[theWakeful]

Hey guys, I played freespace 1 and its (****ty) expansion pack way back in the day and have been trying to find freespace2 for years. Well, I finally found this place and got the FSO thing to work and I am now playing through the FS2 campaign. Amazingly I still remember the entire storyline of the original, despite that it has been at least 10 years since I played it. Needless to say I am extremely grateful for all your hard work that allows me to finally finish the story (though maybe I should have waited 33 years, oh well).

Enough gushing, here are my questions:
1) which graphics setting produces the best graphics? 1024 or 1024 32bit?

and
2)once I have finished the campaign I suppose I will start playing the mods that come packaged with FSO. Any suggestions on where to start or which ones are best?

Thanks for the help, and of course anything else you think I need to know would be greatly appreciated.

[Dark Hunter]

The very best of the campaigns, IMO:

Derelict
Blue Planet
Just Another Day (1-3)
Procyon Insurgency
Sync


And it may interest you that the Silent Threat: Reborn project has been for as long as anyone can remember attempting to turn the Silent Threat story into something not ****ty, as you put it. They might be releasing soon, if they get enough voice actors (if you think your voice is good, you should submit an audition).

I guess I'm not entirely sure what you mean about the resolution. FSopen looks best with all the Media VP's installed (if your computer can't handle it, try removing mv_adveffects). Just choose a resolution that doesn't kill your graphics card. 

Another thing you should know... you're about to be beamed:

[Jeff Vader]

1) which graphics setting produces the best graphics? 1024 or 1024 32bit?

If you are asking whether there is a difference between 16-bit and 32-bit colours, there is. Use 32-bit. And basically if your monitor supports higher resolutions, you might as well use them. But, using a non-4:3 resolution with the standard build results in background distortions and a malfunctioning HUD. There is a build that apparently fixes this issue, but if you want to avoid any unnecessary bull****, just play with 1024x768 or a higher resolution with 4:3 aspect ratio.

And the most important thing. I do hope that you have a set of MediaVPs installed and that you're using the appropriate command line options.

As for the campaigns. It really depends on one's opinion. But in addition to what Dark Hunter said, I'd recommend Transcend. Oh, and FSPort, which is the FS1 campaign with the FSO engine and graphical delight. And some FSPort-using campaigns such as Awakenings, Destiny of Peace and Cardinal Spear

[haloboy100]

Yeah, just crank your game to the highest resolution in 4:3 and you'll be fine. 1024X768X32 (or /32 or whatever it says) just means 1024X768 res with 32 bit colors. Always choose 32-bit resolutions because 16-bit colors suck. Of course, this doesn't mean that you have to crank your desktop res higher, cause then you'll have to screw around with things like DPI and the like.

Have fun with FSO!

[theWakeful]

Thanks for the info. I think I am running at the highest graphics settings (my computer is fast enough to not have a problem). In the launcher the MOD field says mediavps and I checked all the graphics options. Is there something else I need to do to further improve the graphics?

[haloboy100]

Make sure your using OpenGL and not direct3D.

[Mobius]

Thanks for the info. I think I am running at the highest graphics settings (my computer is fast enough to not have a problem). In the launcher the MOD field says mediavps and I checked all the graphics options. Is there something else I need to do to further improve the graphics?

Make sure you're using the advanced media VP file

[theWakeful]

Alright, I couldn't find an option to switch from DX to openGL, where is that? Also: how do I know if I am using the advanced media vp files? I really have no idea how this setup works.

[Jeff Vader]

Direct3D and OpenGL are toggled from the Video tab in the Launcher. They're under the Graphics drop menu. And what Moby meant, in a bit unclear way, is that if your rig can take it, you should have a file called mv_adveffects.vp in your mediavps folder. And if you used Turey's Installer and therefore have the 3.6.8 Zeta mediavps, you must also have a file called mp-710_adveffects.vp in there.

Don't worry too much about the setup. It's really quite simple, once you get the hang of it.

[theWakeful]

cool, I have openGL selected and I have those two file in the mediavps folder. Thanks for the help and i am sure I will have some more questions at some point.

[haloboy100]

Thats what we're here for