[Unknown]

As I already mentioned in the Subject I'm trying to play Freespace 2 in English but there are some problems caused by the original Freespace 2 copy which is a German one.

The weapon markers are an "ü" instead of an ">" and the distance to a targeted object is not shown correctly (the "1" is missing) etc.

After hours of searching i finally found a solution in this post:
http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=62067.msg1225094#msg1225094
but the english_hotfix file posted from Deepstar is already deleted and i couldn't find this file anywere else or another possible solution.

So i would be glad if anyone could post this file.
Maybe the solution to this problem could be listed in a FAQ or something too, cause i think there are some others having this problem without finding a proper solution.

thank you in advance and sorry for the bad English.

[FUBAR-BDHR]

I believe you will need to edit the registry manually and change the language under hkey_local_machine\software\volition\freespace2 from German to English.

[Solatar]

Just out of curiosity (and a bit off-topic): is there an easy way to acquire a German copy of Freespace 2 (like GOG or something online)?  I'd actually love to play through the campaign a few times in German, since I'm trying to learn the language.

Sorry to hi-jack your thread. 

[Unknown]

I believe you will need to edit the registry manually and change the language under hkey_local_machine\software\volition\freespace2 from German to English.

I already did that to play the game completely in English instead of a mix between two languages and i believe this registry edit actually causes the problem.

here are the interesting parts of the thread i posted before:

...Also, ingame icons are mixed up, weapon markers switched from ">" to "Ü" and instead of dots the radar spots little bomber icons... This is nothing to be called "progress".
So, well, I cannot but repeat my initial request: English language files, please?...

...For your symbol problems, the english version use different fontfiles which included the HUD symbols as well.
The attached english_hotfix should solve this problem. It contains the files of the english-speaking versions. You can install it like an MediaVP...

@Solatar:
Maybe there are some at amazon.de or you can download the voice and text files somewhere

[karajorma]

Backup your copy of root_fs2.vp and replace it with the one in this download. That should solve the issue. If it doesn't you can always swap them back.

[Unknown]

I repalced it but that didn't solve the problem. thank you anyway karajorma

[karajorma]

Bah! I forgot that the fonts are in Sparky, not root.

Extract this into your Data folder (so you have 3 files in Data\Fonts).

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Unknown]

That worked. Thank you very much karajorma. 

[emkay]

I know, this entry is quite old, but others might still be interested.

I've came up with another (admittedly unconventional) solution that doesn't require owners of the German version to buy an additional English one from GoG, or to ask other users in this forum to provide their English version of sparky_fs2.vp:

The Blue Planet Mod seems to contain a different version of the font used for HUD texts (at least compared to the German version). I found a direct download link here, however it should also be possible to extract the font file from the relevant VP file of  Blue Planet (haven't checked which one yet).

If that file is copied into \data\fonts of the FreeSpace2 root directory (usually C:\Games\FreeSpace2), it obviously overrides the original font located in sparky_fs2.vp during game runtime. That way, both the annoying "ü" weapon selector as well as the missing digits (e.g. in distance or health values) seem to be gone.

I did however no extensive testing, so maybe this solution comes along with other flaws (such as erroneous texts or other broken mods).

I also know that this is not what BP (very great mod(s), my sincere compliment to all contributors) is made for. Yet, since the font file is located in a public SVN, I assume it is "more legal" to use than copying it from the English version of the retail game without actually owning it.

[General Battuta]

It's totally cool. Clever solution.

I believe Fate of the Galaxy deserves some credit for that font (swash can confirm/deny).