Freelancer HD Edition has pushed an update, and if you haven't installed it yet, now is the time.
Quick background: HD Edition is the comprehensive quality-of-life and visual overhaul mod that any modern Freelancer install should start with. It bundles widescreen resolution support, AI-upscaled textures, an FPS uncapper, and compatibility fixes for modern Windows — all in one package. It doesn't change the game. It just makes the game look and run the way it should have always been able to on the hardware you own.
The v0.5 update expanded the options available to players. Beyond the baseline widescreen and texture improvements, the new version added further customization: players can now tune aspects of the visual overhaul to their preference rather than accepting a single fixed configuration. This matters for players with different hardware setups or aesthetic preferences — some want the upscaled textures, some prefer a closer-to-original look with just the resolution fix. HD Edition 0.5 accommodates both ends of that range.
For new players, this is now the de facto starting point for any Freelancer install. Apply the 1.1 patch first (official, essential), then HD Edition, and you have a game that looks reasonable on a 1080p or 1440p monitor and runs without the 30-FPS physics cap causing problems. That's the baseline.
For returning players: if you installed and played Freelancer any time before HD Edition existed — or even before 0.5 — it's worth downloading and applying. It's not a dramatic transformation. It's a quiet upgrade that removes the friction between the game and modern hardware. The experience underneath is unchanged.
ModDB has the current version. Search "Freelancer HD Edition."