Descent: Freespace Screenshot Descent: FreeSpace is a space simulation computer game series developed by Volition Inc., one of the two companies (along with Outrage Entertainment) that formed when Parallax, the creators of Descent, split. For contractual reasons the game was called Conflict: Freespace in Europe.
The original title, Descent: FreeSpace - The Great War, was released in mid-1998. It had one expansion pack in the form of Silent Threat. Freespace 2 was released in 1999. While FreeSpace 2 did not have an expansion pack, it was later re-released twice, the first time as FreeSpace 2: Game of the Year Edition and included several user-made missions. The second time it was re-released, in 2004, publisher Interplay released the GotY edition as a limited edition, 2000 copy "20th Anniversary Edition" celebrating their own 20th anniversary. In reality however, this second re-release was considered a fairly obvious attempt to capitalize on the shortage of copies of the game, which were going for greater than $50 at the time at auction houses like eBay, and would have generated a quick hundred-thousand dollars for the ailing Interplay. Although the FreeSpace saga was officially exclusive to Windows, it was ported to Linux after the source code to Freespace 2 was released in 2002.
FreeSpace was heralded by game reviewers, having assimilated the best points of other space combat simulators like Wing Commander and adding its own features to it. Among the features of FreeSpace were intelligent wingmen the player could order around, an intricate storyline, multiplayer, and capital ships that were nearly 3 kilometers in length. It also included FRED (FReespace EDitor), the mission editor used by the game designers themselves. This allowed users to produce many of their own campaigns and missions.
FreeSpace 2 was a polished successor to the original, featuring enhanced graphics, awesome nebula effects, and beam weapons that larger ships were equipped with. Even though FreeSpace 2 was lauded by the gaming press, it failed to sell very well, effectively marking the end of the era for this style of the space simulation video game. After FreeSpace 2's release, Volition broke away from publisher Interplay Productions and joined THQ where it went on to design Red Faction and Summoner. As of 2003, the future prospects of a FreeSpace 3 appear bleak.
Still, the FreeSpace saga lives on in the work of mission designers and "modders", some of whom have become veritable experts and are training younger members of the community. New, user-made campaigns sport custom ships and weapons, detailed storylines and decision-based mission branching. Another project, FreeSpace Open, was started after Volition released the FreeSpace 2 source code, which has elevated the features of the game far past its original capabilities. An active developer community is gathered at the Hard Light Productions Forums (http://dynamic4.gamespy.com/~freespace/forums/).
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow. The original FreeSpace game was set in 2335. At the beginning of the game, Terrans (humans) have been at war with Vasudans (an alien species) for fourteen years. Suddenly, a third species, known as the Shivans, appears on the scene. The Terrans and Vasudans are directly threatened by their massive fleet led by the flagship Lucifer. As a result, the feuding races formed an alliance to defeat the technologically-superior Shivans. A group of zealous Vasudans called the Hammer of Light would interfere with the alliance, believing that the Shivans were gods. A fourth, unseen race is known as the Ancients, whose lore detailed their war with the Shivans and thorough knowledge of subspace portals that linked the universe's systems together. The portals were a natural phenomenon used to connect worlds like the Sol, Vasuda, and others.
In the final mission of FreeSpace, the Lucifer entered a subspace portal that linked to the Sol System. After having devastated Vasuda Prime, the Shivans were now set on annihilating Earth. The alliance destroyed the Lucifer in subspace, a fate that severed the Shivan destroyer in half, but also collapsed the only portal home.
Silent Threat took place around the same time as the original FreeSpace. It chronicled the fall of GTI (Galactic Terran Intelligence), a rogue faction within Terran Command that specialized in secret operations and research.
FreeSpace 2 takes place 32 years after the events of the original FreeSpace. The alliance between the Terrans and Vasudans is sealed with the foundation of the Galactic Terrain-Vasudan Alliance (GTVA). The GTVA's role is three-fold. Their first priority was in stopping the Neo Terran Front (NTF) led by Admiral Aken Bosch. Bosch, a veteran of the GTI, united a group of rogue Terrans under the banner of Vasudan hatred. Initially, he threatened to destabilize the Alliance and destroy the Vasudan race. The second priority was the discovery of the Knossos Device, a massive, ring-shaped machine believed to have been constructed by the Ancients. In essence, the Knossos Device appeared to be an artificial portal generator. This obviously interested the Terrans, who were still searching for a way to return to their homeworld. The third, and most dangerous, was the return of the Shivans. This time, the Shivans have a fearsome new array of ships, including the juggernaut-class Sathanas that is over 5.5 kilometers in length.
During the course of the campaign, the player learns about the truth behind the Neo Terran Front and the nature of the Knossos Device. The NTF insurgency is quelled near the beginning of the campaign when the Knossos Device is activated; this opens access to a nebula that is discovered to be filled with Shivan forces. The eventual retreat and destruction of the portal is not enough to stop the second Shivan incursion, and as hopes for victory slowly disappear, humanity takes desperate measures in order to secure its survival.
Races
Terrans In the Freespace universe, Terrans have spread across the some of the galaxy thanks to their development of subspace technology, through which humanity has laid claim to many star systems. The expansion of their sphere of influence eventually puts them into conflict with the Vasudans, which became a 14-year-long war. Terran factions are organized nto the Galactic Terran Alliance, which later evolves into the Galactic Terran-Vasudan Alliance.
Vasudans The Vasudans are a tall, bipedal race evolved to thrive in a harsh, desert environment. They have also developed an extremely complex language, and are very proud of it. It is thought that a mishandling of this language by Terrans was one of the factors that caused the 14-year-war. Their home planet, Vasuda Prime, was destroyed by the Shivan Super-Destroyer Lucifer during the Great War in 2335. The Vasudan empire is ruled by a parliament in the first Freespace, and then by the Galactic Terran-Vasudan Alliance in Freespace 2.
Shivans The Shivans are an ancient, destructive race that has exterminated countless spacefaring races and recently fought two destructive wars against the Terrans and Vasudans. Shivans have a black exoskeleton, five legs, compound eyes, and are apparently some form of cybernetic organism, with both organic and inorganic components. They are extremely physically strong, well adapted to a zero G environment, and have an in built plasma cannon. The typical Shivan specimien is roughly 4 to 5 meters long and its height varies between 2.5 and 3.5m depending on its posture. It is theorised that the integral plasma cannon, inorganic materials, and cybernetic components can be explained by the use of an artificial exoskeleton of sorts (Freespace 1, Disc 2, the video featuring the boarding team).
The Shivans are closely tied with subspace; they apparently are native to subspace, and take notice of any species that travels through it, acting to exterminate them. At the end of the original Freespace, it is theorized that the Shivans are the Galaxy's immune system. They appear and exterminate any species that develops subspace technology. By doing so, they prevent any one species from spreading across the entire galaxy and dominating all other races. It is theorized that humans would never have developed if not for the Shivans, because the Ancients would have been allowed to spread and eventually conquer Earth. Likewise, the Ancients would not have been able to develop, as they would have been conquered by the races that came before them.
The Ancients A species that conquered a large portion of the Galaxy long before humanity evolved. Thanks to their advanced technology, no enemy was ever able to withstand their might, until they encountered the Shivans. All of the Ancient's weapons and technology proved futile against the Shivan's seemingly invincible shield technology, and they were eventually exterminated after a prolonged war. The Ancients eventually discovered a weakness in Shivan shield technology- their inoperation while in subspace- and developed a means by which vessels could be tracked through subspace. This was too late, however, to save the Ancients from the Shivan incursion. During the course of the single-player campaign, the records of the Ancients are recovered by the Galactic Terran Alliance and used to defeat the Lucifer and win the Great War.
In the first Freespace game, the story of the Ancients was narrated through the usage of several in-game cutscenes showing scenes of starfields, planets, and the like, while a narrator calmly intoned dialogue explaining the rise and fall of the Ancients empire. The Ancients apparently viewed the Shivans as a form of just retribution against their race for the many perceived crimes they had committed while building their empire and subjugating less powerful species.
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