FreeSpace is a space simulation computer game series developed by Volition Inc, one half of the team that created the Descent series. The original title, Descent: FreeSpace - The Great War released in mid-1998. It had one expansion pack in the form of Silent Threat. FreeSpace 2 was released in 1999. While FreeSpace 2 did not have an expansion pack, it was later re-released as FreeSpace 2: Game of the Year Edition and included several user-made missions. Although the FreeSpace saga was officially exclusive to the PC, a Linux version of FreeSpace 2 was crafted by fans.

FreeSpace was heralded by game reviewers, having assimilated the best points of other space combat simulators like Wing Commander and adding its own features to it. Among the features of FreeSpace were intelligent wingmen the player could order around, an intricate storyline, multiplayer, and capital ships that were nearly 3 kilometers in length. It also featured FRED, the very mission editor the designers of the game used to create all of the missions in the campaign. Many campaigns and missions were produced by users.

FreeSpace 2 was a polished successor to the original, featuring enhanced graphics, awesome nebula effects, and anime-inspired beam weapons that larger ships were equipped with. Even though FreeSpace 2 was lauded by the gaming press, it failed to sell very well. After FreeSpace 2's release, Volition broke away from publisher Interplay Productions and joined THQ where it went on to design Red Faction and Summoner. As of 2003, the future prospects of a FreeSpace 3 appear bleak.

Still, the FreeSpace saga lives on in the work of amateur mission designers. New, user-made campaigns sport custom ships, detailed storylines, and plenty of missions. Another project, FreeSpace Open, was spearheaded after Volition released the FreeSpace 2 source code.

Warning: Spoilers follow

The original FreeSpace game was set in 2335. The Terrans, humans, had made contact with an alien race known as the Vasudans that hailed from the desert planet of Vasuda Prime. However, during a Vasudan ritual known as "The Conversation" with the Terrans, hostilities were exchanged, triggering The Great War. The Great War persisted for 12 years before a third species joined the battle. Known as the Shivans, the Terrans and Vasudans are directly threatened by their massive fleet led by the flagship Lucifer. As a result, the feuding races formed an alliance to defeat the technologically-superior Shivans. A group of zealous Vasudans called the Hammer of Light would interfere with the alliance, believing that the Shivans were gods. A fourth, unseen race is known as the Ancients, whose lore detailed their war with the Shivans and thorough knowledge of subspace portals that linked the universe's systems together. The portals were a natural phenomenon used to connect worlds like the Sol System, Vasuda Prime, and others.

In the final mission of FreeSpace, the Lucifer entered a subspace portal that linked to the Sol System, the Terrain homeworld. After having successfully obliterated Vasuda Prime, the Shivans were now set on annihilating Earth. The alliance destroyed the Lucifer in subspace, a fate that severed the Shivan destroyer in half, but also collapsed the only portal home.

Silent Threat took place around the same time as the original FreeSpace. It chronicled the fall of GTI (Galactic Terran Intelligence), a rogue faction within Terran Command that specialized in secret ops and research.

FreeSpace 2 takes place 32 years after the events of the original FreeSpace. The alliance between the Terrans and Vasudans is sealed with the foundation of the Galactic Terrain-Vasudan Alliance (GTVA). The GTVA's role is three-fold. Their first priority was in stopping the Neo Terrain Front (NTF) led by Admiral Aken Bosch. Bosch, a veteran of the GTI, united a group of rogue Terrans under the banner of Vasudan hatred. Initially, he threatened to destabilize the Alliance and destroy the Vasudan race. The second priority was the discovery of the Knossos Device, a massive, ring-shaped machine believed to have been constructed by the Ancients. In essence, the Knossos Device appeared to be an artificial portal generator. This obviously interested the Terrans, who were still searching for a way to return to their homeworld. The third, and most dangerous, was the return of the Shivans. This time, the Shivans have a fearsome new array of ships, including the juggernaut-class Sathanas that is over 6 kilometers in length.

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