The Lucifer invincibility misconception
A common misconception among FreeSpace fans is that the SD Lucifer, the Shivan command ship leading the fleets that invaded GTA and PVE space during the Great War, is virtually invincible in all combat environments except for subspace, where its shields are not operational and subspace tracking technology obtained from research on Ancient artifacts effectively allowed a few Terran and Vasudan wings to bring this vessel down. Said misconception has sparked many ideas among the fans and consolidated over time, but claims from some of the game creators have provided new clues on the actual invincibility of this vessel.
In fact, old posts on the Volition Watch website clarified that the Lucifer was indeed impervious to FS1 era weaponry, but more powerful weaponry (and by this Volition didn't necessarily imply beam weapons) would have been able to penetrate its shields and therefore make the destruction of the vessel possible in environments other than subspace, where shields don't work. The Volition Watch website is no longer browsable but key posts from veteran community members who participated to these discussions can still be found on the Hard-Light Productions forums (e.g., 1, 2, 3) and provide several details on how the information was given, as well as its implications.
Due to this concept being provided by FS1 game developers after the release of the game, and no requirement for it to be used in any tangible way in FS2, the concept itself remained stagnant even if it has all grounds to be considered canon for the FreeSpace universe. This has contributed to to consolidate the misconception by which the Lucifer would be truly invincible in all environments except for subspace, with some major implications on the FreeSpace plot itself and major influence on many fanmade campaigns.
Lucifers in FS2 environment
The Lucifer and the Ancients
One of the main consequences of this invincibility misconception is the assumption by which the Lucifer pretty much single handedly vanquished the Ancient empire and bombarded planets such as the Ancients' homeworld with minimal resistance during the war between the Ancients and the Shivans that occurred eight millennia prior to FreeSpace. No details on the matter are known, but considering that canonically speaking, Ancient technology was more advanced than that of the Terrans and Vasudans at the time of FS1, especially in the field of subspace, Ancient weaponry would have likely met the "strong enough to penetrate the Lucifer's shields" status. The Ancients' fear of shielding technology was likely a reference to the general characteristic of shield-equipped Shivan craft, and not a precise reference to the Lucifer's shields.
The Deneb III campaign
At least one fanmade campaign has
