Attempt at peace-making (doomed, most likely)
Actaully, I think Interplay had more to do with it than Volition. Hard Light's proof that the developers did a good job, if the game's good enough that we're still messing with it actively five years later. Interplay just didn't promote it correctly and supposedly 'restrained' it slightly to keep it from interfereing with a Star Trek release. There've been complaints in that regard over at HLP, too.
I guess I come at this from a slightly different perspective, since I wasn't part of either community during the times when both Prophecy and FS were actively on the market, but I'm now a member of both. I'd played WC for years, but never really played FS until the last 18 months or so. They're both very good game series that probably both deserve better treatment than they've gotten.
I've invested a lot of my personal time into both communities as of late, so I find it a little... disconcerting to see this much hostility, since I try to stay neutral.
Yes, Freespace's poor sales may have had something to do with the decision not to continue with the WC series. That's not really a proven fact, as far as I'm concerned, but there's certainly the possibility. It also killed any chance for a timely sequel, so you can consider that as you may. Yes, the engine is probably better in some ways, but there are some areas where the FS2 engine can be a real pain in the ass, too. FS has FRED, which makes mission-writing considerably easier, but the amount of coding that goes into both the missions and what the FS:SCP team has done for Saga is still pretty impressive. But, UE's done a hell of a lot of hard work of their own, and I would never want to detract from that, sicne I know it's more than I've ever done for this community.
On the other hand, WC, while being significantly less moddable in most cases, has a storyline that's certainly much better and a far richer backstory to draw on. That's one of the real strengths of the series, probably it's greatest strength. Freespace's flashy and admittedly impressive graphics can't change that. FS doesn't have a Privateer equivalent, and that's been one of the most enjoyable parts of Wing Commander for me. It's a lot harder to build relatively simple missions in FRED than it is in Academy, and though you can get much higer-quality results from the former, the latter is much, much less of a pain to work with, and much nicer when you just want a quick, custom dogfight. FS has it's roots in the FPS genre, whereas WC's roots are pure space sim. Story is more important there. FS tells one, but it's all too easy to ignore, and your wingman aren't exactly the greatest of personalities. Some of the mods are trying to address these issues, but it's hard work. I know, I'm one of staff members on a couple of them.
The two series complement each other in some ways. There's an interesting symmetry to Saga as well, bringing a lot of the best from both sides. It draws on the expansions to the WC universe made by dedicated fans like Loaf and Psych, and uses the FS engine to good effect, telling a real story, and bringing some new options to the FS universe, thanks to the work of Kazan in particular, as much as his presence is an unfortunate detriment to the peace around here. We're trying to build 'real' multiplayer into the game, and it looks like we will be sccessful, but that's not really the point, is it? For most of the team, it's not that the FS engine will get there first. It's about having easily useable Internet-capable multiplyer options for the Wing Commander universe.
Let's all take a deep breath over this, agree to disagree, and step back from the plate for a moment. Yes, we all have our favorites. Mine's probably Privateer, even after all these years. Kazan's would be FS2 Open. Loaf will have his, so will Tolwyn, and a lot of others. At least we're all united on one point: space sims are fun, and we enjoy playing them. I genuinely enjoy playing both series, and I'm glad that I've gotten the chance to do so, and most of the time, the chance to participate in these communities. Yes, we can all be a little rough around the edges, but that's life. Both are vibrant, thriving places that I'm glad I've gotten the chance to visit.
I know this post certainly won't stop the flames, but maybe, just maybe, it will help a little bit. And if it does, maybe I'll have contributed something really wothwhile to both games. But that's not why. I'd just like to see us all get along a little better.
This is not an invitation to flame me. I know there are people who will disagree with some or perhaps even all of the points in here, on both sides of the aisle. But this isn't a debate post. It's a reasoned and considered attempt to do just a bit of peace-making, and I hope this post is taken in that spirit. The individual points I raised were made for the purpose of illuminating the debate, not fueling it. I'm not trying to continue it. I'm just trying to settle things down a bit in a reasonable manner. I do not have the authority to demand anything. But I can ask for a return to reasonable debate rather than disharmonious, spite-filled discord. Let's all get along, okay?
