Timmy51m wrote:
As far as I’m aware JFLP includes the unofficial 1.4 patch and the sdk, all stitched into one, streamlined and mostly bugfixed. JFLP is best patch to use so long as it doesn’t conflict with a mod you might want to play.

Know if the 1.4 unofficial patch will conflict with the Discovery mod, or would it not have any negative effects?

If I’m using the Freelancer Mod Manager, will it take care of any possible issues for me and allow me to play the Discover Mod without issues? Let’s say that I’m not gonna be playing multiplayer for now, just singleplayer.

Sorry for the newb-ness of the questions. I don’t know much about how mod and patches interact with each other in Freelancer.

FriendlyFire wrote:
Any mod will already package any additional patch you might need. There is not need to install even 1.1 in most cases, and so-called “unofficial patches” will most often break compatibility with mods.

I see. What about if I’m not playing with any mods, just the original game? Is this 1.4 Unofficial patch recommended at all? (It appears to be made to fix bugs left unfixed by the official 1.1 patch.)

I am asking because I have finished the original game (which had the official 1.1 patch and the unofficial 1.4 patch installed), and would now like to try the Discovery Mod on the same installation. I am using the Freelancer Mod Manager. Would you recommend that I reinstall Freelancer again? Or will FLMM take care of this for me and allow me to play the Discover Mod without issues?

The website, The Patches Scrolls: http://www.patches-scrolls.de/ offers an Unofficial Freelancer 1.4 patch (link here). Is this recommended to be installed over the 1.1 patched version? What if I’m playing with the Discovery Mod? (Singleplayer in both cases.)

Is it possible to enable EAX for Freelancer on a non-Creative(brand) soundcard with Windows 7 (by tweaking or modding it to use OpenAL)? My sound card is an integrated Sound Max card so Creative’s Alchemy software won’t work for it.

Background info for those didn’t know: Sound hardware acceleration was disabled in Windows Vista and Windows 7 ( http://linkbun.ch/0krhf ). Because of this, EAX sound effects are also disabled (unless you install a program that can pass or convert EAX sound effects of a game to OpenAL like Creative’s Alchemy).

From the Creative Alchemy webpage - http://connect.creativelabs.com/alchemy/default.aspx :

In Windows Vista, Microsoft has decided to remove the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) for DirectSound and DirectSound3D. The HAL is the software layer that in previous Windows operating systems enabled an audio accelerator such as the Sound Blaster X-Fi to provide DirectSound3D applications with hardware accelerated audio. This enabled soundcards to perform tasks such as sample-rate conversion, mixing, 3D spatialization using HRTFs, filtering, and effects processing. Without the HAL, DirectSound on Windows Vista will be rendered in software with no advanced functionality such as EAX.

The audio changes in Windows Vista do not affect OpenAL however. For audio cards that feature ‘native’ OpenAL support, such as the SB X-Fi series of cards, there is no need to worry! Games that enable support for OpenAL will continue to run just as they do on Windows XP - with hardware accelerated audio and effects. A listing of OpenAL titles can be found at http://www.openal.org/titles.html.

Although OpenAL has arguably replaced DirectSound3D, particularly in many modern PC Games (e.g. Battlefield 2142, Doom3, Quake 4, Prey, etc.), there are hundreds of older PC games that support DirectSound3D and EAX technology. All of these games will sound empty and lifeless on Vista. As most DS3D games only enable 3D Audio and EAX if a hardware accelerator is present, most of these games will be reduced to a stereo output.

Freelancer is one of the many old games that support EAX:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_games_that_support_EAX

EAX on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_audio_extensions

Edit: Formatting

Does anyone know of a guide which states which factions gives a mission against another faction? It seems that factions that are neither allied nor enemies might offer missions against each other. I’ve recently found out that Kishiro offers missions against Hogosha while being neither allied nor enemies.

adoxa wrote:
Yes.

This must explain why I got blasted by the lane hackers just after I did a mission for them. It turns out there were Outcasts (who are hostile to me) nearby.

If I do a mission for a certain faction against an opposing faction, do both the faction (and their allies) that I did the mission for AND the faction (and their allies) who were the target of the mission (attack/bounty hunting) have their reputation increased, and decreased, respectively?

adoxa wrote:
Guns and missiles share the same hardpoints, so I guess you mean torpedoes? In the “Additional Equipment” line, you’ll see “CD/T” (Cruise Disruptor/Torpedo).

I see. I didn’t know they share the same slots/hardpoints. I might have mounted all available guns I have, leaving no space for the missile launchers.

adoxa wrote:
Shoot the trade lane ring itself, that’ll disrupt the lane and drop the ships out.

I didn’t know this. I will try this method.

Zefiryn wrote:
Well, I consider managing of reputations the most fun aspect of Freelancer.

Anyway, to repair the rep with Junkers you may attack Hogosha (-0.2) or Li. Police, Xenos (-0.1). Also Blood Dragons, Br Armed, Br. Police, Farmers, B. Hunters, L. Navy, LSF, Rh. Police but it is not really worthwile as it gives you only -0.05 of the rep lost with the attacked entity.
No point of attacking corporations.
On the other hand, you can do missions for the Junkers’s allies: Cosairs, Outcasts, L. Ruges (+0.15), Hessians, Mollys (+0.1), Golden C, Hackers, LWB, Unioners (+0.05)

Thanks for this info.

So, attacking corporations will have no effects whatsoever with the player reputation with Junkers? What about other criminal/outsider factions?

Also, is there a complete guide out there that shows effectiveness of attacking a certain faction into increasing/decreasing the reputation of you by other factions?

Mini_Me wrote:
Personally, I always go for blasting the hell out of Xenos. Everyone but Zoners hate them, and Zoner rep goes down pretty slowly so you can just find a station with a Zoner bribe before they go hostile and you’ll be golden. If I recall, it’s the left system above Colorado for that.
Colorado has a handy Xeno base, so it’s all nice and close.

I haven’t met any Xenos yet in the current phase of the game I’m playing. I guess I’ll blast 'em when I see 'em.

Is there a way to remove or auto-skip docking scenes and other unnecessary scenes like the panning view that appears when you change location in dock mode (launch ship/bar/merchants/etc.) and the conversation scenes?

For example, in dock mode when changing the view to bar, is it possible to auto-skip or remove the scenes where Trent enters the bar? And when talking to people, instead of showing the conversation scene between them, is it possible to just auto-skip to the message box that shows a mission proposal or the info that the NPC says?

Also, when you change location to a merchant, can the game be set to just go straight ahead to the inventory screen and just auto-skip the panning view of the place.

I would still like to keep story scenes intact, though.

The website GOG.com (Good Old Games - more info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gog.com), is one of the most popular websites that sells downloadable, no-DRM copies of old games. They also modify the installers and game configuration to ensure compatibility with modern OSes like Vista and Windows 7. I believe they also provide support for games on modern OSes. Maybe we could petition either GOG.com or Freelancer creator/owners to allow the game to be released on GOG.

Thanks for the tips.

My goal was actually to buy a Legionnaire ship from the Junkers. I bought a Cavalier first as it is a better ship than the one I currently have but then found out that it can not launch missiles. Is there an indicator in-game if the ship you are buying supports launching missiles? I now use the more bulky, but supports more weapons and missiles, Crusader ship.

I still haven’t found the Junker’s base, though. I will try the path view technique mentioned above.

I also would like to ask: What is the recommended way to attack a private corporation’s ship(s) (to raise reputation with Junkers)? If I attack them near a planet or station, the police and the planet/station’s defenses will also attack me. I can not attack trade lanes as the ships go too fast. Is there a weapon I can use or a place where it is optimal to attack private corporation ships in Bretonia (preferably, Liberty-based ships)? I am thinking of attacking Liberty-based ships as they all have a high reputation of me so it would be ok if it gets lowered.

I’m currently having an old game nostalgia bout and have recently installed and played Freelancer again (after not playing for a very long time).

I would like to ask: how does one raise a certain faction’s reputation of you (aside from bribing)? In my case, I would like to increase my reputation with the Junkers. I am currently in the game phase where everyone in Liberty hates the player character (except the private corporations, apparently), so the player character has to transfer to Bretonia. I am currently in the Southampton, New London area. I am trying to find the Junker’s base and buy a ship there.

I might have took some missions in Liberty that got me on the wrong side of the Junkers. How do I get my reputation with them to rise (without bribing, as I am still in the early stages of the game and don’t have the credits for that.)? Also, how do I find their base (they don’t appear on the map). Is there a method into finding bases of Junkers, Liberty Rogues, etc.?