BF2142 Fullscreen & Widescreen Resolution Guide.

[VectorRoll]

BF2142 Fullscreen & Widescreen Resolution help guide.
By VectorRoll

In the beginning; their was no Widescreen support for this game. Now after 1.50 we have Widescreen support. (Note: You must have 1.50 or later for the support. For any patch before this; you will need to force it yours by the means which I have listed below.)

Brief description of the deference in quality.
These descriptions are just my opinions from what I have tested. Other people might have a different opinion on it.
Before 1.50 I would set the preset settings on high while using the default resolution. Even with modifying the resolutions by one of the three methods below the picture quality still did not seem right. Now that I have used the 1.50 patch and set my resolution up for Widescreen the picture is a lot better. It is more crisp than the older ways of adjusting it. The difference is noticeable. The cursor will be smaller and the picture quality will look a lot better for those people that are using a Widescreen.
Another noticeable difference is the way the game starts up and shuts down. If you have ever started the game and watched it shut down; you will notice that the screen makes adjustments to during the start up and shut down when it switches between the settings. It also makes it sluggish during this transition. Now the game will start up and shut down more smoothly.

I also hope that this will stop the display driver from crashing. It will need further testing for that. I have always guessed that the difference in resolutions was causing the display drivers to eventually crash after a while and restart themselves. Now that they are the same; I hope that this will stop.

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On to the Guide.

I have taken the main methods that we know of and added them all here in this little guide to help people understand the ways in which to improve their resolution settings.

Methods for changing Fullscreen Resolutions before patch 1.50 was released.:(Note: For these three methods the in game video settings must be set to their default resolutions.)

For the Video.con file.
First: Make a copy of you video.con file just in case you don't like the out come or you mess up. It is located in the BF2142 folder in My Documents under the Profile folder. Their is 0001, etc., etc., and Default. The Video.con file is in those folders. Default is self explanatory and the numbered ones are soldiers.
Second: Open the video.con file with notepad.
Third: Go down to the VideoSettings.setResolution 1024x768@60Hz (This is what you change. It will be set at what ever the setting is for that profile.) Just add the resolution you wish.

For the short cut icon method.
First: Make a copy of the BF2142 shortcut. Rename it to the resolution you want.
Second: Right click on the shortcut and select Properties.
Third: Select the Target Path and add this +szx 1680 +szy 1050 at the end. I should look like this but with the resolution numbers you desire. C:\Program Files\EA Games\Battlefield 2\BF2.exe" +menu 1 +fullscreen 1 +szx 1680 +szy 1050
Also people have changed the Fullscreen here to Widescreen; but the result was the same because their was no support in place for Widescreen.

Their was also a Widescreen fixer program that you could use.
It is located here.: imk.cx: PC Projects - Widescreen Fixer
Certain versions are said to be able to work with Punk Buster enable servers.

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Now for the widescreen support after patch 1.50 was released.:
First: I want to say that I am not sure why they did not just make a method for selecting the Widescreen support within the game. The only way to turn it on is to change the target path in the shortcut.

This is basically that same as the short cut icon method.
First: Right click on the shortcut for the game and select Properties.
Second: Select the Target Path and add the +widescreen 1 at the end after the +fullscreen 1. It should look like this. C:\Program Files\EA Games\Battlefield 2\BF2.exe" +menu 1 +fullscreen 1 +widescreen 1
Now all you need to do is to go into the game and select the resolution that you want to use.

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Here is the current list of resolutions that are in the game. (Note: This changes depending on which setting that you use your target path to.)

Current Resolutions available; that are already in the game.: (Note: This may depend on the monitor that you have. I have noticed that some resolutions in the original list have changed. I list the two below in the Fullscreen list. I did make the list when I was using a different monitor. As I double check the list I noticed the difference.)
If anyone is wondering what the monitor is that I am using I list it on the next line.
Monitor: Gateway FHD2400 Widescreen LCD Display w/DXP Audio Sound System ( This is an HD 1080p monitor.)

For Fullscreen resolutions I have these resolutions in the list to select from in the game's settings.: (This list is from just using +fullscreen 1)
(800x600@60Hz)
(800x600@72Hz)
(800x600@75Hz)
(1024x768@60Hz)
(1024x768@70Hz)
(1024x768@75Hz)
(1152x864@60Hz)
(1152x864@75Hz)
(1280x900@60Hz) at one point in time this one was (1280x960@60Hz)
(1280x900@75Hz) at one point in time this one was (1280x960@75Hz)
(1600x1200@60Hz)
(1400x1050@60Hz)

For Widescreen resolutions I have these resolutions in the list to select from in the game's video settings.: (This list is from just using +widescreen 1)
(800x600@60Hz)
(800x600@72Hz)
(800x600@75Hz)
(1024x768@60Hz)
(1024x768@70Hz)
(1024x768@75Hz)
(1152x864@60Hz)
(1152x864@75Hz)
(1280x720@60Hz)
(1280x720@75Hz)
(1280x768@60Hz)
(1280x768@75Hz)
(1280x1024@60Hz)
(1280x1024@75Hz)
(1440x900@60Hz)
(1440x900@75Hz)
(1600x1200@60Hz)
(1680x1050@60Hz)
(1680x1050@75Hz)
(1920x1080@60Hz)
(1920x1200@60Hz)
(1400x1050@60Hz)

Note: In the EA support site it says to add +widescreen 1 after the +fullscreen 1. This should give you both sets of resolutions combined. When I get a chance I will add this list into the thread. (This list is from using +fullscreen 1 +widescreen 1)
(800x600@60Hz)
(800x600@72Hz)
(800x600@75Hz)
(1024x768@60Hz)
(1024x768@70Hz)
(1024x768@75Hz)
(1152x864@60Hz)
(1152x864@75Hz)
(1280x720@60Hz)
(1280x720@75Hz)
(1280x768@60Hz)
(1280x768@75Hz)
(1280x960@60Hz)
(1280x960@75Hz)
(1280x1024@60Hz)
(1280x1024@75Hz)
(1600x900@60Hz)
(1600x900@75Hz)
(1600x1024@60Hz)
(1600x1024@75Hz)
(1600x1200@60Hz)
(1920x1080@60Hz)
(1920x1200@60Hz)
(1400x1050@60Hz)
(1440x900@60Hz)
(1440x900@75Hz)
(1680x1050@60Hz)
(1680x1050@75Hz)



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Warning: When changing the target path from Fullscreen to Widescreen. If you try to change back to Fullscreen after switching to Widescreen; the BF2142.exe will stop working and give you and error massage saying that it has stopped working. If this occurs; then use the fix below.
Fix: To fix this; you need to delete the profile folder from the BF2142 folder in the My Documents section of the computer. That folder will remake itself; so their is no need to worry about it.

Note: Some people have also noticed that their video settings might need a bit of tweaking after installing the 1.50 patch. Most of these issues that have been noticed, deal with the Dynamic Lighting. So if you all of a sudden start to get darkness when going into the Titan or other areas; then try messing around with that setting.

Note: Some ATi cards may display the trees as blocks on the new Wake Island 2142 map. To resolve this, turn anti-aliasing on.

Note: Some times when patching to 1.50 the their might be a chance that you will not get all the resolutions that you should; no matter what method for turning on the widescreen option you use. I personally experienced this after using the GameShadow to update the game. It may also occur during the incremental patch that allows you to patch from 1.40 to 1.50. If this occurs; then use the fix below.
Fix: To fix this; you need to do a complete reinstall of the game. Make sure to use only the full 1.50 patch only and no other earlier patches. This fix will give you all the resoultions that you should be able to select.

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So when you install patch 1.50 or later you should only need to use that method which I have mentioned above. I am sure that you will like the results that you get from using it.

Thanks for reading.
I hope this guide was help to you.

P.S. If I missed anything or something of what I said is wrong please feel free to post about it and I will try to edit the OP to try and correct it.

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*** Widescreen for BF2142 MAC Version ***

To get the widescreen to work for the MAC version of the game; you need to edit of the config file in the BF2142 preference file. You can do this by doing the following.

Open this up "~/Library/Preferences/Battlefield 2142 Preferences/config" in the text editor; and add these lines to it.

[AppDefaults\\BF2142.exe\\transgaming]
"cmdlineadd" = "+widescreen 1 +szx 1440 +szy 900"

NOTE: The you may need to change the resolution numbers depending on the resolution that you are using.

[bluebaldybob]

Cheers VectorRoll, I'll give this a try later when I download the 1.50 Beta.

You should be working for EA mate, your talents are wasted here lol

[VectorRoll]

/Bump
I added a small bit of info about the ATI cards to this just now; that might help people. Since the patch is now live I think that it might also be helpful to bring it back up to the top.

[BanedonSkyRider]

Quick question: If switching back from widescreem to fullscreen causes the local profile folder (called Battlefield 2142 under My Documents) to become corrupt, would it not be a good idea to make a copy of that folder (called OLD_BF2142 or whatever) so that you can delete the corrupt one and rename the backup one back to Battlefield 2142 when going back to fullscreen mode?

P.S. Nice job on the guide.

[VectorRoll]

That would seem to be a good way to fix it. I might have to test that when I get back too my other house in a few days. If it works I will add it to the guide.

[VectorRoll]

I have updated this to also show how to enable widescreen support within the MAC version of the game.

[Forces(UK)]

VectorRoll, I just want to say what a comprehensive and well-witten guide yours is.

Thanks very much for writing it & posting it. ...Even the nice clear formatting hasn't gone un-noticed.

[page2142]

+1....

[Forces(UK)]

*fade in gostly wailing sounds*

"Welcome to the thread that went bump in the night...".

*fade out gostly wailing sounds*

p.s. Sticky maybe?