Into the Halls of Valhalla

General

In development since: 2002
Completion: 28-10-2006??
Last update: 25-03-2010
Staff:

• TopAce: Project Leader, Plot editing, FREDder, tabler
• Thor: Ex-project leader
• Lady Rose (Miburo): Ex-adviser, ex-FREDder
• Pren: Plot writing
• Admiral Nelson: Grammar checker
• Dragon: Hi-poly Raynor and textures

Estimated time of completion: Ready
Mods included:

• GTF Apollo
• GTC Olympus (as PRC Galleon)
• GTI Bretonia
• GTD Raynor (as GTD Valhalla)

Description

The player's character is Commander Wesley McCrae, who gets reassigned to the Tania Australis system after being caught on espionage. McCrae gets ace wingmen, who are also banished from the core GTVA worlds. Initially, they face off a pirate organization, but it soon turns out that the GTVA faces off three enemies at once, all of them are also engaging each other.

The backstory of ITHOV is explained in Police Action (not to be confused with ngtmr1's campaign), a four-mission-long minicampaign that is the official "demo" for the main campaign.

Into the Halls of Valhalla requires FreeSpace Open. The missions of the second release were tested with the official 3.6.9. build. Older builds might also be able to run ITHOV, but they might not be stable. It is recommended that players use 3.6.9. to play the campaign.

Characters

McCrae, Wesley
Commander (Alpha 1)

Commander McCrae is a veteran of the Second Great War, pulling through the worst of the Shivan invasion. He barely witnessed the destruction of the GTVA Colossus when he had to run for his life when the Capella sun went supernova. Wherever he walks, trouble happens. Perhaps this trait made him into a pure survivor... and an outstanding pilot.

After the war, McCrae was granted the rank of commander, and retained his position as leader of the 70th Blue Lions elite squadron until an unfortunate incident cost him the life of his best friend and most trusted wingmate, Max, as well as that of a Vasudan representative who the Lions had to defend. When McCrae became suspicious and started his quest to find out about Operation Valhalla, he was caught and exiled to Tania Australis—along with his Vasudan aide, Yssym.

He is the protagonist, and leader of the 77th Blades multipurpose squadron.

McNamara, Mike
Lieutenant (Alpha 2)

Mike McNamara had a rough and difficult childhood. He was raised by a dictatorial father, who was the head of a refueling business in Deneb. During his adolescence, Mike was constantly reminded of wealth and goal being above everything, including personal safety and health. His mother was not within reach very often (not if as if she wanted to give some emotional support). In the first few months of the NTF Rebellion, the family made a contract with the Galactic Terran-Vasudan Alliance. The family business, already close to bankruptcy, came under rebel attack. Mike McNamara's whole family was killed in the attack, and their refueling station destroyed. He joined the GTVA as a fighter pilot, although he did not want to take revenge on the NTF.

McNamara is known for his drinking habits, as well as his incalculable behavior. After a few drinks, he is prone to sudden bursts of aggression. He knows this, and does not intend to do anything about it, except for practicing self-irony. Often the trouble he gets into exceeds him. The results are usually bruises or broken bones. It is this habit that made him exiled in the first place. In one of his cantina fiascos, he picked a quarrel with his superior. The result is a broken limb and a one-way ticket to the most distant corner of the galaxy. He was a victim of the "Wrong Place, Wrong Person" scenario.

As a pilot, Mike is an ace with exceptional skill. During the NTF rebellion and the Shivan invasion, he was assigned to a number of stations and fought against the NTF very zealously. He was awarded the Medal of Honor five times. Yet he is underambitious and utterly apathetic about the future—and his life.

Yssym (Nicknamed Simmy or Sammy)
Lieutenant (Alpha 3)

A Vasudan veteran of the two Great Wars, Yssym is the oldest pilot in the Vasudan Navy. He witnessed the destruction of his homeworld and swore to take vengeance on the Shivans for that. However, he did not participate in the final assault on the Lucifer. Despite that now he knows what became of those who participated in the assault, he regrets not being able to help. His most remembered feat was destroying an NTF Fenris cruiser with primaries only.

He views Terran civilization with contempt, yet he is interested in it to some extent. During his long life, he studied human history like most unprofessional historians, but he still claims to not understand humans.

Near the end of the Second Great War, Yssym ignored an order to retreat and saved one of his wingmen from certain death. He was awarded the Vasudan Order medallion for this. When Wesley McCrae started to look into the mystery of Operation Valhalla, Yssym was there to help him. Being caught, Yssym was demoted to lieutenant and they both were exiled to Tania Australis.

Aldiss, Adrian
Captain (Alpha 4)

Not much is known about Captain Adrian Aldiss, which is attributed to his long career for the SOC. Rumors about him are manifold. Even the position he fulfilled at the SOC is unknown. If something explodes, catches fire, or can be fired, Aldiss is an expert at it. Some consider him a pyromaniac, but it is known from his—incomplete and sketchy—file that he is medically sane. He is most likely a demolitionist and a weapons expert.

Aldiss is the antithesis of Mike McNamara in one regard: ambition. Aldiss is overambitious beyond description. It is in his character that he is unaware of his limitations, and tries to achieve positions he is incapable to fulfill. If he fails, there is always a subordinate to assume the role of a scapegoat, allowing Aldiss to stay in charge.

Despite all this, Aldiss is a remarkable pilot and a valuable ally in a dogfight. He has an unlimited amount of tricks up in his sleeve that has presumably saved a number of lives.

Yamoto
Captain (GTCv Rapier)

Captain Yamoto is the captain of the GTCv Rapier, the first Deimos corvette ever built. His love for his ship is inexplicable. Captain Yamoto is a very serious man, which is shown in his condemnation for small talk. As a seasoned ship captain, Yamoto immersed into life in the military, and would give anything for it. He is endlessly loyal, willing to participate in every battle that threatens the stability of the GTVA. He is not a strategic genius, however.

Lindres
General (Tau Sigma and Tania Australis Outposts)

There is little doubt that General Lindres is the least formal general one has encountered during the few decades of the GTVA. He is in charge of two outposts, and manage them very competently and efficiently. He is currently preoccupied by the situation at Tania Australis and does everything that is within his power to ameliorate affairs. He is a master of over- and understatement, as well as sarcasm, figures of speech he sometimes use in briefings.

Now that he is farthest away from the reaches of bureaucracy, Lindres feels deliberated.

Second release

On 24th August 2008, Into the Halls of Valhalla was re-released. There have been countless minor changes to the first one. Spellchecking is more thorough and accurate. Dialogs are refined even further, which affects character development and helps the story flow more easily and comprehensively. Consistency was a high priority during making the second release. No distracting contradictions are to be expected.

The second release was optimized for FreeSpace Open 3.6.9. Older builds will not be able to run ITHOV anymore.

The most recent 22 March 2009 update fixed a rather major bug in the mission "The End of Tania Australis". If you encounter a problem with this particular mission, please check if you have the latest update.

Third release

The third release makes use of the starfield.pof in all missions. A handful of minor table alterations were made as well. This is the most up-to-date version, hosted at the Mod Database.

Related Links

External links in bold are under control of the campaign's caretaker. Upgrades and news can be found here.

Websites

• ModDB page

Downloads

• Campaign download | FreeSpaceMods.net (This is an older version. There may be a bug in the mission "The End of Tania Australis".)
• Police Action prelude campaign, last update: 23 August 2008 | Penguinbomb.com