do you have openal installed ?
I don't know what that is...All I have is what I outlined above...
I did manage to get it working...I uninstalled FS2 and then re-installed without patching to v1.20...FS open runs now, but I'm not as impressed as I thought I'd be...
What are the best graphics features to load? As I said before, its very difficult to get good info. on this for newer users...
Hmm - the way I did it months ago was using the full download Shivan install torrent. When you have FS2 tweaked out, with all the goodies such as the MediaVP's and the MV_ADVeffects media vps + the shine and glow maps +
specular
glowmaps
environment maps
mip mapping
lighting to missiles
OpenGL (CRITICAL - DO NOT USE DIRECT 3D)
and these custom flags in the launcher in the Features tab:
-ambient_factor 75 -spec_exp 11
It looks AMAZING. Even more so if you turn on Anti Aliasing with your video card drivers and Ansio. I run at 2xQuincuxx AA and 8x Ansio at 1024x768 in 32 bit with Trilinear filtering.
The Shivan install is at:
http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,39499.0.htmlI'm not sure if the online installer downloads the shine maps, which are critical - I had to download them myself from the FS_Open website - they're there, you just have to search - but well worth the effort.
Also, in the launcher, under MOD - be sure you have the /freespace2/mediavps folder selected there - otherwise, you won't get all the wonderful new graphics enhancements. Make sure you try the advanced effects media vps, they make all the difference as well.
Freespace 2 with Shivan's install is pretty straightforward - but there still is a little learning curve to understand some of it - and it IS worth the effort. Be sure to also check out the DerelictSCP mod, Wing Commander mod and the Freespace1 conversion.