FAQ Frequently Asked Questions
How do I install/reinstall/uninstall the game?
Install: Simply extract the zip to c:\games (or wherever you want). A paintball2 folder is created automatically. Click here for a full installation guide. Reinstall: Usually just deleting paintball2\pball\configs\config.cfg will effectively "reinstall" the game as it will reset all your settings. Otherwise you can delete the paintball2 directory and re-extract it from the zip file. Uninstall: Delete the paintball2 directory. That's it.
What's OpenGL? Where do I get it? OpenGL, short for Open Graphics Library, is used for rendering the 3D graphics in Paintball2. While OpenGL comes installed on recent versions of Windows, often times the default video card drivers won't support it. Some older hardware won't support OpenGL at all. In order to play Paintball2, you will need to install video drivers that support OpenGL.
How do I tell what video card I have?
WindowsXP/2000:
Right-click on "My Computer." Go to "Properties." Click on the "Hardware" tab. Click "Device Manager." Click the [ + ] next to "Display Adaptors."
Where do I download drivers?
This depends on the card you have. If your card has an nVidia chipset, go to nvidia.com and click on "Download Drivers." Select "Graphics driver" and chose the appropriate one for your card. If you have an ATi card, visit ati.com and click on "Drivers & Software." Select your OS, then "Graphic Driver" and select the appropriate one for your card. If you have another card, search google for the name displayed in Device Manager (see "How do I tell what video card I have?"). You may need to add "drivers" to your query in order to find a place to download drivers. If you're having trouble finding a place to download drivers, contact us and we'll try to help you out.
Why do I get the error, "Can't load pics/colormap.pcx"?
Ten times out of ten, this means you installed the game incorrectly. Either you tried to run an update/patch by itself, without having previously installed a full version, or you extracted it to the wrong directory. For more information, see the Installation Guide.
Are there any bots?
There is a crude ACEBot implementation, but the bots just wander around and shoot for now (no CTF/weapon strategy yet). To add a bot to your game, type "sv addbot", or if you're remotely logged in, simply "addbot". To control the bots, use "sv botcommand <all/botname> <command>". For example, "sv botcommand all join red" or "sv botcommand ACEBot_1 say hi". To remove bots, type "sv removebot <all/botname>".
Do you make money off of this game? Nope. Some people have donated some cash, but there's not much profit to be made from a free game.
I made my screen smaller. How do I make it larger again? / How do I get rid of the border around the screen?
Go to the console (hit ~) and type: viewsize 100
Also, to stop from accidentally shrinking the view again, type: bind "-" ""
Why aren't any servers showing up on the serverlist?
If you aren't using the latest version, you NEED to update in order for the serverlist to work properly. If you are using build 13, try deleting paintball2\pball\serverlist.dat then load the game back up and hit "update." If you still don't get any servers showing up, look at the console (hit ~) for any connection errors. Make sure you don't have any firewalls/virus protection programs blocking Paintball2's internet access. ZoneAlarm and Norton can often cause problems. Sometimes IPX can cause problems as well. Open up pball/configs/config.cfg and add the following line to the end: seta noipx "1"
How do I start a server?
If you just want to start a quick LAN game, simply go to Play/Start Game. If you want to set up a dedicated server, we have a handy little guide here.
Can you add [insert gun name here] to the game?
Maybe, but it will be a while before we add any new weapons, if we even do. The current set of weapons is designed to provide a broad range of firing rates, from pumps to full autos. Adding anything else would just be redundant, not to mention make it more confusing to the newbies. Since there isn't really anything to be gained, we're focusing our development time elsewhere for now.
The game locks up or crashes. How do I fix it?
There are a number of possible causes for this. The first step would be to update all of your drivers to the most recent versions. If you are still having problems, it might be a bug in the game itself. Let us know about it by posting in the bugs forum.
How do I change my crosshair?
Go to the console (hit ~) and type "crosshair 0" through "crosshair 7" (without the quotes). There will be a menu option for this later. To add custom crosshairs, create an image in the paintball2\pball\pics directory called "ch#.tga" or "ch#.pcx" then type "crosshair #" in the console (where # is any number).
How do I change the font size?
Currently everything is tied together with cl_hudscale. You can type something like "cl_hudscale 3" at the console or go into the layout settings and adjust it there.
How do I take a 'clean' screenshot?
If you want to remove everything from the HUD, type "cl_drawhud 0" at the console, take your screenshot (default key is F12), and set cl_drawhud back to 1.
How do I pick up/change weapons?
You can only hold one weapon at a time. In order to pick up a new weapon, you need to drop your current one. The default key to drop a gun is 1. This holds true for most of the items. You can select keys for dropping each item from within the setup menu.
What's the best gun?
The weapons, in order of firing rate are: PGP, Trracer, Stingray, VM-68, Spyder SE, 68 Carbine, Autococker, Automag. Generally the Autococker is preferred because of its firing range and accuracy.
What do barrels do, and which is best?
Barrels improve distance and accuracy. Steel is the best. Brass is the worst (though still an improvement over the "stock" barrel).
How do you move so fast and jump so high?
Strafe jumping (also known as bunny hopping) is a key part of the game. You can build your velocity while you're in the air by strafing sideways and moving forward at the same time, especially if you turn slightly in the direction you're strafing. Touching the ground will slow you down, so keep jumping! Ramping off hills and double jumping off of boxes and other things will boost your jump height and distance. Use them to your advantage.
When is the next version coming out?
New versions come out whenever we feel they're ready to release (sufficient added features and stability). This could be days, weeks, months... It really depends on what is being worked on and if there are any serious bugs that need immediate addressing.
How do I fine-tune my mouse sensitivity?
If you want more fine-tuned control than the slider on the menu offers, these are the cvars you need to tweak: sensitivity, m_pitch, m_yaw, m_filter, m_xp. sensitivity - Basic speed multiplier for mouse looking. This is what the menu slider controls, though you can go above or below the value range on the slider. m_pitch/m_yaw - Adjust the up-down/left-right sensitivity independently. m_filter - If enabled (set to 1), it averages the last mouse position with the current one in order to smooth out the movement. m_xp - 0: uses default Windows XP acceleration, 1: Disables Windows XP acceleration, 2: Disables acceleration on non-XP versions of Windows.
Why isn't anybody playing?
Unfortunately, people tend to want to join servers with lots of people already on them. If the servers are empty, they move on. Also, depending on your time zone, the majority of players may be at school or work and unable to play. Usually if you hop on an empty server and wait a while, people will join. Once the game nears completion and we do more advertising, this shouldn't be a problem, but for now it's still in development, so hang in there.
May I mirror the Paintball2 files?
Sure! The more, the mirrorier! Heh heh. Just contact jitspoe and he'll add it to the mirrors list on the files page. Also, if you see a dead mirror link, please report it.
What do I do if my question wasn't answered here?
If you have a question you think should be added to the FAQ, post it in the FAQ thread or contact us about it, and we'll add it if deemed appropriate.