Jagged Alliance 2

Jagged Alliance 2

Developers
	Sir-Tech Canada
Linux	Tribsoft
Publishers
1999-2002	TalonSoft
2002-present	Strategy First
2010 retail re-release	Funbox Media
Retail (Germany), Steam (as DLC for Wildfire)	TopWare Interactive
Linux	Titan Computer
Release dates
Windows	July 23, 1999
Linux	2001
macOS (OS X)	November 15, 2013
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Modes	Singleplayer
Pacing	Turn-based
Perspectives	Bird's-eye view, Isometric
Controls	Multiple select, Point and select
Genres	Tactical RPG
Themes	Contemporary, Sci-fi
Series	Jagged Alliance

Warnings

The macOS (OS X) version of this game needs a fix to work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later (see API for details).

Jagged Alliance 2 is a singleplayer bird's-eye view and isometric Tactical RPG game in the Jagged Alliance series.

The game received several post-release updates, the latest of which is exclusive to the Gold Pack release (compilation of the base game and Unfinished Business).

On modern systems, the game has stability and performance issues most likely caused by broken DirectDraw compatibility. Most players use modified versions of the game, both of which have improved compatibility with modern systems - JA2-Stracciatella, a source port which focuses on code optimization, quality-of-life improvements like widescreen and windowed modes, and modding improvements - or the unofficial v1.13 patch which significantly changes the gameplay for depth and increased difficulty as well as a multiplayer system which all other versions of the game lack.

General information

Official Discord server for game series

Unofficial wiki

The Bear's Pit unofficial forums for game series

Jagged Alliance 2 source code

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions (Strategy First standalone version)

Steam Community Discussions (Strategy First Gold version)

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		SafeDisc DRM in English release (removed with patch 1.07), LaserLock DRM in German release (removed with patch 1.05).
Retail
Retail		Gold Pack release.
GamersGate		Gold Pack (with Unfinished Business)
GOG.com
Green Man Gaming		Sold by Strategy First as Gold Pack (with Unfinished Business)
Green Man Gaming		Sold by TopWare Interactive as a DLC for Wildfire
Steam		Sold by Strategy First as Gold Pack (with Unfinished Business)
Steam		Sold by TopWare Interactive as a DLC for Wildfire
ZOOM Platform		Gold Pack (with Unfinished Business). Pre-packaged with DDrawCompat.

A free demo version is available from Archive.org.

Essential improvements

Patches

The latest official patch for the base game is 1.07, available at Patches-Scrolls and The Bear's Pit. Installation removes SafeDisc DRM from the executable.

The latest official patch for the Gold Pack is 1.12, available at soggi.org, Patches-Scrolls and The Bear's Pit.

Owners of the base game can upgrade to the Gold Pack 1.12 build using these unofficial packages (which do not include the Unfinished Business content): English, German.

Unofficial patches

JA2-Stracciatella

JA2-Stracciatella homepage

A cross-platform source port which improves the game's stability, fixes bugs and provides a stable platform for mod development.

Actively maintained.

Not compatible with v1.13.

Hasn't reached v1.0 release status yet. As such, Stracciatella has its own set of bugs and is not feature complete (e.g. the enemy army will not engage city militias, which is a large portion of the overworld strategy and that's fully functional in the base game and 1.13)

Unofficial v1.13 patch

Main thread

Feature list

A modification which provides many gameplay updates and fixes, including new weapons, features, mechanics and multiplayer.

It is a significant shift from the original version and is recommended for higher-skilled players.

Not compatible with JA2-Stracciatella.

Skip intro videos

Delete or rename movie files
Go to <path-to-game>\Data. Delete or rename Intro.slf. This also resolves an issue where the game freezes with a blank screen on startup.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\Ja2.set
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/1620/pfx/

It's unknown whether this game follows the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux. Please fill in this information.

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\SavedGames
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/1620/pfx/

The saved games' subfolder is absent on a fresh installation, and is created automatically when a game is saved for the first time.

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud

Video

In-game options menu.

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution		Use CNC-ddraw, JA2-Stracciatella or v1.13.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed		Use JA2-Stracciatella or v1.13.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Vertical sync (Vsync)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
60 FPS and 120+ FPS
High dynamic range display (HDR)

Input

Keyboard and mouse, touch	State	Notes
Remapping		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Touchscreen optimised		Use JA2-Stracciatella version 0.20.0 or newer.
Controller
Controller support

Controller types

Audio

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Speech, effects, music
Surround sound
Subtitles		Flavor speech (curses, acknowledgements) not subtitled.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Simplified Chinese				Included with JA2-Stracciatella; requires enabling both in its Localization setting and the Mods list.
French				Retail only.
German				Retail only; download for digital releases.
Italian				Retail only.
Polish				Retail only.
Russian				Retail only. The original and Gold Pack localizations differ.

Issues fixed

Choppy mouse on some screens
If your mouse or game is slow or choppy, use DDrawCompat.

Widescreen for base game (1.12) without Stracciatella
Use CNC-ddraw and set custom resolution to 854x480 in ddraw.ini (for 16:9 displays). Use Presentation: Fullscreen Upscaling without engaging 'maintain aspect ratio' or 'integer scaling.' This should reasonably upscale the 640x480 graphics to widescreen without the text being uncomfortably small to read on modern displays.

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
LAN play		4	Use v1.13.
Online play

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer		Used in conjunction with direct IP for v1.13 multiplayer.
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP		Used in conjunction with P2P for v1.13 multiplayer.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
DirectDraw

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	ARM	Notes
Windows				Use JA2-Stracciatella for 64-bit.
macOS (OS X)				Use JA2-Stracciatella for 64-bit.
Linux				64-bit and ARM require JA2-Stracciatella.

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	Miles Sound System
Cutscenes	Smacker Video Technology

System requirements

Windows

macOS (OS X)

Linux

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	95, 98
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium 133 MHz	Intel Pentium 166 MHz
System memory (RAM)	32 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	1 GB
Video card (GPU)	4 MB of VRAM DirectX 6 compatible

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	10.7
Processor (CPU)	1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
System memory (RAM)	1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	1.2 GB
Video card (GPU)	256 MB of VRAM