FreeSpace Open Installer

The FreeSpace Open Installer is currently the only official online installer for FS2_Open. The Installer was originally written by Turey, and then completely rewritten by Goober5000. The source code is hosted by the SCP.

The program's web page is here.

Instructions on creating an install.txt file are here. These are only for modders who are ready to add their released mod or campaign to the installer's list of available mods to install.

Features

The most recent Installer includes:

• FreeSpace Open 3.7.0 Final (regular and debug)
• FRED2 Open 3.7.0 Final (regular and debug)
• Launcher 5.5g
• Linux 32-bit and 64-bit Executables
• Mac Executables
• The OpenAL Installer (optional)
• 3.6.12 MediaVPs
• .OGG Cutscenes
• Derelict SCP Version (With optional voice)
• FreeSpace Port
• Silent Threat: Reborn
• Homesick
• Transcend
• Sync

Walkthrough installing

This Installer is known to work on Windows, Linux (tested on OpenSuse, Gentoo and Fedora, should work on others), and Mac (OSX Panther, with a hacked install of Java 1.5)

First step is getting Retail FS2. You can buy it from either Good Old Games or off of eBay or something. Install it and the related patch, then get the FreeSpace Open Installer.

Requirements and Notes

You can update your installation by simply running the Installer again. It will download files that are out of date.

The Installer requires an internet connection to install. This is because:

• It checks to see if it is out of date by pulling the number of the most recent version off of the web.
• It automatically takes you to the download page of the most recent version if your version is out of date.
• It checks that all the files are up-to-date.
• This install process downloads several GB of data, if you download everything. Just so you can prepare; for example, you could set it to download while you are working on something else.

Download Links

• fsoinstaller.com
• scp.indiegames.us

Both links contain the same installer. The program requires Java version 1.5 or higher, and can be run on any operating system that can run a compatible version of Java.

You can also get the source code from the SCP's SVN repository at svn://svn.icculus.org/fs2open/trunk/fsoinstaller.

Install procedure

1. Install FreeSpace 2 from your disks, if you haven't already. Install it to C:\Games\FreeSpace2. Then install the 1.2 patch.
2. Now, put disk 2 of FreeSpace 2 back into your CD drive.
3. Copy all the files with the extension of ".MVE" from the disk root directory ( \ ) to the folder C:\Games\FreeSpace2\data\movies\ (create this folder if it doesn't exist)
4. Do the same thing for disk 3.
5. If you ONLY have the FS2 disks, then put this file (right-click Save Target/Link As) in C:\Games\FreeSpace2\Installer\ (create this folder if it doesn't exist) If you have BOTH the FS1 and FS2 disks, skip to the next step.
6. If you don't have the Descent: FreeSpace a.k.a. Conflict: FreeSpace (aka FS1) Disks, then skip to the last step. If you do, insert disk 1 in your CD drive. Copy all of the files with the extension of ".MVE" from the disk directory \Data\movies\ to the folder C:\Games\FreeSpace2\fsport\data\movies\ (create this folder if it doesn't exist)
7. Do the same thing for disk 2.
8. If you ONLY have the Conflict: FreeSpace a.k.a. Descent: FreeSpace (aka FS1) disks (and not the FS2 disks), put this file (right-click, Save Target/Link As) in C:\Games\FreeSpace2\Installer (create this folder if it doesn't exist) If you have BOTH the FS1 and FS2 disks, then skip to the next step.
9. Run the Installer, under the "Installing the FreeSpace Open Installer" section, above.

Using the Installer

1. First window, click next.
2. Press "Next" again, or click the big button to change the location for the FreeSpace 2 install. (Don't, unless you have a reason to, e.g., you really want another location or you've already installed Retail FS2 to a different directory than C:\Games\FreeSpace2.)
3. Make sure "Update Installed Sections Only" and "Say Yes to All" are not checked. Then hit "Next".
4. If you are a Windows user, select everything, except for "Macintosh (Universal Binary) Executables", "Launcher for OS X", and the two "Linux Executables" sections. If you are a Mac user, select everything, except for "Windows Executables" and the two "Linux Executables" sections.
5. Wait for the Installer to finish (this may take a long time!). You will know it is done when the "Next" button becomes black, instead of gray.

When it becomes black, click it. This means the installation is finshed.

1. READ the NOTES!!! They might contain important information. After you do, hit "Exit".
2. Hit the Close button on the Command Prompt Window.

OpenAL notes:

1. If you don't have it, get OpenAL: (all users, Windows / Mac / Linux) Go to www.openal.org, and click on the "Downloads" link on the left.
2. Get the correct version for your OS:

Windows users get "1.1 Installer for Windows" - Note: If you're using Windows, and you have nvopenal.dll or ctoal.dll in your Windows\System32 directory, then delete them and then install the newest version of OpenAL. These files are older versions, and will cause problems with the new install. Mac users get Installer for OS X. Linux users get the Binary RPM, or compile from the source code.

If you have any issues with the installation post here.