When trying mods have backup of a clean install of FL. Then its just a case of copying it back if a mod fubars FL.

But isn't stuff saved on the server computer ,as well? If so, how could I fix that?

I haven't tried this and as you say I, too, am not ready to throw away the "clean" world. Who knows, I won't have to if DA comes out with Something Better for FL. But I have heard you can have two seperate installs of FL. One is unmodded and the other is modded. Can the MP ID's be the same? I would think so but then why would you want them to be the same? You know you should NEVER mod on a non-modded server as that's cheating (for the people who don't know). The only commonality I can see is the SP saved game files directory and that could be tricky if you play both modded and non-modded SP games. Possibly modded SP could change something in the non-modded FL install and carry over into non-modded MP play?

I'm sure others have tried this so I wonder how doable it is?

---------------
Earendil
SysAdmin of Boston Freelancer server

i speak with the voice of an ex-modder...

when you load a mod you change certian files in your freelancer folder. programs like flmm do it automatically for you, but either way, you are only changing some data in freelancer - it is still the same game. when you join a normal server you will find your character exactly as it was before, with one exception - if your mod allowed you to buy the eagle at new york, then your character can now buy the eagle at new york.

your characters are stored on the server so that you cant tamper with them directly (a common method for modding other games, like diablo ii), but when you access and play with them, it looks at the rules (gravity, inertia, mass, visuals, cash-per-mission, etc.) on your computer. the reson for this is that if the server were to supply all this data, the lag would be incredible, there are millions of small things, like the rate of acceleration of that npc that is cruising past you.

now, i say "ex-modder" because i used to mod, but no longer do so...and here's why: after i had been flying my nomad battleship around for about a week, it started to get boring. i mean, sure, it's great to see other ppl's reactions, but eventually i got tired of dropping a player's shields in 1 shot, and finishing off their hull in the next - theres no skill involved, you just shoot the poor bastard in turret mode, and he's dead. initially, modding is great, you do things that most players would die to be able to do (and they prob will die if your in a bad mood), but the fun factor declines steadily after you get a little more jaded to modding. theres no challenge, only a true newb killer would have fun doing this.

there are mods already out or in the works that might occupy your attention for a longer period of time: for example, there is a team of modders working on building a star wars universe. when you start the game you will be flying a t-16, not a starflyer...you will never have the option to buy a patriot, instead you will get an a-wing. there will be no "new york" system, instead you will have a different pattern of tradelanes, and you will be able to dock at yavin 4...things like that. you might find this stuff more interesting, but there is a catch - you can NOT play with it on most servers. it's not a question of admin banning you, it's the simple fact that freelancer will crash when you try to take a jump gate to a system that doesnt exist on everyone else's versions. you will have to find a server that is running the mod....to my knowledge there are no mods currently available for download that are worth it. any that might be worth getting, are still being beta tested and so on .

if youreally want to try it go ahead, but personally i didnt enjoy it after the initial wonder wore off.

oh, and heres the easiest way to switch between modded and unmodded versions, that i know of.

open up your freelancer folder, and make a copy of the "data" folder and name it "clean data". now go into your origional one and do whatever you feel like, use bini to open up some ini files and change some numbers...you now have a modded freelancer.

now if you want to switch, simply take the origional data and rename it "modded data" then go to your "clean data" folder and make the name just "data". when freelancer needs to look at the data folder it goes to whatever is currently named "data". and if there is no folder named "data" the game will just crash.

I, (and I'm sure many others who read these forums), appreciate you guys taking the time to shed light on this subject. The only thing I might be tempted to try, is what a server owner talked about as "server-side mods", implying that you might play on it, and not "get any on you", so to speak.