[Porkins]

Hi All,

I got Freespace: Great War on Steam. I know there are GREAT mods, projects, etc., but for now, I would really just like to do a playthrough of the original version. I run a three screen system, but am fine playing it on one screen. The problem right now is that all of the readouts, text, etc. is all jacked up to the point of being unplayable. I might have tried a reghack or something to get it to 1920X1080.

1)  Are there known problems with the Steam version like mentioned above? If it's because of resolution, will it fix the problems running at one of the supplied res's?

2)  Is there a simple mod for FS1 that will just allow more Resolutions, and improve the graphics a little?

Like I said, I haven't investigated them all, but know what great work and mods are to be had, that there is one that brings the old FS1 missions to FS2, etc... I'd just really appreciate if there were some simple mod for FS1 that does what's described in question 2)....  or at least to just play it without all the text and briefings being jacked up.

Thanks for your time!

[The E]

The steam version of the game does not support resolutions above 800x600. The only way to play it on a big screen without being able to count the pixels is by installing FS2, FreeSpace Open, and the FreeSpace Port. In its vanilla state, that is, without any of the MediaVP mods that include all the graphical improvements, it comes very close to replicating the look and feel of the original FreeSpace, while at the same time allowing you to enjoy it at as high a resolution you want.

[Nyctaeus]

With advancement of FSO and beauty of FSport MediaVPs I can only say one thing: Playing retails FS1 is not worth it

[Parias]

With advancement of FSO and beauty of FSport MediaVPs I can only say one thing: Playing retails FS1 is not worth it

I concur - there are so many improvements in the latest source code releases, and the FSPort guys have done a fantastic job porting (and upgrading) all of the original FS1 content into FS2. Even if you don't bother with the MediaVPs (and you really should check them out), the basic rendering and code improvements provided by the FSO alone are really worth it.

Install is pretty easy too - just download and extract all the needed packages to your Freespace 2 folder with sub-folders (i.e. launcher, FSO, MediaVPs, and FSPort + FSPort-MediaVPs)  and run the downloaded launcher. Select your mod and you're all set. Individual install instructions and download resources are readily available as stickied posts for each project forum as well.

SCP Forum: http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?board=50.0
MediaVPs Forum: http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?board=120.0
FSPort Forum: http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?board=39.0 (also includes FSPort MediaVPs download)

I really can't recommend trying to run the base Freespace 1 game these days - it's really not worth the effort.

Edit: Or I believe you can just use the installer at http://www.fsoinstaller.com/ to automate the process and get all the cool toys in a much easier way.

[Akalabeth Angel]

Can't you just play the game at the lower resolution?

Or in a windowed-mode if supported?

Personally I am always a proponent of experiencing a game in its original state.
Playing Freespace 1 with improved graphics is like watching a colourized black and white movie.

But to each their own.

[Nyctaeus]

...and FSPort is retail-compatible. If you really want to have retail graphics [you don't - trust me], you can always install FSPort without FSPort MediaVPs.

As I used to say: It's your funeral :]

[Klaustrophobia]

I don't think retail FS1 is horrid at all.  I remember the first time I booted it up in 2001 or so being floored by how great it looked to me.  I just did a nostalgia playthrough of retail FS1 not that long ago and didn't find it to be a bad experience at all.  I agree with Akalabeth, I DO think it's worth playing retail for the original experience.  The only thing is I think there was some kind of registry tweak or something to get rid of a bug that happens on modern systems where the stars will vanish if you aren't actively turning.  Stopped or flying straight (without burners, that shake was enough to make them reappear) the sky would go black.

[AV8R]

I had the disappearing stars thing happen to me one time and the fix was to set anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering to "application settings" (basically disable them) in the video driver's 3D settings. Also, in the launcher (5.5g) I had to leave those settings disabled (under the video tab I believe). Then stars would appear just fine.

[Akalabeth Angel]

...and FSPort is retail-compatible. If you really want to have retail graphics [you don't - trust me], you can always install FSPort without FSPort MediaVPs.

With respect to the contributors, I think there's something to be said with playing a game as it was originally envisioned under one professional creative director as opposed to playing it with a mish-mash of pretty but ultimately disparate updates and interpretations of in-game assets.

Similarly, playing a campaign on the original Freespace 1 engine will provide an inherently different experience to playing it on the updated Freespace 2 or Freespace Open engine.


But if Porkins would prefer prettier graphics over the authentic experience then he would do well to take your advice.