Description
Rising Star is like a prelude to war for my next set of missions (which will be made into a campaign) called Operation Trinity.

Storyline:
Rising Star is a three mission set which centers around the GTI Callipso diplomatic station. First, Alpha must defend the PVC Panther as it withdraws from a Shivan attack and reinforcements arrive to defend the station. Next, the GTSC Trident must be protected from Shivans, so it can return to the station with valuable information about Shivan technology. Finally, the Shivan retreat from the system must be stopped by Alpha and the closest available capital ship. <p> Although the mission ideas vary, it is not always clear how the missions are tied together. For example, it is especially confusing how the second mission leads to the Shivans retreat in the third mission. There are also a few inconsistencies between the briefings and the missions (such as in the second mission, the jump node is to Beta Cygni in the briefing but to Rigel in the mission and then to "Galactica Prime" in the final mission). This isn't enough to tell a full story. The story isn't bad, it's just full of gaps.

Balance:
A consistent problem in this series is that the team loadout just doesn't have enough missiles. This error is compounded by the fact that in the first two missions you have the option to choose any Terran or Vasudan ship. There is no point in selecting a bomber when it would be impossible to load it fully with missiles or bombs. The first mission offers only five of every secondary, and the second mission gives you only enough Hornets and Phoenix Vs. In the final mission, Alpha pilots a Valkrie with an Avenger, Prometheus, and Phoenix V loadout. <p> Another problem in the missions is that there are just too many Terrans for the number of Shivans. However, the GTI Arcadia in the first mission is adequately threatened by the Shivans and is the most balanced of all the missions. The second mission would be easy, since you're mostly fighting Shivan transports, if the GTSC didn't have such a weak hull. It results in a race to slaughter the Shivan transports before the Terran science vessel dies. The final mission is a capital ship attack on a Shivan Cruiser that arrives too late, and then just sits there for the punishment. In this mission, Indira wing just sits and fails to engage the Terrans. Overall, there is a great variation in the Shivan targets but the challenge exists mainly due to the poor missile selection.

Design:
In addition to the loadout problems, Rising Star consistently suffers from ship placement issues. Ships are nicely placed on all three axis, but capital ships tend to jump almost on top of each other. This is very noticable in the first mission. Also, Alpha 1 starts on a colission course with the GTI extension panel and the PVC Panther faces the wrong direction rather than "retreating to the station." Capital ship reinforcements in the other two missions often come arrive uncomfortably close to the middle of the battle. <p> There are a few events which trigger messages, but no directives. Objectives are often poorly named, and sometimes spoil suprises (such as the third mission directive to "destroy Shivan reinforcements" which appears in the briefing). There seem to be no errors in the events or objectives, but the debriefings are very simple (a standard win and a standard lose debriefing for each scenario). Also, at least one briefing icon could be fixed in each mission.

Gameplay:
A mixed bag. The first mission is extremely enjoyable, recreating an action-packed station defense where there is a credible threat. The capital ships seem to do a good job of engaging each other <p> After the frantic combat in the first mission, the second mission is pretty much a letdown. Fighting Shivan freighters isn't very difficult at all, and it would be extremely boring if it wasn't necessary to also defend the weak-hulled GTSC. As a result, the second mission is perhaps the most difficult of the three. <p> The final mission is a straight-up capital ship battle, with accompanying fighter cover. However, it's not very exciting because the Arcturus doesn't defend itself and one of its wings just doesn't fight back. Just drop a weight on the fire key and return later.

Other Thoughts: