Command&Conquer(tm)Generals
IMPORTANTUPDATEFROMTHEBATTLEFIELD
2003ElectronicArtsInc.Allrightsreserved.
ForthelatestnewsandupdatesvisitGENERALS.EA.COM
Incomingtransmission
General,
Severalofourloyalsupportershavepassedalongintelligencethathas
allowedtheGIAtouncoverandrepairseveralglitchesinyourtactical
software.Yoursoftwarehasbeenupdatedaccordingly.
Goodluck.
GeneralsIntelligenceAgency
Endtransmission
Version1.8December,2005
Issuesaddressed:
1.CompatibilitypatchtosupportmultiplayerwithC&CTheFirst
Decade.
Version1.7October1,2003
Issuesaddressed:
1.FORCEFIRECHINA'sGattlingTankscannolongerforcefirethrough
buildings.
2.RALLYPOINTSAddedrallypointstotheGLATunnelNetworks.
3.IMPROVEDONLINESTATSMadeimprovementstothecodethattracks
statisticsanddisconnectsinonlinegames.
4.CRASHFIXFixedacrashbugrelatedtotheParticleCannon.
5.DESYNCHFIXFixedamismatchthatoccurredwhenorderingaunitto
attackrightaftertheyexitedabuilding.
6.REGIONACCURACYUsertooltipintheCustomMatchlobbynow
correctlydisplaystheuser'sregion.
7.HERORADARICONJarmenKell,BlackLotusandColonelBurtonnow
haveaspecialiconontheradarmap.
8.CHATSOUNDEFFECTAddedanaudiocuetothecommunicatortoalert
userstoanincomingmessage.
9.TEXTFIXESFixedtexterrorsinthetooltipsforUSADroneArmor
andCHINANuclearTankupgrades.
10.FIREWALLPORTOVERRIDEOPTIONSITEMFirewallPortOverridevalues
cannowbesetontheOptionsmenufromthe
MainMenu.
Thegamewillneedtotalktoexternalserversthatusethefollowing
portnumbers.Theseportsneedtobeopeninyourfirewallinorderto
playonGeneralsOnline:
TCPports:80,6667,28910,29900,29920
UDPports:4321,27900
Ifyourfirewalldoesnotallowoutgoingpacketstoopenportsto
incomingtraffic,oryouexperienceproblemsconnectingtoother
players,youwillhavetospecifywhichportyouwantCommand&Conquer
GeneralsZeroHourtouseforcommunicatingwithotherplayers.Todo
this,gototheMainMenuandthenselectOptions.Thereisabox
labeledFirewallPortOverride.Assigntheportyouwanttousetothe
portoverrideentry.Afteryouenteraportnumber,besuretohit
Accept.
Youwillneedtoopenthechosenportinyourfirewallforcommunication
withplayersexternaltoyourfirewallorNATdevice.Ifyouusethe
portoverridefeature,theportyouhavechosencannotbemasqueraded
byaNATdevice.
DirectConnectdoesnotsupportfirewalls.
Version1.6July,2003
Issuesaddressed:
1. FIREWALLPORTOVERRIDEINIENTRYrepairedthisentrysoitfunctions
correctly.Seesection2.10oftheReadmeformoreinformationon
usingthisINIentry.
2. ALTF4MULTIPLAYEREXPLOITQuittingthegameduringamultiplayer
matchusingAltF4,aswellasCtrlAltDeleteortheAltTabmenu,
willnowcorrectlygivetheuseradisconnectstat.
3. CHINESEANDKOREANIMEWINDOWORDERReprioritizedtheKoreanand
ChineseIMEwindowsontheSave/Loadscreensotheynowsortontop
ofallotherwindows.
4. SCUDSTORMANTHRAXBETABUGGLAsScudStormnowhasthecorrect
damageradiuswhenupgradedwithAnthraxBeta.
5. CHINAGATTLINGTANKBUGChinasGattlingTanknowcorrectlymoves
slowerwhenitisdamaged.
6. MULTIPLAYERLOBBIESThelobbieshavebeenrenamedtoallowpeople
tocongregatebasedonthetypeofgametheywanttoplay,nottheir
region.Theselobbiesare:
1vs1
2vs2
3vs3
4vs4
Free4All
ClanWars
Asia
Europe
NAmerica
NoSupers
ModMaps
Newbies
7.GENERALBALANCINGISSUES:
ChinasGattlingweaponsnowrequireLineofSighttofire.
ChinasMiGcostincreasedfrom1000to1200.
ChinasMiGArmorcostincreasedfrom500to1000.
USsColdFusionReactorControlRodupgradecostdecreasedfrom
800to500.
8.QUICKMATCHRESOLUTIONTheresolutionforQuickMatchgamesisno
longerlimitedto800x600.
9.BEHINDBUILDINGSGRAPHICAddressedaproblemwhereunitocclusion
wascausingpeoplewitholdvideocardstoseeinvisibleunits.
10.ALTERNATEMOUSEINTERFACEAddedfeaturetoallowplayerstoplay
withrightclickactioninterface.Movementandactionsarehandled
viarightclickonthemouse.Alsochangedarrowkeystosupportmap
scrolling.
11.GEFORCEFXGLITCHFixedaglitchthatcausedsomegraphics
corruptiontoappearforownersofNVIDIA'sGeForceFXvideocards.
12.CRASHFIXFixedacrashthatoccurredwhenyoudisablethebehind
buildingsfeatureintheadvancedoptions,exitthegame,reenablethe
featureintheadvancedoptions,andthenloadamap.
13.CHEATHACKSFixedtheabilityforplayerstocheatbygiving
themselvesautomaticbuild,upgrade,andGeneralspowersbuttons.Also
fixedtheabilityforplayerstohacktheirGeneralspointsin
multiplayergames.
Version1.5
Issuesaddressed:
1. STATRECORDINGINACCURACY:Madesuretheonlinestatsaretracked
correctly.Initialdisconnectingplayerswillbetrackedand
wins/losseswillbecorrectlytabulated.Onenotetoremember:At
theDisconnectVotingscreenplayersMUSTwaitforthecountdownto
finish.Aplayerthatexitsthisscreenbeforethecountdownis
donewillreceiveadisconnect.Also,thevotingbuttonhasbeen
removedfromany2playergameDisconnectScreen.
2. USBARRACKSEXPLOIT:LoweredthenumberofRangersthatappearafter
aUSBarracksisdestroyed.
3. BUGGYMISSILETRACKINGAFTERUPGRADE:Madesurethemissiles
continuetrackingtargetsaftertheplayerupgradestheRocketBuggy.
4.RELOADINGCOMANCHES,ROCKETBUGGIES:MadesuretheRocketBuggyand
theComanchescanreloadreliably.
5.GLAFASTBUILDBUG:FixedexploitthatallowedmultipleWorkersto
speedstructurebuildtimes.
6. DOUBLEPLANEWEAPONSCAUSEINCORRECTDAMAGE(Allplanes):Madesure
thattargetstakedamagecorrectlywhenmultipleordinanceshita
targetsimultaneously.
7. SOMEUSERSARESEENINTHEWRONGGAMELOBBIES:Fixedthissothat
phantomuserswouldntbeseeninmisc.lobbies.
8. GENERALBALANCINGISSUES:
BugfixedinMiGdamagecodewhereupgradednapalmdidtoo
muchdamagetotargets.
GLABombtruckhealthupfrom220to250.
Workerhealthupfrom100to140.
TunnelNetworkgundamageincreasedfrom10pershotto15
pershot.
Overlordbuildtimeincreasedfrom20to25seconds.
ScorpionTanknowbuildsin10secondsinsteadof14.
GLAArmsDealerbuilduptimedecreasedfrom50to40
seconds(iniseconds,notgameseconds.)
TunnelNetworkBuildTimeimprovedfrom20secondsto15
seconds(iniseconds,notgameseconds.)
Version1.43/10/03
Issuesaddressed:
Changedtherulesfordisconnections.Now,onlytheplayerswho
disconnectfromthegameorphysicallylosetheirconnectiontothe
Internetarechargedwithadisconnect.
Addedanew25secondonGeneralsonline.Now,onlinematchesneedto
beplayedforover25secondsinordertorecordawin,loss,or
disconnect.Thisistodiscourageplayersfromartificiallybolstering
theirrankandstatsthroughadummyaccount.
Fixedoccurrencesofthesamegameappearingmultipletimesinthe
lobby.Generalsnowactivelyremovesduplicategamesinordertomake
findingandjoiningmatcheseasier.
Allthechatroomsinthecustommatchlobbynowhavetheirown
dedicatedlistofactivegames.
Fixedimproperdisconnectionsfromthegamelobby.Youshouldno
longerseethe"LostconnectiontoGeneralsonline"errorwhenyour
connectionisstillactive.
Fixedlanguagefilterstability.
AddedanewcommandlineformoddevelopersthatletsGeneralsrun
usercreatedcontent.Simplyaddthe"mod"commandlineafterthe
generals.exetargetpath,followedbythenameofanyusercreated.big
fileorusercreateddirectory.Thecorrectpathwouldlikethis:
"C:\ProgramFiles\EAGames\CommandandConquerGenerals\generals.exe"
modMyGeneralsMod.big.Allusercreatedcontentmustbeplacedinthe
"CommandandConquerGeneralsData"folderwithinyour"c:\Documentsand
Settings"directory.
Fixedthemissingartworkforthe"randomprivate"rankinGenerals
online.
Fixedtherankhackwheresomeplayersappeartohaveahigherrank
thantheyshould.
Increasedtheallowedtimeforgametonegotiatematchingbetween
players.
Fixedsomeinstancesofthe"seriouserror"crash.
Addedanew4playerMultiplayerMap:RogueAgent
Implementedthefollowingbalancechanges:
TunnelNetworkbuildspeedincreasedfrom5secondsto20
seconds.
Marauderhitpointsincreasedfrom430to490.
StealthFighterhitpointsincreasedfrom120to140.
ExplosiondamagedonebyChineseNukeTankswhentheyare
destroyedisreducedfrom25to10.
NukeCannonchangedsoitmovesthesamespeedwhendamaged,not
faster.
Auroraspeedincreasedfrom90to120afteritdropsitsbomb.
Damagedspeedincreasedfrom60to120.
SeriousErrorinfo:
Ifyouencounterthiserrorfrequently,youmayalsosendanemailto
seriouserror@ea.comtohelpusdiagnosetheproblem.Youwillnot
receivearesponseasthisemailisexclusivelysetuptohelpus
collectdata.MakesuretoincludeEAsySysteminfowhichislocated
inyourinstalleddirectory.Youshouldalsoincludeyour
ReleaseCrashInfo.txtfilewhichcanbefoundinyourCommandand
ConquerGeneralsDatafolder.
Makesuretocheckthemessageboardsatwww.generals.ea.comforuser
suggestedworkarounds.
Version1.32/20/03
Issuesaddressed
QuickMatchstabilityandmatching
Generalconnectionfixupsbehindrouters(multipleplayersbehindthe
samerouter,refreshingtheplayerIPafterafailedconnection)
RefreshbuttonaddedtoCustomLobby
GameList/PlayerListnolongerpopstothetopoccasionally
PlayerListnolongerjumps,etc.makingitdifficulttoclickona
name
Communicatorrequestsadditionofbuddytobothplayers.Also,
incomingmessagesgetasoundeffect
SpacesinfrontofgamesinGameListnolongerallowed
GameLists/PlayerListsalphabetizeinupperandlowercase
Pingtoleranceiconadjustmenttomakemoreuseful
MoreaccuracyinnumberofplayerspergameinGameList
1.KNOWNFIREWALLISSUESANDWORKAROUNDS
1.1.KnownIssues
1.2.WirelessSMCRouters
1.3.LinksysRouters
1.4.OtherRouters
2.STABILITYISSUESANDHEAT
3.VIACHIPSETUSERS
4.UNSUPPORTEDVIDEOCARDS
5.ACCURATE1.2PATCHISSUES
1.KNOWNFIREWALLISSUESANDWORKAROUNDS
1.1.KnownIssues:
PlayingCommand&ConquerGeneralsonmorethanonePCbehindaD
Linkroutermightleadtoadisconnecterror.
1.2.WirelessSMCRouters:
Below,youwillfindinstructionsonhowtoopentheportsofan
SMCwirelessrouter.SpecialthankstoforumregularHautKarlfor
thefollowinginformation.
NOTE:Thisconfigurationisonlyforthoseexperiencingconnection
problemssettingupagameOnlineinCommand&ConquerGenerals
behindaSMCWirelessRouter/Firewall,althoughotherSMC
firewallsmightworkwithsimilarsetups.
TheseinstructionsshowhowtosetupyourSMCWirelessRouterto
opencertainportsinthefirewallwhenGeneralstriestocreate
orconnecttoanOnlinegame.
1. Gototheconfigurationprogramforyourrouter.Todothat,
openMSInternetExplorerandintheaddressboxtype
http://192.168.2.1(thisisthedefaultIPaddressfortheSMC
Wirelessrouter;ifyouchangedthisaddress,thenyoushould
typetheaddressthatyouenteredthefirsttimethatyou
configuredyourrouter).Youllbepromptedforyourloginand
password.Ifyouhaveneverchangedyourpassword,thenusethe
defaultone.LookforitintheSMCinstructionmanual.
2. NowyoushouldbeatthemainmenuoftheSMCsetupprogram.
ClickinthemenunamedNAT,thenclickinthesubmenunamed
SpecialApplications.
3. Nowyouhavetosetuponerulepercomputerconnectedtothe
routerthatwillbeusedtoplayGenerals.
a) Addatriggeringportpercomputer.TheTriggerPort
specifieswhichportisusedtoinitiatetheconnection.It
isimportantnottouseastandardport.Asyoucansee
belowwesetuprulesfor2computersandweusedport29900
forthefirstcomputerand29910forthesecondcomputer.In
theTriggerTypeoptionselectUDPasthisistheprotocol
usedbyGenerals
b) InIncomingPortRangewehavetospecifytheportsthat
therouterwillenablewheneverthecomputerestablishesa
connectionthroughtheTriggerPort.Hereyouwillsetupa
rangeofports.SMCroutersseemtoworkcorrectlyifyou
providearangewith10ports,howeverotherfirewallsmight
needwiderranges.Onceagain,donotuseanystandardports
orarangethatmightincludeastandardport.Youhave
definedarangeof10portsperconnectionbetween27900and
27921.InthePublicTypeoption,selectUDP,asthisisthe
protocolusedbyGenerals.
c) Repeatthisprocessaddinganewrulepercomputerthat
willbeusedtoplayGeneralsonline.Youhavesetup
forwardingrulesforjusttwocomputers.
d) Onceyouaredone,clicktheApplybutton.
4. Nowyouhavesetupeachofthecomputerssoeachoneusesa
specificportinyourfirewalltoinitiatetheconnections.
a) Gotothefirstcomputerthatyouaregoingtousetoplay
C&CGeneralsandopentheMyDocumentsfolder.Thengoto
thefoldernamedCommandandConquerGeneralsDataand
doubleclickinthefilenamedOptions.ini
b) Lookinthefileforthelines:
FirewallBehavior=XX
FirewallPortAllocationDelta=X
c) YouhavetoaddanewlineFirewallPortOverridethat
specifiesthefirstofthetriggerportsthatyoualready
definedwhensettingupyourfirewall.Intheaboveexample,
thefirstTriggerportwas29900sothelinewillbe:
FirewallPortOverride=29900
d) Thefileshouldlooknowsomethingsimilartothis:
FirewallBehavior=1
FirewallPortAllocationDelta=0
FirewallPortOverride=29900
GameSpyIPAddress=XXX.XXX.XX.XX
Gamma=48
IPAddress=XXX.XXX.XX.XX
IdealStaticGameLOD=High
LanguageFilter=false
MaxParticleCount=3000
MoveScrollAnchor=
e) Savethefileandrepeatthisprocessintheother
computers,changingtheFirewallPortOverridevaluetothe
correspondentTriggeringPortthatyoudefinedwhilesetting
uptherouter(Point3ofthisdocument).
5. NowstartthegameineachcomputerandgototheOptions
menu,thenclickintheRefreshNAToption.
6. YouarereadytoplayCommand&ConquerGeneralsOnline.
1.3.LinksysRouters:
Below,youwillfindinstructionsonhowopentheportsofa
LinksysrouterinordertoplayCommand&ConquerGeneralsonline.
SpecialthankstoforumregularHautKarlforthefollowing
information.
NOTE:Thisconfigurationisonlyforthoseexperiencingconnection
problemssettingupagameOnlineinGeneralsbehindaLinksys
Router/Firewall.
TheseinstructionswillshowyouhowtosetupyourLinksysRouter
toopencertainportsinthefirewallwhenGeneralstriesto
createorconnecttoanOnlinegame.
1. Gototheconfigurationprogramforyourrouter.Todothat
openMSInternetExplorer,andintheaddressbox,type
http://192.168.1.1(ThisisthedefaultIPaddressforLinksys
routers.Ifyouchangedthisaddressatanytime,youshould
typeintheaddressthatyouenteredthefirsttimethatyou
configuredyourrouter).Youllbepromptedforyourloginand
password.Ifyouhaveneverchangedyourpassword,thenusethe
defaultone.ThiscanbefoundinyourLinksysinstruction
manual.
2. NowyoushouldbeattheMainMenuoftheLinksyssetup
program.ClickonthetablabeledAdvancedsettings,thenclick
inthetabnamedForwarding.Atthebottomofthatscreenwill
beabuttonnamedPortTriggering.Clickonthisbutton.
3. Nowyouhavetosetuponerulepercomputerconnectedtothe
routerthatwillbeusedtoplayGenerals.
a) InApplicationNameenterthenameofthefirst
connection.Itcanbeanything;thisisjustsoyoucan
differentiatethem.WesuggestyoutouseGenerals1,
Generals2,etc,ortheComputernameforthatconnection.
b) TriggerPortRangespecifieswhichportsareusedto
initiatetheconnection.Inyourcase,youwillonlyneed
onepercomputer;thereforeyouwillenterthesameport
numberinbothboxes.Itisimportantnottousea
standardport.Inthepicturebelowyoucanseeweused
ports27901to27904.
c) InIncomingPortRangeyouhavetospecifytheports
thattherouterwillenablewheneverthecomputer
establishesaconnectionthroughtheTriggerPort.Here
youwillsetuparangeofports.Linksysroutersseemto
workcorrectlyifyouprovidearangewith10ports,
howeverotherfirewallsmightneedwiderranges.Once
again,donotuseanystandardportsorarangethat
mightincludeastandardport.Asyoucanseeinthe
examplebelow,youwilldefinearangeof10portsper
connectionbetween29901and29940.
d) Repeatthisprocessforeachcomputerconnectedtoyour
routerthatwillbeusedtoplayGeneralsonline.
e) Onceyouaredone,clicktheApplybutton.
4. Nowyouhavesetupeachofthecomputerssoeachoneusesa
specificportinyourfirewalltoinitiatetheconnections.
a) Gotothefirstcomputerthatyouaregoingtouseto
playC&CGeneralsandopentheMyDocumentsfolder.Then
gotothefoldernamedCommandandConquerGeneralsData
anddoubleclickinthefilenamedOptions.ini
b) Lookinthefileforthelines:
FirewallBehavior=XX
FirewallPortAllocationDelta=X
c) YouhavetoaddanewlineFirewallPortOverridethat
specifiesthefirstofthetriggerportsthatyoualready
definedwhensettingupyourfirewall.Inourexamplethe
firstTriggerportwas27901sothelinewillbe:
FirewallPortOverride=27901
d) Thefileshouldlooknowsomethingsimilartothis:
FirewallBehavior=1
FirewallPortAllocationDelta=0
FirewallPortOverride=27901
GameSpyIPAddress=XXX.XXX.XX.XX
Gamma=48
IPAddress=XXX.XXX.XX.XX
IdealStaticGameLOD=High
LanguageFilter=false
MaxParticleCount=3000
MoveScrollAnchor=
e) Savethefileandrepeatthisprocessintheother
computers,changingtheFirewallPortOverridevaluetothe
correspondentTriggeringPortthatyoudefinedwhile
settinguptherouter(Point3ofthissection).
5. NowstartthegameineachcomputerandgototheOptions
menu,thenclickthe"RefreshNAT"option.
6. YouarereadytoplayCommand&ConquerGeneralsOnline.
1.4.OtherRouters:
Ifyouownadifferentbrandofrouter,tryapplyingsimilar
settingstotherouterslistedaboveinordertoconnecttoothers
playersonline.Checkyourmanufacturer'sdocumentationbefore
applyinganychanges.
2.STABILITYISSUESANDHEAT
Command&ConquerGeneralstaxescomputerhardware,particularlyCPUand
systemmemory,veryheavily.Thiswillcausethehardwaretodissipatea
lotofheat.Ifyoursystemcoolingisinadequate,itwillcausethe
systemtobecomeunstable,andpossiblycrash.Thisissuewillmanifest
itselfintheformofa"SeriousError"message,and/orabluescreen
crash.
Herearesomediagnosticsthatyoushouldruninordertofindoutif
yoursystemisstable:
Prime95
http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm
ftp://mersenne.org/gimps/p95v2212.exe
WhenusingPrime95,runtheTortureTestuntilyourPCpassestheself
diagnostic.
Memtest86
www.memtest86.com
UseMemtest86totestyoursystemmemory'sstability.Besuretoletit
completeafullpassatleastonce.
Sandra
http://www.sisoftware.net/?dir=dload&location=sware_dl_x86&a=&lang=en
Variousdiagnosticsincludedinthisprogram.Thissoftwarewillalso
tellyouyourmotherboardandCPU'stemperature.Sandraalsohasa
BurnIttesttoexaminethestabilityofyoursystembyrunningaseries
oftestscontinuously.However,Prime95'sTortureTestisamore
reliablewaytotestyoursystem'sstability.
3.VIACHIPSETUSERS
WefoundthatuserswithVIAmotherboardchipsetsforAMDandIntelCPUs
willencountercrashproblemswithCommand&ConquerGenerals.Ifyou
ownsuchamotherboard,pleasegotohttp://www.viaarena.comand
downloadthelatest4in1drivers.Ifyoucontinuetoexperience
problemswiththegameafterinstallingthe4in1drivers,download
VIA'sversion4.38ofthe4in1drivers.NothavingthecorrectVIA
driverscouldmanifestitselfintheformofa"SeriousError"message,
and/orabluescreencrash.
4.UNSUPPORTEDVIDEOCARDS
Command&ConquerGeneralswillworkproperlywithATIRadeon7500or
newerchipsets,andNvidiaGeForce2ornewerchipsets.Thegamewill
notrunproperlyifyourcomputerhasanATIorNvidiavideocardwith
anolderchipsetthantheoneslistedonthebox,orachipsetfroma
completelydifferentmanufacturer.Theseincludethefollowingchipsets:
3dfxchipsets
NvidiaTNT2
ATIRadeonMobility
ATIRadeon7200
S3ProSavage
KyroandKyroIIchipsets
Intel810eintegratedchipsets
IfyouattempttorunC&CGeneralswithanyofthechipsetslisted
above,youmightencounterabluescreencrash,ora"SeriousError"
message.Alwaysmakesurethatyouhaveinstalledyourmanufacturer's
latestdriversbeforerunningthegame.
5.ACCURATE1.2PATCHISSUES
SomeusershavepatchedC&CGeneralsusingincorrectandincorrect1.2
Patch.IfyouhavedonesoyouwillneedtoreinstallC&CGeneralsto
allowthegametoworkproperly.Ifyoudownloaded1.2fromanyserver
otherthanftp.ea.comorthenormalGeneralsOnlineautoupdatethenyou
likelyhavethe
