Battlefield 2
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DICE |
Special Forces |
DICE Canada |
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Electronic Arts |
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Refractor 2 |
Windows |
June 21, 2005 |
Metacritic |
91 |
IGDB |
93 |
Monetization |
One-time game purchase, Expansion pack |
Modes |
Singleplayer, Multiplayer |
Pacing |
Real-time |
Perspectives |
First-person |
Controls |
Direct control |
Genres |
Action, FPS |
Vehicles |
Automobile, Flight, Helicopter, Naval/watercraft, Tank, Transport, Truck |
Art styles |
Realistic |
Themes |
Contemporary |
Series |
Battlefield |
|
Warnings
- GameSpy online services have been shut down (see Network for solutions).
Key points
- Official modding tools and a wide selection of mods available, often with bot support for co-op play.
General information
- Battlefield 2 hub on Planet Battlefield
- The Battlefield series on Battlelog - PC section.
- EA Answers HQ
- Steam Community Discussions
Availability
Source |
DRM |
Notes |
Keys |
OS |
Retail |
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SafeDisc v3 DRM - Removed by the official 1.50 patch. Can be redeemed on Origin through the EA Support. |
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Origin (unavailable) |
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Steam (unavailable) |
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Complete Collection |
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Version differences
- Disc-based versions require a CD-key which has to be typed in when installing. Individual CD keys are required for each expansion, except for the Complete Collection as mentioned below.
- The Complete Collection includes the expansion pack Special Forces, along with the two booster packs Armored Fury and Euro Forces. Only one CD key is available for all the expansions.
Monetization
Type |
Notes |
Expansion pack
| The major expansion pack includes a separate set of maps featuring different gameplay. The minor booster packs include new standard multiplayer maps, factions, vehicles, infantry gear and awards. Initially a separate purchase, booster packs were integrated with the official 1.50 patch. |
One-time game purchase
| The game requires an upfront purchase to access. |
DLC and expansion packs
Name |
Notes |
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Armored Fury |
Included in the 1.50 patch and the Complete Collection |
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Euro Force |
Included in the 1.50 patch and the Complete Collection |
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Special Forces |
Included in the Complete Collection. |
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Essential improvements
Patches
- The Origin and Steam versions are already patched.
- Includes a new map, fixes bugs and exploits.
- Includes prior patches.
- The retail version of the Complete Collection is on this version.
- 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.
- Fixes a crash issue when using Alt+Tab ↹ to switch to desktop.
Online play support
- The BF2Hub client allows the game to be played online after the shutdown of the GameSpy online service.
Download and install the BF2Hub client[1]
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Notes
- Changes done by the client can be reverted at any time.
- Includes fixes for crashes on startup.
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PunkBuster updates
- Support for the anti-cheat software PunkBuster in BF2 has been discontinued by Evenbalance.
Skip intro videos
Game data
In-game general settings.
Configuration file(s) location
Video
- Included in version 1.5 of Battlefield 2.
Use console command[1]
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- Open
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Battlefield 2\Profiles\Default\Video.con and change the 60 in VideoSettings.setResolution 800x600@60 to your display's refresh rate.
- In-game, press ~ and the command console will appear.
- Type
Game.LockFps XX where XX is your desired frame rate (e.g. Game.LockFps 0 ).
- Press ↵ Enter to activate the console command and press ~ again to close the console.
Notes
- Can also be put into
Global.con in the profiles folder (needs write protection).
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Ambient occlusion (HBAO)
Use Nvidia Inspector tool[2]
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- Download the NVIDIA Inspector Tool.
- Extract the files to any new folder.
- Open
nvidiaprofileinspector.exe .
- From the drop down list next to Profiles select
Battlefield 2 .
- Select the
Ambient Occlusion compatibility line.
- Set
SettingValue to 0x00000003 (Fallout 3) from the drop down menu.
Notes
- This tweak might not work with the previous 1.4 patch.
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Input
In-game general control settings.
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
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Surround sound |
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Missing from Windows Vista and onward. See Surround sound. |
Subtitles |
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Closed captions |
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Mute on focus lost |
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EAX support |
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EAX 2, EAX 5[3] (via OpenAL)[4] |
Royalty free audio |
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- Only Creative X-Fi cards support surround sound by selecting Creative X-Fi as audio renderer in the in-game audio settings. This may lead to game crashes however.
Replace OpenAL files[5]
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- Launch the game and set the audio renderer to Hardware.
- Go to
<path-to-game> and create a backup of the file BF2OpenAL.dll .
- Install OpenAL.
- 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 .
- Download and extract OpenAL Soft to a temporary folder and copy the file
soft_oal.dll from inside bin\Win32\ to <path-to-game> .
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Localizations
Network
- Servers can optionally use PunkBuster anti-cheat protection.
Multiplayer types
Connection types
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.
Issues unresolved
Mouse skipping/stutter
- Battlefield 2 suffers from mouse skipping and acceleration when standing still and looking left/right. Skipping will not occur if moving forwards/backwards but will when strafing left/right.
There is no known fix for this.
Issues fixed
- TweakGuides has created a comprehensive guide for fixing issues in this game.
Newer version already installed
Can't find install folder
Patch 1.41 won't install ("Can't find install folder")[8]
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- Go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Electronic Arts\EA Games\Battlefield 2\ .
- Create a new string by right clicking in the folder and select New > String Value, label this string
InstallDir .
- Right-Click, Modify the string, and in the Data Value field, input the installation folder (e.g.
G:\Battlefield 2 ).
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Game crashes often
Disable desktop composition[9]
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- Right-click
bf2.exe .
- Click options > compatibility tab.
- Run the game with Disable Desktop Composition.
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Set CPU affinity[10]
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- If 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," 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"].
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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[11]
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- Some maps fail to include the file
Sounds.con
which leads to broken EAX on X-Fi hardware and the X-Fi MB3 virtual sound card (see <path-to-game>\mods\bf2\Levels\Dragon_Valley\server.zip\Sounds.con
). This file contains the line sound.setReverb "common/sound/levelambients/Openlandscape.eax"
("City.eax" for some maps).
Extract Sounds.con from a maps server.zip file and put in maps that don't have it[12]
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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.[13][14]
Set "Terrain" quality to low[15]
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Download updated shader ".fx" files[15]
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- Download a new "shaders_client.zip".
- Go to
<path-to-game>\mods\bf2\ , make a backup of shaders_client.zip and replace it with the downloaded file.
- 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.
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Connecting to account server takes a long time
Delete server history[1]
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- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Open
General.con with an editor like Notepad.
- Delete all lines starting with
GeneralSettings.addServerHistory .
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Game crashes to desktop at launch
- Set frame rate in
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Battlefield 2\Profiles\Default\Video.con
to match your display's refresh rate.
- See the first step in High frame rate
Game crashes when entering a game
- Multiple input audio devices can lead to crash when entering a game. Remove all input devices like Bluetooth headsets the one.
Fix stretched HUD in widescreen resolutions
Use "BF2 HUD fix" by marekzajac97[16]
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- Download the latest release (Currently bf2_hudfix_v0.4.zip)
- Make backup copies of
Battlefield 2\bf2.exe and Battlefield 2\mods\bf2\Menu_server.zip
- Open the zip file, and copy
hudfix.dll , BF2.exe and hud_config.txt to the main/root Battlefield 2 installation folder.
- Copy the contents of the
Menu_server folder within the zip file into Battlefield 2\mods\bf2\Menu_server.zip
- Only supports Patch 1.50
- As this includes a modified
bf2.exe , you may wish to use a DLL injector to create your own patched executable.
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Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
Direct3D |
9 |
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Shader Model support |
2 |
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Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows |
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Middleware
Automatic login
Use the Command line argument +playerName YourName +playerPassword YourPassword [17]
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Notes
- It might be necessary to log-in at least once.
- The command and login data is case-sensitive.
- Doesn't work on offline accounts.
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Mods
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 reworks Battlefield 2 to create the most realistic and demanding virtual combat environment for PC gamers possible. Does not require BF2 to be installed.
AIX aims to deliver an amazing array of content which is 100% bot compatible for use in single player and coop game modes.
Heat of Battle is a BF2 mod focused on delivering top-tier animation, sound, and lighting, as well as fast-paced, intense gameplay to make it more in-pair with modern releases in the series. Does not require BF2 to be installed.
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.
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.
A recreation of the console exclusive game.
The main goal is to improve original UI include Fonts, minimap icons, crosshairs etc. while still keeping the original look of the game.
System requirements
Windows |
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Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
XP | |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Pentium 4 1.7 GHz AMD Athlon XP equivalent |
Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz AMD Athlon XP equivalent |
System memory (RAM) |
512 MB |
1 GB |
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
| 256 MB of VRAM |
Notes
- ↑ Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
References