I've always loved freelancer. It was first introduced to me many years back. Since then I've tried to play through it numerous times over the years. I've never quite finished it as I only ever played it at LANs (never owned a copy of the game myself).
I recently remembered this game and decided to finally buy it myself. I now plan to finish single player and thoroughly enjoy that first.
I came across the massive amounts of mods freelancer has. The Discovery mod stood out the most and I would really like to play that online when I finish the single player game.
Heres where you all come in - I'm a little overwhelmed when I try and read about it on sources such as the discovery wiki. The main reason discovery took my interest was flying big capital ships, but I didnt quite understand the licenses and RP rules about it. Thats not just it either. There are other things too - maybe stupid things like - do i need to download all the versions of discovery to have access to all discovery's content? (89mb seems like a small download for all the content it has) How does joining factions work on discovery, and what are there pros and cons of joining one?
I've looked for beginner guides or whatnot for starting in discovery, but I just cant seem to find anything. From installing the mod to my first days in discovery space is there anyone that can point me in the right direction or offer some beginner tips?
1. If you want to fly a Battleship or equal, right now, there are no licencing things, you just need the money.
RP wise, as a newcomer it may be a little bit hard RPing a BS, but you will get to it
2. If you want to join a faction, it gets more complicated:
2.1 Select your faction : You want to join an official faction, each of them has their own policies, rules and diplomacy, try to join the one, which you think it would give you the most fun
2.2 Recruitment: Each official faction has a recruitment page here on the forums, finding it is no problem at all.
In all cases ( I think ) it is described what you need to do in order to apply
2.3 Wait: Wait untill you are accepted or rejected; don't get demoralised, if you don't make it in your first run, try again later, when you think you improved your abilities and what is needed to join the faction
2.4 Pro and contras: I can't tell you the pro and contra, really, everyone has an own opinion of that, though I really suggest joining a faction, they will make your way into Freelancer MP more easy
3. There is a guide for the installation of the discovery mod posted by the almighty admin 'Cannon' HERE
Welcome aboard. It's always nice to have a new player with some fresh enthusiasm join us!
Versions of the Discovery mod:
No, all you need is the latest version, v4.85. The first time you run the mod, you will need to install a small update - which is automated - but that's it.
About Factions:
- There are both Official and Unofficial Factions.
- Typically, Official Factions represent the NPC factions of the orginial Freelancer game... with a few extras. Not every NPC faction has an Official Faction to represent it. Most official factions have been around for quite a while and have established a reputation for themselves. They are often influential in local in-roleplay politics.
- Unofficial Factions are usually (but not always) smaller and newer than Official Factions. Typically, they will either be building themselves up to applying to become an Official Faction; or they may choose to explore certain roleplay in a different style to vanilla freelancer lore.
- From my perspective, Official Factions can be characterised by the double-edged sword of responsibilities and priveleges, whereas Unofficial Factions have a degree of freedom.
Joining Factions:
- Each Official Faction has a subforum dedicated for their personal use. From the main forum menu, Discovery Roleplaying -> Factions -> select area -> select faction.
- Each Official Faction has a recruitment thread within the subforum. Usually, you will have to post in that thread in-character to demonstrate your roleplaying abilities. The style varies between factions; some like you to fill out a form or questionnaire, whereas others choose more free-form discussion. I recommend reading successful applications to see what works, and what does not.
- Unofficial Factions do not have dedicated subforums or recruiting forms. The best way to join is to send a Personal Message over the forums to the faction leader. Take a look through Discovery Roleplaying -> Factions -> Other Factions and Groups, to find any information pages they might have posted.
Pros and Cons of being in a faction.
Pros:
- Factions will usually help you equip your faction ship.
- Flying with buddies is always nice, since space can get lonely when seeing only NPCs!
- They can provide help when you're in trouble, and advice when you've got questions.
Cons:
- They may restrict what ship you can fly depending on your rank.
- You will have to conform to certain roleplay elements which personify the faction. If you want to join the faction, then you are probably happy to do this.
I'm sure there may be others, but none spring to mind right away.
Flying Capital Ships:
- Big ships, from destroyers to battleships, require a "Guard ID" from the respective faction. They are a variation on that NPC Faction's standard ID.
- Guard IDs can only be acquired when you are extremely friendly to the NPC faction. This can be achieved by completing many, many missions for them.
- Not every faction has a Guard ID. Only factions which have a Guard System have a Guard ID.
- Capital Ships themselves are expensive to buy an equip - several orders of magnitude above a fighter.
... I've run out of steam for the moment.
Check out this video, even if that particular mining location has since been de-activated. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBtSR4u5P6w
Thank you both soo much for the information, it helps quite a bit!
One other thing along that goes along with factions - I kind of like the idea of being a lone merc, no loyalties - a complete space rambler so to speak. Is that kind of character even viable, or would it just be a hinderance to myself?
I guess I have early visions of being completely independent and taking contracts from other players, ranging from things like - escort, bounty hunting, support for large scale battles, espionage, etc.
I think there is no problem with being a mercenary/freelancer.
All points you stated are things lots of people do on this server.
A hinderence, no, I don't think so, as long as it is fun for you it's no hinderence. And since you can have more
than 1 character ( 5 per account ) you can make your extra money with a trader or miner account.
Mercenaries, freelancers cannot use capital ships or even liners. So you can be independent, but not in a battleship. Or have your battleship, but not be independent.
New players in capital vessels also tend to be frowned upon.
Fair warning. Someone else can hash that out if they choose.
Mind that capital ship requires a lot of skill and understanding in the Mod to be flown well and RPed well. Mainly because you have more firepower then others and there are more restrictions on that kind of ships. I would not mention that you need to mine/trade at least a week or so to get one if you are experienced. May be a month for new player or so. I would suggest you to understand the rules first and to try out faction that suits you, learn the basics first, joining somekind of trading/mining/pirating/military faction it will safe you a lot time.
(10-09-2013, 10:51 AM)Knjaz Wrote: Official faction players that are often accused of elitism, never deploy them and have those weird, immersion killing "fair fight/dueling" suicidal hobbies. (yes, i've seen enough of those lolduels, where house military with overwhelming force on the field willingly loses a pilot in a duel. ffs.)
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