Portal:FRED

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The FRED Portal
Learning FRED
5 Easy Steps
FRED Hints and Tips
Common FRED Mistakes
FRED Examples
SEXPs
Retail SEXPs
SCP SEXPs
Highlighted FRED Features
Skybox
Fiction Viewer
Command Line Options
Variables
Improved Team Loadout
List of Minor Features
Tutorial - Autopilot missions
Tutorial - Cutscenes
Tutorial - In-Mission Jumps
Mission Designer's Reference
Nebula Backgrounds
Friendly Wing Names
Enemy Wing Names
FreeSpace 1 Ship Database
FreeSpace 2 Ship Database
Fighter squadrons
Stars and Planets
Nodemap
FRED Troubleshooting
Common Issues FAQ

Welcome to the FRED portal. Here you will find tips, guides, links, reference material, and other information regarding the FreeSpace Editor and mission design. What you will not find here is information on modding FreeSpace. For that, please see the Modding Portal.

For a list of FRED-related topics, click here or browse the FRED category.

The Editor

FRED main window

FRED (main window pictured left) is the editor developed and used by Volition to make the missions and campaigns of both FreeSpace games. As such, FRED is very powerful, once the initial learning period is over. Unlike mission and level editors released for other games, no functionality was removed from FRED.

FRED is a fully 3D editor, allowing placement of objects on all axes (X, Y, and Z), has full symbolic expression (SEXP) scripting support, allows the inclusion of voice acting for briefings and mission messages, can create both subspace and nebula missions, contains a full-fledged campaign editor, including the ability to add cutscenes, and much more.

Versions

There are actually three versions of this editor: FRED, which was the original editor supplied with Descent: FreeSpace - The Great War and is largely obsolete now; FRED2, which was the updated editor supplied with FreeSpace 2, and finally FRED_Open, which is the open source version of the editor and the only one to support the many additions and improvements made, since the source code of FreeSpace 2 was released.

The information found on these pages refers primarily to FRED_Open, as it is the most recent version and the only one continually updated with support for new features, but some reference material is available for FRED2. The general continuity material in the "Mission Designer's Reference" section is valid for all versions of the editor.

The best way to become familiar with FRED2, and by association FRED_Open, is to complete the FRED walkthrough, provided with the retail version of FreeSpace 2. The walkthrough covers everything needed to design a working mission, but it may not be available to those who do not own the retail version of FreeSpace 2. To alleviate this problem, a link to the online version of the walkthrough, without the sample mission, is provided below. Additional resources for FRED users of all skill levels are available in this section, with material in the "Learning FRED" section being geared specifically toward beginners.

Also, keep in mind that FRED_Open is under constant development. This can create difficulties in keeping this section up-to-date, but as new features are added to the editor, the information box below will be updated to reflect the most recent changes.


Most Recent FRED Additions Edit

SEXPs:


Features:


See Also

Related Links

External Links