Hard Light Productions Forums
General FreeSpace => FreeSpace Discussion => Topic started by: TheFadingOutcast on July 09, 2012, 11:52:13 am
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I'm having an excruciating time trying to get FRED (from Descent: Freespace The Great War) to open from my G: drive (CD-drive) and the file doesn't know the program in which to open FRED with. I've spent numerous hours trying to find the help I need for this problem but I can't seem to salvage a single solution. I had FRED running just fine yesterday until I turned my computer back on this morning. I need to know how to start-up FRED again.
Please help.
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Wait, FRED. Not FRED2. Not FRED2_Open.
Why? AFAIK, nobody has touched that ancient thing in years. I'm not surprised at all that it doesn't run on modern rigs.
I cant even figure out what one would do with it other than waste their own time, as nobody's going to really be playing anything on the FS1 engine nowadays.
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I'm on my modern computer sending these messages to you as we speak. I'm using my old Windows 1998 Aptiva to play Freespace: The Great War and I cannot connect to the Internet with it. I use it solely to play old PC games and such. I need to figure out the program I need to use in order to open FRED. I tried going to Settings/Folder Options to search for the correct program to open FRED but I cannot find a program on my CD that will run FRED; I might be wrong but I know I had the wretched thing running yesterday just fine. I was so happy to start using FRED until the computer had a program fart.
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I can't play Freespace 2 on my thing because the game requires Windows NT and I'm very certain that my computer wouldn't be able to run the game because of it's age.
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Seeing as FRED is a program itself...I don't quite understand why you need another program in order to open it? It should be something like FRED.exe, unless it was deleted...
You could play FSO (FS2) on your modern computer...like the rest of us. :P
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It's named FRED.ex_.
Apparently, it's a EX_ file. Would changing it to the .exe file extension prove anything useful or would it further plunge my problem into more complications.?
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Woo, another FS1 enthusiast! :D This probably means I should get back to work on my unfinished FS1 campaign...
TheFadingOutcast, your problem is most likely that you're trying to run FRED from the CD drive. Try launching it from the hard disk location where you installed FreeSpace. (It's usually in C:\Games\FreeSpace.)
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I'll try that. Give me a moment.
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/me thinks back REALLLLLLY hard.......
Did FS1 generate a start menu shortcut for Fred or not, i can't remember :confused:
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It worked...
It actually worked!
THANK YOU Goober5000. If I knew that I had to go to Games/Freespace instead of by attempting to access FRED from the CD Drive, I would've saved myself from one of my mental earthquakes.
I feel so stupid right now.
*facepalms in selfpity*
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/me thinks back REALLLLLLY hard.......
Did FS1 generate a start menu shortcut for Fred or not, i can't remember :confused:
note that i recall from the FS1+ST box set
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It worked...
It actually worked!
THANK YOU Goober5000. If I knew that I had to go to Games/Freespace instead of by attempting to access FRED from the CD Drive, I would've saved myself from one of my mental earthquakes.
I feel so stupid right now.
*facepalms in selfpity*
Congrats :yes:
/me thinks back REALLLLLLY hard.......
Did FS1 generate a start menu shortcut for Fred or not, i can't remember :confused:
note that i recall from the FS1+ST box set
Ahh well i'll have a look later :yes:, Fading outcast, may i suggest installing the FSPort?
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/me thinks back REALLLLLLY hard.......
Did FS1 generate a start menu shortcut for Fred or not, i can't remember :confused:
Unfortunately no. It didn't make a shortcut for FRED when I installed Descent Freespace: The Great War.
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It worked...
It actually worked!
THANK YOU Goober5000. If I knew that I had to go to Games/Freespace instead of by attempting to access FRED from the CD Drive, I would've saved myself from one of my mental earthquakes.
I feel so stupid right now.
*facepalms in selfpity*
You're welcome. :) I think the file is renamed to .exe during the process of installation.
Are you making some FS1 missions to share? :D Have you tried any of the FS1 campaigns out there, such as Awakenings or Destiny of Peace?
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Awesome.. more FS1 missions for the three of you that still run actual FS1... :nervous:
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Awesome.. more FS1 missions for the three of you that still run actual FS1... :nervous:
if you think in % well that is a 33% increase in players! XD
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You're welcome. :) I think the file is renamed to .exe during the process of installation.
Are you making some FS1 missions to share? :D Have you tried any of the FS1 campaigns out there, such as Awakenings or Destiny of Peace?
I can't insert add-ons into my Windows 1998 Aptiva. It doesn't have internet nor does it know what a USB Storage Drive is so I can't insert any downloads I snag from hard-light. I sure as Hell would love to try those special campaigns though.
And, honestly, I was interested in joining the FRED academy for help and tips on how to make the missions I desire to create with my imagination. Unfortunately, I see that FRED Academy is a dying Forum and very few people are on there browsing and posting topics on the forums. I've done a little tour of this website and I see that you, Goober5000, are a major veteran of FREDding and knowing the ropes to everything that is the most influential game of my lifetime, Descent: Freespace.
I am in the process of making my own simple mission that includes simply destroying different Terrorist Squadrons attacking a GTD Orion, both by Kamikaze and by simply unloading heavy payloads of explosive missiles. And, as a matter of fact, I'm actually stuck with a piece of Event Editing for the mission and I was wondering if you guys could assist me. :)
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Why not just download and run FSOpen on your "modern" computer?
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I cant even figure out what one would do with it other than waste their own time, as nobody's going to really be playing anything on the FS1 engine nowadays.
I don't know. If I had the time I might make a mission in FRED just for the challenge. Sorta like getting it into your head to recreate Scott's expedition to the South Pole only using equipment he'd have had access to.
It would be interesting to see whether I could beat the FS1 FREDders of old due to the fact I have much more experience of how FRED works than they ever could have had (both in time and due to the fact I've seen the code, unlike them). Or whether I'd find the restrictions I'd placed upon myself (no arguments, no new SEXPs, etc) so confining that I'd have to give up. It would be interesting to see if 12 years of learning FREDding tricks could compensate for that. It would be interesting to see if I learned new tricks trying to do things I could do with a single SEXP in FS2_Open.
And it's worth remembering that like a polar explorer who brings along a satellite phone just in case, I can always import my mission into FS2_Open if I got really stuck (or once I'd finished). :D
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I can't insert add-ons into my Windows 1998 Aptiva. It doesn't have internet nor does it know what a USB Storage Drive is so I can't insert any downloads I snag from hard-light. I sure as Hell would love to try those special campaigns though.
But you have a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM though. Just burn some mods to CD or DVD and copy them over.
Either way, you ought to be able to install USB support. (And I thought that 98SE came with USB support by default.) You might find some assistance at this forum:
http://www.msfn.org/board/forum/8-windows-959898seme/
And, honestly, I was interested in joining the FRED academy for help and tips on how to make the missions I desire to create with my imagination. Unfortunately, I see that FRED Academy is a dying Forum and very few people are on there browsing and posting topics on the forums. I've done a little tour of this website and I see that you, Goober5000, are a major veteran of FREDding and knowing the ropes to everything that is the most influential game of my lifetime, Descent: Freespace.
Aha. Well, despite the low activity level of FRED Academy, there are plenty of FREDders around, and we love adding to our ranks. :D I would recommend posting one of your missions in the FRED Discussion board, or frequenting the #freespace channel (https://widget.mibbit.com/?settings=b73fe961ed217d9a3cbd9637dc7ba9bf&server=irc.esper.net%3A%2B6697&channel=%23FreeSpace&noServerTab=false) on HLP's IRC. If you're really ambitious, you could join one of the hosted projects as a FREDding apprentice. :)
You can also read the FRED documentation in the HLP wiki or FREDZone. I would recommend checking out the freddocs (http://fredzone.hard-light.net/freddocs/) pages that were included with FS2 -- most of it is applicable to FS1 as well. The freddocs also walk you through FREDding a complete mission from start to finish.
I am in the process of making my own simple mission that includes simply destroying different Terrorist Squadrons attacking a GTD Orion, both by Kamikaze and by simply unloading heavy payloads of explosive missiles. And, as a matter of fact, I'm actually stuck with a piece of Event Editing for the mission and I was wondering if you guys could assist me. :)
Certainly. It will be tricky without having the mission or a screenshot to check from, but be as thorough as you can and we'll give it a shot.
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Isn't FRED_Open more or less backwards compatible with the older versions of FRED? I thought the only way in which old FS1 mission files differed from FS2's ones was in the way they stored the backgrounds.
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I should point out that the only reason the FRED Academy is dying is cause no one plays the missions. If people were willing to test, that forum would come back to life very quickly. We don't even need FREDders to test, just normal players willing to give up some time to help beginning FREDders become better. Once the normal users are testing, we could quickly bring in the FREDders to give more constructive advice.
Isn't FRED_Open more or less backwards compatible with the older versions of FRED? I thought the only way in which old FS1 mission files differed from FS2's ones was in the way they stored the backgrounds.
I'm not certain how similar they are but FRED2_Open can import FS1 missions and resave them as FS2_Open missions with a couple of clicks.
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I can't play Freespace 2 on my thing because the game requires Windows NT and I'm very certain that my computer wouldn't be able to run the game because of it's age.
WaitwaitwaitSTOP.
FS2 runs just fine on Windows '98. :P
and:
Minimum System Requirements
System:
Pentium-200 or equivalent
RAM:
32 MB
Video Memory:
8 MB
Hard Drive Space:
400 MB
Recommended System Requirements
System:
PII 266 or equivalent
RAM:
64 MB
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So long as your graphics card is OpenGL 2.1 compatible the actual requirements for FSO have changed little. The additional resources start to come in when you start using the more intense FSO graphics options in the launcher and when you have the MediaVps installed.
FSO does have many bug fixes and new FRED options, especially for the events manager
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I can't play Freespace 2 on my thing because the game requires Windows NT and I'm very certain that my computer wouldn't be able to run the game because of it's age.
WaitwaitwaitSTOP.
FS2 runs just fine on Windows '98. :P
and:
Minimum System Requirements
System:
Pentium-200 or equivalent
RAM:
32 MB
Video Memory:
8 MB
Hard Drive Space:
400 MB
Recommended System Requirements
System:
PII 266 or equivalent
RAM:
64 MB
Goodness gracious! I've just realized that my smartphone could easily run Freespace 2 with full visual effects. :lol:
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Lets not get that conversation started lol
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I can't play Freespace 2 on my thing because the game requires Windows NT and I'm very certain that my computer wouldn't be able to run the game because of it's age.
WaitwaitwaitSTOP.
FS2 runs just fine on Windows '98. :P
and:
Minimum System Requirements
System:
Pentium-200 or equivalent
RAM:
32 MB
Video Memory:
8 MB
Hard Drive Space:
400 MB
Recommended System Requirements
System:
PII 266 or equivalent
RAM:
64 MB
Goodness gracious! I've just realized that my smartphone could easily run Freespace 2 with full visual effects. :lol:
I would be Absolutely amazed and be laughing my butt off at the very same time if someone actually installed a Windows NT game onto a SmartPhone. :lol:
However, I could imagine the difficulties one would be having simply trying to control their ships with their tiny, baby keypads on their phones.
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Awesome.. more FS1 missions for the three of you that still run actual FS1... :nervous:
if you think in % well that is a 33% increase in players! XD
That's what politicians do!!!!
Have fun playing FREDding. And if you ever decide you want to play a newer, prettier, better FreeSpace, you can come back and install everything on a newer computer.
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I would be Absolutely amazed and be laughing my butt off at the very same time if someone actually installed a Windows NT game onto a SmartPhone. :lol:
However, I could imagine the difficulties one would be having simply trying to control their ships with their tiny, baby keypads on their phones.
:sigh:
System requirements
200 MHz CPU, 32 MB RAM, 8X CD-ROM drive, DirectX 6.0, 400 MB available hard disk space, Windows 95, 3D accelerated graphics card
EDIT: FreeSpace 2 will run on:
definitely Windows '95, and Windows '98,
probably Windows ME (Millenium),
most likely Windows 2000 (aka NT 5),
possibly Windows NT 4,
definitely (with some tweaking): Windows XP (aka NT 5.1), Windows Vista (aka NT 6.0), Windows 7 (aka NT 6.1), and possibly Windows 8 (aka NT 6.2)
Here is some interesting (well, to me) reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS-DOS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_3.1x
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_9x
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_NT
FYI, NT stands for "New Technology", XP for eXPerience, and ME for Millenium
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EDIT: FreeSpace 2 will run on:
definitely Windows '95, and Windows '98,
probably Windows ME (Millenium),
most likely Windows 2000 (aka NT 5),
possibly Windows NT 4,
definitely (with some tweaking): Windows XP (aka NT 5.1), Windows Vista (aka NT 6.0), Windows 7 (aka NT 6.1), and possibly Windows 8 (aka NT 6.2)
I can most definitely confirm Windows ME, I first played FS2 on this (both the Colossus and the full version). I wonder what tweaks GOG.com used so that FS2 works flawlessly under WinXP and Win7 from the start.
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Yo, jr2, in case you haven't noticed, there's an effort going on to port FSO to Android. Also, don't be so goddamn nitpicky.
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:nervous: Sorry. But he kept referring to FS2 as a "Windows NT" game... :nono:
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Awesome.. more FS1 missions for the three of you that still run actual FS1... :nervous:
Make that four, you damn future-lover. :P
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I have FS1 from GOG and I play it once in a blue moon. I wish I could turn up the rez though. :(