Star Trek: Elite Force II
This game is a first person shooter, continuing the story of the USS Voyager’s formerly Hazard Team, now active back home, in the alpha quadrant. It features a singleplayer campaign as well as multiplayer, the so-called Holomatch. It is very often referred to as EF2.
- Discord
- Installation
- Multiplayer / Masterserver
- Widescreen Resolution
- HZM Coop Mod
- Performance
- Ingame Console
- Config Location / Virtual Store
- Config Name
- Useful Links
Discord
Installation
The installation from CD may cause problems if your destination partition's size exceeds 2 TB. In such a case it is necessary to install manually by copying the required files from the CD.
Manual Installation
Simply copy the required files from the CD into a new folder and place it where you want the game to be saved to. The required files for EF2 are the following ones:
Click here to view list
Star Trek Elite Force II
├── base
│ ├── cgamex86.dll
│ ├── ctf_tartirus.pk3
│ ├── ctf_vor2.pk3
│ ├── dm_ctf_voy1.pk3
│ ├── gamex86.dll
│ ├── global
│ │ ├── default.cfg
│ │ ├── defaultcontrols.cfg
│ │ └── defaultoptions.cfg
│ ├── hm_ctf_exigent.pk3
│ ├── locpak1.pk3
│ ├── locpak50.pk3
│ ├── pak0.pk3
│ ├── pak10.pk3
│ ├── pak15.pk3
│ ├── pak16.pk3
│ ├── pak20.pk3
│ ├── pak30.pk3
│ ├── pak31.pk3
│ ├── pak32.pk3
│ └── pak50.pk3
├── EF2.exe
├── EF2.ico
├── snddrivers
│ ├── Mss32.dll
│ ├── Mssa3d.m3d
│ ├── Msseax.m3d
│ ├── mssmp3.asi
│ ├── msssoft.m3d
│ └── vssver.scc
├── support.ico
├── unins000.dat
├── unins000.exe
├── unins000.ini
├── unins000.msg
└── version.inf
For tools like the official EF2 patch installer to recognize the manually installed game, you have to add your game to the Windows registry. In order to do so adjust the paths and CD-key in the following example .reg file to match your own and import it into the registry by double clicking it.
Click here to view sample reg file
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Activision\Elite Force II]
"InstallDrive"=".\\"
"InstallPath"="Z:\\Games\\Star Trek\\Star Trek Elite Force II"
"Language"="US"
"StartMenuFolder"="C:\\Users\\<username>\\AppData\\Roaming\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Start Menu\\Programs\\Star Trek Elite Force II"
"Version"="1.0"
"ef2key"="<The 16 characters of your CD key, all in upper case, no spaces>"
"PATH"=".\\"
Patching
Depending on the version the game has after installation (can be seen in the main menu in the lower left corner), you might have to install the latest patch (alternative link). The newest patch version is 1.10. The GOG version already includes it. You might consider installing the HMZ Coop Mod, too.
Multiplayer / Masterserver
Like with many other games from that era, the official masterserver is long gone. So, you will not be able to see a server list with the default settings. There are replacement masterservers run by the community:
- ef2master.sfu-server.de
- master.hazardmodding.com
- master.stef2.daggolin.de
The currently recommended one is master.hazardmodding.com (or alternatively master.stef2.daggolin.de) (IP: 51.75.78.236, may change at some point). As a replacement server (in case the first one fails), you may also use ef2master.sfu-server.de. There are three ways to use them:
Using the Master Server Patch
The most convenient option is using the masterserver patcher ef2_multiplayer_master_server_fix-100.exe (downloadable from ModDB). It patches the masterserver address in memory, so you won't need to alter your game at all. Simply start it instead of the normal executable. This also works with EF2.exe renamed to quake3.exe (see also section Performance) and it also allows for using the sv_master1 cvar. This way you can query a community master server (or announce your own game servers to it) once again.
Adding an Entry to the Windows Hosts File (Only for Experienced Users)
Using one of the above mentioned servers without any additional means may also be facilitated by editing the hosts file. This file is located at %windir%\system32\drivers\etc (usually that is C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc) and can be opened with any editor. This way, Windows will always use the set IP. Here is a hosts file entry example:
To find out the IP-Address of the masterserver enter ping master.hazardmodding.com in the Windows Console (e.g. cmd.exe).
When setting the corresponding line in the hosts file, make sure to write your new entry in a new line. Each entry needs to be in a single line or the complete hosts file may no longer work properly. Security and anti virus software may prevent you from altering the hosts file. You may need to disable the protection or allow the modification of the file until you have made and tested the changes to it.
Modifying the Original File (Only for Advanced users, not Recommended)
You can also alter the original EF2.exe directly with a hex-editor. Be aware that this might corrupt it to the point where you cannot use it any longer. So make backups of it before you try this.
Widescreen Resolution
The game does not allow to select widescreen resolutions like 1080p in the menus there are solutions for this problem. The easiest way is to use the HZM Coop Mod, which also brings you widescreen support in the main menu. For the actual game interface (not the menus) you can set it manually:
- Open your game folder and switch to folder base\global.
- Download and place this autoexec.cfg there. The settings from autoexec.cfg will be applied automatically to the game each time it is started.
- If needed, change the following lines with
userFov,r_customwidthandr_customheightto use a different resolution than 1920 × 1080:
seta r_mode "-1" // activates custom screen resolution
seta r_customwidth "1920" // x resolution
seta r_customheight "1080" // y resolution
seta r_customaspect "1" // Allowes for another x:y ratio than 4:3
seta userFov "90" // set field of view to compensate for widescreen
The r_customaspect value may be necessary to be set, depending on the aspect ratio of your x to y resolution:
- 4:3:
0(default) - 16:9:
1 - 16:10:
2
HZM Coop Mod
There is a nice coop mod available, that allows you to play the entire campaign together. You can get it ModDB. It also includes many other fixes, e.g. resolution scaling fixes. However, it also may make your saved games incompatible. So if you decide to use it, it might be better to make a backup of your installation or install the HZM Coop Mod right from the start. If you have any further questions on this mod, feel free to ask them on the HaZardModding or EF2 Discord.
Performance
Due to technical limitations (limited buffer size when obtaining the list of available OpenGL extensions) the game may be unable to determine the correct OpenGL extensions to use. This may heavily impact the performance of the game in a negative way. The easiest way to work around this issue is renaming the executable EF2.exe to quake3.exe. This enables certain optimizations by graphics card manufacturers in their drivers, like re-ordering the available extensions, so the more important extensions (for quake3 based games) will not be cut off.
Ingame Console
Many settings and some features are only available either by editing the configuration files or by entering the data into the console of EF2. By default the console is available by pressing the key below the ESC key (left of 1). On a UK layout keyboard this is ¬, ~ for US layout and ^ for DE layouts.
Be aware: Some settings cannot be set in this fashion. They have to be provided already during game/server start, which only works by providing the parameters via CLI or setting it in a .lnk file.
Config Location / Virtual Store
Saved games, models, maps, mods and configuration settings are stored inside the game's folder. By default, the installation folder of EF2 is in Program Files (x86). As folders inside Program Files (x86) are by default not writable for normal users (and also admins may have to confirm changes), it prevents players from successfully saving their settings or add custom content. To work around this limitation, Windows 7 and newer may use the so-called Virtual Store feature, which makes the game save to another folder. So there are two locations you should look for your saves, maps, configs, etc.:
| OS | Location |
|---|---|
| Windows up to Win Vista | Game folder |
| Windows from Win 7 on | %UserProfile%\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\<name of your EF game folder>\ (only when stored in folders Program Files or Program files (x86) of your Windows drive). |
Config Name
The configuration files for EF2 are named like the Windows user name you are logged in as. So when playing as Windows user "Administrator", the config file is named Administrator.cfg. It is placed inside the folder base inside your EF2 installation or the virtual store folder.