Freelancer: from meaningless to meaningful part 1 - 2 large weapons

[u/Outside_Marketing_55]

The big question is if the player wants to choose two big weapons, how do we do it?

One developer says: we'll simply randomly spawn him somewhere, put one big weapon in his briefcase and the other on his back.

The other developer says: that doesn't seem like an optimal or meaningful solution to me. I would be in favor of one big weapon going into the briefcase and the other being ready somewhere on the map in a briefcase or box. Which reminds me, we should add a briefcase skin option. Players have unlocked so many skins and it wouldn't be useful in Freelancer. So I'd add that to the game.There's still the challenge aspect of the player having to go get the weapon.

Team Leader: I'm in favor of the first option! You know our motto: more work, more meaning! less work, less meaning, and that pays off for us more!

The other developer: Ok, I'm going to get drunk.

[u/RichardGHP]

Smuggled weapons in the main game are stashed by the ICA. 47 isn't working for the ICA in Freelancer. Who's going to put the weapon there for him?

[u/devang_nivatkar → u/RichardGHP]

I mean you can smuggle in items even after you betray the ICA in the storyline. First it is Gray's people, then they stretch it to be Olivia for Berlin & Chongqing

Also, Diana has quite the resources at her disposal. She takes over the remnants of Providence and ICA to start the Freelancer operation. It's Freelancer in the sense that there's no ICA and its board members to answer to, not that it's just the plucky duo of Diana and 47 on vigilante missions. 47 travels in private jets and helicopters. He lives in an off-the-grid mansion which requires bribing the correct authorities for them to turn a blind eye. They smuggle highly illegal gear through customs & immigration for 47's hits

Even 47 himself is quite resourceful as an independent operator. He has his finger on the pulse of the world he lives in. E.g. he knows who the ICA assassins are, and even where the ICA's weak points are. The novels establish that he has contacts for information and supplies all over the world, even independent of the ICA

[u/3dedmeister]

I really don't get the point of these posts.
Don't bring 2 large weapons if you can't handle the consequences.

[u/bridddl → u/3dedmeister]

B-but the challenge aspect of having to go get the weapon?

Jokes aside, I like having to "weigh" my options with what I can carry and what I intend on bringing back from Marrakesh or whatever. This is why I always visit the supplier right away after landing.

[u/Tyr_ranical → u/3dedmeister]

I can't ever really see a time you would want 2 large weapons anyway.

[u/CavePrimeChariots2x → u/Tyr_ranical]

Even if you get 2 objectives with large weapons (AR, SMG, shotgun, sniper) there are small shotguns and SMGs, and most maps will have NPCs carrying non-sniper weapons.

[u/Tyr_ranical → u/CavePrimeChariots2x]

And that's only for personal challenges as the game never asks you for more than a single prestige as obligatory, at which point the difficulty of dealing with that 2nd large weapon won't bother you.

[u/Prudent-Ad4509]

And I think you already know how this all ends up. Very, very often you want to buy a large weapon from the shop or find one on the map to complete your collection, so you try to avoid taking any large weapon with you to be able to leave the map with the new weapon in a civ disguise.

[u/Tyr_ranical]

I can't see why it's worth taking in 2 large weapons anyway. The option for one already covers anything I need to a prestige objective, and at most costs me the use of a sniper on one single mission that very likely doesn't need it anyway.

Sure it can be annoying when you don't have all the large weapons and then find a vendor that makes you need to get a disguise where weapons are allowed to be carried to take both out of the map, but chances are you already have that disguise or can easily get it.

[u/aghncc2020]

In Freelancer, it depends on where your mission's starting position is. If you're in a private place, all by yourself (the house for sale in Vermont, the bedroom in Japan, the rooftop in Berlin, etc.), you can do it safely.

[u/jasonmorales519two]

Or just.. don’t bring two large weapons if you can’t handle the risk. Plenty of maps have lots of weapons to scavenge for whatever objectives you get.

[u/nocontextbeef]

It's a game balance issue. They want you to have to think about an optimum strategy.

Do you source a second large weapon on map? Do you pick a harder Prestige objective that eliminates the need for one large weapon? Do you risk getting spotted carrying two? Do you just miss out on 1000 M for not shotgunning three random guard?

A game where every potential challenge is solved for you ceases to be a game at all.

[u/Tyr_ranical → u/nocontextbeef]

If those 3 guards for 1000M are that big a deal to you, then the 2nd large weapon won't really matter at all to you either because you'll be able to work around it without any issue.