Campaign ideas

Put your campaign ideas at the bottom of the list.

Reconstruction-era campaign ideas

Earth: The Ongoing Fury

-by Phoenix-

Description: The GTVA thought that Earth was lost to subspace; they were wrong: Basically, the idea is that Sol is accessible to the GTVA via the Shivan Nebula; the newly-formed Terranovan Confederation must defend Earth at all costs. The Campaign is a prelude to Reconuqest of Earth in the Post-Capella ideas.

Jaws of Sobek

-by Starlord-

Description: the Vasudans are mourning thousands of losses: Vasuda Prime has been bombed by the Lucifer and more than 4 billion souls have died of the Shivan wrath. While the Lucifer has supposedly been destroyed as it emerged in Sol, the PVE must still deal with the Hammer of Light terrorists and the Shivan remnants. To that effect, your fighter squadron has been assigned to guard a revolutionary new ship on its maiden voyage: the PVE Sobek. This might be a good idea for a minicampaign. The Sobek would have to use FS1 weaponry, though (no beams).

Second Great War-era Campaign ideas

Alone

-by Ngtm1r-

A campaign based off the Faustus' fighterbay.

As a new lieutenant fresh out of the academy, you are shanghai'd for a GTVI operation, going undercover with the still-forming NTF. You are issued a Pegasus stealth fighter and will operate off the erstwhile NTSC Bohr. There is also a Hercules Mk II aboard in case everything goes south and you must exfiltrate under fire. You gather intelligence about the NTF, and occasionally strike at weak points in their forces. As time goes by you become enmeshed in the attempt to discover what the heck ETAK really is. The deepening mystery eventually leads you to the NTC Trinity...and what it plans to do.

The Bohr and you have contacted GTVI headquarters and gotten no response. GTVI appears not to be planning to do anything; there's no time to warn regular GTVA forces and they probably wouldn't believe you anyways. You have to stop the Trinity from bringing about a second crack at armageddon on your own.

Neither you nor the Bohr have the proper IFF codes to make it through GTVA space unmolested. You'll have to fight your way to Gamma Draconis. There, you must stop the Trinity from activating the Knossos portal...and maybe, just maybe, change the course of history.

Fox Hunting

-by BlueFlames-

Admiral Ahmose is a wanted man. After a costly disruption of a covert operation to gather information about the NTF Iceni, the GTVA Security Council has branded him a traitor. Unfortunately, the Admiral yet has a small fleet at his disposal and has shown a willingness to do whatever is necessary to avoid capture.

This campaign requires a little retconning of the canon progression of FreeSpace 2, where it was implied that Admiral Ahmose was brought to justice swiftly, but it provides a rare opportunity to pit the player against a Vasudan enemy, without placing him/her in the Neo-Terran Front. It can also provide a contrast to the style of rebellion that Bosch has led, by having Ahmose retain a small, mobile fleet that engages in piracy to acquire necessary supplies, as opposed to a large, sedentary one, that must capture and hold systems. Depending on its exact composition, Ahmose's fleet would not need to be concerned with the movements of the Colossus, but would be much more threatened by fighter and bomber forces that can be deployed and redeployed much quicker than the Allied juggernaut or his own warships. (And hence the name: One warship acts as the master of the hunt, while the fightercraft act as the hounds.)

As a prelude to other campaigns, if it takes a substantial period of time to capture Ahmose, his endurance could serve as inspiration to future Vasudan rebels. Indeed, if the author is willing to rewrite this event in the FS2 continuity, Ahmose could evade capture and gain support, meaning that the defeat of the NTF would simply result in one rebellion being replaced by another.

Post-Capella-era campaign ideas

Flying Shotgun with the Shivan Defence Force

-by Phoenix-

There are very few, if any campaigns, played from the Shivan perspective. Such a campaign would shed light on the motives of the Shivans. It may require a great deal of modding, because the Shivans likely have many types of weapons, ships, etc. that have not appeared in the canon campaigns, and a modder would need to fill these gaps in the Shivan arsenal.

Lightspeed's Shivan weapons pack would cover that problem I think. Alternatively one might want to try and restart the Hidden Terror campaign currently languishing on Sectorgame.-ngtm1r

Flaming Sword just released his Shivan mod. It's still a work in progress though, but it looks quite promising. - Storm

You could potray the GTVA as antagonistic here. They could cause devastation that might equal to the destruction of Vasuda Prime in FS1, then the campaign should conclude that who is antagonistic and who is protagonistic really depends on your perspective. The Shivans may be potrayed as "patriotic" species who would do anything to defend their territories and save their species. - TopAce

Reconquest of Earth

-by Phoenix-

Description: Exploration parties have found a new way to Sol (through the Shivan nebula?). Unfortunately, the Terrans there are not willing to become part of the GTVA (reason to be established in campaign).

The GTVA and Terranovan Confederation (or whatever else you want to call it) duke it out (possible multiplayer head-to-head campaign). Possibly, if the route is through part of the Shivan Nebula, have a three-power war between the GTVA, TNC, and Shivans.

Modding: This campaign will require the designer to evolve the Sol fleet's armaments, as it is unlikely they will still be using Great War-era technology.

Recommended:

• Terran warships with unique weaponry, including new beams, since Sol was cut off from the GTVA, as the Alliance developed their new weapon systems.
• Restore some Great War-era fightercraft, such as the GTB Athena, as not all such craft will have been phased out.
• Provide the Terrans in Sol with some sort of signature technology (such as a fighter with AWACS technology or some piece of Shivan technology that the GTVA did not adapt, such as enhanced subspace drives).

Balancing: When developing a third faction, bear in mind what its advantages and disadvantages will be. Remember, a Solar fleet must be set apart from the Terran component of the Allied fleet, but if Sol just stomps all over the GTVA (or vice-versa) in every single mission, the campaign is in danger of being very boring or very frustrating.

"What happened to Bosch?" campaigns

-by Starlord-

There are a great many theories regarding the fate of Admiral Bosch, but very few released campaigns exploring the subject. What did he do in Shivan space? Will he make a return to GTVA space? If he does, will he bring prosperity or doom? Don't just theorize! Open FRED and make something out of all those ideas!

There's more than one campaign about Bosch's fate. Gai Daigoji's Utopia and Deep Blood talked about the return of Bosch, if I remember well. - Mobius

Vasudan Succession

-by BlueFlames-

Khonsu II, having had a long and successful reign, dies. Perhaps he reaches the natural end of his long life, or perhaps he is assassinated, but in any case, a number of potential successors emerge and vie for the seat of Vasudan power. Potential competitors for the throne may include an heir of Khonsu II (seeking to turn the empire into a monarchy), powerful fleet admirals, or a democratic movement (seeking to replace the emperor with a president).

This is a good candidate for a branching campaign, since it may start, just prior to Khonsu II's death, allowing the player to decide who he/she wants to support. Alternatively, the campaign may take place in the pre-Great War or Reconstruction eras, following the ascention of Khonsu II, after the fall of his predecessor.

The Retrofit

-by Meganew-

This campaign would be based around an Arcadia serving as either a decommissioning facility or museum.

5 years have passed since the Shivans again vanished into obscurity. As a veteran pilot, you have been assigned to a very prestigious assignment in Ross 128: Serving as a historical pilot at the GTI Riviera Museum, the Arcadia replacement of the original Riviera destroyed by the Lucifer. As a historical pilot, it is your duty to fly some of the last remaining flyable Terran-Vasudan War fighters and bombers in existence, along with captured Shivan craft from the 1st and 2nd Great War. All is calm, until a sudden Shivan attack on the facility sends everyone into an uproar. The discovery of an apparent Ancient-Shivan battleground with several complete derelicts leads to a vital operation to capture the wrecks and restore them to operational service.

The plan succeeds, and the derelicts are restored to combat-worthy status. As a Shivan offensive begins in Ikeya, all decommissioned ships are restored to active duty and put into service, hopefully holding the line as more GTVA ships can be sortied to hold the blockade up. As the campaign continues, you gain access to more and more ships, including captured and repaired Shivan ships, repaired Ancient ships, and even 1st Great War Terran and Vasudan ships. The defence culminates in an opportunity to destroy the Shivans once and for all by destroying a new superjuggernaut apparently controlling the Shivans, but will it succeed?

This campaign would essentially give you, along with the standard FS2 ships and weapons, FS1 ships(Terran, Vasudan, and flyable Shivan, including the Angel, Hunter, and Gorgon from FSPort) along with that game's player-usable weapons, FS2 flyable Shivan ships and usable weapons, Ancient ships and weapons, and the Ancient capital ships.

Total Conversion ideas

Renegade Legion Total Conversion

-by Starlord-

I think it would be quite a good idea to preserve the universe of the Renegade Legion (one of the most potent and rich sci-fi universes I actually had the pleasure of witnessing). Unfortunately, since the demise of FASA, all that's left of the Renegade Legion material is a bunch of old non-updated web pages.

Provided a few MODs and tables, I believe the Renegade Legion will be a charming addition to the FreeSpace 2 library of TCs. Furthermore, the FRED editor will ensure the "preservation" of the universe (with the help, no doubt, of the last scattered Renegade fans).

The way I envision it, the story will take place just after the PC title "Renegade: The Battle for Jacob's Star" (the only space sim RL game revolving around characters and a plot) and could continue to the end of the war with the TOG. The presence of a mysterious race called the Hivers might also give the "unknown threat spark" FreeSpace addicts remember from the Shivans.

In short, I think that once several ongoing projects have been completed, this will definitely be worth it!