1.) Getting to the Battlefield
a.)Requirements
b.)Installing Forgotten Hope 2.4
c.)Launching the game
d.)Forgot your Battlefield 2 account password?
e.)What has changed from FH 2.3?
2.) Game Settings
a.)Single Player/COOP
b.)Anti-Aliasing
c.)Controls basics
d.)Intermediate Controls Configuration
e.)Disabling post production
3.) Advanced methods and troubleshooting
a.)Deleting shader cache
b.)FH2b.exe
c.)ForgottenHope2.exe and settings storage
d.)Retrieving your FH2.3 controls setup
If you encounter problems while installing, running, or configuring Forgotten Hope 2, please visit our Chat for support:
http://forgottenhope.warumdarum.de/irc.html
Using an IRC client?
Server: irc.gamesurge.net
Channel: #fhmod
Stay up to date! Visit http://www.fhmod.org
1.) Getting to the Battlefield
a.)Requirements
Forgotten Hope 2.4 requires Battlefield 2 to run.
Don't have it? Battlefield 2 can be bought for only $20 on Steam, $13 on Amazon.com, or £2.99 on Amazon.co.uk!
Alternatively, pick it up at your local video games outlet.
In order to run Forgotten Hope 2, it has the same requirements as Battlefield 2.
Bare Minimum requirements:
Disk usage: 4.20GB
CPU: Same as BF2, 1.7Ghz+
RAM: 1024MB RAM
Graphics: Video Card with 128MB memory, must be supported by Battlefield 2
Recommended Minimum:
CPU: 2.0Ghz Intel or AMD 4000+, or greater
RAM: 2048MB RAM
Graphics: GeForce 8600GT or newer, Radeon HD 3650 or newer
b.)Installing Forgotten Hope 2.4
If you've installed Battlefield 2 from CD/DVD:
- Install Battlefield 2
- Install Patch 1.41 (may be included on some DVD versions)
- Install Patch 1.5
- Install Forgotten Hope 2.4 Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.
If you already have Battlefield 2 1.5 installed, just install Part 1, 2, and 3.
If you're installing from a Digital copy or Steam, you only need to install Forgotten Hope 2.4 Part 1, 2, and 3.
We recommend downloading the full installer even if you have Forgotten Hope 2.3 installed.
c.)Launching the game
Simply run FH2 by using the desktop shortcut.
In case you do not have a desktop shortcut, you may play the game by launching FH2.exe, located in your Battlefield 2 installation directory. The default is:
C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\FH2.exe
After launching the game, if you already have a Battlefield 2 account, you may select to retrieve it. Or you may create a new account.
Warning:
Launching Forgotten Hope 2 using external programs such as X-Fire, or by using the "Community" tab in Battlefield 2 menu may cause problems.
To avoid these problems, use your desktop shortcut or FH2.exe!
d.)Forgot your Battlefield 2 account password?
In the event you have lost your password, and cannot retrieve it by email, you may retrieve it from stored Battlefield 2 data.
This assumes you have already have logged into Battlefield 2 with the "remember password" checkbox checked.
You can retrieve this manually by opening the following folder:
/Documents/Battlefield 2/
Copy the folder "profiles" to:
/Documents/Forgottenhp 2/
Create the folder /Forgottenhp 2/ if it does not exist.
Reset controls to default if using this method!
e.)What has changed from FH 2.3?
Advanced reference:
We have modified FH2.exe to only launch:
"ForgottenHope2.exe" +modPath mods/fh2
Forgotten Hope Settings storage, including screenshots, profiles, and shader cache, is now located in /Documents/ForgottenHp 2/.
For advanced user reference, refer to section 3.b.
This means FH2 is steam compatible out of the box, and is overall more user friendly.
While not recommended, you may launch ForgottenHope2.exe using the +modpath as described above directly.
While the new method isn't entirely fail safe, it is much more stable than the previous method of launching Forgotten Hope 2.
2.) Game Settings
a.)SinglePlayer/COOP
The singleplayer menu is mainly intended for ease-of-use, while creating CoOp games may be used for advanced settings not available in SinglePlayer.
Gameplay settings:
There are some basic adjustments which should be done while playing. These may be changed during gameplay, using Console. You can bring up the Console by pressing "End" on your keyboard.
sv.botDifficulty 85
Difficulty percentage. Can be set from 10 - 100. At 100, bots will have excellent marksmanship. For target practice against inbred bots, set to 10. Recommended 60 - 95.
sv.spawnTime 10
Generally you do not want bots respawning while you're capturing an outpost. Recommended 10 seconds. May be set to 0 if desired.
sv.manDownTime 1
If you're seeing the spawn counter appear twice, you must turn down manDownTime, also known as Revive Time, which is not used in FH2. Recommended setting is 1 (second).
sv.numPlayersNeededToStart 1
In the event you get a message requiring more people to start, in CoOp, you may change the above setting to 1 to start the game.
sv.ticketRatio 200
Percentage of default amount of tickets. Controls game duration more or less. Recommended is 200.
Changing number of bots:
1.) locate the following folder:
C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\mods\fh2\ai\
2.) Open "aidefault.ai" in notepad
3.) Modify the "aiSettings.setMaxNBots 32" to the amount of bots you would like. Make sure it’s the second one, as shown below:
COOP games, ADVANCED:
Using the bf2serverlauncher.exe, usually found in your root FH2 folder, you may configure more settings and launch a "dedicated server". In task manager, you may then set bf2_w32ded.exe and ForgottenHope2.exe on separate CPU cores for optimum performance. You can find the server in the "Join Local" menu.
If you want to play CoOp from the "create local game" menu, it must be launched via BF2.exe, refer to section 3.b. on FH2b.exe to do so.
b.)Anti-Aliasing
New in 2.4, it is possible to enable Anti-Aliasing among other settings using your Driver's Control Panel.
For optimal graphics and performance, we recommend turning off Anti-Aliasing in the game's video configuration settings. Instead, set it in your graphic's card control panel.
For Nvidia cards:
- Open Nvidia Control Panel
- Click "Manage 3D settings"
- Click "Add" and browse to your Battlefield 2 directory.
- Select "ForgottenHope2.exe"
- Set "mode" to "Override any application setting"
- Adjust Anti-Aliasing to your desire.
- You may also change other settings such as Anisotropic-Filtering.
For ATi cards:
- Open ATi catalyst control panel
- Advanced settings, AA
- Uncheck "Use Application Setting"
- Adjust the AA slider and filter to your desire
- You may also set the Anisotropic-Filtering under the AF tab
c.)Controls basics
Tanks and airplanes have modified controls layouts in order to make them more customisable in the menu.
If controls are not properly working, we recommend to "Reset to Default" under ingame Controls Options menu.
If you find tank turrets hard to control, it is recommended to set a lower sensitivity in controls menu for Tanks. New in 2.4, tank turrets have a "max speed" which cannot be exceeded. As such, mouse sensitivity and acceleration differs greatly from 2.3, and may require re-adjusting to.
d.)Intermediate Controls Configurations
We have included alternate Controls.con files for additional configuration not supported by the Battlefield Controls Menu.
The alternative keyboard controls allows freelook to be used with arrow keys. If using arrows instead of mouse for airplane or tanks, this is highly recommended.
In order to apply the alternative controls scheme:
1.) Right-clik, save-as Controls.con
Save the file to
EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\Mods\FH2\Settings\
A backup is provided here Controls.con
2.) After swapping files, launch FH2. In the game controls menu, "Reset to Default" to apply.
Joystick POV hat:
Using the freeware program Joy2Key,
http://www.electracode.com/4/joy2key/JoyToKey%20English%20Version.htm
You may configure the POV look by using the alternative controls as described above, and bind arrows and ctrl to your POV.
For reference:
User Controls are stored in
/Documents/ForgottenHp 2/Profiles/0001/
Default Controls are stored in
Program Files/EA GAMES/Battlefield 2/Mods/FH2/Settings/
Once clicking "Reset to Default", the Default Controls are applied to User Controls.
If your controls scheme is complex, we recommend creating a backup of your User Controls.
Additional info:
Some, for example Left Handed users, may want to swap arrows and WASD. Using the alternate controls.con files may not allow re-configuring this in menu.
If you wish to use other keys then arrows for freelook, tank turret, and airplane, you must:
- open Controls.con in notepad
- replace the key mappings under DefaultPlayerInputControlMap
Contact us via Chat if you require support!
e.)Disabling post-production
If you wish to disable post production for any reason, you may do so the following way:
1.) Right click shaders_client.zip, save as in the following folder:
/EA GAMES/Battlefield 2/mods/fh2/, overwrite existing.
To re-enable again, use the backup shaders_client.zip
If experiencing problems, refer to Deleting Shader Cache in section 3.a.
3.) Advanced methods and troubleshooting
This section of the manual is intended for advanced users.
For computer novices, we recommend re-installing Battlefield 2 and Forgotten Hope 2.
While this may seem tiresome, it is often easier and faster then advanced troubleshooting which may cause further errors if done incorrectly. Attempt at own risk. However, if you do encounter further errors, we are more then happy to help
a.) Deleting shader cache
If you encounter problems with graphics in Forgotten Hope 2 or Battlefield 2, you may be asked to delete the shader cache. The shader cache will be regenerated the next time you load a map.
\Documents\Forgottenhp 2\Mods\
\Documents\Battlefield 2\Mods\
\Documents\Battlefield 2\Cache\
For Windows XP, \Documents\ is the same as \My Documents\.
Warning: Double check that you are deleting the correct folders under \Documents\ or \My Documents\. Deleting the wrong one may require you to re-install Battlefield 2.
b.)FH2b.exe
In some circumstances, such as with Crossfire setups or playing local CoOp, you may still wish to use the old method of launching Forgotten Hope through BF2.exe.
To do this, you may use FH2b.exe to launch the game.
1.) Download fh2b.exe to your Battlefield 2 install directory
default is C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\
2.) Create a shortcut to FH2b.exe
Technical changes:
FH2b.exe uses the old method of launching Forgotten Hope 2, however there's some minor changes to file swapping.
To make FH2b.exe compatible with ForgottenHope2.exe profiles storing, FH2b.exe now does the following:
Renames /Documents/Battlefield 2/ to /Battlefield 2.tmp/
Renames /Documents/ForgottenHp 2/ to /Battlefield 2/
When closing BF2.exe, it will swap these folders back.
In the event of an unexpected shutdown, attempt to run FH2b.exe again and it should swap back.
Under rare conditions, it may still not swap back properly.
In such events, you may manually rename the folders mentioned above back to their respective names.
If further problems are encountered, refer to section 3.a. "Deleting Shader Cache", and reset controls to default. If in need of further assistance, please visit our Chat for near 24/7 support.
c.)ForgottenHope2.exe and settings storage
Forgotten Hope 2 profiles are now separately stored on your computer from Battlefield 2 profiles.
Forgotten Hope 2 still uses the same online user accounts as Battlefield 2.
Technical changes and advanced reference:
ForgottenHope2.exe is a modified BF2.exe. The following has been changed in the executable:
- /Documents/Battlefield 2/ renamed to /Documents/Forgottenhp 2/
- BF2 icon replaced with FH2 icon
Screenshots, shader cache, and profiles are thus stored separately from Battlefield 2.
d.)Retrieving FH2.3 controls setup
We recommend using the default settings and reconfiguring them in Controls Options. Or refer to section 2.c. for some intermediate pre-configured settings.
In the event you absolutely wish to not reconfigure your existing controls from FH 2.3:
1.) Browse to folder:
/Documents/Battlefield 2/Profiles/0001/
2.) Copy Controls.fh2 from the above folder to the following:
/Documents/ForgottenHp 2/Profiles/0001/
3.) If an existing Controls.con exists, backup and delete it.
4.) Rename Controls.fh2 to Controls.con.
5.) Launch game, go to controls settings for "Tank" and turn off "invert mouse". We also recommended to lower sensitivity.
Advanced:Skip step 6, unless controls are still not working as intended!
6.) Open in notepad:
/Documents/ForgottenHp 2/Profiles/0001/Controls.con
copy all control mappings from:
LandPlayerInputControlMap
Paste, replacing all control mappings under:
HelicopterPlayerInputControlMap
For reference:
Tanks now use the "HelicopterPlayerInputControlMap" allowing one to adjust their turret sensitivities separately from other land vehicles.
In the event you require further assistance, join our Chat for support.
Final note:
Please bear with us from any issues caused from the changes to launching and configuring Forgotten Hope 2.
While we're aware that some may experience difficulties in migrating their settings, the new methods allow for more customization, better graphics, and less potential problems for novice users. The especially in regards to conflicting with Battlefield 2 or other modifications.