Iron Storm

Warnings

GameSpy online services have been shut down (see Network for solutions).

Iron Storm
Iron Storm	2002
World War Zero: Iron Storm	2005

Key points

Later re-released as World War Zero: Iron Storm.

GameSpy online server browser has stopped working due to GameSpy services being shut down.

General information

GOG.com Community Discussions

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		SafeDisc v2.80 DRM^{[Note 1]} (US)
GOG.com
Steam		Contains left over inert DRM component `ISLauncher.exe`.

SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Use blank intro files
Apply the Iron Storm intro skip. The game will now go to the main menu after the fiction disclaimer and a brief black screen.

Patches

Digital distribution versions are already patched; for retail versions install the latest patch.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\settings\user.cfg^{[Note 2]}
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/296180/pfx/^{[Note 3]}

safe_user.cfg and defctrl.cfg store the default settings so don't need to be edited directly.

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\save\^{[Note 2]}
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/296180/pfx/^{[Note 3]}

13 manual save slots + 1 quicksave slot + 1 autosave slot available.

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud

Video settings

Video settings.

Advanced settings.

Template:Video settings

Input settings

Input settings.

Template:Input settings

Audio settings

Audio settings.

Template:Audio settings

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Polish
Portuguese
Spanish

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Notes
LAN play
Online play		Server browser does not work (GameSpy services have been shut down).

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated		Use `IronStorm_DS.exe` in the installation folder (added in Patch 1.04).
Self-hosting
Direct IP

Issues fixed

Game exits on launch (no error message)

This can be caused by user.cfg being absent.

Copy safe_user.cfg^{[citation needed]}
Go to `Settings` in the installation folder. Make a copy of `safe_user.cfg`. Rename it to `user.cfg`. The game should now launch correctly.

Other information

API

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Multiplayer	GameSpy	GameSpy services have been shut down.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	XP, Vista
Processor (CPU)	1 GHz	1.4 GHz
System memory (RAM)	256 MB	512 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	1 GB
Video card (GPU)	DirectX 8.1 compatible	DirectX 9.0 compatible

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	10.7
Processor (CPU)	2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
System memory (RAM)	4 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	1.5 GB
Video card (GPU)	GF 9400M / HD 3300

Notes

↑ SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10^[2] 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.^[3]
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1
Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
- File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
- Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
- The app ID (296180) may differ in some cases.
- Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
- See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

References

↑ Mac Game Update: 34 New Additions ● GOG.com
↑ Not Loading in Windows 10; this will break thousands of - Microsoft Community - last accessed on 2017-01-16
↑ Microsoft - MS15-097: Description of the security update for the graphics component in Windows: September 8, 2015 - last accessed on 2018-02-16

[4] SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10^[2] 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.^[3]

[gamedir-5] 2.0 ^2.1 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).

[Proton_path_note-6] 3.0 ^3.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
The app ID (296180) may differ in some cases.
Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

[4] File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.

[5] Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.

[6] The app ID (296180) may differ in some cases.

[7] Treat backslashes as forward slashes.

[8] See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

[1] Mac Game Update: 34 New Additions ● GOG.com

[2] Not Loading in Windows 10; this will break thousands of - Microsoft Community - last accessed on 2017-01-16

[3] Microsoft - MS15-097: Description of the security update for the graphics component in Windows: September 8, 2015 - last accessed on 2018-02-16

[1]

[Note 1]

[Note 2]

[Note 3]

[2]

[3]

Developers

	4X Studios
Publishers
	Wanadoo
	DreamCatcher Interactive
Engines
	Phoenix3D
Release dates
Windows	October 25, 2002
macOS (OS X)	November 15, 2013^[1]