You could try this post: http://the-starport.net/freelancer/forum/viewtopic.php?topic_id=4914
You could also just install the server files when you install FL. Then you’ll know which files are needed.
What is the purpose of your request?
Anything controlling NPCs will be server side, anything controlling missions as well.
mbases.ini is serverside and client side, and any encounters are server side.
You could go into all of your system inis for example and remove every mention of an encounter and encounters would still happen on the multiplayer server. If you were playing single-player though you might have issues.
Lessee…
I’m looking through the DATA folder and there is so much crosstalk in these files it’s really hard to say which ones are NOT needed if you’re not running a server and which ones are dependent on the server only.
Ships for example, the shiparch and the ship files need to match on both sides or you’ll have problems with the way ships appear and the built-in anti-cheat features in FL (very limited) might boot you if they don’t match on both sides BUT, there are some parts of the ship files that you can edit and it works server side. Movement for example, hardpoint placement, and the level of gun you can mount on a hardpoint. Any server worth it’s salt though will be running protection against those tweaks.
Asteroid field files are server side. You could remove zone21 in New York for example on your client side and have clear space but if you tried to fly through that clear space the server would still see to it that you blew up.
Some equipment can be changed on the client side and the server won’t catch it unless it’s running anti-cheat modules. For example you could increase the damage your guns do by changing values on the client side. Again, most servers run programs to catch that.
I started modding by dissecting the ServerOperator2 mod by Chips. That gave a very good idea of what could be done by modding just the server side files. It allowed us to provide some features to enhance the server experience without requiring a client side mod. Our mod for example is optional. It’s 100% compatible with the vanilla player as long as that player stays in the vanilla areas of Sirius space. Running the mod opens up additional areas and features for the modded player that will not conflict with the vanilla player.