Rainbow Six: Black Ops 2.0 - Release (11/22 Update) file

Rainbow Six: Black Ops 2.0 is provided only in the ISO disk image format. You can either mount it on a virtual drive, burn it on a DVD like in the good old days, or unzip it with 7-Zip or equivalent software.

The custom installer will allow you to install R6BO in a path of your choice. Registry keys and a much needed graphics wrapper are installed automatically. Soon after installation, you may run the configuration's dialog, the game or have a look at the ReadMe file, with proper links in the Start Menu.

Make sure that you have installed DirectX 9 runtimes (on Windows 10 and Windows 11 they are not provided by default); they are included with the DirectX setup inside the ISO package. User experience may vary depending on the system.

9/3/21 Update Changelog:
- Restored original sound files from Rogue Spear and Take Down, in place of custom ones of the 2014 release of Black Ops.
- Added "Original Crosshairs" mod, for those who prefer the original, smaller and low-res reticules of Rogue Spear.
- Fixed unusal bug with the CL07 mission (operators inside the biohazard facility would die after the mission).
- Fixed wrong kits/actors in few classic missions.

9/6/21 Update Changelog:
- Restored basic multiplayer support.
- Altered environment for the CL10 map.
- Fixed few texture rendering bugs, added better water texture to the BT03 map.
- Fixed minor issues with mission plans, intel and briefing data.

9/13/21 Update Changelog:
- Restored Black Thorn's FAMAS as the G2, added Take Down's model as a separate F1 variant.
- Reworked weapon files to fix major bugs and to bring more realism and balance, by Doglived.
- Added two sound mods (Rainbow Six '98 sounds and Take Down's Korean dubbing) and a M14 wood stock skin mod.
- Much improved CL08 map so that it's closer to the original from 1998, removed fuel truck and custom Huey and Cessna 3d models.
- Fixed CTD with the Winter Hawk mission and missing objectives text on few briefings (all due to restructuring of folders for multiplayer).
- Fixed bugged victory/fail conditions from stock Black Thorn missions.
- Modified mission plan for Sargasso Fade so that it features the same amount of operators of Majestic Gold.
- Fixed missing intro audio for Korean missions.
- Many other localization, UI and texture fixes and improvements.

9/29/21 Update Changelog:
- Added CAR-15 as seen in Rainbow Six (1998) as a separate weapon, but with a 20-round mag as shown in the UI.
- Added "Original Splash Screens" mod for those who prefer to have the low-res mission specific splash screens.
- Added "Black Thorn (US Version)" mod which replaces text, briefing audio and mission locations with those of the US release.
- Added missing hostage sounds included exclusively in the Take Down game.
- Added custom UI textures for the USP40, to differentiate it from the MARK 23.
- Added custom skybox to the Operation Lone Fox map, in order to fix black background on the horizon.
- Added working Rogue Spear's soundtrack thanks to the ogg-winmm CD Audio Emulator wrapper.
- Added new savegames for the Take Down campaign; Branch Campaign now should work with the pre-existing saves.
- Corrected loadouts of some mission plans so they use the CAR-15 if it's a classic R6/EW map.
- Fixed minor bugs with the victory/fail mission conditions on most classic R6/EW missions.
- Replaced terrorist characters in Operation Lone Fox with proper Global Security ones.
- Fixed a couple of wrongly referenced uniforms in few custom mission plans of Take Down.
- Restored default mission plan loadout and operatives for the last Take Down mission in the ski resort.
- Fixed very unusual bug with waypoints for the default mission plan of the UOK1 map.
- Vastly improved English translation of Take Down and minor string table text fixes.
- Fixed wrong intel data for the CL07 custom assault mission.
- Further improved other minor UI textures and small details.
- Corrected path of needed registry keys for x86 and x64 systems.

5/4/22 Update Changelog:
- Recompiled installer with older version of Inno Setup, now it should also work on WinXP.
- Added more complete support for mod folders; maps from all mod folders are now listed in multiplayer.
- Added alternative version of DDrawCompat wrapper, it should work better on Win7/WinVista.
- Added brand new version of the ogg-winmm CD Audio Emulator wrapper as released by ayuanx.
- Added "R6BOLegacy" executable with no graphics wrapper use, for those playing on WinXP or older (at your own risk).
- Added the Generic Mod Enabler which allows users to select and properly enable their preferred reticule for use in multiplayer.
- Added "RSMP04 Bunkers" map, Rogue Spear's day version of Urban Ops' Bunkers, to MP and Custom Mission.
- Added Obstacle Course maps from both Rogue Spear and Take Down to MP and Custom Mission.
- Added "Ghost Recon Demo Map" mod, adding GR's Castle map to MP and Custom Mission (originally converted by Akira_AU).
- Added unused skybox model and textures from the RSE Level Plugins for use on the UOMP03 Old Train Tracks map.
- Added flipped spawn points to all multiplayer mission files for all maps included in Black Ops.
- Added the Ak 5 assault rifle using Take Down's FNC 3d model, restored Black Thorn's 3d model for the FNC.
- Added "Navy" uniform, namely the Street2 camo from Take Down, with slightly reworked textures.
- Added light and medium armor versions of the biosuit, created by using custom textures and stock 3d models.
- Added five VA mods which replace English in-game dubbing with Korean, Russian, French, German or Italian voiceovers.
- Added Take Down's UI sounds to the "UI #7 Take Down" mod, tweaked few UI colours.
- Added correct arrow cursor textures to each UI mod (restart the game for properly enabling them).
- Remade main menu background with new title header texture created by xDaVIRUS.
- Reworked menu backgrounds for the UI #1 Rainbow Six and UI #2 Eagle Watch mods.
- Remade ladder uniforms mod with tweaked textures and colours, now called "MP Ladder Uniforms".
- Retranslated all Korean text from Take Down that was previously translated in 2019, with help by HcH.
- Enabled all maps for selection in the Scatter Hunt and Terrorist Hunt rules in MP.
- Enabled only maps with proper "Disarm Bomb" data in the Save Your Base rule in MP.
- Enabled unused MP variant of the TM06 map for use in Adversarial and Custom Mission.
- Modified AI, now enemy NPCs use a separate set of weapon files that can be given custom stats.
- Fixed few mistakes in the "Original Splash Screens" mod and added files for it to work in Adversarial.
- Fixed other NPCs of Rogue Spear that were using the same textures of NPCs from Take Down.
- Fixed missing textures referenced by some Take Down terrorist characters.
- Fixed rotors not being animated on the helicopters appearing in the CL05 Water Ride map.
- Fixed wrong actor/kit file pairs in few custom missions, causing wrong texture mapping on few characters.
- Fixed inconsistent armour values and wrong animations on few characters in the R6/EW mission remakes.
- Fixed wrong fog and/or skybox data on multiplayer mission files for the Covert Ops maps.
- Fixed stock bug/typo on ambient sounds referenced by the BT01 Japanese Embassy map.
- Fixed TD03 multiplayer mission files referencing the wrong file and directory, hence causing a CTD.
- Fixed missing mission objectives in the Lone Wolf custom mission for the TM02 map.
- Fixed different/wrong skybox in the multiplayer and custom mission files of the Biodome map.
- Fixed wrong skybox for the EW05 Capitol Building map, now it correctly features daytime.
- Fixed wrong weather forecast icons in the briefings of many mission files.
- Fixed missing intel data/text for various Take Down custom missions.
- Fixed missing rain effects in custom missions on the Take Down campaign maps.
- Fixed wrong magnification zoom values on the AUG and on the L85A1.
- Fixed M4A1 SD not having the same rate of fire of the unsuppressed version.
- Fixed excessive rate of fire for the FAMAS rifles, now it should be more reasonable.
- Improved all encumbrance values for all firearms so that they are realistic and using the same standard.
- Modified CAR-15, now it features new UI textures and proper 30-round magazines.
- Replaced Take Down's weapon sounds for the FAMAS, P90 and suppressed MK 23 with those of Black Thorn.
- Tweaked stats for many weapons (shotguns, sniper rifles, LMGs and pistols) so they are more balanced for multiplayer.
- Renamed dozens of multiplayer .mis files so that maps appear in alphabetical order in Adversarial.
- Reworked tons of spawn points for most classic R6 and EW maps so that they are more usable in multiplayer.
- Restored Kevin Sweeney in the briefing of the two Korean Missions exclusives from Urban Ops.
- Restored Rogue Spear's sky_day_snow_mountains skybox textures which got replaced by ones from Covert Ops.
- Standardized planning map zoom data and AI LOS distance values for various mission files of each map.
- Lowered excessively loud ambient sounds on the CO01 Jungle map.
- Removed many unused files, cleaned up the mod package.
- Other small improvements to text strings and UI textures.

5/23/22 Update Changelog:
-Fixed Primary Ammo and Secondary Ammo not working due to hardcoded references in the executable.
-Fixed wrong references to Primary Ammo in the mission plan for the Shooting Range in Open Training.
-Added a generic RAINBOW armpatch as default for multiplayer.
-Restored correct Lukyan Barsukov profile pic in the briefing of the RS16 mission.

13/11/22 Changelog:
-Added latest version of the ogg-winmm CD Audio Emulator wrapper as released by ayuanx.
-Added latest version of the DDrawCompat wrapper by narzoul with custom settings.
-Fixed wrong mission dates for some Urban Ops and Covert Ops missions.
-Fixed K2 assault rifle not using its original sounds from Take Down.
-Fixed K7 sounds missing distance values in the soundvol.txt file, thus triggering AI even if it is silenced.

Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: When the game is run, the screen stays black for a few seconds before crashing to desktop.
A: If you have a modern Nvidia GPU with G-Sync monitor support, try disabling G-Sync in the Nvidia control panel. If you have an AMD GPU instead, try disabling Radeon Enhanced Sync. Make sure to disable ShadowPlay if you use it, it may conflict with the included graphics wrapper. Full screen optimizations and high DPI settings of current Windows OSs may also conflict with the wrapper, so consider tweaking your system settings.

Q: Will this work on Windows 11 x64?
A: The included graphics wrapper (ddcpt.dll) makes the game work great on Windows 11/10/8. Make sure to run the R6BOConfig executable and select your GPU instead of the "Let Black Ops Choose" option. You may also try changing settings of the graphics wrapper by opening and editing the DDrawCompat.ini file in the root folder of Black Ops. More informations on the available settings at the following link: Github.com

Q: Will this work on Windows XP and older?
A: The main R6BO executable has been hex-edited to make use of a graphics wrapper exclusively for modern systems. For legacy Windows OS like XP and older, you may want to start the game by using the R6BOLegacy executable, which does not make use of any graphics wrapper. You can join matches hosted by players on the most recent Windows OS with no issues.

Q: I’m having low FPS and other problems, what should I do?
A: Consider changing settings inside the DDrawCompat.ini file in the root folder of Black Ops. If this fails, consider trying a different graphics wrapper (dgVoodoo or WineD3D) and make sure to rename any different ddraw.dll file to ddcpt.dll, which is what the game executable looks for.

Q: I don’t like the default reticules; I want the original ones from Rogue Spear or some custom ones.
A: Run the R6BORets executable before starting the game, with it you can see all the included reticule mods and enable the one you prefer for proper use in multiplayer.

Q: The AI gets stuck easily in rooms and on ladders, any solution?
A: Sadly not. The AI of these old games is rather primitive and prone to such issues, so live with them. Settings inside the DDrawCompat.ini file limit FPS to 60 and set CPU affinity to just one core. There is no guarantee this has any positive effect on AI behavior.