Source Code Project

So, with all the new snazzy games and flashy graphics popping up on the market, you've gotten jealous - because, as everyone knows, There Is No Freespace 3 and Never Will Be. So you're stuck in your parents' basement with only your vintage 1998 Space Sim of the Year to keep you company.

Fortunately, there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

A History Lesson

In 2002, Dave Baranec (One of the guys who worked on Freespace/2) was generous enough to get the Freespace 2 source released on the now-defunct Volition Watch. Although minus important components like PXO and the ability to play movies, new features (such as glowpoints) were quickly added. Ship class limits were bumped, causing FS2 modders around the world to rejoice. The various programmers making minor enhancements soon organized into the Freespace Source Code Project (FSSCP) and kept on working. Glow mapping, shine mapping, DirectX 8.0 support, a new multiplayer network system, and dozens of new SEXPs have followed over the years.

But I just want to play!

In that case, skip on over to Installing fs2_open. Otherwise, read on.

An intro to FSSCP Politics (and Ferrium) Abridged.

The FSSCP is headed up by Inquisitor. However, individual programmers are given great leeway in what they can and can't do. Mostly, he keeps the team organized and working towards a set of goals; occassionally, he'll request a 'code freeze' before a major release. That is, programmers aren't supposed to add new features, and instead clean up major, existing bugs.

So what's this mean to you? Well, if you want a new feature, your best bet is to post it in the FSSCP Forum or add it to Mantis, the bug-reporting tool. Do a search first, too; there are questions (Like 3D cockpits) that tend to arouse bad feelings because they've been brought up so many times. That way, the individual coders will be able to read and reply to your feature suggestion. (And yes, they do frequently post on the forum)

Another important figure is Kazan, who runs Fs2NetD, the replacement for PXO. He also heads the Ferrium project, whose goal is to create an entirely new game which is also compatible with Freespace. If you get banned on [Fs2NetD], he's the guy to politely ask 'why?'.

Finally, there's me (WMCoolmon). I occassionally release new versions of the [MediaVp], which is a collection of better-quality textures and effects for Freespace 2. If you've created a high-res or high-poly version of a texture or ship in Freespace 2, tell me so I can include it in future releases. :)

So, what do I want to get then?

There are three basic things you'll need/want to get FS2_Open running.

One, the EXE itself; this is what makes all the nifty graphics enhancements and such possible. By default, however, it'll look pretty much like Freespace 2 (Although it may play faster or slower)

Two, the Launcher. This program does the actual setup of the settings and lets you turn on and off the various improvements. It's basically an enhanced version of the original Launcher that came with Freespace 2. (Although it is not based on the original)

Three, mv_core from the MediaVP. This isn't necessary to get FS2_Open running, although some things won't work properly if it's not installed. There are other mediaVPs, too, which add better textures, effects, and ship models.

What problems can I expect to run into? Is fs2_open buggy?

If you're using an old system, you may find that fs2_open runs slowly (Or not at all). Are you still stuck? Somewhat. You won't have a lot of the new, snazzy graphifc effects, but you can use tom's build. This build uses the old Freespace 2 graphics engine, but adds some of the new non-graphics improvements. Mostly, it'll let you play online using the new Fs2NetD.

fs2_open itself is not buggy. FRED2_Open, however, is. Rumor has it that there are still some Volition coders trapped in the FRED2 code, it's so messy. A multi-platform, and reliable, version of FRED is in the works.

How do I play multiplayer!?

Register at the Fs2NetD site. Then, in Freespace 2, enter your account username and password into the options screen (Just like you would for PXO). Then, create a multiplayer pilot and try to start a Multiplayer game. Keep in mind that if you don't have mv_core installed or a valid .cfg file, you won't be able to connect. Also, if you've got any mods installed (and aren't using the mod-switching feature) you'll be booted when you try to connect.

Help! I found a bug! What do I do!?

First: make sure it's a new bug. Go to the FSSCP Forum and type in some relevant phrase in the search box in the lower right of the page. For example, "Joystick not working". Look for any threads that seem like they might have something to do with the problem.

If you don't find any threads about the problem, check Mantis. If you don't feel like registering, use the account:
Username: SCPGuest
Password: password

Finally, post a thread about it in the FSSCP forum or report it using Mantis. Of course, you could do this first, but you risk annoying people by re-asking about a bug that's been asked about before.

An example of this is the warp-failure bug in 3.6. It turned out that in Very Easy difficulty mode, you would never be able to warp out of a mission. This bug was quickly corrected and a notice (along with a link to the corrected build) added to the top of the 3.6 release thread, but threads continually cropped up about it (sometimes more than one a day.) Needless to say, people got VERY tired of replying to threads asking about it.