Frequently Asked Questions about PunkBuster for
Enemy Territory
Why does PunkBuster kick me for INIT FAILURE?
Usually, this message means your PB is not working properly. You should
run our PBSetup program to make sure your PB is up to date.
However, we have recently discovered that some broadband routers
routinely drop OOB (Out of Band) packets for no apparent reason. Since
all PB packets are OOB, these routers can actually block PB's
communication (again for no apparent reason). To determine if the
router is the cause of this problem for you, remove the router and
connect directly to the internet. If you are able to play this way,
then the cause is very likely the router.
Based on user feedback,
the following router brands/models are reported to have problems. Not
necessarily all models of a brand might be affected, and the list is in
no way complete but it can give you a few hints. Also, we do not claim
that our list below shows the only solution to fix your issue, nor that
it will fix it for sure even though it has worked for others. It could
very well be that changing some settings in your router could help as
well. Contacting the company directly might help you as well.
* Linksys - possible solution: Use firmware 1.44.2
* Motorola - possible solution: Update to latest firmware
* Netgear - possible solution: Disable SPI (statefull packet inspection)
PunkBuster logs but does not kick me for #10006 violations?
The cause might be a router issue. Please see the above question
PunkBuster kicks me for INIT FAILURE? to see if that helps you. PB will
kick for this violation in future updates. If you wish to troubleshoot
with us via icq to find out why it happens on your system, please
contact us at support@evenbalance.com.
I downloaded Enemy Territory and do not have a CD or CDKey ... why do I sometimes see messages about a CDKey?
When playing Enemy Territory over the Internet on PunkBuster enabled
servers, PunkBuster will automatically generate a CDKey for you. Most
problems with CDKeys in Enemy Territory are caused by copying the game
from one computer to another instead of installing from scratch. You
can press the tilde key (the ~ key) to bring down the console inside
the game and enter the command "/pb_myguid" (without the quotes) and
PunkBuster will display your CDKey and the PunkBuster GUID which is
used to identify players. Problems or error messages regarding the
CDKey in Enemy Territory are best handled by follow this link to create
a new trouble ticket HERE.(https://ssl.evenbalance.com/troubleticket)
After installing Enemy Territory with PunkBuster, now my original
Return to Castle Wolfenstein PunkBuster doesn't work right, what
happened?
Enemy Territory is a completely separate game from
Return to Castle Wolfenstein. It should NOT be installed into the same
folder/directory where Return to Castle Wolfenstein is installed. Both
games need their own distinct folder and separate "pb" folders because
the PunkBuster editions for each game are not compatible with each
other.
I have a good connection with low ping but my gameplay
is not smooth sometimes with 'Connection Interrupted' problems and also
messages that say MAX_PACKET_USERCMDS, what can I do to fix this?
Try setting the value of the cl_maxpackets cvar to 100 or 125. For
example, enter this into your console (without the quotes):
"/cl_maxpackets 100". If you continue to have problems, try also
setting "/com_maxfps 75".
How do I set up my PunkBuster server to allow GTV clients?
Set the pb_sv_specname PB Setting to the first few letters of the
playername used by GTV clients that will connect. That way, the PB
Server will keep the connecting GTV clients in SPEC status as long as
there is 0 score for that "player". For example, add 'pb_sv_specname
GTV' to the pbsv.cfg or pbsvuser.cfg file in the server's home "pb"
folder.
I'm a server admin, is there anything special that
needs to be done in order to run multiple game servers with PB from the
same server computer?
Yes. Each instance of the game server
must have its fs_homepath server cvar set to a distinct location.
Fs_homepath can be set on the command line that launches the server and
admins should set up a separate directory for each running server
instance and make sure the various running servers point to those
separate directories. For example, say you have servers A, B and C. You
can create the following directories:
/users/whatever/et-a
/users/whatever/et-b
/users/whatever/et-c
Then in your command line for launching server A, add "+set fs_homepath
/users/whatever/et-a" to the other parameters you have. Add similar
corresponding items to the command lines for servers B and C. By doing
the above, the multiple PB servers don't conflict with each other
during updates.
How do I enable PunkBuster?
At the
game's main screen, press your tilde key (the ~ key) to bring down the
console. Then type in this line (without the quotes): "/pb_cl_enable".
You should see text displayed showing the PB Client version number and
also saying that PB is now Enabled. If not, you should reinstall the
latest game update patch and make sure that PunkBuster is installed as
part of that patch update installation.
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 game
installation into the fs_homepath location, or change the fs_homepath
cvar to point to your game installation. Note that the "pb" folder must
have read and write permissions. We realize this can be a tricky topic.
If you need further assistance, follow this link to create a new
trouble ticket HERE.(https://ssl.evenbalance.com/troubleticket)
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 "Received Master Security Information" 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 [skipnotify] to the beginning
of your pb_msgprefix setting (see the Settings section on our online PB
for Players manual 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 for Enemy Territory uses outgoing UDP Port 27960 to
communicate with Master Servers. This is the same port used by default
by Enemy Territory for gameplay.
Why do I get kicked for Service Communication Failure?
New updates to PunkBuster require additional service components to be
running in order for PunkBuster to operate properly. We have a separate
FAQ to deal with these updates, it is here.(http://www.evenbalance.com/index.php?page=pbsvcfaq.php)
I keep getting kicked by PunkBuster for "Blocked O/S Privileges"?
Please temporarily disable other security type programs you have
running such as anti-virus, process guard, SDProtector, etc. to find
out which of them is blocking PB's access to resources on your
computer. You either need to run PB without the blocking program(s) or
play on non-PB servers.
How can I run my game with PunkBuster support under Windows Vista?
To run PunkBuster under Windows Vista, you may need to run the game as
an administrator. To do this, right click the icon you use to launch
the game. Select "Properties", then the "Compatability" tab. From that
tab, check the box labled "Run this program as an Administrator" and
click ok.
I keep getting kicked by PunkBuster for "Insufficient O/S Privileges"?
Download and run this file from any location, it will check for adware
that stops you from being able to play on PB servers. The VX2 adware
edits your user rights when it infects your computer, and many programs
do not repair this when they remove it.
http://www.greyknight17.com/spy/VX2Finder(126).exe
Click the "Find VX2.betterinternet info" button to make sure that you
don't have this adware. If there are no files listed, go on to the last
step. If you find the adware files, (it is usually 3 random named dll
files) Select all the files found.
Press 'Delete These Files'.
The program will delete all files but one that will be deleted on
reboot. Allow program to reboot. Once Restarted:
* Press 'Guardian.reg'.
* Press 'User Agent'.
* Press 'Restore Policy'.
Clicking on "find vx2.BetterInternet info" again should show all fields blank.
If you have no adware files, just click on the "Restore Policy" Button
My game crashes with an error in pbcl.dll or a General Protection Fault. Why?
This issue can be from a program that conflicts with PB. There are a few known program that cause this:
* Get Right
* DU Super Controler
* Macro Toolsworks
* Girder 3.2
* PRTG Traffic Grapher
* CyberCorder: cybrcrdr.exe
* Paessler Router Traffic Grapher: prtg4.exe
* 3dnasys.exe
* mIRCStats
Closing those programs, or any like them that contain user or kernel level debuggers should stop the problem.
