| FreeSpace 2 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Volition |
| Publisher(s) | Interplay Entertainment |
| Designer(s) | Dave Baranec Jason Scott Adam Pletcher |
| Programmer(s) | Dave Baranec |
| Artist(s) | Jasen Whiteside |
| Writer(s) | Jason Scott Mike Breault |
| Composer(s) | Dan Wentz Scott Lee |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Space combat simulator |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
FreeSpace 2 is a 1999 space combat simulation computer game developed by Volition 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, but the game became a commercial failure, and was described by certain critics as one of 1999's most unfairly overlooked titles.
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.[4] 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.
- ^ "The Games of 1999 ~ Europe". Archived from the original on February 10, 2001. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
- ^ "FreeSpace 2 Ships to Retail" (Press release). Interplay Entertainment. October 1, 1999. Archived from the original on October 18, 2000. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
- ^ "Archives October 1999: 21/10/99". Games Market. October 21, 1999. Archived from the original on May 21, 2002. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ^ "Getting started". FreeSpace Wiki. Retrieved 2012-03-06.