First of all, you need to get the game to work. Nowadays this can't be taken for granted, even though the game itself runs quite reliably. There are some requirements to be met: The Quake 3 engine and the whole game is based on OpenGL, which means that you should have OpenGL installed with your graphics drivers. So if you only use the standard Windows drivers, you might find that the game refuses to start because OpenGL is not found. This is usually solved by the latest drivers from the graphics card manufacturer, which should include this. If necessary, you can also try the OpenGL drivers included on the CD (only for Windows). You have to start the file glsetup.117.exe in the directory \Setup\GlSetup on the EF installation CD. But this doesn't work for everyone, so better search for your own graphics card drivers right away. The manufacturers usually help out. CD keys are actually automatically integrated by the installer during the game, so they are not requested. But if there should be problems with it for any reason, you should note down or save your key beforehand. Otherwise you have to reinstall/copy. Dedicated servers do not query the key and do not check if they are free on the Internet. So you can actually take any key as long as it is genuine.
The game itself requires a few files from the CD. The key file efq3.key, the archive file(s) pak0.pk3 (and possibly pak1.pk3 and pak2.pk3 for version 1.2) in the baseEF folder, as well as the files stvoy.exe and stvoyHM.exe in the root directory are required by the CD. On some systems the DLLs FFC10.dll, efuix86.dll, efgamex86.dll and binkw32.dll are also required for the single player in the root directory. For the expansion pack the files pak3.pk3 and expefq3.key are added. If you want, add ioEF or Lilium Voyager as well. The *.pk3 files belong into the baseEF subdirectory of the EF installation, the rest into the root directory. With ioEF or Lilium Voyager these files could also be located in the corresponding directory of the home folder. Since they are assumed to be the same for all players on the same computer, nevertheless it makes sense to store them in the game directory. The *.key or *.dll files and the binaries (*.exe) belong in the root directory of EF. For ioEF and Lilium Voyager please see the corresponding sections below.
In times of Win64 and third-party patches, classic installation is not always as easy. So here is a short summary on how to get EF installed via the installer.
DriveLetter:\Setup\Setup.exe (because the starter no longer works under Windows 64 Bit)liliumvoyhm.x86_64.exe, liliumvoyhm_renderer_opengl1_x86_64.dll, liliumvoyhm_renderer_opengl2_x86_64.dll and SDL264.dll are sufficient. If you also want to set up a dedicated server, you also require the liliumvoyded.x86_64.exe.iostvoyHM-1.38_rc1.x64.exe, SDL64.dll and renderer_opengl1_x64.dll into the EF directory. (This is not the recommended version, but still better than the vanilla game binary.) The *.dll files may also be stored in the Windows directory (%windir%), but you need admin rights and there may be some side effects.liliumvoyhm.x86.exe, liliumvoyhm_renderer_opengl1_x86.dll, liliumvoyhm_renderer_opengl2_x86.dll and SDL2.dll are sufficient. If you also want to set up a dedicated server, you also require the liliumvoyded.x86.exe.iostvoyHM-1.38_rc1.x86.exe and renderer_opengl1_x86.dll into the EF directory. Download the Lib-SDL 1.2 (not the version 2!) for 32 bit and copy the SDL.dll in the archive into the EF directory. The *.dll-files could also be stored in the Windows directory (%windir%), but you need admin rights and there may be some side effects.pak0.pk3 to pak3.pk3 (depending on version and use of the expansion pack). These should be copied to a folder named baseEF. One level above should be the files FFC10.dll, efuix86.dll, efgamex86.dll binkw32.dll, stvoy.exe and stvoyHM.exe, with which the single player or multiplayer is started, and the CD keys efq3.key or expefq3.key. The files are stored on the CDs in the folder Setup.liliumvoyhm.x86_64, liliumvoyhm_renderer_opengl1_x86_64.so, and liliumvoyhm_renderer_opengl2_x86_64.so are sufficient for playing. If you also want to set up a dedicated server, you also need the liliumvoyded.x86_64. They belong in the game directory. The liliumvoyhm.x86_64 or liliumvoyded.x86_64 must be made executable if necessary still.renderer_opengl1_x86_64.so and iostvoyHM-1.38_rc1.x86_64 from http://thilo.tjps.eu/efport-progress/bin/linux into the EF directory. Make the latter executable.sudo apt-get install libsdl1.2-dev or something similar for your distribution to install the lib-SDL 1.2 (it needs not the version 2).liliumvoyhm.x86, liliumvoyhm_renderer_opengl1_x86.so, and liliumvoyhm_renderer_opengl2_x86.so are sufficient for playing. If you also want to set up a dedicated server, you also need the liliumvoyded.x86. They belong in the game directory. The liliumvoyhm.x86 or liliumvoyded.x86 must be made executable in some cases.renderer_opengl1_i386.so and iostvoyHM-1.38_rc1.i386 from http://thilo.tjps.eu/efport-progress/bin/linux into the EF directory. Make the latter executable.sudo apt-get install libsdl1.2-dev:i386 or something similar for your distribution to install the lib-SDL 1.2 (it doesn't need the version 2!). It may be necessary to install the libraries libvorbisfile3:i386, libcurl3:i386 and libmad0-dev:i386 for the 32-bit version. At least for the 32-bit 1.37 version they are necessary.libmad, libogg, libvorbis, libvorbisfile, libopenal and libcurl.The Expansion Pack is not mandatory, but has the advantage that the 1.2 patch (for Windows) is already included, along with additional game assets, like a number of good maps. To play the single-player you need the EP-CD. The circulating single player crack no longer works! The multiplayer crack still works. But for multi-player you better use the newer Versions.
There were apparently some CDs with a CD key that was wrongly too short with only 17 characters integrated. In these cases, it helps to append a 0 in case EF asks for it. If another one has already been entered, open the file efq3.key in the baseEF folder of the EF installation and add 0 as the 18th character.
If you install the EF version from the „Star Trek: Action Pack“, this query will appear. You can cancel the dialog here, because the installer installs the CD-Key afterwards.
This error occurs when Elite Force does not have enough memory available, or vice versa, too big maps, models and other extensions are loaded. EF does not use all available RAM by default. You can raise the limit yourself: Put +seta com_hunkmegs x in the starting command (e.g the Windows link file), with x as the amount for RAM to be used in MB. Alternatively you can of course clean up your EF folder and remove maps & stuff you no longer need. However, it is also sufficient to move the less frequently used *.pk3 files to another folder that EF does not access (e.g. create a subfolder Backup). Other variables, that might have similar effects are com_zoneMegs and com_soundMegs.
This message is the same problem as the previous one.
The OpenGL implementation of AMD graphics cards often causes problems with old games. There is apparently a workaround that is described here.
By default the Single Player plays the usual Vendor Intro every time you start the SP. This can be automatically skipped by appending the parameter +nointro to the running command in the Windows link file. So an example might look like this:
"C:\Games\Star Trek Voyager Elite Force GOG\stvoy.exe" +nointro