Games PC DESCENT-FREESPACE 2 User Manual

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

STARTING FREESPACE 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Installing FreeSpace 2 3 Creating a Pilot 4 The Flight Deck 5 Training Missions 6

Debriefing 7 Combat Ready! 8

THE FLIGHT DECK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Options 9

Multiplayer Options 11 Detail Options 11 Control Config 13 HUD Config 15

Barracks 17

Statistics 18 Medals 19

Tech Room 20

Technical Database 20 Mission Simulator 21 View Cutscenes 22 Credits 22

Campaign Room 22 Ready Room 23

GAME MISSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Command Briefing 24 Mission Briefing 24 Ship Selection 26 Weapon Loadout 28 In-Game Screens 30

The HUD (Heads-Up Display) 30

Messages 35

Recipient 36 Select Ship or Wing 36 Send the Message 36

Rearming & Repairing 38 Missile Firing 39

Missile Types 39

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Countermeasures 40 Advanced Targeting 40 Matching Speed 41 Ending a Mission 41 Energy Transfer System (ETS) 42 Weapons Selection & Linking 43 Hotkeys 44

Hotkey Usage 44 Defining Hotkeys 45

STARTING FREESPACE 2

INSTALLING FREESPACE 2

Please see the Installation Instructions insert found in your FreeSpace 2 box.

If you have a problem installing FreeSpace 2, please consult the README.TXT file. If you don’t see the solution to the problem, please check our FreeSpace 2 support page at www.interplay.com/ support/freespace2.

MULTIPLAYER FREESPACE 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Parallax Online (PXO) 46 Multiplayer Basics 46 Creating a Pilot 47 Joining a Game 47 Starting a New Game 50

Host Setup 50

Standalone (Dedicated) Servers 53

Starting a Standalone Server 54 Standalone Servers & Mission Files 56 Server Listing Additions 56

Briefing 56 Ship Selection and Weapon Loadout 56 In-Mission 58 Debriefing 59 Network/Multiplayer Options 59

General Options 60 Voice Options 61

Messages 61

In-Mission Messaging Keys 62

Observer Mode 62 SquadWar 63

FRED2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

CREDITS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

TECHNICAL SUPPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

LIMITED WARRANTY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

INTERPLAY WEBSITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

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Once FreeSpace 2 is installed, the Launcher menu appears on your screen.

The first time you start the Launcher, the Setup window will appear automatically. This enables you to optimize FreeSpace 2 for your system. Go through each tab (Video, Audio, Joystick, etc.) to ensure that the device settings are correct. If the device listed in the drop-down text box is not the one you want FreeSpace 2 to use, click on the “Detect” button to have the Setup program find the proper device. During Video setup, when FreeSpace 2 detects your 3D accelerator, it also determines the available resolution and color depth options from which you can select.

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THE FLIGHT DECK

The Flight Deck screen is the main menu for FreeSpace 2. From here, you can access the Ready Room, Barracks, Campaign Room, Tech Room, Options screen, or Exit (to Windows). Repeatedly clicking the right mouse button cycles through the various hotspots in the Flight Deck.

Once you’ve set up things the way you’d like, click on the button.

Once back at the Launcher, click the “Play” button and FreeSpace 2 will start.

CREATING A PILOT

The first screen you see is the Pilot Selection screen. The first time you play FreeSpace 2, you’re prompted for your pilot’s Callsign. This is your pilot’s nickname for FreeSpace 2. After you type in your pilot’s

Callsign, press .

Once in the game, you can also manage your pilots from the Barracks room off the Flight Deck.

ENTER

Press to bring up a Help Overlay that outlines the locations of the various rooms in the Flight Deck. Hitting anywhere else in

FreeSpace 2 brings up context-sensitive Help screens.

For now, use the mouse to choose the Ready Room to begin your first training mission.

NOTE: It is strongly recommended that new pilots play the training missions offered during the FreeSpace 2 Campaign. These missions teach the basics of flight control, targeting, weapons management, and communication in the game. If you’re an experienced FreeSpace player, you may want to skip the first group of training missions.

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TRAINING MISSIONS

When you create a new pilot and enter the Ready Room, you’re placed in the first training mission’s Briefing screen.

Here you receive a brief overview of the upcoming training mission, including instructions on your objectives and how to meet them.

To the upper left are choices for Briefing, Ship Selection, and Weapon Loadout. In later missions, you’ll use these buttons to move to the different pre-mission screens. For this first training mission, “Briefing” is all you need.

To the lower right are buttons for Help, Options, and Commit. “Help” is the same as pressing and brings up a screen-specific overlay that briefly explains the on-screen options. “Options” brings you to a screen of game options, if you wish to customize the game’s settings. “Commit” accepts your mission orders and sends you into the mission.

In the center of the Briefing screen is the mission map. This is a graphical representation of what you can expect in the mission. You may click on any map icon to see a more detailed view of it.

Below the mission map is the briefing text. If you have voice enabled in the game, the briefing is read to you, one stage at a time. To navigate through the briefing stages, use the arrow buttons on the top edge of the mission map (or use the cursor

keys on your keyboard).

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For help with flight and combat controls, press during a mission. Screens listing the current control keys will appear. You may also use the Reference Card in the FreeSpace 2 box for lists of the default control keys.

Follow the instructor’s commands during training missions. He will help you learn the basics of fighter control and combat. Watch the onscreen messages to see the keys needed to follow his orders.

Instructions given to you also appear in the Directives Display found on the left side of your HUD (Heads-Up Display).

DEBRIEFING

After each mission, including training missions, you are shown the Debriefing screen.

During the Debriefing, your commanding officer gives a breakdown of the mission and evaluates your performance. If you performed exceedingly well during a combat situation, you may be granted a medal or promotion during the Debriefing. If you failed one or more of your Primary Objectives, you may be forced to replay the mission.

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By pressing the “Recommendations” button, you can see specific tips on how to meet all outlined objectives.

You may also view your pilot’s mission statistics from the Debriefing screen. To the upper left of the screen, you see the “Statistics” button. Clicking on it enables you to view Statistics for the mission you’ve just flown. Reviewing mission statistics is a good way to evaluate your performance.

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THE FLIGHT DECK

The Flight Deck serves as the main menu for FreeSpace 2. From this screen, you can access the Options, Ready Room, Barracks, Tech Room, and Campaign Room. You can also Exit to Windows. Clicking the right mouse button cycles through the different hotspots on the Flight Deck screen.

If you followed the first training mission’s instructions, you should now be ready for the remaining training missions. Press “Accept” to continue.

COMBAT READY!

Once you’ve completed training, you’re ready to begin your tour of duty aboard the GTD Aquitaine. Good luck, pilot!

NOTE: Pressing from anywhere in FreeSpace 2 brings up screen-specific help. If you’re in a pre-mission interface screen, such as the Flight Deck, you see a Help Overlay that highlights hotspots and gives brief descriptions of each.

OPTIONS

The Options area off the Flight Deck enables you to change many of the game’s settings (this screen can be brought up at any time

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in FreeSpace 2 by pressing the key). From here, you can change the sound volume, skill level, detail settings, controls configuration, and other items.

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Accept: Clicking this button enters all the changes you’ve made to the configuration settings, closes down the Options screen, and returns you to the screen from which you came.

Volume: This section has three separate controls for the volume levels for sound effects, music, and voices.

Voice Effects: This enables you to turn on or off the voice reading the mission briefing text.

Mouse: Turn this option “On” if you use a mouse to control your ship during missions. The “Sensitivity” setting determines how much your ship responds to movement of the mouse. The more lights, the more pronounced is the ship’s response to the mouse’s movement.

Skill Level: This alters the current skill/difficulty level used in FreeSpace 2 missions, from Very Easy all the way to Insane. When you create a pilot, it is set by default to Easy.

NOTE: Once a mission has begun, your Skill Level setting is locked in. You must wait until the mission is complete before changing it again.

Brightness: All computer monitors handle darkening colors differently. To compensate for this, the Brightness setting helps adjust your visuals to the ideal range for your monitor. To set your brightness correctly, use the arrow buttons to adjust the value until the striped areas appear to be uniform patches of gray. Once you have set this value, you should use your monitor’s brightness and contrast controls if you need to make further changes to the game’s appearance.

Joystick: If you use a joystick to control your ship in FreeSpace 2, these settings help fine-tune your ship’s responses. The “Sensitivity” setting determines how dramatically your ship turns in response to movement of the joystick. The “Deadzone” setting establishes how far you have to move the joystick before the ship begins to turn. If you’re having trouble keeping targets near the center of your HUD screen, you may want to lower your joystick’s Sensitivity setting and/or raise the Deadzone setting.

Exit Game: Clicking this button shuts down FreeSpace 2 and returns you to Windows.

The remaining buttons on the Options screen (Multi, Detail, Control Config, and HUD Config) take you to different sub-screens, described on the following pages.

MULTIPLAYER OPTIONS

The Multi screen presents all the configuration options you’ll need to play multiplayer games of FreeSpace 2 over the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network). These options are discussed in detail in the “Multiplayer FreeSpace 2” section, beginning on page 46.

DETAIL OPTIONS

The Detail screen enables you to change the various levels of detail used in FreeSpace 2. Since the game is designed to run on a wide range of computer types and speeds, you can set these values to match the performance of your hardware.

On the right side of the screen is a list of Preset Detail Levels. When FreeSpace 2 was installed, a default Detail Level was chosen for your computer based on its speed, RAM, and other hardware. If you notice slowdowns in single-player mode, you may want to change this to a lower level to speed up the framerate. Setting it higher makes objects and effects look better, but it may cause the game to run slower.

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By using the “Custom” setting, you can change each of the individual detail settings (the column of settings on the left side of the screen) separately. This is useful if you find a particular detail setting more important than others. Changing any one of these individual settings automatically changes the Preset Detail Level to “Custom.”

Individual detail settings include the following:

Model Detail: As a ship or object gets farther away, it changes to a simpler 3D model. This setting alters the distances at which those changes occur. Higher values put those distances farther away, giving you more detail at the cost of framerate speed. To improve framerate, set this to a lower value.

Nebula Detail: This setting controls the amount of graphical detail you see in the nebula missions. Setting this to a lower value improves your framerate in the nebulae.

3D Hardware Textures: The higher this setting, the more texture RAM FreeSpace 2 uses. This means that everything looks nicer, but the game slows down. Tweak this setting until you’re happy with the game’s framerate.

Particles: This alters the number of particles that are spewed when a ship suffers damage.

Impact Effects: This setting changes the number of weapon impact effects rendered.

Shield Hit Effects: This determines what you see when a ship’s shield is hit. At its lowest setting, this completely turns off the shield-hit effect. At medium settings, this causes shield hits to render as 2D bitmaps. At higher settings, they appear as 3Dmesh objects surrounding each shield-capable ship.

Stars: This alters the number of visible stars.

Lighting: This alters the lighting model used during missions.

At the highest setting, all explosions and other effects use full static and dynamic lighting. At lower settings, less lighting is done, and on fewer objects.

Planets/Backgrounds: This toggles the backgrounds and planets on or off.

Target View Rendering: When on, this displays a 3D view of your current target in the Target View gauge. If you do not use

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this gauge much, turning this off causes a small improvement to framerate.

Weapon Extras: This enables (or disables) the missile trails and laser glows in the game.

At the top and bottom of the Detail Options screen are the buttons that take you to the Options, Multi, Control Config, and HUD Config sub-screens. As in the main Options screen, the Exit button takes you out of FreeSpace 2 and the Accept button puts you back into the game.

CONTROL CONFIG

This screen enables you to customize your controls setup and change your key bindings.

NOTE: Settings found in the Control Config screen are stored in your pilot’s file, so you may have different control setups for different pilots. If you wish to take your pilot to another computer that has FreeSpace 2 installed, simply copy your pilot file to a diskette and take it with you. Your pilot files end with .PLR filename extensions and can be found in your \FreeSpace2\players\ directory.

Control functions are divided into four categories:

Targeting: All targeting-related functions Ship: Flight controls and other ship functions

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Weapons: Weapon control functions, including countermeasures

Misc.: Other functions, such as wingman command shortcuts,

energy management, and multiplayer messaging

Each category contains a list of functions to the left and the current key or controller bindings to the right. For the Targeting and Misc. categories, use the scroll arrows or slider to the far right, as those lists are too long to fit on a single screen.

TIP: There are many different targeting functions available to you under Control Config/Targeting. Many of these are not covered in the training missions. Once you have some combat experience under your belt, you may wish to try some of the more advanced targeting controls. Check through the Targeting list to see all the functions available.

Bindings

To change the binding for a given function, simply double-click on the function to enter Bind Mode. With Bind Mode on, press the new key or controller button you want to assign to that function. (You may press the “Undo” button to undo your last binding.)

Each function can have one keyboard key and one joystick button bound to it at the same time.

You can also use the “Alt” and “Shift” buttons to the lower left to assign Alt and/or Shift modifiers to your selected binding.

Clearing Bindings

If you wish to clear the bindings for a given function, simply use your mouse to select that line and press “Clear Selected.” All key and controller bindings are then removed for that item. Pressing “Clear All” removes all bindings for the current category.

Conflicts

If you assign a key or controller button that is already assigned to another function, a “Conflict” warning flashes at the bottom of the screen. The conflicting keys are shown in red. If the duplicate binding appears in another category, that category button is shown in red at the top of the screen.

You must resolve all conflicts before leaving the Control Config

screen.

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If you press the “Clear Conflict” button, the older binding is removed and the current one takes effect.

Clicking the “Accept” button saves your changes to the Control Config and takes you back to Options.

HUD CONFIG

This screen enables you to customize various aspects of your fighter’s Heads-Up Display (HUD). For detailed information on the HUD gauges and how they work in the game, please see page 30.

Most of the screen is taken up by an image containing all the HUD’s gauges and indicators.

To the upper left of the screen are sliders that control the relative intensities of the RGB (Red, Green, Blue) values of a particular gauge (click on a gauge in the HUD and adjust its color with the sliders).

The “I” Slider controls how distinctly the HUD shows up against the game’s backgrounds.

At the bottom middle of the screen are three buttons that set the general HUD color scheme as either Amber, Blue, or Green.

To the lower left of the screen are three buttons labeled “On,” “Off,” and “Popup.” Each gauge or indicator on the HUD display can be set to “On” or “Off.” Simply click on that gauge or indicator and choose its new mode using the buttons in the lower left.

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When set to “Off,” a gauge or indicator is drawn in gray on this screen (it won’t appear at all on the in-game screens). Otherwise, it displays in either the general HUD color you select or its own custom color, if you assigned one to it with the RGB sliders.

Many gauges enable you to set a third mode, called “Popup.” In Popup mode, the gauge appears onscreen only when its status changes. If no further change occurs, it disappears within a few seconds.

For example: If you set the Weapons Display to Popup mode, it appears only when you change your armed or linked weapons. It remains onscreen for a short time, then disappears, unless you make additional changes.

The “Select All” button at the bottom enables you to select all gauges whose color does not change with your target. You can then change colors or settings for a large number of gauges all at once.

When you have the HUD configured the way you’d like, you can save the configuration by clicking on the text box under “Save” and typing in a name. Then click on the down arrow to the left of the box. If you have more than one saved configuration, you can use the left and right arrows beneath the text box to cycle through them.

In the lower right are buttons for Resetting to the defaults or Accepting your changes (and returning to the Options screen).

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BARRACKS

You can manage your FreeSpace 2 pilots in the Barracks screen. From here, you can create and delete pilots, as well as view their combat statistics and medals.

In the upper left is a list of pilots. If this is your first time playing FreeSpace 2, only one pilot is listed.

If multiple pilots are displayed, you may change your current pilot by highlighting the name and clicking the “Select” button.

NOTE: Single-player pilots are stored separately from multiplayer pilots. Use the “Single” and “Multi” buttons in the upper right of the pilot list to change the type of pilot displayed. By leaving the Barracks with a multiplayer pilot selected, the game is placed in multiplayer mode (see page 46 for details).

There are four buttons beneath the list of pilots:

Create: This creates a new pilot. This pilot is either singleplayer or multiplayer, depending on which mode is currently active.

Clone: This duplicates your currently selected pilot and prompts you for a new name (pilot names must be unique). This cloned pilot has all the same Control Config settings as the original pilot.

Remove: This deletes the selected pilot. If you delete the only

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pilot in a given player mode, you must create another before leaving the Barracks.

Convert: This copies the current pilot but places the new pilot in the opposite player mode (Single or Multi). Example: If you Convert a single-player pilot, this creates a multiplayer version, complete with the same Control Config and Option settings.

NOTE: Clone and Convert do not copy your pilot’s statistics, only the Options and Control settings. Please see “Statistics” (following section) for more info.

In the upper right of the Barracks screen is the picture associated with the currently selected pilot. You can change your pilot’s picture with the arrow buttons beneath the images. Each newly created pilot is randomly assigned a picture.

FreeSpace 2 allows you to import your own pilot pictures! Create a 256-color PCX image at 160x120 resolution and place it in the \FreeSpace2\data\players\images directory. It will appear in the Barracks the next time you run FreeSpace 2.

You can also make your own squadron insignia, but only for multiplayer pilots. Create a 256-color PCX image at 128x128 resolution and place it in the \FreeSpace2\data\players\squads directory. Your new insignia will appear in the Barracks the next time you run FreeSpace 2.

In multiplayer games, your pilot’s picture and squadron insignia are automatically uploaded to the other players who fly missions with you.

STATISTICS

In the center of the Barracks screen is a section devoted to your pilot’s stats. These are an ongoing record of your performance while using that pilot.

NOTE: Permanent statistics are kept only for Campaign missions. If you fly a mission in the Tech Room Simulator, you receive a statistics report at Debriefing, but your pilot’s all-time statistics do not change.

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The statistics are self-explanatory, with these possible exceptions:

Kills: When a hostile ship is destroyed, the ship that inflicts the most damage to it gets credit for the kill, as long as that ship causes at least 20% of the total damage. If no single ship inflicts more than 20% damage to a hostile ship, no one receives the kill.

Assists: You receive an assist for inflicting 15% or more damage to any ship that is destroyed. Thus several different players may receive an assist for the same downed enemy craft.

You do not get kills or assists for destroying asteroids and other non-combative targets.

MEDALS

In your tours of duty as a GTVA Pilot, you are occasionally granted medals for outstanding achievements. The Medals screen is reached by clicking on the “Medals” button near the bottom of the Barracks screen. This shows your currently selected pilot’s accumulated service medals. You see the name of a granted medal when you place the cursor over it.

Some medals are granted for superior dogfighting skills. Others are granted for exceptional performances in certain combat situations. It takes an extraordinarily skilled pilot to acquire every GTVA service medal.

Each new pilot begins at Ensign rank. During the course of a Campaign, as your pilot’s skills improve, he will be periodically promoted and granted more responsibility. Eventually, your pilot will have full control over his flight wings’ ships and weapon loadouts. The rank section of the Medals screen displays your pilot’s current rank symbol.

GTVA ranks are as follows:

Admiral

Vice Admiral

Rear Admiral

Commodore

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Captain

Commander

Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant

Lieutenant Junior Grade

Ensign

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TECH ROOM

In the Tech Room, you can view Database information, fly missions in the Simulator, view previously seen cutscenes, and see the list of game credits.

TECHNICAL DATABASE

The Technical Database sub-screen gives information on the ships, weapons, species, and history of FreeSpace 2. Click on the buttons toward the bottom of the screen to view the various databases of information. For the Ships and Weapons databases, use the scroll bars on the left side of the screen to see the range of topics available. To peruse the Intelligence database, use the left and

right arrow buttons on the right side of the screen.

MISSION SIMULATOR

The Mission Simulator enables you to replay single missions that you have completed during your Campaign.

Simply choose the mission you wish to replay from the displayed list and click on the “Commit” button.

Two filters at the bottom enable you to switch between standalone missions and Campaign missions that have been previously flown by your current pilot.

NOTE: Replaying a Campaign mission in this manner does not replace the result you achieved while playing it in Campaign mode. This is only a simulation. Once you have accepted a mission’s outcome in Campaign mode, you cannot change the results unless you restart the Campaign.

The Mission Simulator also enables you to fly single missions that are not part of a Campaign. These may be add-on missions from Volition, Inc., or home-brewed missions you or your friends made using FRED2, the FreeSpace 2 mission editor. In order for such missions to appear on this screen, they must be placed in your FreeSpace2\data\missions subdirectory.

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VIEW CUTSCENES

This screen enables you to view cutscenes you have seen previously while playing a FreeSpace 2 Campaign. Your current pilot must have seen a cutscene during Campaign play for it to appear on this list.

CREDITS

This screen lists the people (and organizations) who contributed to the development of FreeSpace 2.

CAMPAIGN ROOM

FreeSpace 2 missions are generally arranged into Campaigns. Each Campaign connects missions into a series in which the story progresses as the player proceeds from one mission to the next.

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The default Campaign when you first install FreeSpace 2 is called “FreeSpace 2.” More Campaigns appear here if you have created your own using FRED2 (the FreeSpace 2 mission editor), or if you have downloaded others from the Internet.

READY ROOM

Entering the Ready Room with a single-player pilot takes you to the Briefing for the next mission in that pilot’s current Campaign. Entering the Ready Room with a multiplayer pilot yields something very different; see page 47 for more info.

Each single-player FreeSpace 2 pilot you create can have only one Campaign in progress (or “open”) at a time. Between Campaign missions, progress in a Campaign is automatically saved, and you may continue it later by returning to the Ready Room.

WARNING: If you choose to restart or change a pilot’s Campaign before his current one is completed, he loses all progress and statistics achieved during that Campaign. Only when a Campaign is completed, from start to finish, do your pilot’s accumulated statistics, promotions, and medals become permanent.

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