Computer Games Online Review: FreeSpace (2) - 01/23/98 |
Descent: FreeSpace -
The Great War - Ascend into the Descent universe in a whole new way
Three's company Interplay claims that developer Volition
is focusing a lot of effort into the single player game, particularly in the mission
design. While the team is still trying to flesh out the missions, Boone said one aspect
they were concentrating on was ensuring that a certain amount of randomness remains. That
way, the same mission could unfold in different ways. The branching mission structure,
similar to that found in Wing Commander games, will be held together with the aid of fully
rendered cutscenes. The storyline, which is separated into three acts, should take
approximately thirty missions to play out. FreeSpace will feature an all-new engine that shares none of the code from Descent. (Descent III, the next iteration of the series, is currently being developed by Parallax's other arm, Outrage.) Like most modern space combat games, the engine will utilize extensive texture mapping to convey detail. Players will encounter more than 20 different fighters in the game, along with a wide array of capital ships, freighters, and space installations. The scale of some of the capital vessels can be enormous, with some ranging up to three kilometers in length. When playing the version of the game supplied for this article, the first thing you notice is that the combat is reminiscent of dogfights from World War II. Long streams of laser fire, very similar to that of machine-gun tracers, lance out from fighters and fill the void. Combined with the fire from nearby capital ships, the darkness of space can seem alight in laser blasts. In addition to the obligatory "guns," players will be able tote a wide range of missiles and other ordnance into the fray. Players will begin the game relegated to just flying missions. However, as they progress through the plot, they'll gain more and more responsibility. Eventually, they'll have control to the point of creating their own "strike packages" for each mission. This will include selecting the fighter types in each flight wing and determining their payloads and loadouts. For example, a player may be tasked with attacking an enemy cruiser. Then they would probably select a wing of four fighters to provide cover and a wing of heavier fighter/bombers laden with ship killing ordnance to deliver the killing blow. Or, if they were short of fighters, they might created a mixed flight wing, with two fighters and two fighter/bombers.
Taunts R' Us From a technical standpoint, FreeSpace will support Direct3D, Glide, MMX, and even AGP. ("Some of the texture sizes are so huge, it's great for AGP," said Boone.) In addition to increased frame rates, 3D acceleration will bring such eye-candy such as colored lighting. However, these features were unavailable in the build we played with. On a Pentium II system, the frame rate was very smooth and the graphics impressively crisp and sharp with intricate textures. For those without that kind of horsepower, Interplay says a 133MHz Pentium will be the minimum requirement with a 3D card, or a 166MHz machine without. Options will allow players to customize everything from keystrokes to the RGB color values of their HUD. For those who wish to cook up their own missions, FreeSpace will include FRED (the FReeSpace mission EDitor), the same editor used by the game's designers. FRED will be an easy-to-use mission editor that will allow players to create both single and multiplayer missions. Interplay plans on supporting FRED by providing extensive documentation on paper and on the CD. FreeSpace will also sport dynamic music that adapts to the situation and a flight recorder that will allow players to save their exploits. One feature that will probably make the final cut is the ability to design your ship's insignia for multiplayer games. ("It's always something we've wanted to do with Descent," Boone said.) Other features on the bubble include support for force feedback devices and the inclusion of asteroid fields in the game. In a season that left X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter and Wing Command: Prophecy fans wanting for either a good story or multiplayer capability, Interplay seems to have hedged its bets and tossed in every conceivable feature into FreeSpace. However, the question remains whether the Descent magic that worked so well on the inside will fair well in deep space. Interplay, and gamers, should find out the answer in April. ©1997 Strategy Plus, Inc. by Jason Ocampo |
taken from Computer Games Online
WebHits
counts accesses on this page since 02/08/97. View detailed
statistics!