Series Resurrecta
| The following information has not been confirmed by Volition and is therefore not canon for the FreeSpace universe. Also, it may contain spoilers regarding Series Resurrecta campaigns. |
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Series Resurrecta, Latin for Resurrected Series and colloquially shortened to SerRes or SR, is a FreeSpace mod set during the Reconstruction Era. The name is derived by the fact that its various minicampaigns, two of which have been released so far, all derive from a number of satellite projects to Inferno: Alliance Standalone which entered a limbo phase between 2008 and 2010. The project is aimed at resurrecting these campaigns and get them into playable status, compatible with modern standards.
Contents
Background
During the development phase of Inferno: Alliance Standalone in 2006-2010, project leader Woomeister encouraged and supported the creation of unofficial minicampaigns as a way to effectively expand the modpack of said mod. This was primarily due to the fact that the INFASA modpack featured Shivan and Vasudan fleets which were obviously not used in the main campaign, meant to take place in Sol following the Great War. Team member and FREDder Mobius started working on a number of independent minicampaigns, which ultimately entered a limbo phase. In mid 2020, many of these campaigns have been recovered from an old storage and, thanks to the contribution of a newly formed team mainly consisting of FSCRP and Inferno team members such as Admiral Nelson, Nightmare and Nyctaeus, the author managed to get two of these campaigns into working status, with other entering a to do list that will hopefully result in future releases.
Progress on the first release of SerRes, Shadows of the Great War or SotGW, kept a low profile for months. The process of getting the old INFASA to work on a FSPort modpack started in mid June 2020; content from the campaigns was however occasionally shown to the public, such as a now-famous screenshot that won HLP's June Screencap Contest and later became the preload background of the mod. On October 7th, 2020, an official Series Resurrecta board was launched on Hard-Light Productions, about nine days prior to the official release. It's worth noting that the release of SerRes is also the first occurrence of a released FreeSpace campaign created by an Italian FREDder and modder, as no other fans of said nationality have managed to deliver campaigns prior to that occurrence.
SerRes' current logo, created by Nyctaeus, combines the silhouette of the Hammer of Light emblem, as well as the Arachnas installation, both of extreme importance in the first release of the project. Entanglement is expected to feature a different logo.
The project maintains an active profile on ModDB, where content such as news articles and screenshots are posted regularly. During 2020's Mod of the Year Awards, the mod performed well in the contest. The founder of the website, Scott Reismanis, has confirmed that Series Resurrecta ended up being, among other things, the most voted mod in the Futuristic Simulation / Sci-Fi released in 2020 category, based on the contest's categories, rules and voting algorithms.
Team
- Mobius - Team leader, leading FREDder, modpack maintainer, storyline designer, writer, ModDB support, Wiki maintainer, tester
- Nyctaeus - Second in command, 2D/3D asset designer, modpack maintainer, writer, storyline designer, tester
- Admiral Nelson - Modpack maintainer, technical support, Knossos manager, CB Ani artist, interface artist, tester
- Goober5000 - Advisor, technical support
- Iain 'Nomad' Baker - Writer, proof-reader
- Lordhood117 - Writer, proof-reader
- Orph3u5 - Internal tester, modpack maintainer
- Nightmare - Internal tester
- ShadowsOfLight - Music artist
Releases
Shadows of the Great War
The first release of SerRes occurred on October 16th, 2020, under the brand name Shadows of the Great War [SotGW]. The release features the standard modpack that will serve as root for future upgrades, as well as two campaigns, Gehenna's Gate [GehG] and The Spirit of Ptah [TSoP].
Entanglement
The second SR release, Entanglement [Entgm], is currently WIP and will feature new campaigns, as well as edited versions of SotGW campaigns that include checkpoints and further additions to plot content. The title of one campaign, Serendipity [Srdp], has already been revealed to the public.
Content
Due to its nature of a collection featuring multiple campaigns, all SR releases should be treated as independent stories which don't necessarily contradict each other, but shouldn't be considered part of a single and new continuity within the FreeSpace Universe.
SerRes' modpack is based on the FreeSpace Port, as well as on Inferno: Alliance Standalone, and features extra spacecraft and ships belonging to the various combatant species. Stats and styles resemble those of FreeSpace 1, except for anti-warship armaments, which are a derivation of those used in INFA. Each species relies on its own set of anti-warship armaments: Terrans (railguns), Vasudans (neutron cannons) and Shivans (plasma cannons). Depending on the circumstance, certain warships are equipped with more advanced weaponry.
The collection also features exclusive soundtracks, composed by artists such as ShadowsOfLight, Georgios Savvinidis, Electric Trojan, Rich Douglas and Bloodstalker.
Common traits to SerRes campaigns involve introduction cutscenes at the beginning of each mission, and the fact that the player character doesn't get to start any campaign as Alpha 1. Instead, wingmen designations will vary throughout the campaign, even on a mission-by-mission basis, and orders that can be issued by the player to other wings will gradually increase in number, too. Alpha wing designation is reached at the very end, and is normally linked to more privileges to orders which can be assigned to other wings.
Fiction and Lore
Each SerRes mission is preceded by a fan fiction story or transcript, that adds extra lore not only to each SR campaign, but also tries to answer some of the big questions concerning the FreeSpace Universe. Some of the fictions seem completely unrelated to the missions they're linked to, but serve a specific purpose that is somehow implied later on in the campaign.
Many details on SerRes ships, squadrons and characters are available on the FreeSpace Wiki:
Complete Ship Database
List of Weapons
Famous Persons
Named Squadrons List
Tributes to Literature
All released and planned SerRes campaigns come with specific tributes to key authors in Literature and Art. All missions are preceded by a loading screen citing an artwork from past times, and the campaigns themselves feature various references to the mentioned artists. This tradition is expected to be carried over to future releases of SerRes as well.
- In Gehenna's Gate, loading screens cite the inscriptions on the Gate of Hell as described in Dante Alighieri's Inferno Canto III. Various ships in the campaign are named after Divine Comedy characters.
- In The Spirit of Ptah, the text shown on loading screens cites the summoning of Ptah during the first Act of Giuseppe Verdi's masterpiece Aida. Several characters are named after key individuals in said work.
Related Links
Official SerRes - Shadows of the Great War release thread | Hard-Light Productions
Official SerRes Profile | ModDB
