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SWAT Portal
Crossfire Website
Crossfire@Discord
Crossfire@Facebook

"It was the 23rd Century: mankind’s darkest hour."


That is what we have thought for centuries but we were wrong. A new threat waiting for aeons has moved out of the dark. We have seen them, we have fought them, we have gained an important victory but we were not aware that they were not the only ones hiding between the stars. Now we have stumbled into a galactic war that had been raging ten thousands of years.
Mankind on the loosing side, in the middle of Crossfire.

The Crossfire Mod is by far the biggest and most complex Freelancer modification available. For many years this mod is known for highest quality and innovative ideas which we have introduced to the Freelancer modding scene.
With Crossfire we have build and extended an universe based on the original Freelancer game and its story. Realism and a logical development of the quest based storyline and the game environment such as the systems and the technological development is most important on this mod. Crossfire is not a static mod like most others, it is a dynamic developing environment with dynamic economy, dynamic universe, destructable solars and download content (DLC) which introduces new quests, new ships, new systems and new equipment.

Most important in this mod is the atmosphere.
High quality graphics, high quality music tracks, more than 150 very detailed systems, new voice samples, stunning effects, many challenging quests, ten thousands of small side stories and rumours, fantastic gameplay and hundreds of cool ships. That is the Crossfire mod.




KEY FEATURES

  • highly improved graphics
  • hundreds of stunning effects
  • atmospherical music tracks
  • highly improved AI
  • dynamic lights
  • destructable universe
  • dynamic economy and dynamic universe
  • thousands of side stories and rumours
  • quest based storyline
  • 147 high detailed systems
  • more than 290 new ships
  • more than 50 custom stations
  • more than 160 new stations/planets
  • countless new equipment and commodities
  • 13 new factions including 8 new races
  • three new sectors
  • new shaders
  • planetary worlds
  • higher render details
  • DLC (Downloadable Content)
  • perfect gameplay

CROSSFIRE COMMUNITY

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Freelancer 2.0 - Crossfire


Crossfire continues the epic adventures of Edison Trent. Get ready for a brand new experience in a breathtaking and extraordinary environment. This mod is the unofficial sequel to Freelancer with the most stunning graphics and worlds you have ever seen. Jump into an atomspheric universe full of surprises, challenges incredible adventures. Experience the awesome gameplay, highest quality and unique features of Crossfire.
With several hundred thousand downloads, four Mod Award Nominations and it's very large fan community Crossfire has developed to one of the most favorite Singleplayer and Multiplayer mods for Freelancer.

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20th Freelancer Anniversary with Crossfire



On March 4th, 2003 a long awaited gem among the computer games was released. Microsoft Freelancer. Many of us loved and still love to play this game, both in singleplayer and also together with others.

Now we are heading rapidly towards the end of the year and into 2023. Not long and we again reach March 4th. Freelancers 20th Anniversary.

To celebrate this milestone multiple Freelancer communities are going to be part of an anniversary event in which active mods and FL related projects are being presented in various livestreams. More information about this event and a streaming schedule is going to be released in January 2023.
You will be able to find detailed information about the event on the major FL community websites and the various Discord channels.

The SWAT Portal will organize a special in-game event on 4th March next year on the official Crossfire server to celebrate the release date of the game 20 years ago. Depending on feedback and general interest of the players we might even prolong this event to the entire weekend. A special in-game reward will be provided to all the participants.
We invite you to jump back into the cockpit and have great weekend with us. 4th March, 2023.
We will provide detailed information about the anniversary event on the Forums of the SWAT Portal in January.

blackstarfleet

With the Freelancer anniversary in 2023 the decision was made to give Crossfire a complete overhaul. That means not only the Black Star fleet content finally is getting released but also many existing parts of the mod get a makeover. The best news is that this process has already started in September 2022 and the Mod is currently receiving weekly updates, improving many aspects of the game. Just alone is the past few weeks about 2Gb of updates have been pushed out to the players via the Crossfire launcher. This is just a tiny fraction of what is still waiting to be released.
The weekly release cycle is intentionally chosen to ensure highest quality. Potential issues can be easily spotted and player feedback can be considered this way. Furthermore is the kind of content that gets released prioritized to ensure no conflicts between the different improvements will occour.

Freelancer 2021 12 01 19 49 12


So what can you expect for this "Freelancer Anniversary update" for Crossfire?
The initial focus of the first bunch of updates is on detail improvements and graphics. The big thing people talk about these days are HD quality updates, high resolution textures, etc.
To be honest... that is all nice and fine but is is not good enough for Crossfire. Crossfire always had an outstanding look which now is brought to the next level with the upcoming updates. To achieve this, more than 3500 textures (so far) have been reviewed, carefully edited and significantly improved. The level of detail of these custom made improvments exceeds every AI algorithm based upscaling. A good number of textures even were newly created from the scratch.

New Berlin 2.0

But the improvements do not stop there. Crossfire 1.0 was released on 8th October 2004 and many years of hard work went into this project. The mod changed with the years. Content was added and other content was refined with new versions. Still the mod has assets which date back to the early days and meanwhile do not meet the high quality standards of the latest releases. This is going to change. Every ship, every station, pretty much everything in the game is going through a review process. I demonstrated what this will look like on a fan favorite line of ships which has been part of Crossfire since the very early days. The Bullpup series.
Many assets already have been rebuild in a similar way and will be released soon. Many more will go through this review process and get their updates in 2023.

Furthermore detail improvements of the star systems will have a priority in early 2023. The Lost Fleet update showed that so much more is possible in terms of system design. Therefore the Crossfire Systems in Sirius Sector, Sol Sector, Inner Core and eventually also Altair will also go through a community driven review process to ensure a consistent lore focused layout. Big focus of this review will be on the local factons and how they interact. This will improve the variety of assets used. Special sceneries will be added, new loot and more secrets to discover. Every system will be worth to be explored again.
This system update has high priority because it is going to be the foundation of the new dynamic server events tied to the Black Star Fleet content.


Coalition space in Altair will get a major update in terms of system layout but also assets used. Many of the space stations there have been completely remodeled and the Coalition as faction got some important design updates. The vastness of the systems will be filled with much more content to explore and Coalition Rogues will play a much bigger role in these systems.

Freelancer 2021 12 01 19 49 12 Freelancer 2021 12 01 19 49 12
Freelancer 2021 12 01 19 49 12

The Renaissance Space of the Sol Sector suffers a few technical problems at the moment which have top priority to be fixed. Once done the Renaissance faction will receive new assets (already finished) to improve the the variety and lore of the faction. The Bonus story missions which currently end in Renaissance space will get at least two new missions and the dead-end jumpgate will open to a new area of the Sol Sector where the Blackstar Fleet content will eventually will be introduced. As already teased, this will involve dynamic server events with unique rewards as result of the event of the new story content.


As mentioned already on the Mod development Forum there is an optional content update (this highly depends on how fast the other updates can be released). The Canis Sector currently does not serve much of a purpose other than having a short visit there during the Crossfire main storyline. The secrets of the mysterious sensor echoes never has been lifted.
Who knows, maybe we can squeeze this additional content into the 2023 update cycle.


Putting aside these big junks of content updates we of course have plenty of minor updates.

  • All game assets will be put onto a "workbench" to improve the LOD settings and make butter smooth transitions.
  • Environmental textures will get an improvement.
  • Improvements of voice samples for the story campaign (optional)
  • Quality updates for cockpits.
  • Improvments of effects.
  • Some rebalances.
  • Improvements to planets with cloud layers.
  • Two story misions of the main campaign which sometimes cause troubles will get a rework.
  • Taking care of all the player feedback that was submitted to our Ticketsystem.
  • Plenty of bug fixes.


As you can see we have big plans for Freelancers 20th anniversary year.
Many updates already released, many updates in the current weekly release cycle and lots of stuff for 2023. Overall this is going to be the biggest content release since CF 2.0.
I think this is exactly the treatment Freelancer deserves after 20 great years.



Last but not least I'd like to ask you for a favor.
Just like in the years before Crossfire participates in the annual Mod Awards. 14 times meanwhile Crossfire was nominated to be one of the best 100 game mods. That is an outstanding achievement which shows how awesome Freelancer as a game still is and how dedicated the players of the game are.
Your support would help us greatly to get another chance to be nominated. Especially with the upcoming Anniversary we can show how great the game still can be and that the players still love Freelancer.
It just takes a few simple clicks to vote and support us this year. Just click on the ModDB banner right below, then scroll a bit down and click on vote. That's it.

Mod of the Year Awards

Thank you for your support.
I wish you a Merry Christmas, a safe flight and hope to see you at our anniversary event in March.
It would be great to see you back in Cockpit.

Blackstar Fleet

Blackstar Fleet

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Since the ambition behind Blackstar Fleet got significantly bigger, more time is needed to get all the work done. We currently make good progress, adding...

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Blackstar Update

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The in 2019 released "Lost Fleet" update opened opportunities to release more story related content for Freelancer Crossfire without interfering with...

Lost Fleet update released

Lost Fleet update released

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What can you expect from the Lost Fleet update? Aside from the many improvements on Crossfire 2.0 new story content is available which tells the tale...

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This is the download of the Crossfire mod version 1.7 For years this release of Crossfire has been one of the most successful Freelancer mods.

Post comment Comments  (0 - 10 of 4,215)
Aquatech
Aquatech

New to Freelancer, and new to Crossfire too overall. I give this mod a 2 out of 10. Buggy Client, long updates for nothing, options not working whatever im selected, DX10/11 render runs with very low fps, all that i seen as an improvement that they made HD textures and switched out the background in the space.
Compared to the original game (which was a pleasant experience) this mod is cheap and offers nothing new.
Oh and i dont want to talk about the literal lie of how the game will be enchanted that you are trying to sell through the installation.

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SWAT_OP-R8R Creator
SWAT_OP-R8R

The client is not buggy at all. The only bugs you might experience are when you ignore the installation instructions and do not use a perfectly clean installation of the original game. After meanwhile more than half a million downloads there are almost no complaints about any of such issues. The "long updates" are not for nothing... they have a purpuse... such as updating the game with new content or updating the dynamic economy and dynamic universe. The DX10/11 render runs slow? ok, cool... then pick one of the other 20 options we provide. Not every option is compatible with every hardware these days (after 20 years the original game is not even fully compatible with modern dx version), that is why we have provided a large selection of options to choose depending on what hardware the player has.
And no, CF not only uses HD textures as you claim... it contains hundreds of new unique systems, the most complex new storyline that in the past 20 years has been created for the game, hundreds of new features (many of which after being first introduced in CF have found their way into other mods), hundreds of new ships and of course yes... new textures which unlike a simple HD upcale have been hand crafted.
To even compare the 700mb original game with this ~10gb mod is ridiculous and just proves that you did not even bother to play this mod and experience all that is new in it.
But feel free to give it 2 out of 10. The vast majority of players that really have played it do know better and have a very different oppinion.

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Martind_Forlon
Martind_Forlon

Normally I ignore such cheap posts, but sometimes is good to put out some hard facts: Crossfire mod contains much more as only improved textures, for case of Singleplayer it is hugely expanded campaign (a unique thing for FL mods), new galaxy sectors, multiple new systems, new ships, new objects, dynamic economy/universe (one of reasons why there is small amount of files to be downloaded when is game started via launcher, and it's optional feature btw) and much much more extra features for multiplayer. More detailed list of this mod features can be found in game wiki: Swat-portal.com

Personally I can run CF mod in stable 140 fps in max details ... and my PC is for todays standards average at best.

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theej
theej

Hello I was wondering about getting a server release for crossfire I just want to make some YouTube videos with my friends and having a private server would be super helpful. thanks for all your work.

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SWAT_OP-R8R Creator
SWAT_OP-R8R

Due to all the dynamic components of the MP mode it is not possible to release a server version for private use but the official server is up an running. You are free to join.

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SOGamer
SOGamer

It's been some time since I played through the singleplay and was going to give it a shot next week. I was wondering if that escort mission to sol has been fixed. It was a pain in the *** reaching earth with the transports going off rails. Took me four or five tries last time.
I still have version 2.0, do I need to download 2.0.1 or can I use the old setup file?

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SOGamer
SOGamer

Hello?

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SWAT_OP-R8R Creator
SWAT_OP-R8R

Sorry I am not checking moddb daily (not even weekly actually). If you need instant help with something I suggest to use the forum or the discord channel.
The mission you mentioned was patched a few years ago but I heard that people still have problems with it sometimes. As result it will be reviewed and if necessary redesigned soon. Right now the only suggestion I can give is to follow the instructions given during the closely. That should be enough to complete it.
The recommended download version would be 2.0.1 since it has an improved installation process which makes sure that everything is perfectly working. The 2.0 version however still would work. It just isn't as comfortable to use. Both version update the mod to its latest version.

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SOGamer
SOGamer

Cool, thanks.
Will download 2.0.1 then, just to be sure. I want to play through the storyline during the christmas holidays.
Lost my password for the forum but will join the discord.

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wanderingmania
wanderingmania

The only question I have about this mod is thusly:
What is up with the trade system?
For example: LD-14 is a Refinery Base that makes MOX. But they don't sell it, and instead buy it at huge rates. And it's like this all over the place.

Detroit Munitions no longer sells small arms, but they buy engine components.

Cambridge Research Station sells oxygen for less than Planet Cambridge. And Planet Cambridge sells only oxygen, but buys small arms at massive prices that can be bought for cheep in Cambridge Research Station.

The trade system has been completely made nonsensical.

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SWAT_OP-R8R Creator
SWAT_OP-R8R

The static trade system was replaced by a dynamic one. The offers change aswell as the prices for the goods.
This added a gameplay value the old system did not have.

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wanderingmania
wanderingmania

Actually, what it really did is ruin a system that was seen by most as 'Perfect'. Trade goods had logical Origins and destinations. And the RNG shuffling of them just messes it all up.

But that's not the only thing. There's the 'Escape pod' spam. You get them whenever some kill is made; But they ain't worth anything outside of the Texas system, where the only 2 prison ships in the game are located.

If your gonna make then worthless outside of those stations:
At least add a prison ship to every capitol planet. Or ideally, add one to every 'Major' planet. As they take up far too much cargo space to be worthless outside of one system.

Rebalence is so much better than this one because of stuff like that.

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SWAT_OP-R8R Creator
SWAT_OP-R8R

The "perfect" trade system had the tendency players only use the known most profitable trade routes and ignored the rest of the game. We introduced the dynamic market about 10 years ago and the overwhelming majority of players seem to like it as it encourages them to actually try to find new routes. Infact you are the very first person complaining about it since its introduction.

Escape pods are considered to be one of the most valuable resources in the game. They can be traded at every prison station and every major faction has multiple of these.

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wanderingmania
wanderingmania

Maybe I'm the first one to point it out. But I'm not the first one to connect the dots. Whenever someone said: "There's something not right about it." That's what it is.

But still, there are other ways to improve on it without making it completely nonsensical. Like adding new stations into it. As far as I can tell, there's very little (if any) new stations at all in the 'original' systems. And very few new systems, or just very few 'access points' to them if there are as many as you say.

Both Kusari and Britonia space have not a single prison. And if there is, their so difficult to find that in all my years of playing Freelancer, I have never seen them.

Now granted I'll give you guys credit for the 16:9 resolution that works, and the upgraded graphics. But the rest of it either masses with what didn't need to be messed with. Or adds very little in the way of 'new'.

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SWAT_OP-R8R Creator
SWAT_OP-R8R

The dynamic market was introduced to the mod due to player feedback/request and like I said you are the very first to complain about it. You are free to have your own opinion about it... that however does not mean that you are right and all the others are wrong. Crossfire always was build based on the feedback of active players of our community. If such a feature would get negative community feedback it wouldn't be in the mod.
To be honest I have the feeling that you don't even know the mod that well when you write that there are no prison stations, that there are no new stations and only a few systems. The mods has hundreds of new stations and planets in its well over 100 new systems. To claim there are no Kusari or Bretonia prisons is also not correct. Fuchu Prison is located in Kusari main space and Ghats Prision clearly is a Bretonian one. When I say that every main faction has prisons then I mean it this way.

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wanderingmania
wanderingmania

So what systems exactly are those prison stations in? Because I played up to the part where the Blood Dragons take Trent in. I explored all of Kusari and Britonia space. And didn't see either one of them. So their either so well hidden that they might as well not exist at all. Or They aren't in the 'main space' at all and in some offshoot new system that has it's gate hidden.

And as to the trade system. Well it was made static for a reason. As the 'Piracy' part of the game also depends on it. Down a trade lane on a known 'high price' trade rout, and there you go. When the RNG trade routs can be as close as 20km with no trade lanes taken, it just kills the whole thing.

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SamuelMayer
SamuelMayer

Don't you think it is a bit unfair to blame the mod developer for your own inability to actually explore the game? The lack of your knowledge is not his fault.
You played till the Blood Dragons part. Great, then you already got 10% of the story content done. Not exactly enough knowledge to judge about a mod.

The trade system you complain about is pretty much
0 what kept many players (including me) interested in playing the game for many years. It is the spice this game definitely needed. Yes the static trade system existed for a reason and that was called lack of time. The game was released 3 years too late and now everything that was planned for the game was included. Infact the game was meant to have a dynamic market similar to what Crossfire has today. You can even find part of that code still in the game. All that was missing is synchronizing client data with the server. The only reason why FL was released with a static market system was the lack of time the developers had to complete the game.
And your argumentation does not even make much sense. Nobody has to buy stuff where it actually is procuded. I don't buy my milk from a farmer. I don't buy my mobile phone in Korea. And guess what. The piracy part also works in a dynamic market environment. Using the ingame price information you can easily find good trade routes even if they are dynamic and then you can do your piracy thing without any issue. To me it seem you are just too lazy to even try.

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SWAT_OP-R8R Creator
SWAT_OP-R8R

Certainly a bit speculation involved but yes, the existence of unused price variance variables and market files with a more complex structure than actually is used could indicate that a more complex market system was originally planned for the game.

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