MICROSOFT FREELANCER

[xpleasejustdie]

SOOO... i dont really know how to start this thing off, but i fell in love with a game as a kid called freelancer, 20 something years ago. It was developed by microsoft studios and NEVER got the DEV or COMMUNITY support it deserved. I guess this is me starting a "petition" to have it brought to steam. I FEEL LIKE if it was brought onto steam as a supported and downloadable game a lot of players would find the same love for this amazing title as I did all those years ago. The community that loved this game did find a way to keep it alive however, by adding DISCOVERY MOD, one of the only actual servers you were ever able to find / join. This was made possible by downloading the base game , then downloading discovery mod and patching it into your game you were actually able to find servers to play on! the BASE game didnt last long after being released and soon after all servers were pretty much dropped dead as fast as you could blink, i do remember slightly --- playing on standard base model servers maybe 10 times? some of this information could be wrong because it is all just from my personal experience with this game but I found a Teamspeak server (10 years ago) and a clan, and i fell in love with the game all over again, I remember getting in some trouble as a teenager and ending up on house arrest and setting up 3 computers in my room (dad used to build them so we had a lot of spare parts laying around and this wasnt a super demanding game, but still a good one) the 3D mapping and ship fighting was smooth very playable and extremely addicting once you really sunk your teeth into it. Heres some discovery mod Information

Discovery is one of the biggest Freelancer mods (having the main server - Discovery Freelancer RP 24/7 - with 200 player slots, and 100-196 players on at all times).

79 brand new player-flyable ships with custom models;
About 30 previously added ships received new, custom-designed models;
11 new systems in 4.85: Languedoc, Dauphine, Burgundy, Champagne, Lorraine (Gallia); Pennsylvania, Kansas, Ellesmere (Liberty); Tau-39 (Border Worlds); Omicron-81 (Hispania); Unknown system (Nomad Worlds).
About 30 existing systems received significant updates in 4.85, including Alaska, Alberta, Baffin, Bremen, Cassini, Coronado, Dundee, Frankfurt, Illinois, Londonderry, Minnesota, Munich, Okinawa, Omega-52, Omega-54, Omega-56, Omega-58, Omicron-80, Omicron-91, Omicron-94, Omicron-99, Omicron Iota, Ontario, Orkney, Tau-42, Tau-45, Vespucci;
11 new factions, most with their own NPCs and ship lines: Gallic Royal Navy, Gallic Royal Police, Council, Gallic Metal Service, EFL Oil & Machinery, IDF Shipping, Maquis, Unione Corse, Gallic Brigands, The Coalition, Colonial Remnant;
Over 100 new weapons introduced, many of them having custom models and effects;
46 new commodities introduced, with multiple new trade routes;
53 new role-playing IDs introduced;
Customized NPCs on many new bases, NPCs in Gallia have newly designed costumes;
About 7,000 infocard texts added or rewritten for 4.85, including lengthy news texts and descriptions.
Revised and detailed Readme.txt and other mod documentation, added the new Discovery system map.
Included the Discovery automatic updater with an integrated list of Discovery multiplayer servers.

I remember a buddy of mine and I used to take my battleship and his Freightliner and we would transport goods from System to System to earn Credits (currency), we were attacked by a "pirate" that ended up actually being able to destroy my battleship even though his ship was considered very inferior to mine, we actually ended up getting his information and talking to him and developing a relationship with him he taught us things we taught him things, the community on this game from what i remember was NEVER toxic in the slightest. I would like to hear if anyone else has any experience or memories from this incredible game.

My dad is the one who introduced me to this title he had it burnt onto a blank disk in his drawer in an old burnable cd case written in sharpie across it said "Freelancer" i remember getting curious and popping it in my Compaq (WAY BACK IN THE DAY) back when 256 - 512 mb of ram was mid - top tier. LOL. he found me playing it one day and we attempted to play together but with the lack of support from the developers and the community there was no way for us to join the BASE game together without creating our own server which back then we didnt know of a way to run a permanent server, we ran it similar to a private lobby where when you're done your progress is lost... Thats what led to my buddy and I Discovering Discovery Mod, Me, My dad, My Buddy, and His dad all downloaded the mod and patched it in and once we were able to join up together and take off it was Green grass and High Tides we were hooked! God to think about the Hours and Hours i put into this game, The times i went days without doing anything but staring into my multiple screens. Then I found a way to "Hot Box" where you could play the game in Multiple Instances on one screen by flashing between 2 - 3 different "Tabs" or "frames" then i was off to the races using my freighter to follow my battleship through Jump Holes going system to system trading and fighting pirates by myself until my buddy got home from school. I still talk about it to this day with my dad, sometimes him and i tell friends about it that have never heard about it let them know what they missed out on. You can still access discovery mod and a Server DISCOVERY MOD 24/7 RP, but I just think of the potential this game could have if it was brought to and downloadable VIA Steam, If it just got a Remaster / Re-Optimized for current technology, EVEN WITHOUT A REMASTER, i would download and play in a heart beat. It was a LEGEND and in another universe/dimension it was a #1 title i just know it. They say ELITE DANGEROUS is one of the better space games but when i play it all i can think about is Freelancer, and how 75 if not 80% of the game is basically just a MODERN freelancer, If the developers of ELITE DANGEROUS werent inspired by FREELANCER then its one hell of a coincidence. .....

and i guess ill end my rant here.....

RIP Freelancer,

I NEVER FORGOT ABOUT YOU.

[Judgmental Amaterasu]

Elite Dangerous is a "sequel" to the game Frontier First Encounter that was made in 95 which itself was the 3rd game in the Elite series .-.

[xpleasejustdie]

TBH never even heard of Frontier First Encounter. Thank you for schooling me on where Elite Dangerous came from , My first experience playing it, Had such a freelancer feel for some of the combat and stuff
Freelancer was introduced in early 2000

Freelancer is a space trading and combat simulation video game developed by Digital Anvil and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It is a chronological sequel to Digital Anvil's Starlancer, a combat flight simulator released in 2000. The game was initially announced by Chris Roberts in 1999

did you ever play freelancer friend?

[xpleasejustdie]

I was also hasty in posting and didnt proof read i meant to say it was PUBLISHED by Microsoft not Developed..

[xpleasejustdie]

I've talked about this game so much over the years and most people have no clue what im talking about the ones that do share my enthusiasm for the game, My sole goal from this post was to just get the word out there i guess, Just needed to rant and get some things off my chest, I just really wish we would stop pre-releasing not ready games, letting them flop or releasing 2 or 3 updates and then just producing them as a paper chase, everything is In Game Purchases, everything has micro purchases now. I remember a world where once you bought the game you had it. Battlefield is a good example , Battlefield didnt used to release a new title every year, they would release expansion packs which were downloadable and patchable into your game, starting around battlefield 1942? (question mark cause i could be wrong) but I remember Battlefield Desert combat, Battlefield 2, Battlefield 2 special forces. I just remember a world where everyone cared more and took Pride in games and were loyal to certain titles. Now everyone seems to be a fair weather fan just buying every game that comes out and either BINGING it until theyre out of content or play 9 hrs and post a crappy review on steam never to play it again even after game saving / changing updates. Sometimes just the thought of our GAME WORLD now stresses me out. IDK im rambling / ranting at this point LOL

[✨Saint✨]

I think you will also like https://store.steampowered.com/app/290300/Rebel_Galaxy/ OP.

[ShelLuser]

Uhm, you can still buy the PC version of Freelancer and better yet: it will still run on Windows 10 just fine. I know because I sporadically still play it.

Alas, if you enjoyed playing the game long after the main mission is over and you defeated the Nomads then I think you're going to love Elite Dangerous:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/359320/Elite_Dangerous/
See, Freelancer was roughly based on Elite; a space trading game from the 80's. Elite Dangerous then is the sequel / reboot to all that and basically a continuance of the 80's Elite. Even the original starter worlds are still in the game.

There's commodity trading, missions which you can undertake and a whole lot more. This truly gives out the Freelancer feel IMO, though the focus is most definitely on the spaceship and the simulation of flying it, Freelancer was more arcade'ish.

There are also online games which somewhat mimic Freelancer, I believe one of them is Everquest?

Still, you should probably ask Microsoft about this but... don't keep your hopes up.

[Thermal Lance]

The game I would love to see a revival of is Allegiance. But, sadly, people moved away from this game because it took people way to long to get the game on a mainstream client. By the time it was done, game was already dead.

It was a team based space combat game with RTS elements. That thing was incredibly fun back then when you could get a full server.

Combat felt pretty much like Freespace 2. Which is pretty much a compliment given how good that game is.

[xpleasejustdie]

its sad, so many games with potential but we mass produce and focus on Call of Duty and FPS so much, you watch games you fall in love with die ;(

[secuda]

I remember Freelancer, wherent there a point the game just end in some nebula research station? And nearly every one hate you or had low reputation? Maybe i just screwed it upp or dident realice it was on dual dvd?

[Affronter]

Admittedly I scrolled through the OP due to those wall of text "paragraphs".

I still have the CD-ROM for Freelancer (2003) and maybe I should try installing it as I haven't touched it in at least 15 years.

Since Freelancer is the creation of Chris Roberts (of 1990's Wing Commander series fame) maybe you'd be interested in his "recent" venture with his highly controversial Star Citizen & Squadron 42 games that have been in "development" for a decade. SC is playable whereas S42 exists in title alone.

[Psychotoddler]

I’m also surprised this is still not available on one of the legit services. Heck even Microsoft store! I have the disk still but have read it’s a nightmare to install on windows 11. I will second the person above who recommended Star Citizen but Elite Dangerous is more functional and probably closer to they actual Freelancer experience.

[Adversary]

You can still technically play Freelancer, even if you can't play the dev's current game Star Citizen. Which by the way, he pulled the same shtick with Freelancer - promising more than he could deliver.

He's a lot like Todd Howard, though with less to show for it. Granted, he is as liable to be sued at this point, or at the bare minimum hit with a class action lawsuit.

[LeviathanWon]

Yeah I think a lot of people shared your enthusiasm about Freelancer and donated a lot of money into star citizen.

[Crims3n]

I still have my old ripped cd of freelancer ISO. I played it a again a few years back and loved it as much as I did nearly 20 years ago. I would definitely buy it if it was on steam, if nothing else than to not have to dig it out of an archive on my NAS whenever I feel nostalgic. It was definitely and under appreciated game.
Never heard of the discovery mod mentioned above but I assume that was mostly for online play? Either way I will definitely check it out if there are new systems and shops included which hopefully work for offline.

[Basho]

really loved Freelancer as well, for many different reasons (including the visual design).

this one is a worthy descendant imo:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2820/X3_Terran_Conflict/
(the "Albion Prelude" DLC as well).