Dust 3.1 Useful Tips
Vehicle Optics
Armoured vehicles in Dust 3.1 have optical zoom. The default key to activate it is F9, but you may find it more convenient to bind it to your middle mouse button as I do. This system allows you to use the classic left mouse button and right mouse button for weapons 1 and 2, and still be able to easily zoom in or out.
Ticket Count
You can make a game last longer or shorter by changing the 'ticket count'. Here's how:
I'll use the example of Abandoned Town. Go to Battlefield 2\mods\Dust_3.1\Levels\Abandoned_Town\server.zip\ and open the file called init.con with notepad/wordpad or similar.
Near the bottom you'll see the following lines of code:
gameLogic.setDefaultNumberOfTicketsEx 16 1 150
gameLogic.setDefaultNumberOfTicketsEx 16 2 150
gameLogic.setDefaultNumberOfTicketsEx 32 1 150
gameLogic.setDefaultNumberOfTicketsEx 32 2 150
gameLogic.setDefaultNumberOfTicketsEx 64 1 200
gameLogic.setDefaultNumberOfTicketsEx 64 2 200
gameLogic.setDefaultTimeToNextAIWave 8
gameLogic.setTicketLossAtEndPerMin 1500
gameLogic.setTicketLossPerMin 1 10
gameLogic.setTicketLossPerMin 2 10
The first line reads gameLogic.setDefaultNumberOfTicketsEx 16 1 150 where 16 is the name of the gameplay layer, 1 is the team (team 1 is Claw and team 2 is Viper) and 150 is the ticket count. If you want a shorter match reduce the ticket count and if you want a longer match increase the count. Make sure you set the same ticket count for both teams 1 and 2 unless you want one of them to have an advantage/disadvantage, e.g.
Balanced
gameLogic.setDefaultNumberOfTicketsEx 16 1 250
gameLogic.setDefaultNumberOfTicketsEx 16 2 250
Advantage to team 2 (Viper)
gameLogic.setDefaultNumberOfTicketsEx 16 1 250
gameLogic.setDefaultNumberOfTicketsEx 16 2 300
N.B. The number of tickets given in the init.con is doubled in game. Hence a ticket count of 150 gives 300 in game tickets, 100 gives 200 in game tickets and so on.
Create a Custom Dust Shortcut
Go to Battlefield 2\mods\Dust_3.1\ and look for the file called Play Dust.bat. Right click on it and select send to desktop (create shortcut). Now go to your new desktop shortcut, right click, select change icon and navigate to Battlefield 2\mods\Dust_3.1\DUST.ico. Select the DUST.ico. You can now rename your shortcut as you like, e.g. Play Dust.
Change AI Difficulty
Go to Battlefield 2\mods\Dust_3.1\ and look for a file called aimodifier.bat. Double click on it and follow the instructions. Default difficulty in Dust is set to 0.6.
Raise or Lower Number of AI on a Map
Firstly, be aware that the number of ai on my maps is carefully chosen to maximise their potential based on the number of Control Points and the Strategic Area layout.
Putting too many ai on a map will result in them being less 'intelligent' and more chaotic, and the overall gameplay will therefore be less tactical.
My ai is set up differently from vanilla BF2. You cannot easily increase the ai globally in Dust. Each layer (16, 32, and 64) of each map is set up individually.
In order to change the number of ai you will need to do it on a per map basis.
For example, to change the number of ai on the sp16 layer of Janat Alqanaas go to 'Battlefield 2\mods\Dust_v3.0\Levels\Janat_Alqanaas\server.zip\GameModes\sp1\16\AI\'
Now open the StrategicAreas.ai with notepad or similar.
At the top of this file you'll see these lines of code:
aiSettings.overrideMenuSettings 1
aiSettings.setMaxNBots 33
aiSettings.maxBotsIncludeHumans 0
33 will be the number of ai/bots on that gameplay layer, plus one human = 34 players.
Change the number of bots to your liking but be sure to set an odd number in order to have balanced teams because you the player are not included in the bot count.
Remember: less bots = less computing power needed = more intelligent gameplay. More bots = more chaotic gameplay.
Using The Missile Strike Ability
If you are playing as the Scout class you have the ability to call in a missile strike.
Select Missile strike from the weapons menu and look through the simrad at your target.
Press left mouse button to activate the simrad. You'll see a red chevron appear when the simrad is active. If your target is moving you will need to manually track it. Make sure there are no obstructions between you and your target.
Above: Close range targeting.
Above: Aim higher for longer range targeting
If you have any questions send me a message.
If you don't yet have Dust 3.1 Combined Arms you can download it here: DOWNLOAD DUST 3.1
