Game Client
Overview
City of Heroes uses a program which runs on your computer called the Game Client (and its associated game files) to generate the graphics you see and the sounds you hear. It figures out what you have clicked on and it handles the typing you do at your keyboard. The client is constantly sending information to the Server to tell it what powers you activate, what attacks you make, how you move and turn, and the messages you type to other people.
The Server is constantly sending information to your client to tell it what everyone else in your zone or mission are doing. The client shows you their actions based on that information. If something interrupts the flow of that information then everyone else will stop moving on your screen. If the flow of information is interrupted long enough then you are disconnected from the server, typically with the message: "Lost connection to mapserver".
When a new version of the game client is available it has to be downloaded to your computer before you can use it. A program called a Launcher checks for and downloads new versions of the client and all its associated files.
The launcher is used to start City of Heroes, or any other game it is programmed to update (including Beta Services).
Facts
- The same game client is used to play City of Heroes, City of Villains, and City of Heroes Going Rogue on ALL operating systems. (During Live, Paragon Studios merged all of the 'City of' games into a single client in preparation for City of Heroes: Freedom, the final live client release from NCSoft/Paragon Studios.)
- Windows OS runs the client natively.
- MacOS (under Intel processors) and Linux use WINE to run the client on a Windows Subsystem layer.
- All character data is stored on the servers. You can access your account and character data from any computer that has the game client.
- One caveat: files such as Architect Entertainment save files, Character Select sorting, and Player Ratings, are stored in text files on the player's hard drive and are not accessible from other computers.
- Patches are installed prior to logon and the latest version is required to play.
- The client loads in two stages:
- The Launcher, which downloads patches and checks the client for the latest version. Examples of Launchers include Tequila & Island Rum.
- The Client, which contains the game itself.
- The client cannot be run directly by players if the version of the game residing on the player's computer is different than the version of the game on the Homecoming servers. Updating prior to running the game can be done through the command line by using the launcherCLI.exe command.
- Since the Sunset, NCSoft's keys, game cards, and promo codes no longer work. There is no CD Key required to install the game client.
- The Launcher can downloaded to install the game without requiring any CDs or DVDs. Use of NCSoft Client files pre-Issue 24 will cause issues in patching, and should not be attempted.
- Note: A new installation using the Launcher will download the entire client, and may take a long while depending on your internet download speeds.
- The game is now a "portable" application. Once installed, it exists only in the folder it is installed in with no Windows registry keys, libraries, or other components required. Backup and moving is as simple as copy & paste.
- Mac/Linux users will follow the WINE convention of installation, which will be located on their "Wine C Drive".
- It is possible to replace almost any resource (in game map, sound file, etc.) using the data directory.
- This does not modify any resource/file. This adds a directory which the game client then interprets as replacing the resource once the game is launched. Removal of this change simply means deleting the \data directory. More info below.
Launchers
There are three Launchers for Homecoming: City of Heroes.
Tequila, which is the Windows-specific launcher for Homecoming. It is independently-made, and was made to be a simple application to patch a collection of files. Please note that Tequila itself has not received any updates as a patching application since 2019.
Island Rum, which is a Mac Installer and Launcher for Homecoming. It is maintained by Manga, and handles the installation of Wine, the City of Heroes client, and patching the client before play.
The Homecoming Launcher was released on October 13th 2020 as an alternative to Tequila and Island Rum; it allows launching the game on Windows natively, and on Linux and MacOS via Wine. Unlike Tequila, it also receives hardware and security fixes to run on newer systems.
Launching the Game
PC
These can be run from the command prompt or entered into your shortcut. You can do the latter by adding them to "Extra Launch Parameters" in Homecoming Launcher--> Settings--> Homecoming. The file "logs/launcher/launcher.log" shows the parameters the HC launcher launched the game with last.
PC Game Client Command Line Parameters |
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CityOfHeroes.exe -compatiblecursors 1
CityOfHeroes.exe -usetexenvcombine
CityOfHeroes.exe -renderthread 1
CityOfHeroes.exe -renderthread 0
CityOfHeroes.exe -maxinactivefps 5
CityOfHeroes.exe -stopinactivedisplay 1
CityOfHeroes.exe -fullscreen 1
CityOfHeroes.exe -screen x y
CityOfHeroes.exe -UseCelShader 1
CityOfHeroes.exe -gfxreset
CityOfHeroes.exe -vis_scale 5
CityOfHeroes.exe -lodbias 5
CityOfHeroes.exe -project "coh"
CityOfHeroes.exe -project "eucoh"
CityOfHeroes.exe -project "cohtest"
CityOfHeroes.exe -console 1
CityOfHeroes.exe -exitlaunch [command line]
CityOfHeroes.exe -project coh -launcher
|
Mac/Linux
- Please see: City of Heroes on Mac
- Please see: City of Heroes on Linux
- Please see: City of Heroes on Steam Deck
Mac and Linux client options for Homecoming all use the same client strings as Windows. In Homecoming Launcher, you can set these under "Settings" and "Extra Launch Parameters" for the client you want to launch, regardless of the operating system. While Steam Deck is a Linux device, the instructions provided are GUI-First and specific to Flatpak use due to the device's nature as a user-friendly gaming console.
Running the game from Removable Storage
If for some reason you would like to run the game from a USB thumb drive, portable SSD, SD Card, or other removable and rewritable media, this is possible as Homecoming Launcher does not require installation or registry keys. Simply move or copy the game client folder to the device. The game should be located at C:\Games\Homecoming if you accepted the default location when you ran it for the first time.
For Linux users: you can create a Wineprefix on a removable device for this purpose and install Homecoming Launcher directly on the drive. On the destination system, make sure the same version of Wine is in use before starting HC Launcher. The system will configure itself into the Wineprefix and start normally.
In any case, please note the default launcher file location: X:\Games\Homecoming\bin\win64\launcher.exe (Replace "win64" with "win32" if you're trying to play on an older system.)
Network information
Servers
Your computer needs access to the internet, of course; and to be able communicate with various servers (not just the game servers). Certain ports (see below) may have to be opened.
Homecoming Servers are located in Canada in the Eastern Time Zone (North/South American players) and in Germany (European players).
In the event you have a working internet connection, but cannot play City of Heroes, it's possible there may be an issue with the connection between your computer and one of these servers. If this is the case, you can troubleshoot this problem using diagnostic tools, seek assistance from other players on the Official Forums.
Some players may wish to run manual tests on these IP addresses and ports using tools such as ping and traceroute. A partial list of ports tested, as of June 2012, is shown below.
Note: these could change at any time at Homecoming's sole discretion, of course; and that failure to test a connection to the port may not be the cause of any issues with running the game.
Game Ports
The game client is somewhat Firewall and NAT friendly. However any issues can be resolved by ensuring the following ports are open:
- TCP 2104
- TCP 2106
- TCP 443
- UDP 7000-7200
Registry information
The game stores its configuration information in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Cryptic\Coh; even if you installed City of Villains, the key name is still Coh.
- If you use the Test server, its configuration is stored in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Cryptic\CohTest.
- If you use the Beta server, its configuration is stored in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Cryptic\CoHBeta.
The Installation Directory parameter is useful in case you want to move the game client to another directory or partition. Enter the full path to the game's executable.
The VerifyOnNextUpdate parameter is created every time the game crashes. When the game starts, it checks for this flag in order to decide whether to verify all files for corruption before loading the file. Thus, clearing this flag is a good way to avoid the slow verification process.
If you crash often and would like to skip the verification process every time, simply create a text file named NoVerify.reg with the following contents, and double-click it before loading the launcher:
REGEDIT4 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Cryptic\Coh] "VerifyOnNextUpdate"=dword:00000000 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Cryptic\CohTest] "VerifyOnNextUpdate"=dword:00000000