If you have the exe, you're about 1/3 of the way to playing FSO. First off, you need the launcher to play. The launcher controls which features are being used, as well as other settings like joysticks and sound. It can be found
here. You may also want to download the Media VPs in order to get better graphics. You definately need
mv_core, if only to get some basic enhancements. If your computer and graphics card are relatively new (P3 733+ and Geforce2/Radeon, with about 512MB memory) you may also want to get some better artwork, you should try
mv_effects and
mv_textures. If you're on a 56k, it may take a while to download these, but they aren't required to play. Effects gives you new game effects like explosions, weapon shots, and background nebulas. Textures adds high-res textures to all the models to make them look better. If you're computer is far better than what i posted, you may also want to try
mv_models. This pack upgrades the model detail for a select few models. They look a whole lot cooler as well. If you're daring, you can always try
mv_adveffects, which is basically mv_effects on steroids. Be warned that this will probably slow your game down.
