Scarthy © ® ™ Posted April 8, 2003 Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 Hi all ;) ,I have just been looking around for information on this new game from Micro$oft. Freelancer is a modern day Elite style game.Eight hundred years prior to the start of our story, bitter conflict divided all of mankind. A handful of colonists struck out on their own to begin anew - far away from the Earth and its turmoil. Several ships were launched with enough equipment and supplies to give the hundreds onboard a fighting chance - but since the area around far-off Sirius had never been surveyed, no one really knew what to expect. What they found was a new frontier of free-flowing natural resources, unexplored territories, great wonders and lurking dangers. Each ship, representing the clusters of people and their earthly place of origin, settled into different parts of the galaxy pre-selected by their ship-board computer to give them the best chance of survival.Life was hard in the beginning, but over the 800 years the different colonies prospered and expanded their territories, claiming more and more systems for their own. Survival and propagation eventually led to growth and profit as each of the colonies developed specialties and fostered commerce. As the colonies grew and time passed their connections with their roots on Earth dwindled and they lost their memories of the conflicts of the past. Soon their attention was dominated by new, more immediate conflicts. Feelings of lost ancestral connection spurred anachronism in the look of the great cities, and created a somewhat distorted image of each colony's cultural heritage. In the ever-expanding outer edge of the territories, frontier lawlessness prevailed.The Houses: Each shipboard colony that left Earth carried some memory of its origins in its name. The Liberty carried Americans, The Bretonia flew from The United Kingdom and surrounding territory, The Kusari from Asia, and the Rheinland launched with Germanic cargo. As each ship settled and colonies began to expand, they knew little about each other and their advancing development. Finally, little by little, the individual colonies found each other and began to set up trade routes to link their systems for commerce and solidarity. Today, with each colony firmly rooted in its respective corner of the galaxy, the colonies rely heavily on each other for trade and industry but also compete for resources and new territories in the Border Worlds. The colonies mandate member governments in "The New Alliance" within the Sirius sector. To control conflicts, each colony has forged alliances and treaties with others as they have grown. Competition remains fierce, however. Struggles rage for supremacy in business, commerce, resources, power and control. There can be tenuous peace between colonies' political agendas, but the grabs for holdings constantly unsettle the volatile frontier.Bretonia CityConcept Art© 2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.It features.... Open-Ended UniversePlay missions randomly or follow the storyline. The universe is open for exploration, and the game evolves based on the decisions you make. Demolish pirate bases or supply depots and watch the political fallout. Lane Hackers go after cargo vessels if you disable trade lanes. Support your local cop...or not. The choice is yours but the universe won't wait for you. Dynamic ReputationYour choice in missions, your successes, your failures...they all change your reputation constantly. Play as a Naval Officer and everyone associated with the Navy will treat you better. Become a pirate and hunt down cargo vessels and you’ll soon have friends in low places. The missions you’re offered and the technology you have access to all depend on who you become. Distinctive Styles of PlayChase the almighty dollar, disrupt the corrupt government, enforce the law, chase human prey...every game is different. Want access to easy money? Become a Lane Hacker: take down cargo ships and sell the goods on the black market. Feeling noble? Join the Liberty Navy and help make the universe a safer place for everyone. The choice is yours. Take your Share of RichesMoney makes the universe go round. Mining planets churn out valuable minerals, agriculture planets cultivate grain. Secure the best trade routes and reap the profit. Like money more than carnage? Become a commodity merchant and travel the stars to find the goods people want. You’ll soon be living off the fat of the land. Untangle the StoryPlunge into the mysteries of the Sirius System, against an unknown menace. Amazing graphics, incredible storytelling with astonishing twists and turns and over two hours of in-game cinematics create a universe of intrigue. It's yours to demolish or to rule as you see fit. A Universe of IntrigueLie. Cheat. Steal. Double-cross. Stab allies in the back and rob enemies blind. Politics and intrigue are everywhere in the universe. If you have what it takes to be a CEO here on Earth.... Intuitive InterfaceMaster the intricacies of space combat via mouse. Don't have a joystick? Hate all those buttons anyway? A mouse and a keyboard puts you in the game. MultiplayerJoin with friends and conquer the universe together. Play cooperatively or competitively on player-hosted server worlds. Fight together as you take on missions too difficult for the lone wolf. Bait and ambush pirates, flank trade lanes, and employ tactical complexity beyond the reach of the solo Freelancer. After all, carefully wrought alliances make the universe what it is. I am really looking forward to the release here on 11th April 2003. If anyone has a fast connection, then there is a TRIAL VERSION of the game. It weighs in at 150MB ! There are also Screenshots/ Wallpapers/ and Video files on the site.If anyone gets the demo I would love to hear your thoughts/ views on the game ! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tankus Posted April 8, 2003 Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 Trial=46 min download on BBthink Ill have a pop.......quite liked Elite -the darkening...from a few years back................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tankus Posted April 8, 2003 Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 Whoo WhhooooooooSmooth if somewhat cartoony graphics.........Ive played Independence War 2 .....but this is much smoother...even with a lot of objects on the screen............Mouse control a bit tricky at first ......but soon get the hang of it..........Good enough taster to buy it when it comes out...................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tankus Posted April 8, 2003 Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 I hope the real thing though ,is not as a linear a storyline as the demo.....keep getting mission failed and restart ..when going off script..................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarthy © ® ™ Posted April 8, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2003 Good enough taster to buy it when it comes out......................Well that's a good enough reason for me to buy also, Tankus ! ;) What similarities are there to Elite? Trading/ Pirating/ Fighting/ Space Stations etc etc... ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tankus Posted April 9, 2003 Report Share Posted April 9, 2003 If you've played the darkening.....the deals are done in the pub........but without John Hurt as the barman..not played enough to see how they have panned out.......................Its like M$ have taken the good bits out of Elite (but without the 3d positional hud radar which I like) .Character interface out of half life.....and gunfighting out of Crimson Sky...the graphics are very smooth ,but has a similar feel to Crimson sky......Not as complicated as Independence War 2.........Cut scenes for planet landing and space ship/station docking.......jump gates are like going through Stargate SG1...........................groovy mon....................Personally I'm going to buy it........when it comes out.........The demo is very Linear though....wait to see how the real thing is......................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tankus Posted April 9, 2003 Report Share Posted April 9, 2003 Anybody on BB its worth a download from Scarthys link for a free tryout ...if your into that sort of thing...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted April 10, 2003 Report Share Posted April 10, 2003 Downloaded it, then installed it,And it does not work for me.I get the all the splash screens then the final one that says Freelancer, it looks like it is loading the menus & stuff, but it just returns me to my desktop :angry: No error messages or anything.I even updated to DX 9a just in case, but know luck.Any idea'sTony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ordep Posted April 10, 2003 Report Share Posted April 10, 2003 Tony,Couple of idea's.Are your drivers up to date.Sounds like it could be a corrupt file.Did you use a download manager, these can corrupt sometimes.Did you turn off your firewall first.Delete it and try again.Installed it myself today. not at all impressed, its more like an arcade game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted April 10, 2003 Report Share Posted April 10, 2003 Yer drivers are bang upto date,The file only took 25 min's to download with BB, so i doubt that it is a corrupt file, but i will download it again and see what happens,"Did you turn off your firewall?"No i did not, do you mean when i was installing it or when i am running it?All the bestTony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tankus Posted April 10, 2003 Report Share Posted April 10, 2003 My firewall was on..during download..no problems...................Ordeps right... it does feel arcady....but thats probably why I like it...........IW2 I tend to die too often................................. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarthy © ® ™ Posted April 14, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2003 I got my nephew to d/l the demo. First impressions....Not very impressed !The game looks good and is a good idea, but I just find it 'VERY' linear indeed. eg Walk into bar and click one of 4/5 people there. They speak their lines and you go to the next rendezvous point with another person etc etc. Eventually get into space....OK but not good enough for me to shell the dosh out !It's Splinter Cell instead me thinks... ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tankus Posted April 14, 2003 Report Share Posted April 14, 2003 Eye candy though....................................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L3@©H¥ ²°°³ Posted April 15, 2003 Report Share Posted April 15, 2003 It's Splinter Cell instead me thinks... ;)wah000000 :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarthy © ® ™ Posted April 15, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2003 L3@©H¥ ²°°³ Posted on Tuesday 15th April 2003, 06:00 "wah000000"What you wahoooing for Leachy??? :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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