Cannot play Battlefield 2 Booster Packs

Question

I was reading on the Battlefield wiki about some maps I didn't recognise and they turned out to be from the Special Forces booster pack from Battlefield 2, so I thought I'd install BF2 and check them out.

• Installed Battlefield 2, from original retail disk with CD key from manual.
• Go to install the 1.50 "final" BF2 patch - says I have a newer version installed (?!)
• Install 1.41 patch
• Install 1.5 patch (successfully, this time). In-game states version as 1.5.3153-802.0
• Launch game, create local account, switch to "Custom Games" and select the "Special Forces" pack and click "Activate".
• Battlefield 2 quits to desktop and then launches to a black screen which flickers a few times then quits to desktop.

I'm running Windows 7, 64 bit, latest updates. Other mods such as Battlefield 2 Sandbox, version 1.0.1 work fine.

Answer 1

First of all, there is no need to install patch 1.5. Second of all, the game crash is due to either a high screen refresh rate, or if you are using a mod that is not compatible with patch 1.5.

Always download mods with Desura; this is a software that downloads mods and installs them onto your PC. When I manually downloaded and pasted the mod, it crashed to the desktop. But when the same mod was installed by Desura, it worked.

1. uninstall the whole game
2. start the installation, then install BF2
3. install special forces

It will then install patch 1.4. Make sure that you have installed your video adapter driver when the installation is finished. Don't run mods when in-game. I'll tell you how to make a shortcut to a mod:

Make a Battlefield 2 shortcut on the desktop (just CTRL+C and CTRL+V the BF2 icon onto the desktop). Go to the Properties of the copied shortcut in the shortcut tab.

In the Target bar, just paste:

+modPath mods/(Mod name) +fullscreen 1 after BF2.exe

This should be your Target:

C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\BF2.exe +modPath mods/(Mod name) +fullscreen 1

C: is the drive name where BF2 is installed and (mod name) is the name of the mod that is installed in C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\Battlefield 2\mods. Give the mod folder a name such as "xpack for special forces" and use Game Booster to play BF2. Here is the link for Desura.

Answer 2

If you have the time, try adding BF2 to your Origin library. The origin version comes fully patched and ready to go with all of the expansions. Don't worry about other mods, they are still compatible with the origin download. I downloaded a few from moddb.com and they worked perfectly. If Origin denies your key, you will need to use the live chat with EA to have someone give you a new one. You can still use your old BF2 profile.

Answer 3

The problem lies in the registry, search the reg.... Local Machine/Software/ElectronicArts... and trawl through and you will find folders with the name of the patches that have been installed, just delete those and install the one you want. Job Done

Answer 4

This failed because 1.5 comes with the Special Forces installed.

It doesn't work if you don't have the original Special Forces CD.

BF2 crashed to desktop due to a resolution issue after patching. You have to run vanilla BF2 then switch the resolution from 800x600@ 59htz especially the refresh rate to something higher. Then you can patch it and it will not crash.

This also has to be done when trying to activate Special Forces through the community tab or the game will just flicker and crash again. EA should have addressed this problem, but they have not done so during the past 6 years.