Freelancer

Freelancer

Developers
	Digital Anvil
Publishers
	Microsoft Game Studios
Release dates
Windows	March 4, 2003

Warnings

SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see Availability for affected versions).

Key points

Active modding scene.

Not available on any digital distribution channels, only through retail.

Master servers for multiplayer were shut down on April 8, 2008. See fllistserver for a workaround.

General information

The Starport - modding information and forums.

The Starport Wiki installation guide.

Microsoft has individual support pages for video and sound issues for Windows 95/ME/XP.

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		SafeDisc v2.7 DRM.

SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).

Freelancer is currently unavailable as a digital release.

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Open freelancer.ini and put a semi-colon ; in front of each of the three movie lines.

Patches

Update v1.1 is an official patch that primarily affects server stability for multi-player and is not necessary for single player. It does not address any graphics or sound issues mentioned below.

Utilities

• Freelancer Mod Manager is a program that simplifies installing and managing mods for the game. Mods compatible with this program have file extension *.flmod.

Modifications

• HD Textures 1.2 replaces low-res textures for stations, docks, nebulas and some ships.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Freelancer\PerfOptions.ini <path-to-game>\DATA\

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows

Video settings

Video settings.

Widescreen resolution

If you want to play Freelancer in widescreen you'll either have to edit several INI files or use a third party mod or patch. Below are instructions for installing Jason's Freelancer Patch as well as manual ini edits if you'd rather go that route.

Jason's Freelancer Patch[citation needed]

If you only plan on playing singleplayer Jasons Freelancer patch is a good option. You'll only need to download a file, put it in the right place and make a small edit to another file and you will have the best widescreen support you can get in Freelancer. If you plan on playing any multiplayer it is recommended that you do not use this option as it might be detected as cheating. Instead you should go for the INI editing option described further down. Do note that some of the servers that are still around use special mods, some of these mods include their own widescreen support. Download JFLP.DLL. Extract to the EXE folder within the game's install folder. Open dacom.ini within the EXE folder. Add 'jflp.dll' at the bottom of the '[Libraries]' section (under '.\flmaterials.dll') and save. You're done. Your install of Freelancer now supports widescreen resolutions. Start the game and select one in the options menu. Be sure to restart the game after changing from a 4:3 resolution to a Widescreen.

Edit Ini files

Open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Freelancer\PerfOptions.ini At the bottom it will say [Display] and underneath size= change it to 1920, 1080 (or whatever resolution you want to use). Notice the space in between the 1920, 1080. Now save and exit. Go to <path-to-game>\DATA. Once there open cameras.ini in text editor. Delete whats there and paste the following: [WinCamera] fovx = 68.88 [CockpitCamera] fovx = 70 znear = 2.000000 [ChaseCamera] fovx = 70 [DeathCamera] fovx = 70 If you have a 16:10 screen use the following instead: [WinCamera] fovx = 63.50 [CockpitCamera] fovx = 70 znear = 2.000000 [ChaseCamera] fovx = 70 [DeathCamera] fovx = 70 Save and exit. Go to <path-to-game>\EXE. Once there open freelancer.ini in text editor. At about the 9th line down it says the resolution you're currently using for a game. Change it to size = 1920,1080 or what ever resolution you want. Note: To disable startup movies, in this same file go to where it says [Startup] and put a ; at the start of all three lines that begins with movie_file. Example: ;movie_file = movies\MGS_Logo_Final.wmv Now save and exit. Go to <path-to-game>\DATA\FONTS. Once there open fonts.ini in text editor. Delete all the content of a file and paste the following: [trueType] nickname = ButtonText font = Agency FB fixed_height = 0.038500 [trueType] nickname = PageHeader font = Agency FB fixed_height = 0.041000 [trueType] nickname = SubHeader font = Agency FB fixed_height = 0.034500 [trueType] nickname = ItemName font = Agency FB fixed_height = 0.021000 [trueType] nickname = ListText font = Arial Unicode MS fixed_height = 0.026000 [trueType] nickname = ToolTip font = Arial Unicode MS fixed_height = 0.026000 [trueType] nickname = Rollover font = Arial Unicode MS fixed_height = 0.022000 [trueType] nickname = HudSmall font = Agency FB fixed_height = 0.026000 [trueType] nickname = MissionObjective font = Agency FB fixed_height = 0.056000 [trueType] nickname = Normal font = Agency FB fixed_height = 0.031000 [trueType] nickname = NewsMission font = Agency FB fixed_height = 0.026000 [trueType] nickname = NewsTicker font = Agency FB fixed_height = 0.041000 [trueType] nickname = PlayerName font = Arial Unicode MS fixed_height = 0.021000 [trueType] nickname = TradePlayerName font = Arial Unicode MS fixed_height = 0.021000 [trueType] nickname = DebugText font = FixedSys fixed_height = 0.026000 [trueType] nickname = ConfirmPlayerText font = Arial Unicode MS fixed_height = 0.036000 [trueType] nickname = ConfirmText font = Agency FB fixed_height = 0.036000 [trueType] nickname = NavMap1600 font = Agency FB fixed_height = 0.015000 [trueType] nickname = NavMap1024 font = Agency FB fixed_height = 0.020000 [trueType] nickname = NavMap1280 font = Agency FB fixed_height = 0.01900 [trueType] nickname = NavMap800 font = Agency FB fixed_height = 0.02300 Save and exit. In the same folder open rich_fonts.ini in text editor. Delete all the content of a file and paste the following: [trueType] font = 0, Arial Unicode MS, 18 font = 1, Agency FB, 26 font = 2, Arial Unicode MS, 22 font = 3, Agency FB, 24 font = 4, Agency FB, 96 font = 5, Agency FB, 20 font = 6, Agency FB, 30 font = 7, Agency FB, 18 [Style] name = STYLE_CONSOLE font = 0 bold = false italic = false underline = false color = 255, 255, 255 [Style] name = STYLE_DIALOG font = 1 bold = false italic = false underline = false color = 135, 195, 224 [Style] name = STYLE_DIALOG_SMALL font = 5 bold = false italic = false underline = false color = 135, 195, 224 [Style] name = STYLE_BUTTON font = 6 bold = false italic = false underline = false color = 135, 195, 224 [Style] name = STYLE_LOCTABLE font = 0 bold = false italic = false underline = false color = 135, 195, 224 [Style] name = STYLE_LOCTABLE_SELECT font = 0 bold = false italic = false underline = false color = 245, 234, 82 [Style] name = STYLE_LOCTABLE_INACTIVE font = 0 bold = false italic = false underline = false color = 182, 182, 182 [Style] name = STYLE_SMALL_HEADER font = 5 bold = false italic = false underline = false color = 135, 195, 224 [Style] name = STYLE_SMALL_HEADER_ACTIVE font = 5 bold = false italic = false underline = false color = 245, 234, 82 [Style] name = STYLE_SUBSUBTITLE font = 1 bold = false italic = false underline = false color = 135, 195, 224 [Style] name = STYLE_TITLE font = 3 bold = false italic = false underline = false color = 135, 195, 224 justify = center [Style] name = STYLE_ERROR font = 0 bold = false italic = false underline = false color = 191, 29, 29 [Style] name = STYLE_NN_AGENCY font = 5 bold = false italic = false underline = false color = 135, 195, 224 [Style] name = STYLE_PRIVATE font = 0 bold = false italic = false underline = false color = 59, 191, 29 [Style] name = STYLE_CONSOLE_SENDER font = 2 bold = false italic = false underline = false color = 0, 255, 0 Save and exit. Now you are all done and ready to play in 1920×1080. Notes The camera FOV changes for widescreen play might not be applied properly when you first launch and load an existing game causing the UI to be outside the screen. As a workaround, after the launching the game press New Game, once the New Game cutscene starts press F1 and load your game from there. The FOV settings seem to be applied properly as soon as a space scene is played, like the one at the start of the New Game cutscene. It seem that many UI elements have their width set in percentage of screen width. With the above INI edits the game will play just fine in widescreen but some UI elements might not fit inside their containers such as the power, shield and hull indicators, and the news ticker.

Audio settings

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
German				Sound, Text
Spanish				Fan translation, download. Subtitles mod.
Russian				Fan translation by users forum «Elite-Games.ru»

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Notes
LAN play
Online play		Official servers are offline; use replacement Freelancer listserver.

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
vorpX		G3D Included in DGVoodoo2 Default Profile. Note: Profile may not work with the latest wrapper, in case of issues please report to the vorpx forum.

Issues unresolved

Compatibility problems on modern operating systems

Two primary issues when running on modern systems:

Graphics issues resulting in a black screen or general crashes.^{[citation needed]}

There can be sound issues causing voices or music to temporarily be muted.^{[citation needed]}

Issues fixed

It is sometimes necessary to start a new game, delete all your saved games or reinstall Freelancer in order for the following fixes to be successful.

Crashes on launch

Install DirectPlay[citation needed]

Use Freelancer - Windows 8/8.1/10 fix[citation needed]

Sound issues

If there is either no sound or voices or music cut in and out the following fixes may solve the problem.

• Most sound issues can be traced to problems with the Fraunhofer IIS MPEG Layer-3 Codec. Uninstalling and reinstalling this codec as described on Microsoft's website can fix the problem. Other people have had success in both Windows 98 and Vista 32-bit by copying the l3codeca.acm file from %WINDIR%\system32\ to <path-to-game>\EXE\ and rename it to l3codecp.acm.

• Another possible fix is disabling 3-D sound in the options menu.

Video Issues

Microsoft lists several solutions for video issues.

"Freelancer Fatal Error: Freelancer did not detect a 3D capable video card in your system" error

Follow the Widescreen resolution steps to force the correct resolution.

Other information

API

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	98, ME, XP
Processor (CPU)	600 MHz
System memory (RAM)	128 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	900 MB
Video card (GPU)	16 MB of VRAM