Okay, so first things first:
STUFF YOU NEED FIRST
1) You must own a legit copy of Freespace 2.
-> 'Cuz that's the right thing to do.2) You must have installed, the latest version of FSO,
and you must have the latest MediaVPs.
-
> Cuz if you don't have these, you are not cool... [NOTE]Please don't use any kind of automated installer, those are broken and will cause more problems then they fix.
To help you make up your mind, here's a fun fact! Every time someone uses the automated installer, An axe murderer kills a kitten SAVE KITTENS! INSTALL MANUALLY! [NOOB-NOTE] Please follow all instructions while installing the .exe's and the MediaVPs TO THE LETTER!
To help you make up your mind about this too, here's another fun fact: Every time you follow instructions properly, awesome FS stuff gets made quicker!:pimp:
[NOOB-NOTE 2]Whatever anyone says, DO NOT touch any contents in the "data" folder of your FreeSpace 2 install. There are some highly classified nuclear launch codes in there; SO KEEP OUT!
Once, you have all that taken care of, lets proceed to
SETTING UP!
SETTING UP
[NOTE]Please note that I will not be using the traditional 'dump all files in the 'mediaVPs' folder method simply because there is a high risk of messing things up. I will be covering a slightly more 'advanced' way to install these, but it is dead simple and you can easily uninstall stuff if you goof up or need to troubleshoot!Ohkhizay! Lets get on with the show, eh?
Hmm... so far, we have umm
Ten...Eleven...Twelve...Thirteen...Fourteen Hmm, fourteen epic models released so far! Whew! The community is really picking up the pace!
*sends the FSU Team a box of cookies*So, with that done, lets continue shall we?
Now, assuming you have set up your FS2 install properly, you do need one more very important thing before you start pimping your FS:
1) A brain.
2) Ninja-like, leet copy-pasting skillz...
However, If you don't have a brain, it's time for you to leave the room.
Let us first start with setting up a place where we will install these awesome models (also lovingly called HTLs by the community).
After installing Freespace 2, FSO (the .exe's) and the MediaVPs, this is how your Freespace 2 directory should look like:
So, we create a new folder to install these ships to. For the purpose of this thread I will name my folder as "updated_ships". You can name it anything you want, but the folder name must not contain spaces. So "updated ships" is wrong.... Use the "_" character instead!
This is how your directory should look like now. Now inside this folder create another folder called "data". Done? OK.
Inside the newly created "data" folder, create 4 other folders called "cache" "maps" "models" and "tables".
How it should look like now.
Whew! all this folder creating is making me thirsty!
*grabs a drink* Ah!
much better!
You probably must be wondering what these folders are meant for? Surely they are not just for decoration...
When you download the HTL model, you are gonna get files of these formats:
".bx" ".tga/.png/.dds" ".pof" ".tbm"".vp"- All .bx files go in -> cache
- All .tga/.png/.dds files go in -> maps
- All .pof files go in -> models
- And all .tbm files go in -> tables
- .vp files are already prepackaged mods, they should be placed in the "updated_ships" folder itself. Not in the 'data' folder
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Now the final step, we have to integrate this folder into the game:
Go up a level, so that you are in the 'update_ships' folder, then create a new text document. Open it up and enter this:
[launcher]
modname = updated_ships;
image255x112 = ;
infotext = ;
website = ;
forum = ;
[multimod]
primarylist = ;
secondarylist = mediavps_3612;
Now 'Save As' as 'mod.ini'
How your mod.ini should look
And the final step: Open up your FS launcher and add the this line to the end of the 'Custom Flags' field (don't forget to add a space after the last flag!
)
-mod updated_ships
How your custom flags should look like
And that's it! We are all set up!
Wasn't that easy?
Give yourself a pat on the back and lets move on to the part you all have been waiting for!
Drum roll please!