Difference between revisions of "Blue Planet: Age of Aquarius"

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[[File:BP-Banner.png|center|From our odyssey into Hell, we return with a gift...]]
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'''''Age of Aquarius''''' is the first campaign of the ''[[Blue Planet]]'' trilogy.
 +
 
==General Info==
 
==General Info==
  
Line 5: Line 9:
 
'''Missions:''' ''22''
 
'''Missions:''' ''22''
  
'''Mods included:'''
+
'''Features:'''
  
* A new race, with ships and beam sounds
+
*New music - 3 entirely new tracks with full tabling and synchronisation, plus further tracks that are event-triggered
* An additional Terran faction
+
*New ships - To reflect the next generation of GTVA technology. There is also a new race to discover along the way.
* New GTVA ships and weapons to reflect the next generation of technology
+
*Storyline-based action - Telling a unique story set within the Freespace universe, with its own characters, life-changing events, setting and themes
* Head ANIs
+
*Custom communication ani's - Giving new faces to Command, characters and ships
* 3 new music soundtracks and other event-triggered tracks
+
 
 +
'''Director's Cut Features'''
 +
*Full voice acting from a talented semipro cast
 +
*Brand new skyboxes by HerraTohtori
 +
*Wingman personas for Corey and Taylor
 +
*Nameplates for the 14th Battlegroup and other Terran ships
 +
*Overhauled missions, including balance tweaks, skip buttons for long dialogue sequences, and re-directed cutscenes
 +
*New and revamped effects and textures
 +
*New HTL vishnan models courtesy of the Ancient-Shivan War team
 +
*A brand new interface
 +
*Dozens of new techroom entries, including all warship turrets and new Intelligence entries with secrets of the Shivans and the post-Capella GTVA - as well as portions of 'The Rift' and 'Project Nagari', previews for War in Heaven
  
 
'''Status:''' ''Released''
 
'''Status:''' ''Released''
Line 17: Line 31:
 
'''Required:'''
 
'''Required:'''
  
* [[Lightspeed's Nebula Pack|Lightspeed's Nebulae]]
+
* FS 2 Open 3.6.10 INFERNO or later
* Media VPs
+
* Media VPs 3.6.10 (with Patch)
* FS Open 3.6.9 or later.
+
 
 +
'''Part One of the [[Blue Planet]] trilogy'''
  
 
==Description==
 
==Description==
Blue Planet is set eighteen years after the Capella Incident which marked the end of the Second Shivan Incursion. The focus driving Terran engineering has been the construction of the portal which would reconnect the Sol system with the rest of the GTVA. Upon its completion, probes were sent to scout the surrounding area and to test the stability of the portal. Imbued with confidence after several successful missions, GTVA Command has deployed the [[GTD Orestes|GTD ''Orestes'']], a state-of-the-art destroyer, and her complement of ships to establish contact with a long-isolated Earth and to reunite the [[Lost Generation (FS2)|Lost Generation]] with humanity's ancestral home.
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As the 14th Battlegroup, led by the [[GTD Orestes]], prepares to lead the GTVA's return to Sol, young pilot Samuel Bei finds himself once more under his estranged father's command. As the two Beis grapple with the open wounds of an old tragedy, the greatest journey any human being has ever undertaken opens before them: a sojourn across universes and beyond death itself, as the destiny of the human race and the secrets of Shiva hang in the balance.
  
The ''Orestes'' and her ships embark on an historical journey which is to have profound consequences for the future of the GTVA, Earth, and the entire human race.
+
As Samuel Bei, you will guide your elite task force through a harrowing journey - a desperate flight through a nightmare of burnt rock, cold fire, and horrifying visions, drawn inexorably onwards by the pull of your own fate. Fight exhilarating battles(including the legendary Forced Entry) alongside new Terran warships. Give up your humanity and your life to protect those you love in one of the most immersive, emotionally engaging FreeSpace stories ever told.
  
 
==Player Comments==
 
==Player Comments==
''The first part of Blue Planet, the only one released, is excellent to play and well worth the download and the time. If any criticism can be leveled at it, it is that it tries to compress too much story into too little campaign; but this is a minor quibble compared to the enjoyment of the end product.'' - [[User:Ngtm1r|Ngtm1r]] 04:15, 14 June 2008 (CDT)
+
''The first part of Blue Planet is excellent to play and well worth the download and the time. If any criticism can be leveled at it, it is that it tries to compress too much story into too little campaign; but this is a minor quibble compared to the enjoyment of the end product.'' - [[User:Ngtm1r|Ngtm1r]] 04:15, 14 June 2008 (CDT)
 +
 
  
 +
''Blue Planet could be simplified as a hardcore and more enjoyable version of the main FreeSpace 2 campaign. The Age of Aquarius campaign is arguably one of the hardest ever made for a FreeSpace 2 mod, but it is also probably one of the best. The infamous "[[Forced Entry]]" mission, in particular, has been known to frustrate players unable to complete it, and delight players who eventually do pass it. The same could be said for the mission "[[Keepers of Hell]]", albeit to a smaller extent. The plot twist at the end is one of the last things most players expect to come from the GTVA, and it pretty much sets an optimistic tone for ''War in Heaven''. Of special note is the custom music that Darius uses in Age of Aquarius, which helps to convey the mood of each and every mission.'' -- [[User:Androgeos Exeunt|<font color="#9966CC">Androgeos</font>]] [[User_talk:Androgeos_Exeunt|<font color="#40826D">Exeunt</font>]] 08:39, 14 March 2009 (UTC)
  
''Blue Planet could be simplified as a hardcore and more enjoyable version of the main FreeSpace 2 campaign. The Age of Aquarius campaign is arguably one of the hardest ever made for a FreeSpace 2 mod, but it is also probably one of the best. The infamous "Forced Entry" mission, in particular, has been known to frustrate players unable to complete it, and delight players who eventually do pass it. The same could be said for the mission "Keepers of Hell", albeit to a smaller extent. The plot twist at the end is one of the last things most players expect to come from the GTVA, and it pretty much sets an optimistic tone for ''War in Heaven''. Of special note is the custom music that Darius uses in ''Age of Aquarius'', which helps to convey the mood of each and every mission.'' -- [[User:Androgeos Exeunt|Androgeos Exeunt]] 08:39, 14 March 2009 (UTC)
 
  
''Transcend and Windmills showcased Freespace's ability to tell compelling stories in non-traditional genres, but, in my opinion, Blue Planet is the first real step forward in the traditional military-space-opera style of Freespace storytelling since Derelict. By incorporating cinematics, music, and character into an adventurous and dramatic plotline, Blue Planet achieves a level of cinematic intensity that makes most other campaigns feel stodgy and traditional. It has its flaws - seat-of-the-pants plotting and some grandiose heroic dialogue - but these are a consequences of its ambition, not its failings. In my opinion, it stands alongside Transcend as the best Freespace campaign in existence, and while its story is more straightforward, it never sacrifices gameplay in the way that Transcend often must. [[User:General Battuta|General Battuta]] 04:24, 10 June 2009 (UTC)
+
''Blue Planet has an intangible, ethereal atmosphere of mystery and grace that somehow emerges from the combination of music, gorgeous new ship designs, and beautiful cinematics. Transcend and Windmills showcased Freespace's ability to tell compelling stories in non-traditional genres, but, in my opinion, Blue Planet is the first real step forward in the traditional military-space-opera style of Freespace storytelling since Derelict. By incorporating cinematics, music, and character into an adventurous and dramatic plotline, Blue Planet achieves a level of cinematic intensity that makes most other campaigns feel stodgy and traditional. It has its flaws - seat-of-the-pants plotting and some grandiose heroic dialogue - but these are a consequences of its ambition, not its failings. In my opinion, it stands alongside Transcend as the best Freespace campaign in existence, and while its story and characters are more straightforward, it never sacrifices gameplay in the way that Transcend often must.'' -- [[User:General Battuta|General Battuta]] 04:24, 10 June 2009 (UTC)
  
 
==Related Links==
 
==Related Links==
*[http://www.freespacemods.net/download.php?view.42 Download | FreeSpaceMods.net]
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*[http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=68213.0 Release thread | Hard-Light Productions.net]
*[http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,49876.0.html Release thread | Hard-Light Productions.net]
+
*[[Blue Planet: Age of Aquarius Campaign Walkthrough]]
 +
*[http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=89944469B0FCEEC0 Playthrough videos by SuperCoolAl]
  
 
[[Category: User-made Campaigns]]
 
[[Category: User-made Campaigns]]
 
[[Category: Blue Planet]]
 
[[Category: Blue Planet]]

Latest revision as of 22:15, 5 May 2011

From our odyssey into Hell, we return with a gift...

Age of Aquarius is the first campaign of the Blue Planet trilogy.

General Info

Author: Darius

Missions: 22

Features:

  • New music - 3 entirely new tracks with full tabling and synchronisation, plus further tracks that are event-triggered
  • New ships - To reflect the next generation of GTVA technology. There is also a new race to discover along the way.
  • Storyline-based action - Telling a unique story set within the Freespace universe, with its own characters, life-changing events, setting and themes
  • Custom communication ani's - Giving new faces to Command, characters and ships

Director's Cut Features

  • Full voice acting from a talented semipro cast
  • Brand new skyboxes by HerraTohtori
  • Wingman personas for Corey and Taylor
  • Nameplates for the 14th Battlegroup and other Terran ships
  • Overhauled missions, including balance tweaks, skip buttons for long dialogue sequences, and re-directed cutscenes
  • New and revamped effects and textures
  • New HTL vishnan models courtesy of the Ancient-Shivan War team
  • A brand new interface
  • Dozens of new techroom entries, including all warship turrets and new Intelligence entries with secrets of the Shivans and the post-Capella GTVA - as well as portions of 'The Rift' and 'Project Nagari', previews for War in Heaven

Status: Released

Required:

  • FS 2 Open 3.6.10 INFERNO or later
  • Media VPs 3.6.10 (with Patch)

Part One of the Blue Planet trilogy

Description

As the 14th Battlegroup, led by the GTD Orestes, prepares to lead the GTVA's return to Sol, young pilot Samuel Bei finds himself once more under his estranged father's command. As the two Beis grapple with the open wounds of an old tragedy, the greatest journey any human being has ever undertaken opens before them: a sojourn across universes and beyond death itself, as the destiny of the human race and the secrets of Shiva hang in the balance.

As Samuel Bei, you will guide your elite task force through a harrowing journey - a desperate flight through a nightmare of burnt rock, cold fire, and horrifying visions, drawn inexorably onwards by the pull of your own fate. Fight exhilarating battles(including the legendary Forced Entry) alongside new Terran warships. Give up your humanity and your life to protect those you love in one of the most immersive, emotionally engaging FreeSpace stories ever told.

Player Comments

The first part of Blue Planet is excellent to play and well worth the download and the time. If any criticism can be leveled at it, it is that it tries to compress too much story into too little campaign; but this is a minor quibble compared to the enjoyment of the end product. - Ngtm1r 04:15, 14 June 2008 (CDT)


Blue Planet could be simplified as a hardcore and more enjoyable version of the main FreeSpace 2 campaign. The Age of Aquarius campaign is arguably one of the hardest ever made for a FreeSpace 2 mod, but it is also probably one of the best. The infamous "Forced Entry" mission, in particular, has been known to frustrate players unable to complete it, and delight players who eventually do pass it. The same could be said for the mission "Keepers of Hell", albeit to a smaller extent. The plot twist at the end is one of the last things most players expect to come from the GTVA, and it pretty much sets an optimistic tone for War in Heaven. Of special note is the custom music that Darius uses in Age of Aquarius, which helps to convey the mood of each and every mission. -- Androgeos Exeunt 08:39, 14 March 2009 (UTC)


Blue Planet has an intangible, ethereal atmosphere of mystery and grace that somehow emerges from the combination of music, gorgeous new ship designs, and beautiful cinematics. Transcend and Windmills showcased Freespace's ability to tell compelling stories in non-traditional genres, but, in my opinion, Blue Planet is the first real step forward in the traditional military-space-opera style of Freespace storytelling since Derelict. By incorporating cinematics, music, and character into an adventurous and dramatic plotline, Blue Planet achieves a level of cinematic intensity that makes most other campaigns feel stodgy and traditional. It has its flaws - seat-of-the-pants plotting and some grandiose heroic dialogue - but these are a consequences of its ambition, not its failings. In my opinion, it stands alongside Transcend as the best Freespace campaign in existence, and while its story and characters are more straightforward, it never sacrifices gameplay in the way that Transcend often must. -- General Battuta 04:24, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

Related Links