Battlefield 2
Version Differences
Best Version
The complete collection sold on Steam is perhaps the easiest way to get the game. This pack contains the main game as well as the expansion, Special Forces, and the two free 'bonus packs' Euro Forces and Armored Fury.
Serial Key
The disc based version requires a CD-key that you type in when installing.
Patches
The latest official patch is 1.50 which resolves a number of issues.
Hotfix for the alt-tab crash.
If you run into problem installing 1.50 you might need 1.41 first.
Issues and Fixes
Patch 1.5 won't install ("Newer version already installed"):
Run the 1.41 patch first, then 1.5.
Patch 1.41 won't install ("Can't find install folder"):
This can occur in Windows Vista or 7 if an install is interrupted or incomplete, and requires a fix in regedit.
- Run "regedit"
- Navigate to "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>SOFTWARE>Wow6432Node>Electronic Arts>EA Games>Battlefield 2"
- Create a 'New String' by right clicking in the directory and select New > String Value, label this string "InstallDir"
- Right-Click, 'Modify' the string, and in the Data Value field, input the install folder for the game. By default it is "C:\Program Files (x86)\EA Games\Battlefield 2" or "C:\Program Files\EA Games\Battlefield 2"
Game crashes a lot:
Try running the game with Disable desktop composition on (right-click bf2.exe click options and then compatibility tab).
If this still does not work and you are using a multi-core CPU, try running the game on a single CPU core. Go into the process list in Task Manager, find bf2.exe, right click, select set affinity then choose one of the cores. This shortcut will also do it for you. [Target: C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /C start /affinity 1 C:\Program" "Files\EA" "GAMES\Battlefield" "2\BF2.exe +restart] [Start In: "C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2"].
Game crashes when alt-tabbing:
Apply this hot-fix: BF2 1.50 hotfix_RendDX9.zip
Vsync won't work:
Some combinations of cards/drivers doesn't seem to want to apply v-sync. You can try forcing it with a third-party program such as D3Doverrider or DXtory instead. In D3DOverrider create a separate profile using Low detection level. If that doesn't work try High instead.
Getting kicked by punkbuster:
Try updating punkbuster manually. Download PBSetup. Run the program and add Battlefield 2. Click check for updates and let it run. If you still have errors, start the game by right clicking the shortcut and choosing "Run as Administrator". You should only need to do this once but if it continues, you can set the shortcut to always run as administrator by right clicking the short cut, select "Properties", choose the "Computability" tab, and select the "Run as Administrator" box.
On Windows 7 x64 systems with a Creative X-Fi sound card, severe audio corruption may occur when running under X-Fi Audio Mode and Ultra sound quality. Reducing the sound quality to "High" usually solves this issue.
Black patches on textures:
ATI/AMD cards: Try modifying the Catalyst A.I. setting, either turning it on or off in the Catalyst Control Center (CCC). This issue has also occurred in newer display driver versions. Try installing Catalyst version 11.3 or older.
This problem has occurred with on-board Intel graphics chipsets. It causes an area in the bottom left of the screen to not draw HUD elements, such as the health bar and the spawn menu. The problem can be resolved by editing some registry entries.
- Run "regedit"
- Search for (Ctrl+f) "~bf2.exe"
- Change each of the values from 1 to 0.
Invalid CDKey
Some people get kicked from every game with an "Invalid CDKey" message. This also happens with the Steam version, where your key is bound to be correct anyway. There's a thread on the Steam forums containing some fixes for this.
Graphical Tweaks
Field of View Fix (FOV)
Widescreenfixer automatically sets optimal fov or lets you change it to your liking.
Widescreen Support
Widescreen support was added with patch 1.5 released on September 1st 2009.
Battlefield 2 versions older than version 1.5 do not have native widescreen support. To force a custom resolution, edit your game shortcut so it looks like the following:
"C:\Program Files\EA Games\Battlefield 2\BF2.exe" +menu 1.15 +widescreen 1 +szx 1440 +szy 900 -or- "C:\Games\BF2\BF2.exe" +widescreen 1 +szx 2560 +szy 1600
Edit the numbers after '+szx' and '+szy' to match your desired resolution. '+szx' is horizontal and '+szy' is vertical. In the first example, the game would launch in 1440x900 (16:10). In the second example, the game would launch in 2560x1600 (16:10).
Please note: This does not change the default FOV and there is no way to change it at this time. Vertical view is also lost, have a look at the screenshots below to see the difference.
Windowed mode
Execute the game with the command line parameter +fullscreen 0. If you run the game windowed at your maximum screen resolution, there will be some misaligned text on menu buttons. Otherwise the game seems to run normally.
Multimonitor Support
Widescreenfixer is your best bet.
Antialiasing
The game supports AA natively. In-game AA only goes up to 8x though so try forcing it through your graphics control panel if you want to go higher.
Anisotropic Filtering
Called Texture filtering in-game. High corresponds to 4x. Force it through graphics control panel if you want higher levels.
Run Without CD/DVD
Latest patch removed the need to have your DVD in the drive while playing.
Save Game Data
Folder Location
Windows 7:
C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Documents\Battlefield 2\Profiles\
Improvements
Autologin
Make sure you log in at least once. Then create a shortcut to the game, right-click it and go to options and add +playerName #### +playerPassword #### to the target box (replacing #### with your username and password). It should look like this:
C:\Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\BF2.exe" +playerName #### +playerPassword ####
Next time you click the shortcut you should get logged in automatically.
Skipping intro movies
Add +restart to the target box mentioned above.
Controller Support
The game supports joysticks natively.