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.[1] 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Amazon.com |
- 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.[2]
Patches
The official patch 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.
- Latest: 1.1
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 |
---|
Save game data location
System | Location |
---|
Video settings
Widescreen resolution
If you want to play Freelancer in widescreen you'll either have to editing several INI files or user a third party mod or patch. Below are instructions for installing Jasons Freelancer Patch as well as manual ini edits if you'd rather go that route.
Instructions |
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Instructions |
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Input settings
Audio settings
Network
Multiplayer types
Type | Native | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|
LAN play | |||
Online play | Official servers are offline; use replacement Freelancer listserver. |
Issues unresolved
Main issues Two primary issues when running on modern systems:
- Graphics issues resulting in a black screen or general crashes.
- There can be sound issues causing voices or music to temporarily be muted.
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.
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 tol3codecp.acm
.[3]
- Another possible fix is disabling 3-D sound in the options menu.
Video Issues
Microsoft lists several solutions for video issues.
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 |