Get FS2 Running on a Modern System in TWO Easy Steps

[MP-Ryan]

FreeSpace 2 is one of, if not the, greatest space sim games ever made. Fortunately for anyone buying it from Steam (or GOG), it has also had it's source-code released, and a very dedicated group of people have been updating the engine, graphics, and resources steadily for the last 15 years so you can play it on a modern system. However.... these features are not included in the Steam install. So, here's the quick and easy guide to how to get FreeSpace 2 running on a modern system with the community enhancements (this has been covered piecemeal in other threads, but I'm trying to make this simple). What follows are the automated instructions, then the manual instructions:

(Updated June 9 to reflect the FSO 3.7.2 RC3 release which no longer requires you to move the files to a shorter path).

***NOTE*** Due to popular demand, all the download sites are getting hammered and this may cause problems for your downloads. Be patient; FSO is a volunteer effort and the people handling it are doing the best they can with the resources they have.

AUTOMATED PROCESS

Step 1: Download and install FreeSpace 2 through Steam
Step 2: Go to www.fsoinstaller.com, download the .jar file, and run.

Ta-da! FreeSpace 2 updated to run on modern systems. Use the launcher to run using the latest FSO build. Make sure you select the MediaVPs from the active mod list to use the updated graphics.

MANUAL PROCESS

Step 1: Download and install FreeSpace 2 through Steam.
Step 2: Find your FreeSpace 2 install folder. On a Windows 7/8 computer, this should be C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\Common\FreeSpace2
Step 3: Download the new engine executeable, OpenAL, and launcher from this forum post: http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=87764.0
Step 5: Extract both the launcher and all the executeables to the FreeSpace 2 install folder. Install OpenAL.
Step 6: Download the updated graphical enhancements (VPs) from this forum post: http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=86475.0 and follow the directions to install.

---
New campaigns, mods, and total conversions can be found at http://www.hard-light.net/forums

For assistance with any of the above, please post in this subforum: http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?board=151.0

[Phantom Hoover]

(I think you should separate step 6 more clearly so people know that using the launcher means you don't have to bother with manual installation.)

[MP-Ryan]

BUMP for great justice.

[=7Cav=GEN.Chance.JT]

How do you run the JAR file that is downloaded from FSOInstaller?

[MP-Ryan]

If you have java installed, simply double-click. If not, download java first (www.java.com)

[DireWolf]

A .jar is a java executable, so just install the latest version from their website and you'll be good to go.

edit: ninja'd

[Fomalhaut]

Just posting to reiterate this is VERY worth your time to do. This game has been one of my top 3 since I played it on release over a decade ago. There are tons of helpful people and posts at the hardlight forums for this. The engine is open source, but now that you've purchased the campaign assets through steam, you can enjoy the this game's fantastic plot! :D

Chance.JT-
Right click on the jar file - Open With - and pick the java executable. If it's not listed you can go browse for java.exe in your program files folder.

[deathspeed]

If you have java installed, it should just work with a double click. I did have to upgrade my version of Java once to get it to work though.

Check out this thread, http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=87381.0, and if you are still having trouble please start a new topic on the same board (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?board=151.0)

Good luck!!

[=7Cav=GEN.Chance.JT]

Originally posted by (MP)Ryan:

If you have java installed, simply double-click. If not, download java first (www.java.com)

In case anyone else runs into this problem. Apparently I had not run Java since changing to Chrome as my default browser. I had to re-install Java to make it work.

[=7Cav=GEN.Chance.JT]

Ok, how long should the fsoinstaller take? It has been running for a while now. Plus I have encountered failures with such things as the Multiplayer Missions, .OGG Cutscenes and there are a couple of others.

[MageKing17]

Originally posted by =7Cav=GOA.Chance.JT:

Ok, how long should the fsoinstaller take? It has been running for a while now. Plus I have encountered failures with such things as the Multiplayer Missions, .OGG Cutscenes and there are a couple of others.

The servers are experiencing a massive amount of traffic from new users; if you try again, it might work, but all you need to play the original campaign with graphical enhancements is FSO and the MediaVPs.

[Top Gun]

It might take a while for the files to download, and there may be a few that don't properly download the first time around. Basically our community's file hosts are getting absolutely hammered by this sudden demand from the Steam release, though we're trying to get more bandwidth available. If it turns out that a few of your file downloads failed, just wait until the installer finishes and then re-run it; it'll automatically see which downloads didn't complete and then attempt them again.

[=7Cav=GEN.Chance.JT]

Ok. Thanks guys. You have really been helpful!

[Vuyek]

Le bump.

[Vuyek]

Yeah... didn't work for me.

Some downloads failed.

[Xeno-Life-Form]

Try re-running the installer a few times when something fails. It should try to re-download the stuff that failed.