What is DUST for BF2?
DUST is a single player only 'hardcore' modification for Battlefield 2 with a focus on tactical gameplay rather than run n' gun. It features a completely reworked environment based mainly on vanilla BF2 assets.
DUST Promotional Video by Dukern Best watched in HD
You can find the DUST download link at the bottom of this page.
Hardcore?
In DUST, the AI is aggressive and accurate. Weapon damage is high and players have less body armour than in vanilla BF2. Using run n' gun style gameplay will mean that you die ... a lot!
Too hard? Ask for help!
Tactical?
The new map layouts aim to make winning a round more challenging. Work as squad leader, and use intelligent tactics such as flanking to undermine or distract the enemy.
Use cover as you move, avoid crossing large open areas, and take roundabout routes to the CP that you want to capture.
Find good defensive positions and choose your load-out wisely depending on the situation.
This will give you the best chance of success on the battlefields of DUST.
Assets
DUST consists mostly of vanilla BF2 assets reworked by me over the last roughly 6 years.
Nearly all of the middle eastern buildings and props, including vegetation, have been retextured/recoloured.
DUST - Oman
DUST - Oman
DUST - Oman
DUST - Karkand
DUST - Karkand
DUST - Factory
DUST - Abandoned Town
Maps
The maps in DUST are mostly classic vanilla BF2 maps completely reworked by me. They have new colourmaps, details, lightmaps, vegetation, undergrowth, and lighting. They also have custom effects such as waves and dust storms, and in some cases custom sounds.
Control Point layouts have been arranged specifically for single player and, as far as possible, make use of the whole map.
DUST comes with two classic maps: Gulf of Oman and Strike at Karkand.
Further maps will be released as they are finished.
N.B. The 16, 32, and 64 labels are a legacy of vanilla BF2 and have no meaning in terms of size or player count in DUST. They are, in fact, different gameplay layouts, some more challenging than others.
Vehicles
Most of the main vanilla vehicles have been completely reworked with new textures, including custom alphas and normal maps and new HUD's. They have also had a lot of mesh edits to improve their appearance.
DUST - T90
DUST - T90
DUST - M1A1
DUST - M1A1
DUST - LAV25
DUST - LAV25
DUST - F18
DUST - F18
DUST - AH1Z
'Borrowed' Assets
The only non-vanilla assets in DUST are the small arms: carbines, pistols, marksman's rifles and rpg's have been taken from other versions of Battlefield and elsewhere. This is because the vanilla weapons are mostly of too poor quality to use, and I have neither the tools nor time to fix them right now.
Factions
Viper (a western coalition) and Claw (a middle eastern coalition) are the two factions that battle over the arid dusty territory of DUST. They are not based on any particular nation or ideology.
Effects
Effects are an important part of DUST, and these are all custom made by me. They include new explosions, fire and smoke, bullet hits, sounds, radio messages, and many other ambient effects that add to the general atmosphere.
What are the requirements to run DUST?
DUST need an unmodified copy of Battlefield 2 with all patches and DLC's.
N.B. Trying to run DUST on a modified copy of BF2 will probably result in crashes.
Because DUST uses mostly vanilla assets, and the new assets have been optimised, you should have no problems running DUST even on an old PC. I've tested it on my 12 year old PC and it runs at around 90 fps with all graphics set to high.
Credits
I've been creating DUST for a long time, and there are a few minor assets that I've downloaded over the years but have lost trace of the original maker.
So, I want to say a collective thanks you to all the BF2 modders who've shared their work over the years.
A special mention to my friends and fellow modders Dukern and Mortarty for their tips, advice, tweaks, and testing!
Last but not least, thanks go to my wife, Mrs. 'Gattobuono', who has an intimate knowledge of dry, dusty desert environments, and gave me a lot of advice when it came to recreating the maps in DUST.
N.B. If you spot something of yours in DUST, please let me know so that I can credit you.
Important
You may not reupload any of my original work without my explicit permission.
I am, however, always ready to help other modders where I can.
BF2 still has a lot of untapped potential ... let's get creative!
Gattobuono
Important: Sound Settings
Make sure you use the following sound settings or you may have problems with distant gunshots sounding as if they're right next to you.
Articles
News From The Workshop
This is a deep rework of the vanilla BF2 BTR90. It's one of the most difficult BF2 vehicles that I've worked on, not just because of all the inaccuracies in the original model but also because the textures were applied to the mesh in very strange ways!
This meant that I had to do a huge amount of correction work in BFMeshView in order to bring my redux version of the BTR90 closer to the real thing.
Working from photographic reference, I shifted various components of the mesh into positions that more closely corresponded to what you'd see on a real BTR90.
I also deleted many of the 'fantasy' components that Dice added.
I had to make many adjustments in order to get the textures to fit the model correctly.
On the original model texture distortion isn't really visible because the skin is so generic and blurry. But when you start adding finer details all of the defects become very apparent.
N.B. Dear rivet counters, this is not a 100% accurate model of the real vehicle but simply the best I could do with the materials that I had available. In order to create a more accurate representation of the BTR90, it'd be necessary to make a completely new model. And I have neither the tools nor skills at present to do so.
The best way to illustrate the difference between the original BF2 BTR90 and my redux version is with some before and after screenshots taken directly from BFMeshView.
I love the challenge of exploring what can be done with Dice's old models! There is still so much work that can be done on BF2, and even after all these years it still has so much potential.
All it takes is imagination, patience and hard work.
If you like what you see, and would like to start repainting and reviving BF2 objects please feel free to ask for advice.
DOWNLOAD DUST 3.0
If you don't already have it, you can download Dust here: Moddb.com
More maps for Dust are available in my addons section here: Moddb.com
Gattobuono. 🙂
Dust Development Update - July 2023
News 15 commentsNew content in development for my next version of Dust.
New Map - Janat Alqanaas
News 2 commentsJanat Alqanaas, the 'Sniper's Paradise', is my remake of the classic BF2 map Mashtuur City.
DUST Update 20/03/23
News 3 commentsAn update about new developments for Dust v3.0 and my upcoming DUST v3.1.
Files
Factory
Singleplayer Map 10 commentsFight for control of a factory which is being used to manufacture IEDs.
DUST - BF2
Full Version 46 commentsDUST is a single player only 'hardcore' modification for Battlefield 2 with a focus on tactical gameplay rather than run n' gun. It features a completely...
Dust - Janat Alqanaas
Singleplayer Map 9 commentsA 'Dust' style remake of the classic BF2 map 'Mashtuur City'. With its numerous vantage points, Janat Alqanaas really is a sniper's paradise. Play on...
DUST - Sharqi Peninsula
Singleplayer Map 1 commentHere's another redux BF2 map for DUST, the classic Sharqi Peninsula, with three new single player layouts and an atmospheric early evening light.
DUST - Jalalabad
Singleplayer Map 3 commentsWelcome to Jalalabad! Here's the next of my redux BF2 maps with 3 different gameplay layouts for you to experience.
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![Battlefield 2: BAD COMPANY 2 MOD [V1.9.5]](https://media.moddb.com/cache/images/mods/1/56/55798/crop_120x90/menu.png)
how do I open mp5?
Do you mean how do you choose the MP5 from the weapons selection menu?
If so, you need to use a bf2.exe file that unlocks all weapons.
You can try this one: Gamebanana.com
Make sure that you back up your original BF2.exe then replace it with the new one from the link above.
Let me know how that works out for you, ok? :-)
P.S. I recommend setting you BF2.exe to 'Windows XP (service pack 3)' compatibility mode.
Works thanks
Good, glad to hear that.
If you're playing as the recon class (which has he MP5) remember to make use of the 'Missile Strike' ability.
It takes a bit of practice, especially when targeting moving vehicles, but it's a very effective weapon.
Have fun!:-)
nice
Thank you.
Update news coming soon. :-)
Please add co-op mode.
I'm afraid that I don't have time to add new modes to Dust.
Right now, I'm working towards the next version which will have more maps, new aircraft and other reworked assets.
I'm working alone so this all takes a lot of time. And as I don't play coop myself I have no motivation to spend time on that mode.
Sorry. :-)
Мод великолепный! Смущает замена флагов. Насколько помню, мусульмане всегда воевали под зелёным знаменем Аллаха. Или я ошибаюсь?
You wrote: "As far as I remember, Muslims have always fought under the green banner of Allah. Or I'm wrong?"
Viper and Claw are fictional factions, who said that Claw are Muslim?
Thanks for your comment. :-)
Спасибо! Согласен. Просто привык к стереотипу МЕК. Хотя, фракции вымышленные,но называются вполне однозначно - США и Ближневосточная коалиция. Так что Коготь не может быть христианином. Только магометанином. Если не принимать во внимание,что на Ближнем востоке ещё есть и государство Израиль.
Hi!
I get what you're saying about being used to a certain 'look' for the flags in BF2. The colours that I chose were based more on the concept in nature of green being friendly and red representing danger.
The way BF2 is set up is that by default you spawn in as the so called 'friendly allies', although personally I enjoy playing for both teams.
However, having distinctive colours that stand out from a distance can be very useful when you want to see who is taking or holding a flag without looking at the map.
You wrote:
-"Although the factions are fictitious, they are called quite unambiguously - the United States and the Middle East Coalition.-"
Actually, that's not quite correct, nowhere in my mod is the Viper faction called the United States. If you look at my mod description you'll see that it says:
"Factions
Viper (a western coalition) and Claw (a middle eastern coalition) are the two factions that battle over the arid dusty territory of DUST. They are not based on any particular nation or ideology."
I have no USA faction in Dust, and I have deliberately avoided nationalism, religion and real world political ideology.
However, because my mod consists of mostly reworked vanilla assets there are obviously a lot of American built vehicles and weapons in it. I have had to work with what is available.
Unfortunately, the EU vehicles in vanilla BF2, such as the Challenger and the Leopard are very bad models, so I won't use them unless I'm able at some point to significantly modify the meshes.
I'd like to ask you to do a couple of things for me if you don't mind:
1. Make an account on moddb so that your comments don't appear as 'Guest'. That way, I'll also get a notification when you post something.
2. I speak English and Italian, so I'd appreciate it if you could translate your comment into one of those languages (preferably English) before you post it. Otherwise I have to copy and paste your comment into an online translator to understand what you've written. Plus it's easier for other people to read comments if they're in a common language.
Thanks, Gatto. :-)