Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

The release of Splinter Cell Chaos Theory reintroduced one of the most unique multiplayer games ever. Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow's ground-breaking Spies vs. Mercenaries multiplayer mode came back new-and-improved in Chaos Theory, once again pitting Spies against Mercenaries in intense 2v2 team matches in many unique mission locations.

As a highly mobile SHADOWNET spy, infiltrate and complete your objectives with stealth, cunning and gadgets such as the P190 Taser, sticky cameras, smoke and chaff grenades, and the iconic multi-vision goggles. Attacking their enemies head-on is not their strong suite, however, spies are capable of neutralizing their enemies by sneaking up from behind and putting them in a chokehold (and decide between breaking their neck or simply knocking them unconscious), dropping on them from above, or by pulling them off ledges.

As an ARGUS mercenary, defend against intruders and prevent them from completing their mission objectives with heavy weaponry (such as the M160 rifle with sniping capabilities) and unique tools such as proximity, laser and poison mines, Spy Traps (which marks and tracks enemies on your HUD's radar if they trip the traps' laser), motion tracking and electromagnetic field vision modes, and a wrist-mounted PDA that can be used to find intruders via a camera network. In addition to their equipment, mercenaries are physically tough and can knock down enemies with powerful melee attacks.

Be sure to learn to play both roles with equal skill and precision as the roles are reversed after each round! Use what you've learned while playing as a Spy to look for enemies in the right places while playing as a Mercenary and vice versa. While Splinter Cell's multiplayer mode possesses a steep learning curve, it is also one of the most deep and rewarding games to play online. If you're looking for a tense, heart-pounding, challenging and fun game that is distinctly unique compared to other games on the market today -- look no further!

New Player's Guide

The guide provided below will provide the information needed for new players to learn how to play the game properly. You'll learn about things such as the unique features of the heads-up display while playing as a Mercenary and what kinds of actions are going to give you away as a Spy and much, much more. This is a must-read for anyone who wants to enjoy the game.

Download the guide!

Map Pack

Make sure to download MR.MIC's Map Pack to add a bunch of great maps (most from Pandora Tomorrow's Versus mode) to your game.

Download the map pack!

By default, the map pack will install to:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Ubisoft\Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory\

For the Steam version, install to:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\splinter cell chaos theory\

Digital Rights Management (DRM)

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory's Versus mode requires a CD-key to play online. However, LAN play without a CD key is also available. Use Tunngle or Hamachi to play LAN online. Otherwise, Versus possesses no intrusive DRM and also does not require a disc to be inserted to play.

Issues and Fixes

Lighting/Flashlight Fix

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory's Versus mode has some problems rendering certain lighting effects on modern machines. This problem makes it very difficult to play properly. Certain shadows may not render, and mercenaries' flashlights don't work, severely impairing gameplay. Follow the steps below to fix these issues:

1. Download and install 3D-Analyze.
2. Launch 3D-Analyze.
3. In 3D-Analyze, click the SELECT button and select SCCT_Versus.exe in your Versus/System directory. By default, you will find it at the address below:

   C:\Program Files (x86)\Ubisoft\Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory\Versus\System

4. Checkmark all the boxes under Game/Demo Fixes as well as the "Force Max Pixel Shader 1.4" and "Force High Precison Shader" boxes. When you're done, your 3D-Analyze window should look like this.
5. Press the Save batch file! at the bottom of the 3D-Analyze window.
6. Close 3D-Analyze.
7. Right-click your newly created batch file and click Edit to edit the batch file in Notepad.
8. Find SCCT_Versus.exe in Notepad and rename it to SCCT_Versus.ex (yes, .ex). If this is not done, the game will not launch through 3D-Analyze. After you've done that, your batch file in Notepad should read something like this:

   C:\Program Files (x86)\3D-Analyze\3DAnalyze.exe" /EXE=C:\Program Files (x86)\Ubisoft\Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory\Versus\System\SCCT_Versus.ex

9. Save the file. Close Notepad.
10. Double-click the batch file to launch the game. If you want the lights to work properly, you will need to launch the game using this batch file every time. Make a shortcut on your desktop to the batch file for easy access.
11. Enjoy all the lights in Versus!

Custom Resolutions

Versus only has a handful of preset resolutions and none of them are for wide-screen users. Follow the instructions below to play Versus at any resolution you please!

Keep in mind, this method does stretch the image. This fix mostly exists simply for a more comfortable playing experience without black bars on the sides of the screen and/or the flickering while switching between resolutions.

This method has only been tested on Windows 7. Other operating systems such as Windows XP may have the files we need to work with in a different folder, so you may have to search for the proper folder directory.

NOTE: You must have run the game at least once before these files appear. Also, you will have to redo all the steps if you attempt to change the resolution or graphics settings in-game, as the resolution will reset to the default one selected.

1. Navigate to your Splinter Cell Chaos Theory Versus System folder. The default installation directory is as follows:

   C:\Program Files (x86)\Ubisoft\Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory\Versus\System\

2. Open up the Default.ini file in Notepad. Scroll down (or use the Find function) to the [WinDrv.WindowsClient] category. Find the lines FullscreenViewportX and FullscreenViewportY. In my case, I want to play at a resolution of 1680x1050, so the lines should end up looking like this:

   FullscreenViewportX=1680

   FullscreenViewportY=1050

3. Save the file. Close Notepad.
4. Navigate to your Versus profile folder in the ProgramData directory:

   C:\ProgramData\Ubisoft\Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory\Saved Games\Versus\

5. Inside this folder, you should find a file called USERNAME_prf.ini. USERNAME will appear as whatever you named your player profile in Versus.
6. Look for the line ScreenRes=X, replace X with -1. When you're done, the line should read:

   ScreenRes=-1

7. Save the file. Close Notepad.
8. Launch the game however you do it (preferably through the .BAT file you created in 3D-Analyze) and play!

There you have it! You can play Versus at whatever resolution you want! While everyone appears slightly short and fat at the resolution of 1680x1050, at least there's no wasted space on your monitor and no more annoying flickering when the game changes between resolutions (which often results in crashing). Have fun!

Unresolved Issues

Alt+Tabbing

There are issues when Alt+Tabbing while in full-screen. If used too many times, it will disconnect players connected to your server and can even crash the game. Try to refrain from Alt+Tabbing.

30 FPS Lock/Limit

Unfortunately, Ubisoft's netcode only supports a max of 30 frames per second for proper sync between players in multiplayer. Bypassing this limit (e.g. by running the game in a window, etc.) results in things such as co-op actions not executing properly, and so on.

Profile Data

Windows 7:

C:\ProgramData\Ubisoft\Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory\Saved Games\Versus\