Freelancer. Any good? and what problems are there with it?

[BoomAM]

Hi,
Im thinking of buying Freelancer to play over easter. And was wondering:-

1) Is it any good?
2) Multiplayer, is this good as well, as it`ll probably be the first game i try to use over my new ADSL connection(the days of 56k and 5kb/s are gone).
3) Would i be able to run it at 1280x1024@max details smoothly(ie, over 40fps). See sig for specs.
4) What problems are there with the game. Ive heard that theres a problem with the menu`s and Cat3.1, using 3.2 however fixes it. Does this happen with every system or not? Cos cat3.2 makes C&C Generals go jerky.

Thanks in advance guys/gals

 

[naddicott]

As for #1 - do a forum search (this one and OffTopic) for keyword "Freelancer" - bunch of AT opinions already expressed. I liked it, but others have some valid complaints.

2-4. No idea. I wouldn't be surprised if you can pull off the max resolution. I hear the game runs very well on systems much worse than yours.

 

[Malladine]

Well I experienced serious memory leaks, causing constant hard locks within an hour of play time. Usually through jump gates etc.

The game is fun in parts - the cut scenes are cool and the plot is interesting and full of twists - but if you're hoping for a deep economy, you'll be disappointed. It's basically a FPS from a spaceship with superbly designed controls to meet the fast action.

In the end, the constant crashing beat down my enthusiasm for this game. Although it seems relatively few people experience it...

My specs:

Athlon slot A 800mhz
640mb PC133 ram
Radeon 7000 w/32mb ddr

It ran perfectly at default settings. Oh and that's another thing: it's the most graphically rich space sim I've ever played. The sound rocks too.

One more thing: if you do buy it, remember you can escape out of the cut scene conversation intros...

 

[Superself]

Get the demo and try it out.

I find that it is lacking in gameplay and they certainly missed a huge opportunity here. Makes me wonder what the hell they spent all this time in development doing.

rgds

 

[sandorski]

I like it, but the economic model is kinda simplistic. There are a number of mods for it, but I haven't tried any yet(waiting for a realistic economy mod). No crashes or bugs that I've experienced. Great way to burn time IMO.

 

[CrowDog]

I think the game is too repetitive. Everything basicly looks the same. You can get new weapons and different ships but the differences arent enough to excite me. Everyone you talk to in bars says the same things. Whats there is great dont get me wrong...I had fun with the game for the first 4-5 days of heavy play........but after I realized my main goal was to get bigger better ships that really didnt change the gameplay much...it got old.

 

[Nohr]

I can run the game with maxed settings at 1600x1200 with no major problems, top system in my sig.

Multiplayer is pretty fun for a while, but then it starts getting repetitive. Especially once you get one of the best ships and there's nothing better to strive for.

 

[clicknext]

There is a problem some people including me experience that requires you to remove all your mp3 codecs and replace it with microsoft's codec. It's pretty stupid.

 

[bunker]

Using Cat 3.1 you have to turn down the hardware acceleration slider under the troubleshooting tab one notch or it gets excruciatingly choppy in onscreen menus.

 

[Bacinator]

Check the demo. You can get it at fileplanet.
I didn't like it. I got a 9500 pro, and like someone mentioned, certain screens were all crappy and choppy, and not because of the card.
And the options on planets, and talking to people is simplistic and extremely repetitious.

I'll pass on it, and wait for Star Wars Galaxies. If I "NEEDED" a MMORPG Sci-Fi fix, I'd play Earth & Beyond. Good solid game, also has a demo.

 

[bunker]

Originally posted by: Bacinator
Check the demo. You can get it at fileplanet.
I didn't like it. I got a 9500 pro, and like someone mentioned, certain screens were all crappy and choppy, and not because of the card.
And the options on planets, and talking to people is simplistic and extremely repetitious.

I'll pass on it, and wait for Star Wars Galaxies. If I "NEEDED" a MMORPG Sci-Fi fix, I'd play Earth & Beyond. Good solid game, also has a demo.

Yes it was because of the card. I own the game and that is a know problem with the radeon 9xxx series. You have to turn down the hardware acceleration to fix it.

 

[clicknext]

Originally posted by: bunker

Originally posted by: Bacinator
Check the demo. You can get it at fileplanet.
I didn't like it. I got a 9500 pro, and like someone mentioned, certain screens were all crappy and choppy, and not because of the card.
And the options on planets, and talking to people is simplistic and extremely repetitious.

I'll pass on it, and wait for Star Wars Galaxies. If I "NEEDED" a MMORPG Sci-Fi fix, I'd play Earth & Beyond. Good solid game, also has a demo.

Yes it was because of the card. I own the game and that is a know problem with the radeon 9xxx series. You have to turn down the hardware acceleration to fix it.

I've got a Radeon9100 with Cat3.2 drivers, and I don't have that problem.

At first I didn't really like that game, but after doing some space battles and getting into the story a little, I think I'm somewhat addicted.

 

[Atlantean]

I just got it on Friday and I really like it. The game is pretty fun, I have logged 10 hours in since Friday. There are some parts that are pretty lame I got sick of doing missions to find out what the artifact is, but oh well.

 

[bunker]

Originally posted by: clicknext

Originally posted by: bunker

Originally posted by: Bacinator
Check the demo. You can get it at fileplanet.
I didn't like it. I got a 9500 pro, and like someone mentioned, certain screens were all crappy and choppy, and not because of the card.
And the options on planets, and talking to people is simplistic and extremely repetitious.

I'll pass on it, and wait for Star Wars Galaxies. If I "NEEDED" a MMORPG Sci-Fi fix, I'd play Earth & Beyond. Good solid game, also has a demo.

Yes it was because of the card. I own the game and that is a know problem with the radeon 9xxx series. You have to turn down the hardware acceleration to fix it.

I've got a Radeon9100 with Cat3.2 drivers, and I don't have that problem.

At first I didn't really like that game, but after doing some space battles and getting into the story a little, I think I'm somewhat addicted.

Yeah, the 3.2 drivers fixed the problem. The original poster said he had a problem with C&C Generals with 3.2 so I gave him a head's up on 3.1

 

[NicColt]

it took me 35 minutes to do a run and at the end of it go a stinking 20 credits for it. Where is X2 when you need it.

 

[Bacinator]

Originally posted by: bunker

Originally posted by: Bacinator
Check the demo. You can get it at fileplanet.
I didn't like it. I got a 9500 pro, and like someone mentioned, certain screens were all crappy and choppy, and not because of the card.
And the options on planets, and talking to people is simplistic and extremely repetitious.

I'll pass on it, and wait for Star Wars Galaxies. If I "NEEDED" a MMORPG Sci-Fi fix, I'd play Earth & Beyond. Good solid game, also has a demo.

Yes it was because of the card. I own the game and that is a know problem with the radeon 9xxx series. You have to turn down the hardware acceleration to fix it.

As other people have mentioned, it's a software/firmware problem, not a card problem.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: NicColt
it took me 35 minutes to do a run and at the end of it go a stinking 20 credits for it. Where is X2 when you need it.

20 credits? What did you run?

 

[bot2600]

freelancer rocks!

 

[clicknext]

Originally posted by: bot2600
freelancer rocks!

Yes. Yes it does.

 

[thedan]

Its an absolutely fricking awesome game... until you pass it.

I played it nearly non-stop until I passed it, then it became boring. As someone said, after you finish it, its just levelling up, no objectives. The non-story missions are all the same. Go here kill this. Go here, kill this, bring back life pod, come back.

I don't know about multiplayer.

 

[BeauJangles]

Nah. It was way overrated for what it acutally was. The universe is not that interactive at all. All the "random" missions aren't random at all. The missions are repetative. Once you figure out the best ships and get the best guns its boring. Honestly, it really isn't that good at all.

 

[clicknext]

It's not THAT interactive, but it's more vast and interactive and sleek than anything else that's out. I don't think there has been another game that lets you travel around so freely in vast space.

 

[rh71]

It's like an RPG style in the fact that you build up, level up, get the best available, and continue on. When I played MUD in college (what a fad that was), that's all you did. There really was no ultimate goal except to get higher and higher. That's what this game is. I don't know what people really expected other than this, really.

For what it is, it's worth the money as a time-killer. Exploring other worlds is a decent way to go about the game. You can also follow the storyline and do missions that way.

 

[kleinesarschloch]

Originally posted by: clicknext
It's not THAT interactive, but it's more vast and interactive and sleek than anything else that's out. I don't think there has been another game that lets you travel around so freely in vast space.

elite comes to mind. but more importantly, why would you want to? reminds me of someone who, prior to freelancer release, was very excited about the possibility of mining rocks. jeebus, noone gets excited about that crap even in real life, why would anyone want to do it in a computer game?