Difference between revisions of "Getting started with FreeSpace 2"

Latest revision as of 21:02, 17 September 2023

For up-to-date instructions, choose your platform: Windows Linux Mac OS X

This page is under construction (if this page is deemed necessary that is -> talk page).

It is also outdated. Both the builds and mediaVPs are in 3.6.10 beta phase at this point in time, check Hard-Light Forums for the latest news and stuff.

Getting Retail FreeSpace 2

Main article Getting_FreeSpace...

Buy CDs
Buy it online, for example from GOG.com

Installing Retail FreeSpace 2

Main article Installing Freespace 2...

Install the game
To use FreeSpace 2 Open only the the retail data files are needed (*.VP files). This makes it possible for user to 'install' or extract the vp files from the main game data and then move the files to another platform for example to Linux or OS X. However it is recommended that the data files should be patched before moving them. See Fs2 open on Linux for more information.
Make sure you have OpenAL installed

Update the Retail FreeSpace 2

Note: This step is only required if the data has not already been patched

Download and run Freespace 1.2 update
FreeSpace 2 Patch (version 1.2) | Alternate link: FS2 1.2 patch from gameupdates.org Note that you will need a BitTorrent client to download from gameupdates; I recommend uTorrent.
Some versions have this already preinstalled

Installing FreeSpace Open

Main articles Installing FreeSpace 2 Open and FreeSpace Open Installer...

Launcher

Using a Launcher makes configuring & running FSO much easier. Unless you know what you're doing, use either wxLauncher (preferred) or Launcher 5.5g.

Note: In some cases on Windows, you need to run the Launcher as Administrator in order to be able to update the registry correctly

wxLauncher (Cross Platform)
Launcher 5.5g (Windows only)

Launchers still in development

Knossos (Cross Platform, includes installer functionality)
m!m's new launcher (but I can't find the release thread :() (Windows only)

Game Builds

Latest Official Build

Link to FS2 Open 3.7.4

Current Development Builds

Nightly Builds

MediaVP File Sets

The MediaVPs are a set of upgrades to the game assets, e.g. models, textures, sounds, etc.
MediaVP sets should always be installed to their own directory that is located in the FreeSpace root directory. The installer is the preferred way to install the mediavps. For manual installs they should in be installed to a versioned directory, e.g. c:\games\freespace2\mediavps_3612 or c:\games\freespace2\MediaVPs_2014

Latest Official MediaVPs

Setting up the Launcher

Selecting the Game Build

First thing to do is to click on the Browse... button at the top of the Launcher and select the build you installed.

Audio/Joystic

If you have trouble with your joystick not working properly in FS2_Open, you may try the Force 0 or Force 1 options, which will force FS2_Open to use the first or second joysticks, respectively.

Network

Adjust the settings according to your setup.

Speech

If you are using Windows XP, or have the Speech API installed, FS2_Open will be able to read briefings, techroom descriptions, and even in game messages to you using computer-generated voices. Although no match for real voice acting, it is convenient when valid plot points are mentioned in the middle of combat. Speech in the various locations can be turned on and off by checking and unchecking the check boxes; you can choose which of the installed voices to use in FS2_Open by changing the drop-down menu.

Registry

Unless you know what you are doing don't tamper with these settings
Default location is: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> Software -> Volition -> Freespace2
On 64-bit Windows, the location is one of the following:
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER -> Software -> Classes -> VirtualStore -> MACHINE -> SOFTWARE -> Wow6432Node -> Volition -> Freespace2
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> SOFTWARE -> Wow6432Node -> Volition -> FreeSpace2

On OSX / Linux / BSD an .ini file is used instead of the registry. It is located here:

~/Library/FS2_Open/fs2_open.ini (OSX)
~/.fs2_open/fs2_open.ini (other *nix variants)

Video

On some older or special builds user can choose which API to use (OpenGL or Direct3D) however usually it defaults to OpenGL. In any case it is recommended to use OpenGL as DirectX is unstable and not actively supported.
Select the preferred resolution for the game.

Features

This tab is where most of FS2_Open's options can be toggled on and off. At the top is a readout of your current command line. You should include this if you ever need to report an error with FS2_Open.
Easy setup basically allows you to turn lots of features on or off at once. Generally most people use it and then fine tune the settings immediately afterwards.
Custom flags allows you to add any command line flags that don't show up in the Launcher. This may be because they require additional arguments, as is the case with the -fov command line argument (for more information, you can see the Command-Line Reference page of the wiki). Its recommended to add -ambient_factor 50 to the command line.
Finally, the two boxes below this let you toggle the various new features in FS2 Open individually. The list type option lets you choose between graphics, sound etc and the tickboxes let you turn the feature on or off.

MOD

This tab is used to select mods for the game. For example this installation guide directs you to install MediaVPs in such a way that FS2 will treat them as a mod. Click Select MOD and choose mediavps folder that you picked earlier.
The reason that we installed the media VPs as a mod is that if FS2_Open doesn't work you can select the no MOD button and run without them and check if the problem is with the build or with the media VPs. It also means that you can still run retail FS2 if you want to.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+<span style="color:#faa700"><center>'''For up-to-date instructions, choose your platform: [http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=78710.0 Windows] [http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=79545.0 Linux] [http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=79546.0 Mac OS X]'''</center></span>
 This page is under construction (if this page is deemed necessary that is -> [[Talk:Getting_started_with_FreeSpace_2|talk page]]).
@@ Line 4: / Line 6: @@
 ==Getting Retail FreeSpace 2==
-*CDs
+::''Main article [[Getting_FreeSpace]]...''
-*[http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,38195.0.html Download Options]
+*Buy CDs
-<br><br>
+*Buy it online, for example from [https://www.gog.com/game/freespace_2 GOG.com]
-==Installing FreeSpace 2==
-*Game should be installed into a directory that has no empty spaces in its name. For example '''''c:\games\Freespace2\''''' is ok, but '''''c:\Program Files\Freespace2''''' or '''''c:\games\Freespace 2\''''' are not.
+==Installing Retail FreeSpace 2==
+::''Main article [[Installing Freespace 2]]...''
+*Install the game
+*To use FreeSpace 2 Open only the the retail data files are needed ([[*.VP]] files). This makes it possible for user to 'install' or extract the '''vp''' files from the main game data and then move the files to another platform for example to Linux or OS X. However it is recommended that the data files should be patched before moving them. See [[Fs2 open on Linux]] for more information.
+*Make sure you have [https://www.openal.org/downloads/ OpenAL] installed
 ==Update the Retail FreeSpace 2==
+{{Note|This step is only required if the data has not already been patched}}
 *Download and run Freespace 1.2 update
-*[http://www.pxo.net/files/fs21x-12.exe FreeSpace 2 Patch (version 1.2)]
+*[http://homepage.ntlworld.com/karajorma/FAQ/Downloads/HotUv1.20Pack.rar FreeSpace 2 Patch (version 1.2)]  |  Alternate link: [http://www.gameupdates.org/details.php?id=4722 FS2 1.2 patch from gameupdates.org]  Note that you will need a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_BitTorrent_clients BitTorrent] client to download from gameupdates; I recommend uTorrent.
-*Some downloadable versions have this already preinstalled
+*Some versions have this already preinstalled
-<br><br>
+==Installing FreeSpace Open==
+::''Main articles [[Installing FreeSpace 2 Open]] and [[FreeSpace Open Installer]]...''
-'''Note:''' Much of the following information is only applicable to Windows, for information on installation on a Linux system, see [[Fs2 open on Linux]].
+===Launcher===
+Using a Launcher makes configuring & running FSO much easier.  Unless you know what you're doing, use either wxLauncher (preferred) or Launcher 5.5g.
-==Download SCP Files==
+{{Note|In some cases on Windows, you need to run the Launcher as Administrator in order to be able to update the registry correctly}}
-*Some downloadable versions have SCP already installed
+*[http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=67950.0 wxLauncher] (Cross Platform)
+*[http://swc.fs2downloads.com/files/Launcher55g.zip Launcher 5.5g] (Windows only)
-===Launcher===
+====Launchers still in development====
-*[http://scp.indiegames.us/download.php?view.133 Link to 5.3 Launcher]
+*[http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=86364.0 Knossos] (Cross Platform, includes installer functionality)
+* m!m's new launcher (but I can't find the release thread :()  (Windows only)
 ===Game Builds===
 ====Latest Official Build====
-*[http://scp.indiegames.us/download.php?view.134 Link to FS2 Open 3.6.7]
+*[http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=92181.0 Link to FS2 Open 3.7.4]
-:Includes 5.3 Launcher
-====Current CVS Builds====
+====Current Development Builds====
-*Link to newest
+*[http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/board,173.0.html Nightly Builds]
-*Link to second
-*Link to third
 ===MediaVP File Sets===
-*MediaVP sets should always be installed to their own directory preferably named as '''mediavps''' that is located in the FreeSpace root directory. For example if FreeSpace has been installed to ''c:\games\freespace'' then MediaVP files should be placed to '''''c:\games\freespace\mediavps''''' directory.
+*The MediaVPs are a set of upgrades to the game assets, e.g. models, textures, sounds, etc.
+*MediaVP sets should always be installed to their own directory that is located in the FreeSpace root directory. The [[FreeSpace_Open_Installer|installer]] is the preferred way to install the mediavps. For manual installs they should in be installed to a versioned directory, e.g. '''c:\games\freespace2\mediavps_3612''' or '''c:\games\freespace2\MediaVPs_2014'''
 ----
 ====Latest Official MediaVPs====
-*Direct links to 367 mediavp files and their patches
+*[http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,58230.0.html 3.6.10 MediaVP Release Thread]
-*[http://fs2source.warpcore.org/mvp367/mv_zpack.zip Full Package],
+*[http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=70739.0 3.6.12 MediaVP Release Thread]
-:contains '''Core, Effects, Music, Textures,''' and '''Models''', requires [http://fs2source.warpcore.org/mvp367/mv_amodelspatch2.rar Patch]
+*[http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=86475.0 2014 MediaVP Release Thread]
-<br>
-'''Invidual files'''
+==Setting up the Launcher==
-*[http://fs2source.warpcore.org/mvp367/mv_core.zip Core]
-*[http://fs2source.warpcore.org/mvp367/mv_effects.zip Effects]
-*[http://fs2source.warpcore.org/mvp367/mv_models.zip Models]
-*[http://fs2source.warpcore.org/mvp367/mv_music.zip Music]
-*[http://fs2source.warpcore.org/mvp367/mv_textures.zip Textures]
-*[http://fs2source.warpcore.org/mvp367/mv_amodelspatch2.rar Patch]
-<br>
-'''Optional files'''
-*[http://fs2source.warpcore.org/mvp367/mv_cell.zip Cell],
-:cell shaded graphics (cartoon style), not recommended for normal gameplay
-*[http://fs2source.warpcore.org/mvp367/mv_adveffects.zip Advanced Effects],
-:additional advanced effects, may cause severy slowdowns
-*[http://fs2source.warpcore.org/mvp367/mv_befix.zip Beam Slowdown Patch],
-:additional patch to fix slowdown caused by beam firings
-*[http://fs2source.warpcore.org/mvp367/mv_100patch.zip Additional Patch],
-:<font color=red>WARNING</font> very limited functionality, not recommended
-----
-====Current WIP MediaVPs====
-*Direct links to 368zetas
-*[http://fs2source.warpcore.org/mvp368zeta/mv_zpack.zip Full Package],
-:contains '''Core, Effects, Music, Textures,''' and '''Models'''
-<br>
-'''Invidual files'''
-*[http://fs2source.warpcore.org/mvp368zeta/mv_core.zip Core]
-*[http://fs2source.warpcore.org/mvp368zeta/mv_effects.zip Effects]
-*[http://fs2source.warpcore.org/mvp368zeta/mv_models.zip Models]
-*[http://fs2source.warpcore.org/mvp368zeta/mv_music.zip Music]
-*[http://fs2source.warpcore.org/mvp368zeta/mv_textures.zip Textures]
-*[http://fs2source.warpcore.org/mvp368zeta/mv_adveffects.zip Advanced Effects]
-'''Optional Files'''
-*[http://fs2source.warpcore.org/mvp368zeta/mv_cell.zip Cell]
-<br><br>
-==Setting up the 5.3 Launcher==
 ===Selecting the Game Build===
 *First thing to do is to click on the '''Browse...''' button at the top of the Launcher and select the build you installed.
@@ Line 82: / Line 57: @@
 *If you have trouble with your joystick not working properly in FS2_Open, you may try the '''Force 0''' or '''Force 1''' options, which will force FS2_Open to use the first or second joysticks, respectively.
 ===Network===
-*Adjust the settings accordingly
+*Adjust the settings according to your setup.
 ===Speech===
 *If you are using Windows XP, or have the Speech API installed, FS2_Open will be able to read briefings, techroom descriptions, and even in game messages to you using computer-generated voices. Although no match for real voice acting, it is convenient when valid plot points are mentioned in the middle of combat. Speech in the various locations can be turned on and off by checking and unchecking the check boxes; you can choose which of the installed voices to use in FS2_Open by changing the drop-down menu.
 ===Registry===
-*Unless you know what you are doing dont tamper with these settings
+*Unless you know what you are doing '''don't''' tamper with these settings
+*Default location is: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> Software -> Volition -> Freespace2
+*On 64-bit Windows, the location is one of the following:
+**HKEY_CURRENT_USER -> Software -> Classes -> VirtualStore -> MACHINE -> SOFTWARE -> Wow6432Node -> Volition -> Freespace2
+**HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> SOFTWARE -> Wow6432Node -> Volition -> FreeSpace2
+On OSX / Linux / BSD an .ini file is used instead of the registry. It is located here:
+*~/Library/FS2_Open/fs2_open.ini (OSX)
+*~/.fs2_open/fs2_open.ini (other *nix variants)
 ===Video===
-*You can choose which API to use (OpenGL or Direct3D), what resolution to run in, and whether to use anti-aliasing (Multisampling) or not. With current builds it is '''recommended to use OpenGL''' as DirectX is unstable and not actively supported.
+* On some older or special builds user can choose which API to use (OpenGL or Direct3D) however usually it defaults to '''OpenGL'''. In any case it is '''recommended to use OpenGL''' as DirectX is unstable and not actively supported.
-*'''Allow non standard modes''' will let you choose resolutions other than 1024x768 and 640x480. There may be some small graphics alignment errors, but these are generally small and virtually unnoticeable.
+* Select the preferred resolution for the game.
 ===Features===
 *This tab is where most of FS2_Open's options can be toggled on and off. At the top is a readout of your current command line. You should include this if you ever need to report an error with FS2_Open.
@@ Line 97: / Line 82: @@
 ===MOD===
 *This tab is used to select mods for the game. For example this installation guide directs you to install MediaVPs in such a way that FS2 will treat them as a mod. Click '''Select MOD''' and choose '''''mediavps''''' folder that you picked earlier.
-*The reason that we installed the media VPs as a mod is that if FS2_Open doesn't work you can click the no MOD button and run without them and check whether the problem is with the build or the media VPs. It also means that you can still run retail FS2 if you want to.
+*The reason that we installed the media VPs as a mod is that if FS2_Open doesn't work you can select the '''no MOD''' button and run without them and check if the problem is with the build or with the media VPs. It also means that you can still run retail FS2 if you want to.
+[[Category:The Games]]