[The Merry Dwarf]

Hi All,

I am very pleased as I have found the discs in my loft!

I have installed FS1 and when I start it it will load to the setup panel thing. When I click Play FreeSpace it does nothing except close the previous panel. I have had a play with the compatibility settings, and also dosbox, to no avail!

I would preferably like to play the original games as they were and then intend to have a play on the projects that are worked on here. Does anyone have any suggestion of how I can get it to work?

If this is not possible for me to do I would be grateful if someone could confirm a couple of things about the projects on here. Is FreeSpace one available? the Inference from many of the pages I read on this site are that it is FS2... Also, how does it play - do the cut scenes/video still work and are your ships and missions customisable (like the original - if my memory serves correctly, it has been a few years). Sorry if these things have been asked before but I couldn't find any succinct answers while meandering through the threads.

Next on my list is getting my precision pro to work with XP... (anyone know if a non MS gameport to USB adapter works?)

Thanks everyone, TMD

[The Merry Dwarf]

hmm - not sure i posted this in the right place... If i didn't - sorry   

[Jeff Vader]

If you can't get FS1 working, do the following:

- Install FS2
- Find the cutscenes (the mve files) of both of the games from the discs
- Install FreeSpace Open or FSO over your FS2. The easiest way is to use Turey's Installer (link in my signature)
- Make sure to download FSPort while installing FSO. This'll allow you to play the FS1 campaign with FSO
- Place the FS2 cutscenes in \freespace\data\movies
- Place the FS1 cutscenes in \freespace\fsport\data\movies
- Read Karajorma's FreeSpace FAQ (link in my signature) to find out how to play mods with FSO, since FSPort is also a mod
- Check out my Useful Stuff site for additional **** (link again in my signature)

If something isn't clear, please ask.

And,

[General Battuta]

Just pick up FSOpen! You'll get Freespace 1 and Freespace 2, as well as totally optional graphical enhancements and access to a bunch of extra campaigns and mods.

Lobo's already tossed you a link.

[The Merry Dwarf]

Does FSOpen work on any OS? I have an XP box and an ubuntu box on the go at the moment - I am however completely new to linux and am finding it hard work at the moment!

Does FSopen have the cut scenes or is that only something I can do as I have the original discs? I suppose what I am actually asking is do I need to even try installing the originals?

Thanks, TMD

[Flipside]

There's version of FSOpen for either Operating System, so you're free to pick

The cutscenes, I think, have to be copied over, I've sort of lost track of that side of things, but there is also some exciting stuff happening in the cutscene department thanks to a few of our more skilled renderers

[Jeff Vader]

Does FSOpen work on any OS? I have an XP box and an ubuntu box on the go at the moment - I am however completely new to linux and am finding it hard work at the moment!

Does FSopen have the cut scenes or is that only something I can do as I have the original discs? I suppose what I am actually asking is do I need to even try installing the originals?

Thanks, TMD

Works on Windows, Linux and Mac, though I guess it works best with XP. You can download the cutscenes in ogg format with the Installer, but extracting them from the discs saves precious downloading time and helps to relieve the strain on the server they're hosted. The same goes with FS2. It can be dowloaded with the Installer, since it is required, but if you have the original, you should install it to once again cut some download time off.

[Goober5000]

I have installed FS1 and when I start it it will load to the setup panel thing. When I click Play FreeSpace it does nothing except close the previous panel.

FS1 is a bit weird that way.  You can try the following things:

1) Set FS.exe (required) and FreeSpace.exe (optional, but can't hurt) to run in Windows 98 compatibility mode.

2) Add FS.exe as a Windows firewall exception.

3) After starting it up, wait 15 minutes.  It could simply be taking a long time.

[Koth]

Did you patch it to the newest version? That worked for me.

[Androgeos Exeunt]

Did you patch it to the newest version? That worked for me.

I didn't patch mine; I just "caught up" with time (because I originally got 3.6.5 from BitTorrent, patched it to 3.6.7, lost it, found this and found 3.6.9).

One more thing...FS2_Open 3.6.9 may take up a lot of memory. You'll want to make sure that you have at least 256 MB RAM (512 MB or more recommended), as well as the latest graphics drivers for your graphics card.

The cutscenes, I think, have to be copied over, I've sort of lost track of that side of things, but there is also some exciting stuff happening in the cutscene department thanks to a few of our more skilled renderers

You should keep in touch with the cutscene department more often.

Quite recently, IceyJones made an FS1-era cutscene detailing Vasuda Prime's destruction. I'm now giving feedback on another FS1-era cutscene featuring the SD Lucifer's arrival at Tombaugh Station.

If this is not possible for me to do I would be grateful if someone could confirm a couple of things about the projects on here. Is FreeSpace one available? the Inference from many of the pages I read on this site are that it is FS2... Also, how does it play - do the cut scenes/video still work and are your ships and missions customisable (like the original - if my memory serves correctly, it has been a few years).

There IS a port for Descent: FreeSpace, titled the FreeSpace Port, or FSPort for short. It works on the FS2_Open engine, though, so you'll need to make sure that you can run FS2_Open properly on your computer first. What I've heard about the FSPort is that you can almost literally add the cutscenes from the original FS1 to it. The only downside of the FSPort, as far as I know, is that it uses the FS2 interface (which doesn't look as good as the FS1 interface), and that the menu screens are pixelated on a screen size beyond 640 x 480.

[Goober5000]

It works on the FS2_Open engine, though, so you'll need to make sure that you can run FS2_Open properly on your computer first.

The Port does not require FSO, as I've said repeatedly before.  It works just fine on retail.

[haloboy100]

Did you patch it to the newest version? That worked for me.

I didn't patch mine; I just "caught up" with time (because I originally got 3.6.5 from BitTorrent, patched it to 3.6.7, lost it, found this and found 3.6.9).

And it took you that long to get the idea to find the creators and get up to date?

[Androgeos Exeunt]

And it took you that long to get the idea to find the creators and get up to date?

It didn't. Back then, I visited the other site. I just didn't know that it was extremely outdated.