Call of Duty: World at War

Call of Duty: World at War

Developers
	Treyarch
Multiplayer	Arkane Studios
Multiplayer maps	Certain Affinity
	Pi Studios
Publishers
	Activision
Russia	Noviy Disk
Engines
	IW 3.0
Release dates
Windows	November 11, 2008
Reception
Metacritic	83
IGDB	80
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	First-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Action, FPS, Shooter
Vehicles	Tank
Art styles	Realistic
Themes	Asia, Europe, World War II, Historical
Series	Call of Duty: Black Ops

Call of Duty: Black Ops
Subseries of Call of Duty
Call of Duty: World at War	2008
Call of Duty: Black Ops	2010
Call of Duty: Black Ops II	2012
Call of Duty: Black Ops III	2015
Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII	2018
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War	2020

Key points

All downloadable maps are free on PC, included in the various patches.

Lacks two-player splitscreen, some gore and slow-mo effects present on console versions.

Requires PunkBuster update to play on protected servers which is no longer hosted on Even Balance's website.

General information

CallofDutyMaps - A detailed Website for all included multiplayer maps.

Steam Community Discussions

UGX-Mods Custom Zombies

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		Campaign and Zombies EXE Uses SafeDisc 4.90.010 DRM. Key Required for install and Multiplayer/Zombies Servers but the Multiplayer EXE has no DRM.
Steam		Steam DRM v2. See below for a workaround.
Amazon.com (unavailable)
Games for Windows Marketplace (unavailable)
Humble Store (unavailable)

SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Makin Day	Available for free. Included with Patch v1.2. See Patches for a download link.
Map Pack 1	Available for free. Included with Patch v1.4. See Patches for a download link.
Map Pack 2	Available for free. Included with Patch v1.5. See Patches for a download link.
Map Pack 3	Available for free. Included with Patch v1.6. See Patches for a download link.

Essential improvements

Patches

Only needed for retail version. All patches must be installed in order

• 1.2 Patch
• 1.2 to 1.4 Patch
• 1.4 to 1.5 Patch
• 1.5 to 1.6 Patch
• 1.6 to 1.7 Patch

or use unofficial 1.0 to 1.7 Patch.

PunkBuster

To play on protected servers, multiplayer requires a PunkBuster update which is no longer hosted on EvenBalance's website. Obtainable here or here.

Skip intro videos

Edit config file[citation needed]
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open config.cfg. Change seta com_startupIntroPlayed "0" to seta com_startupIntroPlayed "1". Save the file.

Skip logo

Delete/rename image file[citation needed]
Go to <path-to-game>. Delete or rename cod.bmp.

Game data

In-game general settings (single-player).

In-game general settings (multiplayer).

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%LOCALAPPDATA%\Activision\CoDWaW\players\profiles\*.cfg
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/10090/pfx/

config.cfg is for single-player, config_mp.cfg is for multiplayer

You can force the profile to be saved into your game folder by starting it this way:

• CoDWaWmp.exe +set fs_localAppData "%cd%" +set fs_BaseGame "%cd%" for multiplayer
• CoDWaW.exe +set fs_localAppData "%cd%" +set fs_BaseGame "%cd%" for single-player

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%LOCALAPPDATA%\Activision\CoDWaW\players\profiles\
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/10090/pfx/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Steam Cloud

Video

In-game graphics settings.

In-game textures settings.

Graphics feature	State	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor			See the WSGF entry or use Widescreen Fixer.
Ultra-widescreen			See the WSGF entry or use Widescreen Fixer.
4K Ultra HD			In-game AA must be disabled. Force AA externally if required.
Field of view (FOV)		See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed		Type /r_fullscreen 0;vid_restart into console.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		Use T4M.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		Default is 4 samples.
Anti-aliasing (AA)		Up to 4x MSAA.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS
120+ FPS		Frame rate is capped at 85 FPS by default. Use com_maxfps 0 in the console to remove the cap.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.
Ray tracing (RT)
Color blind mode		Go to Options, Player name indicator; changes to blue and orange.

Field of view (FOV)

Values higher than 100 introduce graphical glitches, like gun viewmodels being cut off. (This issue is even visible at 90 with a small handful of weapons, like the FG42.)

FOV is capped at 80 on the majority of multiplayer servers.

Use CoD-SCZ-FoV-Changer
Download CoD-SCZ-FoV-Changer Set cg_fov to preferred FOV value. The tool has to be running during gameplay. Notes Works in online co-op games.

Change cg_fov using a hex editor

To change fov in multiplayer open CoDWaWmp.exe with a hex editor such as HxD. Go to address 004A3240 and change 82 42 to A0 42 for fov 80 or B4 42 for 90. (To get different values use a Floating Point Converter.) To do the same in singpleplayer open CoDWaW.exe with a hex editor such as HxD. Go to address 004AEF40 and change 82 42 to A0 42 for fov 80 or B4 42 for 90. (The difference is that solo and zombie map files themselves revert cg_fov back to 65 change it back to 80 on spawn or use /bind W "+forward;cg_fov 80" as a workaround.) Please keep in mind that the hex edits do not work on the steam install as the codwaw.exe appears to be protected. Hex edits will result in a Error code 51 when attempting to launch.

Start maps in developer mode
Bring up the console and type devmap followed by the map you want to load (map names list). Change cg_fov value. Notes Has to be repeated for every map load. Does not work in co-op modes.

Use console command (multiplayer)
Use \cg_fov command.

Input

In-game control settings.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		Type exec default_controller in the console. Requires Patch 1.6.
Full controller support		Controller doesn't work in menus.
Controller remapping
Controller sensitivity		Type input_viewSensitivity in the console, with a value between 0.1 and 5.
Controller Y-axis inversion		Type input_invertpitch 1 in the console.

Additional information
Button prompts		While there are technically no button prompts, binding actions on a controller shows a colored letter instead of a proper prompt. This shows up in gameplay.
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Audio

A list of useful audio console commands was available on the Treyarch wiki

In-game audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound		If the automatic detection fails, launch the game with +set snd_force51 1 to force 5.1 surround, or +set snd_force71 1 to force 7.1 surround.
Subtitles		Subtitles are shown only for main dialog. Foreign languages are ignored.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Czech				Retail only.
French
German
Hungarian				Fan translation, link #1, link #2.
Italian
Polish				Polish retail release only. Patch for digital release here.
Brazilian Portuguese				Fan translation: download.
Russian				Retail only. Patch for digital release here.
Spanish

Network

In-game cooperative/multiplayer settings.

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
Local play		4	Versus, Co-op Use Nucleus Co-op
LAN play		32
Online play		32	Versus, Co-op Co-op supports 4 players.

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
vorpX		G3D, Z3D User created game profile, see vorpx forum profile introduction.

Devices
3RD Space Gaming Vest

Issues fixed

Unhandled exception caught

Set sound quality to 24 bit, 48000 Hz[citation needed]
See Sound problems (cracking, delays, missing music/effects, etc.)

Common fix (Windows XP)[citation needed]
Go to Device Manager. Select Sound, Video, Game Controllers. Disable Unimodem Half-Duplex Audio device.

Possible fixes[citation needed]
Disable in-game Voice Chat. Plug-in microphone. Set compatibility mode to Windows XP SP2.

PunkBuster kicks with PB_INIT_FAILURE error message

PunkBuster has dropped support for the game; by default, every new install has this issue.

Update the pb folder
See #PunkBuster.

Missing profiles

Instructions[citation needed]
Go to the save game data location. Open profiles. Create a folder and name it whatever you want. Create active.txt file (still in profile folder) and inside write name of that new folder you made. Optional: make active.txt read-only.

Game unresponsive after pressing Alt+Tab

Appears to be caused by enabling 4x anti-aliasing.

Instructions
In Graphics Settings, limit Anti-aliasing to 2x, or alternatively force 4x or higher externally.

The game has problems with modern multi-core processors.

Instructions
Start the game with +set sys_smp_allowed 0. Notes Additionally, for better performance, limit the CPU affinity to the real core number or your CPU (not threads). For example, with a a six-core (12 threads) CPU the command should look like this: start /affinity 3F CoDWaWmp.exe +set sys_smp_allowed 0

Stuttering on modern systems

Game gives impression of stuttering despite a locked frame rate.

Instructions[citation needed]
In Graphics Settings, enable Dual Video Cards.

The game has problems with modern multi-core processors.^{[citation needed]}

Instructions
Start the game with +set sys_smp_allowed 0. Notes Additionally, for better performance, limit the CPU affinity to the real core number or your CPU (not threads). For example, with a a six-core (12 threads) CPU the command should look like this: start /affinity 3F CoDWaWmp.exe +set sys_smp_allowed 0

Crashing while changing resolution

Manually edit configuration file
Navigate to configuration file location and open configuration file. Change seta r_mode into the desired resolution and save. Repeat for second configuration file (single player and multiplayer).

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9.0c
Shader Model support	3

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Cutscenes	Bink Video	1.9g
Anti-cheat	PunkBuster	See #PunkBuster.

Bypass Steam DRM in multiplayer

Use Retail executable[citation needed]
Use the replacement executable.

Mods

• Fall of Berlin - increases historical accuracy of many missions
• T4M - unlocks many limits of the graphics engine (memory, assets number, FoV in co-op).

Allow custom color profile (optional)

Edit config file[citation needed]
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open config.cfg. Change seta r_gamma "1" to seta r_gamma "0". Change seta r_ignorehwgamma "0" to seta r_ignorehwgamma "1". Save the file.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	XP, Vista
Processor (CPU)	AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Intel Pentium 4 3 GHz
System memory (RAM)	512 MB 1 GB (Vista)
Hard disk drive (HDD)	8 GB
Video card (GPU)	ATI Radeon X1600 XT Nvidia GeForce 6600 GT 256 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0c compatible
Sound (audio device)	DirectX 9.0c compatible