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User:Waschbär/UE4

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Waschbär/UE4
Waschbär/UE4 cover
Developers
DICE
Publishers
Electronic Arts
Engines
Refractor 2
Release dates
Windows June 21, 2005
Waschbär/UE4 guide on StrategyWiki
Waschbär/UE4 on Wikipedia
Battlefield
Battlefield 1942 2002
Battlefield Vietnam 2004
Battlefield 2 2005
Battlefield 2142 2006
Battlefield Heroes 2009
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 2010
Battlefield Online 2010
Battlefield Play4Free 2011
Battlefield 3 2011
Battlefield 4 2013
Battlefield Hardline 2015
Battlefield 1 2016
Battlefield V 2018
Battlefield 2042 2021

Key points

The GameSpy online server browser has been shut down. See Online play support.
Official modding tools and a wide selection of mods available, often with bot support for co-op play.

General information

Battlefield Wiki
Planet Battlefield
Steam Community Discussions
EA Answers HQ

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
CD key
SafeDisc v3 DRM[Note 1].
Can be redeemed on Origin through the EA Support.
Icon overlay.png
Windows
SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).

DLC and expansion packs

Name Notes
Armored Fury Included in the latest patch and the Battlefield 2: Complete Collection.
Windows
Euro Force Included in the latest patch and the Battlefield 2: Complete Collection.
Windows
Special Forces Included in the Battlefield 2: Complete Collection.
Windows

Version differences

The disc based version requires a CD-key which has to be typed in when installing. Individual CD keys are required for each expansion.
Battlefield 2: Complete Collection includes the expansion pack Special Forces, along with two content add-ons, Armored Fury and Euro Forces, included for free in the latest patch. Only one CD key is available for all the expansions.

Essential improvements

Patches

The Origin and Steam versions are already patched.

Patch 1.50

Version 1.41 has to be installed beforehand.
Removes the disc check DRM and adds widescreen support.
Includes the Armored Fury and Euro Forces expansions for free.

Patch 1.50 Hotfix

Fixes a crash issue when using Alt+Tab to switch to desktop.

Patch 1.41

Includes a new map, fixes bugs and exploits.

Online play support

Download and install the BF2Hub client[3]

Notes

Changes done by the client can be reverted at any time.
Includes fixes for crashes on startup.

PunkBuster updates

Support for the anti-cheat software PunkBuster in BF2 has been discontinued by Evenbalance.
Update PunkBuster manually[3]
Make sure the PunkBuster service is installed and working properly by using the PunkBuster Service Installer (pbsvc). A reboot is required if it is installed for the first time.
  1. Download the PunkBuster files for Battlefield 2.
  2. Extract the contents to <path-to-game>/pb/, overwriting any older files.
  3. Enable PunkBuster in-game in the lower right corner of the server browser.

Skip intro videos

Use the +restart command line argument[3]

Game data

In-game general settings.
In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Battlefield 2\Profiles\%USERPROFILE%\

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
Origin

Video

In-game video settings.
In-game video settings.

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
See Widescreen resolution.
Multi-monitor
Use Widescreen Fixer.
Ultra-widescreen
HUD stretched but playable. Use Widescreen Fixer for FOV adjustment.
4K Ultra HD
See Widescreen resolution.
Field of view (FOV)
Use Widescreen Fixer.
Windowed
See Windowed.
Borderless fullscreen windowed
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
High is 4x.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Vertical sync (Vsync)
If forcing through driver control panel does not work, use D3DOverrider instead.
60 FPS
120+ FPS
See High frame rate.

Widescreen resolution

Included in version 1.5 of Battlefield 2.
Use the +szx 1920 +szy 1080 +menu 1 +widescreen 1 command line arguments.[3]

Windowed

Use the +fullscreen 0 command line argument.[3]

High frame rate

Use console command[3]
  1. Press ~ and the in-game console will appear.
  2. Type Game.LockFps XX where XX is your desired frame rate (e.g. Game.LockFps 0).
  3. Press Enter to activate the console command and press ~ again to close the console.

Notes

Has to be repeated each time the game is launched.

Ambient occlusion (HBAO)

The inspector tool.
The inspector tool.
Use Nvidia Inspector tool[4]
  1. Download the NVIDIA Inspector Tool.
  2. Extract the files to any new folder.
  3. Open nvidiaprofileinspector.exe.
  4. From the drop down list next to Profiles select Battlefield 2.
  5. Select the Ambient Occlusion compatibility line.
  6. Set SettingValue to 0x00000003 (Fallout 3) from the drop down menu.

Notes

This tweak might not work with the previous 1.4 patch.

Input

In-game general control settings.
In-game general control settings.

Audio

In-game audio settings.
In-game audio settings.

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound
Missing from Windows Vista and onward. See Surround sound.
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support
EAX 2, EAX 5[5] (via OpenAL)[6]

Surround sound

Creative X-Fi cards support surround sound by selecting Creative X-Fi as audio renderer in the in-game audio settings.[3]
Replace OpenAL files[7]
  1. Launch the game and set the audio renderer to Hardware.
  2. Go to <path-to-game> and create a backup of the file BF2OpenAL.dll.
  3. Install OpenAL.
  4. Copy the file OpenAL32.dll from %WINDIR%\SysWOW64\ (when using a 64-bit OS) or %WINDIR%\System32\ (32-bit OS) to <path-to-game> and rename it to BF2OpenAL.dll.
  5. Download and extract OpenAL Soft to a temporary directory and copy the file soft_oal.dll from inside bin\Win32\ to <path-to-game>.

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Traditional Chinese
Korean
Polish
Spanish
Swedish
Thai

Network

Servers can optionally use PunkBuster anti-cheat protection.

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
LAN play
64 Versus, Co-op
Online play
64 Versus, Co-op
See Online play support.

Connection types

Type Native Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Dedicated server software available for Windows and Linux.
Direct IP
In-game via Connect to IP or through the +joinServer parameter.

Ports

Protocol Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP 80,1024-1124,4711,27900,29900,29901
UDP 1024-1124,1500-4999,16567,27900,27901,28910,29900,55123-55125
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

VR support

In-game Novint Falcon settings.
In-game Novint Falcon settings.
3D modes State Notes
Native 3D
Nvidia 3D Vision
[8]
TriDef 3D
iZ3D
Devices
Novint Falcon
Requires Patch 1.50.

Issues fixed

TweakGuides has created a comprehensive guide for fixing issues in this game.

Newer version already installed

Download and install Patch 1.41 before 1.5.[9]

Can't find install folder

Patch 1.41 won't install ("Can't find install folder")[10]
  1. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Electronic Arts\EA Games\Battlefield 2\.
  2. Create a new string by right clicking in the folder and select New > String Value, label this string InstallDir.
  3. Right-Click, Modify the string, and in the Data Value field, input the installation folder (e.g. G:\Battlefield 2).

Game crashes often

Disable desktop composition[11]
  1. Right-click bf2.exe.
  2. Click options > compatibility tab.
  3. Run the game with Disable Desktop Composition.
Set CPU affinity[12]
If you are using a multi-core CPU, try running the game on a single CPU core.
  1. Go into the process list in Task Manager.
  2. Find bf2.exe.
  3. Right click, select "set affinity," and choose one of the cores.
This shortcut will also do it for you.
[Target: %WINDIR%\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"].

X-Fi related sound issues

On Windows 7 x64 systems with a Creative X-Fi sound card, severe audio corruption or crashes may occur when running under X-Fi Audio Mode and Ultra sound quality.
Reduce sound quality to high or change it to hardware mode[13]

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. To manually resolve this issue, see this guide from EA.

Black terrain and/or models, objects, black spots on map, other visual graphics issues

Certain graphics card drivers cause visual issues with the game. [14][15].
Set "Terrain" quality to low[16]
Download updated shader ".fx" files[16]
  1. Download a new "shaders_client.zip".
  2. Go to <path-to-game>\mods\bf2\, make a backup of shaders_client.zip and replace it with the downloaded file.
  3. Delete the cache folder in %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Battlefield 2\mods\bf2\. This will force Battlefield 2 to recompile the shaders.

Notes

Applying this fix will not allow you to play on PunkBuster protected servers anymore.

Connecting to account server takes a long time

Delete server history[3]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open General.con with an editor like Notepad.
  3. Delete all lines starting with GeneralSettings.addServerHistory.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 9
Shader Model support 2
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Audio OpenAL, Speex
Cutscenes Bink Video, Swiff Player
Multiplayer GameSpy, PunkBuster

Automatic login

Use the Command line argument +playerName YourName +playerPassword YourPassword[17]

Notes

It might be necessary to log-in at least once.
The command and login data is case-sensitive.

Mods

Forgotten Hope 2

Forgotten Hope 2 is an award-winning World War II mod for Battlefield 2, covering all aspects of land, air and sea combat, with a focus on realism and historic accuracy.

Project Reality

Project Reality reworks Battlefield 2 to create the most realistic and demanding virtual combat environment for PC gamers possible. Does not require BF2 to be installed.

Allied Intent Xtended

AIX aims to deliver an amazing array of content which is 100% bot compatible for use in single player and coop game modes.

BF2:Sandbox

Sandbox is a mod that lets you use the BF2 engine to build structures, set up racetracks, ramps, and much much more. This is all done from an easy Command Rose interface in-game.

Eve of Destruction 2

Based on the Vietnam war, it features a variety of weapons, over 40 brand new vehicles and diverse maps ranging from dense jungles to overgrown rice paddies.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) XP
Processor (CPU) AMD Athlon XP equivalent
Intel Pentium 4 1.7 GHz
System memory (RAM) 512 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 2.3 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce FX 5700
ATI Radeon 9500
128 MB of VRAM
DirectX 9.0b compatible


Notes

  1. SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10[1] or Windows 11 and is disabled by default on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 when the KB3086255 update is installed.[2]

References

  1. Not Loading in Windows 10; this will break thousands of - Microsoft Community - last accessed on 2017-01-16
  2. Microsoft - MS15-097: Description of the security update for the graphics component in Windows: September 8, 2015 - last accessed on 2018-02-16
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Verified by User:Waschbär on 2018-05-06
  4. PR:BF2 Guide to Best Possible Graphics with nVidia GPU - Project Reality Forums - last accessed on 2018-06-05
  5. Xtreme Fidelity Audio in Battlefield 2 - SoundBlaster.com (retrieved)
  6. Creating the High-Tech Audio of Battlefield 2 - SoundBlaster.com (retrieved)
  7. How to enable BF2 true surround sound for Vista/Win7 - Battlefield SinglePlayer Forum - last accessed on 2018-05-12
  8. Battlefield 2 - GeForce - last accessed on 2018-05-06
  9. Patch 1.5 can't be installed / can't play PR - Project Reality Forums - last accessed on 2018-05-06
  10. Can't find Battlefield 2 install folder - IGN Boards - last accessed on 2018-05-06
  11. BF 2 1.5 September 1st - last accessed on 2018-05-21
  12. BF2 random closing :: Battlefield 2 General Discussions - last accessed on 2018-05-06
  13. XP BF2 CTD when selecting X-fi in sound options - Project Reality Forums - last accessed on 2018-05-19
  14. SOLVED Black terrain spots - Page 2 - Project Reality Forums - last accessed on 2018-05-20
  15. 334.89 issue in Battlefield 2 - GeForce Forums - last accessed on 2018-05-20
  16. 16.0 16.1 Black Spots in map - Battlefield SinglePlayer Forum - last accessed on 2018-05-20
  17. TweakGuides.com - Battlefield 2 Tweak Guide - last accessed on 2018-05-06