5. Installing OpenSpy Patches
This tutorial will guide you through the steps to install OpenSpy patches.
OpenSpy and NovGames are fan-made master servers serving their own communities.
There are other master servers and communities, such as PlayBF2142 and MAGMA. OpenSpy and NovGames, however, are the most popular ones among them, and thus this tutorial will mainly focus on these two services.
A master server holds the database of your login credentials and soldier data, and propagates (i.e. broadcasts) game servers to the server browser under its reign, while a game server regularly reports your in-game progress to the master server.
Installing OpenSpy / NovGames components to the game forces the game to connect through OpenSpy / NovGames instead of the dead GameSpy (i.e. the official master server). This allows the game to work again, especially for the login and online part, after GameSpy's shutdown in 2013.
OpenSpy
NovGames
OpenSpy Server List
- English-speaking community
- All unlockable items are unlocked
- Players: 10+ players on weekdays, 30+ at weekends, on Reclamation servers
- Servers: Reclamation EU, Reclamation US
- Community: Reclamation [Discord]
- Gamemodes: Conquest, Conquest Coop
- Requirements: Install OpenSpy Components via BF2142 Hub
- Requirements: Install Reclamation's map pack (3.8 GB) or maps that the server is running upon
OpenSpy is recommended over NovGames if you just want to play Project Remaster's coops (both single-player and LAN) while having all the unlocks.
You don't have to play ranked servers to rank up because you got all the unlocks from the beginning.
Join the BF2142 Reclamation Fix Discord Server!
Discord
We are not affiliated with Project Reclamation.
NovGames Server List
- Russin-speaking community
- All unlockable items are NOT unlocked
- More players: 40+ players on weekdays, 50+ at weekends, on ALLIANCE servers
- Servers: ALLIANCE Mix, ALLIANCE INFANTRY
- Community: NovGames [Discord]
- Gamemodes: Titan, No Vehicles
- Requirements: Install NovGames Components via BF2142 Hub + Run NovGames Activator once
I would recommend this over OpenSpy if you just want to play on a public server and enjoy the vanilla multiplayer experience, especially the Titan mode.
You have to play ranked servers to rank up and unlock those items by yourself.
NovGames Activator changes your cd key so that you don't get auto-kicked on Alliance's servers.
Join the NOVGAMES.RU \ BF2142 Discord Server!
Discord
We are not affiliated with NovGames.
We will first go through the installation of OpenSpy Components.
That's because you can use all the unlocks later when you test the game.
This is important because you will always find yourself playing with bots (i.e., Conquest Coop) most of the time in single-player, so OpenSpy is really the only way to go.
Rest assured that we will also guide you through how to switch over to NovGames just in case you want to play some vanilla multi-player games with real people.
Before proceeding to patch your game, you're strongly advised to backup the following files in your game folder: BF2142.exe, RendDX9.dll
- 1.Right-click the "BF2142 Hub" shortcut on your desktop. Click "Properties". In the "Compatibility" tab, enable "Run this program as an administrator". Click "Apply" and then click "OK".
- 2.Double-click the shortcut to run the app.
- 3.Click "Yes" when the dialogue "Do you want to allow this app from an unknown publisher to make changes to your device?" pops up.
- 4.In the "Help" (question mark icon) tab, check whether the "GamePath" is pointed to the correct destination or not. If it's not, click the gear icon to locate your game folder.
- 5.Select "OpenSpy" from the "Redirects*" drop-down menu. Click the "Install" button.
- 6.Click "Yes" when the dialogue "Are you sure you want to patch the game?" pops up.
- 7.Click "Confirm" when the dialogue "Patch completed, Enjoy!" pops up.
- 8.Make sure all checkmarks (i.e. Patch 1.51, BF2142.exe, RendDX9.d, RendDX9ori.dll) are green after patching. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Steps 9-11 are optional as they are only required if you want to play on Reclamation's servers. The Reclamation Community uses their own version of maps. So, in order to play on their servers, you will have to install their map pack or the map that the server is currently running upon.
- 9.In the "Download" tab, double-click on "BF2142 MapPack v1.0". The app will then open your browser and navigate to the download link of the pack. Download "
2142_MapPack_v1.zip" (MediaFire, 3.8GB). - 10.Once the download is completed, click the "MapPack Installer *" button and select the .zip file you've downloaded.
- 11.A command-line window will pop up. Once the installation is completed, the window will close itself.
- 12.If everything looks good, close the app.
Step 9: There is an option to download the maps individually. To do so, you may refer to the following instructions:
- 1.In the "Download" tab, click "Individual Maps".
- 2.Select the maps that you want to download from the "Available Maps" box and click ">>".
- 3.To uninstall a map, select the map from the "Installed Maps" box and click "<<".
Reclamation servers are unmodded, i.e. vanilla servers.
The downloaded maps are installed in the "
/mods/bf2142/Levels" folder, i.e. vanilla folder.You can only connect to one master server at a time, so you don't have to install NovGames components if you already have OpenSpy components installed. But you can still do so if you want to switch from OpenSpy to NovGames.
NovGames could be offline the moment you install the game. Their uptime is currently unpredictable so it's advised to stick with OpenSpy for the time being.
To switch between the 2 master servers, select the corresponding master server in the drop-down menu of BF2142 Hub and click "Install" to install the components.
- 1.Follow the steps from the above section.
- 2.Select "NovGames" instead of "GameSpy" in step 5 and skip steps 9-11. NovGames components do not include RendDX9_ori.dll, so there will be no checkmark on that option after patching.
- 3.Download Activator2142_by_NovGames.exe.
- 4.Run it as an administrator.
- 5.Click "EN", and then click "ACTIVATE".
- 6.Close the app once the "Completed!" message appears in the diagnose box.
Activator2142_by_NovGames.exe
Google Docs
Source: NovGames [Last Checked on 12 Dec 2022]
You only have to run this app once, and you may delete it afterwards. The activator will replace your old cd key with a new key in your game's registry path. This allows the key to uniquely identify yourself so you don't get auto-kicked on Alliance's servers.
Similarly, you can switch from NovGames to OpenSpy using BF2142 Hub.