Predecessor Mission

[Rangoon]

Hmm, something else:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Ubisoft\Far Cry 2]

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Ubisoft\Far Cry 2]

there is a difference, isn't there?  ;) Any chance you check again or create that entry in your registry? Before you do, create a backup of that part of your registry... Then go for it.

This is tough :)

Hey, now this is getting interesting.  Everything else was in the Local Machine folder, so I assumed there would be nothing in Current User.  Sure enough, I found the Machetes Key and PartnerKey2 already in Current User and set to "1" but no entry for PartnerKey1. 

I'll get back to you as soon as I check things out in FC2.   ;)

[Art Blade]

 ;D good luck, mate  :-X

[Rangoon]

could you please post the list of those 13 codes you found?

Here are the ones I tried:


phe83spa
2Tuw5esw
6aPHuswe
96CesuHu
zUmU6Rup
2Eprunef
Cr34ufrE
JeM85SpaW
sa7eSUPR
SpujeN7x
tar3QuzU
THaCupR4
tr99pUK7

partner1
partner2


SpujeN7x came with my DVD version.  I have tried a couple others but can't recall which.  Am I missing any? 

I tried FC2 after editing the Registry again.  Nothing changed.  I finished the current mission, went back to Pala, went to Mike's Bar, but no phone call.  I still don't see the Predecessor Tapes in the Menu, don't have an envelope icon in the Map Legend, nor do I have any envelopes on my map.

Thanks for the effort here.  Any other ideas?  That Registry issue seemed like it had potential, and a part of me still thinks there may be something in there. 

I'm still waiting to hear back from Steam support about whether the missions were omitted in the installation or how to get the codes to w@&k.  And waiting to hear back from Ubisoft support about the whole issue.

Thanks!

[Art Blade]

Thank you for supplying us with those codes, maybe they can help other players. I didn't know more than what we had and "partner1."

I hope that both ubi and steam will reply to you, and out of curiosity, I'd like to know what either one of them said. I hope that one of them can sort the problem. Good luck with that, Rangoon :)

In the meantime, ignore the predecessor missions and instead have fun with all those goodies we have here for FC2 players. You know, we like stories. Feel free to tell us some of your adventures, funny moments etc... you'll find a lot of that on our site :)

[Art Blade]

Ah gosh, one more thing: You're on Vista. Did you try running FC2 as "admin" ? Full rights and so on? Sometimes programs under Vista behave a little funny without. And, after changing the registry, did you reboot? That may help, too.

[Rangoon]

Ah gosh, one more thing: You're on Vista. Did you try running FC2 as "admin" ? Full rights and so on? Sometimes programs under Vista behave a little funny without. And, after changing the registry, did you reboot? That may help, too.

Thanks for the suggestions.  I do have Steam set to run as admin, and I set the FC2 exe to run as admin.  I didn't try running FC2 directly from the exe (always through Steam), but not sure that would make a difference.  I did reboot per your suggestion, but nothing appears any different. 

I didn't change any rights - I can look into that tomorrow.

Steam support has so far not been very helpful.  I think I've had to reply now for a fourth time.  I hope Ubisoft will have some good news for me.  I'll let you know what they have to say.

[Art Blade]

Incredible, isn't it. Apparently it is not a wide-spread issue, else we would have found something on the net. The question is, what on earth prevents your PC from accepting codes and registry changes that w@&k with any other machine? Can't be Vista64, since PZ uses the same OS. So it is quite probable that it has to do with steam. However, I sincerely hope you can fix it, with support of either ubi or steam. And yes, please keep us posted up.

[mmosu]

Just reading through here and was wondering - are the alternate machette skins availible on console or just PC?  I've never even seen them, do we have any pictures?

[Art Blade]

Now we have:

Primitive. (I use that ever since)
[smg id=1860 align=center width=400]

Home made.
[smg id=1861 align=center width=400]

[eor123]

Just reading through here and was wondering - are the alternate machette skins availible on console or just PC?  I've never even seen them, do we have any pictures?

They are available on the consoles as well.

[mandru]

Art, I do admire your parking job in the background of photo with the primitive machete.  ;D

[JRD]

Oh yeah... you can tell a lot about a fellow by the way he drives  ;D ;D ;D ;D

[RedRaven]

And, presumably what he parks on :)

[Art Blade]

You lot noticed?

;D

and LOL @ comments  :-X

[mmosu]

Ooooooh - nice, those both look like they would produce a jagged, rusty, tetanus filled wound tract  ;D

Art, I do admire your parking job in the background of photo with the primitive machete.  ;D

Classic Art  ;)

[Art Blade]

cheers  ;D

[Dweller_Benthos]

Strange about the missions problem, but it could be a conflict between having the non-steam version installed, then installing the steam version, there might be all sorts of conflicting things going on. Plus the fact it's on vista doesn't help, I have no information on how the game works on vista. One thing though, the registry keys I provided were only a shortcut, the same thing gets done by using the secret codes, from what I remember, except maybe the Intel ones which was a separate download. I'm pretty sure, though, that everything could be done with those secret codes, it's just a matter of finding ones that w@&k on the system that the game is running on. The Steam version may also throw a monkey wrench in the works.

[KingRat]

Strange about the missions problem, but it could be a conflict between having the non-steam version installed, then installing the steam version, there might be all sorts of conflicting things going on. Plus the fact it's on vista doesn't help, I have no information on how the game works on vista. One thing though, the registry keys I provided were only a shortcut, the same thing gets done by using the secret codes, from what I remember, except maybe the Intel ones which was a separate download. I'm pretty sure, though, that everything could be done with those secret codes, it's just a matter of finding ones that w@&k on the system that the game is running on. The Steam version may also throw a monkey wrench in the works.

That's what I was thinking re Steam. It's strange the 'machete' code works but the bonus missions don't. Maybe the Steam version redacted the bonus missions? I'd need to buy the steam version to do any troubleshooting, but I already have an x360 and 2 PC dvd copies.

Does the steam version have a config file where these keys could be added?

[PZ]

I installed the game (Vista64) using a full administrator account (as I do most of my software so permissions won't mess things up), but then play the game using a limited account.  I entered the bonus codes starting the game (using the admin account) - then switched to the limited account to play - the missions were in place, albeit with the bug that was introduced after one of the patches (the one that causes the same kid with a shotgun story to repeat).

Strange issue - I hope that you get it sorted, but it sounds almost like something to do with the Steam installation rather than an OS issue.

[Dweller_Benthos]

That might be it - entering those codes causes a key to be written to the registry - does the limited user account in vista block registry access? If so, then it's not writing the key and the game doesn't see the change. So, entering the codes as admin allows the registry change and it works then.

Sounds locigal to me anyway

[Art Blade]

Apparently it didn't help:

Ah gosh, one more thing: You're on Vista. Did you try running FC2 as "admin" ? Full rights and so on? Sometimes programs under Vista behave a little funny without. And, after changing the registry, did you reboot? That may help, too.

Thanks for the suggestions.  I do have Steam set to run as admin, and I set the FC2 exe to run as admin.

[Rangoon]

Hey guys.  Somehow I stopped getting email notifications for replies...so didn't read the past few posts until just now.  Anyhow, here is more detail on the situation, including some quotes from Ubisoft and Steam.

As for my Vista use, the account I use for everything on that computer is an admin account.  I did set Steam and FC2 to run as Admin in addition to being logged in as an administrator at all times.  The only noticeable difference is that it asks for confirmation whenever I launch Steam. 

When I first was running my FC2 DVD installation, I used the same account and do recall that at some point the game stopped launching until I set it to run as Admin.  It could be that in the interim I had turned UAC off and then back on again.  I've read that something installed before that happens can act strangely after UAC is turned back on again.  Anyhow, didn't have any issues unlocking the bonus missions with the code which came with the game.  So it was accessing the registry just fine.

One thing about this current Steam installation is that I do now have registry keys for machete and partner1 and partner2 in both the Local Machine directory as well as the Current User directory.  Could that be causing some issue?  Maybe what I should do is uninstall the game again, delete both directories in the registry, delete all other FC2 folders (save games, etc.) and reinstall the game from scratch.  Which directory should the keys be in - Current User?  And in Vista, should there be anything in the Local Machine directory or does this perhaps imply a problem with the installation.  When Steam installed the game, it created keys for executable, etc., in the Local Machine directory.

Here is something from the Steam Store page:

Far Cry 2: Fortune's Edition contains the full Far Cry 2 game, including all previously released patches and the Far Cry 2 Fortunes DLC with additional content listed below.

This to me implies that it is the complete FC2 game plus Fortunes Pack, meaning that nothing was removed from the game.  My understanding is that both the Gamestop and Intel missions simply needed to be unlocked, not installed.  The Intel mission download was something like 6MB, which is larger than I would have expected for a simple key, but someone on another forum said it still is just adding a key to the registry.  I assumed partner1 is Gamestop and partner2 is Intel, or vice versa.

Here is so far the only thing Ubisoft support has said to me:

The Fortunes Pack is not the same game as the original Far Cry game, and is unfortunately not usable with the original bonus codes.

This tells me that it's possible the content was omitted from the installation.  Seems unlikely to me.  So why was there a Fortunes Pack DLC before, but is no longer available as a stand-alone product?  I'm sure it justifies them charging $20 instead of $5, but since this other content is no longer included, you are trading actual gameplay (missions with some story and characters) for weapons and vehicles which, quite frankly, has no real effect on the game.  Why they would remove content is beyond me.

And it brings up a question.  Is anyone here using the digital download complete edition of FC2+FP (not the Steam version specifically)?  And if so, any bonus missions working? If so, this would imply that what Ubisoft just said to me is untrue.

Here are some snippets from Steam support:

I apologize for any confusion that may have been caused by the Store page for this game. The Far Cry 2: Fortunes Edition from Steam does not have any content from the original game that has been excluded. Your previous purchase of the game through Gamestop contained extra content that is exclusive to games pre-ordered through Gamestop.

The bonus missions are exclusive to pre-orders of the game through Gamestop and will not w@&k with the Steam copy of the game. Stand alone purchases of the Fortune's Pack DLC are not offered through Steam.

That tells me that the installation should contain the missions ("...does not have any content from the original game that has been excluded").  The rest of Steam Support's replies have been irrelevant.

I'm not sure what is the best way for me to go here, but I'm seriously considering ending my patronage of Steam and encouraging my friends to do the same.  I was very skeptical at first about Steam, but after giving it a shot for a couple of years and having no major issues, I figured it was alright.  Looks like I could be wrong.  At the same time, I'm trying not to overreact.  ;)

I really appreciate the help on this forum.  I get the feeling you're trying to solve my problem like it was your problem.  Thanks.

[Art Blade]

Hello again, Rangoon :)

Indeed, help here has always been that way. Whenever anyone needed anything, usually a couple of our members came up with suggestions and solutions almost immediately after the original request was posted.

I can fully understand your resentment to steam. I have so far managed to live without steam, and my "problem" with steam is the loss of ownership of a product (you no longer posess physical products such as CDs that can be installed on any PC at any time), and starting with HalfLife2, when you still got the CD, that it was useless without internet connection -- what good is a product legally purchased in a shop that still doesn't w@&k, unless someone (steam) allows you to use it via online registration. And, for those people who have limited internet access, like modem, satellite uplink etc, and/or limited data traffic that leads to extra costs per MB downloaded, it means to pay for the "product" (download) and addtionally to pay for the traffic. And if the connection is slow, it uses up both the internet access and the PC for the time the download takes place, rendering both useless for different jobs. On top, if the download for some reason breaks down, you have all the costs and can start over, causing new costs. If you purchased the right version but for some reason download the wrong one (happened to a member here) you also have to repeat the whole process. Finally, online only means many people in the shipping and packing industry lose their jobs. Those are my points.

Now to your problem. When FC2 was first released, the bonus missions could be unlocked, and then DLC was released, which could be packed on top. Like that, the bonus missions were still there, along with the new DLC. That is as far as I know what happened. Now, if you get FC2 and immediately install that DLC (or, as the steam version apparently does, have everything installed in one go) that might block the code. If that is the case, then everyone who purchases the double pack cannot play the bonus missions.

Those of you who have DLC, can you confirm that you had first the bonus missions and then installed that DLC?

[PZ]

I purchased the DLC after I had entered bonus codes on both the PC and PS3 versions of the game - everything is working properly.

Like Rangoon, I'm often skeptical when a "new version" comes out that is a simple re-package of the original, and the first thing that comes to mind is that the publishers have found a new way to charge extra.   ;D

[Rangoon]

Well this is interesting.  Ubisoft just wrote back to me and said:

I think you may have misunderstood what I said. The bonus codes are not usable, but the unlockable content is already included in the rerelease of the game from Steam. You aren't missing anything in the game, and I apologize for the confusion.

But first he said:

The Fortunes Pack is not the same game as the original Far Cry game, and is unfortunately not usable with the original bonus codes.

Sounds confusing to me (why use the term "unfortunately"?).

By the sounds of this, I just need to keep playing and eventually I will get a Predecessor mission.  I guess I'll just keep playing and find out.  If what he says is true, well that's indeed great news.  By all other accounts, however, I should have already gotten a Predecessor mission by now.  We'll see....  I'll report back hopefully within a day if I can find some time to play.

I think I'll do a clean install first, too.