Shadows of the Great War

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.

Shadows of the Great War or SotGW is the brand name given to the first release of Series Resurrecta, and includes two campaigns set right after the end of the Great War. The 2020 release effectively replaced an older concept for SotGW, which was expected to be an INFASA unofficial mod by author Mobius. Two campaigns are featured in Shadows of the Great War: Gehenna's Gate [GehG] and The Spirit of Ptah [TSoP].

General Info

Released: October 16th, 2020
Mission Designer: Mobius
Modpack Designer: Nyctaeus
Contributions: SerRes Team
Number of missions: 14
Mods included: a FS1-era package based on INFASA and the FSPort

Background

SerRes Team member Nyctaeus proposed to recycle the old and defunct concept of SotGW and turn it into the brand name for the first release of Series Resurrecta, featuring two campaigns set after the Great War. Project leader Mobius agreed to that so Shadows of the Great War officially became the name tied to the first release of SR.

During the process of conversion from an INFASA mod to a FSPort mod, the old set of fictions for one of the campaigns was recovered even though a new set was essentially complete. It was decided to convert the former into a number of species.tbl entries, unlocked progressively during the campaign.

Campaigns

Shadows of the Great War features two campaigns set in the early stages of the Reconstruction Era.

Gehenna's Gate [GehG]

The Great War is formally over, but battles are still taking place. The Lucifer's been destroyed and contact with Sol has been severed. However, remnants of the Shivan armada are still present in Terran and Vasudan systems, and even though both species faced tough challenges as their respective homeworlds have been either annihilated or cut off, they must regroup and finally secure all systems from the Shivan threat. At first, the Shivans seem disoriented and lacking the coordination they had when the Lucifer was around, leading their advance, but can we be certain that no alternate source of command for the Shivans exists?

Campaign Walkthrough
Ship Database
Squadrons

The Spirit of Ptah [TSoP]

Near the end of 2336, with the Shivan threat now a memory and the will to reconstruct and rebuild being the primary goal for both the Terrans and Vasudans, alarming developments emerge from Vasudan systems, where the Hammer of Light seems to have regained the momentum they lost following the destruction of the Lucifer. The fanatics that once paved the way to the Shivans were gradually disappearing, as their prophecies and scrolls were progressively being disproven. Were they? What lies behind the apparent rebirth of the Hammer of Light, and how can the PVE and GTA cope with it?

Campaign Walkthrough
Ship Database
Squadrons

Music

Many exclusive tracks are featured in Shadows of the Great War, composed over the years by professional authors. Some of the tracks date back to the earliest development phases, while others have been composed only a few months prior to release, as SerRes as an independent mod was being shaped. The full credits list for these tracks follows:

• Bloodstalker: Gate to Hell and The Realm of Aeolus.
• Daddy Warhol / Electric Trojan: full FreeSpace-style soundtrack named The Midnight Sun, tabled by Mobius.
• Georgios Savvinidis: Ally Unknown, Dead Silence, Enemy Unknown, Engines Of War, Martyr Tragedy, Olistolith, Something wicked this way comes, Tense Briefing, The Calm Before the Storm (original - mainhall), The Calm Before the Storm, Universe Unknown.
• Rich Douglas: full FreeSpace-style soundtrack named Raise Thy Sword, tabled by Nyctaeus. Abandon Hope, Mandragora and the three Stories from a Perturbed Cosmos fiction tracks.

Related Links

Official SerRes - Shadows of the Great War release thread | Hard-Light Productions
Official SerRes Profile | ModDB

• Release Announcement | ModDB