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Battlefield 2 & Patches Guide

Discussion in 'Guides' started by booman, Jun 28, 2013.

  • by booman, Jun 28, 2013 at 6:38 PM
  • booman

    booman Grand High Exalted Mystic Emperor of Linux Gaming Staff Member

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    Since many of us can't afford the $60 price tag of Battlefield 4, but we can still try Battlefield 2 in Linux for almost nothing. Specially if you already own it.

    I will walk you through this Step-by-Step guide on how to install and configure Battlefield 2 in order to run it with the optimum settings like you could in Windows.

    battlefield93.png

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    Tips & Specs:

    To learn more about PlayOnLinux and Wine configuration, see the online manual: PlayOnLinux Explained

    Mint 17 64-bit
    PlayOnLinux: 4.2.5
    Wine: 1.7.31

    Wine Installation

    Click Tools
    Select "Manage Wine Versions"
    wine01.png

    Look for the Wine Version: 1.7.31
    Note: Try using stable Wine 1.8 and 1.8-staging

    Select it
    Click the arrow pointing to the right
    wine02.png

    Click Next

    Downloading Wine
    wine04.png

    Extracting

    Downloading Gecko
    wine05.png

    Installed
    wine06.png

    Wine 1.7.31 is installed and you can close this window

    Initial Setup

    If you have the retail edition with 5 CD ROMs, each disk needs to be copied to a folder on the desktop.
    When asked to over-write a file, just click Skip.
    This way we can install the entired game right from the desktop

    PlayOnLinux Setup

    Launch PlayOnLinux
    click Install
    battlefield01.png

    Click "Install a non-listed program"
    battlefield02.png

    Click Next

    Select "Install a program in a new vritual drive"
    Click Next
    battlefield04.png

    Name the virtual drive: battlefield2
    Click Next
    battlefield05.png

    Check all three options:
    • Use another version of Wine
    • Configure wine
    • Install some libraries
    Click Next
    battlefield06.png

    Select Wine 1.7.31
    Click Next
    battlefield07.png

    Select "32 bits windows installation"
    Click Next
    battlefield08.png

    Wine Configuration

    Applications Tab
    Windows Version: Windows 7
    Click Apply
    battlefield09.png

    Graphics Tab
    Check "Automatically capture the mouse in full-screen windows"
    Check "Emulate a virtual drive"
    Desktop size: 1024x768
    Click OK
    battlefield10.png

    Installing Packages (Components, DLL's, Libraries)

    Check the following:
    • POL_Install_corefonts
    • POL_Install_d3dx9
    • POL_Install_tahoma

    Click Next
    battlefield11.png

    Note: All packages will automatically download and install

    Installing Battlefield 2

    Click Browse
    battlefield12.png

    Navigate to your desktop where you copied all of the CD ROM files
    Select "Setup.exe"
    Click Open
    battlefield13.png

    Click Next again

    Click OK

    Warning "this game has only been tested in WinXP(32bit)"
    Click OK

    Click Next

    Enter Key for Battlefield 2
    Click Next

    Enter Key for Battlefield 2: Special Forces
    Click Next

    Click Next

    Click Next

    Click Next

    Select "I accept the terms..."
    Click Next

    Select "I accept the terms..." again
    Click Next again

    Click Install

    BattleCommo
    Click Save settings

    Program Error
    You might get an error with the BattleCommo
    Just Click "Close"
    battlefield28.png

    Check "No, install GameSpy Arcade later"
    Click Next
    battlefield29.png

    Click "Register Later"
    battlefield30.png

    Uncheck "View the README file"
    Uncheck "Create desktop shortcuts"
    Click Finish
    battlefield31.png

    PlayOnLinux Shortcut

    Select "BF2.exe"
    Click Next
    battlefield32.png

    Name your shortcut: Battlefield 2
    Click Next
    battlefield33.png

    Click Next again...

    PlayOnLinux Configure

    Back to PlayOnLinux
    Select Battlefield 2
    Click Configure
    battlefield34.png

    General Tab
    Wine verions: 1.7.31
    battlefield36.png

    Note: Click the + to download other versions of wine. Click the down-arrow to select other versions of Wine.

    Important
    At this point, Battlefield 2 is ready to play, but you will need to keep the Play Disk in the drive. If you patch up the game you not only get a CD ROM free game, but you also get the rest of the expansion packs.

    Battlefield 2 1.41 patch

    Download the 1.41 patch and save to your desktop

    Miscellaneous Tab
    Click "Run a .exe file in this virtual drive"
    battlefield37.png

    Navigate to you Desktop
    Select "BF2_Patch_1.41.exe"
    Click Open
    battlefield38.png

    Select Language
    Click Next

    Click Next

    Click Install

    Installation Complete
    Click OK

    Click Finish

    Battlefield 2 1.5 patch

    Download the 1.5 patch and save to your Desktop

    Miscellaneous Tab
    Click "Run a .exe file in this virtual drive"
    battlefield37.png

    Navigate to you Desktop
    Select "BF2_Patch_1.5.exe"
    Click Open
    battlefield46.png

    Select Language
    Click Next

    Click Next

    Click Install

    Installation Complete
    Click Finish

    Launching Battlefield 2

    Select Battlefield 2
    Click Run
    battlefield51.png

    Note: Click debug to see errors and bugs

    Please be patient, it may take up to 3 minutes for the EA logo to appear.
    It isn't crashing, but certainly taking a long time to launch.

    Optimization

    Click Options
    Click Video

    Select a resolution to match your Linux desktop

    Note: The game will play fullscreen when you set the resolution to match the Linux desktop resollution. If you change the Linux desktop resolution later, Battlefield 2 will crash. You will need to set the resolution in the Video.con located in your /home Battlefield 2/Profiles
    If you have folders default, 0001 and 0002, just set the resolution in all three Video.con files.


    Select a Quality preset, or adjust settings to your liking...

    The game will require a restart after you adjust video settings. When you load a level after making video changes, it will have to optimize shaders and it takes an extra 10 minutes or so.
    This is typical in Windows as well.

    I also had problems with resolution crashing the game. The virtual desktop is critical but the resolution of it isn't. Just make sure the game has the proper resolution to match your Linux desktop, if not, follow the previous instructions to manually set the Battlefield 2 resolutions.

    Rule of thumb:
    High settings = More detail, lower frame rates
    Low settings = Less detail, higher frame rates

    Conclusion:
    The only bugs I experienced is some flickering black spots on the ground and the resolution crash. both are absolutely tolerable because Battlefield 2 runs beautifully. You will no longer be able to play online because the EA servers do not exist, but you can play LAN parties and offline cooperative.

    The flickering black shader bug is now fixed!

    Download updated shader ".fx" files
    1. Download a new "shaders_client.zip"
    2. Navigate to the mods directory C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\mods\bf2\
    3. Rename shaders_client.zip (or delete at your own risk)
    4. Copy new shaders_client.zip to the same directory
    5. Delete the Battlefield 2 cache folder: Documents\Battlefield 2\mods\bf2
    6. Launch Battlefield 2 and run a simple singleplayer level to recompile shaders


    Gameplay Video:


    Screenshots:
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    battlefield92.png
    Last edited: Apr 16, 2020
    mrdeathjr28 likes this.

Comments

Discussion in 'Guides' started by booman, Jun 28, 2013.

  1. Jacksoogs
    I'm mentally applauding your empathy and understanding.
    booman likes this.

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