Making RTCW Work in 2014

Originally posted by Travis Sandmann of s4ndmod.com:

As many of you have already discovered, the original RtCW master server list has been shutdown. Right now details surrounding this shutdown are very unclear. Instead of speculating about why it’s down or if it will return I would like to get to the point and give you a solution.

Players

Players, please select the version of RtCW that you are running and download the corresponding file. Please make sure to select the correct path when you install the patch!

• RtCW Version 1.4 Master Server and PunkBuster Fix[http//http]

If you have any questions please address them in our forums, we have a thread about this patch HERE[www.s4ndmod.com]!

Server Admins

For server admins to take advantage of this solution you will need to simply get your server listed on the dpmaster server. This can be achieved by simply setting the request in your server config file. Add the following to your config
set sv_master5 “wolfmaster.s4ndmod.com”

Non-Steam Install Instructions

I came across these fantastic instructions[forums.powervs.com] when I was having issues with punkbuster. Evenbalance has stopped supporting RTCW, so getting punkbuster to work properly is an issue (among others) when you're trying to re-install RTCW (again).

Anyways, starting from the instructions above, I've elaborated here and there and included some extra bits to complete the process end to end… So, use the following to revive that dusty old RTCW CD.

1) Install game

• I opted to install the game into C:\Games\RTCW. (The "Program Files(x86)" directory has known issues with some legacy software).

2) Install 1.4 (full) patch (download here[returntocastlewolfenstein.filefront.com] - mirror[brian-horning.com]).

• It should auto-detect your install path. But double check this to be sure. And the same goes for all the other patches below.

3) Install GOTY Mappack (download here[returntocastlewolfenstein.filefront.com] - mirror[brian-horning.com]) Note: not required if you have the GOTY edition of RTCW

4) Install 1.41 patch (download here[returntocastlewolfenstein.filefront.com] - mirror[brian-horning.com])

5) Install 1.41b patch (download here[returntocastlewolfenstein.filefront.com] - mirror[brian-horning.com]) Note: This patch is optional.

6) Delete the pb folder inside your "Return to Castle Wolfenstein" folder.

7) Download the RTCW Punkbuster files:

• http://69.65.113.18/rtcw-pb.zip - (mirror[brian-horning.com])
  
• Unzip this file and place the pb folder inside your "Return to Castle Wolfenstein" install folder.

8) Download PBSVC.

• http://www.evenbalance.com/downloads/pbsvc/pbsvc.exe - (mirror[brian-horning.com])
  
• Right-click on exe and choose 'Run As Administrator'
  
• Click Next a few times until the prompts go away and you see a successful message.

9) Right click on the icon for wolfenstein multiplayer. Choose 'Run As Administrator'

• At this point, you may get a firewall notice in the background. ALT+Enter to enter Windows mode. IF you see a firewall dialogue box, ensure RTCW has access to all your networks (i.e. check Public and Private). Select RTCW window, and ALT+Enter to return to Full Screen mode.

10) Select Multiplayer and then select Punkbuster Disabled (to toggle it to ENABLED).

• Alternatively, you can edit this cvar in your wolfconfig_mp.cfg file manually with Notepad. Just add seta cl_punkbuster "1" near the top of the file.

11) Quit out of game. Double click on wolf icon again and go to multiplayer menu. Make sure it says punkbuster is enabled. Exit the game.

12) Install the following patch to ensure the game's server browser works (using updated master servers).

• See this post for details: rtcw-master-server-list[brian-horning.com] (updated Jan 2013)

13) Done. Launch RTCW MP and Connect to a server.

[>M@tEo$<]

Ah, you just copy/pasted the original tutorial for CD users... Several steps are unneeded for Steam users (GOTY mappack is included for instance) :)