http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,31638.0.htmlI mentioned the SCP in my first post in that thread...
As for install, I'll try to be as concise as possible:
1) Make sure Freespace 2 is updated to 1.20 (If you have the GOTY edition, or you run the updater and it says you're up-to-date, you've got 1.20). If you aren't sure it should be safe to continue, if you aren't at 1.20 you may run into some bugs and won't be able to use fs2_open to play multiplayer.
2) Go to
http://scp.indiegames.us, goto Downloads, then 'Recent Official Releases'. Download the 3.6.5 installer
3) Run the 3.6.5 installer and install fs2_open to your freespace 2 directory. This will not overwrite anything.
DO NOT RUN THE FS2_OPEN EXECUTABLE YET4) FS2_Open uses different format pilot files so you can use the same pilot across multiple mods. Any old pilots will be converted when you play as them. If you might want to play using the original EXE, back up the freespace2/data/players directory.
5) At this point, it should be safe to run fs2_open. However, only the barest of the higher-quality art comes with the installer. Go
here on the SCP site. Check out the
readme for the mediaVPs, choose which ones you want from the descriptions in the file, and download them. Then, run each one and point the self-extract to your Freespace 2 directory.
Note that there are some bugs with the 3.6.5 mediaVPs; fixes are in
this thread. You shouldn't install mv_music with 3.6.5, it will cause crashes for sure.
6) Run the launcher, comfigure the settings to your liking, and click "Run"!
Note that even if you
don't install those files, you will still be able to enable improved engine features like shine mapping, although others, like glow mapping, will do nothing without extra art.