The AFTERMATH Project : Completed and Released!

#1
Hello guys,

The Aftermath Project is finally completed and released. I have debugged and fixed some recurring issues
inherited in the FRED mission codes. I took time to test it and rewritten the missions to make it balanced as it should
but it will still be challenging. Aside from that, I made a few modifications like the shivan weapons and turrets; they fire
rapidly this time (ouch). The Terran turrets too, are altered; I have to make some re-calibrations in the tables to make
things even. I have also done some changes in the sounds such as weapons and explosions. It feels like Starwars; lasers
shooting about, enemies on your tail, explosions here and there, total chaos.

IMPORTANT:

The project requires the original or the first release version of the Blue Planet mods (Age of Aquarius and War in Heaven)
and MediaVP 3612 for it to run. Since I already got a compatibility feed back, I will work on an update to make it as a
stand-alone campaign (still needs the MediaVPs 3612). But if you have the old Blue Planet mods, this will work just fine.


To download just click on the link below:


DOWNLOAD LINK:

http://sectorgame.com/f2s/downloads.php ... ads&id=604



THE AFTERMATH:
Three years have passed since the destruction of Capella and the Second Shivan War. The Galactic Terran-Vasudan Alliance
faced the hardships of the rebuilding while economic ramifications and political turmoil threw the worlds off balance.
When the consequences of the war have drove some into the madness of greed and the lust for power and the relationship
between the two races becoming frosty, and as civil unrest continues to intensify and piracy now emerging as the most
problematic issue, not even one have thought of an old enemy looming in the shadows, biding its time, preparing for
their ultimate strike. Only one man, an obscure mercenary, with his daily struggle in life can bring the known galaxy
into terms within itself and turn the tides of history. One man's search for his destiny. One man's search for his
glory. Go through 43 action-packed and intense battles and experience the epic of what a galactic war really is. The
fate of the worlds is in your hands.

Image

WORDS FROM THE AUTHOR:

When I was working on this project, I wanted to make a pure all out shooting game. And that's not all, the missions here
require a gameplay just like basketball. Stray off from the objectives and you will surely lose the mission. However, in
some missions, just to shake the minds of potential gamers, I sadistically, deliberately placed objectives that are
utterly useless and a different, radical strategy is the actual solution and you will just have to figure that out and
improvise. Which is actually the same with real life. You're superior officers tend to make bad calls (they often do)
and its up to you to set it right. I was once with the military, The Philippine Marines, when I was younger before I
discharged myself. I knew what it is like fighting a war, skirmishes that I had with the Mindanao insurgents. A number
of my friends also got killed, I was wounded myself. So I tried to incorporate what it felt like here in this game (wew,
I must be insane). You will find that it will be overwhelmingly challenging like a real war. And its not just a war, its
an epic, you'll be smacked in the middle of a galactic confrontation. Hundreds of fighters, endless waves of them.
Numerous big ships involved. To other gamers, it would seem like a chore. Well, it wouldn't be an epic if we only have 2
to 4 enemy wings to deal with, would it? That is also why I no longer designate enemy wings as zodiac names. Instead
they are designated as red1, red2, red3, up to red10 in some missions.

But then a pure all out shooting game is not enough. Everything must be justified in a storyline. My first idea was to
come with a love story of a pilot named John Richter, a mercenary (silly me). The story might be effective if I had
adequate CG programming skills, I just do not have that talent nor can I make it in a FRED cut scene. I might make the
dialogues in a mission but I feel it will just be dull. I wanted action, avoiding long dead air in a combat mission. In
dogfights, there is no time for small talk. The only solution for that is to put the story in the briefing screens, we
could place the dialogues there. That would be a good idea ---But no.

In the end, I decided why not just go back to the tradition of Freespace 2 where command briefings will give you the
current news of what's happening and the briefing screen is what it was intended to be. Now, that was a challenge. Then
it hit me. Why not make a sequel from FS2? And not only reading or watching or playing the story of John Richter. This
time, the gamer (you) is John Richter. Placing you in the seat of the character. Where the Command briefings and the
briefings and the in-game dialogues are directly addressed to you. And the missions themselves are the storyline that
you get to experience first hand. Not just reading about an obscure mercenary. You get to play the role and as the
missions unfold from a seemingly unrelated chain of sorties, you will suddenly find yourself playing an important role
in a war campaign that will decide the fate of the GTVA and becoming the greatest hero of mankind. That is if you
survive the nerve-racking missions. If its a little bit hard, I recommend the "very easy" setting. Medium setting will
be impossible and I have my reasons. Using medium setting in a mission with hundreds of units will tend to destabilize
the game itself. I have already tried that. Its the limitation with the FS2 source code. It's not designed for "Battle
of Endor" scenarios. The only way to get around it is the "easy" or "very easy" setting.

The "Battle of Endor" type missions (BoE) were indeed problematic as it involved a number of destroyers and more than a
hundred fighters. I wanted to depict the missions effectively in an epic scale without sacrificing PC performance and
game stability. Usually in BoE missions, player actions don't account much because all hell brake loose. But I designed
those missions in such a way that your decisions and strategy will spell the fate of your fleet. Leadership is the key.
Command your wings, you're not alone out there.

One final note. Now that I made the command briefings (news), briefings (addressed to you by your CO), and the missions,
in such a way that they are the storyline themselves, some missions will succeed or fail regardless of what your action
is. These are what I call "story missions." Actually, it has been done in FS2 (ex. The destruction of the Psamtik or the
FS2's final mission). When you encounter these missions, you can either sit back, move your craft away from danger (if
you can) and watch all that is happening or have a good time blasting the enemies. Its like playing inside the cut scene.
To be safe and not actually failing a real mission, you just have to pay attention with the in-game dialogues and
maximize the use of your radar.

Well, that's about all I can say. I will also appreciate feed back, especially the bad ones. And if there are bugs that
you encounter, let me know for I will work on an update. You can post it in SectorGames Forums under the thread
"The Aftermath Project: Feedback" (FreeSpace Modding and Projects topic). Happy gaming.


Herkie

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 126 guests

cron