88 Flak mod for Freelancer

88 Flak is a fast-paced combat mod for the 3D action game Freelancer by Digital Anvil. It aims to bring quick and brutal arena-like combat to Freelancer with Unreal Tournament 2004 style speed and years of refined Team Fortress inspired class balancing. In addition, it aims to expand the gameplay experience with numerous new features - including docking on player Battleships (use teammates as mobile bases), ability to hire AI wingmen, dynamic AI routines (88 Flak's AI is hailed to be the best in Freelancer), ability to script story missions in multiplayer (extremely beta), advanced graphics/audio, and more.

88 Flak has been in the works since January 21, 2005, and continues to be developed today by members of the community.

Watch the video documentary of 88 Flak - 88 Flak: Final Cut (Alternatively, watch it on the Videos tab)

The main goal of the mod is to provide intense combat while keeping everything at an even, balanced level. Instead of linear balancing for ships, Flak adopts a more Team Fortress style balancing where nothing is better, just different - a so-called "Circle of Balance." For instance, while a Light Fighter is very fast, it is limited in firepower and defense capability. A Very Heavy Fighter will be very slow with horrid turning, yet will sport impressive firepower and Long-range Sniper-cannons (that can shoot up to 8Km away at 4Km/sec). A Heavy Fighter is more of a bomber role, intended for anti-capital use. The basic combat "Circle" goes like this: Fighter > Large Capital > Small Capital > Fighter. Players must have a well-rounded selection of several different ship classes if they wish to maximize efficiency of their fleet.

And it only starts there; EVERY ship in the original Freelancer, including nearly every Station (30 of 'em) and Weapons Platform (8 of 'em), can be flown, making for a total of 104 pilotable, balanced craft, all from the original game (except the Serafina Freighter, by Asmo, which was added; it fits right in).

88 Flak's most robust change to the Freelancer formula is the AI, and that AI NPC ships are capable of performing most tasks that players themselves are capable of; this includes, but is not limited to, AI travelling to anywhere in a system to perform anything from trade to station raids, hiring themselves out to players or other NPCs as wingmen, dropping a fight to pursue a fleeing ship, using counter-measures to stop missiles, using afterburners and strafing, and salvaging loot off the battlefield to either sell (or use). Flak's AI is hailed as the most advanced AI ever seen in a Freelancer mod, and will thrill even the most hardened PvP combatant.

88 Flak also totes features such as purchasable stations (private bases that shoot at hostile NPCs and players), full customizability via a Freelancer Mods Manager script with configurable client-side and server-side options, "bot" squads for players who don't have many friends to fly with, and other stuff.

More information and updates can be found at the 88 Flak Site and the 88 Flak Forums.

At the moment, Flak still a growing community, with most players actively involved with the project itself; however, anyone from lone players to full clans are welcome to either join in the fun on the 24/7 server or get active in the project's development.

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Downloads may be found here

Videos may be found here

Screenshots may be found at:
Official Gameplay Screens
Official Misc Screens
ModDB Screenshots Tab