This is an interesting little find here. I couldn't find it elsewhere on the forums, so I figured I'd post a topic here. Now... I'm guessing a lot of sci fi gamers will all know ye old Conquest Frontier Wars, that fairly old 4X RTS. I loved the game, and I still do, I play it every now again against friends (because the AI is too darn predictable).
I was quite suprised when I came across this then:
http://www.moddb.com...er-wars-forever
It calls itself Conquest 2, an upgraded version of the original. At first I was sceptical, but after downloading it I discovered something else. It isn't technically a mod. Rather, it's a modified version of the full game, so standalone. Now, I'm not sure on the legality of that, seeing it's such an old game, but this mod... er... game... is seriously worth it for those that liked the original.
Overall, it IS the original, with a whole lot of new ships and music. A lot of the ships are rekits of the original models, but they still fit in well. The massive amount of new craft really adds new options for each of the three races, as well as boosting the original ideals behind the orginal ships- for example, the Mantis fighters are now a force to be reckoned with... and there is a large amount of different types, too.
The one downside is that the AI doesn't utalize the new ships, so having some friends to play it with is essential. I've managed to play a few games with a buddy, and the game seems relatively balanced. The Mantis, my favourite, has two paths it seems to be able to go down- multiple types of fleet carrier styled ships with swarms of fighters or close range ships with blaster and wave weapons. Not only does each race have a selection of new craft, but the game has a new Flagship system where admirals can build their own "super" ships. There is 6 per race, each focussing on a different ability, further enhancing gameplay.
Um... yea, I was pretty excited to find this. There is plenty of new toys to mess about with, so it'll keep you occupied for awhile. And those without the original Conquest should be able to enjoy it too.
I loved playing CFW, and was sad to see the kickstarter for CFW2 fail. I hope they will continue development on it. I will need to check this one out.