SpaceSimCentral

I just played and beat this game for the first time a few days ago. LOVED it. Normally after I finish a game I delete it from the hard drive and never touch it again but there are exceptions when the game in question is truly top notch. This game qualifies and I'd like to extend the experience as much as possible. I was looking through the mods and found mostly tweaks and stuff. Are there any mods that actually add gameplay, like new missions and such? Were there any expansions ever made for this game?

Ah btw, I created a Pinnacle profile for this game (http://www.pinnaclegameprofiler.com) for Xbox 360 controller. Haven't posted it in their forum as I doubt too many people would use it, but if anyone wants it I'll be happy to post it.

I like these two personally:http://www.spacesimcentral.com/freelancer-f22/mod-phoenix-mod-t52.htmlhttp://www.spacesimcentral.com/freelancer-f22/mod-itano-circus-t42.htmlIt has been a while since I played FL and there might even be an updated mod for each of those. I know those two are standalone. Those are generally what I like to play since multiplayer servers tend to go down.

So how does it work, you install the mods and the story continues? How do you get started, ie where do you go to get your first new mission? Also, can you have multiple mods installed at the same time?

You will need to use mod manager to enable/disable mods. You can only have one game changing mod at a time. There are small little mods that don't really change the game that can be enabled with others. It depends on the mod if story is intact or if they have created a a open world (which is the way FL should be without a story, or very minor one).

So if I have one mod installed, I don't need a mod manager? Can I install one mod, play through it, uninstall it and then install/play the next mod? Or would I have to uninstall the whole game and start over?Also, the two mods you reccomended, are they both 'game changing' mods?

Yes you need to have the mod manager installed: http://www.spacesimcentral.com/downloads.php?view=detail&df_id=37Here is a good description of Itano Circus: http://www.moddb.com/mods/itano-circusAnd in the download description of Phoenix it has most of the info you are looking for: http://www.spacesimcentral.com/downloads.php?view=detail&df_id=126

Cool thanks. I keep seeing the word vanilla. What is that?

Shant wrote:
Cool thanks. I keep seeing the word vanilla. What is that?
I think it might refer to a clean install of Freelancer as in without any mods. Just they way it is when you normally install it. Also have a look for the discovery mod. Highly recommended.

Shant wrote:
So if I have one mod installed, I don't need a mod manager? Can I install one mod, play through it, uninstall it and then install/play the next mod? Or would I have to uninstall the whole game and start over?
Short VersionYou want FLMM (Freelancer Mod Manager) because it makes it simple to install and manage mods. It's free and quite a bit easier than learning how to install mods by hand.Sure, the mod manager makes it as easy as toggling a mod "on" and "off". Activate one, play it, then deactivate it and activate another. The mods do not contaminate each other. Mostly. When everything works correctly you can experiment with different mods without ever reinstalling the game.Long VersionModding is entirely a community-supported reverse-engineering "hack" with very little help from the original authors. The game engine is designed to make it easy to extend the game -- or even to create new games based on the same engine. But there is no Official Freelancer Modding Handbook -- the "how-to" information is spread across the Internet. Fortunately there are places like SpaceSimCentral that help to organize and share the information.I've never seen a simple description of how mods work, so I'll take a stab at it here. There is a LOT of information on the Internet about Freelancer and modding it, but even the "beginner" tutorials seem to assume some understanding of how it all works. I won't attempt to explain everything and I will even tell you a couple of small lies to make the story simpler, but this should help you get started. The "lies" are just telling you one way (or tool) to do something when there are often more than one method or tool to do the job. I won't actually tell you anything wrong. Not intentionally, anyway. Freelancer is highly extensible but it requires a few specialized tools to do so. The majority of the files that make up the game can be edited, added to, or extended. You can make huge changes to the game simply by editing text files. Well, almost simply -- see ".INI" files below.Tip - Back up Freelancer before modding. Applying packaged mods is a snap with FLMM but it is pretty easy for a combination of mods to make the game not run correctly. And, by "not run correctly", Freelancer usually just crashes when it doesn't like something. Just copy the game folder "Copy of Freelancer" will do. The default location (for Windows XP) is:C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\FreelancerJust copy that tree. You can leave your copy in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\. If you ever scramble Freelancer completely, just re-copy the tree back into the Freelancer folder. It is much faster than reinstalling from CD.Freelancer commonly-modded file types, what they do, and what you need to work with them.flmod Freelancer Mod Manager (FLMM) mod package. A mod can change anything from a single word in a .INI file to making vast changes in thousands of files. A .flmod package is simple a .zip compressed archive with a special extension so that FLMM will know what to do with it. Mod packages can be scripted (.XML) or they can replace files. FLMM stores each mod as a folder tree and simply replaces the files in the Freelancer tree with the modified files. It can activate a mod (replace original game files) or deactivate a mod (restore the original game files). FLMM will not allow two different mods to replace the same file at the same time -- this is why most large mods must be played individually.Scripted mods use a simple .XML script format to apply changes to files. FLMM will allow multiple scripts to modify the same file but it will warn you that it may not work correctly. This makes it possible to apply multiple mods at the same time. Unless otherwise noted, the following files are in the DATA tree (under C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Freelancer)..INI Once decompressed, these plain text files control the vast majority of the game. An amazing amount of changes can be made simply by editing plain-text ".INI" files. Well, almost plain text -- .INI files are supported by the Windows API (Application Programming Interface) and they are a simple way to organize data, parameters, controls, and pretty much any program information that can be stored in a single line of plain text. Freelancer's .INI files are compressed on the CD, but you can expand them and use them as plain text files. Freelancer automatically figures out whether a .INI file is compressed or not and handles it either way.The easiest way to get uncompressed .INI files is the Freelancer SDK. "SDK" means "Software Development Kit" but don't let that scare you if you are not a programmer -- the FLSDK is simply the uncompressed .INI files for the entire original (a.k.a. "vanilla") game. Other tools include Bini (a command-line tool good for batch files) and BiniQDU which is a windows program. Many other tools decompress Freelancer .INI files in addition to doing other things..fl Saved game file. This is your saved game, which stores information about your character, ship, cargo, credits, rep, rumors, and bases visited. The default location is My Documents\My Games\Freelancer. Dive down the tree to find your .fl files. For Single Player games you will find them in My Documents\My Games\Freelancer\Accts\SinglePlayer. The IonCross Character Editor is easy to use but is not 100% compatible with all mods, so keep a copy of your game file before using it. The Freelancer Simple Save Editor always works, but some of the information will take you a while to understand..cmp, .3db, .sur, .utf, .ale These are various 3D files which include both image and data (node) trees. You will see them for ships, characters, planets, bases -- most graphical objects. Drizzt4.0's Complete Freelancer Ship Editing & Creating Tutorial is an awesome starting point for more information about Freelancer image files..dll InfoCards.dll contains names, rumors, ship, and equipment "info cards". A couple of other .dlls contain other text and information that can be edited, but the file that most common is InfoCards (in the EXE folder). Editing these message .dlls requires something like Visual Studio (M$) or utf_edit (free). InfoCards.dll Editing Tip Ignore the Ship Editing tutorial's advice and just think of InfoCards.dll as a list that can contain either a name (plain text) or an infocard (formatted text). Each name or infocard has an ID number. Get the Freelancer Empty DLL and follow the instructions to make your own infocard file ("MyInfoCards" or whatever you like) and add it to Freelancer.ini (one of the few .INI files in the EXE tree rather than the DATA tree). Then create a new ID for every name or infocard that you create. While the .dll can store both a name and an infocard with the same ID, don't do it. Freelancer.exe There are a few things that are hard-coded into Freelancer.exe that you might want to change, such as the maximum speed indicated on the HUD (999). There are various published offsets if you want to hack Freelancer.exe with a hex editor, but there are at least three versions of the .exe (probably more due to mods) and I have only seen published offsets for two of them. Note that Freelancer.exe is a compiled file which is not intended to be modified, so hacking it is an "adventurous" task at best. Jason Hood's FLHack is an easy way to temporarily modify the game without actually changing the file. FLHack does not work with all versions of Freelancer.exe but, if it works for you, then it is the way to go. OK, that's the overview. I did not develop any of this stuff... I just play the game. As a programmer, I find that exploring mods is just as much fun as playing the game and exploring star systems. I have played Freelancer many times, and have gotten a kick out of running through the story line with more money, more accurate guns, harder missions, etc. For my tastes, Freelancer is the perfect game. It is a shame that the engine was used once and then not officially expanded. But the interest of the community makes the game continue to be fun seven years after its first release. And there are new mods in development!My favorite hacks of all time -- speeding up the gameThere are some tedious parts of the game that become annoying after a few plays -- being unable to skip long cut scenes, the time that it takes to explore the vastness of space, and the completely pointless 10-second jump gate animation. You can hack engines and thrusters to make your ship faster sub-light, or add two lines to Constants.ini (in the EXE folder) to improve cruise speed. These hacks are not universally "good" because they mess up the autopilot and, sometimes, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) characters (a.k.a. NPC's or Non-Player Characters). I recently heard a lot of background screaming over the comm link when my AI characters cruised right past docking rings and burned up in a planet's atmosphere or smashed themselves into asteroids -- whoops. Speed kills... even for AI's! Two clear winners are shortening the jump gate animation and faster acceleration in trade lanes:DATA\FX\jumpeffect.ini[JumpGateEffect]jump_out_tunnel_time = 0 ; Instant Jump Gate (was 5) jump_in_tunnel_time = 0 ; was 5DATA\FX\gate_tunnel.ini[gate_tunnel]time_to_max_speed = 0.5 ; Faster trade-lane acceleration (was 5). Minor SPOILER -- easier escapes.DATA\Constants.ini[EngineEquipConsts]CRUISING_SPEED = 450 ; default = 300. Note that this also speeds up NPCs.CRUISE_ACCEL_TIME = 1 ; default = 5. Minor SPOILER -- easier escapes.[PhySysConsts]ANOM_LIMITS_MAX_VELOCITY = 450 ; must change this with CRUISING_SPEED above.Favorite Hacks, Part IILearning how to earn money in Freelancer is part of the fun, but the trade system is complex. Modders have spent thousands of hours re-balancing the trading system, discovering "best" trade routes, adding new commodities, etc. I find all of this overly complex, when all you really need to make money in Freelancer is a bigger cargo hold. With a large cargo hold you can buy a few commodities ever time you see a good deal, and leave yourself space to pick up something else along the way. That makes trading as simple as knowing where things are produced (like diamonds in Rheinland and the Omegas). Sell when you find a good customer, and don't sweat whether you are making the best deal ever. With a large hold you will always be making money, so it doesn't matter whether you make the "most" or not.One way is to fly a freighter. The Lane Hacker's Dromedary (only sold at Mactan Base in the Magellan System) is a versatile pirate freighter with a huge hold and lots of guns. But you cannot buy it early in the game when you need it, because your "level" or rank is not high enough. Solution: Edit your saved game to increase your rank.If 275 tons (or whatever the units are) is not enough cargo space for you, then make your own. With Dr. Who's phone booth in mind (and it's fourth-dimensional huge interior), I like to put a 1,000 ton hold in a fighter. Or 6,000 ton. Then you can buy and sell at most bases, tractor goods from your pirating missions, and have a tough enough ship for attacking bases and capital ships. OK, so it breaks one of the strategy rules of the game, but it makes trading a lot more interesting (and more realistic). Here's how:DATA\SHIPS\shiparch.ini[Ship]hold_size = 600 ; change this line from whatever it was, like 80 for a Rhino, for example.; NOTE: Each ship has a nickname which you will have to figure out or look up. For example,; a Rhino is li_freighter. A Defender is li_elite. A Dromedary is bw_freighter. ; ; While you're in this file, is there any good reason that you should not be able to load your ; tractored Nomad Cannons or Blasters on your Dromedary? I didn't think so.; Increase gun levels by changing or adding lines similar to the following:;hp_type = hp_gun_special_10, HpWeapon01, HpWeapon02, HpWeapon03hp_type = hp_gun_special_9, HpWeapon01, HpWeapon02, HpWeapon03hp_type = hp_gun_special_8, HpWeapon01, HpWeapon02, HpWeapon03hp_type = hp_gun_special_7, HpWeapon01, HpWeapon02, HpWeapon03hp_type = hp_gun_special_6, HpWeapon01, HpWeapon02, HpWeapon03

Holy cow...thank you Bullwinkle! That is a HUGE help. OK, well I probably won't be doing any modding anytime soon, and apart from trying out the speed boost and jumpgate animation shrinker that you provided, I don't envision editing any text files (unless I have to). For my purposes, at least for now, I just want to keep the game going. So, please correct me where necessary. If I read you right, all I have to do is:Step 1 - Download & install FLMMStep 2 - Copy my FL game data treeStep 3 - DL & install whichever mods I want to playStep 4 - Start FLMM and enable the mod I want to playStep 5 - Start the game as usual...and it's as simple as that?Separately, a few more questions. 1 - I've had the Discovery mod, Phoenix, & Itano Circus reccomended to m me so I'll start with those. Any other mods you reccomend trying?2 - Are the 3 mods mentioned above all game changing mods? IE, do they all add new missions? And if so, does that mean there are new rumors, dialog, etc...?3 - Do the in-game changes made by the mods run concurrent to the original missions/story, or do they replace them altogether? In other words, if I install a mod, do all traces of the original story disappear or will they still be there for me to pick & choose?Can't thank you enough for that, once again.

Shant wrote:
Holy cow...thank you Bullwinkle! That is a HUGE help.
Glad to help. I have learned a lot from others, so it is nice to be able to contribute back to the community.Sure, start small; one mod at a time, and try other people's mods before making your own.Small changes to your list:Step 1 - Copy my entire Freelancer tree: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Freelancer. Get it all, including the DATA, EXE, and DLLS trees. Mods can change things in any of the sub-folders.Step 2 - Download & install FLMMRight. For some reason, version 1.31 is more universally accepted than 1.4xStep 3 - DL & install whichever mods I want to play.Right... a note about "installing" FLMM mods. The easy way, after FLMM is installed, is to make sure that the mod has an extension like "MyMod.zip.flmod". Then all you have to do to install the mod is to double-click the file and FLMM will do the rest of the installation. Some mods download with the correct extension while some require you to add the .flmod part. Note that, by default, the Home Edition of Windows does not let you see file extensions. This causes much more confusion than it solves. If Windows Explorer does not display file extensions, then fix it: Tools | Folder Options | View | [ ] Hide extensions for known file types <== Uncheck this box.Step 4 - Start FLMM and enable the mod I want to playStep 5 - Start the game as usualYep! It's that simple. FLMM does most of the hard work for you.
Shant wrote:
1 - I've had the Discovery mod, Phoenix, & Itano Circus reccomended to m me so I'll start with those. Any other mods you reccomend trying?
I am plan to try Phoenix and Itano Circus myself. Discovery is pretty good, and it does some of the speed-ups for you. Version 4.80 is the last version of Discovery that includes the single player story line, so you might try that rather than the newer versions (which are tuned for multi-player). The story line is basically the same, but the missions are more challenging, the payouts higher, and there are some cool new ships to try.After watching all of those cut scenes a billion times, I can't tell you how much I appreciated the new uniform that the Crossfire mod has for Juni! When you activate Crossfire choose Sexy Outfit 2. I liked the uniform so much that I saved it for use with other mods.Crossfire, by the way, has an extremely cool Sol System, complete with a dockable Earth. It is done to scale, so it will take you like a week to get from Pluto to Earth (just kidding about the week, but the system is HUGE compared to most Freelancer systems). The planets all have moons and there are a couple of in-system jump gates to speed up travel from the Keyper Belt (Pluto) to Jupiter, and a special trade lane from Jupiter to Earth that neatly takes you through the Van Allen asteroid belt.Oh, and Crossfire adds a final mission to the story line, with a cute twist at the end. It is worthwhile to play Crossfire just for that final mission to Earth.
Shant wrote:
2 - Are the 3 mods mentioned above all game changing mods? IE, do they all add new missions? And if so, does that mean there are new rumors, dialog, etc...?
Let's talk about terms for a moment. Remember that most of the big modders are primarily multi-player people who do not play the story line. I think that DarkOne's use of the phrase "game changing" was perhaps a shortcut way to explain what I tried to say about the way that FLMM can either replace files or script minor changes. I believe that he meant that you cannot use two mods at the same time that change game files by replacing them.In other words, FLMM comes with a couple of small mods that you can use with other mods (a gun, a ship, faster cruise speed). But mods that make a lot of changes (such as the mods that you mentioned) can only be activated one at a time. You can install as many as you like, but FLMM will usually make you disable an active mod before you can activate another.So, yes, most mods have "new missions", but they are typically changes to the missions that you get in the Bar or on the Job Board. Some are pretty good. If you are thinking of extensions to the story line, that part of Freelancer has had less work than others, mainly because it is much easier to edit ships, guns, systems, and bar missions than it is to add a cut scene or extend the story line script. Remember, none of this modding stuff is supported by Microsoft (although they don't seem to mind mods that don't infringe on their copyrights).And, yes, new rumors and infocards. Don't expect new cut scenes or audio dialog, unfortunately. As I said, the Crossfire team got pretty creative in their Mission 14, and they added new music and other sounds.So that leads us to your next question:
Shant wrote:
3 - Do the in-game changes made by the mods run concurrent to the original missions/story, or do they replace them altogether? In other words, if I install a mod, do all traces of the original story disappear or will they still be there for me to pick & choose?
Some mods have no story line at all... just exploring. Many are built with the multi-player game in mind. Some mods let you play the original story line with different variations. Some add a little to the story line. Some replace the story completely. Have fun exploring!-- B

Wow I guess that covers all the bases. Thanks again man! Will let you guys know how it goes.

Do you have a link to the crossfire mod?

Shant wrote:
Do you have a link to the crossfire mod?
http://www.moddb.com/mods/crossfire/downloads/crossfire-mod-17-client-versionYou may have to disable your antivirus program before it will install. There is a false alert with some checkers (including mine - Norton).Merry Christmas!B

"Shattered Worlds" is a cool mod also, very well made.http://www.freelancer-swwt.com/

for me discovery was the besti played a lot of Single Player sadly the differences between SP Discovery and MP Discovery are big.they should focus on the SP part too

I played Discovery also a wile ago but I guess it all depends on what mod you're looking for: total conversion, tweaked vanilla etc

imagine what could be done if microsoft releases the code for freelancer

SolCommand wrote:
"Shattered Worlds" is a cool mod also, very well made.http://www.freelancer-swwt.com/
Where do I download the mod from? I can't find any download links on that site...