[WeekendWarrior]

Hello Pilots!

WeekendWarrior from Poland here, glad I've found you guys, better late than never!

I cannot describe how happy I was, when discovered that one of my beloved 25+ years old game is still alive. Not only alive but doing damn great!
I've had a privilege of playing original FS1+ST and FS2+GOTY Mission Pack back then in late 90's using Logitech Wingman Force (the big one) and oh! baby - playing Freespace with joystick AND great Force Feedback was on another level of immersion!
Recently I was doing some research about joysticks and about entering flightsim world (I'm going to buy VKB Gladiator NXT EVO SpaceCombatGrip Premium) and unintentionally entered this forum... I was like - wait...what?
Just finished FSPort with MediaVPs via Knossos and boy oh! boy, when You are 35+ like me, there are moments in life that bring You back to Your childhood, that make You actually feel like 13yo for a split of second, maybe longer. For me, Freespace is a huge clusterbomb packed with THAT kind of magic-one-of-a-kind moments. When face-in-V from Volition Inc. logo  emerges and hit my eyes for the first time in 26 years I'm in goosebumps and probably sheding a tear.
I want to give huge THANK YOU to everyone involved in this project - You guys are bringing back great memories to many people and that is priceless. OK, enough nostalgia, we have a job to do, right pilots?

I'm planning to play whole Freespace Campaign few times, hoping for Your suggestions if I'm doing it right way, especially chronology-wise.


#1 Pure Volition
Since I'm still on keyboard+mouse I'm going for a short run on medium/hard, just to refresh everything and see what is what. I want to keep it as canonic as it gets - just official releases + all audiovisual goodies like MediaVPs, radar icons, mainhalls...
So that brings us to: FS1 Campaign ---> Operation Templar(?) ---> Silent Threat(classic) + official fan-made missions ---> FS2 Campaign ---> FS2 GOTY Mission Pack
Is that right? Is Operation Templar FSPort Version the only one I should play or do I miss some lore from original multiplayer co-op one? Silent Threat Classic is intentional, I will play ST:Reborn in my next run.

#2 Extended story & insane difficulty
Now is time for some action. With Gladiator in hand and difficulty at insane I want that full Freespace experience. If timeline from #1 is correct, I'm using it as a base for #2 playthrough with 2 changes: ST:Reborn instead of classic ST and FSBlue instead of FS2. Is that right? I figured out that this way I'll have both Silent Threat (official "bad" one and praised Reborn afterwards) and could feel the difference between both. Same applies to FS2 Campaign vs FSBlue. Please correct me if I'm wrong here.

Now is the tricky part for me - which "story" mods do I pick and where to put them in this timeline:
FS1 Campaign ---> Operation Templar ---> ST:Reborn ---> FS2 Campaign enhanced (FSBlue) ---> FS2 GOTY Mission Pack
I want to extend this playthrough to a maximum but at the same time trying to keep plot logic, not messy, just a series of events in right order. I'm focusing on mods that are polished, preferably voice-acted, and widely recommended but this way I could be missing some hidden gems that fit perfectly to my ultimate playthrough from pre Great War Era to post Capella Era.
I'm aware of this site: https://wiki.hard-light.net/index.php/Campaign_List and this one: https://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=80688.0 but this library is huge.
So far I know I want to play Cardinal Spear, Awakenings, Between the Ashes, Derelict, Blue Planet Complete. That brings us to:
Cardinal Spear ---> FS1 Campaign ---> Operation Templar ---> ST:Reborn ---> Awakenings ---> Between the Ashes ---> FS2 Campaign enhanced (FSBlue) ---> FS2 GOTY Mission Pack ---> Derelict ---> Blue Planet Complete
Does it make sense? According to Battuta: "There is no chronology or continuity between most fan mods, so you can dive in with whatever interests you."   With Your help, I think that I can try to put right mods in right place in my timeline for ultimate playthrough. I would love to incorporate at least one mod from each era:

Pre-Great War Era - 1)Cardinal Spear, should I add The Unification War?

Great War Era - 1)FS1 Campaign, 2)Operation Templar, 3)Silent Threat: Reborn, 4)Awakenings, should I add something? New Beginnings?

Series Resurrecta - nothing, suggestions?

Memories of the Great War - nothing, suggestions?

Reconstruction Era - nothing, Shrouding the Light? Homesick?

Between the Ashes

Capella Era - FS2 (FSBlue) Campaign + missions, suggestions? Fall of Epsilon Pegasi?

Post Capella Era - this is easier, Derelict, Blue Planet Complete and whatever mod I find attractive and takes place after FS2 Campaign.


I'm looking forward for Your input. Does my timeline make sense? Should I remove something or add any valuable piece that would complement my story? Thank You in advance!


WeekendWarrior

[Trivial Psychic]

Don't forget to explore the Inferno branch.  Inferno:Classic is the original campaign, but has a graphical face-lift.  Inferno:Alliance is a prequel campaign created by the team.  Sol:A History is a fanmade anthology prequel, showing the evolution of the Earth Alliance, beginning with the expected arrival of the Lucifer in Sol.  Finally, there's the newly released Inferno campaign, which is itself a redux of Inferno:Nostos, (which I'm still playing through) but seems cover the same general events of Inferno:Classic, but with new ships and a much fleshed out story.

[Colonol Dekker]

Dude, welcome,  Cześć!

The only other Polish words I know are the bad ones so I won't try and show off 😅

Yep, you've got it right, there's no set in stone way to play, but I'd go retail campaigns, (port etc) then derelict, then BP route or inferno route...buuuuuut  between the ashes is really good to play between FS1(or port) and FS2. 

For an added horror twist, play sync then transcend before you play derelict.....it'll blow your socks off.  In a good freespace way.

  Windmills is ideally played at any time around fs2 also. 

Vassagos dirge (voiced) after fs2 too.

Welcome again buddy.

[ShivanSlayer]

For the Reconstruction Era, I would cap it off with Shrouding the Light.  For the Capella Era, Fall of Epsilon Pegasi is a good one as it gives much needed expansion to the battle of Epsilon Pegasi.  I would also throw in Shepherds and Aeos Affair. For the post Capella era, Scrolls of Atankharzim is a must play.  Warzone is another good one as well as Renegade Resurgence.  Whenever I partake in a month of Freespace, I always end it with Herkie's Aftermath Reboot

[DefCynodont119]

I'm biased, but BTA is within the reconstruction era, (and covers a good amount of it) it could slot in right after the great war era stuff post ST:R

Also, BTA has it's own remastered version of Operation Templar at the end.

[Nohiki]

For the Post-Capella Era, I think Procyon Insurgency is a rarely mentioned gem. As for the BPverse, add Trimurti to the list.

[qweqwe321]

I will also throw in a plug for Blue Planet: Chanticleer, which is a spinoff of Blue Planet, and set after the last episode of Blue Planet Complete.

[WeekendWarrior]

Thank You guys for all suggestions!

I just finished my #1 playthrough and I loved it!
I will definitely incorporate every mod You guys mentioned in my #2 ultimate insane playthrough, now waiting for my joystick.
Before I start #2 playthrough I will post my definitive timeline with all worthy mods included for future generations of pilots to come!

Once again, thank You for Your input, take care!

WeekendWarrior out!

[0rph3u5]

Memories of the Great War - nothing, suggestions?

MoGW's continuity is a bit complicated as it tiered:
Tier 1 - released versions of MoGW
Tier 2 - unreleased and/or planned projects
Tier 3 - Freespace 1
Tier 4 - Silent Threat
Tier 5 - Silent Threat: Reborn
Tier 6 - Shrouding the Light, Deneb III, Echo Gate, Phantoms
Tier 7 - Derelict, Shepherds
The lower the tier the stricter the adherence to the events depicted, e.g. as much as I like ST:R, Shrouding the Light and Deneb III I cannot them be strict continuity because something always is in the way, e.g. the term "Shivan Hive" in the ST:R intro, that the depiction of Vasudans' and Hammer of Light's internal organization in Shrouding, or just that Lucifer's shield can be depleted by conventional weapons in Deneb III.

Also, future releases of Memories of the Great War will also make references to events that happen after the Great War in stuff like loading screen texts and intelligence entries, e.g. the loading screen texts for one upcoming campaign will be the text of a speech given at the dissolution of the PVE Parliament in the Reconstruction Era.

[Nohiki]

Sidenote: If you also want something way before FS1 (~8000 years before), you need to add ancient-shivan war.

[starlord]

Actually, if you go there, you could also add the unification war too. It’s quite good for what it is.

Also, on the mention of FS2 campaigns, Pandora’s box does a good job of showing the NTF war, and walls closing, uncharted territory and shepherds portray great side stories dealing with the shivans.

Also, Shadow genesis post fs2 is a good one too.

[Nyctaeus]

Witam rodaka z kraju kwitnącej cebuli :]. Jeśli Cię to zastanawiało, to paru nas tutaj dalej jest.

Series Resurrecta - nothing, suggestions?

I recommend sparing this one for later. We balanced it for veteran players so you better warm up first :]. Also there is a big upgrade incoming, along with the third campaign.

I can recommend Bem Cavalgar for FS1 playlist. It's another veteran campaign, but it's damn awesome. Awakenings is good. Everything Orph3u5 is good.

Definitely add Ancient-Shivan War for pre-FS1 playlist. Years are passing, ASW still rocks ass.

My Exile is not bad when it comes to Capella-era stuff :].

Regarding post capella... Definitely Inferno Nostos. Definitely Twisted Infinities. Storm Front is good. Reunion is good. Luyten Civil War is good.

[0rph3u5]

Everything Orph3u5 is good.

Please note this endorsement comes from someone who is familiar with the plans for future campaigns. Take it with a grain of salt