Shadow on 19/3/2011 at 20:59
Quote Posted by thrawn_121
It does change the balance somewhat I think. Missiles were less accurate in FS1, which can make some escort missions hard, notably one where you have to defend a convoy of three freighters.
You mean the one where you're defending the [spoiler]shield prototypes?[/spoiler] I didn't find that one to be very difficult in FSPort, seemed easy enough to just kill the enemy fighters as they spawned, they never even got much of a chance to shoot off any missiles.
catbarf on 19/3/2011 at 21:39
Quote Posted by ZylonBane
...but not all of them. Freespace uses most of the keys on the keyboard, with various shift key combinations as well. This is a game that pretty much requires one hand on the keyboard at all times.
Well, off the top of my head you need two buttons to shoot guns and missiles, two more to swap guns and missiles, nearest enemy, target under reticule, afterburner, and countermeasures. On a 360 controller that would map nicely to the triggers, bumpers, and four face buttons. Of course there are plenty of other functions you'll need to use every so often (comms and the like), so it's not really controller-only, but you could play it mostly with a controller.
Thirith on 19/3/2011 at 22:58
Quote Posted by ZylonBane
...but not all of them. Freespace uses most of the keys on the keyboard, with various shift key combinations as well. This is a game that pretty much requires one hand on the keyboard at all times.
I take it
Freespace is more complex than the
Wing Commander titles then. Is it closer to the more sim-like
X-Wing/
TIE Fighter games? I remember playing a demo around the time when
FS2 came out, but that was such a long time ago I barely remember anything other than the beam weapons and the nebulae.
ZylonBane on 19/3/2011 at 23:13
Quote Posted by catbarf
Well, off the top of my head you need two buttons to shoot guns and missiles, two more to swap guns and missiles, nearest enemy, target under reticule, afterburner, and countermeasures.
...target nearest friendly, target nearest escort, target subsystem, target my target's target, throttle control, match target velocity, shield balancing, energy subsystem control, wingman control, call resupply ship, fire mode control, roll axis control, time compression control, and a few others I'm sure I've forgotten.
Energy management in particular is critical when you're getting pounded.
catbarf on 19/3/2011 at 23:28
Quote Posted by Thirith
I take it
Freespace is more complex than the
Wing Commander titles then. Is it closer to the more sim-like
X-Wing/
TIE Fighter games? I remember playing a demo around the time when
FS2 came out, but that was such a long time ago I barely remember anything other than the beam weapons and the nebulae.
I'd say it's about as complex as WC3/4- most of the functions are identical.
Quote Posted by ZylonBane
...target nearest friendly, target nearest escort, target subsystem, target my target's target, throttle control, match target velocity, shield balancing, energy subsystem control, wingman control, call resupply ship, fire mode control, roll axis control, time compression control, and a few others I'm sure I've forgotten.
I never said you could play it exclusively with a controller, but it isn't necessary to have one hand on the controller and one on the keyboard. Throttle and roll could be mapped to one stick, with pitch and yaw on the other, and with the exception of match target velocity none of the others are so important that they must be within a finger's reach at all times.
Actually I didn't know the game has time compression, I never used it.
thrawn_121 on 20/3/2011 at 00:20
Quote Posted by Shadow
You mean the one where you're defending the [spoiler]shield prototypes?[/spoiler] I didn't find that one to be very difficult in FSPort, seemed easy enough to just kill the enemy fighters as they spawned, they never even got much of a chance to shoot off any missiles.
Yes, that's the one I mean. I was playing it on hard a few weeks back, and was trying to save all three containers. The enemy fighters launch missiles the second they come in, I just found it impossible to defend all three containers. Especially once [spoiler] the Hammer of Light ships come in and attack already damaged containers.[/spoiler] I remember playing it on this difficulty before and saving all the ships fairly easily, but settled for two out of three this time.
DarkForge on 20/3/2011 at 11:08
Ahh the Freespace games, gotta love 'em. I would definitely recommend them to you, Angel Dust, if the others' comments haven't already convinced you - and this is coming from a guy who doesn't really play many games that aren't FPS (although I guess these are just that, in a sense.)
Quote Posted by ZylonBane
Hell, some people even played it all the way through keyboard-only. Argh.
Yep that would be me! I'm on constant key-tapping duty when playing the Freespace games; the only times I touch the mouse is for the menus. Not to say I haven't considered trying them with a joystick, but I'd have to go out and buy one, and I don't think I'd play anything that needs one often enough to justify the purchase.
Hmm interesting, I've not come across that before. FS2 works great on my newer "gaming" computer but I can't get FS1/Silent Threat to run on it at all, so that might actually be an option to try out. Thanks for pointing it out! :thumb:
I think my hardest mission in the Freespace games is in FS2 when
you have to try and destroy all four of the Sathanas' front beam cannons, before it jumps out. I usually manage two on most tries, and only by some sheer miracle did I somehow manage to take out all four on one single occasion - those things can hold up to a lot of punishment!bob_doe_nz on 20/3/2011 at 12:00
Quote Posted by DarkForge
I think my hardest mission in the Freespace games is in FS2 when
you have to try and destroy all four of the Sathanas' front beam cannons, before it jumps out. I usually manage two on most tries, and only by some sheer miracle did I somehow manage to take out all four on one single occasion - those things can hold up to a lot of punishment!You really need to
get the angles of alignment just right. And to call in a support ship as you are targeting your last bombs at a beam cannon.Dresden on 22/3/2011 at 11:14
Speaking of space sims, does anyone have thoughts on X3: Terran Conflict? I've been wanting to buy it for a while now, but I don't know if it'll be worth the money.
Pemptus on 22/3/2011 at 22:32
Quote Posted by Dresden
Speaking of space sims, does anyone have thoughts on X3: Terran Conflict? I've been wanting to buy it for a while now, but I don't know if it'll be worth the money.
Depends. Have you ever played any of the X games? You generally either love or hate them. Kind of like Elite, but with more work and slowly plodding through sectors selling goods and staring at menus. Combat is definitely not the focus or strong point of the game.
This is a Freespace thread, so I'm going to assume you're looking for something similar. If so - X is certainly not it, not by a long shot.
