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GameRanger Guide

By Forlong - 27th December 2010 - 20:53 PM

Eine deutsche Anleitung findet ihr unter diesem Link.

Do NOT let this die. Please! There will always be newer and "fancier" games, but trust me, the great ones are hard to come by - especially one(s) which you and so many great players helped shaping up.... For the record, the very first game I've modded for, TA:Kingdoms, is still played on alternative servers, some ten years after I've release it! I hope and believe that in 4, 5 years I WILL proudly say the same about the BfME game series.Source: MaDDoX, Creator of BFME I v1.03, BFME II v1.05, and BFME II BT2:DC

EA has ended multiplayer support for all BFME series games. As such, third-party programs are now required to play BFME online. The GameReplays.org community uses a program called GameRanger.

Download GameRanger here. After you've installed GameRanger, created your account, and signed in, you'll be confronted with the GameRanger interface:

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GameRanger does not have game-specific lobbies. Instead, rooms are sorted by a game filter. By changing your game filter, you can control which games you see rooms for, allowing you to see rooms for multiple games at a time. We recommend changing your filter to "My Games" so that you only see rooms for games that you're interested in.

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Each room is the equivalent of a hosted game. The difference between GameRanger and EA's online interface is that hosted games are not removed from the list once they begin. This is to show you that people are actively playing the game on GameRanger, rather than it appearing like few people are online at a given time simply because their games have already started. If a game has started, a green light will appear in the right hand column. Since you obviously can't join games that have already started, you shouldn't try to join any games that happen to have a green light.

If you want to host a game room, the button to do so is in the upper right. Alternatively, join an existing game room.

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Here's an example of a GameRanger room. Note the player list on the right. If a player's name appears in italics, he is having connectivity issues (see below). If there is a green dot next to his name, that means he's currently in-game. If you're the host, you'll have a "Start Game" button. Pressing this button will launch the game that you selected when you created the room, skipping intro movies. (If you already have BFME open, be sure to close it before pressing "Start Game," or it won't work.) The game should automatically launch Network mode and host a game. (If for some reason your game doesn't autohost, just navigate to Network manually and you'll be fine.) Now, just wait for your opponent; his game only begins to launch at this point, so he may take a little while to arrive. If you're not the host, then when the host presses "Start Game" you will receive a "Waiting for Host" notice. This means that the host's game has started, and you're now waiting for it to finish loading so that it can perform some connectivity wizardry that will allow you to connect with him. Just be patient, and yours will start soon. You'll also automatically join Network, though you'll have to manually select the host's game from the list.

Be aware that due to a bug in the game's Network lobby (NOT a GameRanger bug that would be fixed by using a different networking client), you will be kicked from game rooms unless you regularly "respond" to the host by typing in chat, reselecting your color, etc.

Naming Rooms
Be sure to include the patch that you want to play in the room name, possibly in brackets. It's extremely annoying to start a game only to discover that your opponent isn't on the same patch you are. Also, please DO NOT spell out the full version info of the BT2:DC or 2.02 patch (e.g. [2.6] or [3.0.3.1]) unless it was just released; that is super confusing to players who aren't familiar with BT2:DC/2.02, and it's not how we brand ourselves. Instead, just write [BT2:DC] or [2.02].


Connection or Reliability Problems?


If a player's name displays in italics, that means he's having connectivity issues. Don't press the Start button (bottom right) if this is the case; it won't work. When GameRanger detects a router issue that could create difficulty connecting to other players, it will give the player a notice and link him to a page with instructions on how to configure his router to fix the problem. If you're having trouble connecting to someone with GameRanger, it's probably because he's ignored one of these notices. If you yourself get a warning, do not ignore it; follow the instructions provided.

If a player's name has a strange box next to it, know that this it doesn't seem to cause any connectivity issues. You can safely start a game against a player with a strange box.

GameRanger has recently become reliably compatible with all three Battle for Middle-earth games and has also been updated with a workaround for a common port-forwarding problem. If GameRanger is having trouble launching your game, find the game on the Options menu and make sure that its Location is set properly.