Beyond the Red Line
Engine	FreeSpace Open
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
Release	WW: March 31, 2007 [1]
Genre(s)	Space simulation
Mode(s)	Single player and Multiplayer

Beyond the Red Line was a total conversion for the game FreeSpace 2, based on the reimagined TV show Battlestar Galactica. It allows players to fly into combat as either a Colonial Viper pilot or a Cylon raider.

Gameplay

BtRL planned to feature an original soundtrack with pieces inspired by Bear McCreary and Richard Gibbs' soundtrack. It also intended to include character-based gameplay and voice acting. The three-mission demo campaign follows a storyline that precedes the episode, " Scar", adding some background to the events of that episode. Online multiplayer, including " Deathmatch" and "Team vs. Team", is supported. The Mk II and VII Vipers are featured with authentic weaponry, flight controls, and semi- Newtonian physics (the development team stated that, "if you've seen it on the show, you can do it in BtRL").

Development

On March 31, 2007, a demo was released that allowed players to play a tutorial, two single player missions and multiplayer. This demo has since been noted or reviewed in various gaming related websites and magazines such as The Escapist, ^[2] Macworld, ^[3] PC Gamer UK ^[4] and Pelit. ^[5] The development team has been interviewed on several occasions ^[6] including a "making of" special in Pelit. ^[7] The BtRL demo has also been featured on the covers of two Ukrainian magazines as well as in cover DVD of Finnish computer magazine Mikrobitti. ^[8]

In October 2008, the majority of the team announced that they had left the Beyond the Red Line development team to work on a different project, known as Diaspora. ^[9] Although Diaspora is also a Battlestar Galactica game built on the FreeSpace 2 engine, it is being developed independently of BTRL and the projects have no affiliation with each other. ^[10]

In August 2009, it was announced that as a consequence of the Diaspora fork, BtRL's subsequent inactivity, and BtRL's perceived hostility toward its fans since the split, BtRL would no longer be hosted at Game Warden, its historical home. ^[11]

The Diaspora fork was completed and released in September 2012. ^[12]

Reception

In February 2008 Beyond the Red Line received Mod DB's " Mod of the Year Award" for "Best Independent Game". ^[13] That same year the game was also recommended over the official Battlestar video game (released: 2007 for Xbox Live Arcade and Windows PC), citing the latter game's low production values and publisher's mishandling of the license. ^[14] In 2008 the game was featured in Popular Science magazine. ^[15] In December 2007 the game was featured in Computer and Video Games' "The Best PC Mods. Ever!" review. ^[16]

References

External links

• Beyond the Red Line home page