BASH 911: CVAR out of range

I received the following email from bf, a BASH reader:

I came across your blog "BASH" and wonder if you could help me out. On certain COD2 servers I'm now getting kicked off because my CVAR=10,000 (or something like that). I would never use any type of cheat for online play (vs. just the computer I have, but not COD). How do I fix my CVAR range, whatever that is, so that I no longer get kicked off by Punkbuster?

I'll try and tell you what I think and I welcome any readers to chime-in and suggest their thoughts:

1. Try and remember what the exact CVAR error message is. Your error message sounds a bit vague.

2. Note that when PunkBuster can't determine that a player's gaming environment is functioning properly and/or has not been altered, an Integrity violation is raised. This also involves the detection of modified game or PunkBuster files. These violation numbers are between 10000 and 29999.

http://www.punkbuster.com/publications/d3-pl/index.htm

It's possible that if it's a PunkBuster 10000 code one of their game files was corrupted. Reinstall PunkBuster.

3. Having said that, could it have been this one?

VIOLATION (CVAR) #9001: Cvar cg_hudObjectiveMaxRange = 10000

If this is the one, open your console, (type ~ to open it)

Then type:

/cg_hudobjectivemaxrange 2048

followed by Enter.

CVAR's are client side variables known as console variables and can be changed in the config_mp.cfg file:

C:\Program Files\Activision\Call of Duty 2\main\players\yourname

One of the lines in this file should read:

seta cg_hudObjectiveMaxRange "2048"

Variables in these files can be changed by the user. You may have accidentally overwritten one of the variables. Possibly a CoD2 modification may have done something to alter this number. I am not sure right now. Possibly someone reading this might know more.

Does changing a line in the config_mp.cfg file constitute cheating? In my opinion, no it does not. Not unless, the server your on expressly forbids you from using a value outside a given range.

4. If this happens again, you can always type the name of the variable in the console, like

"/cg_hudobjectivemaxrange"

The console will tell you the current value of the parameter and it's maximum possible value. In this case it is 2048.

The Total Gaming League (TGL)

Checkout this week's BASH for an interesting webcast we did with Kevin Hollagbaugh, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for MyInternetServices.com.

Kevin tells us that his group has started a very intriguing new gaming league:

The Total Gaming League (TGL)

Not only is TGL going to be an exciting place to play - it may even be a lucrative place to play. The reason that it may be worth your while to play there is that they are offering prizes and cash rewards to the winners of their tournies!

And for all you CoD2 players out there...there's now a CoD2 5v5 S&D tournament. In fact, it just started ... but you can still sign up for it.

And the great part? Registration is free!

Make sure you listen to the webcast to find out more!

Something worth fighting for indeed!

We're not going out on the limb here to predict that the TGL will be the place to play CoD2 tournament level gaming.

The coming of the bots

The enemy in Medal of Honor Airborne purportedly is programmed with an AI that is much more sophisticated than we have seen in many other FPS games.

Apparently the software developers used a valuation system for objects in the game. It is no surprise really to continually see more and more intelligent bots in our games.

Hopefully we will soon find out whether the enemy soldiers in CoD4 live up to the smart bots in MoHA.

On that note, I must recommend an outstanding article on FPS bots.

QIII ARENA BOT

It's a PDF and don't be put off by the word "thesis" in the full title of the work. It's an excellent read on the logic behind FPS AI.

BASH, the first 65 years.

Thank you to our readers

We here at BASH are celebrating a really good week.

Hundreds of you are coming to our Call of Duty website every day from all over the world - as indicated in our graphic below.

Our CoD gaming webcast has become quite popular as well.

Thank you for reading and listening to BASH!



Note that BASH...the blog has an RSS feed. What that means is that you can always have the latest articles on your browser.

To subscribe to BASH...the blog's RSS feed, click the RSS feed icon on your browser while you have our page open.

These pics will show you how:

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Netstat: Check if ET is calling home

During the last of our Malware trilogy over on our webcast BASH we told you about a program that monitored what processes were running on your PC, it was called WinPatrol.

Well did you know that you have another program already installed on your Windows system to allow you to find out if those processes are trying to communicate on the internet?

It's called netstat and it has been around for a long time. In Windows XP, to use netstat, you click on:

START > RUN > type "command" > click OK > type netstat > hit Enter

All the network connections you have made will be shown. If there's something there that you don't recognize, it might give you pause to think that there's a virus on your system trying to communicate with its home base.

netstat is a little difficult to understand if you are not a real computer whiz, but there's a very informative webcast that will explain it a bit better at Leo Laporte's Security Now site.

Download the webcast here: The NETSTAT Command Episode 49

Even better than netstat is a program that is mentioned on Leo's site called: TCPView

TCPView is a visual GUI'ied up version of netstat and much more user friendly. The program now belongs to Microsoft AND it's free.

If you think you have processes running that are slowing your system down - run TCPView, it might be illuminating!

You can also learn more about what to do with netstat, TCPView to enable you to kill any viruses/trojans you may have here: Nohack Project

Related articles:

Malware

World Exclusive: eXtreme+ version 1.7 is coming!

Yes, {PST} Joker, one of the leading lights of the CoD2 eXtreme+ multiplayer mod has been at it yet again!

He has just told us here at BASH ... yes, a WORLD EXCLUSIVE... that the eXtreme+ mod has been updated and version 1.7 is now in BETA and will be out soon.

Server administrators, keep your eyes peeled to:

http://www.extremecod.com

in a few days for the usual free download!

But, before that happens, here's a sneak peak.

As you may know, {PST} Joker gave us the scoop on this new version in Episode 21 of BASH (available now!). Listen to it and find out everything you need to know about version 1.7 of eXtreme+.

Note, some v1.7 features talked about in this interview were still being play-tested prior to release, check with v1.7's release notes to determine if all have been implemented).

Here are the changes at version 1.7:

Gametype: Hitman

A new game type has been incorporated. This gametype developed by well known CoD enthusiast, Tally.

From Tally's own description:

One player is the Group Commander. At least one player is the Hitman. The majority of the players are Guards. The Commander gets two points for killing a Hitman, but his position is indicated on the HUD by a time-delayed blip and must keep moving to avoid precise detection by the Hitman.

When the Commander is killed, another Guard becomes the Commander.

The Commander cannot kill himself or be killed by friendly fire.

Guards can gain one point for killing a Hitman and Hitmen gain one point for killing Guards.

If a Guard finds and kills the Hitman, the Hitman becomes a Guard and the Guard becomes a new Hitman.

Gametype: Liberation

Also a new gametype for eXtreme+. This game has the following features:

When your teammates get killed you are imprisoned in the opponents jail until freed by a team member or the game ends with the entire team in jail.

In game Map Vote

The map vote is no longer restricted to 5 maps! Yea. Now I can play "Eraplace Re-loaded" over and over and over and over and over again.

Gun turret mobility

Oh oh...you can pick up and move machine guns. Finally! You can point the damn things in the direction YOU want to point them to. Awesome.


See also:

eXtreme+ articles

Resistance is NOT Futile

We have a great interview on Bash Episode 20 this week.

Jock interviews Ben (a.k.a. BubbaGump), project manager for the Call of Duty 2 Expansion game, Rise of the Resistance.

Listen to the episode here:


Show note:

To clarify something mentioned in the webcast, RoTR is an expansion for COD2. That means it will require COD2 version 1.3 to play it. COD2 has PunkBuster already in the 1.3 patch. So multiplayer will have PB support.

Additional articles:

Rise-of-resistance-update
Vive-la-resistance

Screencast on the use of Ventrilo

To really enjoy the full experience of multiplayer online gaming you must communicate with your fellow players.

There are a few programs on the Internet (e.g. Roger Wilco, Teamspeak) that will allow you to do this, but my favorite is Ventrilo.

You can get it here: http://www.ventrilo.com/download.php

Also known as "vent", Ventrilo uses Voice of Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. Some of its features include:

- surround sound positioning and special sound effects on a per user, per channel, per server or global configuration level

- the program provides each user the option to fully customize exactly how they wish to hear sounds from other users or events.

- it has excellent sound quality and uses very few CPU resources (nearly no effect on your ping!).

- hotkeys

- recording and playback feature

- text-to-speech functions

- VOX

- multiple chat rooms

To show you what it looks like I've prepared this little Flash screencast (you need a Flash plug-in for your browser to view it). The screencast is my first ever attempt at this new media (please let me know what you think).

If you have downloaded it and want to try it out, point it to the Devil Dogz server (and come play CoD2 while you're at it!):

Devil Dogz Ventrilo IP address: 66.55.149.15 Port: 4664

Tell anyone there...Jock sent ya!


Enjoy!

We've been punked! *UPDATE 2*: Lowkee edition

BASH...the Blog reader, Lowkee (BF2142 player) made a stunning discovery recently and posted it in the comments section in our article on the PunkBuster lag article on this website (We've been punked! *UPDATE 1*).

I did not want his comments buried, so I am posting them here. Please read if you have been having lag issues with Punk Buster:

Although it pains me to release this fix where EvenBalance can read it and give me absolutely no credit for wasting hours of my life in finding a solution, here is a proof of concept, as such, of the PunkBuster service bug:

Trillian == lag in-game
ICQ == lag in-game
ATI Control Center == lag in-game
Winamp == lag in-game (in certain instances)

What do these programs all have in common? Global Hotkeys.

It seems the new PB service chokes if any application hooks into for global hotkey support. So, disabling global hotkeys in all of your application will bring your FPS rate back to normal with no more slowdown due to PB beta testing on your PC.

As an added FPS boost, setting the following in your BF 2142 (or any other PB enabled game) console will also help:

(type in the game console)
pb_system 1
pb_sleep 500
pb_writecfg

Happy playing everyone, in spite of PunkBuster.

-Lowkee

This is an awesome find. Lowkee. I've been having issues myself with PB (as with nearly all my COD2 friends) and your comments are quite interesting. I am running Itunes (I believe that program uses Global Hotkeys).

I'll be experimenting with this and report back with any positive information.

I would encourage our readership to do the same. Please post your findings in the comments section of this post.

THANK YOU LOWKEE! And keep up the good work!

Collier of Infinity Ward speaks on CoD4

Jamie Sefton from PCZone has a very interesting article on Grant Collier's comments regarding Call of Duty 4. You can read it here: PCZone.

Here's some of what Collier had to say:

"We really wanted to craft an enemy that would give the Western powers a stand-up fight," continues Collier. "COD for us is two sides with different advantages pitted against each other, but very evenly matched. A lot of the modern battles are very one-sided, so one team comes in and f***ing annihilates the other guy, then it's just insurgencies and mopping up - stuff that really isn't Call Of Duty and doesn't make for a fun game."

That's good news for some of us die-hard CoD2 fans. Bughunting pyjama-wearing RPG platoons was not what I was really interested anyway!

Word: To tweak or not to tweak...

This is yet another edition of Word: an editorial from the brilliant CoD combatant and outstanding wordsmith, MorphineFiend. Mr. MorphineFiend has agreed to share his thoughts on CoD4 with the BASH...the blog readership.

All the opinions in Word are MorphineFiend's. So, if you have any issues or comments, please direct your fire to him. Lol. Please post any comments below, or email him directly at: morphinefiend@devil-dogz.com.

- Jock Yitch, BASH


Word: To tweak, or not to tweak...
May 22, 2007 Edition
by MorphineFiend
BASH Guest Editorial

Today I take issue with Stock or Modded, or as I like to call it…To Tweak, Or Not To Tweak. There are those who believe that Call of Duty 2 should only be played as packaged, and others who feel that you should be able to “tweak” any of the cfg files that come along with the game. I will try to remain as neutral as my beer allows me to be. We must try to look at both sides of the issue.

First off, we’ll start with the COD Purists. There is a consensus that the game was meant to be played and enjoyed as is. That is to say, that the game that Infinity Ward and Activision produced is the end all-be all game. There is no room for interpretation or improvement. A common argument seems to stem from the fact that no official expansion pack will be released from Infinity Ward and Activision. (For future references we will just call them IW/A.) These Purists have the same view as any writer has about literature: that any alteration of a work should only be able to modified by the author of such work, in this case, IW/A. There are numerous ways, of course, to modify the game, and Jock Yitch has covered some of the ways (through altering different lines in the various .cfg files.)

On the other hand, there are those gamers who believe that games can, and quite possibly, should be modified to gain the maximum fulfillment of the product. These gamers take the stance that the .cfg files belong to the game, a game in which they paid money for to begin with. That the game, is in fact, their property. Being such property, gamers have almost a right to alter any aspect of the game that they feel compelled to do.

So we have the basics covered. Now, we move on to possible moral and ethical implications involved. Through “tweaking” .cfg files, one is able to increase frames per second, greater sensitivity, control assignments, personalized binds, and such. But, where do these tweaks cross the line? When does adapting the game to fit a gamer’s style cross the proverbial mine field of morality? By tweaking the scripting and configs, gamers are actually giving themselves an edge over their less tech-savvy opponents.

After all, isn’t the game on a very fundamental and rudimentary level, merely a series of 0’s and 1’s? One would think so, but the answer to this issue is rarely clear cut black and white. Consumers buy products for many different reasons. One of the main reasons that someone decides and chooses to purchase an item is entertainment—their personal or family entertainment and amusement. That being said, the consumer has every right to enjoy their product in any way that will produce said entertainment and amusement.

While opening the door for a gamer’s personal amusement and enjoyment, we also open the door to public enemies. These public cancers are hackers: those who have manipulated code to enjoy and amuse themselves through the unethical equivalent of getting a leg up on the clean players.

So, the question still exists…to tweak or not to tweak. The way that I personally see it is this: it’s up to the gamer. There’s been a lot in the past few years of professional athletes “juicing.” Let’s, for a minute or two, look at Major League Baseball. Does the alleged juicing make the sport more interesting, or does it taint its history? In recent years, there has been an almost rejuvenated excitement around home run races. Surely, there is an increased interest in such things. However, there are those who believe that Roger Maris’ record should still stand. He was a purist. He didn’t need performance enhancing drugs to achieve the record. Clearly, there are two sides to that issue.

My point is this. Gaming is akin to sports. The issue is between what the masses like. Is it to play a pure sport, or to play an extreme sport? Sure, there needs to be some kind of basic set of guidelines of what is and what isn’t acceptable. For Call of Duty 2, that guideline is PunkBuster. Love it or hate it, PB does help, in its own way, of leveling the tweaked side of the field.

In conclusion, there is no definitive right or wrong answer. There are always at least two different sides to any issue, if not more. There are gamers that insist that bolt action rifles are the only way to play (no scopes might I add), while others think any weapon is fair play. When I sit down to play, I choose what server that I connect to. I know that if I connect to a pure server, what the game play will be like, what weapons I will be able to select, and so on and so on. It’s not a free world, but thankfully, it is a free cyberspace: a cyberspace that allows its users to come and go as they please, wherever he or she pleases. IW/A, to my knowledge, has not released any official position on the way their product should be played. That tells this humble gamer that it’s a matter of choice, a matter of preference, and a matter of self-governed integrity.

Word.

The BASHIE for May

As the regular readers of BASH...the Blog know, we hand out the coveted BASHIE every month for multimedia that catches our eye.

Well for this month, it's a video, from http://www.capit-ctf.com/; here it is:

By the way, it's a 100 Mb download - worth the eye-candy though.

Everything looks better in slow motion...

Ave Maria
Gratia plena
Maria, gratia plena
Maria, gratia plena
Ave, ave dominus
Dominus tecum
Benedicta tu in mulieribus
Et benedictus
Et benedictus fructus ventris
Ventris tuae, Jesus.
Ave Maria

System Requirements Lab

This article has moved to BASHandSlash.com: Click here.