INTRODUCTION
This guide will teach you how to play with friends over the internet in a custom games match.

GUIDE

To add friends both people (you and your friend) need to do this:

• Go to https://forum.plutonium.pw/users and search for your friend
• Go to his profile and hit the green "plus" (+) button to follow him. If there is only a heart, that means that you are already following them, and can move on to the next step

Afterwards, the person who wants to host the private match needs to do the following:

• Open the game and open the serverlist (F10 or Home key)
• Go to the network tab and check if UPnP is enabled

If UPnP is Enabled:

• Set-up a custom game and type in zombies_minplayers 3 the console to set the minimum amount of players the game should wait for, obviously replace 3 with the amount of players.
  • You have to actually start it; parties don't work.
  • If the match does not start, you can force it to start by executing the command 'xpartygo' in the in-game console
• Your friend should now be able to join by double-clicking your name in the Friends List (between the Server Browser and Network tab)

If UPnP is Disabled:

• Go to Windows Settings -> Network & Internet

• Click your connection ("Livebox-D3C0_5GHz 2" in this case, it will likely differ for you)
• Set the Network Profile to Private

• Restart the game

If UPnP is still disabled or you can't connect despite it being enabled:

• Forward the port that is shown to you in the network tab in your router (4976 by default, tutorial: https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-port-forward-4163829)
• Set-up a custom game, if you are playing zombies type zombies_minplayers 3 into the console to set the minimum amount of players the game should wait for, obviously replace 3 with the amount of players.
• You have to actually start the match, parties don't work.
• If the match does not start, you can force it to start by executing the command 'xpartygo' in the in-game console
• Your friend will now be able to connect by opening the console and executing

connect yourip

(with yourip being the IP address you see in the Network tab or on https://whatsmyip.com/)

Want to see this guide in your language:
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FAQ

Q: How do I install Plutonium T6 / Black Ops 2 game files?
A: Simply follow this step by step install guide: https://forum.plutonium.pw/topic/2819/how-to-install-plutonium-t6

Q: How do I open the console?
A: The console can be opened with:

• ^ on QWERTZ.
• ~ on QWERTY (US).
• ' on QWERTY (UK).
• the key above tab on most keyboard.

Q: How do I unlock all (max rank)?
A: Open the console while in the menu (not in-game) and type unlockall and then hit the enter key.

Q: Can I select my steam copy of Black Ops 2 as the game folder?
A: Yes, you can use your steam install of Black Ops 2, however if you don't have the DLC on steam you will have to install them, and we have a guide here explaining how to.

Q: How can I re-open the server browser?
A: Press F10 or Home.

Q: Can I use a SKIDROW or NOSTEAM copy of the game?
A: No you cannot! These two repacks come with outdated and incomplete files making them incompatible with Plutonium. Please follow our install guide which outlines how to download a clean up to date copy of the game: https://forum.plutonium.pw/topic/2819/how-to-install-plutonium-t6

Q: Can I play against bots?
A: To play with bots go to find game and select your choice of playlist.
Once the map loaded do xpartygo on the console.
Then spawnbot 17 in the console when the map has loaded. Change the number for different bots.

Q: Can my friends join custom matches?
A: Yes, follow this guide.

Q: How can I join a password protected server?
A: By setting the password via the console with password followed by your passwort (eg.: password swordfish, password "A password with a space").

Q: How do I host a server?
A: Our PlutoniumT6 server guide.

Q: Can I use PlutoT6 to play over LAN, fully offline?
A: No. Currently, we do not support fully offline play.

Q: Does PlutoniumT6 contain a virus?
A: No it does not, it most likely is a false positive from your antivirus. However like any and all software downloads you should use only trustworthy sources and not download random dlls off of the internet.

Q: How can I add a folder exclusion to Plutonium to prevent antivirus detections?
A: Follow this guide: https://forum.plutonium.pw/topic/3448/antivirus-folder-exclusion-guide

Q: How can i change my in-game name?
A: Click your avatar on the top right -> edit profile -> change username.

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COMMON ISSUES

Error: It appears you have selected an invalid game folder

Fix: You selected the wrong game directory in the Plutonium launcher. You must select your Black Ops 2 game folder. If you do not have the base game installed follow this guide https://forum.plutonium.pw/topic/2819/how-to-install-plutonium-t6

Error: Error during initialization: Missing config file 'default_mp.cfg'

Fix: This is caused by a broken or incomplete base game (Black Ops 2), if you own the game on steam use steam to verify the game files, doing so will repair it and fix the error. If you do not own it follow this guide to repair your installation https://forum.plutonium.pw/topic/6353/how-to-repair-your-t6-installation

Error: Fastfile for zone is corrupt or unreadable / image/sound not found / similar error messages

Fix: Fix is same as the above error^^.

Error: Piry.exe stuck on 0 / errors

Fix: Don't use Piry.exe it not longer works, instead follow the instructions in the install guide:
https://forum.plutonium.pw/topic/2819/how-to-install-plutonium-t6

Error: Unable to refresh server list
Fix: These are all likely firewall problems, ensure Plutonium T6 (both launcher and game) is allowed through your Windows firewall, ensure your ISP doesn't have a router Firewall such as Xfinity. https://forums.xfinity.com/t5/Email-Web-Browsing/Unblock-all-websites/m-p/3303661/highlight/true#M215393
https://internet.xfinity.com/more/my-services go there and disable the xfi advanced security.

Error: Could not authenticate to Plutonium: Unknown error or Could not authenticate to Plutonium: An error occured while connecting to the server
Fix: Your DNS provider (likely your ISP) is filtering requests. Change your computers DNS servers to something that does not filter requests, such as 1.1.1.1 - Follow this guide if you don't know how to change your DNS: https://www.windowscentral.com/how-change-your-pcs-dns-settings-windows-10. If this doesn't work, use a VPN.

Error: I can’t see (all) servers in the server list
Cause : Game in offline mode
Fix: Don't start the game in offline mode.
Fix: Make sure your 3rd party Firewall does not block PlutoT6.
Cause: Miss behaving network equipment
Fix: Your router might be too weak to handle all the traffic and drops packages. Try a firmware upgrade.
Fix: Your router does detect the network traffic from the server list as attempted DDoS attack and blocks it. Look for a setting to turn this off.
Fix: You are living in a "free" country and your government blocks certain countries

Error: The procedure entry point AddDllDirectory could not be located in the dynamic link library KERNEL32.dll
Fix: Running an outdated Windows install is a bad idea, running an outdated Windows version that is so badly cracked you can't even update it is even worse. Install all Windows updates.

Error: The code execution cannot proceed because D3DCompiler_47.dll was not found. Reinstalling the program may fix this problem.
Fix: Download this https://drive.google.com/u/0/uc?id=1gG_DXaZfAUETfXaYJzCP36ImvE_bO_x9&export=download extract it to any location (you can delete it afterwards) and install directx (dxsetup.exe in the directx folder).

Error: The code execution cannot proceed because MSVCP140.dll was not found. Reinstalling the program may fix this problem.

Fix: You are missing the Microsoft Visual C ++ Redistributable Package, so to fix this download and run the following redist installer then restart your pc and it will be fixed: https://github.com/ChxseH/Redist-Installer/releases/download/latest/Redist-Installer.bat

Error: The code execution cannot proceed because XINPUT1_3.dll was not found. Reinstalling the program may fix this problem.
Fix: Download this https://drive.google.com/u/0/uc?id=1gG_DXaZfAUETfXaYJzCP36ImvE_bO_x9&export=download extract it to any location (you can delete it afterwards) and install directx (dxsetup.exe in the directx folder).

Error: The code execution cannot proceed because XINPUT1_4.dll was not found. Reinstalling the program may fix this problem.
Fix: Pluto doesn't support Windows 7, upgrade to Windows 10.

Error: PlutoT6 crashes when a fifth player connects on Origins
Fix: Origins doesn't support more than 4 players and when a 5th player joins it crashes with an out of bound exception in the gsc.

Error: UI ERROR 5XXXX (eg 58339)
Fix: Your stats file is corrupted, either use resetStats or delete your dw folder inside %localappdata%\Plutonium\storage\demonware\18397. ALL PROGRESS WILL BE LOST!

Error: UI Error 71562
Fix: Uninstall the base game and re-install making sure to follow our install guide. This error is caused by broken or incomplete game files.

Error: EXE_CONFIGSTRINGMISMATCH
Fix: You are either missing some DLC files or you suck at pirating, either way download some clean files.

Error: EXE_CLIENT_FIELD_MISMATCH
Fix: This error is a known bug that is caused by a player trying to join a custom game hosted on easy mode Buried (ZM). Simply have the host set the difficulty to Original and you should be good to go.

Error: Checkboard loading screens
Fix: You're either missing the DLCs or your basegame's corrupted, follow this guide.

Error: Waiting for more players...
Fix: Open the console and type xpartygo (This will force start the game)

Error: Could not load default asset '' for asset type 'ddl'

Fix: If you receive this error it means you are using an outdated version of the game (SKIDROW/NOSTEAM) or your game files are corrupted. The only solution is to delete the game files and reinstall using clean files.

Error: Can't find any games through match-making.
Fix: This is not a error, Pluto does not support match-making use the server browser to join a server.

Error: After clicking 'Play' or 'Setup' the launcher closes and nothing happens
Fix: You may be missing a required runtime, please download and run the Redist Installer. If this does not help, exclude your Plutonium installation from Windows Defender's scanning by following this guide.

Error: Could not authenticate to Plutonium: snowroller uninitialized

OR
Error: Handshake: certificate verify failed

Fix: This error occurs when you are trying to launch an outdated version of Plutonium. However, this should not happen if you are launching the game via Plutonium.exe which checks for updates on each launch. So if you are starting the launcher via plutonium-launcher-win32.exe please do not. Launch via plutonium.exe

Error: Black screen when starting the game but can hear the menu music
Fix: This issue can be caused by outdated GPU drivers, use Nvidia GeForce Experience to update your drivers or AMD equivalent. Restart your PC then try launching Plutonium again, the issue should now be resolved. If this doesn't work, r_fullscreen 0 followed by vid_restart in the external game console window should hopefully resolve the issue.

Error: Direct X encountered an unrecoverable error

Fix: Caused generally by a broken direct x install, the following video can be followed to reinstall Direct X: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPPzri5pGkw

Error: Extremely Low FPS (Gaming Laptop)
Fix: From NVIDIA Control Panel 3D Settings->Manage 3D Settings Tab "Program apps" you are going to want to add the plutonium-bootstrapper-win32.exe as a application if you dont know where that is its here
C:\Users\yournamehere\AppData\Local\Plutonium\bin

Keep in mind that the AppData is a hidden folder in windows and either need to use the windows key + r for run and doing %appdata% or turn on the option to show hidden files but then after that is doing in the settings for then now added application you want to go to Preferred Graphics Processor

Select : High performance NVIDIA processor

Low FPS/Stuttering in general even when you're using your dedicated GPU
Fix: Go to C:\Users\yournamehere\AppData\Local\Plutonium\bin and disable fullscreen optimizations for plutonium-bootstrapper-win32.exe through its Properties -> Compatibility Tab.

Error: EXE_CLIENT_FIELD_MISMATCH - Zombies Custom games

Fix: This error occurs when the host tweaks the custom game settings and then a friend joins who hadn't matched their settings. E.g. Host sets difficulty to easy, if the friend doesn't set their difficulty to easy before connecting they will mismatch as by default the games difficulty is original and that won't match the host in this example.

Error: GPUDriverD3D11::CreateTexture, unable to create texture.

Fix: Unfortunately this cannot be fixed, generally this means your hardware is simple too old / doesn't support direct x features needed to play Plutonium. You can try re-installing your GPU drivers, but this may or may not work.

Error: Your game is outdated (rxxxx against rxxxx).

Fix: This is caused when your client is out of date and you try to join a server. Generally this is caused by you pinning the launcher to your taskbar while the launcher is open. This pins the wrong exe and skips the auto update process allowing your client to get outdated. Please make sure you instead always launch from Plutonium.exe you can also simply pin this exe to your taskbar by storing it in a safe place like your game folder then right clicking the exe -> pin to taskbar. If you can't find Plutonium.exe you can download a fresh copy here: https://cdn.plutonium.pw/updater/plutonium.exe

Still not found your issue?

Make a new post in: https://forum.plutonium.pw/category/9/bo2-client-support

Requirements:
A PC to host the server, running either Windows 10 or Windows Server 2019.
An Internet connection (where you can portforward if you are behind a NAT).
T6 on said server. (You don't need the video & sound folders, the .ipak files nor the SP level files, this can save you a LOT of disk space.)
A Plutonium forum account
Notepad++
A brain.

In this tutorial I will assume that you have installed T6 to C:\gameserver and the folder for the game is called t6_pluto. You are free to change those paths to whatever suits you best.
All paths beginning with ./ use C:\gameserver\t6_pluto as their base.

1 Preperation

1.1 Downloading and installing Plutonium:

• Download the Plutonium Launcher.
• Place it to C:\gameserver
• Download the T6 Server Configurations and place it into your server folder.
• Run !updatePluto.bat and let it download Plutonium

1.2 Creating a server key.

• Open the Plutonium Server Key page
• Fill in the name of the server and select the correct game.
• Click on create, then copy the server key.
  We will later have to paste it into a bat file.

1.3 Deleting unneeded files (Optional)

This is ONLY for people that only want to host a server from their T6 install and not to play with it. This guide only shows how to delete files that are not needed by mp or zm. If you wish to save more space by not hosting mp or zm you can delete all left over files with mp or zm in their name.

As you can see we are starting with the worst case: MP, SP and ZM with PlutoT6 and multiple languages through Steam installed.

We don't need the main, players, sound or video folders. We only need binkw32.dll, localization_mp.txt, localization_zm.txt

Now we take care of the zone folder, as you can see we have 3 languages installed.
We are going to delete all but the English one, keep the all folder as all languages require it.

Now navigate to the all folder inside zone. There are plenty of large files that we don't need. All .ipak files and all sp files can be deleted safely. Only files with mp and zm should be left in this folder.

Now to the english folder inside zone. Here we do the same thing as in the last folder.

1.4 Enabling transparent compression

This step is useful if you choose to enable game logs as it will save up to a GB per server.

• Open the properties of your ./t6r/data folder
• Click on Advanced...
• Check the Compress contents to save disk space box
• Press OK
• Press Apply
• Choose Apply changes to this folder, subfolders and files
• Press OK

2. Basic configuration and the first start

• Open the cfg in Notepad++.

• Edit the file to your liking.

• Open the batch (.bat) files with Notepad++ and paste your server key. Optionally change the other variables on top.

• Double click the bat file.
• Wait for the server to finish loading.

3. (Optional) Advanced configuration

3.1 Custom settings (MP only)

• Open the CFG of the game mode you want to edit (eg tdm.cfg) in the ./main/gamesettings folder. (If you don't have the main folder then simply create it)
• Uncomment and edit the values of the settings you want to change.
• Save the file.
• Put exec <game type here>.cfg in front of the first map token in the map rotation.
  For example sv_maprotation "exec tdm.cfg map mp_la map mp_dockside map mp_carrier"

3.2 Enabling the hard core mode (MP only)

• Either copy or open the game mode specific .cfg file for the game mode you wish to play with hard core settings.
• Open tdm.cfg and copy the hard core settings of it to the file from the first step.
• Save the file.
• Put exec <cfg from step 1>.cfg in front of the first map token in the map rotation.
  For example sv_maprotation "exec hctdm.cfg map mp_la map mp_dockside map mp_carrier"

3.3 Mixed game modes with correct / custom settings (MP only)

• Open the server cfg file with Notepad++
• Put a exec <game type here>.cfg (eg. exec dom.cfg) in front of a map token.
  For example sv_maprotation "exec dom.cfg map mp_la map mp_dockside exec sas.cfg map mp_carrier"
  • You can have one exec token in front of multiple map tokens to apply your settings for each following map.
  • You can have a different exec token in front of every single map token to have different settings for each map.

4. (Optional) Install a server management tool

For any administration tool you need to enable the game log and to set a rcon password in the server config, for your own safety use a long and safe (generated) password you will never have to remember this password! And make sure to enable the game log with g_log. You should only install one of those 2 tools.

4.1 Adding IW4m-Admin to your server

• Download IW4m-Admin from RaidMax's website.
• Follow his guide on GitHub.

5. (Optional) Hosting a second server from the same directory.

• Make a copy of the bat file and the cfg file and rename them.
• Edit the copy of the bat file to have a different port and to use your second cfg.
  (You must forward the second port as well if you are behind a DNAT!)
• Edit the .cfg file.
• Start the server through the new .bat file.

FAQ

Q: You said we can delete game files to save disk space, is it worth it?
A:In my opinion it is, the files to host MP and ZM servers from the same folder with all maps and modes require roughly 1.7GB instead of 22GB and HIGHLY speeds up loading times as unnecessary files are not loaded.

Q: So which files can we safely delete?
A:You can safely delete the players, redist, sound and video folders. Inside the zone folder you can delete all sp, rts and .ipak files. If you don't want to host MP/ZM you can delete the MP/ZM files too.

Q: Why can't I find my server hosted at home while others can?
A:Your router probably doesn't support NAT-Loopback (aka. NAT-Reflection) and that's why it doesn't know how to forward the network traffic. In order to connect it use your internal IP or 127.0.0.1 if its hosted on the same machine. More information about what NAT-Loopback is and how it works can be found on Wikipedia.

Q: Why does everyone get an time out during a map change?
A:We are not entirely sure but it seems to be related to certain dvars not being set to their default value. Only known dvar to cause this atm is party_maxplayers.

This post is also available over at awog.at.

Good, then please be one of the first we loose and never look back.

We are not here to provide free games. Go get a job.

User also admitted to cheat:

You have been caught cheating for a second time and as stated in https://forum.plutonium.pw/topic/3449 the second time being caught will result in a permanent ban. You creating multiple accounts does not change this fact.

I hope you have had fun.

You count them.

Go buy the game then.

Damn nice job, I hope we will see more and more games on Linux so I can finally pull a reverse card and run Linux native as my daily driver on my gaming PC.

Make sure your torrent is actually finished.

@M0untainLight6 said in FOV help:

thats the probably the closest you can get to 90 fov

or just set your fov to 90...

No, Steam integration has been intentionally added.

Try changing it in the config file before you start the game.

You can't unless you use a russian language pack as your alphabet is not included in the english version.

//Locking this topic, if you wanna insult each other get back to your Discord DMs. If either of you create another post about this just to insult each other you will be punished. That video for sure is no proof.

Delete your stats file.

You can use r_customMode.
For more details take a look at https://forum.plutonium.pw/topic/3170/r803-r827-changelog

@ItzNicolas said in Why are the servers so unstable:

Can you please make the servers not laggy and try and make them so people with shit wifi can play aswell.

Sure, as soon as you switch to ethernet. Cat5 wich is enough for 1 gbit is dirt cheap.

What Windows version are you using?