BF2 Changelog

Update v1.50

Features

• Additional support for Windows Vista.
• Added Highway Tampa as a required map.
• Added a new map called Operation Blue Pearl.

Gameplay tweaks

• Changes made to both the J10 and F35B to make them more balanced. Please note that the J10 is a superior dogfighter to the F35B and as such these two aircraft will never be equally matched.
• AA targeting tweaked to make it more effective.
• Added checks to prevent "runway grieving".
• Various changes made to prevent cheating.
• Tweaked the hit detection, hits will be more accurate to the model.
• Added support for the Novint Falcon controller.

Special thanks

• Special thanks to Blackbird at the TV2 community www.battle.no
• Special thanks to Elton Muuga (Sir. Elxx)

Update v1.41

Bug fixes

• Fixed an extremely intermittent server crash bug.

Update v1.4

Gameplay tweaks

• The vehicle drop has been modified to help prevent exploits such as blocking enemy vehicles, destroying vehicles and commander assets, or as an alternative to artillery.
• C4 tossing distance has been reduced.
• A prone->crouch delay has been added.

Bug fixes

• Fixed the Linux server hangs when trying to load a Special Forces Co-Op map.
• Another attempt at fixing the Red/Blue nametag bug.
• Fixed the missing server info on the map briefing screen.
• Fixed the server browser issues with updating info.
• Fixed the filter by maps size option in the server browser.
• Fixed a low reproducibility crash bug related to the vehicle drop.
• Fixed a crash in Co-op after a player is revived without a kit.
• Fixed a server crash on Linux 32 when trying to rotate maps in Coop Mode.
• Fixed the occasionnal red distance marker appearing on the ground.
• Fixed the bug that caused the player's arms to become invisible when switching weapons.
• Co-Op bot console commands now function on local servers.
• Fixed the excessive damage taken by the Muscle Car.
• Adjusted the minimum number of players to start the round on ranked servers.
  • The new values for 16, 32 and 64 players are 6, 8 and 8 respectively.
• Re-enabled unlocks on unranked servers.
• Commander options are no longer available whilst commander is dead.
• Fixed bug where a spawn point is shown as selected when it is not if player has spawned in during the preview round.
• Co-Op (Local Server) - Fixed the issue where no other players may join the server if the server host is kicked and banned.
• Ranked Servers now force unlocks.
• Added support for multiple gamemodes in single maplist for mods.

Update v1.3

New features

• Air dropped vehicles:
  • Squad members can now send a request up the chain of command for a vehicle to be dropped at their location.
• Co-op:
  • Co-op Mode allows you to play Single Player levels on the Internet and LAN with both AI controlled bots and human players. Several new options have been created that will allow the server creator to modify how the bots behave in game.
  • Number of Bots: This setting allows you to determine the total number of bots that will spawn in game.
  • Bot Ratio: This setting allows you to determine the percentage of total bots that will spawn for each team. For example, setting this value to 25 means that 25% of the total bots will spawn in Team 1, and 75% in Team 2. Team 1 is always the MEC, Chinese, or their allies, while Team 2 is always the USA, EU, and their allies.
  • Bot Difficulty: This setting determines the skill level of the bots. 10 is easiest, 100 is the most difficult.
• Default Kit Selection:
  • The kit that you used last is remembered at the beginning of the round and between maps.

Bug fixes & gameplay tweaks

• Fixed issues with remote console and linux server
• Prevented ban list from being cleared in the event of a server crash.
• Fixed the bug where helicopters abandoned in the air would continue flying.
• Fixed issue with player not properly ranking up on servers where they continuously play.
• If the player joins a squad while dead, the player will not be able to use the squad leader as a spawn point until they have respawned once.
• Flag Capture bar now reacts accurately to players entering the capture radius.
• Fixed bug where friendly vehicles showed as valid targets
• Friendly Vehicle lock: Lock-on weapons do not lock on to friendly vehicles.
  • The box with an X through it will still appear, but a lock tone will not sound and then if fired, the missile will not track the friendly target.
• Fixed bug that altered mini map functionality
• Adjusted missile count on BF2SF helicopters.
• Fixed bug with Special Forces rank names.
• Fixed repairing HUD for the engineer when in a vehicle
• Adjusted award criteria
• Fixed a client crash after entering 300 characters into the IP address using "connect to IP"
• Fixed a tech hang when creating a single player account from an offline account
• Fixed crash when switching from BF2 to BF2:SF (or vice versa)
• Fixed a crash caused when a player is joining a map and another player logs into the same account
• Fixed a Dragon Valley exploit
• Fixed a bug on Zatar Wetlands where AA missiles would not lock onto oil towers
• Fixed a bug that caused the Eurofighter explosion to appear as a Mig-29 wreckage
• Armor Bar removed from occupied machinegun emplacements
• Fixed a bug on Kubra Dam and Zatar Wetlands that caused enemy AA sites to not display in bombing HUD
• Special Forces - Firing crossbow from open vehicle position causes others to see player weapon firing
• Fixed Repair Hud for the engineer when in a vehicle and repairing a team mate vehicles
• Fixed a bug on Strike at Karkand where players were able to get inside a building by Train Accident when FF is turned off
• Fixed the commander assets on Wake Island 2007 so that the US can no longer disable the Chinese artillery
• Fixed a bug in Zatar Wetlands 32 where commander assets were not being properly dropped to the location specified by the User.

Update v1.22

Bug fixes

• Improved Server Stability
• Adjusted handling of the Tiger attack chopper
• Added delay for aiming reticule when going prone to all support weapons
• Adjusted deviation on MG36 and PKM to be in line with other support weapons
• Increased rpm from 600 to 900 on the P90
• Fixed Lock on error on certain Oil towers
• Fixed a Great Wall Exploit
• Fixed exploits on Dragon Valley and Karkand

Update v1.21

Bug fixes

• Fixed the Hmmwv with TOW crash on Battlefield 2: Special Forces maps
• Fixed the Battle Recorder crash
• Fixed the screen capture
• Fixed the issue with Pixel Shader 1.4 video cards
• Fixed the issue that caused heat seeking missiles to stick to oil towers
• Fixed the issue that caused heat seeking missiles to zigzag
• Reduced the maximum number of claymores that can be dropped to 2
• Fixed the Server Browser filter to enable search by map name
• Fixed the error in Client - Server communication causing sound, animation and other sync issues.

Update v1.2

Bug fixes & gameplay tweaks

• Dolphin Diving is no longer possible
• Players can no longer jump and shoot at the same time
• "Prone Spamming" is now fixed
• "Sprint exploit" is now fixed
• Helicopters now carry 8 missiles rather than 14
• TV-Guided missile now have a shorter range
• Damage decreased from M134
• Hit points on all air vehicles has been reduced
• AA missile lock has been improved
• All support kit weapons have been adjusted
• All Sniper rifles have been adjusted
• Sa80 has been adjusted
• G3A3 has been adjusted
• Reload while sprinting has been enabled
• Medic defibrillator paddles have been adjusted. They now reload while not in use.
• SCAR-L reload sound has been fixed
• Server setting to allow friendly fire to be off on mines without affecting other weapons.
• Server search filters now work properly
• Mines can no longer be destroyed with other explosives
• Bug in MP7 fire rate fixed. Ammo count increased and mag count and damage decreased
• Flash bang effect radius decreased
• Added unlocks for Sniper and AT kits
• Fixed a bug in terrain rendering with night vision, whereby terrain was still dark in dark areas.
• Fixed a bug whereby mods that are not bf2 or not xpack permutate shaders every time a level is loaded.
• Fixed a bug whereby non-xpack mods cannot use xpack shaders.
• Fixed bug in TV guided missiles of Havoc helicopter
• The LAV25 no longer shoots through penetrable materials.
• Vehicles no longer disappear when viewed from some vehicles with a HUD (e.g. Tanks).
• Performance gain found in static mesh rendering.
• Detonation radius from grenade launcher explosions has been reduced.
• Grenade launcher projectiles now have a minimum distance.
• Decreased Flashbang count from 4 to 3
• Replaced the existing Czech Flag with the correct one in the front end

Expansions of ranks

• Ranks have now been expanded to allow for players to rank up to General

New features

Visible uav

• The UAV that is placed by Commanders will now include a visual element.
  • An actual UAV will appear within the UAV detection radius and circle the area.
  • Players will be able to shoot it down, bringing the UAV detection to a premature end. The Commander will be able to continue placing UAVs once the timer resets, as usual.

Known issues

ATI crossfire cards

CROSSFIRE cards with 256 Megs of memory, running in CROSSFIRE mode will run out of memory at very high resolution settings. On very high resolutions, such as 1920x1440 with 6x antialiasing, in CROSSFIRE mode the ATI drivers are more restrictive about where resources are allocated, and as a result run out of memory sooner than with a single board. This running out of memory causes the device context creation to fail. The result is that the game just sits in a loop with a black screen. If you experience a context creation failure change your resolution to a lower setting (e.g. 1024x768 or even lower).

Update v1.12

Bug fixes

• Fixed a crash when users switch weapons using the mouse wheel while piloting a bomber (SU-34, F-15 and J10) in core BF2 maps.
• Removed the Grappling Hook and the Zip Line from kits from "The Iron Gator" map.
• Fixed single player loading screens to match map selection image.
• Fixed an issue in the menus so that users can click on BF2:SF ribbons to view the descriptions.
• Fixed an issue in the Browser so that BF2:SF servers are now represented with a green "2" icon.
• Global improvement of collision detection on the Grappling Hook and the Zip Line.
• Fixed damage state artillery icon on the 3d map when an artillery is destroyed.

Change of video specs

• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 family:
  • GeForce FX 5900 Ultra
  • GeForce FX 5900
  • GeForce FX 5900XT
  • GeForce FX 5950 Ultra
  • GeForce FX 5900ZT
  • GeForce PCX 5900
• For these cards, the default video settings have been changed to LOW.

Update to grappling hook and Zipline description

Grappling hook

• The GRAPPLING HOOK is part of the Assault and Anti-tank kits. Throw it using the fire or alternate fire buttons. Press "E" to get on and off of the rope.
  • Use the direction keys to climb the rope. The rope will connect to any static object in the world, which means it will not work on terrain or vehicles. Any Assault or Anti-Tank kit can pick up any grappling hook, even those from other teams, as long as you do not already have one in your kit at the time.

Zip Line

• The ZIP LINE is part of the Special Forces and Sniper kits. Use the fire button to shoot the line and use the alternate fire button to check if the target is a viable connection point or not. Once the line is in place, use "E" to get on.
  • You will slide down the line automatically. Any Spec-Ops or Sniper kit can pick up any zip line, even those from the other team, as long as you do not already have one in your kit at the time.

Update v1.03

New features

• Wake Island Map
  • Included a remade version of this popular BF1942 map.
  • Battlefield 2 version includes a 64 player layout and is configured for multiplayer only.
• Server Favorites / History
  • There is a new tab in the MULTIPLAYER menu that holds a list of the last 20 internet servers you have connected to, plus a listof servers you have selected as favorites.
    • Added a button to the other multiplayer tabs that adds the currently highlighted server to your favorites list.
    • Added buttons in the in-game server info menu (press TAB to access) that will add or remove the server you are currently playing on to / from your favorites list.
• Account Login Welcome Screen
  • After you login to an online account, a message appears that contains BF2 news and information which updates periodically.
• Stat Compare
  • By clicking the COMPARE button in BFHQ, you can search for another players name and load their current stats into BFHQ. Using the arrow buttons next to the name in the top-left corner of the menu, you can toggle between your stats and their stats.
  • You can also load a player's stats by double-clicking on their name in any leaderboard.
• Nickname Prefix
  • You can add a 6-character prefix (such as a clan tag) to your account nickname which will be displayed in-game next to your nametag in the score menu, in game messages, and above your player in the game world. This prefix does not change your account name or statistic information (e.g. the prefix does not appear next to your name on the leaderboards).You can change this prefix at any time at the account login menu.
• Server Reserved Slots
  • You can define a list of player nicknames that will act as a "reservation list" for your server.
    • The list is located in mods\bf2\settings\ReservedSlots.con
    • You can add player names to the list by editing the file and adding the following text for each player: reservedSlots.addNick <account name> where <account name> is the player's registered account name, not including a nickname prefix (see above).
    • You can define the number of slots to set aside for reserved players in the dedicated server launcher, or with the setting sv.numReservedSlots <number> in your serverSettings.con file.
    • The number of players on the list and the number of reserved slots does not necessarily have to be the same.
• Mod Support
  • There are several new changes that improve support for mods.
  • When connecting to a server that is running a mod that you have installed but not activated, it will be automatically activated and you will load into the server.
  • Added a filter on the server browser for servers running the currently activated mod.
  • Fixed dedicated server launcher to properly handle launching mods.
  • Improved support for mods sharing archives with bf2
• Improvements to in-game HUD / Map
  • The viewable area of the spawn menu / commander map is now scaled based on the out-of-bounds area so that only the playable area takes up the majority of viewable map space.
  • The names of CPs are now displayed on the spawn menu / commander map and minimap
  • The minimap zoom level now changes dynamically depending on the type of vehicle you are in. If you zoom in or out manually, thatzoom level is remembered for that vehicle type next time you use it.
  • The names of players in your vehicle are displayed in the HUD when someone enters the vehicle or switches positions.
  • There is a new element in vehicle HUDs that displays the reload time for countermeasures (smoke and flares).
  • Flags for each team are now displayed below their ticket count on the minimap to make it easier to tell what team you are assigned to.

Gameplay changes

• Many criteria for ranks and awards have changed. If you are immediately eligible for a new promotion, unlock, badge, award, or ribbon, it will be awarded the next time you receive points on a ranked server.
• Only 1 player in a vehicle will get credit for or speed up capturing a flag at a CP. The other passengers must exit the vehicle to increase the speed of capture or receive capture score.
• Commanders no longer accrue a TK when artillery hits teammates.
• The commander's supply drop now has an icon on the minimap and a 3D-map icon in the world.
• Auto team balance no longer moves players to the other team if they are a team commander or a squad leader.
• The wrench repair rate on helicopters has been decreased.
• You now receive 1 support point for destroying an enemy commander's artillery, UAV or Radar station.
• If you have received a point for healing, repairing, or resupplying a teammate, you will not receive another point from them for the same action for a set period of time.
• Singleplayer enemies use the knife more effectively.
• New engine sounds for the T98 tank.
• New engine sounds for the China/MEC light jeep.
• New cannon sounds on APCs.

Bug fixes

• Fixed physics of vehicles against soldiers so that soldiers are not killed so easily by moving vehicles.
• Fixed a physics issue that can cause you to be stuck when falling into shallow water
• Fixed an issue with soldier armor when spawning on a squad leader in a vehicle
• Fixed some objects that caused vehicles to take massive collision damage
• Fixed erroneous message stating that you punished a TK when auto-punish is OFF on the server.
• When a vehicle explodes due to external forces, the driver is no longer mis-credited for the kills.
• Added turret movement sounds to several vehicles.
• Fixed an issue that caused crosshairs to stay on the screen when switching camera views.
• Fixed an issue that caused the time limit status of the server not to be sent to clients when it is changed by the server.
• Fixed server setting sv.allowExternalViews. Setting this to 0 will disallow external views.
• Added setting for interfaceIP to the server launcher
• Changed automatic TK banning to ban by cd-key instead of IP address
• Improved the stability of secondary position turrets to reduce jerkiness during movement.
• Fixed spawning on squad leaders to prevent players from spawning where they should not.
• Fixed issue with auto team balance not sending new players to the team with less players.
• Set T90 top hatch armor to "Front Armor".
• Set some wheels on jets and helicopters to stronger armor to prevent them from being destroyed instantly by AT missiles.
• Adjusted wheeled vehicle engines on hills to improve climbing.
• Changed the Commo-rose behavior so that player does not leave crouch when using it.
• Passwords entered to join password protected servers are now cleared after use.
• Improved PLAY NOW functionality.
• Fixed some memory usage issues in the front end.
• Fixed an issue allowing color changes in player name text.
• When you click on a server in the server browser, the information from that server is updated to be more accurate.
• Fixed a crash in the Ranked Linux server when communication with stats back-end ceased.
• Improved the behavior of AA missiles when locked on an enemy.
• Fixed an issue where parachuting soldiers could not be healed.
• Added the server port to the SERVER INFO tab.
• Removed the SERVER INFO tab when playing singleplayer
• Fixed an issue causing some soldier & vehicle control keys to be used for in-game menus.
• Added new soldier artwork in BFHQ
• Added name of video director to credits

Update v1.02

• Fixed a server memory leak

Update v1.01

• Fixed an issue that caused the Multiplayer Browser to become unresponsive.
• Fixed an issue where some game controls were not available to be rebound within the Options menu.
• Fixed an issue with increasing performance degradation on servers.
• Fixed a problem with shader caching on client/host : after the first map in a rotation, shaders would be loaded on the fly during gameplay.
• Fixed a crash with rebinding LMB
• Fixed a problem that caused environment mapping to not appear on reflective surfaces.
• Fixed a crash that happened when a client picks up a kit that doesn't exist anymore.
• Fixed a problem with AI when the game was paused for a long time: bots would become unresponsive and also shoot more accurately.
• LOD distances tweaked on certain objects.