Ok, I've been seeing a lot of the same questions asked by many different people. So here is a new help thread I feel should be addressed.
First off. My guess is this thread is going to be very long. So just use ctrl+F to search for what you're looking for in this thread.
Installation problems
First off, let me address that you
need a legit copy of either Half-life (Recommended) Counter-Strike, or Day of Defeat.
ESF will not work for anything other then those three games. That includes Counter strike: Source, DoD: Source, Half-LIfe: Source, Half-Life 2 or anything like that. ONLY those three games. (Again half-life 1 is recomended)
(Credits to
Grega)
You also need Steam. You can get steam at
www.steampowered.com
If you have Half-life, you're golden. Just download and install steam, let it update, go to "Play games" You will see a bunch of grayed out games (Half Life, Day of Defeat, Counter-Strike, etc) Click on Half-Life and it will tell you that you need to download it. Go ahead and say yes.
If you have CS or DoD then do the same thing. Install it, install steam, go to play games and click on Half-Life and it will download for you. (legally of course)
Then you intall ESF1.2.x into your HL directory: c:/program files/valve/steam/steamapps/your user name/Half-Life
Don't want to buy half-life? Too lazy to get it. What's the only other alternative. DOWNLOADING! Sure you can download half-life. But you can't play ESF if you do. (Unless you have either CS or DoD, and are dling HL from steam.
YOU NEED HALF-LIFE 1!!!!!!!!! NOT HALF-LIFE 2. ESF WILL NOT WORK ON HALF-LIFE 2!!!
What about WON?
WON is dead. Don't use it. It died a long time ago.
you need STEAM! which again can be found at
www.steampowered.com
Problems with Steam
I have noticed that many many many people are in the help thread making threads about thier "Steam Ticket" expiring. Here are a few reasons as to why this may be happening.
1. You share your cd-key with someone (or the other way around) which causes 2 or more of the same user on at once.
2. You use your username for a dedicated server and to play esf at the same time.
3. You don't have a legit copy of half-life and somehow know the user name and password of someone who uploaded HL and etc. to the internet.
How to solve the above problem.
1. Contact steam and tell them about it.
2. Search the steam forums.
3. Get a legit copy of half-life.
4. If you have a legit copy of half-life, ask valve to give you a new CD-key ($10 for a copy of HL over 90 days old, free for under 90 days)
Ok, well I have the game I just don't know how to play. Can you help me?
Sure we can.
http://games.saix.net/guides/esf/right.htm
That is the ESF manual. It tells you how to play. (also give you STEAM instructions as to how to install ESF).
But Fire Phoneix, I hate reading.
Not a problem, Chakra-X was kind enough to provide a flash tutorial on how to play. It cuts down on the reading. It can be found here.
http://esf-world.com/main.php?content=12xflashtut&lang=de
I can't join a server!
Ok, there are a couple reasons for why you can't join a server.
1. If it says
models/evolution/Fusion.Patara.mdl then you tried to connect to an EVM server. In that case if you wanted to join that server, you would need EVM. That is found at
www.corona-bytes.net I also believe you can find it at
www.esf-world.com
2. If it says something like "Your client.dll differs from the server" it means that you have a different version of ESF then the server. Chances are you have 1.2.1 or 1.2 or 1.2.2 and they have 1.2.3. Or maybe you have 1.2.3 and they have 1.1 or 1.2.1 etc.
3. If it tells you "Can't load library halflife/esf/dlls/client.dll" or something like that and you are using STEAM. Than you nead the fmod.dll. If can be downloaded here
http://www.esf-world.com/main.php?c...o&file_id=21035
(Thank you
Grega)
A common problem that newbies have like "i can't install esf" (which is fixed by running hl once before installnig ethier 1.2.2 or 1.2.3 full installers/patches)
also with "your client dll differs" , 1.2.3 is no client dll change (just note you will need to install 1.2.2 before 1.2.3 to fix this) 1.2.3 is just map fixes for the gero skybox glitch and adds the new map esf_arrival. However this is only for the people that use the patches to update esf and no need to worry for people who have 1.2.3 full installer.
(Credits to
Saiyan Overlord)
Another problem that has been popping up lately is the meleesounds.sc problems that some people get here and there.
Fix: If your game starts up and the you receive an error of a missing meleesounds.sc, then create a new folder called
events in your ESF directory. Then create a blank text-file in notepad and save it as "meleesounds.sc", with the quotes and save it into your events directory. If you don't use the quotes, it will save as a regular text file, and the error will remain..
(Credits to
Saiyan Overlord)
Why does the game crash?!? My computer is more then capable for running ESF.
Good question. Why
does it crash. No one knows. That's what these patches have been mostly for. No one can figure out the reason as to why ESF crashes. But here are some tips.
1. Official ESF servers crash very often.
2. Listenservers and dedicated servers made by people like you and me, don't crash as often.
3. Using bots crashes your server more often then if you didn't have bots.
4. If you are running in software mode and not OpenGL or D3D you will have issuses with your GFX and it can cause crashes.
Combos? What are they? What's the key imput to do a combo?
Don't ask on the ESF Forum. No one will tell you, and your thread WILL BE closed. If you want to know. Ask someone in ESF or IM someone on the forum in hopes that they tell you.
I can't see anything. My screen flashes and nothing works or looks right.
Go into your online settings, and in the video mode, switch from Software to OpenGL. If your video card does not support OpengGL then switch to Direct 3D. Also try updating your drivers. Go to the site of your video card and check to update your drivers.
NSIS Error
Do you download ESF and get an install error that says "The installer you are trying to run is corrupted or incomplete. This could be the result of a damaged disk, a failed download, or a virus.
You may want to contact the author of this Installer to obtain a new copy.
It may be possible to skip this check using the /NCRC command line switch.(NOT RECOMMENDED)"
Chances are
1. You didn't download the entire file
2. It's corrupt
3. Or you have a virus in your computer.
Fix: Scan your computer for virus' and try downloading from another site that hosts the file.
Can you go beyond the first transformation in the current ESF game?
No, right now you can only go 1 level beyond normal. 1.3 will have further transformations.
Oh cool! So when will 1.3 be out?
When it's done. Understand that the people that create this mod, do it on their free time. It's like a hobby for them. Usually it takes about a year for ESF to come out with a new version.
I hope I didn't miss anything. If I did please feel free to ask it here and I will be sure to Edit my post. Also use other major help threads in this section. Here are some links to other help threads.
Big Mega thread of helping:
http://www.forum.esforces.com/showthread.php?t=33312
FPS/PING/LAG Help:
http://www.forum.esforces.com/showthread.php?t=36638
Also try looking in the Help section. Things are stickied if they are important.
Any other questions just ask here. If it has not already been answered I will edit this thread for new users.
-Fire Phoenix-
I made this for a reason.