The launcher user guide.

Prepare Freelancer

You need the original Freelancer game with a clean installation: no mods and no additional patches. Install it from your own original copy. Crossfire does not replace the original game.

Back up existing single-player saves to a separate location before installing Crossfire.

Install Crossfire 2.0.1

Open the official client download page, download version 2.0.1 and extract the ZIP archive. Run Crossfire2setup.exe and follow the installer instructions.

The current installer does not require Freelancer Mod Manager (FLMM). According to the official documentation, the original Freelancer installation is left unchanged. Older FLMM instructions describe a different installation process.

The official FAQ suggest about 9 GB of free space for installation. Allow additional room for the downloaded archive.

Move to the new launcher

After Crossfire installation is complete, start the existing launcher. It downloads the new launcher. A separate manual download of the new launcher is not part of this process.

Allow the download to finish and follow the instructions actually shown. You can then use the new launcher to start the game, manage accounts, change settings and view diagnostics.

The new launcher belongs in the EXE folder of your Crossfire installation. Navigation Error indicates an incorrect location.

Complete game updates

The launcher checks for game updates. For Single Player, you can update but do not have to update to play. Multiplayer always performs update checks. If you choose to update, wait for it to finish.

If a download does not progress, note the message shown. Check your internet connection and open Log to find the relevant error. Guided help can point you to the next step.

Start the game

Use Single Player or Multiplayer at the bottom of the main window. In Single Player you can postpone offered updates. If you choose to update, launch after it finishes.

If the game exits unexpectedly, record the time and your last action. These details help with diagnosis.

A launcher update is available

Launcher Update Available announces a new launcher version. Update Now starts the update; the launcher automatically restarts to apply it.

Later postpones the update. Updating is optional for Single Player: you can postpone it and still play.

The launcher is already running

Launch Control Active appears when another instance is already running. Confirm with Roger That and use the existing launcher window.

The launcher is in the wrong folder

Navigation Error means the launcher is outside its required directory. It must be in the EXE folder of your Crossfire installation, for example D:\Freelancer Crossfire\EXE.

Confirm the message with Set Course. Place the launcher file in that EXE folder and launch it again from there. Use the directory of your actual Crossfire installation.

Open Account Manager

Open Account Manager using the AID icon in the top toolbar. The Accounts tab lists stored profiles on the left and details for the selected profile on the right.

Add adds a profile. Select a profile, edit Display name and Notes, then confirm with Save changes. Notes can help you identify the associated characters.

Activate selected selects the highlighted profile. Import provides import options; the arrows control profile order. Delete removes a profile – back up important account data first.

The current installation ID appears at the top. Account name and Account Signature appear on the right, alongside Verify Signature and Regenerate Signature. Real identifiers are concealed in this image. Keep them out of public screenshots.

Display names, character names and list order

Select an account and give it a recognizable Display name, such as “Main account – Trader” or “Clan – Escort”. This is a local label; it changes neither the account ID nor in-game character names.

Use Notes to record the characters belonging to that account, for example “Orion – Freighter; Vega – Fighter”. Add roles or other reminders if useful. You maintain these notes yourself; the launcher does not retrieve them automatically from the game.

Select an entry and use the arrows beside the list to move it up or down one position. Keep frequently used accounts near the top. The corresponding arrow is disabled at the beginning or end of the list.

Click Save changes after editing names, notes or order. Add, Delete and Import also require saving. Closing the manager with unsaved changes prompts you to confirm.

Import accounts from ADF

Open the Import menu, choose ADF import and select your existing Account Data File (.adf). Renaming an unrelated file does not turn it into a valid ADF file.

The importer reads display names, account IDs, signatures and existing comments as Notes. Use a complete original file: account ID and signature are required; incomplete records are not imported.

The result dialog reports accounts found, new accounts added and duplicates skipped. An entry with the same ID and signature as a saved account is skipped. Existing names and notes are not updated by the import.

Review the imported profiles, adjust their names and notes and click Save changes. Only Activate selected makes the chosen profile the current Multiplayer account.

Import accounts from FLIDs.ini

Choose FLID Changer import from the Import menu and select your existing FLIDs.ini (.ini). Use the FLID Changer account file, rather than an unrelated Crossfire configuration file.

The importer reads account sections containing INSTALL, MAN and MANS. All three values must be present and non-empty. The section name becomes the initial display name; DISC becomes Notes. Rename a technical label such as FLID_1 to something meaningful afterwards.

Existing accounts remain in the list. Entries matching a saved account ID and signature are skipped. Review the import statistics and click Save changes. Importing alone does not switch your active account.

Import the current registry account

Choose the current registry account option from the Import menu. The launcher reads the Freelancer Multiplayer account currently registered for this Windows user. It does not import every account you have used in the past.

If that account ID is already listed, the existing profile is selected. Otherwise a profile is added with an automatic name and the available signature. Set a meaningful Display name, record character names in Notes and click Save changes.

Activate selected makes the selected profile active for Multiplayer. You can stay at the server selection screen and confirm the warning with Yes; no game restart is needed. Do not switch while playing a character on a server.

Understand and resolve import messages

“No valid accounts found”: the file contains no readable complete accounts. Check the import source and use an intact original file. ADF requires an ID and signature; FLIDs.ini also requires INSTALL. Changing the file extension does not repair missing data.

“All … account(s) … already exist”: every recognized account is already saved. This is not a failed import. Check the existing entries; their notes and names are not overwritten.

“Failed to import accounts from ADF/FLIDs file”: read the specific detail in the dialog and log. Select the file again if it has moved. For access problems, use a readable local copy; for damaged data, use an intact original or backup. Canceling the file picker is not an error.

“No account detected …” during registry import: no current account ID was found for this Windows user, or reading the registry failed. Try Reload and check the log for “Could not read the account name from registry”. Use an existing account file or backup if no ID is present. Add creates a new identity; it does not recover an old account.

Account switch warning: the game is still running

You can switch accounts while Freelancer is running; “Transponder Override Warning” asks you to confirm before the switch. The warning does not mean your account is already damaged.

You can switch while you are at the server selection screen. Leave the game open, select the account in Account Manager, click Activate selected and confirm the warning with Yes. Then connect using the chosen account. You do not need to restart the game.

If you are still playing a character on a server, choose No and return to the server selection screen first. Switching while playing can cause problems with character data. No cancels the switch and keeps your current account active. Alternatively, close the game, switch accounts and launch again.

Activation, signatures and save errors

“Could not write account to the registry”: your selected account could not be activated. Check its ID and signature and read the error in Log. If access is denied, running with administrator permissions may be needed. Then try activating again.

“Account name is empty”: the technical account ID is missing, rather than the Display name. Recover the correct ID from your backup. “Signature mismatch” means the ID and signature do not match. Verify the ID first; Regenerate Signature can then calculate its matching signature. Save afterwards. A valid signature does not confirm that your characters exist on a server.

Delete is disabled for the active account. Activate another account before removing it from the local list. Removing an entry is not a substitute for backing up its old ID.

“Saving accounts failed” appears in the log. Check the reported path, available disk space and write access. Save again before closing the manager; changes are not reliably stored when saving fails.

For “Unable to retrieve pilot records” or damaged account-file messages, preserve the existing files and use a known intact backup. If backup fails, also check the destination folder and network or cloud-folder availability. For further help, share the error and diagnostic package, but do not publicly share account IDs, signatures or account backups.

DigitalProductId missing when creating an account

When adding a new account with Add, you may see “DigitalProductId not found in either registry view.” The launcher cannot find a registry value needed to create the new account ID.

First update to launcher version 1.7.6 or newer and try again. This version fixes the case where the value is present only in the other Windows registry view.

If the error remains, you can try reinstalling Freelancer. Back up your account data and saved games first. Crossfire must then be installed again. Reinstalling is not a guaranteed fix if the required Windows registry value is still missing.

If you already have an account, you can instead import it from ADF, FLIDs.ini or the current registry, or restore an account backup. These options do not need to generate a new account ID.

Import, export and backup

In the Backup tab, Enable automatic MPID backups enables automatic backups. Use the … button beside Backup Folder to choose a destination folder.

You can select a synced Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive folder. Your cloud client handles the upload. NAS and network folders are also supported.

Restore from backup… lets you select an existing backup file. The current accounts file is backed up automatically before it is overwritten.

Keep account backups secure. They are different from the diagnostic package in the Log window and do not belong in a public bug report.

Find your preferred setup

Open Settings for graphics and game options, UI scale, theme and music. Adjust them to your display and preferences.

When investigating a display issue, change one setting first and check the result. Note the change you made.

Diagnostic settings

Settings → General → Diagnostics contains Verbose logging and optional crash dump collection. Both features are explained separately in this guide.

General: interface and game options

Use UI Scaling to make the launcher interface larger or smaller. Choose a size you can read comfortably. Reset restores the slider.

Background Music controls the launcher music volume. Set it to your preference.

General Options includes Open SP, Window-Mode, Adjust to Desktop resolution and Use Low Resolution. Window-Mode runs the game in a window. The resolution options match your screen or use a lower resolution.

Reduce animations to save power reduces launcher animations to save energy.

Graphics: choose a shader or renderer

Choose your preferred graphics variant under Shader Options. The screenshot shows DX10/11/12 (V2) selected.

Other visible options are Vanilla FL, Vanilla FL (legacy), DX10/11/12 (V1), OpenGL Renderer, ENB Default (DX9), RS+SFX SMAA (DX9), RS+SFX FXAA (DX9) and RS+SFX Emboss (DX9).

Try a variant that runs well on your PC and gives you the look you want. When fixing graphics issues, change one variant and launch again so you can compare the result.

Appearance: customize the look

Theme offers Crossfire Red, Blue, Green, Orange, Pink and Petrol. Petrol is selected in this example.

Particle Colors includes Blue, Gold, Green, Orange, Purple, Red, Yellow and White. The previews show each color; Blue is selected here.

Mouse Cursors offers New Cursors set 1 through 6 and Classic Cursors. Use the previews to choose a set; this capture shows New Cursors set 1.

Diagnostics in the General tab

Collect crash data when the game crashes (experimental) enables optional crash-dump capture. It is disabled in the screenshot.

Crash dumps to keep controls how many dumps are retained; this capture shows 5. Verbose logging is enabled here and adds more detailed log entries. These example values are not required settings.

Restore the connection

Offline – No connection to server means the launcher has no connection to the server. Check your internet connection. The message alone does not distinguish a local connection issue from an unreachable server.

Retry attempts to reconnect. Use this button when your connection is available again.

In this offline screen, Single Player remains available and Multiplayer is disabled. You do not have to install an offered update to play Single Player.

If it still does not work

Record the exact message and time. Open Log and save the information for support. This website does not display live server status.

The Log window

Open Log in the launcher to view live entries. You can filter entries, copy them with Copy All or save them as a text file with Save....

Record the time of the issue and look for the related entries. This makes it easier to identify the error in your report.

Filter logs... narrows the displayed entries. Remove your search text to read without that filter again.

Each visible row shows a time, a level such as Info or Debug, and a message. A Debug entry by itself is not an error message.

Copy All copies entries, Save... offers saving and Support Package... creates the diagnostic package. Preserve information you need before using Clear.

Where files are stored

The CFLauncher/ launcher folder contains launcher.log (current persistent log) and, when present, launcher.log.old (previous rotated log).

CrashDumps/ contains crash dumps when collection has been enabled. The Log window shows current activity; the files keep the record after the launcher closes.

Collect more detail

If needed, enable Verbose logging under Settings → General → Diagnostics before reproducing the issue. The log will contain more detail for investigation.

Enable collection

If the game crashes, you can enable crash dump collection under Settings → General → Diagnostics. It is optional and marked experimental.

Generated files are stored in CrashDumps/ within the launcher folder. Collection and the number of retained dumps depend on your settings.

Help the community investigate a crash

After reproducing the issue, create a support package. It may include up to two of the newest crash dumps. If collection is disabled, those dumps are not expected to be available.

Create the ZIP

In the launcher, open Log → Support Package.... The launcher creates a ZIP named CrossfireSupport_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.zip.

If the launcher cannot start at all, explain this in your report. Include existing logs and the exact error message when available. This website does not create or read these files.

What the package may contain

launcher.log and launcher.log.old when present; up to two of the newest crash dumps; systeminfo.txt with launcher version, OS, .NET/runtime information and paths.

Depending on availability, the package may also contain eventlog.txt with relevant Windows Application events and relevant WER files from Windows Error Reporting.

According to the existing launcher documentation, the package does not intentionally include account data. Review files before sharing: diagnostic information can contain local paths and system details.

Report the issue

Attach the ZIP to your post in the SWAT support forum. Explain what you did before the problem, when it happened and which message you saw. This helps other players and the Crossfire team help you.

Available launch options

GameLauncher.exe -sp starts directly in Single Player mode.

GameLauncher.exe -sp:su starts Single Player and skips update checks completely.

GameLauncher.exe -mp starts directly in Multiplayer mode. Multiplayer always performs update checks.

GameLauncher.exe -h or GameLauncher.exe -? displays command line help.

Filename and arguments

The help uses the filename GameLauncher.exe. Use the actual filename of your installed launcher, for example Freelancer.exe. The commands above apply to Windows Command Prompt (cmd) in the EXE folder. PowerShell requires the syntax below.

Arguments are case-insensitive and their order does not matter. Only Single Player supports sub-options such as :su. Choose either Single Player or Multiplayer for your launch.

PowerShell examples

From your Crossfire installation EXE folder: .\Freelancer.exe -sp

Single Player without update checks: .\Freelancer.exe -sp:su

Multiplayer: .\Freelancer.exe -mp

Using a full example path: & "D:\Freelancer Crossfire\EXE\Freelancer.exe" -sp

Replace the filename and path with your actual installation. In PowerShell, .\ identifies a file in the current folder; & runs the quoted path.

“Windows protected your PC”

This is Microsoft Defender SmartScreen. Windows may treat a downloaded app as unrecognized on its first launch or after a new version. This warning concerns file reputation; it is not a UAC request for administrator permissions.

Check the source first: Crossfire comes from the official download page; the new launcher is downloaded through the existing launcher. “More info” displays additional app details.

After verifying the source and deciding that you trust the file, you can choose whether to use “Run anyway” if Windows offers it. If unsure, choose “Don’t run” and ask in the official support forum. The warning alone proves neither safety nor malware.

UAC: allow changes to your device?

“Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?” is the Windows prompt for administrator permissions (UAC). It can appear even if you did not choose “Run as administrator”.

Check that the prompt belongs to the launcher or installer you just opened. Confirm only if you trust the program and want to allow the change. This does not mean you need to always run the launcher as administrator.

If you cannot identify the prompt, note whether it appears during startup, an update or launching the game. The exact message helps the SWAT community understand what happened.

If Windows continues to block the app

If the message names Smart App Control or offers no button to continue, note the exact text. Ask the Crossfire community in the SWAT forum if you are stuck.

Keep Windows protection enabled. Include your Windows and launcher versions and when the message appears in your forum post.