Here is a list of common problems (if you think anything is missesing let one of the staff know). First of all make sure that you meet the requirements to run FH2. I suggest to read the FH2 wiki (You can find it here), this should answer most install and gameplay questions.
List of contents:
- What you need to play FH2
- FH2 and Windows Vista or Windows 7
- Problem 1: FH2 won't run / it crashes to desktop
- Problem 2: Black and white screen when using weapons!
- Problem 2B:Textures are all weird; cammo nets look all messed up and such!
- Problem 3: Icons not displayed on minimap, can't run and blurry vision
- Problem 4: BF2 won't start, it gives a "you are running a modified version" error message.
- Problem 5: On launch I get a "Shaders/StaticMesh.fx not found" error message.
- Problem 6: On launch I get a "Failed to move 'mods/bf2/shaders_client.zip' " error message.
- Problem 7: FH2 Won't uninstall!
- Problem 8: FH2 and BF2 crash/freezes after alt-tab!
- Problem 9: I can't find any FH2 servers.
- Punkbuster (PB) is giving me troubles?
- I can play FH2, but it's very laggy/slow!
- Final tips
A word of advice: If you start editting files or contents of a folder it's strongly adviced to make a backup of the files in question so that you can restore the situation to it's old state if necessary!. The most common problems are related to shader (texture) problems, please see problem & solution 2.
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What you need to play FH2:
From the Forgotten Hope Wiki
Forgotten Hope 2 is a total conversion modification of Battlefield 2.
What you do need
* Battlefield 2 patched to v1.50 (v1.41 should also work but you won't be able to play online) .
* A computer capable of meeting Battlefield 2's minimum requirements, running Windows 2000, XP, 2003 or Vista.
o 2GB of RAM is recommended for Vista.
* Approx 1.2GB of free disk space on the volume on which Battlefield 2 is installed.
What you do not need
* Any Battlefield 2 expansions (Special Forces, Euro Force or Armoured Fury).
* Battlefield 2142.
* Battlefield 1942
* Forgotten Hope for Battlefield 1942.
* The Battlefield 2 editor or mod tools.
Depending on your system specs you may have to lower your (graphic) settings. A relatively cheap way to play FH2 at higher settings is to get more RAM.
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FH2 and Windows Vista or Windows 7?
FH2 should be able to run on Windows Vista or Windows 7, though you should run FH2 on an account with Administrator permissions on your computer. To run FH2 as an administrator, right click the program, then run as administor. You can also setup this in the shortcut with advanced option in properties.
It's adviced to install BF2 on a different partition (D for example) than the partition (commonly C) which has Windows installed on it. You may also wish to turn off UAC. This way Windows shouldn't prevent the game from swapping some files, which it needs to do to ru the mod.
Also try to run the game in Windows XP compatibility mode, which should make the game more stable.
You should have more then 2GB RAM memory to run FH2 smoothly, as Vista and Windows 7 alone need that much to run smoothly.
The FH2 Toolbox (which ships with FH2) has not been designed for Vista or Windows 7, it should still be able to run though when you use an account with administrator acces.
Source: Credits go to Fenring
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Problem 1) FH2 won't run / it crashes to desktop:
Solution 1A: Be sure you that you installed FH2 properly. To install the game:
1) Install BF2
2) Patch it to the latest version: Version 1.50 (Is an incremental patch! Requires 1.41 to be installed!)
3) Install FH2 (client version, not server version!), Version 2.20.
Solution 1B: Make sure you start (and exit) the game properly. FH2 uses custom shader effects. Without the game being launched and closed properly shader effects may cause various (graphic) problems.
1) Run FH2.exe, and FH2.exe only! Do NOT launch BF2.exe, using the Community tab to switch to FH2.
2) Close FH2 properly (Main menu, Quit).
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Problem 2) When I go into sighted mode (right mouse button) with my weapons the screen turns black and white
Solution 2: FH2 uses custom shader effects (graphic effects) then BF2. Since a certain BF2 patch this required the FH2 mod to swap some shader files between the BF2 and FH2 directories. The BF2 shader file is switched out for a custom FH2 one when you launch FH2.exe (this is also why you should always start FH2 through FH2.exe and not via BF2.exe) and it's swapped back when you exit FH2 properly.The problem occurs when FH2 isn't launched or closed properly and can not swap the shader files, on the next launch of the game you will now be using incorrect shader/graphic effects which will give you the black & white iron sight effect. To fix this:
1) Always launch FH2 via FH2.exe and exit the game properly.
2) If the problem persists: Remove the files-directories in /my documents/battlefield 2/cache and /my documents/battlefield 2/mods/bf2/cache and /my documents/battlefield 2/mods/fh2/cache. Tip: The FHToolbox has a tool to do this for you!
3) If the problem still persists: Go to your battlefiled 2 mod directory (default c:\program files\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\mods\bf2)
You should find two files there shaders_client.zip (187kb) and shaders_client.zip-vanilla (219kb), rename shaders_client.zip to shaders_client.backup we wont remove it just in case, then rename shaders_client.zip-vanilla to shaders_client.zip.
4) If the above doesn't work, such as some files simply not being there, try to download the BF2 and/or FH2 shader files.
BF2: http://rapidshare.com/files/277648558/shaders_client.zip
FH2: http://rapidshare.com/files/277648864/shaders_client.zip
Place the BF2 shaders_client.zip file in the BF2 directory (default: c:\program files\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\mods\bf2)
Place the FH2 shaders_client.zip in the FH2 directory (default: c:\program files\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\mods\fh2)
If you use Windows Vista/7 you may get a "C:\Users\...\Desktop\shaders_client.zip: Cannot create BundledMesh.fx. Access is Denied." error message (it's a safety precaution). Simply extract the folders to the desktop and then drag to the proper folder, that will allow you to change the necessary folders.
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Problem 2B: Textures are all weird: cammo nets look all messed upand such!
Solution 2B: See Problem 2.
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Problem 3: I can't see Icons on minimap, cannot sprint, blurry vision--
Solution 3:
This is not a bug, but a feature. FH2 uses a "Wounded Shader" that blanks out your minimap, causes you to be unable to sprint and makes your vision blurry. It is activated once you take enough damage. To cure it, throw your bandage (weapon slot Eight) on the ground and prone over it for a few seconds. Some people do not see the blurriness, this is because certain Graphics Cards with certain Drivers with certain settings disable the blurry aspect of the Shader (but not the minimap blanking and inability to sprint). For a solution, see: [Fix] Broken Wounded Shaders on Nvidia with AA enabled.
Source: Credits go to Ionizer
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Problem 4: BF2 won't start, it gives a "you are running a modified version, please revert to the current official version" error:
Solution 4: This is caused because FH2 was not closed properly. The game still uses FH2 shaders because of this an therefor it won't run BF2 (or other mods) properly. To fix this see the solutions for "problem 2", above, on how to fix shader problems.
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Problem 5: On launch I get an error message: "Shaders/StaticMesh.fx not found!!! _DO_ check your working directory, _AND_ sync your shaders folder before calling upon your local rendering programmer/GP. (really)"
Solution 5: To fix this see the solutions for "problem 2", above, on how to fix shader problems.
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Problem 6: On launch I get an error message: "Failed to move 'mods/bf2/shaders_client.zip' to 'mods/bf2/shaders_client.zip_vanilla': The system cannot find the file specified"
Solution 6: One of the shaders_client.zip is missing, see the solutions for "problem 2", above, on how to fix shader problems.
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Problem 7: FH2 Won't uninstall!
Solution 7: The uninstaller currently does not remove FH2 properly. You will have to remove it yourself:
1) Try to remove FH2 using the Windows software wizard: Start > Configurationscreen > Software > Select FH2 and chose to remove.
2) Go to your BF2 directory (Default: C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2) and remove FH2.exe and any other traces of FH2. Then go to your mods folder and remove the "FH2" mod folder there.
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Problem 8: FH2 and BF2 crash/freezes after alt-tab!
Solution 8: This bug was introduced with the BF2 1.50 patch, a hot fix has been released:
http://www.filefront.com/14491339/Battlefield-2-Update-1.50-ALT-TAB-FIX/ . Install and overwrite the file to your BF2 directory, then delete your shader cache (default: My Documents\Battlefield 2\mods\bf2) and delete the cache directory.
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Problem 9: I can't find any FH2 servers.
When searching servers, there is a box in the 'filters' tab at the bottom of the screen that says 'Same Mod'. Check it, as well as unchecking the 'Ranked' box and you should start to see FH2 servers.
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Okay I can play FH2, but Punkbuster (PB) is giving me troubles!
This is probably caused because Punkbuster could not be auto updated (solution: Do a manual update) or because some software (firewall) blocks PB. Consult the PB website for more information:PunkBuster Online Countermeasures
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I can play FH2, but it's very laggy/slow
This may have various causes. Ofcourse you should make sure that your computer meets the minimum or recommended computer requirements for BF2/FH2.
- Try running the game at lower settings: Turn down graphical effects.
- Close any other applications: Xfire, Fraps, Internet browser etc. etc.
- Defragment your hard drive.
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Last tips
Hopefully this sticky can cover the most common troubles and errors with FH2. Note though that I'm not an expert on this sort of stuff and I may not be around. So if you need help I suggest to post in these forums, do not PM me with your problems since I might not be able to help you and may not be able to answer (quickly).
If everything else fails: Consider uninstalling FH2 (and BF2), be sure that the "Battlefield 2" directory in your "My documents" folder is also removed (back up the " profiles" and " screenshots" folders first though!). Then reinstall them in the proper sequence (see " problem 1").