Hey everyone! :-)

I got my hands on the Freespace series a couple of days ago (thank you, weekly sale!), and I anxiously sat down to play FS1 yesterday to start my first ever run through the series.

The game started up fine - I'm running it through GOG Galaxy - and the intro FMV played beautifully.

However, when the time came for me to type in a callsign, I discovered that my keyboard simply wasn't responding to anything. I couldn't type in a callsign, I couldn't even hti Esc to bring up a menu and quit.

Furthermore, I could see my mouse marker just fine, but I couldn't select anything with it, either (switch between callsigns for single/multiplayer, for example).

Now, I tried running FS1 as administrator outside of Galaxy to see if that helped, but no luck. Further, all the Google- and forum-searches I made to find an answer seem to indicate that this is somewhat of a recurring issue, with no certain fix.

I'm running it through Galaxy on Windows 10, if that is of any importance. I use a normal USB-connected keyboard and a Razer DeathAdder Chrome-mouse.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, because I really want to experience this classic and enjoy it to its fullest! Thanks in advance! :-)

All right - I'll have a look at both solutions, then. :-) Thank you very much, Schliemann! :-D

Just to let you know, I've fiddled around witrh FS Open and the installer over the past two days, and since I didn''t know that FS Port even existed before Schliemann told me, I hadn't installed it the first time around. However, I simply reopened the FS Open installer, found the port and added it along with the Media VPs.

Then, I started the whole thing up via the launcher, and now I'm blazing through space shooting Vasudans in my Apollo in the FS1 port! :-D

Thank you so much for your suggestions, Schliemann - that was it! :-)

I have the same problem. Can you explain a bit what FSOpen and Freespace port is?
I looked at the pages but didn´t find any explanation or guide.
Or maybe I simply missed it.
Thanks in advance.

Basically it is an alternative way to launch and mod the game based on the original source code of Freespace 2 made public by Volition years ago thus sidestepping compatibility problems with the old executable.

Look here for how to use the Knossos installer/launcher, it still requires the main game, not necessary already installed but it will need files from the original CDs or the GOG installer of Freespace 2:
https://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=94068.0

You can play the games either in the "retail" version with the option of higher and widescreen resolutions in-game or using MediaVPs, packages that add new models and effects to the games.

Among the possible stuff you can install using Knossos is the port of the original Freespace to the Freespace 2 engine, the improved remake of the expansion to the first game Silent Threat (Silent Threat: Reborn), a sort of fan sequel to FS2 called Blue Planet and countless others.

Hi.
Sorry, I don´t get it completly. This is new to me.Have not played FS in years...
This Knossos you mentioned, is it a complete other thing that what "dr.schiliemann" mentioned with FreeSpace Port and FSOpen?
When I read at the Knossos page I understand it as it a sort of "layer" on top of the orginal games?
And to be able to play the main Fresspace 1 and 2 campanies (and other fan made campanis) you need to buy/install them and start them from the Knossos lancher?
Thanks for your time to expalning this.

You need to buy only Freespace 2 (or have the old CDs somewhere, though I don't remember if the procedure is different), and you don't need to install it: just have the GOG backup installer on your hard drive when installing Knossos so it can extract the assets needed from it.
Knossos is an install interface and launcher, the source port itself (FSopen or FSO as it's often called) can be used without it but it's more complicated since you need to create folders and copy the various files manually and getting it wrong it's easier than it seems.
FSO itself is an updated version of the game engine that uses the original assets, so as to run the game with better compatibility and a wider array of options for graphics and user-created campaigns.
In other words Knossos basically works like Steam or Galaxy but for FSO mods, it allows to choose the stuff you want installed and download it authomatically from the Freespace community servers, the stuff that dr.schliemann mentioned can be installed cleanly from there.

The was an old installer (called simply "freespace open installer" or FSO installer) but it was a rather clumsy thing to use.

Hi again.
Tested both the GOG file and adress to retail version. None of them worked.
Knossos showed a message "Whoops you somehow managed to end up in nirvana. If you see this page, please tell us how you manage that!" when I used to retail folder.
It was unable to use the GOG File.

That's how I installed the thing, are you using the latest package or an old backup?
You'd probably better ask on the Hard Light Productions forum, the developers of Knossos write there and might have a solution.

Hello.
Some weird stuff seem to be going on. I tested to start Knossos and I could acctually start both FS 1 and FS 2.
And actually start the trainng mission in the begining.
But now I have a problem with my joystick instead. Constant rotation. I have tested to re-calibrate but didn´t help.
That is an other story, I try to work on it.
Thanks again and for the tip abuut Knossos.

Do you mean that the joystick doesn't respond or that there is some constant rotation that can be somewhat compensated during gameplay?
Go in the game options and widen the deadzone a bit (and make sure every axis is mapped correctly), if that doesn't work check if the joystick is the preferred peripheral in the windows control panel.
Regarding the error you got: have you Knossos itself or the retail installation or any game-related thing in program files?
That can be problematic as Program Files has some extra protection that doesn't play nice with a lot of old game related stuff.

Hi.
I got the joystick now. I have a Logiteck Extreme 3d Pro with USB. And I´m running in windows 10.
First of all I could not find any calibration, so I have to use the start up meny in an other game (really stupid, where is the calibration in win 10?).
And secound, for some reason the throttle is not active in the game. So that was used to roll/bank.
Now I changed that to Z-direction in the Options inside both FS 1 and 2. Strange pre-set if you ask me.

I bought FS 2 from GOG reacently and installed Knossos v 0.13.3 and start the FS-games from there.
So it seem okey, even through that error message I got.

Thanks again for all tips and your time.

No problem. :)
OK, you should go into settings > devices for calibration, if it's anything like win7 the calibration screen is tied to the entry specific to the peripheral rather than have a separate gaming peripherals icon like in older windows systems, when you right click on the entry there should be something like "gaming peripheral settings" from there you get a list of currently connected gaming devices, if you click on "advanced" you get to set a priority list if you have more than one peripherals while "properties" will open the calibration screen for the selected device.
If you still have trouble IIRC the Logitech software you can download from their website has a calibration utility that overrides the default windows calibration screen.
Keep in mind that at the time twist axis was a relatively new thing so the game while it supports 4 axis movement easily it can't tell which is the throttle and which is the twist by itself in some cases, I never had a twist stick but I had to bind the throttle manually because while the game supports it it didn't recognize it right away for some reason.

Thank you for helping TheCatTudor in my place and better than I could. I haven't been logged in lately.