Game FAQs

[j1mb0b]

Before posting questions, please check out these FAQs for the game in question. Each game has its own post.

Missing your favorite game? Got some hints, tips or other information you want to share?
You can help us Simply start a thread titled "Gamenamehere FAQ thread " with the format used here and allow the membership to post to it with the skinny , when there is enough info it can be added . If you see info missing from existing posts/games here , feel free to PM any of the Gaming Mods to have info added to the post


Abbreviations used on this forum
FPS = first person shooter.
RPG = role playing game.
RTS = real time strategy.
SP = single player.
MP = multiplayer.

Game List

A
Age Of Kings (Age Of Empires 2) (AOK or AOE2)
Aliens vs. Predator 2 (AvP2)
America's Army
Asheron's Call 2: Fallen Kings(AC2)

B
Battlefield 1942 (BF1942)

C
Combat Flight Simulator 3
Chaser

D
Delta Force: Blackhawk Down (DFBHD)

E
Enclave
Enter the Matrix

F
Freelancer

G
Ghost Recon (GR)
Grand Theft Auto 3 (GTA3 or GTAIII)

H
Half-Life (HL)
Half-Life 2
Hitman 2: Silent Assassisn (Hitman2)

I
IGI2: Covert Strike

J
Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (JK2)

M
Max Payne
Medal Of Honor: Allied Assault (MOHAA or MOH:AA)
Morrowind (MW)

N
Neverwinter Nights (NWN)
No One Lives Forever 2 : A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way (NOLF2)

Q
Quake 3 (Q3)

R
Rainbow Six 3 : Ravenshield (RvS)
Rallisport Challenge
Return To Castle Wolfenstein (RtCW)
RUNE

S
Serious Sam: The Second Encounter (SS:TSE or SS2)
Sim City 4
Soldier of Fortune 2: Double Helix (SOF2)
Star War Galaxies
Steam backup utility guide
Syberia
S.T.A.L.K.E.R

T
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Raven Shield (RS)
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

U
Unreal Tournament 2003 (UT2K3 or UT2003)
Unreal 2: The Awakening
Unreal Tournament 2004 (UT2K4 or UT2004)

V
Vietcong

W
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos(W3 or WIII)

Other Stuff
For a list of unnecessary services in WinXP, look here
Display your framerates in any game with FRAPS
For those who want an easy way to set up a dedicated server, try Gamerunners
For server support, try GameAdmins
See which game ports need to be forwarded to host your favorite game.

Gamespy port list
If you are behind a firewall/proxy and are able to change its settings, Arcade needs the following TCP ports open in order to function:

• 6667 (IRC)
• 3783 (Voice Chat Port)
• 27900 (Master Server UDP Heartbeat)
• 28900 (Master Server List Request)
• 29900 (GP Connection Manager)
• 29901 (GP Search Manager)
• 13139 (Custom UDP Pings)
• 6515 (Dplay UDP)
• 6500 (Query Port)

Also see the GameSpy FAQs here

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Serious Sam: The Second Encounter

Release Date:January 2002

Serious Sam: Second Encounter introduces three worlds where cyberpunk once again meets fantasy fiction, and features frantic action in 12 massive single player levels. The Second Encounter includes three new episodes based in beautifully detailed ancient civilizations: South America, Babylon, and The Medieval Age. With fourteen total weapons at his disposal, three brand new, Sam is more serious than ever. He battles against hordes of old enemies and seven adversarial species in an effort to reach the Mental once and for all.

Having successfully defeated the Mental forces in ancient Egypt, Sam "Serious" Stone seizes an abandoned spacecraft. On course in his crusade to finally assassinate the great evil Mental, our hero's spaceship suddenly tumbles into the South American Mountains - Sam seems destined to stay on Earth. He must fight the tougher, now more experienced members of Mental's destructive forces and find a new way to reach the notorious Mental himself.

Official sites
Developer site
Main site
Forums

Patches
V1.50 BETA (greatly improved internet play)
V1.07

Reviews
Gamezilla

Inteviews / Articles

Game tips

Expansion Packs/Conversions

Known Issues & Fixes

Console commands
Show frame rate /hud_iStats=1
Detailed game stats /hud_iStats=2
Show ping /hud_bShowLatency=1
Show net stats /hud_bShowNetGraph=1

Server Administration Tips
Set Compression = 2 if proc activity is 50% or less.
Set Compression = 1 if proc activity is higher.

How to determine MaxBPS (example):

Bandwidth = 128000 bits/s
Players = 4
Bandwidth/player = 32000 bits/s
... MaxBPS = 4000 bytes/s

How to set MaxBPS on the server:
Pressing F1 and enter: /ser_iMaxAllowedBPS=xxxx (default is 8000, recommended is 3500)

Default Server Port List
25600 - TCP
25600 - UDP
25601 - UDP

Other stuff

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Unreal Tournament 2003

Release date: September 2002

Reload with Unreal Tournament 2003 - the sequel to 1999's multiple "Game of the Year" award winner - Unreal Tournament. Using the latest Unreal technology, Unreal Tournament 2003 takes you to the merciless arenas of the future, where elite warriors rely on skill, speed, cunning and awesome firepower to demonstrate their style and become the ultimate champion.

Official sites
Main site
Forums

Patches
V2.225
V2.199
Latest UT 2003 Mod Files @ HomeLan Fed
V2.166 Note that this has been removed from the official site, but other dowload locations exist.
V2.136

Reviews
GameAxis
GameSpy
Khabal Gaming
WORTHPLAYING

Articles, Etc
UT 2003 Bonus Pack Update @ Infogrames
Article: Bonus Media @ GameSpot
Article @ GameSpy
Tweak Guide @ TweakTown

Game tips
-- Once you have 100 adrenaline, you can execute the following special manouevres:
forward-forward-forward-forward = Speed
back-back-back-back = Booster
right-right-left-left = Invisibility
forward-forward-back-back = Beserk
left-left-left-left = Pint-sized (Epic bonus pack mutator only)
right-right-right-right = Camouflage (Epic bonus pack mutator only)
--How-To: Getting a Model from 3DS MAX into UT2003 @ Planet Unreal

Expansion Packs/Conversions/Mods
Epic bonus pack (10 New Maps, 6 DM, 2 CTF, 1 DOM, 1 BR. 3 New Gametypes (Mutant, Last Man Standing, Invasion). 2 New Adrenaline Combos. Many other new features (Music Options, Announcer Voice, etc)
Digital Extremes Bonus Pack (6 all new maps: 3 deathmatch, 2 CTF and 1 Bombing Run)
Excessive UT2K3 (must have V2.199 installed)
Mod: Defence Alliance The Game @ PlanetUnreal
Mod: Strike Force 180 @ strike-force
Mod: Deathball

Known Issues & Fixes
Sound issues on N-Force mobos
Try this older DLL

Brown-outs
Apply the latest patch

Trouble with lag spikes on your sever when some clients try to connect
It appears that some instances of user disconnections can cause problems with certain firewalls and UT2K3 server. So if you're planning on running a server and get rampant "ICMP Unreachable" messages that lag your server, set "LogPortUnreach=True" to FALSE in your [IpDrv.TcpNetDriver] section in the UT2003.ini file. It appears to do no harm to disable it.

Slow map load times
Reduce the level of detail.

Console commands
Show frame rate STAT FPS
Show network stats STAT NET
For a full list of console commands take a look here

Default Server Port List
Forward UDP ports 7777 - 7789
Forward UDP ports 28900-28902

There seems to be a discrepency with Port 28902. A user said that you don't need to forward it but to keep it open. Apparently used by local machines to query the Master server.

Other stuff
Mapping Guide @ Deviant PC
Language Filter
Also check out Unreal Admin for more hints on setting up and running a UT2K3 server.
UT2003 Dedicated Server @ Blue's News

To record your own demo:
Bring up the console and type demorec [name demo] and to stop recording type stopdemo.
To view them, copy into your UT2003 system folder.
Bring up the console. Type demoplay [name of demo].

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BattleField 1942

Release Date: September 2002

World War Two. Axis and allies clash in the greatest conflict of our times. Millions of men fight and die on foot, at sea and in the air. Its countless battles affect our present more than any other war in history.

Battlefield 1942 brings the Second World War to your computer, and lets your fight historical battles in different parts of the world on your computer.

A brand new game engine capable of dynamic models and landscapes, ground, sea and air physics, and a fully 3D sound system allows Battlefield 1942 to bring you an unparalleled feeling of immersion.

Official sites
Main site

Patches
Patch @ IGN
V1.1 win server
V1.2
Win32 V1.2 dedicated server
V1.3
V1.31
V1.31 win32 server

Reviews
The Road To Rome @ Action Trip
Road to Rome @ Video Game News
Road to Rome @ Bjorn3D
Road to Rome @ Ferrago

Articles, Etc
Article: The Road to Rome Complete @ GameSpy
Screenshots: Road to Rome @ WORTHPLAYING

Game tips

Expansion Packs/Conversions/Mods
Solider9's Realism Mod 2.1 @ BF42

Known Issues & Fixes
Crash to desktop with a fast black screen and a beep with no error message
1. Go to your BF 1942 directory
2. go to mods----->BF1942--->settings
3. open up videodefault.con with wordpad/notepad
4. change "renderer.allowAllRefreshRates 0" to renderer.allowAllRefreshRates 1
WARNING: This setting may be reset when you apply the official patches.

Other Issues
Try the tweaking guide from Tweaktown

Console commands

Default Server Port List
If you do not care about (or want) the server being listed in Gamespy, then you only need to open udp port 14567 into your network. If you are behind a firewall/router that is also doing NAT, you will need to port forward udp port 14567 from your firewall/router to your internal server.

If you do want your server to be listed in Gamespy you will need a number of additional ports opened up:
allow udp port 14567
allow udp 22000 (THIS IS ONLY FOR LAN GAMES. If you don't want that accessible from the net, don't open it)
allow udp range 23000 23009
# Gamespy Master Server UDP Heartbeat allow udp port 27900
# Gamespy Master Server List Request allow tcp port 28900

Other stuff
BF1942 Mod: Alpha Version 0.2 @ Desert Combat
Linux Server v1.2Beta

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Age of Kings (Age of Empires 2)

Release date: October 1999

Age of Empires II spans a thousand years, from the fall of Rome through the Middle Ages in which players control the destiny of one of thirteen civilizations into greatness. The game keeps the epic scope of Age of Empires' game play while evolving the combat and economic features.

Official sites
Main site

Patches
V2.1a

Reviews
HardwareZone

Inteviews / Articles

Game tips

Expansion Packs/Conversions
Visit Age of Kings Heaven for lots of scenario downloads

Known Issues & Fixes

Console commands

Default Server Port List

Other stuff

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America's Army

Release date: October 2002

America's Army is a realistic computer game providing civilians with an inside perspective and a virtual role in today's premiere land force, the U.S. Army. America's Army players will experience soldiering in a state-of-the-art new manner. The America's Army game blends two vivid simulations: Soldiers, a role-playing portion in which players navigate life's challenges to achieve goals, and a first-person action game, called Operations.

Official sites
Main site
FAQ

Patches
Full V2.0a
Full V1.70
Full V1.60
V1.50 to V1.60
V1.40 to V1.50
Full V1.40
Cummulative patch to V1.20
V1.20 to V1.21
V1.21 to V1.40
V1.30 to V1.40
Patch v1.50 @ gamersclick

Reviews
Gamers Pulse
GameOver
pcgame review
Video Game News

Articles
TweakTown
3DAction Planet
Updates @ Gamers

Game tips

Expansion Packs/Conversions

Known Issues & Fixes

Console commands
open 123.45.67.8:1716 Connect directly to the server at the specified IP and port. (if you do not enter a port, it will default to 1716.)
stat fps Display your framerate
stat net Show your ping and packet information
stat none Turn off stats
exec FILE TO EXEC. Example: "exec config\boston.txt" will execute the commands in that file.
set input KEY COMMAND Example: "set input p reload" will bind the 'p' key to reload.
commosendmessage MESSAGENUM Example: "set input 0 commosendmessage 1" will bind the '0' key to the "MOVE OUT!" message.

Default Server Port List
UDP 1716 for the game,
UDP 1717 for the gamequery,
UDP 1718 for master server query,
UDP 8777 for standard UT query,
UDP 27900 for GameSpy and
TCP 20045 for Auth server

Other stuff

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Aliens vs Predator 2

Release date: October 2001

Alien vs. Predator 2, the long awaited sequel to Alien vs. Predator, the most intense and terrifying game of 1999, combines elements, creatures, and settings from the hit movies Aliens and Predator in three unique, interlocking stories.

Official sites
Main Site
Developer site
Support
FAQs

Patches
V1.0.9.6
SP Map update 1
MP Map update 1

Reviews
Armchair Empire
ELiTeD
Gameguru Mania
ZenGamer

Inteviews / Articles

Game tips

Expansion Packs/Conversions
Primal Hunt

Known Issues & Fixes

Console commands

Default Server Port List
The game uses Port 27888
You also have to allow lithtech.exe access to the internet and server rights

Other stuff

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Ghost Recon

Release date: November 2001

In this new Tom Clancy Franchise, you take command of 'The Ghosts', an elite squad of military personnel equipped with the cutting edge in weaponry. Whenever there is military conflict, the Ghosts are the first on the ground.

Official sites
Main Site
FAQs

Patches
V1.3
V1.3 to V1.4

Reviews
The Gamers Temple
the electric playground
ELiTeD
GameSpy

Inteviews / Articles

Game tips

Expansion Packs/Conversions

Known Issues & Fixes

Console commands

Default Server Port List
To join a game, you will need to be able to connect to TCP and UDP ports 2346, 2347, and 2348.
To host a game, you will need to foreward TCP and UDP ports 2346, 2347, and 2348 from the router/firewall to your computer.

Other stuff

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Grand Theft Auto III

Release date: May 2002

Liberty City, USA. Welcome to America's worst city.

You've been betrayed and left for dead. Now you're taking revenge, unless the city gets you first. Mob bosses need a favor, crooked cops need help and street gangs want you dead. You'll have to rob, steal and kill just to stay out of serious trouble. Anything can happen out here.

Official sites
Developer's site
Publisher's site
FAQ

Patches
V1.1

Reviews
Leigon Hardware
Geekshelter
GameSpy
3DAvenue

Inteviews / Articles

Game tips

Expansion Packs/Conversions
MP Expansion (supports 2 players and is in the second alpha, so be careful!!!)

Known Issues & Fixes
Blocks around text in WinXP
Install WinXP Service Pack 1

Console commands

Default Server Port List

Other stuff

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Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast

Release date: March 2002

In the tradition of the multi-award-winning Jedi Knight, rebel agent Kyle Katarn returns in exhilarating first-person action. Several years have passed since Kyle avenged his father's death and saved the Valley of the Jedi from Jerec and his band of Dark Jedi. Allowing his Force powers to languish for fear of falling to the dark side, Kyle entrusted his lightsaber to Luke Skywalker, vowing never to use it again. But when a new and menacing threat to the galaxy emerges, Kyle knows he must reclaim his past in order to save his future.

Official sites
Main site
FAQ

Patches
V1.04 (includes previous patch)
V1.03

Reviews
OcPrices
PC Tech Zone
ThinkTechie
EliteGuild

Articles Etc
Interview @ Music 4 Games
TechSpot

Game tips
FragWare

Expansion Packs/Conversions

Known Issues & Fixes

Console commands
See this list for Quake 3

Default Server Port List
open the port the server is set to use (28070 by default)
and ports 28060-28062

Other stuff

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Quake 3 Arena

Release date: December 1999

Welcome to the Arena, where high-ranking warriors are transformed into spineless mush. Abandoning every ounce of common sense and any trace of doubt, you lunge onto a stage of harrowing landscapes and veiled abysses. Your new environment rejects you with lava pits and atmospheric hazards as legions of foes surround you, testing the gut reaction that brought you here in the first place. Your new mantra: Fight or be finished.

Official sites
Main site
Developer site
Publisher site
FAQs

Patches
V1.32

Previews / Reviews

Inteviews / Articles

Game tips

Expansion Packs/Conversions

Known Issues & Fixes
Frame rate stuck at 90fps? Change the maxfps=90 line in the config.cfg file to maxfps=0

Console commands
See here

Default Server Port List
forward port 27960

Other stuff

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Medal of Honor: Allied assault

Release date: January 2002

In Medal of Honor Allied Assault from Electronic Arts, players will assume the role of Lt. Mike Powell, member of the famed 1st Ranger Battalion who gets recruited by the OSS and battles through over 20 levels that are based on historical military campaigns of World War II.

Set during the most trying years of the war, 1942-1945, Medal of Honor Allied Assault gives players a sense of the courage it took to survive the landings at Normandy, the assault at Arzew, a rendezvous with the Resistance outside the village of St. Lo, and the push through the heavily defended border of Germany itself to take the bridge at Remagen.

Official sites
Developer's site
Publisher's site
FAQs

Patches

V1.11 UK and US only
Spearhead expansion pack V2.11

Reviews
Preview - Various Expansions @ GameSpy
Spearhead @ The Wargamer
Spearhead @ GameSpy
Spearhead @ ZenGamer

Inteviews/Articles
Music 4 Games

Game tips

Expansion Packs/Conversions
BreakThrough
Spearhead

Known Issues & Fixes

Console commands
See this list for Quake 3

Default Server Port List
Check here for Titanman's guide to setting up a MOH:AA server and example config scripts.
TCP Port 12203 (default), 12204 - 12206
UDP Port 12203 (default), 12204 - 12206

Note: You will need TCP and UDP ports 6667, 3783, 27900, 28900, 29900, 29901, 13139 and 6515 open to use Gamespy to connect to internet servers.

Other stuff

[j1mb0b]

Half-Life

Release date: November 1998

Deep in the bowels of the Black Mesa Federal Research Facility, a decommissioned missile base, a top secret project is underway. A portal has been opened to another dimension, and human science has never seen anything like the world on the other side.

You are Gordon Freeman, a young research associate in the Anomalous Materials Laboratory. You have limited security clearance and no real idea of just how dangerous your job has become, until the morning you are sent alone into the Test Chamber to analyze of a strange crystalline specimen. A routine analysis, they tell you. Until something goes wrong.

Official sites
Main Site
Planet Half-Life
FAQs

Patches
Half-Life Updater
V1.1.1.0 English
Opposing Force V1.1.0.8
Counter-Strike V1.1.0.8
Blue Shift V1.0.0.1

Previews/Reviews
Download: Counter-Strike 1.6 Gameplay Preview @ MegaGames
Counter-Strike 1.6 @ HomeLan Fed
Counter-Strike 1.6 @ GameSpot

Articles
Top Ten Reasons Half-Life is Still #1 @ GameSpy
CS Article @ LAN Addict
Article: CS - Condition Zero @ Shacknews
Article: CS 1.6 @ Gamehelper

Game tips
Planet Half-Life
Tweak 3D

Expansion Packs/Conversions
Team Fortress
Day of Defeat
Counter-Strike

Known Issues & Fixes
Fix for V1.0.0.8 for owners of ATi cards
Sierra support

Console commands
Full list from Planet Half-Life

Default Server Port List
IN UDP 6003
IN UDP 7002
IN UDP 27010
IN UDP 27015
IN UDP 27025

Half Life Server
IN UDP 27015

Other stuff
Counter-Strike 1.6 de_airstrip Footage @ FileShack
Fusion Pack 9.5 - CS Replacement Pack Released @ Games Fusion
Steam Software
Admin Mod Server Plugin
Anti-Cheating Effort
HLAmp - Winamp Plugin

Editing resources
Half-Life Editing Resource
Valve Hammer Editor
Creating Custom Spraypaints
Half-Life Model Viewer
PakScape: for opening .pak files
Zoner Tools
Wally
Sprite Viewer
Terrain Generator

[j1mb0b]

Hitman 2: Silent Assassisn

Release Date: October, 2002

Enter the realm of a retired assassin, forced back into action by treason. You may be a hired killer but you still have a sense of loyalty and justice.

Trust no one - if the price is right, the finger of your most trusted ally will be on the trigger. Your targets may hide in the most remote areas of the planet, but their destruction is never prevented - only postponed.

Official sites
Main Site
Developer
Publisher's Site
FAQs

Patches
v1.01

Reviews
Planet Savage
GameOver
GameSpy
Gamers Depot

Inteviews/Articles
InGaming

Game tips

Expansion Packs/Conversions

Known Issues & Fixes

Console commands

Default Server Port List

Other stuff

[j1mb0b]

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

Release Date: May, 2002

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is an epic, open-ended single-player game where you create and play any kind of character you can imagine. Be the noble hero embarking on an epic quest, or an insidious thief rising to leadership of his guild. Be a malevolent sorcerer developing the ultimate spell of destruction, or a reverent healer searching for the cure to a plague. Your actions define your character, and your gameplay changes and evolves in response to your actions. Confront the assassins' guild, and they take out a contract on you. Impress them, and they try to recruit you instead. No two sagas are the same in the world of Morrowind.

With Morrowind, the unparalleled Elder Scrolls character system is coupled with an exponential increase in the world's richness of detail and level of visual splendor. Utilizing the latest in 3D technology, Morrowind will feature hyper-realistic textures and polygon counts, real-time shadows, vast landscapes, skeletal based animation, and a complete weather system.

Official sites
Main
Developer's Site
FAQs

Patches
Tribunal Patch v1.4.1313 @ The Elder Scrolls
v1.1.0722

Reviews
Tribunal @ ESC mag
Tribunal @ gamersclick
Tribunal @ The Entertainment Depot
Tribunal @ RPGDot

Inteviews/Articles
Tribunal @ RPGDot

Game tips

Expansion Packs/Conversions
Tribunal

Known Issues & Fixes

Other stuff