Newbie question here regarding Freelancer, Multiplayer and mods

    I've had Freelancer since release but just recently reinstalled it after many years. First off, what happened to multiplayer, is there any way to get a multiplayer going. I ask because a friend started playing it and it encouraged me to start again, we'd both like to do some coop multiplayer.


    Also, what are decent mods to add new ships, locations etc. Years ago I remember using what I think was the Mod manager and a mod that added a lot of ships from TV and film. It doesn't have to be licenced stuff, but a better selection of ships would be nice.


    Apologies if this sort of thing has been posted before but its been a while for me.

    multiplayer FL still does work
    you can download this Implemented GLS Workaround download - Freelancer Game - Mod DB to get it working


    many mods already connect to a server automatically
    you can find a list of good mods at Mods - Freelancer Game - Mod DB
    on the right side you see a ranking with the most popular mod projects
    there are some small mods with a few hundred mb size and some major ones with several gb in size

    Many thanks for that. Do you still need a program like the old Mod Manager? I think the mod I once used with all the extra ships was called Rebalance, but I'm not 100% sure. It did have issues with ships like the White Star from B5 and the Aliens Dropship not being able to use planetary docking rings.

    A lot of mods still require Freelancer Mod Manager, which you can download from this website from the Database section.


    For "Multiplayer" purposes, I recommend Discovery 4.86. They are still up and running doing MP. If the Mod is not available here, google it and you can download it there.


    Here's the Discovery forum. Discovery Gaming Community


    The Crossfire mod is also an excellent mod for MP purposes (but not for single player!). Not sure if they still do MP. Be warned, many of the "new" ships in that mod requare a ludicrous amount of Credits in order to buy them.


    Also, look through the Database here. Download what you think you'd enjoy. :)

    Okay, I'm playing the vanilla campaign just now, (I'll swear the Order Anubis fighter is more fragile than my old Kusari Dragon), so if I download the Mod Manager and install the Discovery mod will it screw up my save file in the vanilla campaign. I don't mean will it kick in with the mod content. As I say I might seem like a newbie here but its been a long time since I played the game, though I'm getting more satisfaction out this than many of the new titles. The ship and system graphics still look decent, although the character models are where things look dated.


    Do you know if there are any Mass Effect style mods for this game?

    Okay, I've installed Crossfire. I only played the first couple of missions of the single player and don't notice any new ships at Manhattan or Pittsburgh. Is this by design or do I have the mod installed correctly? I don't expect a new ship so quickly, but I don't want to waste time playing if I haven't run it properly.


    *Wait a mo, I've installed an older version, reinstalling with 1.9*

    Hi Jade


    If I remember correctly, you can purchase a new fighter model on Planet Pittsburgh (NY), not in the Vanilla campaign but in the Crossfire one (long hours of playing). The Crosssfire map have a real huge size and many models have to be found in the new systems, same things for equipments.

    Okay, I installed 1.9, and already I've seen the Werewolf on sale at Pittsburgh as well as the Prison ships, Gunboat and Liner at Baltimore.


    Now, with my Freelancer install I had linked it to launch with Steam, using this I could use the F12 key to take multiple screenshots. If I now launch Freelancer through Steam the Crossfire mod loads great, but the screencap button doesn't work. Is this something that's solveable?


    So far, I'm impressed, the starfields are more vibrant looking and I'm sure once I get out of New York there will be a lot more going on.


    The Screenshots in the Mod home page seem to have better graphics than I'm getting, is there a reason for that?



    EDIT


    Right, I love this mod so far, but for one thing. The difficulty is just far too high. I've got a Defender Liberty fighter, and there was a level 1 mission to take out some outcast fighters. This was just too difficult. The enemy were spawning seemingly endless nanobots and shield batteries and there was no way I could keep up. Some way of ramping the difficulty down would be nice. Otherwise, I really can't see me carrying on. If a level 1 outcast is going to be that difficult I shudder to think what the Rheinland ships will be like early on.

    npcs use max 1/3 of the bots/bats that a player can use on these ships... biggest problem i noticed is that the players which complained about difficulty use crap equipment to fight the npcs... often even guns with different projetile speeds
    so they never really hit


    the screenshots on the moddb page (at least the latest ones) are about crossfire 2.0 which of course looks much better than version 1.9


    I can not really give you an advice about steam... the game was originally not released on steam and i dont use steam
    you can make screenshots by pressing the print key... you can find the screenshots in your images folder then

    The trouble seems to be getting a decent balance of weapons for the Defender that are good against shields and hull damage as well as not being too much of a drain on power. I'm not having problems with Rogues, Junkers or Xenos, Outcasts for some reason seem to be the main problem.


    The Steam thing wasn't too important, it was just handy that you could take multiple screenshots at once and upload them once you quit whatever game you are playing, but I really didn't think it would be a thought when you made the mod.


    On another thing, I had a cargo hold full of escape pods and was starting to wonder whether I should dump them, then I docked with LPI Huntsville and...damn, 45000 per pod. :)


    I think I'll hang around for a while in the Texas system and get some decent money and upgrade the fighter I have.


    So far I'm impressed with the graphical updates. For instance the 'meteors' in the badlands were just vague shapes before but now look like giant crystals.


    Oh, how do you give a post a thanks, you all have been very helpful and patient here and it's much appreciated. One thing that's struck me about playing Freelancer after playing some of the newer games is just how bug free it is, you get used to games crashing with minor or major issues now.


    *Second Edit*


    Crossfire suddenly stopped working, a file went missing. To be honest, while I was impressed what was done with the game I think the difficulty was just too much for me. Any recommendations for a mod with good single player content with added ships, maybe locations and storyline? Discovery sounds good but seems more MP slanted. It would also be nice to get one with the graphical overhaul but not essential.

    I confirm: as far as I know, Crossfire is the only mod to propose a so complete SP mode. About Discovery, it's effectively a mod for multi-player only and strongly RP oriented (on the official server).

    Okay, thanks for the replies. There seems to be mods that add ships and so on like Rebalance, but are the Star Wars ones any good.


    I'll maybe give Crossfire another try when it reaches version 2.0 and I've totally finished with Freelancer singleplayer, I had just finished the campaign but there was still a lot of exploring to do.