Why doesn't my PunkBuster Client work even though everything
is installed properly?
Check the fs_homepath game cvar from the game console (enter
"\fs_homepath"). Then, using the explorer program on your
computer, verify that the path pointed to by fs_homepath does in
fact have a "pb" subfolder that includes at least these three
files: pbsv.dll, pbcl.dll and pbag.dll (or pbsv.so, pbcl.so, and
pbag.so on Linux systems). If not, then either locate and copy the
"pb" folder from your SOF2 installation into the fs_homepath
location, or change the fs_homepath cvar to point to your SOF2
installation. Note that the "pb" folder must have read and write
permissions. We realize this is a tricky topic. If you need
further assistance, please visit our online web forum.
My computer locks up or "chugs" sometimes while I'm playing
with PunkBuster Enabled, what can cause this?
PunkBuster "pushes" hardware and the Windows Operating System
more than most software and uses functions in the Windows API (low
level functions) that aren't used by most other programs. As such,
there are a few cases where using PB can actually expose flaky
hardware or other situations that don't cause problems for other
software. Here are a few things that have helped other users make
the lockups go away:
1) Make sure you are using the latest
version of PunkBuster (the latest version is always on our
Download page).
2) If you have trouble updating to the latest
version, then try creating your own Server from the Multiplayer
screen in the game, and let it idle (sit unused) for a couple of
hours.
3) Never close other programs from your Task Manager
before playing the game, either leave them running or close them
through the proper interface - killing a process doesn't always
work completely even if it stops showing in the Task Manager and
renegade threads seem to conflict with PB more than other programs
that may be running in memory.
4) Check the add/remove programs
list in your Control Panel and uninstall any programs that you
don't use or that you don't know what they are.
5) One program
that seems to conflict with PB more than others is Norton
Anti-Virus. If you have it installed, try uninstalling it to see
if the lockups go away. Some players have reported that when this
is the culprit, they can reinstall Norton Anti-Virus and the
lockups don't come back.
6) Some players discovered that they
had a computer virus and that the lockups vanished after it was
fully removed.
7) Experiment with the pb_sleep setting ... try
setting it to 20 or to 250 to see if that affects your game
performance. A few players have reported that all the problems go
away when they "tweak" this setting.
8) In extreme cases, a few
users have reported that replacing their RAM (memory) or
video/sound cards fixed the problem.
How do I know if I am PunkBuster Authenticated?
Old versions of PunkBuster went through "Authentication"
procedures every few minutes and announced when each player had
been Authenticated. The newer, integrated version is
constantly Authenticating players during gameplay. To check
your current status, press the tilde key (~) to bring down the
Game Console. Enter "pb_plist" into the Game console
(without the quotes) and then press the Tab key so the Game knows
you are entering a command, then press the Enter key. The
current PunkBuster status of all players will be displayed - use
the PageUp / PageDown keys if necessary to scroll the console text
up and down. There are 3 modes of PunkBuster status: INIT,
UPDT, and OK. If it says OK next to a player's name, then
that player is currently Authenticated.
What is a guid?
In general, GUID
is an acronym that stands for
“globally unique identifier”. The guid inside PunkBuster is
used to identify players with something more solid than their
playing name or IP address. Your guid is loosely based on
the cdkey that was used to install the game on your
computer. When Server Admins kick or ban a player from their
server(s), PunkBuster uses the player's guid to enforce the
kick/ban. Since it is based on the game installation, it is
a better way to identify individual players than by looking at
their IP address or playing name. For those concerned about
privacy, PunkBuster uses a 128-bit one-way hash (a mathematical
function) to generate the guid from the cdkey so that no one can
figure out or compute your cdkey by knowing your guid.
What do the AuthRate and RecentSS columns mean in the
pb_plist output?
The AuthRate column shows how many times per minute PunkBuster
has successfully Authenticated each Player. This value
should normally settle to between 2 and 3 for all players after
they have a status of "OK". The RecentSS column indicates
how many screenshots the PunkBuster Server has requested from each
player during the past few minutes. This value is available
to all players so that "home team" Server Admins don't abuse the
screenshot facility, for example by only capturing screenshots of
opponents.
Why do I get a message on some servers asking me to change
my name and how do I do that while playing?
PunkBuster includes a "BadName" Facility that some Server
Admins use to prevent players from including "bad" words (such as
racial slurs or profanity) in their playing names. If you
wish to play on such servers and you get a message asking you to
change your name, then you will need to change your name quickly
to avoid being removed from the Server. There are 2 easy
ways to change your name while playing. One way is to just
click on your name on the Game's Limbo Screen and just edit the
name directly. Another way is via the console, press the
tilde (~) key to bring down the game console, and change your name
by entering "name new_name" without the quotes, then press the
"Tab" key, and finally the "Enter" key.
Why do I get messages on some servers telling me that I have
cvar violations and what should I do about it?
A cvar is a game setting. Cvars can be used to customize
the game, but cheaters sometimes abuse cvars to exploit holes or
bugs in the game in order to cheat. Admins of PunkBuster
Servers have the ability to add specific recurring checks for
players' cvar values during gameplay. If you have downloaded
or written game scripts to automate tasks, then those scripts
almost certainly will add and/or change cvars in your
system. You will receive a warning if a cvar on your system
is not in the range allowed by the Admin of the Game Server to
which you are currently connected - the warning will also include
the allowed range of values for the specified cvar. If you
do not heed the warning, then after a few seconds or minutes, the
PunkBuster Server will raise a violation and remove you from the
Game Server. To change the current value of any cvar, press
the tilde (~) key to bring down the game console, and then type
the cvarname followed by a space and the new value, then press the
Tab key and then the Enter key. For example, entering
"cg_shadows 0" as a command will set your cg_shadows cvar to the
value of 0. The Game automatically saves most cvar changes
so that the next time you play, any changes from a previous
session will still be in effect. You may request a list of all
checked cvar rangess from the server using the “pb_cvarlist”
command. You will see all checked cvars, the allowed ranges and
also any of your cvars that are currently set outside the allowed
ranges.
What does "New Security Information Received" mean?
During gameplay, the PunkBuster Client will be contacting the
Master PunkBuster Servers about new PunkBuster system, database
and data files (see section PB Subdirectory and File Information
for more information about these file types) as well as other
crucial information. This message states that the new
information has been received successfully from the Master
PunkBuster Servers. If new versions of PunkBuster are
transferred to the PunkBuster Client from the PunkBuster Server to
which the player is connected, the received files will be
validated for integrity based on this Security Information.
PunkBuster Server software also confirms the integrity of newly
obtained files based on similar Security Information. This
is all part of a complicated system designed to prevent Server
Admins (and other people) from sending viruses or other unwanted
files to your computer using the PunkBuster auto-update system.
How can I turn off PunkBuster Messages?
By default, PunkBuster outputs to both the top of the playing
screen and also to the game console. If you want to prevent
PunkBuster from sending output to the playing screen, add the
"at-sign": @
to the beginning of your
pb_msgprefix
setting (see Settings
for more info). Output will only be sent to your game
console in this case.
Do I have to re-configure my firewall or proxy to use
PunkBuster?
In general, if a connection can play the Game online
successfully without PunkBuster, then there will be no need to
make any changes to a firewall or proxy that may be in use when
PunkBuster is Installed and Enabled. PunkBuster communicates
over the Internet (and in LAN environments) using the same network
channels created and used by the Game, and therefore requires no
changes. If, however, you had to adjust your firewall to use the
game in the first place, you may need to extend that adjustment to
include ports used by PB's auto-update feature. PunkBuster Clients
use outgoing UDP Port 24347 to get security info from the
PunkBuster Master Servers.
How do I uninstall PunkBuster?
If you do not wish to use PunkBuster any longer, you may remove
the entire “pb” folder inside your game folder. By removing
this folder, the PunkBuster software will no longer be
available. PunkBuster does not save information to other
locations of your hard drive, nor does it change your system
registry.
Can I link to your site?
Yes, but please do not mirror our download files. One of
the following buttons can be used to link to us if you
like.
Other questions? Visit our online forum at evenbalance.com