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''FreeSpace 2'' is a 1999 space combat simulation computer game developed by Volition, Inc. as the sequel to ''Descent: FreeSpace – The Great War''. It was completed ahead of schedule in less than a year, and released to very positive reviews. Engrossing gameplay, excellent sound effects in addition to the inclusion of vocal talent such as Robert Loggia and Ronny Cox led several gaming sites to proclaim it as the definitive simulation game for 1999. The game continues on the story from ''Descent: FreeSpace'', once again thrusting the player into the role of a pilot fighting against the mysterious aliens, the Shivans. While defending the human race and its alien Vasudan allies, the player also gets involved in putting down a rebellion. The game features large numbers of fighters alongside gigantic capital ships in a battlefield fraught with beams, shells and missiles in detailed star systems and nebulae. Free multiplayer games were available via Parallax Online which also ranked players by their statistics. A persistent galaxy was also available as ''SquadWar'' for players to fight with each other over territories. In 2002, Volition released the source code for the game engine under a non-commercial license. This code became the core of the ''FreeSpace 2 Source Code Project'', which continuously improves it and enables new features. In cooperation with the ''FreeSpace Upgrade Project'' the game's graphics are kept up to date.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title = Getting started )〕 The improved game engine is also used by various mod projects, for example ''The Babylon Project'' and ''Diaspora'' which are based on the science fiction series ''Babylon 5'' and ''Battlestar Galactica'' respectively. ==Gameplay== ''FreeSpace 2''s gameplay involves the player piloting a starfighter using mounted weapons to destroy enemy starfighters, performing reconnaissance behind enemy lines, or escorting other starships.〔〔 Its flight model is based on a looser interpretation of space physics instead of realistic Newtonian physics.〔 Hence, the ships are weightless and feel more responsive, though they require constant application of engine power to move.〔 〕 The result is that the game plays more like a "WWII dogfight simulator" unaffected by gravity.〔 Although joysticks are the recommended controller for this game, the mouse is a viable alternative.〔 〕 Single player mode is executed in the form of a campaign, which follows a story as a linear sequence of missions are executed. The pre-mission briefing stage is where the player gets information on the background and objectives, and selects the ship and weapons.〔 The choices of ships and weapons increase as the player proceeds further along the campaign. Certain missions, however, will dictate certain ships and weapons to be used. Weapons can be classified into primary weapons and secondary weapons.〔 Primary weapons are kinetic and energy weapons, while missiles and torpedoes are classified as secondary weapons. Each weapon has its own specifications such as its rate of fire. They also inflict different damages on hulls (body of the ships) or shields (the protective energy fields surrounding the ships), or possess special effects such as shutting down specific electronic systems or propulsion. The player flies around in a fighter with a first-person, in-cockpit view with a fully customizable fixed head-up display (HUD) as the visual interface.〔〔 The HUD displays video communications and relevant data on the ship's status and performance, weapons, objectives, and targets. It can also warn players from which direction missiles are locking onto them from, thus becoming an aide for launching countermeasures or taking evasive maneuvers.〔 Players have to maneuver into position and shoot through both shields and hull to destroy enemy ships.〔 While hull damage is unrecoverable, shields recharge over time. With the game supporting force feedback technology, joystick players will find their controllers vibrating or putting up resistance when they engage the afterburners or collide with objects.〔 Similarly, certain events, such as engaging afterburners and firing powerful weapons, will shake the screen as a form of visual feedback.〔 ''FreeSpace 2'' has many helpful features available. The player can target enemies attacking a protected objective or match speeds with them. Power can be shunted between shields, engines, and weapons, thereby allowing faster recharge of shields, afterburners, and weapons at the expense of other subsystems. These features can be ignored without any detrimental effects on gameplay.〔〔 The mission parameters are not rigidly fixed, as there is an allowance for the failures of some primary objectives.〔 When the mission is concluded, a post-mission briefing will be conducted to discuss the mission, and the performance of the player, before the next mission can be taken on. ''FreeSpace 2'' allows multiplayer games to be played across a local area network (LAN) or over the Internet via the free services provided by Parallax Online (PXO).〔 The player can communicate with the other network players vocally through ''FreeSpace 2''s own voice chat capability.〔 LAN play allows the players to play the standard player versus player modes such as deathmatch, or cooperate to complete multiplayer missions. They can even join in games which are already underway.〔 The same can be done over PXO but with the added incentive of having the players' statistics of kills and deaths being tracked on a ladder (ranking) system.〔 Players can also form up or join squadrons in ''SquadWar'', an online persistent galaxy hosted by Volition on PXO, where squadrons fight each other for territories. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「FreeSpace 2」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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