Increase Max Bots in Bf1942 Co-Op and Mods (255 Player Max) tutorial

Introduction:

I'm creating this guide because, lets be honest here, we all wanted more than the standard 64 bot max in Co-op mode but could never figure out how to do it. This tutorial will fix that by creating an easy step-by-step guide so, at the end of this, you will be able to set the max player count in Co-op to 255. Effectively allowing you to have 254 bots (Including you=255) in any Bf1942 map.

This will also change the max bot count for any mod or expansion you have installed. So you do not need to repeat these steps for your mods/expansions. If, for whatever reason, It does not work for your mods/expansions scroll down to the Troubleshooting section for information on how to fix this.

This same method can also be applied to Battlefield Vietnam.

Notes: This tutorial was made on a 32-bit Windows 7 system. This will work on other OS's just make sure you check the directories because they will vary.
Obviously more bots will require more memory. Setting the max limit is not a good idea if you have a slow PC.

WARNING (Before you begin): Make sure you make a backup of the original exe in case you do not follow these steps properly. I will not be held accountable if this prevents your game from working. Which should only happen if you do not correctly follow the steps listed below. Be prepared in case you have to re-install the game. This is VERY UNLIKELY but just a word of caution.

Start of Tutorial:

(A.) Before we begin:

• 1. Before we start you will need to download two things

The first link is the Battlefield Mod Developers Toolkit (BF:MDT). The tool kit will allow us to edit certain game files so that in turn we can alter the maximum number of bots allowed. If all is fine and working at the end of this you can uninstall it when your done.

The second link is an altered Battlefield1942.exe launch file you need so that the changes you make with BF:MDT can take effect. Contains both Bf1942.exe and BfVietnam.exe.

• 2. Making sure your game is up to date.

You need to update you game to the latest patch (1.6.19). Do this before continuing any further.
You can download the patch here.

• 3. Extract both files, Install MDT, and replace exe

(a.) Extract both of the files you just downloaded.

(b.) When both of the extractions are complete open the extracted folder 'BF_MDT_2_75' and launch the application file. This is the installation for BF:MDT. It does not matter where exactly you install it so long as it is installed.

(c.) Go to your Battlefield1942 directory (E.g C:\Program Files\EA Games\Battlefield 1942) and rename 'BF1942' to 'BF1942.bak'. This is so you will always have a back up of the original exe file.

(d.) Now open the other extracted folder 'Bf_CoOp_Bots', then the sub folder. Copy 'BF1942' ((Copy BfVietnam if this is for BfVietnam)) and paste it into your Battlefield 1942 directory (E.g C:\Program Files\EA Games\Battlefield 1942). Hit copy and replace, this exe must overwrite or replace the original one. If you re-named or moved the original exe to back it up there should be no prompting to overwrite or replace.

(B.) Using MDT and Editing Game Files

• 1. Launch BF:MDT and click WinRFA

(a.) When BF:MDT installed it should have created a shortcut on your desktop. Open this and click the WinRFA tool. At the top click 'file', 'Open .rfa' and navigate to 'C:\Program Files\EA Games\Battlefield 1942\Mods\bf1942\Archives\bf1942' and open 'Game.rfa'. In the top section look for 'Bf1942/Game/AIDefault.con'. Click it and it should open in the bottom section. Now, in the bottom section, look for 'aiSettings.setMaxNBots 64'. Now delete 64 and put 255 in its place. Make sure to click 'Save Changes'.

(b.) Minimize WinRfa. Create a new folder on your desktop, no need to name it. Re-open WinRFA click 'File', 'Open .rfa' but this time navigate to ''C:\Program Files\EA Games\Battlefield 1942\Mods\bf1942\Archives' and open 'menu.rfa'. At the top click 'Extract', click 'All' and select the new folder you made on your desktop. Wait for it to finish, the progress of the extraction will be shown at the bottom of the WinRFA window. When it is done it will say 'Ready...' Close WinRFA then move on to the next step.

• 2. Re-open BF:MDT and click Menu Editor

(a.) With BF:MDT this time we're going to open the Menu Editor. In Menu Editor, at the top, hit 'File' then 'Open' then open the new folder you created on your desktop and then open the 'menu' folder within it (The directory would be 'Desktop\New folder\menu') and finally open 'CreateGameMenuPage1'.

(b.) Press Ctrl+F and a search box will appear. Enter "dice::meme::BfEditNodeInt" (Without the quotes) and click 'Find Next'. Now press F3 ONCE to cycle to the next line with the same name (You may have to cycle through a few times to find the correct line, it may vary).

(c.) Now expand the highlighted field. When expanded you should see "Int32: 64". Click it so its highlighted. Now, at the top of the window you will now see "Int32: 64" to the right of the save button. From there change the '64' to '255'. Then make sure to click 'Update' THEN 'Save'. You can now close the Menu Editor.

• 3. Packing the Menu folder and we're just about done

(a.) Re-open WinRFA for the final time in BF:MDT. Now click 'Pack', then 'Directory' and in the 'Source Directory' browse for and expand the 'New folder' on your desktop. Click 'menu' and hit ok.

(b.) Click pack and browse over to 'Battlefield 1942\Mods\bf1942\Archives'. Name the file "menu.rfa" This has to overwrite the menu.rfa already in there. Hit save and wait for it to finish. You can now exit WinRFA.

(C.) Using the custom exe and starting a game

• 1. Launching Battlefield 1942 correctly and making sure this works

(a.) Remember when we replaced the original exe file with the one you downloaded? For this to work you must start Battlefield using this exe. Just create a shortcut of it on your desktop from the game's directory and be done with it. To help prevent problems right click the shortcut, go to the compatibility tab and under compatibility mode set it to 'Windows Xp (Service Pack 3)' and under 'Privilege Level' check the box to allow it to run as administrator. Click Apply.

(b.) Start battlefield using the provided exe. If you made it this far then you should know to start a Co-Op game with bots you create a new game under multi-player. Select Co-Op and now set your own personal preferences.

(c.) In the 'Max Players' field you should now be able to set the number up to 255. If you set the number above 64 and it keeps resetting back to 64 then there's a problem. This won't occur unless something was done wrong. Go back and make sure all of the variables you set in the game files saved and you are using the provided exe to launch the game.

End of Tutorial

You now should be able to play Bf1942 Co-Op with up to 254 bots (255 Player Max) on any map. Now all that hard work will finally pay off.

If you have any problems please refer to the Troubleshooting section or the FAQ's section. If you don't find your answer there leave a comment and I will do my best to help you.

Troubleshooting

Problem: It works for Bf1942 and some mods but not all of them.

Fix: If the new maximum player count works in Bf1942 and some mods don't work then that means they might be using their own Game.rfa and Menu.rfa files. Just repeat the steps used to change the original Bf1942 Game.rfa and Menu.rfa but for the mod (All steps under B). Obviously, the directory would be different for these files. Instead of "C:\Program Files\EA Games\Battlefield 1942\Mods\bf1942\Archives" try "C:\Program Files\EA Games\Battlefield 1942\Mods\name of mod here\Archives".

Problem: Followed all of the steps but trying to change the max player count in-game just resets it to the original max (64).

Fix: If this happens it means one of two things:
1. You're not using the custom exe file and instead you are launching the game using original exe. Make sure you launch the game using this file. Otherwise you won't be able to go past 64 max players.
2. When changing the Game or Menu rfa files you skipped a step or didn't save. Go back and make sure the variables you were supposed to change saved and you didn't skip a step (All steps under B).

Problem: It was working until the game was updated.

Fix: Updating the game will overwrite the exe. Just replace it again and your good to go. If this does not fix it then you may have to do the whole process over again.

Problem: Having trouble starting the game.

Fix: Try these fix's in order until its working again.
1. Make sure compatibility mode is on and you are running the game under administrator.
2. Start game using the exe backup. (Didn't back it up? Download one here)
3. Re-run update.

FAQ's

Q: Will this work for the Origin version of Battlefield 1942?

A: Although I have not tested this I see know reason why this would not work since original mods work with the Origin version.

Q: Can I set more than 255 max players?

A: No, the game engine can only set 255 identities to the bots. Trying to add more will cause the game to crash.

Personal Recommendations:
Co-op Coral Sea map. Nothing but planes and two air craft carriers. Extract and paste rfa into "C:\Program Files\EA Games\Battlefield 1942\mods\bf1942\Archives\bf1942\levels"

Credits and thanks:
Forgotten Hope Team for creating the altered exe
bbfplayer
gleeman for the Co-Op Coral Sea map
Everyone over at the battlefieldsingleplayer forums.