FAQ

Q: What the heck is "The Battle Grounds"?
A: A modification for Half-life and Half-life 2 (Source). That means the whole original game got changed, resulting in a so called TC, Total Conversion.
Q: What is it all about?
A: BG places you in the time period of the revolutionary war in America. American rebels are fighting for their freedom and the troops of the british crown are trying to keep control of the colonies.
Q: How much is BG?
A: Its absolutely free! You can even get the source code for free.
Q: Battle Grounds is a mod for Half-Life 1 and 2?
A: Yes the mod is available for 2 engines. While the version for HL1 has been around for more than 5 years now BG2 is still young. It's a great opportunity for us to recreate the BG spirit on a new very powerful engine.
Q: Where can I post my suggestions and thoughts about BG?
A: Goto the forums! Thats where everyone is! Make sure you read and understood the forumrules before you post anything, you don't want to make a fool of yourself, do you?
Q: What is the Revolutionary War?
A: You are a case for our history section.
Q: How accurate are the guns in BG?
A: Muskets were famous for being not accurate at all. We tried to recreate that in BG, without forgetting to make it fun to play as well.
Q: How long does it take to reload the guns?
A: In reality trained soldiers where able to fire and reload 2-3 shots a minute, in our mod the reload process takes about 7 seconds.
Q: Is there bunny hopping?
A: No we have a stamina sytem.
Q: If no bunny hopping and there is stamina, how many jumps till you get all tired?
A: There is enough stamina to do 2 jumps, then you will have to wait until its half full to do another jump again.
Q: Who can I contact if I want to join the team?
A: Check our job section for open positions! All details about how to apply and who to contact can also be found there.
Q: Open source, you mean I can access the full source code and use it in my own mod?
A: Yes, you can access the full source code. The code is released under the GPL (General Public License) meaning your mod has to release the source code under the GPL as well.
Q: I have a webserver and want to host a mirror for BG files?
A: We always appreciate additional hosts that make it easier for our players to aquire the required files. Go to the "supply mirror" category here.
Q: When striking with a melee weapon, does the damage occur the moment I hit the fire-button, or when the sword/bayonet really hits?
A: Damage is applied instantly. Meaning you will do damage in the moment you press the fire-button.
Q: What is a line battle?
A: Both armies line up in a line formation facing the other team. On command they fire, reload, fix bayonets and charge the enemy line.
Q: What leagues are their for BG?
A: Check this league.
Q: Does BG include a single player epsiode as well?
A: No, Battle Grounds is a pure online multiplayer game. But bots for offlineplay are available.
Q: Where can I report cheaters?
A: Post proof (demo/screenshots) and steam id in the Jackhammer's Lamer List.
Q: Why is Battle Grounds not showing up in my steam 3rd party games list?
A: Steam must be restarted after BG has been installed before it will show up.
Q: Where can I learn how to use the console commands, like kicking and banning, when running a BG server?
A: Get detailed answers here.


The Battle Grounds 1 (Half-Life) specific

Q: Where can I get The Battle Grounds (1) mod and what do I need to play it?
A: In order to play BG you must have a copy of "Half-Life" and therefore a working steam account with Half-Life 1 (not HL2 or CS:S) installed. Then go to our download section and grab the latest Full Windows Version. Doubleclick the downloaded *.exe file and the installer will guide you through the rest of the setup.
Q: How much is Half-life?
A: I cant tell you the latest prices. But you can purchase it directly and instantly using steam. Visit www.steampowered.com for details.
Q: Are there bots for BG?
A: Yes there are 2 bot packages available. RC Bot and Marinebot. None of them come with the BG installation so you have to download and install them yourself.
Q: Who can I contact if I want to become a Beta Tester?
A: Battle Grounds is an open source mod. There are no beta testers. Everyone can test the latest dev release.
Q: When I start BG I get a "event/melee.sc missing" error message. Why is that?
A: Either the installer you downloaded is corrupt or your PC is running software that removes files without content (0 kB files) automatically. All these files with *.sc extention are empty text files but are required to run BG. Redownload the BG installer from a different mirror. Deinstall your current bg copy and install a fresh new one..
Q: How can I start a dedicated BG server?
A: Check this wiki tutorial.
Q: How does the BG installation work?
A: Read the Installation Guide in the wiki.
Q: I want to make a BG map but where can I get the BG fgd?
A: Download and install Battle Grounds. Then it should be in the directory your installed BG in named "halflife-bg.fgd".
Q: Instead of a crosshair I have a black square in the middle of my screen when I play BG.
A: You are running BG in an unsupported display mode. OpenGL is the only supported display mode. GO to your video settings and change it.
Q: How can I compile my own *.so under linux?
A: cd to your bg-dev directory and then type (without the "):
"rm -rf battlegrounds" (removes any old source code directories)
"unzip source-latest.zip" (unzips the latest source code)
"cd battlegrounds/dlls" (cd to the server workspace directory)
"make spotless" (compile)
"make" (compile)
"cp bg_i386.so ../../dlls/bg_i386.so" (copy the newly compiled *.so to the directory it has to be stored in)
More details in this wiki article under "Troubleshooting - If the included server .so file doesn't work"