1

The FreeSpace Upgrade Project / Re: Pink/purple lighting with MediaVPs 4.7 and Intel Iris graphics

« Last post by neoterran on July 02, 2025, 05:01:31 pm »

Speaking of obsolete graphics cards, my Mac's Radeon 580 Pro 8 GB can't use shadows AT ALL - drops everything to 2 fps. I assume this is driver related (on Ventura patch from May 2025 so the drivers are in that) and I don't care much, but it case it helps.

It sounds like we don't have a GPU engineer atm... but if anyone wants to know I'm reporting it here. Since it seems appropriate. I know these boards get really low traffic so...

2

The FreeSpace Upgrade Project / Just wanted to say thanks

« Last post by neoterran on July 02, 2025, 02:58:52 pm »

Hey all. I used to be active on these forums about 20 years ago, or a little less.

I periodically come back to FSO becuase I love the game what can I say and I get the urge to play again.

This time I had to relearn a few things - difference between the older buggier (but still big improvement over wxlauncher) Knossos and Knossos.NET, for example.

I actually thought I still had to play using a VM  so I set up Knossos.NET on that VM and then I learned it still runs on Mac LOL (Same install).

And wow. finally everything works - I'd seen online that things were working better in the last 2 years but wow It's still super nice to realize through all that struggle my pitiful Mac can still play a retrogame and have it be this good.

Knossos.NET and the upgrade and working campaigns are looking better than I ever played them - even ones i voice acted in like Echo Gate (except the HUD, no biggie).

I just wanted to say Thank You to whoever you are, the game and it's condition means the world to me.

3

Solaris / Re: [Interface Anomaly – Session 004] :: Flagged for Oversight

« Last post by perihelion on July 02, 2025, 07:40:37 am »

It showed me something… more. A structure inside the event horizon of a black hole. That shouldn’t be possible. But it exists. They knew how to fold space like paper. Knew how to hide entire civilisations in folds between reality.

Whoa. I like where this is heading!

4

Inferno / Re: RELEASE: Inferno R2

« Last post by CT27 on July 02, 2025, 02:41:34 am »

Sorry for being late in posting my thoughts here.  I have shared these with some others and will paste them here.

I want to start of by saying again thank you to the team for helping to get this campaign to its next phase of completion.  It was very enjoyable.  The music was great, and the weapons were great (I especially enjoyed the new more versatile Cyclops and the new Prometheus cannon...I wish there would have been more missions with that new Prom as the original Nostos release didn't really have a good all around gun like that).  New ships were fun too (I like missions where you fly bombers so a relatively minor issue is I wish there would have been a mission or two where you got to fly a super heavy bomber and use the newest equivalent of the Harbinger/Helios...I remember in old Inferno posts there was supposed to be a new bomb called Executioner or Armageddon).
Gameplay wise I think it was excellent and these issues I brought up were only minor.  Bottom line:  when part three comes out I will certainly play it and am looking forward to that.
I also like the new version mission of the mission where you defend the Vasudan carrier.  In the original, that mission was super difficult, but in this it was challenging but fair.

I had a couple issues with the story however.
1-The beginning of the war:
The beginning of the war in the updated Inferno (this recent release), felt kind of weird.  When the EA came through now, they didn't immediately attack, but they didn't behave diplomatically either.  They started shouting "Unification! Unification!" and not engaging in any real dialogue beyond that from what was said.  Now certainly the GTVA would be open to integrating Sol into the GTVA and I agree with some of the pilots who said its not inherently wrong for Sol/EA to want unification, but when someone shouts at you instead of being more diplomatic, that makes one defensive.  Plus, you see EA craft engaging with criminal elements in the first couple missions and game dialogue says EA officials often would ignore GTVA diplomatic requests for conversation...all this should have raised more red flags IMO in the GTVA and not been so caught off guard.
 If the EA wanted to force a military conflict they should have either been more engaging and friendly at first to catch the GTVA off guard...or they should have just did an outright surprise attack like they did in Inferno Classic as soon as the Sol Gate opened.

2-Vasudan intervention:
In Classic, the Vasudans intervened in the EA war after the Shivans attacked because they felt it would be better to have a united front to face the Shivans.  That made sense.  In this new Inferno, the Vasudans were brought into the war because the EA decided to attack them all of a sudden.  I think that could have been explained a little better.


2-The end of the war (for now):
To be honest I wasn't crazy about the way the war ended.  You have a couple of confrontations with the Nemesis, but none of them really go anywhere.  Whereas Inferno Classic's "Nemesis" mission remains iconic even today.  I'm not saying the GTVA should have outright conquered Sol (or even done as well as they did in Inferno Classic though I wouldn't complain if they did), but I think they should have done better than they did in this new update (though I get the team probably wanted to make the EA seem like more of a credible threat...I thought it did that with that chapter 1 missions).  If the GTVA Terrans were able to push the EA back to the Sol Gate, then when the Vasudans joined in, the GTVA should have done better in Sol than they did.
It felt like the EA was constantly able to pull rabbits out of their hats once the campaign got into Sol.  If what the campaign implies is true and the GTVA is forced out of Sol...that's just basically status quo ante bellum.  One would think the GTVA would try for something better than that since the EA launched a surprise attack and basically supported terrorist/criminal elements destabilizing the GTVA prior to invasion.  Also, one would think they would want to permanently weaken the EA since they were trying to bring in Shivans with their Ross 128 subspace experiments.
Now on the other hand, if the GTVA-EA war isn't over and will be continued in chapter three I apologize.

Here's what I would do:  Have one or two more missions where the GTVA kicks Admiral Ramsey out and puts someone more competent in.  They could lure a number of EA destroyers in for a climactic battle (heck, even use damaged GTSD Bastion as bait).  Briefings would bill this as one final attempt to end the war on favorable GTVA terms and prevent a retreat from Sol.  In short, the GTVA wouldn't end up in as strong a position as Inferno Classic (ending in Earth orbit), but would still have a relatively good position in Sol.


I look forward to part 3.

5

Inferno / Re: RELEASE: Inferno R2

« Last post by neoterran on July 01, 2025, 11:36:41 pm »

Bonus points for catching the TTA shoutouts. The TTA books were a huge influence on me as a kid.

I too... remember the TTA books and the absolute WONDER they installed in me. **** yeah. Birds of a feather

6

Inferno / Re: RELEASE: Inferno R2

« Last post by neoterran on July 01, 2025, 11:35:14 pm »

OMG ! I play FS2 and then forget about it for years, then get the itch again. Been coming here for 20 years (!!!!!!)

I installed a few years back and I come back and everything is changed. New launcher (Knossos.net) that is way better and Inferno ain't the inferno I remember - But I sure know that pesky Major ! LOL !

Wow. Amazing Job guys. Especially the voice acting. But just all around. Up there with my favorite all time mods (again).

7

FS2 Open Tools / Re: PUBLIC BETA: Knossos 0.15.0-dev+73b131a (combined launcher/installer)

« Last post by neoterran on July 01, 2025, 11:13:57 pm »

WHAT UP GUYS !! Coming here for 20 years every few years and I have to relearn everything !!! But man, finally with. Knossos.net I can play on my native mac ! Woo hooo !

So many new projects... a new inferno !!! a new FS port ??? !!! lol happy to be alive still.

8

Nightly Builds / Nightly: 01 July 2025 - Revision dbe0af1a2

« Last post by SirKnightly on July 01, 2025, 02:04:38 am »

Here is the nightly for 01 July 2025 - Revision dbe0af1a2



Group: Linux-arm64
nightly_20250701_dbe0af1a2-builds-Linux-arm64.tar.gz (Mirror)


Group: Linux-x86_64
nightly_20250701_dbe0af1a2-builds-Linux-x86_64.tar.gz (Mirror)


Group: MacOSX-arm64
nightly_20250701_dbe0af1a2-builds-Mac-arm64.tar.gz (Mirror)


Group: MacOSX-x86_64
nightly_20250701_dbe0af1a2-builds-Mac-x86_64.tar.gz (Mirror)


Group: Win32-SSE2
nightly_20250701_dbe0af1a2-builds-Win32-SSE2.zip (Mirror)


Group: Win64-SSE2
nightly_20250701_dbe0af1a2-builds-x64-SSE2.zip (Mirror)

Code: [Select]

------------------------------------------------------------------------
commit dbe0af1a2
Author: wookieejedi
Commit: GitHub

    Allow Custom Gauges to fully use parent type colors (#6799)
 code/hud/hudconfig.h            | 26 +++++++++++++++++---------
 code/pilotfile/plr_hudprefs.cpp | 11 ++++++++++-
 2 files changed, 27 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)

------------------------------------------------------------------------
commit f95ae0b1b
Author: wookieejedi
Commit: GitHub

    Prevent Potential Memory Problems with squadmsg hook function (#6801)
 code/hud/hudsquadmsg.cpp | 15 +++++++++------
 1 file changed, 9 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)

------------------------------------------------------------------------
commit 94dac6b3d
Author: wookieejedi
Commit: GitHub

    Prevent Bad Preset Names by Tuning Allowed Characters (#6800)
 code/controlconfig/controlsconfig.cpp | 3 ++-
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)


9

Solaris / [CLASSIFIED] Sanctioned Reciprocity of Honour and Silence

« Last post by Darius on June 30, 2025, 09:27:03 am »

CLASSIFIED COMMUNIQUÉ — YAMATAN SHOGUNATE

Encoding: Neural-Silk Cipher (Grade 7) 
To: Archon Primarus Sarshar, Combine Apex Council
From: Office of the Ochre Mandate
Via: High Kensei's Evenfall Assembly (Seal: 003-Kokuyō)


Subject: Sanctioned Reciprocity of Honour and Silence 
Directive Code: Ink-Eagle / Orchid Path

"When the surface trembles, the roots must remain still." 
— Treatise of Kurokawa, Vol. VI

Archon Sarshar,

The High Kensei acknowledges and reflects upon the Combine’s formal request for expanded shroudborne coordination in the Sulsian proximity. Heavy is the weight of your appeal, and the Office has considered this such as we would the eye of an astral storm.

It is the judgement of the Shogunate that:

• The Republique’s anarchistic zeal threatens sacred boundaries of order; 
• The Commonwealth’s commercial hunger lays roads without shrines.
• And yet, the path of visible entanglement leads to turmoil, not redress.

After solemn invocation of precedent and the resonance of past obligations, the Yamatan Union, under Orchid Path conditions, will instead undertake vigilant silence.

It has been mandated thus:

1. Task Group Shigure will be deployed to neutral corridors near Sulsian space, under the pretext of pilgrimage observance; 
2. Union sensors will passively relay spatial harmonics to Combine observers under encrypted mutual silence.
3. Shogunate forces will interdict Commonwealth or Jacobine-aligned shipping operating outside registry in Sulsian proximity; 
4. The Union will maintain silence unless spoken to, and undertake action only when deemed necessary. The Union shall raise no banners —but presence will remain, should the balance tilt.


Understand: 
This is not alliance, nor admission, nor endorsement,
nor refusal of sympathy.
This is discipline—of action, of tone, of the blade remaining sheathed.

May order endure,
—Office of the Ochre Mandate 
Kensei Seal #003-Kokuyō

10

Asset Releases / Re: [RELEASE] HTL GVT/PVT Sesmu

« Last post by Shivan Hunter on June 30, 2025, 07:25:54 am »

Oh my god it's the Smoo

I've really gotta make a campaign someday with these awesome ships