LB: FreeSpace 2 takes place 32 years after FreeSpace 1. When the game begins the player will find they are in the midst of a civil war. FreeSpace 1 ended with Earth being cut off from the rest of the galaxy, which obviously created a power vacuum. As a result, things are a bit unstable at the beginning of FreeSpace 2. However, things get even worse when the Shivans return. This time the Terrans feel that they are ready for the Shivans. The Terrans have built a massive fleet in preparation for a Shivan return, so it ends up being a real slugfest.

RW: In the Freespace series ship scale has always been a top priority. Are we going to see any even "bigger and badder" dogfights, and will there be any bigger capitol ships introduced into the game?

LB: There are indeed larger capital ships in the game. We have a ships that is actually 12 times larger than the biggest ship in FreeSpace 1. Capital ships in FreeSpace 2 are also much more deadly than those you saw in FreeSpace 1. The new capital ships have beam weapons, flak cannons, missile packs, and laser turrets. As a result, the player will rarely be called upon to take out a capital ship in FreeSpace 2. You will work along side other corvettes and destroyers to take out a capital ship.

RW: Will there be any cool new features added to the ships, like a cloaking mode where you can't "see" the fighters or ships flying around you?

LB: We do have a stealth fighter that does something similar to what you are describing here. We have the stealth fighter set up the same manner as the current real-world stealth fighters work. Basically, you will be able to get a visual on the stealth fighter but it will not show up on your sensors at all. You will also not be able to get a missile lock on this ship. We didn't want to go the route with having the ship turn invisible. We wanted to pattern this off of the current stealth fighter with the hopes that people would relate to it much easier. We have always been going for a 'realistic' feel for FreeSpace so we didn't want the ships to visually cloak.

RW: Will there be any new gameplay elements added to this game that we did not see in the last one?

We have added the nebula to FreeSpace 2, which offers an entirely new playing area for the player. The nebula affects gameplay by minimizing the players vision within an area, and also affecting the players sensors. If an enemy ship is a fair distance away, the player will not be able to see that vessel. It is only until the player gets close to a ship that they are actually able to see it. In addition, the player must be close to an enemy ship in order for it to appear on radar.

If this enemy ship is a large distance away, it will not appear on the players radar at all. As the player gets closer to its taget, a intermittent blip will appear on the players radar. They will have a general direction for where the target is but they will still have no idea what the target is. It could be one lone fighter that can be easily taken out or it could be a Shivan destroyer. Once the player finally gets close to the target, they will be able to get full readings on that target.

In addition to this, we have an AWAC ship that will be deployed in specific missions that take place in the nebula. The AWAC ship will boost a players sensors so they will be able to see the enemy before the enemy is aware of the players presence. Of course this means the AWAC is a critical target for the enemy to take out, so the player must make sure they keep track of the AWAC and guard it at all times.

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