Parsec - Space Fps

[dm-horus]

Okay I first found this project when I downloaded some of my first MP3's off the internet from the now defunct http://www.mp3.com. I came across some really cool music that turned out to be from a game called PARSEC. I stumbled across the project site waaaaay back in 1996 sometime before I played OP2 for the first time.

I would really like it if you guys would check out their site and possibly download their LAN-Test release. It was the last release ever made by the team and the project has been dead since. I dont know exactly what happened, just that updates stopped coming and every contact email is inactive. I think it is a real shame that more people don't know about this project because it involves a concept that still affect me today - Commercial Quality Freeware. A good game for free. The music is fantastic and the game itself is great considering it was done by college students with no (completed) formal training.

The only remaining download link is here. Please download it and give it a try. If the game crashes when you set your gfx settings before game start, try again but start the game with default settings and then crank up the gfx once in. I suggest you start by watching the "Parsec Demo" when you start the game as it shows you some good combat scenes that show off the gfx and plays the entire soundtrack. The soundtrack used to be available for free online but the author apparently started his own band and has forgotten about the project. The game is the only place to hear it now. I actually contacted the artist to see if he would help out with OP2 projects but unfortunately he has been on tour.

Anyway, check out the site and download the game if you can. Pass it around to others. It will be possible to use a VPN to setup internet matches for Parsec.

I REALLY think leaders of OP3 projects and people like Eddy, Freeza, Levi, Hacker, and Stormy should look at this. This is the minimum quality OP3 projects and remake projects should be shooting for.

Ive got several game engines sitting on my desktop that could import the game files from Parsec or I could simply create my own and release it. I am seriously thinking about this.

FPS game authoring is actually alot easier with the tools I have available to me now. A space FPS would be simpler than a regular FPS since there is no terrain to worry about at all, just objects which are quite easy to manufacture. I could even tie it in to the Outpost universe.

Sourceforge link here.

[dm-horus]

I just uncovered how to extract all game files and I have begun editing the ship model skins and UV maps. I also managed to get my hands on the MUSIC!!!

You can extract the game files by the following method:

In order to extract the files contained in a Parsec package (pscdata0.dat,
pscdata2.dat, or pscdata3.dat, for instance) you invoke the Parsec executable
with the following command line parameters:

-getpack --pack <packname> --list <listname>

This will extract <packname> into the current directory and also store a
list of the extracted files in <listname>. The "--list" option is actually
optional, but it"s handy to have this list available, especially if you
want to repackage the extracted files, for which you will need just such
a list.

In order to create a package you invoke Parsec with these parameters:

-makepack --pack <packname> --list <listname>

which creates the package <packname> by packaging all the files listed in
<listname> into it (they won"t be compressed, just put into a single file,
just like a .tar package, although in a different binary format).

Packname refers to pscdata0.dat, pscdata2.dat, pscdata3.dat. pscdata1.dat is too small to extract.

So, right click on the Parsec exe and create a shortcut. Right click, go to Properties, Target and type a space and then paste -getpack --pack pscdata0.dat --list list0 (for example).