[EightQuarterBit]

}{'lo!

OK, so I've done as much as I can to get FSO installed and configured properly, but have hit a small snag. Here's what I have done so far:

1. Purchased and downloaded FS2 via GoG

2. Downloaded the 3.6.10 FreeSpace Open build and Soulstorm's Launcher from http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,64520.0.html

3. Downloaded the 3.6.10 MediaVPS from http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,65038.0.html

4. Downloaded the cutscene files from http://www.freespacemods.net/download.php?view.128

5. Copied my "Freespace 2" folder from a Windows machine to "\Applications\Freespace 2\" on OS X

6. Copied "FS2_Open-3.6.10.app" to "\Applications\Freespace 2\"

7. Copied Soulstrom's launcher to "\Applications\Freespace 2\"

8. Copied the Mediavps to "\Applications\Freespace 2\mediavps\"

9. Copied the cutscenes to "\Applications\Freespace 2\data\movies\"

10. Double-clicked on "\Applications\Freespace 2\FS2_Launcher"

When the launcher loads I get an error stating:

"Flag file not found! It appears that the application you have selected is not valid, the flag file that it produces in order to make the UI and other things cannot be found."

My Mac's specs are as follows:

Machine: 2009 13" MacBook Pro
Graphics chip: Nvidia 9400m
RAM: 4GB DDR3
OS: OS X 10.5.8

Also, I did not patch the program while on windows (forgot) is GoG's version the latest?

Any ideas?

[The E]

First of all, welcome, and thank you for providing all this information. It is rare for people who ask questions to give us all this detail.
Unfortunately, I cannot tell you right now what's going wrong here, since I'm not a Mac user myself. I would, however, try to see if the problem has been mentioned already here, and if not, to bug Soulstorm about it.
One answer I can give you is that GOG's version should be patched to 1.2. If you are unsure, or have reason to doubt it, download the HotU crack pack from Karajorma's FAQ, and replace the root_fs2.vp found in your FreeSpace directory with the one in the pack.

[EightQuarterBit]

Thank you for the welcome! A lot of support forums treat you like you've somehow intruded on sacred ground if you ask a question, but from what I have read this seems a very friendly and passionate community.

Thanks for the excellent patch source as well. I'm glad I didn't have to jump back over to a Windows machine, patch, and then recopy. You saved me much time and trouble. I replaced the .vp file but unfortunately that didn't solve my issue. Still, I'm certain I avoided further problems down the road by patching.

I'm reading through the launcher thread now. From what I can glean, flags are arguments that are passed to the FSO engine? OK, well at least I'm closer to understanding what's wrong.

[Echelon9]

Hi EightQuarterBit ,

I'm one of the Mac OS X SCP dev's so should be able to lend some help here.

I don't use Soulstorm's Launcher all that often (as I can just directly run the FS2_Open 3.6.10.app once the settings are set), and happened to give it a test today. Lo and behold, I get that same Flag file error.

Running FS2_Open 3.6.10.app should be fine though, give that a test.

Might be worth getting in touch with Soulstorm about the Launcher error too here on the forums, if Soulstorm doesn't see this post.

[maddog]

I just installed FSO and the launcher in the last couple of days. I, also, was getting the error reported. However, as I was puzzling about it I noticed that the FS2_Open Application path at the bottom of the FS2_Open Launcher window indicated a path (and indeed an application name) that wasn't correct. In fact, it neglected the Inferno part of the name, among other details. I clicked on the "Customize" button and pointed it at my actual installation and my problems disappeared, including ones related to playing mods.

[Master_Drow]

I was having this problem and the above post solved it, to clarify thought he means that you have to point inside the app at the file under

 /Contents/MacOS/FS2_Open-Inferno

For some reason I was not having this problem under 3.6.10 only under 3.6.12

Hope this helps.