How to Play #Reload Online!

A few simple steps to getting Guilty Gear X2 #Reload's netplay patch up and running on the English Steam release.

Summary

When Guilty Gear X2 #Reload launched onto PC way back in 2004, it came without the netplay capabilities of its Xbox sister. Thankfully, the dedication and hard work of the community produced a netplay patch with a wealth of features; configurable input delay, a palette editor, replays, live broadcasts, and even some extraneous bonus features like resizable game windows.

This guide will cover the installation of the ggxxnet netplay patch for the Steam version of the game, alongside highlighting some of its features.

Installation

• Step 1: Download the netplay patched files and binaries here: https://mega.co.nz/#!W4EQRRab!dmqGrMuVe5Mpj631dswaCqMaOMXqAtidZ8vi-T6A1sY
  {LINK USUNIĘTY}http://www.mediafire.com/download/5cak5wegqeb6gh1/GGXX+Netplay.7z (mirror)
  
  Unpack the contents with 7zip, a free archive unpacker.
  
  
• Step 2: Create a backup of your Guilty Gear X2 #Reload folder, located at C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\Guilty Gear X2 Reload. This will be your backup in the event of an improper or corrupted installation.
  
  
• Step 3: Navigate into the \music\ folder, and then into the \22k\ folder. Move or copy the contents of this folder one directory up, into the \music\ folder. This is important, as otherwise the game won't be able to properly read the music tracks! Don't attempt this with the contents of the \44k\ folder; the audio will be distorted.
  
  Update: If you want to use the higher quality 44k music, click here and follow these steps.[pastebin.com] This isn't necessary for installation, though!
  
  
• Step 4: Copy the contents of the GGXX Netplay folder into your #Reload folder, overwriting all applicable files.
  
  
• Step 5: Run config.exe, and configure game settings to your liking (controls, video, audio).
  
  
• Step 6: Run ggxnet_config.exe - this executable allows you to adjust settings pertaining to ggxxnet. Here, you can set your player name, personal message, and the server you connect to. You can also configure input delay, match settings, and custom palettes, but we'll get to those later; for now, just set your information.
  
  
• Step 7: Run ggxx.exe and navigate to Options in the main menu. Select Game Options and set Short Cut to on. Hit Exit and save the game (you can also toggle auto-save here, which is useful!). Return to the title screen or exit out of the game, then return to the main menu. You'll notice that you now have two new menu entries, VS Net and Replays. You've successfully installed ggxxnet, but we'll want to go through one last step so you can launch ggxxnet from Steam.
  
  
• Step 8: In your #Reload folder, rename ggx2.exe to ggx2.old. Create a copy of ggxx.exe, and rename this copy ggx2.exe. The next time you launch Guilty Gear X2 #Reload from Steam, you'll be ready to play online!

The Basics of ggxxnet

So here you are, ready to go. But what to do now? Before you hop right in, here are some things you can do with ggxxnet:

• Make Custom Palettes - ggxxnet has a built-in palette editor that you can use to make the color of your dreams come true. Open up ggxxnet_config.exe, and pay mind to the Color Edit section. Here, you can edit the palettes of the character of your choosing. Choose the character whose palettes you want to edit with the Character drop-down tab. Choose which of their palettes your custom color will replace with the Color drop-down tab. For complex palettes, you'll want to see what your character may look like on different frames; to accomplish this, use the ID drop-down tab and scroll to the frame you're looking for. Make sure to save your work before you exit out!
  
  
• Enable Network - This is the core feature of ggxxnet. Toggling this checkbox determines whether the game can connect to the netplay lobby or not.
  NOTE: When toggled ON - the frame delay is present in all game modes! Toggle it OFF for the best offline experience!
  
  
• Save Replays - Every game you fight will be recorded for posterity, and available to view in the Replay tab on the main menu. Eat your heart out, USFIV.
  
  
• Personal Message - As you probably saw in ggxxnet's config menu, you can set your own message to display when people hover over you in the server browser. Useful if you want to direct someone towards your Steam account to add you. Also useful for insulting their family members.
  
  
• Scale Your Game Window - You no longer have to choose between a dinky 640x480 window and having a 640x480 image stretched like taffy across your 1080p monitor. ggxxnet allows windowed players to easily change the size of their game window by dragging it inwards or outwards.
  
  
• Spectate and Broadcast Matches - In addition to letting you playing online, ggxxnet also lets you live-spectate other people playing online. You can also record replays of other people's matches, or even allow yourself to be removed from spectating if someone wishes to play you. DISCLAIMER: This feature was totally not made with people outside of Japan in mind, and as such you can only spectate players who you share a very low ping with. Sorry, Brazil. :p
  
  
• EX/Secret Characters Available For Online Play - As a toggleable feature in ggxxnet_config.exe, you can play as as EX or secret characters online without breaking your back or leaving the game on for 96 hours. Kliff mirror matches, anyone?
  
  

Statuses

ggxxnet lobbies are a little confusing at first, but you'll catch on quickly! In addition to Name, Wincount, ggxxnet Version, and EX Character Toggle, there is also a tab called Status. This tab is very important, as it tells you who you can and can't play. Here are the most important statuses to remember:

• Idle - This guy is ready to play, try to snag
  him up before someone else does!
  
  
• Not Ready - This status occurs when a player is either coming out of a game, or navigating a menu. In either case, it's likely they'll soon be Idle (and ready to fight you).
  
  
• Busy (Casting) - Occurs when a player is ingame. If you share a very low ping with them and they have broadcasting enabled, you can spectate their game. Otherwise, you will need to wait until their game concludes before attempting to play with them.
  
  
• No Response - This status can occur for several reasons, the most common being:
  
• Your client not accepting information from the other player because their ping is too high. ggxxnet automatically prevents you from challenging players with ping over a certain threshold. This functionality can be disabled by going to your #Reload install folder, opening ggxxnet.ini in a plain-text editor, and changing "IgnoreSlowConnections" from 1 to 0.
  
• Misconfigured or Improperly forwarded ports preventing you from making connections with others in the lobby. Open ggxxnet_config.exe and ensure your selected port is 10000. If you have a router, make sure that TCP port 10000 is forwarded. This port can be replaced with any other so long as it's properly forwarded, but many routers will already have TCP 10000 forwarded by default.
  
• Viewing ghosted players; players who have already left the lobby, but continue to occupy a spot. There will always be a few of these around, so don't worry about them.
  
  
• Ping Over - Occurs when the other player has IgnoreSlowConnections set to 1 and your ping to them is over the allowed threshold. There isn't much you can do about these guys, they want to play people close to them! Sorry, dudes.
  
  
• Delay 1/2/3/4/5/6 - Occurs when you and the other player have a different frame delay; frame delay between two players must be identical to allow play. To adjust your frame delay, open ggxxnet_config.exe and set Delay Frame to the appropriate number. Almost all US/European players play on 4 delay, and Japanese players typically play on 2 delay. So long as you and a friend both have the same delay, you can play on whichever feels most comfortable.
  

Troubleshooting

Here are some common issues that people often have with ggxxnet, alongside their fixes.

• "My game crashes on startup!"
  This could be for any number of reasons, but the most common is launching the wrong executable. Make sure you are launching either ggxx.exe or ggxx (english).exe, and not the original ggx2.exe included with the Steam release; that executable won't work for as long as your #Reload installation is tailored for netplay.
  
  Additionally, the game will crash if you did not complete Step 3 and move the 22k audio files up a directory; this is an important step, don't overlook it!
  
  If all else fails, delete everything and start from scratch with the backup you made.
  
  
• "On startup, I get a window that says Failed to initialize network!"
  The most likely culprit in this situation is that you still have a ggxx.exe process running without your knowledge. Go into task manager and ensure that you don't, and try again. Beyond that, make sure your firewall is not blocking ggxxnet's outgoing or incoming traffic. Finally, the server you designated in ggxxnet's configuration menu may be offline.
  
  
• "On startup, I get told there's a version error!"
  ggxxnet requires that there be an executable named "ggxx" in the #Reload folder, regardless of whether or not it's the one being used. This is why you are told to copy ggxx.exe and rename it to ggx2.exe so Steam can recognize it, instead of just renaming the original executable.
  
  
• "The game runs in slow motion when I'm fighting someone!"
  It's very likely that you're playing someone with high latency without the appropriate amount of input delay. The further away your opponent is, the more time it will take for your inputs to reach them. ggxxnet can handle this in one of two ways: By allowing fast inputs on your end while slowing down the game in the event of lag to allow your opponent to catch up to your client, or by giving you clientside input delay and allowing you to play the game at full speed.
  
  Experiencing slowdown typically means your input delay is set too low for the latency you are trying to play in. If you experience slowdown while playing with friends, consider mutually raising your input delay while playing with them.
  
  
• "Sync error appeared onscreen and our match ended prematurely, what happened?"
  You experiened desync, an issue where your game client and your opponent's are improperly synchronized. Because such a game would be nigh-unplayable, ggxxnet attempts to automatically end any game where sync errors are detected. Desync most commonly occurs in games run through poor connections, or with high latency. For the best experience, ensure your connection is wired whenever possible, and that your opponent is not located too far away from you; under 150 ping is ideal for decent games.
  
  
• "I'm using ggxx english.exe and am having issues!"
  For netplay, it is recommended that you only use ggxx.exe. While the ggxx english executable allows you to play online while retaining the English localization, it may potentially cause unforeseen issues as ggxxnet was never intended to be applied to the English version of #Reload.
  
  
• "Alt+tabbing from fullscreen interrupts the match!"
  This issue can be avoided by only playing in windowed mode and sizing the window to your liking. Beyond that, the only advice I can give is "don't alt+tab in fullscreen". :p

Closing

I hope that this guide has helped you on your way to playing Guilty Gear X2 #Reload online! If it hasn't, feel free to tell me why. If you have an issue not listed here, tell me what happened! If there's something cool you'd want to be in here, TELL ME ABOUT IT! It helps the guide, so you're helping me help other people like you help themselves.

Thanks to Blackcat(?) for creating ggxxnet, and Slaskburk for finding a way to make it functional on the Steam release.

[Kira99]

Someone should make a Discord server or something to revive this game, we NEED people to experience X2 Reload

[Kira99]

Servers are dead lmfao but at least I can modify the colors like in Isuka lol

[Dozy]

it still working?

[Vaedron]

Trying to open ggxnet_config.exe doesn't work. Windows 7.

[ordryk]

I'm looking people to test this online mode of Guilty Gear X2 #Reload

[Pepperoni Papaya]

I wish there were still people around. This was my childhood.

[RayoV]

Thanks for the tutorial, bring back so many memories

[seamniOectacann]

HERE WE GO DIZZY RELOAD

[Slaskburk]

Went ahead and checked, and ggxx.wingdreams.net is still up and running. Very unpopulated though so you might have to ask for matches in other places like a Discord if you're not planning to play with friends.

[Slaskburk]

@majefly
it does if you follow this guide. I'm not 100% sure if the servers listed as example are open anymore though.