[White Owl]

Hello there. I'm a total newbie to this game.

I wanted to follow the steps in this thread: http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=47640.0

I got as far as Step 4, Acquiring the Latest Trustworthy Build and the Launcher, and feeling adventurous I decided to go for the most recent build, 3.6.12 RC3.  Following the links to download the build, I saw the Inferno build was "highly recommended" so I grabbed that one, unzipped it, and dropped the files where the directions told me to drop them. I doodled with the cutscenes, I got the mediavps, all in line with the directions.

The problem appears at Step 7, Setting Things Up.  I open up the launcher, click "browse", and now I see six .exe files to choose from. I'm not finding the documentation about what the difference is between them.

fs2_open_3_6_12_RC3d_INF.exe
fs2_open_3_6_12_RC3d_INF_SSE.exe
fs2_open_3_6_12_RC3d_INF_SSE2.exe
fs2_open_3_6_12_RC3r_INF.exe
fs2_open_3_6_12_RC3r_INF_SSE.exe
fs2_open_3_6_12_RC3r_INF_SSE2.exe

Which one is the best to start with?

I did a little reading, and am still not totally clear... is the Inferno build a totally different campaign, or can I play the original game with the improved effects with this build? To play the original campaign, do I need to drop the Inferno for now and get the 3.6.10 build instead?

Any advice is welcome. 

[Aardwolf]

Go with fs2_open_3_6_12_RC3r_INF_SSE2.exe unless that doesn't work. The "r" means it's a release build (a "d" would mean it's a debug build -- those should only be used if you've encountered a bug and need details about it... generally for modders more than casual play). The "INF" means it's supports bigger numbers; more ship types allowed, more weapons, etc. (but the pilot files aren't compatible between INF and non-INF builds). SSE and SSE2 are basically versions with specific kinds of optimizations, which should usually work, but the non-SSE builds are being included just in case someone finds an issue with 'em.

Learn more about SSE here.

[White Owl]

Thanks very much.

Another question though... I thought I read somewhere that there's a way to play the first Freespace game on the open builds. I don't see the option. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place?

[Aardwolf]

Well, there is, sort of. It's called "FSPort", and it's a port of FreeSpace to FreeSpace 2.

Here's the project's forum, and here's the release thread.

[White Owl]

Many thanks again, Aardwolf. 

[General Battuta]

Fairly soon all builds will be 'Inferno' builds and we can drop the crappy Inferno terminology. It has nothing to do with what campaign you're playing, and in fact that type of build has been used most heavily by The Babylon Project in the past.

All it means is that the build has some expanded limits useful to ambitious mods.

Enjoy your stay. Once you're done with FSPort, play Silent Threat Reborn, FreeSpace 2 (all with the MediaVPs of course), then move on to the best of the user-made campaigns - Derelict, Transcend, Blue Planet, Homesick, Windmills, The Procyon Insurgency and more.

[Jeff Vader]

is the Inferno build a totally different campaign, or can I play the original game with the improved effects with this build?

Inferno is a mod sort of thing that was the first one to need those increased ship and weapon limits provided by the Inferno builds, hence they were named "Inferno builds". You should indeed get the Inferno build now, because it is becoming the "normal" option. You won't need the Inferno mod itself (of course, because it is just a mod).

Other than that, a very good point. I tried to throw some comments in about the differences between builds.

[White Owl]

Hey, nice edit. That will surely be helpful for the next newbie to stumble along and read it.