[Imperium]

Error:
Web cursor bitmap not found.  This is most likely due to one of three reasons:
   1) You're running FreeSpace Open from somewhere other than your FreeSpace 2 folder;
   2) You've somehow corrupted your FreeSpace 2 installation;
   3) You haven't installed FreeSpace 2 at all.
Number 1 can be fixed by simply moving the FreeSpace Open executable file to the FreeSpace 2 folder.  Numbers 2 and 3 can be fixed by installing or reinstalling FreeSpace 2.  If neither of these solutions fixes your problem, you've found a bug and should report it.
File:J:\src\cvs\fs2_open_3_6_9.final\code\Graphics\2d.cpp
Line: 1526
[This filename points to the location of a file on the computer that built this executable]

Call stack:
------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------


I'm running Vista 64 bit on a gaming laptop. The game won't start. Can anyone tell me how to fix this?

[captain-custard]

have you got the original freespace installed on your computer?

[Imperium]

I installed the works with the installer.

[Mongoose]

There's your problem, most likely.  The Installer no longer downloads the retail game, as Good Old Games now sells it for the low low price of $6.  You'll need the retail game in order to run FS2_Open.

[Imperium]

Why did they take out the retail part!?!!??! I have the disk somewhere.. that is somewhere, I don't know where it is.

[captain-custard]

it was taken out because now you can buy a legal copy of freespace , before you couldnt....

so you need to find your disk or get it from gog or find someone who has the disk ....

[Imperium]

That's not an acceptable reason. It is and has been free game for a long time.

[captain-custard]

ok , it has never been a free game technically

it has been out of print for a while and the source code was released to the general public but never the whole game

it is now being redistrobuted by gog so the community no longer carries the original game within the installer , if you dont like this then there is not a lot we can do ,

go look for your disks or find another solution

[Mongoose]

Dammit, andicirk, that's twice you've beaten me to the reply button.

[captain-custard]

Dammit, andicirk, that's twice you've beaten me to the reply button.

just admit it im good

[Herra Tohtori]

That's not an acceptable reason. It is and has been free game for a long time.

 

No, it's not and it hasn't ever been a free game. The game distributing rights are owned by Interplay, and they have not released the game for free. Only the source code was published by the game developer Volition; the game itself belongs to Interplay.

What happened was that for a long, long period of time, it was almost impossible to obtain a legitimate copy of the game. Circulation of old copies on eBay and other places was obviously not increasing the amount of games in circulation, and for obvious reasons the price of the game in online auctions went pretty high. So for the sake of keeping the game alive, it was offered as a download via the installer and other mediums. No one called the community into courtrooms for distributing the game. No one was distributing the game, so no one's interests were hurt and starving space simmers were provided with a way to acquire FreeSpace 2. It was always illegal, but deemed necessary evil for the preservation of the community.

However since GoodOldGames picked the title up and started selling it in a very convenient manner as a downloadable file at outrageous price of about six US dollars ($6), the game again became commercially distributed and there was not any reason any more to endorse alternate methods of acquiring the game.

Whether you like it or not, the logic behind removing the retail data from downloads community-wide is very solid; since the game is being legitimately sold again by an authorized distributor (GoodOldGames), distributing pirated copies actually does hurt the interests of both GoG and Interplay, and no one wants a lawsuit crashing down on the community like a ton of bricks.

So you might want to re-think what is acceptable or not. You can find your original game disks, buy the game with six bucks from GoG, or resort to alternate methods of aquiring digital information. If you do choose the latter option, though, you will not get help in your endeavour from this community, and you should keep those methods to yourself.


Addendum: LOL. This message is basically saying the exact same things as andicirk's response, but it's a lot more verbose... Just for that hilarious fact I'm going to post it even if it doesn't say anything that andicirk didn't already say.

[Imperium]

I sincerely apologize for my post. It's been a pretty bad week and I've been wanting to play this game again for awhile. I found the disks so I'm good to go. I was under the impression that the game had been released as freeware. Since the software is being sold by this GoG company, does interplay or Volition get any profit? How does GoG aquire legal copies?

[General Battuta]

It's an understandable misapprehension. No worries.

I believe GoG is totally legal and that profit is passed on to Interplay and Volition.

[Herra Tohtori]

It's all good. There have undoubtedly been more egregious errors made in the history of humanity and even this community. Great that you found your copy of the game.

You should be able to just install in the directory where you let the Installer do it's magic. If you hit any trouble, ask and you shall receive.

[Jeff Vader]

I was under the impression that the game had been released as freeware.

The source code of the FS2 game engine was released in 2002. But not the entire game. All the assets (models, textures, sounds...) remained proprietary. Some people have used the ever-so-justifying term "abandonware" as an excuse to distribute/acquire FS2 for free.

The main point, as it has repeatedly been said, is that a while back there were no official distributors of FS2, so the community spread the game for free rather than let it die a miserable death. Then along came GOG, who sell many excellent old games at low prices. There was a legal way of getting FS2 once again and there was no longer a reason for the community to distribute it.

All in all, I don't like these threads, so locked.