Week 19 - Free games for the weekdays -The Babylon Project

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Week 19 - Free games for the weekdays -The Babylon Project

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Started 15 years ago by Whiterabbit-uk
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Whiterabbit-uk
Games Guru

I looks like we’re going to have another game that many will not be able to play, so here’s a great game for you as an alternative. Both games below were originally going to be part of Thursday 22nd January's free game for the weekday, but because I’d aready posted several games I'd decided to keep it for a rainy day, or for a day when problems may arise with a game giveaway. Unfortunately it is a large download so will preclude those on dial up unless you have a download manager that will enable you to download the fle in stages; perhaps leaving your computer on overnight for a few evenings to get the full download. You can download the files in chunks if you searchthe internet, but if you arn't sure how to do that PM me and I'll try and put some more time aside to find the appropriate fils for you. I may even contact whoever is responsible for the games to see i I can break it down into sizeable chunks myself, but only if there is enough interest shown frm the community.

=======================================================================

The Babylon Project (750Mb)

The Babylon Project, is based on Warmer Brothers the Babylon 5 universe creatd by Joe Michael Straczynski. The game is highly modable and you will find mod’s available to extend the game play on the net.

You can download the main client as well as unofficial modifications from the same link that I’ve provided below, though you will find some of the modifications are as big as the main client. For example the The Babylon Project Campaign Pack v2.0 is 774Mb as well and there are many more mod’s to add. Check out the video’s and screenshots to get an idea as to what you can expect from this game. It’s better than Universal Combat that was converted to abandonware at the beginning of 2008. The game is based on the ?Freespace engine another successful 3D space exploration/space shooter game. If I have the time I’ll extend this post to add details of some of the better mod’s with download links. But definitely not this weekend. :)

System requirements:

The Babylon Project Release 3 uses "fs2_open", an enhanced Freespace 2 engine by the Freespace Source Code Project team. Release 3 is stand-alone and does not require original Freespace 2 to work.

• Pentium 3 600 MHz or equivalent
• 256 MB RAM
• Microsoft Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
• DirectX 8.1 compatible 3D hardware accelerator card with "Hardware Transformation and Lightning" (HT&L) support
• DirectX 8.1 compatible 16-bit sound card
• 750 MB hard drive space
• Joystick (should be able to use keypad, but it's not the same)
• DirectX 8.1 or newer installed

screenshots:

http://babylon.hard-light.net/backgrounds.php

Video:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4FiTYFyn7w4

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=MgW-SDzgJAM

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=i0Ms3Pjfl7s

download Link;

Main Client

http://babylon.hard-light.net/official_downloads.php

Unofficial Modifications:

http://babylon.hard-light.net/unofficial_downloads.php

=======================================================================
I originally posted this because I initially thought it was needed to play the Babylon Project, which uses the Freespace engine. I checked briefly to see if Freespace 2 was available for free and found two abandonware sites that had Freespace 2 down as a freebie; so, I started downloading The Babylon Project, an additional mod that adds lots of extra missions and what I thought was Freespace 2. Both the Babylon Project Files downloaded reasonablr quickly (around half an hour for two 750+ files), but Freespace didn't complete. I decided to try The Babylon Project just out of curuosity and found that it worked. It was then that I saw the first post saying that it probably wasn't the full version. Anyway, it took 10 hours for the download to complete. I ran the installer and discovered that you did need the actual Freespace client to get the files I'd just downloaded to work. They were in fact a graphics enhancing mod that weighed in at over 4Gb. Anyway, as the actual client can be picked up dirt cheap I've decided to leave the mod file details posted just in case someone decides to buy Freespace 2. I did and was not disappointed. For $5.99 you can't go wrong. You do need a Open GL compliant card and also need OpenAL installed as well (for both The Babylon Project and Freespace 2). You can download that free from the following address (OpenGL is also Free):

http:\\www.openal.org/downloads.html

Freespace 2 (SCP) - Source Code Project:

This file is actually a mod that is used to expand the original Freespace 2 game. See elsewhere in this post for a link to GOG where you can buy the main game for less than $6, (It purports to be one of the best space shooters ever made). Sorry for the mix-up. I can see why this is on some of the free sites now because this program is free, but it's useless without the original game, :(. The first couple of videos I've posted are from the SCP.

The sequel to Descent: Freespace! It's one of the best space sims which has unfortunately been overlooked by the massive game audience's of today. It's one of the better 3D space combat games ever made; Freespace 2 by Volition is a superb space opera of epic proportions. The strong emphasis on plot development combined with spectacular graphics and story-based missions make Freespace 2 a worthy contender to Origin's more well-known Wing Commander games

Reference excerpt edited and taken from main review - http://www.moddb.com/games/freespace-2
Accessed 24th Jan 09

The year is 2367. Thirty-two years have passed since the Great War. As Terrans and Vasudans struggle to rebuild their civilizations, civil war erupts in the Polaris system. A rogue Terran admiral declares war against the Vasudans, threatening the stability of the Alliance. Without warning, the Shivans return, and Terrans and Vasudans face annihilation at the hands of their Great War nemesis.

Features:

• A single-player campaign with over 30 missions. New scenarios include flying with Vasudan squadrons, piloting advanced stealth fighters, and painting targets with TAG (Target Acquisition & Guidance) missiles.

• Command up to eleven squadmates in battle. Order them to defend, attack, disarm or disable your target.

• An in-depth combat system enables players to target and destroy subsystems, disabling engines, defensive turrets, missile batteries, and fighterbays.

• Armed with cutting-edge weaponry, new fighters and bombers hurl the player into complex, fast-paced WWII-style dogfights.

• An innovative and immersive nebula environment changes gameplay dynamics. Impaired visibility, communications, and targeting ability create opportunities for ambush and new combat tactics.

• Up to 12 players can battle in dogfight, team vs. team (8 players max.), and cooperative missions via LAN, TCP/IP, and modem. (though you’ll be hard pushed to find a server now unless you set up one yourself)

Reference: http://www.freefunfiles.com/software/videogames/sim/freespace-2.html accessed 24th Jan 09

Review worth reading:

http://www.moddb.com/games/freespace-2

Video</strong:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=8HFEmGcJcWA

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=PpiwRrzpHQ0

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DX6bzq3M4M4

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=dTy6-zK_pCA

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UrchciHCI8A

Images:

http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=Freespace+2&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2

Link to Download Page

The following only gives you the download installer.

The FreeSpace Open Installer is an attempt to significantly reduce the difficulty of installing FreeSpace Open over a Retail FreeSpace 2 installation. The Installer was coded by Turey. The first version was released on October 16, 2006.

Once unpacked (~20Mb) you are given the options of installing the basic game or the whole project; though there are a couple of worth while projects that have been developed around the Freespace 2 game the main one of which, called The Babylon Project I’ve included below:

http://www.freefunfiles.com/software/videogames/sim/freespace-2.html

=======================================================================

Posted 15 years ago #
Garad
Member

Just to be helpful, Freespace 2 is no longer distributed with the Open installer. If you go to this site, they will give you some more information http://www.fsoinstaller.com/. Frankly, if you look around, you can find digital download copies of Freespace 2 for less than $10.

Posted 15 years ago #
wizzard_of_ozz2004
Games Master

Funny little fact here Rabbit...Volition (Descent series, Saints Row series, and the Punisher game) is actually based right down the road from me. I've tried so hard to get a job there as a tester lol. Definitely give these two a try people!

Posted 15 years ago #
Whiterabbit-uk
Games Guru

Thanks Garad; I though Freespace 2 was free, (and open source) but I may be wrong. I will get back to you on this when I've had some time to check further. After seeing it at a couple of freeware sites I automatically assumed it was free and I've been downloading what I thought was the free version, however tha's still downloading (using the installer) five hours after I started it (on a 10Mb broadband connection)

Oddly enough I nearly bought Freespace2 from Good Old Games last week but opted for Darkstar One which seemed much better graphically and content wise after reading about both (more so Darkstar because I was beguiled by the amazing graphics. Freespace 2 didn't look quite as 'amazing' but still looks good. anyway, even if it is free I've decided to buy it from GOG because it's only $5.99. I'm all for supporting the developer (assuming the developer is going to get some of the cash

Freespace 2:

http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/freespace_2

Darkstar One:

http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/darkstar_one

p.s.

I will continue to check whether this is a free version that I'm still downloading. It's unbelievably slow though.

Posted 15 years ago #
Whiterabbit-uk
Games Guru

I'd be trying for a job as well if a developer was just down the road. The developers of the Conflict series (SCi/Pivotal Games) - a third person shooter except for the last one Denied Ops work not to far from me I live in a place called Poynton Cheshire and they are based in Stockport. I live literally a stones throw from Stockport. Before my accident I could have cycled there in 20 minutes.

Posted 15 years ago #
wizzard_of_ozz2004
Games Master

Im installing the freespace 2 from the link you provided Rabbit and it looks as though Garad is right. Included in the download is "Single Player Demo." However, I've not finished installing so we shall see what the finished product looks like.

You were correct in thinking the source code and engine is freely available. Volition released both to the public in 2002.

Posted 15 years ago #
Whiterabbit-uk
Games Guru

Good news is that The Babylon Project is free and I've been playing it for a short time and it's good. Though the basic client only comes with one full mission plus a demo. the rest you have to download as add-ons. There are loads of these though.

Following the link to the unofficial mods at the end of the fist post above takes you to a longish list of campaign downloads plus some missions. The first one in the list called The Babylon Project Campaign Pack 2.0 has around 20 missions, though the file is actally larger than the original client. I've not installed it yet, but will report back when I've had the time to install them (I downloaded the files at the same time as the client, but only the first one). I've promised my daughter we'd have a competition with the party mode in Flatout 2 a fantastic demolition derby/rally style game that was released three years ago) - you can get the first Flatout from Good Old Games for $5.99, one of the best bargains I've come across in a couple of years:

http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/flatout

If you have broadband it's definitely worth downloading if you're into 3D space epics. It is similar to Universal Combat but better and has a community behind it that are still creating missions for it.

I only included Freespace 2 because I though The Babylon Project was a mod of Freespace 2, but it's only based on the Freespace engine and thankfully entirely free standing.

I think I'm getting a little exhausted looking for these games virtually every day; It's probability why I've made such a boob on the free nature of the game. It still doesn't explain why it's available on freeware sites though. Also unusually I'd not tested the game before I'd posted it. I wanted to get it posted before the first rush of community members disappeared as it was supposed to be an alternative to today's word game (what an epic alternative, lol).

When I first though about posting this last Thursday one of the reasons I didn't was the fact that it was going to take ages to download and I had other things to do. Pity I didn't persevere then.

Posted 15 years ago #
wizzard_of_ozz2004
Games Master

lol well I think I'm about to chalk it up as a loss. I'm already bored with the download time and I'm not sure it's worth the wait should it just be a demo. It appears that maybe the multi-player aspect is included for free?

Posted 15 years ago #
Whiterabbit-uk
Games Guru

Possibly. I'd definitely go for The Babylon project though. My Freespace 2 is still installing after over 6 hours, lol. If I don't cancel it I'll confirm your suspicions.

Posted 15 years ago #
Whiterabbit-uk
Games Guru

Actually I think the game I'm downloading is freespace not freespace 2, (most of the files seem to have a FS1 suffix) which means it may be free afterall, lol. Still, it's now been nearly 8 hours since I started downloading it and it's still going strong, so unless you're a die hard gamer you'll probably think paying $5.99 for the GOG version is worth it. Though you've still got to download 1.2GHz of file. :)

I mentioned that the fist mod pack I downloaded had around 20 missions. Well, it actually has 15 campaigns which will each contain several missions. As for the rest I'll be downloading them and will report on them eventually. Maybe add some screenshots etc. I'm going to explore this further over the next few weeks as I think it's one of the better free games around. (Especially if you like anything to do with space, lol)

Anyway, I'm closing my forum watch down for the night. Time to complete tomorrows game review and then watch some TV. (I hope)

regards

Whiterabbit

Posted 15 years ago #
Whiterabbit-uk
Games Guru

Yeaahh, Freespace has finally completed it's download after 10 hours. However, it's useless without the freespace 2 client, which isn't free. It's the one yo can get for $5.99. I'm definitely going to buy it now, lol.

Ill have to ammend the post above.

Posted 15 years ago #
pavid
gamer extraordinaire & knowledgeable computer nerd who likes to argue, but is still a very nice guy

FYI I got the best download speed for The Babylon Project at Freespacemods.net. Dial-up users should use Mediafire as the file is split into 100meg chunks. For the campaign pack, my best speed was achieved using Fileshack. For dial-up users, if you want both the project and the campaigns (which total about 1.8gig) download the DVD from Mediafire which has split it up into 100meg chunks. You can burn the ISO to a dvd or use a zip extractor like 7zip or Izarc to extract the files from the ISO. I'm located in Canada and have a 8 megabit/sec connection (I get a gig in about 25 minutes when connected to high speed places like Microsoft). Hope this helps.

Posted 15 years ago #
Whiterabbit-uk
Games Guru

I've just checked the freespace add-on and it was over 4Gb in size. I've looked at the videos of the original freespace and modifed ones and come to the conclusion that the game is worth buying for such a small amount especially as I had the mod ready and waiting. I've got it all set up now and am really pleased. The Babylon Project seems to be slightly poorer in quality, but never the less it's a cool game that any space venturer will love. I'm pleased to have made the purchase, though wont be buying the earlier released Freespace as the graphics do look ropey.

Thanks for the extra info pavid. Maybe I should have saved this one for a few more weeks after posting all those space related games the other day?

Ah well, it's done now.

Posted 15 years ago #
Flib Gibbet
Member

I used the link given for Freespace 2; other than the 21MB figure that's given on that page there is no indication of the final download size. So I thought I'd give it a go...
... and after 14hrs it's still downloading and is more than 3GB. If I'd known this to begin with I would never have started it.

Can someone who's has completed the download tell me just how much more of this there is to go? I'm on a broadband payment scheme which is very punitive for exceeding the monthly quota, and it's now gobbled up 3 of the 4 GB that I had left for the rest of the month, so if there's more than 1GB still to go, I might as well cut my losses now.

Please, someone, can you give me the answer?

Posted 15 years ago #
midori
Member

Hi, SpodoCommodo... I'm not downloading it, but the second link that Whiterabbit gave:
http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/freespace_2
indicates that it's 1.2GB to download. But that doesn't quite mesh with what you're experiencing... just thought I'd point it out anyway.

Posted 15 years ago #
Flib Gibbet
Member

Thanks for replying - the link I used was: http://www.freefunfiles.com/software/videogames/sim/freespace-2.html as given in the original posting, and then the Download Here link given there (sorry I won't experiment with markups since there's no preview).

I included everything that I thought would be relevant - as much as possible, I do try to avoid unnecessary things that are sometimes included in downloads.

It just keeps on adding new files each of which is 10s of MB; hopefully it's at least finished with those that are 500MB or more.

Posted 15 years ago #
Flib Gibbet
Member

Spoke too soon - it's now doing blueplanet1.vp which is over 200MB.

Posted 15 years ago #
Flib Gibbet
Member

Not that anybody's interested but I am now totally cheesed off, and it's only Sunday morning.

The connection went down, and so the installer decided that it wouldn't retry and just skipped the remainder of the files. Once the connection was restored I restarted the installation, and it decided that the installer itself was out of date - that's another 21MB of download just to update that.

Once that was running it decided that various of the files that had been part of the original download attempt were now out-of-date and started downloading them again - 10s of MB at a time. This could be never-ending and so I felt that I had no choice but to quit it.

Thought that maybe what was already there might run because surely the latter things could only be additional missions, couldn't they?, and it complains that there is a dll missing and won't run at all.

It's been a complete waste of 16 hours and 3.82GB of downloading, leaving me with just a fraction of the download limit that I usually get through in a week. What a p****r...

Posted 15 years ago #
midori
Member

Darn! So sorry, SpodoCommodo... wish the time spent had ended up being productive. But hey, it isn't always now, is it. Wish I could've helped you download. :-(

Posted 15 years ago #
wizzard_of_ozz2004
Games Master

I'm sorry to hear you had such a bad experience with this download Spodo. I gave up my attempt at the download after about a half an hour. There were too many unknowns about the download to continue waiting and taking up space on my hard drive. I hope you don't let this experience spur you from continuing your support of our game project. We wouldn't intentionally put someone through the kind of pain you've been through. That being said at least you've only got 6 more days until your cap is back to 4gb.

Warm regards,
AH

Posted 15 years ago #
Flib Gibbet
Member

No, I appreciate your efforts and don't blame you in the slightest. What's happened is just the sort of thing that one puts down to experience.

I shall continue to download games for which you provide links although, in future, I shall perhaps endeavour to download only those for which the total download size is known beforehand (don't know how long that intention will last).

Keep up the good work.

Posted 15 years ago #
Whiterabbit-uk
Games Guru

Hi SpodoCommodo, I've only just read your post and apologize for not seeing it earlier; also for jumping the gun on Freespace 2. It's not often that I post a game without first checking it, but with all the complaints about yesterday’s giveaway I wanted to give something special. I did do some basic research and saw that the file I posted was being given away for free so I naturally assumed that it was going to be the client. I actually didn't post the games initially, because when I first found The Babylon Project I thought that Freespace 2 was probably needed so checked to see if Freespace 2 was free. I saw what I thought was the free client on a couple of freeware and abandonware sites, so assumed that Freespace 2 was free as well, though, as I discovered later, once the downloads had finished (I was downloading the client, the mod and Freespace 2 at the same time, so it took some time for the Babylon files to complete, though I never expected Freespace to take 10 hours) you didn't actually need Freespace 2 because it only uses the Freespace engine and not the actual game. I was also juggling some family responsibilities as well as moderating the comments section of the game giveaway projectat the time, so my head wasn't all there.

I to was surprised at the download size. Unfortunately when I posted that it was 4Gb early this morning my fingers had been too fast so the 4 became a $ because I still had one of my fingers on the shift key. I type quite fast, but still only two fingered, and I don't look at the screen when typing, lol).

Still, that doesn't account for your wasted bandwidth. What I can say if it's any consolation is that the Freespace 2 client that’s required for the mod that you downloaded to work is less than $6, and in my opinion is well worth the cash. I've played the main game and am really impressed (as I am with Dark Star One another game you can get from Good Old Games. I've not tried the modification yet, but it's supposed to enhance all the graphics as well as add lots of new missions. For me it's turned out to be a worthwhile download although it has cost me the $5.99, lol.

I do feel it's my fault though for jumping the gun. I think that the community have come to trust my opinions and will tend to download without checking. Well I didn't live up to that trust yesterday. It won't happen again. (I do hope you can see the situation that lead to me posting this game in the first place though)

Regards

WhiteRabbit

Posted 15 years ago #
Flib Gibbet
Member

I have my head bowed in shame because you have done nothing wrong and I trust you as much as anybody on the internet in all the great download links that you provide.

It's refreshing these days for someone to even consider that they may not have lived up to the trust that others place in them, so thanks for demonstrating that that trust in you is well deserved.

Posted 15 years ago #
Whiterabbit-uk
Games Guru

That's very kind of you to say, SpodoCommodo (how did you derive your name? thought process start whirring - idea, I'll start up a new post about this, lol)). Thank you.

Regards

Whiterabbit

Posted 15 years ago #
Flib Gibbet
Member

Have you ever seen a 1990s sitcom called Father Ted ?

imho it's possibly the best British sitcoms of all time and it's about RC priests on an island (if you haven't seen it then that probably sounds very unlikely as the theme for a comedy). In the household there is the eponymous Father Ted who always wishes he could be elsewhere doing non-priest type things, a young priest who's very stupid but in a cuddly sort of way, and an old priest who's usually drunk and shouting either "drink" or "sex" or "girls". There's also the dedicated but overly fussy housekeeper Mrs Doyle.

Anyway, in one episode, a priest comes visiting who says that he knows Ted, and he is about to introduce him to Mrs Doyle when she decides that she wants to guess his name without any clues. So she just goes through a long list of strange names such as Henry Bigbigging, Stig Bobblecurd, Johnny Hellzapoppin, Harry Cake-Lyneham, Raboola Conundrum, Peewee Stairmaster, Tight Egglips, Jemima Ragtoole, Canner Brammerlammer and... Spodo Commodo.

Posted 15 years ago #
midori
Member

LOL! Oh, you have me laughing out of my chair here, Spodo (if I may shorten your name, sir)... that is hilarious. I've seen a British sitcom or two (names escape me at the moment... one about a hotel with a restaurant?) and the humor always has me on the floor. I can just here her spewing out those silly names, and may I say you did pick the most dignified of the lot... I think?
*@/:-D (my hat is falling off!)

Posted 15 years ago #
meagain
Member

I downloaded the game, installed it, went thru all the openings, got my orders, started the mission and get a problem and the game closes.
Fortunately I didn't spend no more than 20 minutes downloading it.
I may not have all the parts though, I'm not sure if I needed something else or not.

Posted 15 years ago #
Anonymous
Unregistered

Hi Midori if I have got it right I think you mean Fawlty Towers with the characters Basil,Cybil and Manuel the waiter.

Posted 15 years ago #
midori
Member

Right, knighthawk... that's one they did broadcast here in the States. My sis-in-law even has the box set of the whole series. But I sure would love to see Father Ted. British humor is so refreshingly different than American humor. Kind of a sophisticated but knee-slapping prime and proper silliness. :->

Posted 15 years ago #
Whiterabbit-uk
Games Guru

Apart from Only Fools and Horse and perhaps Minder, those two are considered some of the best of that type of British Comedy. The BBC or ITV not sure which one, is making a new series of The Minder, though without the origianl actor who played Arthur Daly. there were some similarities between The Minder and Only Fools.

One of my all time favorite American Comedy Series was Mash. I never really got into comedy programs like Cheers or Frazier (though I do like some episodes of Frazier) Thanks for explaining your name. I never got into Father Ted. Shame about the main actor, who passed away while the series was still going strong. They only ever made one series of Faulty towers. I think John Cleese wanted it to remain a cult series which if the program had continued may never have got the status it has now.

My two favorite American shows at this time are Medium and Heroes. We're finally getting to see series 4 of Medium. Does anyone know where the program stands at the moment with respect to season number? Also what was the number of the last program in series 3 of Heroes? I still haven't finished watching series 2 which I recorded in its entirity when it as aired over a year ago. I like to watch such programs in large chunks hence the recording. Another American program I really enjoyed was Prison Break. I watched the first series religiously but missed the first three or four of season 2 so didn't watch it. It's already the second time through the second showing and I've still not seen it. I may buy the whole season from my local Tescoes.

Posted 15 years ago #

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