[core]

Hey all

Just got me freespace, heard it was a great game so thought i'd get me a copy.

but, when ever i go to launch the game i just get a black screen and i have to force restart, i have a cursor but cant do anything with it.

i have updated it to 1.2

my gcard is a rad9800pro

do i need to do something special, or maybe if i installed that freespace open thing it would work? if so what do i need to download?

thanks in advance

[Kie99]

Exits are to your right and left, and flamethrowers are under your seat. Be careful, though, as they are sometimes filled with water, so bring your own Napalm or try to club someone with the non-working shotguns in the weapon closet. Also, be careful while wandering the ventilation shafts. If you see a large, five-limbed creature that looks really pissed, it’s probably Carl, give him your lunch and he'll hopefully go away.  If you see a big desert creature its probably Raa, give him a fish and he might leave your head alone.  In the event of an emergency, the n00bs will be the last into the escape pods, if there’s any room left. The Plasma rifles in the forward locker are released only under authorization of an Admin, [V] God, or hyperintelligent shade of the color blue. Oh, and whatever you do, don't mention the word Freespace followed by the number 3.


Have you got anything in your Freespace2\data folder?  If you have delete everything in the subfolders apart from any more subfolders.  Hope this helps.  If all else fails reinstall.

[core]

nope that doesnt work

[pyro-manic]

Have you run the launcher and configured your graphics, joystick etc? You have to do that before you can play the first time - I don't think it works if you miss that out. If that doesn't work, I'm sure someone will be along shortly with another suggestion.

You definitely want to check out the SCP (Source Code Project) - take a look in the SCP forum and download Freespace_Open from the Stickied thread in there. Also check out some of the great projects, such as The Babylon Project (Babylon 5 conversion) and Inferno, a massive mod set in the Freespace universe. There are a lot of other projects underway, so take a look at their forums and websites for info. (You can click the icons under my name for a start :thepimp: )

You'll also want to play some of the fan-made campaigns once you've finished the main FS2 campaign, and make sure to get the FSPort - the Freespace 1 campaign and add-on pack converted to work in the FS2 engine.

We're a small community, but there is a huge amount going on, and a lot of talented people working on stuff. Enjoy yourself, and welcome!

[Fractux]

Like pyro-manic said ^^

Make sure you are launching through "freespace2.exe" and not FS2.exe".

Go to setup, and run through every tab.

[karajorma]

Best give us the standard answers then.

What operating systems. Retail or HotU version of FS2 (i.e did you install it from 3 CDs or from a downloaded file)

Have you tried reinstalling it?

Did version 1.0 work (and if you didn't try how on earth did you upgrade to 1.2?)

FS2_Open only requires that you download the 3.6.5 exe and the launcher to work but you're probably better off trying the installer instead.

[core]

i'm using XP SP2

I have a downloaded version, 3 bin files. I didn't burn them, just installed them off the harddisk. Whats HotU?

I didnt try verion 1, i just automatically installed the 1.2 patch after it installed. i'll try that now.

thanks

[core]

sorry being an idiot. i'm using f secure internet security and its been blocking the game from starting. unblocked it and now it works fine.

should i get the freespace open installer, or play the game in its original state for the first time?

thanks for your help

[karajorma]

Doh! I should have thought of the firewall! I can't mention how many times that particular problem has given me trouble.

HotU is a free, cut down version of freespace available from the Home of the Underdogs website. It has it's own subset of problems so it's important for me to know which one I'm deal with

Personally if you've got the movies downloaded I reccomend going through on SCP the first time (although you may want to play the first couple of missions with standard FS2 just so you can see the difference cause if HotU works for you, you won't want to go back.

You should use This Build instead of 3.6.5 because this one plays movies while 3.6.5 doesn't.

If you don't have the FS2 cutscenes in Avi format you can Download them or make them yourself from the MVE files.

[core]

for some reason, even though i have a 2.18gb version of the game downloaded (3 cds) it still asks for the cds for the movies. so i guess they're not there.

my quetstion is if i installed freespace open what do i need to do to install the movies so the game plays through smoothly.

does freespace open just convert everything i already have so the game is exactly the same, just abit more modern? i dont want to miss out on anything, i'm really enjoying it, i just want to see the movies.

[Fractux]

Ok, if you downloaded the ISO's and did a full install of FS2, the .mve files (the movie files) should be in the root FS2 directory (where you installed the game).

What you can do to get rid of the cd check is download a no-cd patch from www.gamecopyworld.com.

With FS2Open you can download additional content that give you updated graphics and effects, which really make FS2 look awesome even by todays' standards.
Fs2Open also has added benefits for making missions and has new SEXP's that can be used in FRED2.

However, for the standard (vanilla) FS2 campain, you may want to play it with the retail version first since FS2open is still a bit cranky as far as playing the .avi version of the movies.

Cheers!

[karajorma]

Actually if you play uising anything released after 3.6.5 it should play movies just fine.

[Fractux]

Karajorma, are you sure?

I know the builds play the the intro fine, but I was trying out Apocalypse again and I had the window focus problem, which then skipped over the last part of the mission and then ended the mission. I need to test it again though. (taylor's 20050103 build).

[karajorma]

I was assuming that if it played the intro fine it plays the rest okay too. I think I was wrong however.

On another thread I posted a campaign file that begins with the mission following the appearance of the colossus. Knowing that this means that I have a campaign file with a movie ready to play I just tried it.

And it played the cutscene perfectly. No skips, window focus problems or anything. Only problem was that for some reason it played the Bastion cutscene instead of the Colossos one

EDIT : Just checked the file and the Bastion.MVE is first on the list I never touched that part of the file!

EDIT 2 : In fact all the movies appear to have been moved around. Monologue 3 now plays just before the final mission

I think I'll have to try playing through the campaign normally to see if movies work properly.

[core]

thanks for the info guys, could anyone tell me what the first two movies were so i can watch the avi's. i didnt have the mve files in my root dir so i missed those two out.

[karajorma]

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/karajorma/freespace/gameplay.html

There's a table at the bottom that shows you when the cutscenes are played.

You'll have missed Mono1 and Colossus

[core]

well i've put all the mve files in the root dir but the game still asks for cd2 cos it cant find the movie.

i've always had a cd crack on it. are they supposed to be in a movie file or something, or all just loose?

sorry to keep asking questions!

thanks

[karajorma]

Try putting them in Data or Data\Movies. Beyond that I'm stumped.