Here is my install guide with collection of links that work, as of 01/04/2007.
If you find any of the links have quit working please let me know.
If you know of additional links for these resources please let me know.
This guide is a bit unwieldy, I'll try to break it up into digestible pieces in the future.
First, you might want to look this whole FreeSpace thing over to see why we like it so much, and a good place to start is
the FreeSpace Gamespot Link with Reviews. You'll see some good looking screenshots there to be sure, but
WMCoolmon's screenshots will really get you excited.
Finally you'll want to bookmark
FreeSpace Source Code Project Headquarters.
By now of course, you're itching to install FreeSpace Open, but there are two strategies:
1. Install everything all at once (my preference), or
2. Start with a Retail install, then Upgrade to FreeSpace Open
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Section 1, Installing Everything at Once (And Then Making a Backup)
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OPTION 1:
So far, the easiest and best way to get a properly working install is ShivanSPS' Freespace Open Full install.
(THREAD)ShivanSPS Pros: Smaller, more efficient install. Many mods included. Includes details that make it work better than the other options IMO.
ShivanSPS Cons: It installs more than one program group. Not current with latest files. Includes the obsolete avi rather than mve or ogg files. (A version 2.0 is in the works though, so stay tuned.)
Before you get started:
You'll need about 4GB of free hard disk space. Make sure you have more than that.
It's OpenGL, not Direct3D, so quit trying.
The following seems complex because there are a lot of steps, just go one at a time, OK?
Note: The following is not intended to provide backward compatibility with the Retail version. I don't play that and haven't tested it. I only use the upgraded SCP version, so be advised.
A) First, get the 2GB
ShivanSPS 1.5 pack from BitTorrent or
from ftp, (ftp username & password are both "hardlight").
Get "fs2scpfullpackv15c Shivansps.zip"
B) Second, get the 500MB
FS2 SCP 1.8 update (7zipped) from MediaFire, or
from Hunter's fs2downloads, or
from ftp, (ftp username & password are both (hardlight").
C) Third, get the 40MB
ShivanSPS 1.8 to 1.9c update pack from Hunter's fs2downloads or
from MediaFire or
from Filefront.
Now save these three files somewhere, or burn them to a DVD, so you won't have to download them again.
Then, run the 1.5 setup.exe from step A. It will "think" for a long time while it's preparing to extract so be patient, and make sure to accept the default install directory of C:\Games when prompted.
Next, run the 1.8 update exe from step B and accept the default directory of C:\Games\Freespace2.
Finally, run the 1.9c update exe from step C and accept the default directory.
In your C:\Games directory, find fsnodemap.gif and copy it to C:\Games\FreeSpace2.
Optional, but not necessary:
There have been some changes since the installer was released, and some other files snuck in that don't need to be there, so let's do some housecleaning. This will all change in the near future with the ShivanSPS 2.0, but for now, you can carefully move or delete the following:
From C:\Games, OpenALwEAX installer.exe
From C:\Games\FreeSpace2, all the fred2_open_*.exe files and all the fs2_open_*.exe files, and Launcher.exe.
Leave the Fred2.exe and freespace2.exe files.
The flags.lch file and server.txt file.
Search your FreeSpace2 directories for all the Thumbs.db files and remove those.
Search your FreeSpace2 directories for all the Shivan files and remove those.
Search your FreeSpace2 directories for all the settings.ini files and remove those.
Search your FreeSpace2 directories for all the multi.log files and remove those.
From C:\Games\FreeSpace2\data\movies, all the avi files.
From C:\Games\FreeSpace2\Fs1_port_3\data\Movies, all the avi files.
Do not delete the ending.avi file from C:\Games\FreeSpace2\Transcend\data\movies
You can also delete both the Freespace 2 SCP folders from your start menu. There, all cleaned up.
LATEST EXE's:
D)
Download the uber Windows Pack containing the latest build of the exe (3.6.9) and launcher (5.5a)
(THREAD).
Put the files in "C:\Games\FreeSpace2". Put a shortcut to the launcher on your desktop, or somewhere else convenient.
Your FreeSpace2 root folder will look like this:
CUTSCENES (MOVIES)
E)
NEW! Running movies from a VP file!Download Hunter's
FS2 ogg format Cutscene Pack VP. Put it in your "C:\Games\FreeSpace2" folder.
The
FS1 ogg format Cutscene Pack VP goes into your C:\Games\FreeSpace2\Fs1_port_3 folder.
Remove the old .avi's if you haven't already.
---OR---
Download the 20 Theora ogg format cutscenes to replace the old .avi's.
These new format movies are half the size of the originals with no discernable difference in quality.
avi vs. ogg vs. mve and why d3d is bad threadPut the
10 FS2 cutscenes (from Hunter) in your "C:\Games\FreeSpace2\data\movies" folder.
Put the
10 FS1 cutscenes (from Megaupload) in your "C:\Games\FreeSpace2\Fs1_port_3\data\movies" folder.
Remove the old .avi's if you haven't already.
Original Format Movies
If you have a really old, slow computer, you may consider using the mve format cutscenes instead of the ogg's.
Download the mve format cutscenes from here, or get the
fs2 mve files from filefront and
fs1 mve files from filefront.
UPDATE OPEN AL:
F) Download
the latest OpenAL installer, currently 1.9.9, 12/12/2006. Put it in a new folder in your FreeSpace2 directory for safekeeping, then run it.
UPDATE FSPORT from 3.03 to 3.04:
G)
Download fsport-patch-3_0_3-3_0_4.zip from fs2downloads and follow the directions contained in readme-patch.txt. When you're done you can remove the fsport3_0_3.vp file from your Fs1_port_3 directory.
(THREAD)When you're done, it will look like this:
(If you aren't using the installer procedure, you can download fsport 3.0.4 complete
from Hunter's fs2downloads, 470MB 7zipped down to 227MB)
ADVANCED EFFECT TWEAKS:
If you have a beefy machine and want all the eye candy (and lower frame rates), you can go to the C:\Games\FreeSpace2\mediavps\mv_adveffects folder, and move the mv_adveffects.vp and mp-710_adveffects.vp files up one directory to C:\Games\FreeSpace2\mediavps. When you're done it will look like this:
HIGH PERFORMANCE TWEAKS:
If you need more frames per second, skip the advanced effect tweaks (previous step). You can also go to C:\Games\FreeSpace2\mediavps\data and replace the NaRR10_Nebulae.vp file with
the Nebula pack from Wanderer, which contains compressed (and presumably faster) versions of the same files. If you put them both in the same directory, then the higher quality versions will take precedence, and it will look like this:
(If you want to know where all these mediavp files came from, they are the 3.6.8 zeta builds and you can download all of them from Hunter HERE. Using 7zip saved 30MB over rar. (THREAD)CONFIGURING FOR MULTI-PLAYER:
THREAD and
THREADDownload this config file. Put one copy in Freespace2\Data and another in Freespace2\Mediavps\Data.
Now, FINALLY, before you run the game for the first time, zip or rar your FreeSpace2 directory, then burn it to a DVD. It will compress a bit less than half. I'm told that if you don't compress it you will have issues later with read only attributes.
Now make copies and give them to your friends! Make sure they put it in their C:\Games folder.
OPTION 2:
[DW]-Hunter and Turey's new Online Retail Installer.
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Section 2, INSTALLING THE RETAIL VERSION FROM CD
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SWANTZ's NUKELOL SITE HAS BOTH SETS
Get the FS1 and FS2 CD's HEREFREESPACE 2 RETAILNORMAL (RETAIL) INSTALL FROM FreeSpace 2 CD's:
Pros: Provides the best fallback for a clean install.
Cons: LOTS of downloading needed! Updating is tricky. You need CD's and need the software and knowledge to burn iso or bin/cue files.
You can use this very well seeded torrent to get your FreeSpace 2 CD's
Download the CD's in Bin/Cue format using BitTorrent.
---OR---
Direct download
FreeSpace 2 iso version, #1 of 3, 607.4 MB from MediaFireFreeSpace 2 7zipped iso version, #2 of 3, 455.84 MB from MediaFireFreeSpace 2 7zipped iso version, #3 of 3, 459.67 MB from MediaFire---OR---
Direct download
Download the iso's from Turey's MyDataBus account in 250 MB multi-part 7zip fomat.
Install the game, then run the game's updater to update.
Otherwise
download and install the Freespace 2 v. 1.2 Patch.
FREESPACE 1 RETAILNote: FreeSpace 1 has been majorly upgraded. You will get the new version as part of the FreeSpace 2 SCP downloads above. If you insist on installing the old musty FreeSpace 1 and the Silent Threat expansion, they come on 3 CD's.
FreeSpace 1 7zipped iso UK version, #1 of 3, 317.43 MB from MediaFire
FreeSpace 1 7zipped iso UK version, #2 of 3, 310.65 MB from MediaFire
FreeSpace 1 7zipped iso UK version, #3 of 3 (Silent Threat), 283.52 MB from MediaFire
If you patch these you'll need the United Kingdom version. The in game patcher goes to a dead link.
Get the 1.06 UK patch and optional EAX UK patch for FS1 here.
Install these after installing Silent Threat or you'll have to reinstall them.----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOW THAT YOU'VE INSTALLED A RETAIL BASE, YOU CAN UPGRADE YOUR INSTALL TO FSOPEN.
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The new FreeSpace Open Installer upgrades the Retail installations to the enhanced Source Code Project versions,
and you can get it here. The installer can fetch over 800 MB!
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH THE NEW THEORA MOVIE FORMAT?
taylor answers all.
MOVING SAVED GAMES BETWEEN COMPUTERS:
Read this post.
COMPUTER TEXT TO SPEECH / VOICE RECOGNITION
When there is no voice acted part available, the game uses Windows Text to Speech for computer voices. If you have none available in your FS2 Open Launcher Setup, go to
this page, scroll down, and download and install SpeechSDK51.exe, 68.0MB from Microsoft. You'll need this installed to talk to your PC as well. (In the Launcher, the Speech Tab, Get Additional Voices button should also take you there.)
Learn it:
Download
all the manuals at once from MediaFire.
Print out the Keyboard chart on one page and fold it into a pyramid, uh, triangle, uh, three sided table tent thingie.
Download it:
Feel free to try the latest versions, but the benchmark BitTorrent client in terms of stability is arguably
µTorrent 1.5.437. Yes, it's not the latest version. Get it at the awesome FileHippo. Click on "Download this Version" 154 KB.
Tweak it:
Freespace Open Command Line ReferenceBefore you update your video drivers:
Use the Hard to find DriverCleaner Pro Download.
FS2 Open uses OpenGL instead of Direct3d. The manufacturer's drivers may not be exactly what you want, so try the
NGO Optimized Drivers.
Make sure your OpenGL is working.
Use the glview OpenGL checker.
Talk to your ship with Voice Recognition Technology!
VR Commander.
Feel your ship with a Force Feedback Stick.
This one works for left handers like me.
Saitek's Cyborg Evo Force.
Directory precedence:
http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,42245.msg909543.html#msg909543Registry entries:
http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,44620.msg910492.html#msg910492Graphics settings
http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,44897.msg915807.html#msg915807Update from disks
http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,44974.msg917082.html#msg917082Where to put ships
http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,44574.msg916854.html#msg916854
