The Big List of Freeware Programs

[LGM]

In the spirit of the Big List of Paint Programs topic in the Critic's Longue, I thought it was about time to make a Freeware Program list here in Gen-Gen.

This list is by no means complete. There are many more cool and free programs out there that I do not know about.

This is where you, the reader, come in handy.

We can make this a group effort and have anyone and everyone submit their free programs.Ã,  Anything goes... Just as long as it's not crap.

If it does the job it's supposed to, and does it well, post it here.
It must be truly free.. No trials or naggy shareware. And of course, no adware/spyware of any kind!

'Ere it goes:


GRAPHICS/VIDEO


The GIMP - Usually referred to as Photoshop's arch rival. It can do almost as much as Photoshop can. The interface is a bit daunting at first, but this program itself is very powerful.

Terragen - A neat landscape generator and renderer. Very realistic. It's even been used in movies!

Blender - A very powerful and very free 3D Modeling Program. Reccomended by our very own Shbaz.

IconArt - A neat little icon editor for all your icon editing needs.

Wings3D - A very easy and awesome 3D modeling-only program. Can easily be intertwined with Blender.

Capture Pad - A nifty screen capturing program.

VirtualDub - "VirtualDub is a video capture/processing utility for 32-bit Windows platforms (95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP)"

ASFTools - "AsfTools is a free windows 98/ME/2000/XP program to process ASF,WMV and WMA files."

Paint.NET - A free program written with Microsoft's .NET SDK. It is constantly being worked on by a university class, and will most likely replace MS Paint in Longhorn.



MEDIA


Adobe Acrobat Reader - Enables you to view PDF files in your web browser, or on it's own.

CD Rider - A great CD Ripper with proper file-naming syntaxes, amongst other awesome features.

DivX Decoder - A crucial codec needed to watch any movie encoded in the DivX format.

Winamp - An awesome multimedia player with AWESOME features found nowhere else.

CDBurnerXP - A great XP-only CD Burning suite. A great alternative for Nero.. Almost.. This program is constantly being worked on, and new features are added with every release.

FreeRIP - Similar to CD Rider, but this has more features and is not in Beta form.

MediaMonkey - The perfect solution to all your MP3 sorting needs! It does everything you could ever need for your MP3 Library.

VLC Media Player - a very good media player, can play most of the video formats, and you dont need to download any separate codecs. Runs on the most operating systems.

K-Lite Codec Pack - Freeware media player with support for most audio and video formats. Uses a windows classic media player interface. Very simple and not bloated.

BurnAtOnce - Another awesome CD Burner program. This one is simplistic and is focused around burning bin/cue image files or ISOs. It can also burn data and audio discs. It's nice and easy and FREE! (It's based around all open-source utilities)

DeepBurner - Another freeware CD Burner suite. This one is the most professional, and there is a PRO copy that can be purchased, with many more features.



AUDIO PRODUCTION


Audacity - A powerful sound recording and editing program.

Anvil Studio - A "user-friendly" MIDI sequencer program thingy.

Skale Tracker - A sample-based music sequencer. Supports VST plugins, and the next version will support soundfonts (Many of which are also free).



DESKTOP PUBLISHING


CutePDF Writer - A PDF maker that "prints" out any document to the PDF file format from any program... anywhere.

Toniarts EasyCleaner - An essential program for keeping your computer clean and running smooth as a baby's buttocks.

ExtractNow - A program that extracts many different compressed file formats. I.E RAR, ACE, ZIP, TAR, BZ2

OpenOffice - The best (free) alternative to Microsoft office.

ClickTeam Install Creator - A neat program that lets you quickly and painlessly create an install program for software or compilations you've created.

ClickTeam Patch Maker - A nice supplement to the Install Creator. Let's you dish out updates/patches for your created and distributed software.

Inno Setup - A freeware install creator. An nice (adless) alternative to ClickTeam's Install Creator.

IZArc - A great extractor that supports any file format you can think of. Appearance is very similar to Winzip.

RoughDraft - A freeware word processor. Although suitable for general use, it has features specifically designed for writers of novels, short stories, articles, poetry, plays and screenplays.



INTERNET


Azureus - A neat Java-powered BitTorrent client.

Xchat - A simplistic IRC Client.

Mozilla / Mozilla Firefox - A very good browser that is web-standards complient unlike that of Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Has inbuilt pop-up stoppers, download manager, IRC client, etc...

HTML Kit - A nice freeware HTML editor which is great for beginners and longtime web designers...

Zone Alarm - A simple but powerful firewall. Monitors all programs that access the internet.

WS_FTP LE - Free for non-commercial use, this is another nifty FTP Program.

FileZilla - Another FTP client including more advanced features, and an FTP server

The Google Toolbar - This toolbar does it all. Block pop-ups, fills out forms, searches google.. It's great!

Messenger Plus! - A great add on in the spirit of DeadAIM for AOL Instant Messenger. Messenger Plus works with MSN Messenger. It removes ads, and basically helps you customize every aspect of MSN Messenger. 100's of plugins are available for download.



WEB DESIGN


nvu - A nice windows (It says it's for Linux but there's a windows download in the download section) WYSIWYG html editor.

Trellian Webpage Editor -Ã,  It has some nice features, even built in FTP support for uploading your files.

Selida 2 - This is a very professional looking HTML editor.. All the usual features, and tons more. It even has a true WYSIWYG editor aswell. This is as close to Frontpage, features wise, you can get!



SYSTEM UTILITIES


Ad Aware - Removes alot of Adware from your computer.

AntiVir Personal Edtiton - A free and effective Anti-Virus program.

RegScrubXP - Great for XP users. Cleans out all errors and unnecessaries in the Windows Registry. It makes Windows performance noticably faster.

CodeStuff Starter - The perfect alternative to "msconfig". Takes care of all your startup processes, and even running processes.

TuneXP - Some great tweaks for Windows XP that make your system run faster than ever.

Trend Micros Housecall- Not really a program but a very helpful anti-virus system using the latest updates from the Trend Micro website. The utility is web-based, and is free to use... and is good if you dont wanna wait to download a program, and the latest updates... only downside is that it doesn't protect your computer at all times like regular virus scanning software.

Spybot: Search & Destroy - Used in conjunction with AdAware, these two programs are all you really need for spyware removal.

AVG Anti-Virus - Free, kept up-to-date, works great.

HDCleaner - HDCleaner uses a highly intelligent engine to scan your hard disk & improve PC performance!.You needn't know about the system and file types. Only click your mouse,it will clean all the junk files quickly and safely.

RegCleaner - Another registry cleaner. Catches stuff that RegScrubXP misses

RegSeeker - The best registry cleaner I've come across. If you only want one, get this'n.



MISCELLANEOUS


VDMSound - A great program that will help XP users run almost any older game. Even Grim Fandango!

Name Generator 2 - A useful program when you just can't think of a name for your character.. Or just for plain fun.



This list was last updated on July 16th, 2004 at 6:04 PM GMT-6

[TerranRich]

This is an awesome list, LGM, and well-formatted, too!

This is an important list for all of us, and it's about damn time, too.

[LordHart]

Trend Micros Housecall - http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
Virus Scanning Utility
Not really a program but a very helpful anti-virus system using the latest updates from the Trend Micro website. The utility is web-based, and is free to use... and is good if you dont wanna wait to download a program, and the latest updates... only downside is that it doesn't protect your computer at all times like regular virus scanning software.

Spybot: Search & Destroy - http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,22262,00.asp
Spyware Removal Utility
Used in conjunction with AdAware, these two programs are all you really need for spyware removal.

Mozilla / Mozilla Firefox - http://www.mozilla.org
Web Browser
A very good browser that is web-standards complient unlike that of Microsofts Internet Explorer. Has inbuilt pop-up stoppers, download manager, IRC client... etc...

HTML Kit - http://www.chami.com/html-kit/
HTML Editor
A great freeware HTML editor which is great for beginners and longtime web designers...

WinAce - http://www.winace.com/
Zip/RAR/Ace Unzipping Utility
An all purpose Unzipping utility that can open up Zip files, RAR files and Ace files... compression is better than that of WinZip as well.

I'll add more later...

[Ben]

Mind if I add some?

Ultimate Zip - Archive utility.. I think it might be shareware now, but you can still download a functional free version.

Smart FTP - Very nice FTP client.

Skale Tracker - Sample-based music sequencer. Supports VST plugins, and the next version will support soundfonts (Many of which are also free  ).

Zone Alarm - A simple but powerful firewall. Monitors all programs that access the internet.

[LGM]

Thanks for all the replies! I've updated

lat0r

[Moox]

AGSforums.com AGS-a powerfull yet free adventure game proggie

[MrColossal]

AGA:  http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp

free

[juncmodule]

ZoneAlarm isn't free, Ben.

Yes it is.

From the Zonelabs site:

ZoneAlarm is free for individual and not-for-profit charitable entity use (excluding governmental entities and educational institutions).

http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp?lid=zaskulist_download

later,
-junc

EDIT: Screw you Eric.

[rtf]

Three cheers for LGM for making this list!

This will definatly be put to use by me.Ã,  Ã, 

Add Anvil Studio.  That's what I use.  It is very user-friendly and all that

[MrColossal]

http://www.nvu.com/ Is a nice windows [I know it says Linux but there's a windows download] WYSIWYG html editor that I've just downloaded. Haven't given it much of a go yet but it looks good and isn't bloated like my current Dreamweaver MX 2004 Alpha 2: Electric Boogaloo

[strazer]

Clickteam Install Creator (Freeware - Displays Clickteam ad)
Clickteam Patch Maker (Freeware - Displays Clickteam ad)
Inno Setup (Freeware)

[LGM]

Thank you so much for all of your contributions! The list has been updated again.

Keep them coming! That nvu link is something new, Eric.. thanks a bunch!

Also, Eric, would you mind stickying this thread? Or is that not plausible?

[strazer]

According to the website FTP Explorer isn't free.

I recommend
WS_FTP LE (Free for non-commercial use) Very simple FTP client
or
FileZilla (Freeware) FTP client including more advanced features, including a FTP server

[MrColossal]

I must caution people on NVU... it seems to have a fiew bugs but I haven't really delved into Mr. Internet to see if they are being working...

So don't download it, think it's awesome and delete everything else you have.

E

[Barbarian]

http://cutka.szm.sk/ffdshow/about.html
A free Decoding filter for most DIVX movie-files, and without all the Spyware/Adware junk that DIVX.com forces on you.

http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php
AVG Anti-Virus software. Free, kept up-to-date, works great (it's what I use).

http://www.romanlab.com/apw/index.html
Ã,  A nice little and free utility for keeping track of all your passwords.
You only need remember one main password (rather than dozens) to access you list.

http://www.roboform.com/
Ã,  Ã, Nifty little tool that add onto IE, NetScape, Mozilla and FireFox browsers.. that can store and remember all of your many "Username", "Password" and "Forms" for sites you may frequest. Just need to enter in your one main password when launching, then it can easily and automatically fill in the required information for websites.

http://www.mailwasher.net/
Ã,  Ã, A free utility for filtering out Spam mail before it even get's to your computer.

http://www.panicware.com/product_psfree.html
Pop-Up Stopper Free Edition. Prevents most Pop-up ads from ever appearing from your browser when it's activated.

http://www.software602.com/download/home.html
Ã,  Ã, What they say...
"Alternative to MS Office compatible with Word/Excel files! The suite is composed of four full-featured applications: a word processor, spreadsheet, photo editor and digital photo organizer. FREE!"
Ã,  Ã, What I say... Yes, It works great. I use it.

http://www.trellian.com/webpage/
Free: Trellian Webpage Editor. It has some nice features, even built in FTP support for uploading your files.

Ã,  Ã, Well, there's a few goodies for now. I can post more if you'd like?Ã,  Ã, 
Enjoy.

--- Big Don, the Barbarian.
"Escape from Evergreen Forest! (Big Don's Adventure, 1)"
http://www.agsforums.com/yabb/index.php?topic=14181.0

[Timosity]

" VirtualDub is a video capture/processing utility for 32-bit Windows platforms (95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP)"

As it says it's not quite as powerful as Adobe Premiere but it kicks arse as a completely free video processing tool.
http://www.virtualdub.org/


"AsfTools is a free windows 98/ME/2000/XP program to process ASF,WMV and WMA files."
http://www.geocities.com/myasftools/


I guess most people know about this one
http://www.scummvm.org/


Dosbox - If you have XP and you want to use DOS
http://dosbox.sourceforge.net/


VDMSound - another program to get older games to work in XP - including GF
http://sourceforge.net/projects/vdmsound/

edit: actually I'm not sure if this is the same thing but here's another link
http://www.ece.mcgill.ca/~vromas/vdmsound/

There's a few more progs, I'll probably think of some more later

Great Idea LGM

[strazer]

actually I'm not sure if this is the same thing

It is. Better use the http://ntvdm.cjb.net/ url.

Good choices, Timosity. I think the programs should be in some way related to adventure gaming & creation, otherwise this list could go on forever.

[LGM]

Thanks once again for all your entries!

Don't feel insulted if I do not include your suggestions into the list.. I don't want this list to go on forever! I review all the links you give, and decide if it's something more people would like to use..

Great job, people!

[Ryukage]

POV-Ray Raytracer
If you can handle creating scenes using a programming language instead of a wireframe modeler, this program provides the most realistic 3D renderings you'll ever see. Period.  This is because it uses real scientifically-correct mathematical physics modeling, instead of faking it like polygon renderers do.  There's a shareware frontend available that provides wireframe preview and editing, but using it tends to degrade the quality of the scene somewhat, since it's not as precise or versatile as the underlying scripting language.  Using the frontend also make it difficult or impossible to take advantage of the large collection of utilities and include files that users have created.  The native scripting language is no harder to learn than any of the scripting languages used by game engines, and it's better-documented than most of them.  Personally I find povray's script language easier to use than the GUI interfaces sported by most of the polygon modelers I've tried.

[kl4Uz]

Bitdefender - A very good antivirus program. There's a free version available. Updates are also free (there's even an auto-update function included)

[Scummbuddy]

theres an error in the desktop publishing part. you put clickteams installer twice, instead of the second one being the patch/updater

This post will self-destruct when changes have been done, or when a mod gets around to it.

[RLacey]

http://www.trillian.cc - A very good IM program, supporting AIM, ICQ, MSN and Yahoo!.
Also http://gaim.sourceforge.net is a similar, open-source program.

http://www.skype.com - Voice-over-net communications.

[AGA]

Trillian is not good >:|

GAIM is better, but only worth using if you have multiple accounts from the same protocol that you want to be connected to simultaneously. Otherwise it's better to use the protocol's own client...

[Femme Stab Mode >:D]

I use Trillian. It's quite  a good proggie, I never had any trouble with it.

[mp3]

Thanks for sharing posting all of these very useful programs with us.

[Primus]

Hi Everybody!

Here's a little list of freeware.

all kinda freeware:
http://www.atomkey.com/freeware/
http://cd.textfiles.com/directory.html

3d text maker (eg for banners):
http://www.3dtextmaker.com/

free paint progs:
http://www.freebyte.com/graphicprograms/
http://www.afterzed.com/free/freegraphprogs1.html
http://www.afterzed.com/freeware/paintprogsfreeware1.html
http://www.freewarehome.com/Graphics/Graphics_Editors_t.html

Free cliparts, images, etc
http://tools.coffeecup.com/Free_Images/

free high quality gifs:
http://www.animationfactory.com/free/
http://www.animationfactory.com/

free fonts:
http://www.1001fonts.com/index.html
http://www.abstractfonts.com/fonts/

free music files. sounds. etc.:
http://cd.textfiles.com/10000soundssongs/
http://tools.coffeecup.com/Free_Sounds/

[iluciv]

This is a useful site for a wide varitey of progs chech it out if you don't know about it already

http://www.freewarehome.com

later
Iluciv 

[Hinders]

VLC media player - a very good media player, can play most of the video formats, and you dont need to download any separate codecs. Runs on the most operating systems.

[jannar85]

According to the website FTP Explorer isn't free.

I recommend
WS_FTP LE (Free for non-commercial use) Very simple FTP client
or
FileZilla (Freeware) FTP client including more advanced features, including a FTP server

www.smartftp.com <-- Better.

[LGM]

Alright.. The list has been updated again!!

Again, thanks for everything..

Please, if you are going to submit something.. From now on, no more Freeware SITE links.. The object of this thread is so noone will HAVE to browse through a site.. It's all here!

And if you are going to submit.. Stick to the format I have used.. it is most helpful that way.

Thanks again

ciao

[TerranRich]

Erm, LGM, the very last link, first of all, has "http://" twice. Secondly, it links me to Microsoft, even when fixed. :o

[LGM]

Microsoft? You must have some crazy spyware...

Anyways, the link is fixed and it works correctly.

[TerranRich]

I have no spyware. My computer has been scrubbed down and thuroughly douched/enema'd.

[juncmodule]

I've been using this lately:

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/K_Lite_Codec_Pack.htm
- Freeware media player with support for most audio formats. Uses a windows classic media player interface. Very simple and not bloated.

later,
-junc

[Gilbert]

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/K_Lite_Codec_Pack.htm
- Freeware media player with support for most audio formats. Uses a windows classic media player interface. Very simple and not bloated.

Yeah , on a related note, you DON'T really need to install the players in it (thus saving you a bit of messy management to have 2 media players), just install the codecs and your original media player should be able to play all the related formats (unless the player is too old), but just files like real media won't be associated to it initially, once you set the association correctly you can play them.

[shbaz]

http://www.thebest3d.com/dogwaffle/free/

free 2d/animation prog.

[LGM]

Sweet.. It just came out! Maybe they improved alot since the last time I tried it.

[[Cameron]]

An Internal lens flare engine is included.  The full version also includes the Radiant advanced lens flare engine.

[LGM]

Yes.. Sadly, teh LENS FLAER is the only "improvement".. Bah.. their brush editor is teh sux0r

[TheGoldeagle]

Maguma Studio - Http://www.maguma.com
PHP/HTML/FTP/Server Manamgment - Tool

You just have to fill out a small form and then you get the link to download it. It is a nice program.

*Note, the server managment tools only are if you buy it.

[Damien]

Here are some pages that have a lot of free (and usable) soundfonts:

www.soundfonts.it - Great page, doesn't require any kind of registration to download the soundfonts, all soundfonts are compressed and are in .sf2 or .sfpack format. There is a tool on the page for extracting the .sfpack files into .sf2.

http://www.emusicmag.com/soundfonts/ - another great page if You're looking for quality soundfonts. There is a limitation, You can only download 3 soundfonts per day if you are an unregistered member, but the registration is free.

[kadok]

www.anim8or.com a freeware 3D modeling/animation/scene making app, very powerfule and easy to use...

[Ciro Durán]

YaSoft Switch Off (http://yasoft.km.ru/eng/switchoff/) - If you are poor as me, and have a 56k connection, and a family which uses the phone, this program allows you to set a time to turn off the computer, hibernate, hangup the phone, etc.     Besides it's free, it's also very small, and works in the system tray.

[Neutron]

I just ran into this freeware app for bitmap painting.Ã,  It is very useful, and I definately recommend trying out some of the different brushes with the spray paint tool.Ã,  ( it sprays the brush tip instead of just dots ) ,...anyway, I just got this a few minutes ago, but it is clearly exactly what i was looking for. Lots of cool functions in a 650 kb package.Ã,  Cool and compact too.Ã,  Called GrafX2.
http://www.eclipse-game.com/?dat=7

[Gilbert]

Yeah, Grafix 2 is mentioned here several times already.

[Neutron]

Sorry about that.  Here is another useful program: Atmosphere Lite ( pro version also available ) http://www.relaxingsoftware.com/naturesounds.htm
It makes sound backdrops from sample loops, for a variety of environments.  The only thing they ask is that you credit them, if you use it in a professional game or anim.  It can output .wav files, so no fancy soundcard acrobatics are necessary.

[TerranRich]

LGM, you can now add Word Puzzle Assistant to your list. A great little tool for help with solving and creating word puzzles, such as crosswords, anagrams, etc.

(Made by yours truly., updated to version 1.5)

[Tommy Filth]

This is a great thread!  I'll be sure to refer to it often in the future.

Since I haven't seen the site listed, may I make a suggestion?  Analog X 3.1 is a freeware site loaded with cool Windows-based software.  A few of my favorites are:

CookieWall - A very nice little cookie management program.

POW! - A great pop-up killer I use on all my machines, both at work and at home.

MaxMem - Quit restarting every time your system starts to get bogged down.  A simple click, and this program cleans all the unwanted crap out of your RAM, freeing up system resources for more important things.

There's also tons of port blocking software, packet snifferss, and even music software.  This guy is a genius, his software is fantastic, and somehow, all of it is free.

[RickJ]

Metapad Text Editor - http://liquidninja.com/metapad/
Metapad is a small, fast (and completely free) text editor for Windows 9x/NT/XP with similar features to Microsoft Notepad but with many extra (and rather useful) features. It was designed to completely replace Notepad since it includes all of Notepad's features and much, much more.  Most notably, it seamlessly supports both dos and unix text files and also does spell checking via GNU Aspell (see below).

GNU Aspell Spell Checker -  http://aspell.sourceforge.net/
GNU Aspell is a Free and Open Source spell checker designed to eventually replace Ispell. It can either be used as a library or as an independent spell checker. Its main feature is that it does a superior job of suggesting possible replacements for a misspelled word than just about any other spell checker out there for the English language. Unlike Ispell, Aspell can also easily check documents in UTF-8 without having to use a special dictionary. Aspell will also do its best to respect the current locale setting. Other advantages over Ispell include support for using multiple dictionaries at once and intelligently handling personal dictionaries when more than one Aspell process is open at once.

Scite Program Editor - http://www.scintilla.org/SciTE.html
SciTE is a SCIntilla based Text Editor. Originally built to demonstrate Scintilla, it has grown to be a generally useful editor with facilities for building and running programs. It is best used for jobs with simple configurations.  SCIntilla is the basis of AGS's script editor.  Scite is an external program editor that has some of the same features as the AGS editor. 

7-Zip - http://www.7-zip.org/
7-Zip is a file archiver with high compression ratio and is free software distributed under the GNU LGPL.   The main features of 7-Zip are as follows:

• High compression ratio in new 7z format with LZMA compression
  
• 7-Zip is free software distributed under the GNU LGPL
  
• Supported formats: 7z, ZIP, CAB, RAR, ARJ, GZIP, BZIP2, Z, TAR, CPIO, RPM and DEB
  
• For ZIP and GZIP formats 7-Zip provides compression ratio that is 2-10 % better than ratio provided by PKZip and WinZip
  
• Self-extracting capability for 7z format
  
• Integration with Windows Shell
  
• Powerful File Manager
  
• Powerful command line version
  
• Plugin for FAR Manager
  
• Localizations for 50 languages
  

[Haddas]

POW! - A great pop-up killer I use on all my machines, both at work and at home.

What's a popup? Haven't seen those in ages!

[x_traveler_x]

Does everyone know that you can use iTunes to convert MID midi files to MP3 or WAV?  There are many other programs that do this, but they cost money.  iTunes is free!   I hope that many people find this knowledge as helpful as I did.

[alkis21]

Good list. I'd like to add:

MISCELLANEOUS

EZ Label Xpress Lite - Create and print multipurpose CD and DVD labels

Anet Help Tool- Create Windows Help Files (this is actually a shareware program, but there's a freeware version which allows you to create a help file of up to 10 topics)

SYSTEM

Avast Home Edition- In my opinion, a much better antivirus program than AntiVir and AVG

[Robbie]

J-Split (JR Split File)Ã,  http://www.spadixbd.com/freetools/jsplit.htm
Splits a large file into several small ones, and generates a simple batch file to stitch the bits together again at the other end. Does not harm the original file. Extremely easy to use, whether splitting or restoring.

I've used J-Split to spread files across floppy disks (my old laptop doesn't have a working CD drive) and also to send a program via e-mail to a recipient whose ISP blocks attachments above a given size.

I'd also like to agree with RickJ about 7-Zip (http://www.7-zip.org/), which is a FANTASTIC compression/decompression utility. It not only unpacks pretty much everything, but also compresses and makes self-extracting files. And it's so easy to use. Throw away your WinZip and get this!

[Robbie]

Oops! I forgot to mention:

Mo'SloÃ,  http://www.hpaa.com/moslo/basic.asp
Dig out all your old DOS games that you don't play any more because they run too fast on your modern computer. This program will slow them down as much as you need. Runs invisibly - once you get a game set up to go through Mo'Slo, you just click on the game's icon as normal to run it. Can be slightly tricky to figure out how to use, but keep reading the instructions.

The program is labelled "Evaluation Version" for 15 days, and there's an intimidating-looking licence, but if you look closely you'll see that it's completely free in perpetuity for individual recreational use.

[user8192]

Graphics:

Inkscape, http://inkscape.org/, is a free vector graphics editor. I use it on my Linux, but it has binaries for Windows and Mac too.

[Gilbert]

Inscape was linked here already.

I'll propose the subject of this thread be changed to "The Big List of (non-graphics) Freeware Programmes" to have stuff better managed.

[user8192]

Inscape was linked here already.

OK, so kill me ;-)

But what's the use in a list if it's not categorized?

There's no use in a huge flat thread with hundreds of recomendations. It's better to use a wiki instead.

I'll propose the subject of this thread be changed to "The Big List of (non-graphics) Freeware Programmes" to have stuff better managed.

Come to think of it, this thread is silly. There are millions of freewares and each of them manage stuff "better" according to somebody.

[Gilbert]

There is a Wiki, you can always contribute if you want.

[cthulhuloid]

Where can I find a gif animation maker? I searched the thread using Ctrl+F looking for the word gif, but I didn't find anytihng useful, could anyone help me out?
(I forgot to mention I need a FREE gif animation maker, cause I have enough trials).

[Buckethead]

sorry, all gif animators that you can have for free are either trials or you have to save your image with a logo in the middle.

atleast, as far as I know.

[Gilbert]

GIMP can make animated GIF also, may need some patient to get use to it though,

[Tuomas]

Sorry to bump in without any links, but the TuneXP link seems to lead nowhere.

Oh well, might just justify my post with a link http://www.download.com/TuneXP/3000-2086_4-10290928.html first thing from google, but as people read the first post as I did, they won't look google.

[Firestorm1]

wow!  what a huge list of useful free programs!!!  :o :o
another program to add would be GraphicsGale.  u can get a free version, or alternitively the full version u have to pay for.  i don't see anything wrong with the freeversion though!!!

[Gilbert]

Graphics Gale is listed here already.

[Wonkyth]

I'm sorta digging up an old thread, but this guy here has made some nice programs.
I especially like the BMP to ASCII converter.

[Joseph DiPerla]

There are a few resources I did not see in the main list...

http://www.makehuman.org   --- MakeHuman -- A great application to create 3d models of humans, similar to Poser. Completely Free.

http://www.phatcode.net/downloads.php?id=201  ---  Deluxe Paint II and Deluxe Paint Animation

http://www.daz3d.com/i/software/studio  --- Daz Studio, completely free, feature rich 3d figure designer with the ability to create human figures and poses as well as other types of objects and figures.

[Sslaxx]

Fairly sure this one has been mentioned in other threads, but:

http://mypaint.intilinux.com/ - MyPaint. Windows and Linux.