Return to Castle Wolfenstein

Return to Castle Wolfenstein

Developers
	Gray Matter Interactive
	id Software
Multiplayer	Nerve Software
Multiplayer	Splash Damage
Mac OS (Classic)	Westlake Interactive
macOS (OS X)	Westlake Interactive
Publishers
	Activision
Mac OS	Aspyr Media
Engines
	id Tech 3
Release dates
Windows	November 19, 2001
Linux	March 16, 2002
Mac OS (Classic)	April 29, 2002
macOS (OS X)	April 29, 2002
Reception
Metacritic	88
IGDB	68
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase, Subscription gaming service
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	First-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Action, FPS, Shooter
Art styles	Realistic
Themes	Europe, World War II, Sci-fi, Fantasy
Series	Wolfenstein

Return to Castle Wolfenstein is a singleplayer and multiplayer first-person action, FPS and shooter game in the Wolfenstein series.

Like with most id Tech 3 games, the source code was released to the public. Several source ports were also developed by the community.

General information

Singleplayer source code

Multiplayer source code

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail
GamersGate
GOG.com		Not available for purchase in Germany.
Green Man Gaming
Humble Store
Microsoft Store		Xbox Game Pass for PC. Not available in Germany.
Steam		Not available for purchase in Germany.
Amazon.com (unavailable)
Bethesda.net (unavailable)

Monetization

Type	Notes
One-time game purchase	The game requires an upfront purchase to access.
Subscription gaming service	Available via Xbox Game Pass for PC.

DLC and expansion packs

A standalone follow-up, Enemy Territory, is available as freeware.

The PS2/Xbox port of the game included a prequel mission, Cursed Sands. Additionally the Xbox port featured a new gun (Shotgun) and DLC maps. Currently, there is no known way to play this content on the PC version. See here for more info.

Name	Notes
GOTY Map Pack	Sold with the Game of The Year Edition or downloadable as freeware. Not officially packaged for Mac, though can still be used on it by manually installing PK3 files.

Essential improvements

Patches

Both the singleplayer and multiplayer version are separate; versions 1.33 and newer are exclusive to for multiplayer.

v1.32 for singleplayer and multiplayer - available from GameFront and Wolfenstein4Ever

v1.4 for multiplayer - available from GameFront and Wolfenstein4Ever

v1.41B for multiplayer (incremental) - available from GameFront and 1.41B

Unofficial patches

Knightmare's 1.42d. Fixes various crashes and adds native widescreen support. It is only applied to the singleplayer version of RtCW.

Bradman's Mac OS X GPL port. A GPL port fixs that allowed the game to be played on OS X 10.7 "Lion" or later, due to the removal of Rosetta. It's designed to get around the fact that the original game was PowerPC only.

Source ports

Since the source code for Return to Castle Wolfenstein was released in August 2010, various engine overhauls and source ports have been created to enhance or modify the game in different ways.

Name	Description
iortcw	Based on ioquake3; adds modern features like VOIP and OpenAL, whilst being faithful to traditional gameplay. Commonly known source port in the community.
Bibendovsky's RtCW	A custom source port that's designed to play all RtCW games (single-player, multiplayer, Enemy Territory) into one.

Skip intro videos

Edit autoexec.cfg
Open <path-to-game>\Main\autoexec.cfg in a text editor. Add the following line to the file: seta com_introplayed "1". Save the changes.

Game data

In-game HUD settings.

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\Main\wolfconfig.cfg <path-to-game>\Main\wolfconfig_mp.cfg %USERPROFILE%\Documents\RTCW\main\
Mac OS (Classic)
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/9010/pfx/

wolfconfig.cfg contains single player settings.

wolfconfig_mp.cfg contains multiplayer settings.

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>\Main\save\ %USERPROFILE%\Documents\RTCW\main\save\
Mac OS (Classic)
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/9010/pfx/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
GOG Galaxy
OneDrive		Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.
Steam Cloud
Xbox Cloud

Video

In-game general video settings.

In-game advanced video settings.

Graphics feature	State	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution			See Widescreen resolution.
Multi-monitor			See Widescreen resolution.
Ultra-widescreen			See Widescreen resolution.
4K Ultra HD			See Widescreen resolution.
Field of view (FOV)		Default is 90º. See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See Borderless fullscreen windowed.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		See Anisotropic filtering (AF).
Anti-aliasing (AA)		See Anti-aliasing (AA).
High-fidelity upscaling		AMD Dev is working on a pathtracer mod with FSR 2, DLSS 2, and XeSS support, Release date is unknown
Vertical sync (Vsync)		See Vertical sync (Vsync).
60 FPS
120+ FPS		Capped at 91 FPS. See Frame rate (FPS).
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Display current frame rate

Edit autoexec.cfg
Open <path-to-game>\Main\autoexec.cfg in a text editor. Add the following line: seta cg_drawFPS "1". Save the file. Notes To disable, either remove the line or set the number to 0.

Widescreen resolution

Configure with iortcw and autoexec.cfg
Download and install iortcw. Open <path-to-game>\Main\autoexec.cfg in a text editor. Add the following lines to the file, and save. seta r_customwidth "1920" seta r_customheight "1080" seta r_mode "-2" seta cg_fixedAspect "2"

Alternative solution

Edit the configuration file

Launch the game at least once then close it. Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open wolfconfig.cfg with a text editor. Change the following lines to set the resolution. seta r_customaspect "1" seta r_customheight "XXXX" (where XXXX is your desired vertical resolution) seta r_customwidth "XXXX" (where XXXX is your desired horizontal resolution) Change the following line to this value. seta r_mode "-1" Notes This solution is Vert- (FOV will need to be increased to compensate), but does not require downloading 3rd party software.

Field of view (FOV)

Configure with iortcw
Download and install iortcw. Open <path-to-game>\Main\autoexec.cfg in a text editor. Add the following lines, and save the file. Change 110 to your desired FOV. seta cg_fixedAspectFOV "0" seta cg_fov "110"

Legacy method for custom FOV

Edit the configuration file

Launch the game at least once then close it. Open <path-to-game>\Main\wolfconfig.cfg in a text editor. Change the following line to set the FOV. seta cg_fov "XX" (where XX is the desired FOV) Add +set sv_cheats 1 to the game's launch options to prevent the custom FOV from being overwritten on a new level load. Notes This solution does not affect the weapon model FOV, but does not require downloading any 3rd party software. Starting the New Game overwrites the sv_cheats and cg_fov parameters. Workaround: Start a New Game, make a save, type "sv_cheats 1" in to the console, load the save, type "cg_fov 110" in to the console.

Borderless fullscreen windowed

Configure with iortcw and autoexec.cfg
Download and install iortcw. Open <path-to-game>\autoexec.cfg in a text editor. Add the following lines and save the file. seta r_mode "-2" seta r_noborder "1" seta r_fullscreen "0"

Anisotropic filtering (AF)

Set with iortcw and autoexec.cfg
Download and install iortcw. Open <path-to-game>\autoexec.cfg in a text editor. Add the following lines to the file and save it. seta r_ext_texture_filter_anisotropic "1" seta r_ext_max_anisotropy "16"

Anti-aliasing (AA)

Set with iortcw
Install iortcw. Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open wolfconfig.cfg. Set seta r_ext_multisample "4". Set seta r_ext_framebuffer_multisample "4". Notes MSAA values can range from 1 to 16. Going above 16 won't give any noticeable improvements. Nvidia users can achieve SGSSAA using the "enhance" mode.

Force with Nvidia Profile Inspector
Get Nvidia Profile Inspector. Select Return to Castle Wolfenstein profile. Set "Antialasing - Mode" to Override any application setting. Set "Antialasing - Setting" to 32xS [Combined: 2x2 SS + 8x MS]. Notes This will also apply antialiasing to transparency.

Frame rate (FPS)

Set with iortcw and autoexec.conf

Download and install iortcw. Open <path-to-game>\Main\autoexec.cfg in a text editor. Add the following line to the file, with your desired number: seta com_maxfps "125" If you experience issues, you may also add these lines, with the same number. seta com_maxfpsUnfocused "125" seta com_maxfpsMinimized "125" Notes Without the last two lines, the frame rate will temporarily drop to the default value while the game is minimized or unfocused. Stamina, weapon overheating bars logic and scoped weapons recoil are tied to the frame rate. Player movement becomes jittery at very high frame rates.

Vertical sync (Vsync)

Edit config file
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open wolfconfig.cfg. Add seta r_swapInterval "1" to the end of the file.

Input

In-game general control settings.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration		Disabled by default. Use cl_mouseAccel 1 in the console to enable. If mouse acceleration is still present with cl_mouseAccel 0, disable "Enhance pointer precision" in Control Panel - Mouse - Pointer Options.
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support

Controller types

Toggle crouch

Edit autoexec.cfg
Go to <path-to-game>\Main\. Open autoexec.cfg with a text editor. Add the following lines (change c to whichever other key if desired): set duck "+movedown; set crouchToggle vstr stand; echo ^3Crouching...^7" set stand "-movedown; set crouchToggle vstr duck; echo ^2Standing...^7" set crouchToggle "vstr duck" bind c "vstr crouchToggle"

Audio

In-game audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound		Stereo output only. 7.0 with iortcw.
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost		For iortcw, see Mute on focus lost.
EAX support		iortcw has support for OpenAL Soft, which can be used for binaural HRTF mixing.
Royalty free audio

Mute on focus lost

Set with iortcw
Download and install iortcw. Open <path-to-game>\Main\autoexec.cfg with a text editor. Add the following lines. They are similar, so both are recommended. Mute the game when minimized: seta s_muteWhenMinimized "1". Mute the game when focus lost: seta s_muteWhenUnfocused "1".

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
French				Retail only.
German				Retail and GOG.com only; download for Steam release.
Hungarian				Fan translation, download.
Italian				Retail only; download for digital releases.
Polish				Fan translation; download.
Brazilian Portuguese				Fan translation; download.
Russian				Unofficial translation by Fargus Multimedia. Text, sound.
Spanish				Retail only; download for digital releases.

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
LAN play		32
Online play		32	The official multiplayer master server was shut down in February 2012; use S4NDMoD as a community alternative, which also fixes some known exploits. Use rtcwcoop for co-op.

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP		Use connect [IP address here] in the console.

Ports

Protocol	Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP	28960
UDP	27960

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
vorpX		G3D, DirectVR Officially supported game, see official vorpx game list.

Issues unresolved

Setup won't install the game

For the retail version, setup won't install the game if the selected disk drive has a capacity of more than 2TB.

Secrets and/or treasures not registered as found

Occurs with GOG version using iortcw 64-bit. Loading the autosave from the beginning of the level and starting over, can help.

Issues fixed

Enlarged upper left corner of screen

Increasing the game resolution above 800x600 causes the upper left corner of the game to take up the entire screen.
One reason is that game detects a 3dfx driver (possibly caused by nGlide).

Edit wolfconfig.cfg
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open wolfconfig.cfg. Change seta r_glIgnoreWicked3D "0" to seta r_glIgnoreWicked3D "1". Save the changes.

Frame rate drops on modern machines

Edit autoexec.cfg
Open <path-to-game>\Main\autoexec.cfg in a text editor. Add the following line: seta r_primitives "2". Save the changes. Notes This game is not coded/optimized to run on modern graphics cards, resulting in frame rate drops on some modern machines. This fix changes the method used to submit rendering draw calls.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
OpenGL	1.1
Glide	2

Executable	PPC	16-bit	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows					Use iortcw for 64-bit support.
macOS (OS X)					32-bit requires Bradman's Mac OS X GPL port or iortcw. 64-bit requires the iortcw source port.
Linux					Use iortcw for PowerPC and 64-bit support.
Mac OS (Classic)

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	DirectSound	OpenAL Soft is available in iortcw.
Anti-cheat	PunkBuster

Modifications

These mods are made by the RtCW community to enhanced the gameplay with modern improvement.

Modernized mods

RTCW Venom Mod - general graphic and AI update with unchanged gameplay; restores unused assets and AI actions. Gives the choice of playing against an overhauled or corrected vanilla AI. Compatible with every OS version of the game and mods.

RealRTCW - overhaul based on iortcw source port. Provides QOL features including new and rebalanced weapons, overhauled AI, new textures, sounds and models, as well as restored cut content.

Remade Weapons - Adds realism to weapons.

Realistic Sound Mod - Adds new sounds to weapons so that they're sounded accurately to their real-life counterpart.

Remade Icons - Updates UI and fixed icons windows.

Remade Hints - Updates UI and fixed hints windows.

Ps2 Hud - HUD from PS2 RTCW Operation Resurrection.

WPK 2020 - HD Weapon texture pack.

Disable view bob

Edit wolfconfig.cfg
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open wolfconfig.cfg. Change seta cg_bobup "0.005" to seta cg_bobup "0.000". Change seta cg_bobpitch "0.002" to seta cg_bobpitch "0.000". Change seta cg_bobroll "0.002" to seta cg_bobroll "0.000".

System requirements

Windows

Mac OS (Classic)

macOS (OS X)

Linux

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	95 OSR2	NT 4.0 SP6, 98, ME, 2000, XP
Processor (CPU)	AMD Athlon Intel Pentium II 400 MHz
System memory (RAM)	128 MB	256 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	1.1 GB
Video card (GPU)	16 MB of VRAM DirectX 8.0a compatible

Supported chipsets: 3dfx Voodoo 3 or higher, ATI Rage 128/128 Pro, ATI Radeon, Matrox G400, Nvidia Riva TNT and TNT2, all Nvidia GeForce chips

Mac OS
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	9.2
Processor (CPU)	Power Mac G3 500 MHz PowerBook G4
System memory (RAM)	128 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)
Video card (GPU)	ATI Radeon Nvidia GeForce

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	10.1
Processor (CPU)	Power Mac G3 500 MHz PowerBook G4
System memory (RAM)	128 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)
Video card (GPU)	ATI Radeon Nvidia GeForce