Development

FEAR Combat SEC2 2.2 Roadmap?

A couple weeks ago I published the final update to SEC2 2.1.0 (And the 2.1.1 hotfix). What can we expect for the future?

It’s been about 5 years for this update and I had to find time to complete It. There’s more to do with SEC2? Yes.

Will It happen soon? I don’t know. I’m having an unexpected break and some of the features I want to implement will need certain functionality not yet implemented in FEAR Servers, so It will take some months.

But the project Is not dead, It will eventually get updates If needed. For now I will try to make a brand new map from scratch, just because I actually enjoy doing that. And yeah, In my spare time.

Making a Mod SEC2 compatible

SEC2 version 2.1.0 final introduces the option to join Multiplayer servers running installable mods right from the Retail Multiplayer Serverlist. Players can get the latest Client update ( SEC2_2.1.0.371.Client-Beta6_2023-06-12_07) in the SEC2 develpment site: http://cpp.mx/sec2 although a new release should be out in all sites in the upcoming days.

In order to use this feature, the Mod must follow some rules, as described in this article.

Repacking the Mod.

In order to make the mod 100% compatible we need to use a proper name for It, following these rules:

  • Don’t use special characters in the mod name;
  • only A-Z letters,
  • 0-9 numbers
  • And – or _ characters are recommended.

Once you selected your mod name, for example MY_NEW_MOD_V1, use It as Base for the name of the following files:

  • MY_NEW_MOD_V1.Arch00 (This is the main mod file)
  • MY_NEW_MOD_V1.archcfg (Custom Archcfg file, see notes below).
  • MY_NEW_MOD_V1.bat (Windows Batch File to launch the mod).
  • MY_NEW_MOD_V1_User Folder. Will contain files for the profile, including a copy of your Key.ini file.

Here is one of the main points of the guide. You must include in the .archcfg file first the SEC2 folder and next the Archcfg file of your mod. This will allow your mod to be loaded seamlessly and also, list Retail and other modded servers from the serverlist once the player leaves the server. And yes, this limits the usage of custom GameClient.dll files inside the Arch00 file. Some advanced features may be lost because of that, but I consider this a worthy exchange in order to improve the game integration with mods. In this repack, I removed the GameClient.dll file included (No need to add a new one, the game will load the existing in the previous line, contained in /SEC2

Here’s an example with Coop Warfare repack.

FEAR.Arch00
FEARA.Arch00
FEARL.Arch00
FEARE.Arch00
FEAR_1.Arch00
FEARA_1.Arch00
FEARL_1.Arch00
FEARE_1.Arch00
FEAR_2.Arch00
FEARA_2.Arch00
FEARL_2.Arch00
FEARE_2.Arch00
FEAR_3.Arch00
FEARA_3.Arch00
FEARL_3.Arch00
FEARE_3.Arch00
FEAR_4.Arch00
FEARA_4.Arch00
FEARL_4.Arch00
FEARE_4.Arch00
FEAR_5.Arch00
FEARA_5.Arch00
FEARL_5.Arch00
FEARE_5.Arch00
FEAR_6.Arch00
FEARA_6.Arch00
FEARL_6.Arch00
FEARE_6.Arch00
FEAR_7.Arch00
FEARA_7.Arch00
FEARL_7.Arch00
FEARE_7.Arch00
FEAR_8.Arch00
FEARA_8.Arch00
FEARL_8.Arch00
FEARE_8.Arch00
SEC2
CoopWarfare_0_7.Arch00

You can create other .bat files to start single player, o host a server with the mod. It’s a good practice to also include a readme file; but the files previously listed must share the mod name selected. If some of the files doesn’t meet this criteria, you can get unexpected results.

In the cpp.mx/mods page you can get Repacks of Coop Warfare 0.7 and Bastard Mod, two of the most popular mods available for FEAR.

New Downloads Section

For some time I have provided download links for most of my FEAR Mods, maps and other tools, but haven’t had a chance to build a single catalog to get them. I wanted to build one, but haven’t had a chance, so I started building one some time ago. As usual I had to stop, but now looks like It’s almost ready, so I will start uploading there most of my stuff.

It Is still under development, and I will need to make It update Itself for the future, but well, It’s here anyway.

http://cpp.mx 

 

Why do you persist?

I’ve been spending a lot of time on something has little impact on the world. Fixing a 12 eyars old game issues related to hacking.

It has so many spaces for hacking, that sometimes It feels It won’t end. evenmore, maybe my attempts to fix It are fueling gmz to create more hacks; I could say I don’t understand why he does It, but I kinda get It. Somehow I feel similar, I think.

Would It be something like this, gmz?

– Why, why? Why do you do it? Why, why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you’re fighting… for something? For more than your survival? Can you tell me what it is? Do you even know? Is it freedom? Or truth? Perhaps peace? Could it be for love? Illusions, Mr. Anderson. Vagaries of perception. Temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose. And all of them as artificial as the Matrix itself, although… only a human mind could invent something as insipid as love. You must be able to see it, Mr. Anderson. You must know it by now. You can’t win. It’s pointless to keep fighting. Why, Mr. Anderson? Why? Why do you persist?

– Because I choose to.

Hackers, bans and missunderstandings

In the previous days we have had several events of hacking, false positives and missunderstandings about what SEC2 does, what doesn’t do, and who should be in trouble.
First of all, from SEC2 Readme:

SEC2 is a community maintained server patch for F.E.A.R. Dedicated Server v1.08 (Win32/Linux) that offers new features and improved security.
The concept is based on the original SEC server patch (created by Sinew), but the code has been re-written entirely from scratch based on the F.E.A.R v1.08 SDK.

So, It is NOT based on the original SEC.
It doesn’t «lag» servers or players; because doesn’t add high number of processing to the stock game; It just fixes the logic errors left behind by the original developers, that are actively used by hack makers to exploit possible effects to Servers and players.

With the latest SEC2 2.0.5 Alpha 7 (Yeah, is alpha, not beta, because after beta 2 (mostly stable version), we are pushing this unstable for experimental testing), we experienced again false positives; It was somewhat expected, since we needed to test the logic used to catch some of the most exotic features of the actively on the wild hacks.

This is not new. In the past we have had experienced this. I don’t think I need to explain this, but getting a Ban doesn’t always mean someone is hacking. It can be a false positive, like now.
Also, there are some hack users (I refuse to call them hackers, because that’s not what a hacker is), that use other players names. It can be anyone’s name.

So, what I mean is some name being hacked doesn’t mean they are hack users.
Evenmore, some lag events are reported as hacks; like floating players, missing change weapon events, and some others.

So please before calling someone a hacker, please understand we are still working on the antihack features. This is bad, because we have these incidents; but, on the other hand, I think It’s great to have the possibility to work on the antihack of a 12 years old game!


=MXT=Fred.cpp

FEAR Server Monitor, first Alpha Preview

After the FEAR Combat Ultimate Fate Event, I released what in that moment was the only way to list and join FEAR Servers. Over the next months/years more functionality was added to It.
With every sucesive update, the FEAR Installer included SEC2 and fixed most of the bugs ingame, so the Launcher became obsolete.

At this moment, a tool to track servers and users is not required, because the game works as It used to be.
Still, for Server Admins and players, sometimes is needed a tool to view servers activity; Check If your team mates are already ingame, or just check If your server has some activity.

This is still in an early development stage, but I will try to get a closed beta in the next weeks. Stay Tunned!

fear_server_monitor

MXT Reactor 4 Released

MXT Reactor 4 - FEAR Combat Map / 2013
The Splash Screen of the previously announced tier 4 (First of this type) FEAR MXT Map was leaked some mins ago. Our sources confirmed this map has a new detail level, much deeper than previous maps, and includes a huge list of optimizations.

More info will be made available once It’s released to the public, later today.