Battlefield: Vietnam

How to Play

The game was uploaded with the help of HelloClan community, the most active Battlefield: Vietnam community. Visit their forum to find more information about Battlefield: Vietnam (and other games), you can also join them in Discord server by this invitation link

The game has been tested on Windows 7 64-bit, Windows 10 and Windows 11, it works fine. You may experience some small troubles when you play the game on modern systems, check our Guide and Notes for details

Install & play guide for singleplayer & multiplayer game on modern systems:

• Mount the disc image of CD1. You will need the utility for mounting disc image files, like WinCDEmu, UltraISO, Alcohol 52%/Alcohol 120% or Daemon Tools Lite
• Launch the installation and enter CD key. It is recommended to install the game not in default path but in some other, non-system folder, like C:/Games/Battlefield Vietnam, so you won't have troubles with fixes or mods. Skip the installation of GameSpy, its servers were shut down in 2014 and doesn't work anymore
• When the installation process will ask for CD2 - mount the disc image of CD2
• At the end of installation process you will see "EA Register" window - simply click "Register later" to skip it
• After you installed the game, you need to patch it - first install the patch v1.2, then the patch v1.21
• And now you need to install NoCD for v1.21 by HelloClan - it is available here or on our website on this page. That NoCD also works as mutliplayer fix and adds widescreen support. Simply copy all files from the archive and put it into the game folder, agree to replace the original files
• Open the game folder and find BFVietnam.exe. Right-click on BFVietnam.exe -> Properties -> Compatibility -> Set "Run this app in compatibility mode with Windows XP" and "Run as Administrator"
• Launch the game and play. If the games doesn't work in compatibility mode with Windows XP - try to launch it in compatibility mode with other version of Windows (Windows 95, 98, 2000, etc.)

If that instruction looks too complicated for you, you can use all-in-one installer that includes the game v1.21 with the official WWII mod. The game is already configured for the multiplayer, you just need to enter CD key in the installer; that installer is English-only. We additionally added the alternative all-in-one installer by VKHD that includes the multilingual version of the game v1.21 with the official WWII mod; than installer also includes DXVK for more stable work of the game on modern systems, that installer requires GPU with support of Vulkan API 1.3 or newer

How to find the multiplayer servers and join them:

• If you installed the game following all the steps, then you should be able to play in multiplayer already - just open Multiplayer menu in the game and press "Update" to get the list of servers. NoCD from HelloClan is using OpenSpy servers list. As alternative, you can use NoCD by Team SiMPLE, it is using QTracker servers list. If for some reason NoCD fixes didn't work or you don't want to use them - you can manually edit hosts file of Windows and enter OpenSpy servers, check this guide
• Also, you can find the list of working servers on GameTracker or in GameRanger app, and directly connect to servers through IP-address, here's the guide how to connect with IP-address
• If you have troubles with search of multiplayer servers - join HelloClan forum or their Discord server to get help with installation and configuration of the game, or chat with the other players

Notes:

• If the installation doesn't start - try to launch Setup.exe in compatibility mode with old version of Windows (98, 2000 or XP)
• It is recommended to install all versions of Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable and NET Framework for the correct work of the game. Also it is recommended to install K-Lite Codec Pack for the correct work of in-game videos
• The game works on DirectX 8, so if you're using Windows 8, 8.1, 10 or 11 - you need to enable DirectPlay: Go to Control Panel, and select 'Programs'. Select 'Turn Windows features on and off', click on 'Legacy Components' and check the box 'DirectPlay'. Select OK, once the installation is done, restart your computer. Enabling DirectPlay on Windows 8 or newer is necessary for the correct work of the game!
• The game has 6 languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Traditional Chinese and Korean. If you don't want to re-install the game to change the language, use Language Changer, it is a small REG-file that allows to change the language. Make sure to follow the instruction inside the archive!
• We added text-file with a lot of CD keys, but if none of them works - use the keygen to generate new CD key. Keygen may trigger warnings by your antivirus, but it is safe to use, here's VirusTotal scan report. You can run the keygen on Virtual Machine, for 100% safety
• The game was using GameSpy servers for multiplayer, but in 2014 the GameSpy service and its servers were closed. To play the game in multiplayer use NoCD by HelloClan.eu, that NoCD also works as multiplayer fix and loads servers list from OpenSpy, plus adds the support for widescreen resolutions. Simply copy all files from the archive and put it into game folder, agree to replace the original files
• Alternatively, you can use NoCD by Team SiMPLE which uses QTracker servers list. Or you can check GameTracker or GameRanger to find the list of working servers , and directly connect to servers through IP-address, here's the guide how to connect with IP-address
• If you have black screen/crash at launch: there's a rare issue when the game doesn't work if your display has different than "expected" refresh rate. The solution is easy, you just need to edit the config-file - go to Battlefield Vietnam/Mods/BfVietnam/settings folder, open VideoDefault.con file in Notepad and change the value of renderer.allowAllRefreshRates 0 to 1
• If you have graphics issues or visual glitches, such as disappearing UI elements or crosshair, or white bars in the main menu. It is recommend to use one of DirectX display wrappers. The most recommend method is to use dgVoodoo 2 to force the game to use new version of DirectX instead of old one. To run the game with dgVoodoo 2 copy dll-files from MS/x86 folder, dgVoodoo.conf and dgVoodooCpl.exe to the game folder, next to BFVietnam.exe, then run the game as usual, it should help. dgVoodoo 2 also supports the different graphical options such as Anti-aliasing or Texture Filtering, if you want to change dgVoodoo 2 settings, run dgVoodooCpl.exe as Administrator
• As alternative variant, you can use DXVK wrapper to run the game through Vulkan API instead of DirectX; your video card must have support the Vulkan API. That wrapper is already included in all-in-one installer by VKHD. Using DirectX wrappers should also help if you have random crashes, the game seems to work more stable with wrappers
• For users of AMD video cards: you may have a screen tearing or other technical issues when you run Battlefield: Vietnam AMD GPU. If you have a screen tearing - open AMD control panel, add the game's executable BFVietnam.exe and turn on the following settings: "Radeon Enhanced Sync", "Antilag", "Wait for vertical refresh - Always on". If you have graphical glitches - run the game with dgVoodoo 2
• Both NoCDs by HelloClan and Team SiMPLE add the support for wide and high screen resolutions up to 4k, the new resolutions can be selected in game settings; please note that the HUD will be stretched on high resolution. If you cannot change the resolution in the game, like you selected the new screen resolution but nothing happened - run the game with dgVoodoo 2. If you cannot find the resolution of your display - you can enable it manually, by editing the config-files, check this guide for details
• The main menu has the fixed 800x600 screen resolution because it is hardcoded. If you to have widescreen menu - use Menu Resolution fix, simply copy files from the archive and run bat-file
• If you want to change Field of View (FOV) in the game, go to Battlefield Vietnam/Mods/BfVietnam/settings folder, open VideoDefault.con file in Notepad and edit the line renderer.fieldOfView with a new value: enter 1 for 4:3 screen ratio (default one), 1.33333 for 16:9, 1.75 for 21:9, 1.2 for 16:10, 1.25 for 15:9
• The game can be launched in Windowed mode, to do that open VideoDefault.con file in Notepad and set renderer.setFullScreen 0. To play in Borderless Windowed mode, you will need to use extra utilites, the list of that utilities is available on PCGamingWiki
• There's no framerate lock in the game and you may have some technical issues if the framerate is too high. To fix it you can enable Vsync in the game - go to Battlefield Vietnam/Mods/BfVietnam/settings folder, open Video.con file in Notepad and add the line renderer.VSyncEnabled 1; however, that method introduces the noticeable input lag. Another possible option to cap the framerate is to enable Vsync or set the framerate cap in control panel of your video card; or lock the framerate with framerate limiter utilities (if you play the game with dgVoodoo 2, you can set the FPS limit in dgVoodoo.conf in FPSLimit line)
• There's a common trouble on Windows Vista and newer OS when some ambient sounds, in-game music or radio stations in vehicles doesn't work. In that case use Sound Fix, simply copy the files from the archive and run the bat-file. Remember to remove any compatibility mode setting on the game's executable
• The game has support of EAX Surround Sound but EAX is disabled in modern Windows systems. If you want to enable it back - follow this guide. If you have Creative sound card, you can install Creative ALchemy to restore the Surround Sound
• The game was using PunkBuster anti-cheat software, and EvenBalance officially discontinued the support of PunkBuster in Battlefield: Vietnam. Most of the servers doesn't have it enabled anymore. As such it is recommended to move the contents of Battlefield Vietnam/pb to a backup folder to avoid any disconnects by its service. In case if for some reason you need to update the PunkBuster software, here's the instruction how to do it manually
• About the mods: even though Battlefield: Vietnam is not so popular as other Battlefield games, it has a lot of mods, you can find most of the mods on ModDB, including the official World War II mod by DICE. Additionally, we recommend to check BF-Games.net and Gau-Games.de to find more mods and custom maps for the game
• You can tweak a lot of game options through the in-game console (~ button by default) with console commands, or by editing the config-files. Check tweaking guide for all possible options
• If you have an ultra-wide display, you probably will need to edit the config-files of the game to play with the correct screen ratio; however, the HUD will be stretched anyway. Check WSGF page for more details and instructions
• The game can also be played on Linux systems. If you have Linux system and want to host a dedicated server, follow this guide
• Don't forget to check PCGamingWiki if you have troubles, it is very useful! Also, we recommended to join HelloClan forums if you need the help with the game or you want to interact with the other players