Far Cry

Platform(s): PC
Genre: Action
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Crytek

About Judy

As WP's managing editor, I edit review and preview articles, attempt to keep up with the frantic pace of Rainier's news posts, and keep our reviewers on deadline, which is akin to herding cats. When I have a moment to myself and don't have my nose in a book, I like to play action/RPG, adventure and platforming games.

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'Far Cry' - v1.2 Update Patch Available NOW

by Judy on July 21, 2004 @ 2:20 p.m. PDT

Get the Far Cry v1.2 patch off Worthplaying (65mb)

Minimum System Requirements Single Player Only

- Computer: AMD Athlon 1 GHz or Pentium III 1 Ghz (AMD Athlon XP 2000 / Pentium 4 2 Ghz recommended)
- Operating System: FarCry is supported on the following operating systems: Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000, and Windows XP.
- Memory: The game requires 256 MB of RAM.
- Controls: A keyboard and mouse are required
- Drives: 4 Gb of free space on hard disc are required to install and play the game. 4x DVD or 16x CDROM is required to install the game.
- Video: A 3D accelerator video card with support for DirectX® 9.0b and at least 64 MB of video memory is required.
- Sound: A DirectX®-compatible 16-bit PCI sound card is recommended.

For Multiplayer play only the following configurations are supported

Recommended System Requirements

- Computer: A 2 GHz AMD processor or better is recommended.
- Memory: We recommend 512 MB of RAM
- Drives: 4 Gb of free space on hard disc are required to install and play the game. 8x DVD or 32x CDROM is recommended to install the game.
- Video: A 3D accelerator video card with support for DirectX® 9.0b and at least 128 MB of video memory is recommended
- Multiplayer Connectivity: Access to UBI.com online gaming service, requires a low-latency, active Internet connection, rated at 64 Kbps upstream or faster. Multiplayer games played over a LAN require an active connection to a TCP/IP network. We recommend the use of cable or ADSL connection with 512 Kb/s in downstream and 128 kb/s in upstream.

High System Requirements

- Computer: A 3 GHz AMD processor or better is recommended.
- Memory: We recommend 1024 MB of RAM
- Drives: 4 Gb of free space on hard disc are required to install and play the game. 16x DVD or 32x CDROM is recommended to install the game.
- Video: A 3D accelerator video card with support for DirectX® 9.0b and at least 128 MB of video memory is recommended
- Multiplayer Connectivity: We recommend the use of cable or ADSL connection with 512 Kb/s in downstream and 128 kb/s in upstream.

Multiplayer Server Requirements

Dedicated Server
- Computer: A 2.4 GHz AMD processor or better is recommended.
- Memory: We recommend 512 MB of RAM
- Drives: 4 Gb of free space on hard disc are required to install and play the game. 16x DVD or 32x CDROM is recommended to install the game.
- Multiplayer Connectivity: We recommend the use of cable or ADSL connection with 512 Kb/s in downstream and 128 kb/s in upstream.
Non Dedicated Server:
Computer: A 2.8 Ghz AMD processor is recommended
Memory: We recommend 1 Gb of RAM, however we do not recommend connecting many players to a non-dedicated server.

Installation

To install FarCry, insert the FarCry ™ CD 1 into your CD-ROM drive. If your computer is AutoPlay capable, a FarCry splash screen will appear. Select "Install" from the list and follow the on-screen instructions.

If your computer is not AutoPlay capable, open the "My Computer" icon found on your desktop or Start button. Open the drive letter that corresponds to your CD-ROM drive; double-click the "Install" icon; and follow the on-screen instructions.

Quick Start

MAIN MENU
Campaign: Click here to start the game
Options: Click here to choose options
Multiplayer: Click here to play online
Mods: Click here to load a MOD
Quit: Click here to quit the game.

Patch 1.2 Change log

Patch 2 change log

Current changes:

* Made the run speed about 15% faster
* Made sprint last 30% longer
* Adjusted damage to vehicles

(vehicles now survive longer in multiplayer and behave consistently between weapon damage types) Bullet damage can be disabled by “g_vehicleBulletDamage” cvar: 0 = no bullet damage (default), 1 = bullet damage; this works only in MP.
MP vehicles can get the same damage from every kind of bullet (no distinction between sniper rifle and the deagle), this value is set by ‘dmgBulletMP’ variable inside ‘DamageParams’ table of the vehicle.

-buggy, humvee and gunboat can be destroyed with one rocket.
-bigtruck can be destroyed with three rockets.

-buggy and gunboat can be destroyed with 100 bullets (if g_vehicleBulletDamage = 1)
-humvee can be destroyed with 150 bullets (if g_vehicleBulletDamage = 1)
-bigtruck can be destroyed with 500 bullets (if g_vehicleBulletDamage = 1)

-vehicle damage code cleaned and made more consistent.


* If punkbuster is not installed the "punkbuster enable" togglebox will not be disabled
* Fixed a number of serious issues with headshot detection
* Ported a number of sensitive routines into non SDK sources
* Fixed some issues with ladder animations appearing odd to other players
* Added quicksave support for single player (still in process)
* Fixed bug where players name tag didn’t show up
* Fixed bug where console would accept letters as variable states
* Fixed a number of ladder related issues
* Fixed error with warning message in connection dialogue
* Fixed a significant number of bugs relating to quicksave (~100 bugs)
* Fixed a connection dialogue error
* Fixed an incorrectly localized HUD message
* Fixed bug with server shutdown dialogue error
* Addressed a number of issues with the server list UI
* Fixed bug causing cancel button to stop working
* Server create sessions are now saved
* Fixed a bug causing game freezes when player joins and player rotates
* Fixed a rendering issue with Radeon 9600 graphics cards
* Fixed Punkbuster crash when switching from punkbuster online server to hosting LAN server
* Fixed issue with punkbuster icon not showing up in the server listing
* Fixed random crash relating to punkbuster server listing info
* Fixed issue with punkbuster refusing connection to a server that is destroyed and then re-hosted
* Fixed a number of crash problems related to punkbuster server creation with non-dedicated servers
* Fixed issue with punkbuster enabled in multiple server profiles
* Disabled e_vegetation_min_size in multiplayer (used as cheat)
* Added optimizations for character effects including invulnerability shader
* Added optimizations for scoreboard performance. Scoreboard no longer updates fields that have not changed
* Fixed issue where radar would not be drawn correctly with certain game type changes
* Fixed framerate issue when player touched assault ammo pickups
* Fixed issue with password protected servers not removing password after restart
* Fixed issue with spectators not being able to hear ambient sounds
* Fixed message printout for multiplayer statistics (was only working with log_verbosity 1, not it works with 0 (default) as well)
* Fixed listplayer on the client (was only working on the server)
* Changed multiplayer scoreboard system for less bandwidth and easier extendibility
* Fixed bug in scoreboard that reported ping incorrectly by a factor of 2. Pings now appear correctly (half the old values). Note: ping is still the same, the output value was inaccurate)
* Fixed check in server/client version check (now you cannot connect to servers with old network code)
* Fixed bug in submitted Punkbuster ID causing random CD Key hash to be generated. Global ID unique to CD keys is now parsed correctly.
* Added MultiplayerUtils:OnChatMessage a script function which is called on the server for every chat message (to enable saving out chats)
* Made several changes to improve network packet scheduling
* Separated multiplayer and single player weapon code better functionality with mod developers and support for changes to MP balance without affecting single player.
* Made a number of changes to multiplayer weapon parameters, outlined below:

All weapons – Increase accuracy while standing still by 25%
Made the medic packs give 50% more health for the engineer class
Reduced rocket launcher clip to 1, no change to lethality.
Increased MP5 damage by 30% with full auto, 50% increase with semi-automatic
Adjusted AG36 damage to head and torso.
Reduced AG36 grenade radius.
Increased OICW accuracy by 30% when zoomed.
Reduced OICW grenade clip to 3 with max carry of 3 in the gun and 3 in reserve
Increased Pancor damage slightly
Reduced P90 damage by 10% and reduced max range by 25%
Increased lethality of mounted weapons.

* Improved detection code for player name tags, fixed issue causing name tags not to appear if crosshair was on arms and legs
* Fixed collision detection on the dedicated server with different arm position because of different weapons. Hit detection is now more accurate.
* The record console variable was marked as protected because it opened up some cheat possibilities
* Fixed a bug that sometimes caused players hit by a buggy not to credit the driver with a kill
* Fixed a number of issues with discrepancies between player cameras in 1st and 3rd person
* Fixed a crash relating to Rcon commands with dedicated server
* Fixed bug with FarCry MOD version number being incorrectly displayed as 1.0
* Reworked a number of installer issues
* Fixed a number of bugs relating to Linux dedicated server porting
* Fixed bug causing mercenary reinforcements to behave incorrectly

With regard to a problem with punkbuster updates during LAN play:

Note: If you experience connection issues during LAN play or your connection is refused by punkbuster, you can disable the connection checking with the following command (as the server).

pb_security 0

This may be caused if punkbuster is trying to update itself with an incorrectly configured firewall or unavailable internet connection.

Troubleshooting


Sound Cards


Q) I have sound issues...what should I do?
A) First of all make sure you have the latest drivers for your sound card.

The most satisfactory sound can be obtained by setting the main output volume fairly high in the Windows Volume Control and reducing the
Wave Out/DirectSound/Wave output volume to avoid saturation.

Creative SoundBlaster Live and Audigy, nForce2 and onboard AC97 users:
If some audio clicks or saturation problems appear, try to reduce the hardware acceleration of your soundcard (advanced properties).
Set the quality of the sampling rate conversion to “optimal”.

Try to disable EAX in the sound options game menu.

If audio clicks appear during the game, go in your configuration panel/sounds and multimedia/audio/advanced/performances) and set
the hardware acceleration to the second position (2 out of 4). Set the quality of the sampling rate conversion to "optimal".

Select the "Compatibility mode" in the sound options menu to help solve these driver issues.

Click Start, then Run. Type: dxdiag and then click “sound”. Move the hardware slider down one notch to Standard Acceleration, then close
DXDiag and try FC again. If this doesn't work, continue to lower the hardware acceleration until you can find a suitable setting.

If you continue to experience sound problems, please ensure you have the most recently updated and DirectX / DirectSound compatible sound
card drivers from the sound card manufacturer.

To verify that you have the latest DirectSound drivers available for your sound card, contact the sound card manufacturer.
If necessary, obtain and install the latest DirectSound drivers for your sound card. This is usually done by visiting the manufacturers
website, or contacting their technical support for help updating drivers. For more information on obtaining drivers, please search
the Ubi Soft Solution Center at http://www.ubisoft.com/support for "update drivers”.

Once these drivers have been downloaded and installed, reinstall the version of DirectX that is installed on your system.

Some short sound losses can occur with the sound cards based on the NForce2 sound chipset.

When sound volume is set to zero, sounds are not played anymore. This may help game performance on slower computers.


Graphic Troubleshooting

We strongly recommend installing the latest versions of the drivers for your video cards.

When installing new graphics card drivers, use the Windows Uninstall program to remove and previous drivers.

Far Cry officially requires 800x600 resolution or higher.

Q) The game crashes on startup or after I have reinstalled Directx, what can I do?
A) The 3D acceleration option is not available or not supported by your video adapter. The machine thinks that Direct3D functionality is not available; the Microsoft knowledge base article 191660 explains how to solve this issue (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=191660)

Please check that your computer meets the minimums requirements for the game.
If your computer meets all the minimum requirements the problem is with your drivers.

Please make sure that you have the latest drivers available for your graphics card and soundcard.


Q) What DirectX version and graphics drivers should I have installed?
A)
* DirectX 9.0b, Retail version, must be installed
* NVIDIA based cards must have latest NVIDIA drivers (www.nvidia.com)
* ATI based cards must have latest Catalyst drivers (www.ati.com)

For more information on obtaining drivers, please search the Ubi Soft Solution Center at http://www.ubisoft.com/support for "update drivers”.


Q) My machine is overclocked and I have issues playing the game or the game doesn't start at all.
A) Overclocking the machine could cause a number of issue not only for FarCry but for other games and applications as well.

Ubisoft/Crytek are not responsible for machine crashes or slowdown caused by overclocking.
Contact the HW manufacturer of your machine for support.


Q) Looks like FC is running with 16 bits colours...what should I do?
A) Make sure to set your desktop to 32 bits colours


Q) When I enable AA or FAA, the game runs significantly slower...is it normal?
A) Yes it is normal. FAA uses a great deal of graphics power.


Other known issues:

-Some users with onboard sound may experience white noise “hiss” creep in after playing for a while. [4330]

-The enable fog table emulation box must be checked in the NVIDIA control panel on some NVIDIA chipsets. If this option is unchecked, the quality of the fog in game may be negatively affected. [4809]

-Some nForce onboard sound cards can cause gun and environment sound to be lost. [2965]

-Some ladders do not behave correctly. The player may be able to move to the left or right of the ladder which may look odd in some cases when viewed in third person. [4733]

-Some combinations of terrain textures may cause graphical glitches when viewed from a distance due to the texture LOD. [4169]

-In some cases, users with Geforce 3 cards using low graphic settings may experience odd colorization of environments and characters. [7091]

-r_waterrefraction does not work on geforce 5900 fx card when Dualscreen is on. when users want to use HIGH spec and have dualview enabled they should type in the console r_waterrefraction 0.

-There are issuses with dual monitor support (refractive shader).

-nVidia Quadro graphics cards are optimised for professional OpenGL applications, in our DX9 game environment Quadro cards may not be detected properly. Please set up manually.

-Alt-Tab mode is not 100% supported in Far Cry.  There may be some instabilities caused when using it. This includes shooting at an enemy in Win ME and alt-tabbing causing flickering and graphical glitches. With WinXP this may cause stalls or even a crash when looking at the body.

-For NVIDIA Users of GeForce Cards up to GeForce 4 whose framerate feed choppy or slow, edit the file system.cfg and change the line r_Driver = “Direct3D9” to r_Driver = “OpenGL” to try the unsupported OpenGL Version. This may run faster in specific cases.

-On GeForce 3 cards ONLY, set the AntiAliasing settings to anything other than 'none' may crash the game, we recommend you to keep this to none. [8769]

-In Windows98 and Window ME the game may be automatically minimised after it is installed and started the first few times. If this occurs simply maximise it again.

-If you load the game and let it run in the menu for a long period of time, it may lock up.

-Sometimes a checkpoint can get corrupted and crash the game.  To work around this, reload an earlier checkpoint to continue playing

-On Windows Me, after installation, the Install button is still active. 

If you create a profile with no name, it will never save any checkpoints. We recommend you do not create a profile with no name.

Some unexpected behavior may happen when switching profiles during game play.  We recommend you quit before selecting a new profile.

Supported Cards

Video graphic cards based on the following chipset:

- ATI: drivers on http://mirror.ati.com/support/drivers/powered.html

- NVIDIA: drivers on http://www.nvidia.com/view.asp?PAGE=drivers

General Instructions

- We recommend closing all applications when playing the game.
- We recommend not installing the application in the Windows folder or in the root of the C: drive.
- Microsoft® DirectX® 9 included in the CD-ROM.

DirectX Latest Runtime: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/downloads
http://www.nvidia.com/view.asp?PAGE=drivers

Miscellaneous

Q) Win ME users only: On my machine sometimes the game seems unstable.
A) After many hours of playing under Win ME on some specific machines, the video memory could get corrupted up to various degrees. Restarting the game should solve the problem. Also disabling EAX under Win ME in the sound options menu could help stability.


Q) I have occasional or constant slowdown if I run FC while "X" is running in the background (replace "X" with the name of any application)
A) Close all other running applications before playing the game, because they consume CPU power, memory and other machine resources; in particular antivirus and video editing applications running in the background, will have a serious negative impact over FC performance.

Please read the Microsoft Knowledge Article 331796:
Games: How to perform a clean boot to prevent background programs from
Interfering with play.
(http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=331796)


Q) I have issues with the cybercom multimedia keyboard CC40529, wireless
with optical mouse, what should I do?
A) This happens if you have installed the cybercom memory resident software
which allows you to use the extra keys. Disable it before starting FC.


Q) Is my crosshair "lagging"?
A) The weapons on the screen are featuring a "lazy" or "lagging" effect when the player turns his head around quickly, but not the crosshair. This could be perceived as a delay by some user. Type "cl_lazyweapon 0" In the console to disable this effect. Check mouse sensitivity as well.

Disable the "mouse smoothing" option in the game menu options.

Try Set VSYNC on or off. Having vsync off or on can cause this "mouse lag" and sometimes keyboard lag.


Q) Can I dig holes in the terrain by using grenades, rocket launcher etc.?
A) Yes, however please notice that holes are not created if the explosion is too close to trees or other big objects. This keeps them from "floating." Also, the deformable terrain is disabled in multiplayer.


Q) While playing FC on Windows XP, the game sometimes minimizes and I get a box that pops up that asks if I would like to enable Sticky Keys. What is causing this?
A) This is a feature built in to Windows XP that is triggered by pressing the Shift key five times quickly.

If you continue to have trouble with this, you may want to reassign the action to another key in the options menu or disable the sticky key feature in Windows.

To do this:

1. From the Windows XP desktop, press the Shift five times in a row to bring up the sticky keys option box.
2. Click Settings, and under the sticky keys heading, click on Settings.
3. Uncheck the 'use shortcut' box to turn off this feature. Click Apply and OK to save the setting.


Q) My monitor goes into power saving mode when I start the game, what can I do?
A) Please make sure that you have the latest drivers installed for your monitor. Visit the website of your monitor's manufacturer to get the latest driver update.


Other:

DVD Drive LG GDR-8161B: needs the last drivers or the game is incompatible with this DVD drive.
Win 98/ME does not support F12 screenshot capture
Win 98/ME does not support Alt-Tab window switching
Win 98/ME does not support switching between window and full screen mode
Cut scenes can be skipped by pressing F7
There is no 'mutual check' for key bindings - key configuration must be done carefully

Binoculars and Motion tracker:

Players can enable and disable the motion tracking feature of the binoculars with the following console commands:

cl_motiontracker 0 - disables motion tracker
cl_motiontracker 1 - enables motion tracker

When using binoculars and motion tracker is enabled an icon appears on the lower right corner of the screen.


Multiplayer


Multiplayer known issues

-Clients will not be able to see a LAN session if they are not on the same hub/switch as the hosted server. [2122]
-There is no 3rd person multiplayer animation for holding binoculars. [1581]
-Multiplayer blood decals on dead bodies do not move with the corpse when it is moved by a player. They may appear to float in the air. [5507]
-Occasionally with ATI cards and FarCry config set to low lighting quality, users may experience lowered FPS in multiplayer with 8+ people in a game with smoke grenades active. [6744]


Gameplay notes

Deathmatch

Players compete for the highest number of kills in this game type. Players spawn randomly around the level equipped initially with a pistol and a knife to defend themselves against other players. Other, more powerful weapons are available scattered around the map and can be collected along with ammunition, health and other items including binoculars, flash grenades and smoke grenades. These items respawn after 15 seconds, or longer depending on the value of the item – for example, armour respawns in 60 seconds. The winner is the player with the highest score at the end of a round found on the scoreboard (default key – TAB).

The following information is contained in the scoreboard:

Name – The name of the player. Your name is highlighted in yellow. Spectators are listed below the scoreboard.
Kills – The number of people you have killed.
Deaths – The number of times you have died.
Efficiency – A calculation based on the kills/deaths ratio to demonstrate the players efficiency.
Ping – The ping time to the server.

Team Deathmatch

Teams compete for the highest number of kills in this game type. Gameplay is similar to that of Deathmatch, however, the players are split into teams that fight together to win the game. These teams are the blue team, and the red team. Each team is represented by an icon in the top right of the screen. The team with the most kills, wins.

The following information is contained in the scoreboard:

Name – The name of the player. Your name is highlighted in yellow. Spectators are listed below the scoreboard.
Kills – The number of people you have killed.
Deaths – The number of times you have died.
Efficiency – A calculation based on the kills/deaths ratio to demonstrate the players efficiency.
Ping – The ping time to the server.
Score – The number of times the team have won a game.

Assault

Two teams, attackers and defenders compete to control three strategic points in a level. The attackers must touch the capture point to begin a countdown to take the point. The defenders can stop the capture at any time simply by retouching the capture point and so cancelling the countdown. When a point has been captured, the spawn points will shift to the next section and allow players to spawn nearer to the next point. When all the points have been captured, the attackers win. If the points have not been captured before the timer runs out, the defending team wins the game.

Defenders have the ability to construct defensive structures to protect the capture point. Here are the types of structure, and their statistics:

Structure
Build points
Hit points
Repair points
Wall
1000
2000
2000
Gate
1000
2000
2000
Barricade
1000
1500
1000
Mounted weapon
2500
2000
2000
Small bunker
3000
2000
2000
Large bunker
3200
2000
2000
Large bunker with MG
3500
2000
2000
Tower with Machine gun
5500
3000
4500
The following information is contained in the scoreboard:

Name – The name of the player. Your name is highlighted in yellow. Spectators are listed below the scoreboard.
Class – An icon displaying the score of that player. The three cogs represent the support class, a scope for the sniper and the bullets for the grunt.
Kills – The number of people you have killed.
Support – A number based on the amount of support contribution you have accomplished for your team.
Score – Your overall score in the game.
Ping – The ping time to the server.

The score points are as follows:

Starting a capture – 5 points
Averting a capture – 5 points
Capturing a point – 25 points
Building an structure – 5 points
Destroying a structure (that was built by the enemy) – 5 points
Healing a teammate – 2 points
Killing an enemy – 5 points

All multiplayer levels have the capacity for vehicles, the vehicles typically reset when destroyed or abandoned. The abandoned reset time is 60 seconds, while the destroyed reset time is 30 seconds.

FarCry multiplayer may have a degraded gameplay experience when more than 16 players are connected to a server. Although the game supports up to 32 players, we strongly advise limiting servers to no more than 16.

***THANK YOU FOR PLAYING FAR CRY***
Join the Far Cry Community at the official web site and get:
- The latest news and information on Far Cry
- Exclusive content
- All you need to know about the game
- Forums in which to meet other players and chat about Far Cry

Log-on now to http://www.farcry-thegame.com


Technical Support


Before contacting UBISOFT's Technical Support Department, please browse through our FAQ listings or search our support database at our website, http://support.ubi.com. Here you will find the most recently updated information since the game’s release.

Also please make sure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements, as our support representatives will be unable to assist customers whose computers do not meet these criteria.

Whenever you contact the Technical Support Department, please include the following information or have it available if you are calling:

- Complete product title (including version number)
- Exact error message reported (if applicable) and a brief description of the problem you're encountering
- Processor speed and manufacturer
- Amount of RAM
- Operating system
- Video card that you are using and amount of RAM it has
- Maker and speed of your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive
- Type of sound card you are using

Contact Us Over the Internet

This is the best way to contact us. Our website is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week and it contains the most up to date Technical Support information available including patches that can be downloaded free of charge. We update the Support pages on a daily basis so please check here first for solutions to your problems:

http://www.ubi.com/support

Contact Us by E-mail

For a faster response via e-mail, please visit our website at:

http://www.ubi.com/support

From this site, you will be able to enter the UBISOFT Solution Center where you can browse through our listings of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), search our database of known problems and solutions, or, for a faster e-mail response, you can send in a request for Personal Assistance from a Technical Support Representative. It may take up to 72 hours for us to respond to your e-mail depending upon the volume of messages we receive.


Visit the official FarCrysite: http://www.farcry-thegame.com


Don’t forget – visit www.CryMod.com for the latest info on creating and distributing mods for FarCry

Crytek will support version 4 and 5 of 3DStudio Max as well as Maya 4 and future Maya versions. Max 6 is not currently supported by Crytek. The preferred and officially supported package for content creation within the CryEngine modding system is Maya.

© 2004 Crytek. All rights reserved.
Published by Ubi Soft Entertainment

Far Cry is a trademark of UbiSoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries.
All trademarks belong to their respective owners.

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