well, I have played both. I tend to think most mods this size are about the same, that they have their differencs from each other, but both are good to play. Its like trying to compare apples to oranges. True that some people wil still pick one over another, but for me, I just enjoy the diferences.

Same here...All the mods add something to the game...
It's a matter of opinion.

Some information about playing with MOD's...

When playing MOD's you need to have a clean install of Freelancer.
This is especially important if you play online Multiplayer games.
Everyone has to have the same set of files or there will be conflicts and that causes
the server to crash...and crashes don't make players very happy

What I mean by this is if you have been using MOD's your files get modified
and sometimes the different mod files get left in the Freelancer folder and the will cause conflicts and cause a crash.

Sometimes when you deactivate a MOD it don't always remove all the files
that the MOD changed.
dll files are usually the culprit file left behind
and a dll file can cause Freelancer to crash in a heartbeat.

Saved games of any kind will cause a conflict and crash Freelancer too.
The Mod Manager has an option to move saved games to a different folder but if your
saved game folder is not empty, move or delete any saved games before you activate
a new mod...
So you have to either move or delete your saved games
every time you want to change MOD's.
You can go back to those old saved games by doing a new install of Freelancer again
and then putting the old saved games back in the saved games folders.

If you're playing online the server keeps your saved game.
If you're playing a multiplayer game on your computer...
the multiplayer saved game will be save in
My Documents\My Games\Freelancer\Accts\Multiplayer

To be on the safe side what I do is the following...

1. Delete your Freelancer folder...the default location for Freelancer is...
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Freelancer...
By deleting the folder we make sure that no files get left behind by a normal uninstall.

2. Delete or move any saved games in your saved games folder...
The default location for your saved games is located in
My Documents\My Games\Freelancer\Accts\Singleplayer\Multiplayer...
Delete or move the files in these two folders so your saved games
don't conflict with the MOD you're about to activate.

3. Put in the Freelancer disk and reinstall Freelancer.

3a. This is optional but it's a good idea to...
I always install either the SDK or the Unofficial Patch.
If you decide to install either the Unofficial Freelancer SP Patch 1.4
or the Freelancer SDK v1.3
read the note...
NOTE... if you use the Unofficial Freelancer SP Patch 1.4 in exe format
make sure you browse to
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Freelancer\DATA
It is important to install the exe version into the DATA folder...

4. If you need to install the MOD, in Windows Explorer - Double left click on the MOD
file name...example - close_encounters_in_sirius_v2.zip.flmod

5. The Freelancer Mod Manager screen will come up...highlight the name of the MOD
example - Close Encounters in Sirius version 2.

6. Click on Activate Mod...
The Mod Manager will install the MOD into the Freelancer folder for you and make backup
copies in the same folder.

7. Start Freelancer in whatever mode you play in and have a blast.

For installing and activating/deactivating Mods you can use the Freelancer Mod Manager v1.31

NOTE: Screenshots are saved in
My Documents\My Pictures\FreelancerShots
To take an ingame screenshot you use the PrtScn key on your keyboard.
Screenshots are save in bmp format so they are very large files...2.2 MB each.

Thank you for your very detailed and helpful comments.