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Company of Heroes

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Company of Heroes
Company of Heroes cover
Developers
Relic Entertainment
macOS (OS X) Aspyr Media
Publishers
2006-2013 THQ
2013-present Sega
Engines
Essence Engine 1.0
Release dates
Windows September 12, 2006
macOS (OS X) March 1, 2012
Reception
Metacritic 93
IGDB 95
Taxonomy
Monetization One-time game purchase, Expansion pack
Microtransactions None
Modes Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives Bird's-eye view
Controls Multiple select, Point and select
Genres RTS
Art styles Realistic
Themes Europe, Historical, World War II
Series Company of Heroes
Company of Heroes on HowLongToBeat
Company of Heroes on IGDB
Company of Heroes guide on StrategyWiki
Company of Heroes on MobyGames
Company of Heroes on Wikipedia
Company of Heroes
Company of Heroes 2006
Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts 2007
Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor 2009
Company of Heroes 2 2013
Company of Heroes 2: The Western Front Armies 2014
Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault 2014
Company of Heroes 2: The British Forces 2015
Armor of Heroes 2020
Company of Heroes 3 2023

Company of Heroes is a singleplayer and multiplayer bird's-eye view RTS game in the Company of Heroes series.

Two standalone expansions were released for the game: Opposing Fronts (v2.100 and above) in September 2007 and Tales of Valor (v2.500 and above) in April 2009. All players have the same files in their installations; purchasing the base game and/or standalone expansions determines which content is available to each player - retail-era patches 2.100 and 2.500 were of considerable size for this reason. The Campaign Edition for OS X was released in March 2012 containing the base game and both expansions, but without multiplayer capabilities.

In December 2013, the Quazal-based multiplayer service was shut down. A New Steam Version was published as a separate library/store entry, with Steamworks multiplayer and a separate build (v2.700 and above) which is not compatible with the previous version.[1] The prior version (re-titled as the Legacy Edition in November 2017) was kept on Steam for compatibility with older community mods, and purchasing the base game includes both the New Steam Version and the Legacy Edition in a bundle.

General information

Official forum
Official support portal for game series
Steam Community Discussions - Legacy Edition | New Steam Version | Opposing Fronts | Tales of Valor

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
CD key
Requires SecuROM 7 DRM disc check or persistent internet connection (later versions). This DRM was briefly patched out of the game, with 1.71 (no expansions) being the last version to require neither internet, nor a disk to play. Released on 6 CDs or 1 DVD.
Windows
Gamesplanet logo.svg
Icon overlay.png
Opposing Fronts, Tales of Valor, and Complete Pack also available.
Windows
Humble Store
Icon overlay.png
Opposing Fronts, Tales of Valor, and Complete Pack also available.
Windows
Steam
Icon overlay.png
Base game; includes both the Legacy Edition and New Steam Version.
Opposing Fronts, Tales of Valor, and Complete Pack also available.
Windows
Mac App Store (unavailable)
Icon overlay.png
Campaign Edition
macOS (OS X)
Soundtrack is available for free here.
Free demo versions are available from GameFront.

Version differences

The New Steam Version (subtitle dropped as of November 2017) has all the multiplayer components modified to use Steamworks, as the original Quazal multiplayer servers are no longer available. Opposing Fronts and Tales of Valor count as DLC and do not require any extra downloads.
The Legacy Edition is the original Steam SKU of the base game pre-patched to version 2.602, and was kept as a separate library/store entry to maintain compatibility with classic mods. The Legacy Edition and the New Steam Version can only be purchased in a bundle, not separately.
The Anthology edition (known on Steam as the Complete Pack) includes the base game and both expansion packs.
The Campaign Edition is the OS X release of the game which includes the base game and both expansion packs, but without multiplayer capabilities.

Monetization

Type Notes
Expansion pack The expansion packs are advertised as standalone releases that are mutually compatible online with the base game and each other. In reality, they are the same game with different segments available to the player, but with all files on all players' computers. Full access to all content requires a valid respective serial key (retail versions/Legacy Edition) or ownership on the player's Steam account.
One-time game purchase The game requires an upfront purchase to access. The base game includes multiplayer access to the United States and Wehrmacht factions, as well as singleplayer campaigns.

DLC and expansion packs

Name Notes
Opposing Fronts Standalone on Windows. Includes the Panzer Elite and United Kingdom factions, as well as new campaigns. Content added with the 2.100 patch.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Tales of Valor Standalone on Windows. Includes 3 new campaigns, game modes, and replacement units for existing factions. Content added with the 2.500 patch. If a player owns only this version, all 4 armies in skirmish and multiplayer are available, but not all campaigns.
Windows
macOS (OS X)

Essential improvements

Patches

Patches for the retail version of the game can be found the official site's archive (requires a torrent client), Patches-Scrolls or GameFront (retail only). Most of them are incremental, and need to be run in order.

Skip intro videos

Apply -nomovies command line argument[2]

Game data

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

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Company of Heroes\*.ini
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Company of Heroes\*.lua
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Company of Heroes\*.txt
macOS (OS X)
Steam %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Company of Heroes Relaunch\*.ini
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Company of Heroes Relaunch\*.lua
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Company of Heroes Relaunch\*.txt
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/4560/pfx/[Note 1]

Save game data location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Company of Heroes\Savegames\
macOS (OS X)
Steam %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Company of Heroes Relaunch\Savegames\
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/4560/pfx/[Note 1]

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
OneDrive
Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.
Steam Cloud
Syncs save games.

Video

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

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
HUD is stretched.
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed
Launch the game with the -window parameter.
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Works using usual borderless fullscreen methods. Tested using GameCompanion.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Introduced via patches. Up to 8x MSAA.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
Launch the game with the -novsync parameter to disable Vsync.
60 FPS and 120+ FPS
See Game chooses incorrect refresh rate.
High dynamic range display (HDR)
See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Input

Keyboard and mouse State Notes
Remapping
Download Gridkeys
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
For scroll speed.
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Controller types

Audio

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

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound
Up to 8.1[3]
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Traditional Chinese
Czech
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Polish
Russian
Spanish

Network

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
LAN play
8 Versus
Retail/Legacy Edition only.
Online play
8 Versus
The official Quazal service has been shut down (retail/Legacy Edition); Steam version has been updated with Steamworks support.

Connection types

Ports

Protocol Port(s) and/or port range(s)
UDP 6112, 30260, 9100
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

VR support

3D modes State Notes
vorpX
G3D
User created game profile. Delete spDx10.dll in game directory; see vorpx forum. Profile should work with Opposing Fronts and Tales of Valor as well.

Issues fixed

Stuttering when playing with DX9 or High Shader Quality

Performance friendly.
Launch the game with the -notriplebuffer command line argument to disable triple buffering.[citation needed]

Game chooses incorrect refresh rate

The game may not choose the highest refresh rate supported by the screen.
Launch the game with the -refresh 120 command line argument (where 120 is the screen refresh rate).[citation needed]

Steam version start-up crash

The latest Steam version of this game does not start on some systems, crashing back to the desktop immediately.
Use old XThread.dll[4]
  1. Download XThread.dll.
  2. Extract into <path-to-game>, replacing the existing file.
  3. If the game is in German after this fix, open Locale.ini in the installation folder.
  4. Change lang= to the language you want (for English use lang=English).
  5. Save the changes and run the game again.

Crash when loading into a map

The game will crash when loading into any map. This is possibly caused by SLI/Crossfire cards.
Set the graphics settings to high. If it still crashes, use borderless windowed with ultra settings.[citation needed]

Second monitor blacking out

When launching the game on a dual screen setup, the secondary monitor will often be blacked out.
Press Alt+ Enter twice.

Cinematics and ingame cutscenes run at low FPS

Run the game in compatibility mode for Windows 7, optionally with disabled fullscreen optimizations.[5]

Installer is no longer responding

When installing the retail version of the game a message may pop up repeatedly saying the installer is no longer responding.

Pressing the retry button each time this message occurs will eventually finish the installation process.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 9.0c, 10
Shader Model support 1.1, 4
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Physics Havok
Audio Miles Sound System
Cutscenes DivX Video
Multiplayer Quazal, Steamworks Steamworks support is only available in the New Steam Version.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) XP, Vista
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium 4 2.0 GHz
AMD Athlon XP
System memory (RAM) 512 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 6.5 GB
Video card (GPU) 64 MB of VRAM
DirectX 9.0c compatible
Shader model 1.1 support
Sound (audio device) DirectX 9.0c compatible 16-bit sound card
macOS (OS X)
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 10.6.6
Processor (CPU) 2.4 GHz
System memory (RAM) 2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 13 GB
Video card (GPU) ATI Radeon HD 2600
Nvidia GeForce 8600
256 MB of VRAM
Supported ATI chipsets: Radeon 9500 series, Radeon 9600 series, Radeon 9700 series, Radeon 9800 series, Radeon X300 series, Radeon X550 series, Radeon X600 series, Radeon X700 series, Radeon X800 series, Radeon X1000 series, Radeon X1100 series, Radeon X1300 series, Radeon X1600 series, Radeon X1800 series, Radeon X1900 series, Radeon HD 2400 series, Radeon HD 2600 series, Radeon HD 2900 series
Supported Nvidia chipsets: GeForce3/Ti series, GeForce4/Ti (excluding the GeForce4MX series), GeForce FX 5700 series, GeForce FX 5800 series, GeForce FX 5900 series, GeForce 6200 series, GeForce 6600 series, GeForce 6800 series, GeForce 7300 series, GeForce 7600 series, GeForce 7800 series, GeForce 7900 series, GeForce 8400 series, GeForce 8500 series, GeForce 8600 series, GeForce 8700 series, GeForce 8800 series


Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/4560/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (4560) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References