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Battlefield: Bad Company 2

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 cover
Developers
DICE
Windows Coldwood Interactive[1]
Publishers
Electronic Arts
Engines
Frostbite 1.5
Release dates
Windows March 2, 2010
Reception
Metacritic 87
IGDB 90
Taxonomy
Monetization One-time game purchase, Expansion pack, DLC
Modes Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives First-person
Controls Direct control
Genres Action, FPS
Vehicles Automobile, Helicopter, Motorcycle, Naval/watercraft, Tank, Transport, Truck
Art styles Realistic
Themes Contemporary, Eastern Europe, North America, South America
Series Battlefield
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 on HowLongToBeat
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 on IGDB
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 guide on StrategyWiki
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 on MobyGames
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 on Wikipedia
Battlefield 1942 2002
Battlefield Vietnam 2004
Battlefield 2 2005
Battlefield 2142 2006
Battlefield Heroes 2009
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 2010
Battlefield Online 2010
Battlefield Play4Free 2011
Battlefield 3 2011
Battlefield 4 2013
Battlefield Hardline 2015
Battlefield 1 2016
Battlefield V 2018
Battlefield 2042 2021

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is a singleplayer and multiplayer first-person action and FPS game in the Battlefield series.

The game received a minor DLC, SPECACT Kit Upgrade Bundle Pack in April 2010 (otherwise split to smaller pieces on consoles) and a multiplayer-only expansion pack, Vietnam, in December 2010.

The game was delisted from digital stores on April 28, 2023, with online features shutting down on December 8, 2023.[2]

The game's issues range from authentication/DRM problems (especially due to Steam serial key depletion) and server connectivity.

General information

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 hub on Planet Battlefield
The Battlefield series on Battlelog - PC section.
EA Answers HQ
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
CD key
Requires online activation
Can only be used x times
Either disc check or online activation with SecuROM DRM, unknown machine limit. A De-Authorization Tool is available. All DRM except the EA account requirement can be removed using the latest patch.
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Origin
DRM-free after installation through Origin client (notes may include more details)
Digital Deluxe Edition also available.[3] Currently unavailable to purchase; Available exclusively through EA Play and EA Play Pro.
Windows
Steam
Icon overlay.png
No SecuROM DRM. Multiplayer requires an EA account. Currently unavailable to purchase; Available exclusively through EA Play (Steam)
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Amazon.com (unavailable)
Origin
Includes DLC.
Windows
Gamesplanet logo.svg (unavailable)
Origin
Windows
Games for Windows Marketplace (unavailable)
Icon overlay.png
[4]
Windows
Humble Store (unavailable)
Origin
Ultimate Digital Collection.
Windows
All versions require an EA account for multiplayer access.
Delisted on April 28, 2023, with online features shutting down on December 8, 2023.[2]

Monetization

Type Notes
DLC The minor DLC includes new infantry gear, awards and skins.
Expansion pack The expansion pack includes new multiplayer maps, vehicles, infantry gear and awards.
One-time game purchase The game requires an upfront purchase to access.

DLC and expansion packs

Name Notes
SPECACT Kit Upgrade
Windows
Vietnam
Windows
Co-operative "Onslaught" mode DLC is not available for PC version.

Essential improvements

Patches

Patch R11 updates the retail release to the latest version. Not required for digital editions.

Skip intro videos

Delete the Intro video[citation needed]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\Output\win32\movies
  2. Delete or rename ea_logo_hd.res and dolbydigital.res.
  3. Press ESC to enter in game at the black screen

Logging in requires a CD Key

Logging in on the Steam release prompts for a CD key, which are depleted for the base game.
Request a CD Key[1]
Alternative solutions[2]
  1. Sign up for a Venice Unleashed account (predominantly used for Battlefield 3 but has basic Bad Company 2 support)
  2. Download Project Rome Files and put them in <path-to-game>.
  3. Log in with a Venice Unleashed Account.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\BFBC2\settings.ini
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/24960/pfx/[Note 1]
BF:BC2 Configurator

Save game data location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\BFBC2\GameSettings.bin
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/24960/pfx/[Note 1]

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
Origin
Does not sync campaign progress, graphics settings or keybindings
OneDrive
Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.
Steam Cloud

Video

In-game options menu.
In-game options menu.

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
Menus are always 16:9 and rendered at 720p
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed
Toggle with Alt+ Enter.
Borderless fullscreen windowed
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)
CSAA and MSAA. Builtin AA only works on DX10+. Enhanceable with TrSSAA on Nvidia systems. Can also force AA in DX9 on Nvidia with flags 0x004030C1(MSAA) and 0x004412C1(SGSSAA).
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS and 120+ FPS
Frame rate cap to 200 FPS. No refresh rate cap.[5]
High dynamic range display (HDR)
See the glossary page for potential alternatives.
Color blind mode
Under Options, Settings, Gameplay.

Field of view (FOV)

This game uses vertical FOV.[6] See FOV Calculator for help.
3rd party fixes[citation needed]
May apply to single-player only.
Widescreen Fixer only works in the Steam version of the game, and adjusting FOV will also break ADS and scope zooming in the campaign.
Edit configuration file[citation needed]
  1. Open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\BFBC2\settings.ini.
  2. Change Fov=55 to the desired FOV and save the changes.

Notes

Applies to multiplayer only.
On some systems, DirectX 9 may have to be forced in order for the FOV to change.

Input

In-game key map settings.
In-game key map settings.

Audio

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound
Up to 5.1[9]
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio

Localizations

To switch between localizations change Locale string under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Electronic Arts\Battlefield Bad Company 2 to the relative code
Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
en
French
fr
German
de
Hungarian
Fan translation.
Italian
it
Japanese
jp
Polish
pl
Brazilian Portuguese
Fan translation, download.
Russian
ru
Spanish
es
Turkish
Fan translation, download

Network

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
LAN play
Planned for a future version of Project Rome.[citation needed]
Online play
32 Official online features are scheduled to shut down on December 8, 2023.[2]

Connection types

Ports

Protocol Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP 80, 13505, 18390, 18395
UDP 10000, 18395
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

VR support

3D modes State GG3D Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision
Use Helix Mod for better 3D support.
TriDef 3D
iZ3D
Devices
3RD Space Gaming Vest

Issues unresolved

"Some AA alternatives might not come up for some users"

CSAA and some MSAA alternatives might be hidden for some users.

"Loadouts Lost, Switching between Bad Company 2 (BC2) & Vietnam Multiplayer (MP)."

BC2 MP and Vietnam MP read the same parameters for class loadouts. The ensuring disparity of weapons results in loadout reset.
Workaround[citation needed]
  • SPECACT DLC adds four classes (SPECACT Assault, Engineer, Medic & Recon) to BC2 MP, absent from Vietnam. Use SPECACT classes exclusively for BC2 MP. By leaving the default classes alone in BC2 MP, the Vietnam MP loadouts are preserved.

Issues fixed

TweakGuides has created a comprehensive guide for fixing issues in this game. It can be found here.

Unable to redeem serial key

(Steam only) Redeem the serial key on EA's site and then launch the game, logging into the EA account on the main menu[10]

Missing base game serial key

(Steam only) Contact EA Help to receive an Origin copy of the game so it no longer requires a key.[10]

"A connection error occurred. If this happen during account creation press cancel and then login with your new account"

Remove special punctuation characters from the password, such as <[11]

"Unable to log in. Please try again."

Remove special symbols from password, such as +[11]

Unable to update

Manually update[citation needed]

Hard crashing

Force DirectX 9[citation needed]

Blinking black screen

Set HSAO to false[citation needed]
  1. Open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\BFBC2\settings.ini
  2. Find the HSAO line in the file and change it to HSAO=false

No servers

If not seeing any multiplayer servers, deselect all filters except for PunkBuster and click search.

Communication Failure: PnkBstrA

Reinstall PunkBuster Services[12]

High frame rate issues

High Frame rates will cause broken animations scripts.
Limit frame rate to 60 FPS.[13]
Enable Vsync and set refresh rate to 60 Hz[14]

"Failed to connect to EA Online"

Install or update PunkBuster Services[15]

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 9.0c, 10, 11 Automatically set to the highest version the GPU can support. For details on how to manually set the DirectX version used, see Force DirectX Level.
Shader Model support 3, 4, 5
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Physics Havok
Audio DirectSound [9]
Input DirectInput
Cutscenes Bink Video 1.9p
Anti-cheat PunkBuster [16]

Mods

Although Frostbite is a relatively modding-unfriendly engine, a nascent modding community has formed and was able to extend the map border, create new in-game items and tweak weapons and vehicles. They have even released modding tools.

Project Rome

Venice Unleashed: Project Rome - server browser and mod toolkit.
Allows players to play Bad Company 2 online after the official shutdown on December 8, 2023.
Also used to fix the logging in requires a CD Key issue.

Force DirectX Level

Modify the settings.ini file[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open settings.ini.
  3. Change DxVersion= to the preferred DirectX version (9, 10, 11).

Greatly increase performance for low-end machines

Tweak configuration files[17][citation needed]
These options are not available in the in-game options menu.
  1. Open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\BFBC2\settings.ini.
  2. Change DxVersion=auto to either 9 or 10.
  3. Reduce RenderAheadLimit=2 to either 1 or 0.
  4. Reduce any other settings if necessary and save the changes.

For these changes to persist, make the settings.ini file read-only, otherwise these settings will be changed back to default when using the in-game UI to change other settings.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) XP
Processor (CPU) Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz
System memory (RAM) 2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 15 GB
Video card (GPU) ATI Radeon X1900
Nvidia GeForce 7800 GT
256 MB of VRAM


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>/24960/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (24960) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References

  1. Joakim Bodin (developer at DICE) on Twitter - last accessed on 2020-09-06
    "Game dev fun fact: Coldwood, the studio behind the just unveiled Unraveled game, helped DICE ship Battlefield: Bad Company 2 on PC."
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Battlefield Legacy - Sunsetting Announcement - last accessed on 2023-03-21
  3. Verified by User:tyl0413 on 2023-04-01
    Campaign runs without Origin running or even installed, Multiplayer requires in-game login.
  4. battlefield-bad-co-2 - Games for Windows - last accessed on 19 August 2022
  5. New 120Hz Games Report - last accessed on May 2023
  6. 6.0 6.1 New FOV pics/Day 1 Fixes - Electronic Arts UK Community (retrieved)
  7. [MICHAEL BAY ON]Bad Company 2: Carl Gustav is king! - Penny Arcade Forums (retrieved) - last accessed on 9 June 2023
  8. How-to: Vehicle gun/turret turn sensitivity adjustment with client patch R8 - Electronic Arts UK Community (retrieved) - last accessed on May 2023
  9. 9.0 9.1 An Audiophile's Guide to BF:BC2 (Full) - Battlefield Blog (retrieved)
  10. 10.0 10.1 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1509267575
  11. 11.0 11.1 Verified by Mirh
  12. Battlefield 2 - PunkBuster Technical Issues - last accessed on May 2023
  13. [missing title] - last accessed on 2021-11-09
  14. [missing title] - last accessed on 2021-11-09
  15. Verified by User:Shadowstealer7 on 2023-03-23
  16. Even Balance, Inc. - PunkBuster Online Countermeasures - last accessed on May 2023
  17. Bad Company 2: Four tips to making this game run better on your PC - Steam Users' Forums (retrieved)