Call of Duty 2 Tweak Guide

[Page 8] Advanced Tweaking (Pt.2)



Console Commands


This section covers all the major known commands (dvars and commands) for Call of Duty 2. You may notice that these commands are very similar to those of the Quake 4/Doom 3 engine. This can be readily confirmed by checking my Doom 3 Tweak Guide. Even the usage methodology is almost identical. However it's important to note that COD2 does not use a Quake or Doom 3-based engine - it actually uses a proprietary engine developed by Infinity Ward, and there are some differences, so if something works in Doom 3 or the original Call of Duty for example, don't necessarily expect it to work the same way (if at all) in COD2.


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Command Usage


The correct syntax for using a command in the console, config file, or target box is shown below. E.g. if the command is r_glow, to disable glow effects you would use the command as follows:


seta r_glow "0"


However, it is also acceptable to simply use the short version of this command:


r_glow 0


And in multiplayer mode, it would be:


/r_glow 0


If you want a setting to "stick", even without your custom config file being run again, I recommend using the seta command in front of the command (e.g. seta r_glow 0). This makes the change permanent by inserting into your main config.cfg (or config_mp.cfg) file.


The rest of the advanced tweaking section covers the major commands in Call of Duty 2, describing their functionality and known values as best I know it. The list below is by no means the full list of COD2 commands - it consists of what I believe are the most important/useful commands. The list also does not include commands which can easily and thoroughly be altered using the in-game settings. If however an in-game setting can be further altered using a command, it is covered here. For a full list of Call of Duty 2's development variables and commands, download the following file: COD2Commands.zip (4KB).


The list follows, with the name of the command, its valid range of values in [ ], and a brief description. Certain commands require enabling of cheat mode (see previous page), and are denoted with (cheat) in front of their description - they won't work outside of cheat mode.



Common Commands


cg_drawFPS [0,1,2,3] - Displays the frames per second (FPS) counter at the top right of the screen. In simple mode (1) shows the average and current (low and high) FPS. In Verbose mode (2), additionally shows vertex counts. In Time mode (3) shows the time taken to draw the current frame in milliseconds (ms). Setting it to 0 turns it off.


monkeytoy [0,1] - If set to 0, enables the in-game console and if set to 1 disables the console. This seems a little contradictory, but that appears to be its function. Useful if you find that your enable console option doesn't "stick" each time you open COD2. This command is best used in the Target box of your COD2's launch icon.


com_introplayed [0,1] - If set to 1, skips the introductory Activision/Infinity Ward movies played at Call of Duty 2's launch (whether single or multiplayer). This option is best used in the COD2 icon Target box.


sv_cheats [0,1] - If set to 1, enables the use of cheat commands on a server, such as those denoted by (cheat) in this list. Best used in the Target box of the COD2 launch icon. This command doesn't appear to work for single player cheats - use the instructions for enabling cheats in the Cheat Mode section above.


Quit - Quits the game immediately back to desktop. Note, the Exit command doesn't work in place of Quit.


Bind [Key, Commandname] - Binds a particular command to the specified key. To see a list of current bindings and commands, use the Bindlist command. For example:


bind F10 cg_drawfps 1

bind F11 cg_drawfps 0


This binds the F10 key to the command cg_drawfps 1 (which turns on the FPS counter), and the next line binds the F11 key to the command cg_drawfps 0" (which turns off the FPS counter).


Unbind [Key] - Unbinds all bindings to a particular key. Use the Unbindall command if you want to unbind all currently bound keys.


Exec [Filename.cfg] - Executes the contents of the .cfg file specified. The config file must be in your \Program Files\Activision\Call of Duty 2\Main directory to be executed, otherwise the full path must also be specified.


Dvarlist - Shows a list of all the development variables (dvars) used in the game. Note that there are additional commands not in this list, for which you must use the Cmdlist command to view (see below).


Cmdlist - Shows a list of all the COD 2 commands, which are different from the development variables.


Condump [Filename] - Dumps the contents of the current console session to the specified filename. For example, type Dvarlist, then type Condump variables.txt, and the full development variables listing will be saved to the file variables.txt in your Main COD 2 directory. Use the Clear command if you want to clear existing console text.


God - (cheat) Toggles God mode, meaning you can't be killed.


Noclip - (cheat) Toggles no clipping, which means you can fly around and into/through solid objects.


Giveall - (cheat) Gives the character all available weapons, but only 2 can be carried at one time.


Giveammo - (cheat) Refills the ammo of all the guns you're currently carrying.


ScreenshotJpeg - Takes a screenshot of the current image on screen and saves it as a .jpg file in your \Program Files\Activision\Call of Duty 2\main\screenshot directory - same as the normal F12 method. However you can also use the screenshot command if you want to take a screenshot in .tga format instead.


Loadgame [name] - Loads a saved game of the name specified. Your saved games are stored in the \Program Files\Activision\Call of Duty 2\Main\players\[playername]\save directory.


Spdevmap [mapname] - Loads up the specified map/level in cheat mode (See Cheat Mode on previous page).


StartMultiplayer - Launches multiplayer mode when in singleplayer.



Demo Commands


Record [demoname] - Starts recording an in-game demo with the filename you specify. The file is saved under your \Program Files\Activision\Call of Duty 2\Main\demos directory as a .spd file.


StopRecord - Stops recording the current demo.


Demo [demoname] - Plays back the pre-recorded demo specified. Note, to play back a demo you must be in the game menus - demos can't be played back while you're in-game.


Timedemo [0,1] - If set to 1, enables timedemo mode. Once a pre-recorded demo is played, the timedemo results are shown in the extended console, and the results are saved as a .csv file in your \Program Files\Activision\Call of Duty 2\Main\demos directory.


cl_avidemo [0,1] - If set to 1, begins recording frames for a demo movie. These frames are stored in .tga format in your \Program Files\Activision\Call of Duty 2\Main\screenshots folder. Note that enabling this option can severely slow down your system, and it can be disabled at any time by setting cl_avidemo back to 0.



The next page continues the Call of Duty 2 command listing.