Mac Installation Guide

Installing FreeSpace Open on a Mac takes several distinct steps:

Install FreeSpace 2 (optional)

If you want to play the original FS2 campaign, you need a copy of the original game. You can find instructions for that on the Getting FreeSpacepage.

FreeSpace 2 is a game for Windows only, so the installer also requires Windows to run. On a Mac you can work around this is several ways:

• install FS2 on a Windows PC and move the entire program's folder to your mac.
• use Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion or VirtualBox.
• use CrossOver Mac or Wine.

In all cases, you should end up with a folder that contains an FS2.exe, several .vp files, and several folders including data, ereg and tools. Move this folder to a convenient place on your mac. You no longer need any of the .exe files.

Install FreeSpace Open

You can do it by hand, but by far the easiest way is to use Turey's fsoinstaller. For the Mac, you need the cross-platform .jar installer. It needs Java 1.5, which is standard on OSX 10.4 (Tiger) onwards, and can be hacked into 10.3 (Panther).

Run the installer. Select the folder where you moved FS2 or an empty folder if just want FSO. Then make sure you leave the Update Current Files option unchecked. Otherwise, you can select anything you want.

After you select software and mods, allow the installer to fetch the latest versions. Caution: Depending on your mod choices, the installer may start downloading several GB. If you are on a relatively slow connection (including basic broadband) this could take hours.

If you want a newer build of the FSO game than the installer provides for, you can find build announcements in the Cross-Platform Development forum. Caution: these builds are experimental and may not function as intended.

Installing the OSX game launcher

On platforms other than Mac, FSO is configured via command-line options. On the Mac, these options not used on a command line, but are listed instead in the ~library/FS2_Open/data/cmdline_fso.cfg file. You can edit this file by hand, but a more convenient way is to use Soulstorm's OSX launcher. Download the disk image, open it, and put the launcher in your FS2/FSO folder.

When you first run the installer, let it update itself to at least version 3.1, and enter the location of your FSO application in the bottom part of the window.

Go to the GamePlay + Speed tab to select one of the mods you have installed. FSO can have only one mod active at the same time, so select the one you want to play. The launcher should be able to find the mods in your FSO folder. If not, you will have to add them to your cmdline_fso.cfg file by hand.

Go to the Graphics tab to enter your graphics options. The MediaVPS mod readme.txt file recommends the following settings, but your Mac may or may not support these:

-spec (Enable Specular maps)
-glow (Enable Glowmaps)
-env (Enable Environment Maps)
-missile_lighting (Apply Lighting to Missiles)
-normal (Enable Normal Maps)
-3dshockwave (Enable 3D Shockwaves in random orientations)

-ambient_factor 35
-spec_exp 15
-spec_point 1.2
-spec_static 1.5
-spec_tube 1.5
-ogl_spec 20

Install additional mods

You can use the fsoinstaller to download more mods, or follow the links in the FS campaign list. Total conversion mods are also available, which take place outside the FreeSpace universe.