To this day, Descent: Freespace is the rod by which I measure all other space-bound sci-fi. Mass Effect, Stellaris, Sins of a Solar Empire. All great games in their own way, but there is only one king.
@casedistorted
Жыл бұрын
I do as well, including any space combat games (of which there are so few, it’s why I still look back at Freespace with such fondness, it’s sad there’s no remaster or modern port for it)
@cterryrun199
Жыл бұрын
Saaaaame
@AshtonCoolman
Жыл бұрын
Elite Dangerous and Star Citizen are better comparisons in my opinion, but I understand what you mean. It was such a revolutionary game and really hasn't been matched since.
@impuseuser
7 ай бұрын
@@AshtonCoolmaneverspace is pretty good
@paulconrad6220
4 ай бұрын
I love the mod that puts Freespace music into Stellaris
@BrotherhoodofNOD
Жыл бұрын
I grew up playing Descent and Freespace 2. With Volition being closed due to the latest game bombing big time recently, first thing I thought was "Goddamnit, now we're really never gonna get Freespace 3" I still I remember a point in Saints Row 4 where Kinzie Washington is trying console commands to screw with Zinyak, one of the commands being "release FS3" with the console replying right back with an answer like "not gonna happen" I just remember stupid shit like this, been hungry for a new one in the series for awhile and with the modders making new stuff compatible for their crazy good takes on the game, I know im not the only one.
@physbryan
Жыл бұрын
The fact that Interplay hasn't been eager to sell/license out the Freespace license is weird, especially since they sold off/licensed some of their other profitable franchises over the years.
@cauanalvesgarcia3650
24 күн бұрын
In Star Fox Event Horizon Mod PC
@-CrimsoN-
Жыл бұрын
I absolutely adore this game. Also you can destroy the Shivan fighters when you first encounter them! You have to use secondaries though and it's easier to shoot down the bombers. I just take a Valkeryie and just load up on the Fury missiles and can usually shoot down at least one bomber before they depart, but you'll get a special debriefing message if you manage to shoot down two! I've only managed to shoot down two bombers once.
@physbryan
Жыл бұрын
I've never taken down two Shivan ships in that mission, but was able to knock out a Scorpion with sustained Fury fire. I did it in an Apollo with most of the power transferred to engines, and took advantage of the large secondary banks in that workhorse ship.
@edwardlewsey3954
Жыл бұрын
Some of the best lore and story behind any game- the only one I have felt as invested in since Freespace 1 + 2 was Mass Effect.
@physbryan
Жыл бұрын
And, if you look at it, the lore we got from Volition is really not that deep. What was there was a neat mix of eldritch horror and the politics of a (relatively) small galactic government, and left a lot of room for our imaginations to run wild!
@palazzolojoe
Жыл бұрын
Freespace 3! I loved freespace 2.
@labrat810
Жыл бұрын
Massive Kudos for capturing footage off an era-appropriate build. Personally, I liked the tone of FS1 more than FS2.
@physbryan
Жыл бұрын
Thanks! It's a bit of a hassle getting everything set up, but the results are so worth it.
@casedistorted
Жыл бұрын
I remember my dad being absolutely amazed at the twitching eye in the intro cinematic back in 1998. He said “one day all games will look like this!” He passed last year in 2022, last game he played was RDR2 on his PC. I always loved this game for its story and the incredible scale of the Capital Ships.
@physbryan
Жыл бұрын
The CG in the Parallax/Volition/Outrage cutscenes was spectacularly good for the time, never mind for a video game. I am happy that you have so many great game-related memories with your father!
@The_Viscount
Жыл бұрын
I think it's worth noting that even discovering this game a decade after release, I fell in love with it. After I got the game, I bought an X52 HOTAS in 2008. At the time, that was a top of the line flight system with +50 programmable buttons. It worked flawlessly with Freespace and Freespace 2. By 2008, the games were almost a decade old, and already showing their age. Even so, they were incredible and I still go back and play Freespace Open versions of both. Seeing the remastered graphics from the mod teams is always a treat. Actually, it's about time I start a new playthrough.
@Syenthros
Жыл бұрын
My father got Descent: Freespace for me as a surprise gift when I was 7 years old, and he excitedly sat beside me as we booted it up on the old Windows '95. I still remember the intro cutscene vividly. It was the first time I'd ever seen anything like that, and it began a 25 year long love of the Freespace series and a deep sadness that the genre has never seen a game as good as Freespace 2 since.
@physbryan
Жыл бұрын
I am so happy to see that others have similar happy childhood memories with this game, and that I'm not the only one who just keeps playing and re-playing Freespace and Freespace 2.
@enoughofyourkoicarp
Жыл бұрын
I loved this game as a kid, so much nostalgia.
@Seastallion
Жыл бұрын
I was actually able to take out a few shivan fighters in the initial encounters, but it was very difficult. The only way to track them was with eyes, including verifying damage. The weapons were so weak it required dogged pursuit, made harder by the shivan fighter's ability to speed away out of range. I would have to re-engage said fighters multiple times to accomplish a kill, made less easy because you could only rely on your eyes. Still, it was possible.
@physbryan
Жыл бұрын
It is indeed possible, especially with a lot of Fury dumbfire missiles set to dual-fire. I usually can pop the Scorpion that hangs around after the second encounter if I remember correctly, but haven't been able to destroy one in the other missions as they seem to jump out before I can penetrate their shields.
@herselojdevevo5493
11 ай бұрын
You can cheat if you target a friendly fighter fighting a Shivan and use the "Target my target's target" keybind
@physbryan
11 ай бұрын
@@herselojdevevo5493 Somehow I had not remembered that was a thing you could do! Thanks for the reminder.
@GepardenK
8 ай бұрын
This is also reflected in the story, which is pretty neat. If you down one of them in that initial encounter you get special recognition in the debrief about being the first pilot to prove that they can be killed.
@SimpMcSimpy
3 ай бұрын
I managed to do it few times. The trick is to keep an eye on the enemy fighter and ignore everything else. Also use dumbfire missiles next to ML16. Pay attention to area where shields have weakened and once in position hit it hard with dumbfire.
@dannyhartwig7595
29 күн бұрын
got it when i was serving in the army. played it in my freetime and loved it
@physbryan
29 күн бұрын
I am so happy that Freespace helped make that time better for you!
@dannyhartwig7595
28 күн бұрын
@@physbryan helped passing time alot yeah
@michaelbuckenmeyer4996
Жыл бұрын
I was gifted this game by a family member who probably just through the box looked cool. My dad's budget-spec PC was able to run it and I spent hours going through the campaign and even bought a cheap flight stick from Walmart for it. This was some great nostalgia food, thanks for putting this together.
@physbryan
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for the kind words! The reason I make videos like this is to help feed us that sweet, sweet nostalgia.
@obscillesk
5 ай бұрын
It was so good, I think starting off with no shields and having to deal with enemies you can't target, and can barely damage (its possible, I killed a scorpion once with dumbfires) was a great choice
@SimpMcSimpy
3 ай бұрын
That first CGI animation from FS1 blew me away! Each time I watched it I would get goosebumps. And that spooky music. Simply a masterpiece! Makes me sad FS was also the last good space shooting sim :(
@physbryan
3 ай бұрын
@@SimpMcSimpy I agree, it feels like we haven't had a good mission-based space combat game in a while. I keep meaning to try out House Of The Dying Sun, but it's been sitting in my Steam backlog for a few months now!
@danbell9294
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for putting this together! Descent: FreeSpace came around the time I got my first access to a family PC. It was my first taste of 6DOF space games - still remember being blown away by the gameplay and the feeling of being a small part of a much larger battle. Freespace 2 improved on the original in every way, but the FS2 experience can't match the first time playing FS1.
@physbryan
Жыл бұрын
I am so glad that you liked it! I put this video together for people like us to remember the literally awesome experience of playing it for the first time upon its release, and so that those who haven't played it can see why everyone was so excited.
@shaider1982
2 жыл бұрын
Yup, I enjoyed Freespace 2. Cool spacecraft.
@koopanique
7 ай бұрын
Thank you for the enjoyable retrospective!
@OhChrumbs
4 ай бұрын
I absolutely love both games. Freespace 2 plays a lot better, but i absolutely love the Freespace 1 campaign for the greater variety, especially at the start. Capturing a "traitor" before he can trade classified tech to the Vasudans, capturing a Dragon fighter to then stealthily retrieve intel about the Shivan invasion fleet (as much as I sometimes hate that mission). In FS2 it has a bit of a bad habit of every mission devolving into just shooting bad guys. It works, because the combat in FS2 feels so damn good, but I do miss the variety of the first.
@SimpMcSimpy
3 ай бұрын
To me FS1 was the favorite one due to much better script. You could take FS1 and make an awesome ScFi movie out of it.
@R0d_1984
Жыл бұрын
Awesome game, couldn't get pass a mission in FS2, so never finished the game :( Haven't had to RegEdit in 15 years...
@Bogeyatyour6YT
Жыл бұрын
Had the same issue with FS2. FS1 will remain my favorite of the series. Yesterday Volition Inc. closed doors forever. There will be no further Descent or Freespace games :(
@OhChrumbs
Жыл бұрын
The two things I think FS1 does better than the sequel are mission variety and pacing of the early game. You get more missions designed around disabling craft, scanning enemy ships, recovering cargo, etc. I think that variety helps the game feel more rounded, and makes the contrast more dramatic as you quickly shift to being on the back foot for the second half. Speaking of which, I think the reveal of the Shivans and the scramble to try and understand how to fight them is paced beautifully. FS2 has definitely aged a lot better, and I think it's overall a lot more fun to play through. But FS1 has just enough to keep dragging me back as well.
@physbryan
Жыл бұрын
You're right, there is a bit more variety in the missions; a lot of FS2 turns into "defend these ships from wave after wave of Shivan bombers," which is bearable because the combat in that game is just so good. FS1 feels like Volition was exploring a lot of what the game engine could do, with missions that were a bit more dynamic than what we had seen in Wing Commander or TIE Fighter. That spirit of innovation is all through FS1, and it's kind of charming with its rough edges.
@ollimacp
7 ай бұрын
You guys didn't mention Knossos launcher and the Freespace Open Project? :O
@physbryan
7 ай бұрын
FS Open, FS Upgrade, and Knossos are wonderful but are worthy of entire videos of their own! This was meant to be a retrospective on the base game; I didn't even mention the Silent Threat expansion.
@ollimacp
7 ай бұрын
@@physbryan We're coop-ing FS1 atm and Silent Threat is the next on our list. Nice Video, though :)
@Ben_Stewart
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for the past blast. I bought these boxes off eBay to put on my shelf.
@FekLeyrTarg
Жыл бұрын
Good review, even though I would've loved the "Silent Threat" expansion being mentioned as well as the "Freespace Port" for FSOpen. Personally, I think these days playing the aforementioned FSPort is the way to go to experience the story and missions of "Descent: Freespace", especially if you wish to play with modern features and graphics. "Silent Threat" is included as well and there's even a reimagined version called "Silent Threat Reborn".
@physbryan
Жыл бұрын
I've never taken the time to install the Freespace Port; my time with FSOpen has mostly been with the FS2 Upgrade Project, Wing Commander Saga, and Blue Planet. I should get around to trying out the Freespace Port, though, since it would be fun to see how it changes the experience!
@Lofote
Жыл бұрын
Great essay. Interestingly while FS2 was better than FS1 in every way, as you said, I actually liked the voice actors of part #1 better than #2. Yes, the #2 uses professional external ones, but they somehow didn't fit into the universe for me. Especially the commander who gives you 90% of all orders in-mission has a bit of a strange way of pronouncing things. Also some of the older captains talk not loudly enough and too calm not fitting to the actual sitation in command briefings and debriefings. In FS1 it fit together perfectly. Other than that the FS2 missions and its surprises were of course so much better, and the nebula missions, where you slowly find a way to be better equipped for the environment over the course of several missions was just perfect. And of course the capital ship battles were outstanding.
@physbryan
Жыл бұрын
You're right, FS1 sometimes feels a bit more cohesive than FS2, probably because its campaign is a lot shorter and more focuser. The pronunciation of a lot of star system and Greek names in FS2 in particular varies WILDLY across the game.
@patriotx190
6 ай бұрын
What happened to games like this? I was so pumped for the next in the series. I know there was a Descent III and Freespace II but I figured they would continue the series.
@physbryan
6 ай бұрын
It was a lot of things happening at the same time. At the time that Freespace 2 came out in late 1999, PC gaming was shifting dramatically. The success of Half-Life, Quake II, and Unreal meant that if you were making a FPS game it would be funded and would probably sell pretty well. The same went for RTS games; around 1999/2000 it became a joke that every RTS was about a dystopian future with three factions fighting for control over [INSERT SCI-FI RESOURCE]. Fewer gamers owned joysticks, and trying to play a space combat sim without one was just not pleasant at all. Finally, the "casual" market was booming with games like Deer Hunter, Rollercoaster Tycoon, and The Sims setting sales records; in a world where games needed to compete for shelf space, it didn't make sense for a publisher to dedicate a slot to a space combat game that would sell less than 50,000 units when they could spend fewer resources on a mediocre Starcraft or Quake 2 clone that would sell literally twice as well.
@casedistorted
5 ай бұрын
@@physbryan Wow.. yeah I remember those times. After Half Life 1 and Quake 3 it felt like space sim games were just over. Freespace 1 and 2 were the last great space sim type games, there were a few more but nothing that I HAD to have. I just wanted more games like Freespace, and we still have not had one in 2024.
@SimpMcSimpy
3 ай бұрын
@@casedistorted Starlancer was good as well. But I agree, era of good space sims ended around year 2000.
@Robert-G
Жыл бұрын
the gameplay was also pretty amazing back then and large battles really felt like large battles with other ships actually doing stuff. Problem is, that once you’re used to newtonian 6dof games, this kind of WW2 planes in space flight model gets too awkward to play now. But boi was it fun before I was spoiled
@ArneChristianRosenfeldt
Жыл бұрын
Which games have Newton?
@Robert-G
Жыл бұрын
@@ArneChristianRosenfeldt Star citizen, Hunternet, elite:dangerous , Infinity:Battlescape, You can have inertial dampeners off in Everspace 2. There might be more… And I learned somebody is building a newtonian FreeSpace mod (freespace green)
@ArneChristianRosenfeldt
Жыл бұрын
@@Robert-G thank you for the info.
@DanielleWhite
10 ай бұрын
I loved both the Descent and Freespace series so much. I do remember getting a bit frustrated with my wingmen being nearly as dangerous to me as the enemies sometimes. A couple specific memories: 1) Tumbling wingmen: once in a mission where we cleared and area then waited for more enemies while a transport did its thing I had my wingmen form on my wing and then gradually slowed to a stop (stopping quickly was a good way to get hit by your wingmen.) While waiting I hit the hat switch to look around and noticed my nearest wingman doing summersaults. Apparently they came to a stop a little too close and were trying to backoff but, I assume, when they were halfway around they read as far enough away so continued around to repeat. 2: this is FS2 but while I'm here and thinking about it: in the mission that involves rescuing the undercover operative (Snipes?) from a disabled NTF ship in the nebula I split my wingmen between protecting the disabled ship and the transport that is sent in. Every went fine until they were about to dock and my wingmen decided that was an attack on their respective ward..
@physbryan
10 ай бұрын
I've noticed the tumbling wingmen too. The way I dealt with that was to just keep flying around at a low speed, and tell them to cover me rather than form on my wing. For that FS2 mission, I have never had that particular problem even after splitting my wing! That was a WEIRD bug indeed.
@SimpMcSimpy
3 ай бұрын
Yes, just put your ship at lowest possible speed and they will stop tumbling. This was never fixed, not even in SCP.
@marioborges7145
2 жыл бұрын
Nice vídeo !
@asdfghjkl52472
Жыл бұрын
If I remember right I used to spend all my time flying through the orange warp tunnels?
@frag2k12
Жыл бұрын
One thing to bring to this, you mention that you can't penetrate their shields with your current weapons. This is actually wrong as if you carry the dumbfire missiles and set them to dual fire and can get behind a ship you can unload on the ship and totally wipe it out and get a medal for this along with a different debriefing mentioning this and how it has brought some hope to the war.
@physbryan
Жыл бұрын
@Rhsims mentioned that before, and you're right; one can unload a whole bunch of Fury missiles and take down the slower Shivan ships in some of the earlier missions, and get a different debriefing for it. The intent of the game was to have your workhorse weapons (the ML-16 and MX-50) be useless against the Shivans, though, to hype up the threat that they pose. ;)
@elkarion
Жыл бұрын
How could you forget to mention FreeSpace Open? There is NO reason to play FS1 and FS2 without FSO.
@physbryan
Жыл бұрын
Freespace Open and the various Upgrade Projects are a deep, deep topic to go down, and I didn't have enough background to give them the detail that they deserved. I have only ever played the FS2 Upgrade Project with the MediaVPs as well as Blue Planet and Wing Commander Saga, and haven't taken the time to try out the Freespace 1 campaign upgrades. So, this video can stand alone as a look back at the original Volition-patched release of the game, and maybe some day I'll go back to look at the community-made mods and upgrades. :)
@Robert-G
Жыл бұрын
I loved FS and FS2 a lot more than WC. I’d rather have a simple story, than a cheesy one written by a nine year old for nine year olds. And rather no actors than bad ones.
@MrTIMPOSTER
Жыл бұрын
I am unfortunately a sucker for anything with John Rhys Davis - he's essentially my generation's Hagrid character in multiple franchises - but have to agree, this kicked WC's arse. The WC 'movie' cuts are fun for a lazy weekend though. Such an imdb-fest.
@danburycollins
3 ай бұрын
"The story isn't as deep as wing commander prophecy's"... really?! Not sure I agree with that bit ;)
@physbryan
3 ай бұрын
I probably could have phrased that better. Prophecy had better characterization (ie. it has characters at all) than Freespace, and spent more of its time telling the story. I do love the story in both of those games, though!
@SovereignKnight74
10 ай бұрын
What about the most important thing? Did it have the Pyro GX as a fighter you could choose?
@physbryan
10 ай бұрын
It didn't come in the base game, although I am sure that someone made one over the past twenty-five years. Based on the stories I read in 1999 addressing why does Freespace 2 not have the Descent name, Descent: Freespace has Descent at the front for two reasons. One is to give a marketing boost since Descent and Descent 2 were pretty popular games. The second is that there was already a hard drive utility called Freespace on the market, and Interplay didn't want to risk a copyright fight. Freespace 2 was deemed different enough to not be a problem.
@SovereignKnight74
10 ай бұрын
It was recently brought to my attention that a game called "Ships The Fight Underground" will feature a precursor to the Pyro GX. I think it's called "Torch". I think I'll keep an eye out for that game. I'd most likely buy it as it features a remnant of the ship I'm interested in. Sadly, it's still not released yet on Steam.
@andrewcopple7075
Жыл бұрын
Is the freespace 2 mod community making the game... stable these days? It and Freelancer were very clunky and sometimes damaging to my computer, when I last tried 5 or so years ago.
@physbryan
Жыл бұрын
I've been able to run vanilla Freespace 2 just fine on Windows 10 ever since it was released, and the FS2 Upgrade Project has been rock solid for me since I first started using it over a decade ago. Using the Knossos launcher makes the install super easy, assuming that you have a stock FS2 install from GOG or original media already. How did it damage your computer five years ago, I am genuinely curious!
@andrewcopple7075
Жыл бұрын
@@physbryan I'm trying to remember if it was FS2 mods or Freelancer mods, but there was a point when I had to use a recovery option for my operating system because of driver issues... I believe it was either directX or AMD related. To be fair, it could have just been AMD having crap drivers for my Dell pre-built. A lot of restarting and reinstalling of various things was needed.
@casedistorted
Жыл бұрын
@@andrewcopple7075yeah AMD was known for having bleh drivers in those days, they’ve gotten better recently but the main reason I moved to Nvidia 7-8 years ago was simply because they had better drivers. Also it was a lot easier to mess up your PC back them, not brick it but def screw things up if you installed the wrong software
@casedistorted
5 ай бұрын
Where would I find the Freespace 2 video?
@physbryan
5 ай бұрын
It's all raw footage on my computer right now, waiting for me to take time to edit it all together. I'll try to get going on it later this evening, but it's a big project!
@casedistorted
5 ай бұрын
@@physbryan Thank you!
@casedistorted
3 ай бұрын
0:25 how did you get that kind of dynamic lighting in Descent? Or is that descent 2? I am trying out Descent with DXX Rebirth with the first game and it feels like there is no lighting whatsoever in the game, or does it only come into the game later? or was D1 pretty light on the lighting and D2 had all the graphical upgrades.. also yes, I am rewatching this video after watching civvie's descent video
@physbryan
3 ай бұрын
@@casedistorted The footage is from Descent 2; it was leftover from a clip I recorded to show off AWE64 music in that game. Descent 1 does have dynamic lighting, and I am surprised you didn't see it! I've only ever really spent a great deal of time with the original DOS versions, though.
@cterryrun199
Жыл бұрын
I wish I kept the box 😢
@R0d_1984
Жыл бұрын
I lost 450 games when i moved...
@physbryan
5 ай бұрын
Years ago I pared down my Big Box collection to only games that I truly cared about; Freespace, Half-Life, and Need For Speed III were three highlights that made the cut, all from 1998. You have my sympathy though, it's all too easy to trash boxes when trying to declutter!
@Flyinghotpocket
Ай бұрын
Fs1 has one thing fs2 will never have. Better combat AI. On insane, FS1 shivan fighters will beat the pants off any fs2 fighters. a simple scorpion or dragon will decimate a fleet.
@googleyoutubechannel8554
Жыл бұрын
Interesting, this entire video is blank and there is no audio. Good thing they never tried to make a sequel to Descent II, they probably would have just ruined the franchise.
@physbryan
Жыл бұрын
I just watched some of it from another account, and the video is working fine for me. I am not sure why you are having issues watching/listening to it, sorry!
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