent. They're voice-acted by someone who sounds very much like Starbuck ( <3 ) and they're responsive to the mission events. If you loose one pilot, you hear about. Two, and the debriefing alters.
In-game, your wingmates will chatter and gossip about events from the series - including small spoilers if you haven't watched beyond series 2, lol. They bitch and argue at each other, and it's frakking funny.
I haven't tried multiplayer yet; I will do shortly. I'm not sure it'll be as immersive without the radio chatter and such, but it's looking like it could be very very fun indeed.
To be honest, even if you're not a BSG fan it's probably a very good game. If you [i]are[i] a BSG fan, download it immediately. It's a quality mod, and one that I now can't wait to see fully released.
Anyways, I was checking out the ModDB top mods (PR came second overall for released mods, again), and noticed "Beyond the Red Line" in the Indie Games category...
Website is here: http://www.game-warden.com/bsg/
It uses Freespace 2, and it's a Total Conversion mod using the FS2 Open engine; so it's a completely free download.
At the minute it's in demo stages. I immediately downloaded and installed, and I've done nothing but play it for the last two hours.
It's amazing, a *really* good game. Actually, scratch that. It's stunning.
Controls are really intuitive (especially to anyone who ever played the Star Wars: X-Wing series (TIE Fighter remains my favourite PC game, ever. I still play it completely through at least once a year)), and the way the Vipers handle is excellent. Combat feels like you're in the damn series, it's hectic, full of turns and crazy manouvers, and the cylon raiders move in the same way they do on-screen - long, fast run-ins with everything blazing at you, then pulling away. Vipers are agile, twisty beasts.
Unfortunately FS2 doesn't have newtonian physics built in, but they've done a pretty good job of implementing a "glide mode" activated by key-press, that allows you to rotate your ship without chaging your velocity and vector; so it's entirely possible to pull the very neat trick of flying along a path, rotate your ship 180 degrees while continuing to fly in the same direction you were going, and then fire your cannons at a persuing craft. (As soon as you deactivate glide mode you start accelerating in the new heading though.)
Unfortunately you don't get a cockpit, but you do get a very nice HUD.
The game screen is very swish, and the briefings and debriefings in the Demo campaign are excellent. I mean, excellent. They're voice-acted by someone who sounds very much like Starbuck ( <3 ) and they're responsive to the mission events. If you loose one pilot, you hear about. Two, and the debriefing alters.
In-game, your wingmates will chatter and gossip about events from the series - including small spoilers if you haven't watched beyond series 2, lol. They bitch and argue at each other, and it's frakking funny.
I haven't tried multiplayer yet; I will do shortly. I'm not sure it'll be as immersive without the radio chatter and such, but it's looking like it could be very very fun indeed.
To be honest, even if you're not a BSG fan it's probably a very good game. If you [i]are[i] a BSG fan, download it immediately. It's a quality mod, and one that I now can't wait to see fully released.