ARCTIC COMBAT REVIVAL
=====================

The game's servers went down on 2 September 2013. This kit points your machine at
a server written from scratch, so the original client can connect again.


WHAT YOU NEED
-------------

The game installed. Arctic Combat no longer shows up in the Steam store, but the
install link still works -- including on accounts created after the shutdown:

    steam://install/212370


HOW TO USE IT
-------------

1. Right-click SETUP.cmd and choose "Run as administrator".

2. Create your account at  http://ac.webzen.com
   (that address only works after step 1)

3. Play from Steam, as usual.

That is all. You run it once per machine, not every time you play.


PLAYING WITH SOMEBODY IN THE SAME HOUSE
---------------------------------------

If two of you are on the same wifi or the same router, you can play over your own
network instead of going out to the server and back. It is noticeably smoother.

There is one thing in the way, and it is not the game's fault. If you have WSL,
Docker or Hyper-V installed, they create hidden network adapters, and the game
asks Windows for its own address and takes the FIRST one Windows names -- which
turns out to be the hidden one. Your friend is then told to look for you at an
address that lives on their own machine, so you never find each other directly.

This is handled for you, and it needs nothing from you beyond running SETUP.cmd
on BOTH machines. Every time you press Play, the kit tells the server which
addresses this machine really has, and the server points the other player at the
right one. If only one of you has run SETUP.cmd, there is nothing to cross-check
and you both go through the server instead -- which still works, just slower.

Option 2 (Check) lists the addresses being reported, if you want to see them.


IF IT WILL NOT RUN
------------------

There are two ways in, and you only need one to work:

  SETUP.cmd    Double-click it. It asks Windows for Administrator by itself --
               the same prompt any installer shows. Plain batch, works on any
               Windows in any language, nothing to configure. Start here.

  MANUAL.txt   The same two steps done by hand, with the exact lines to paste.
               Use this if a script is blocked, or if you would simply rather
               see every change yourself. It is not a lesser option.



WHAT IT CHANGES ON YOUR MACHINE
-------------------------------

Two things, and it asks for Administrator for both:

  1. THE HOSTS FILE. The 21 Webzen addresses the game looks for no longer exist.
     This points those names at the server. Without it the game opens and closes
     by itself, because the anti-cheat cannot reach its update server.

  2. A CERTIFICATE. It installs a certificate authority into your trusted roots.

     This is normally a request you should REFUSE. A root CA can sign a
     certificate for any site, including your bank's.

     This one cannot. It carries Name Constraints (RFC 5280) limiting it to
     webzen.com, webzen.net and webzen.co.kr, and excluding every IP address.
     Windows itself refuses any certificate it issues outside those domains.

     It is needed because the game's original launcher talks HTTPS to
     login.webzen.com and validates it with Windows' normal rules. There is no
     setting to relax that, so without this certificate the launcher never gets
     past the login screen.

WHAT IT DOES NOT DO:

  - it does not modify a single game file;
  - it does not install any program;
  - it does not run a server or a launcher on your machine.

To put everything back:

    SETUP.cmd /undo

That removes the hosts entries and the certificate. Nothing else was changed.
MANUAL.txt has the by-hand version of the same thing.


IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG
-----------------------

"the server did not answer"
    The server may be down. Check in a browser:
    http://2.28.52.248:15005/api/status

The game opens and closes after a few seconds
    Almost always the anti-cheat missing Administrator rights, or the hosts step
    not having been applied. Run SETUP.cmd again and accept the Windows prompt.

"Disconnected from the login server"
    The hosts step did not take. Run SETUP.cmd again.

The launcher will not accept my login
    The certificate is missing or stale. Run SETUP.cmd again -- it replaces an
    old one automatically.

I cannot get into the same match as my friend
    This may be your ISP. Many Brazilian providers use CGNAT, which stops two
    homes from connecting directly -- and matches in this game run directly
    between players, not through the server. There is nothing to fix on your end.


ON TRUSTING THIS
----------------

You are being asked to run a script as Administrator and to install a
certificate. Being suspicious is the correct reaction.

Every file here is plain text -- SETUP.cmd and MANUAL.txt. Open them
in Notepad and read them. Every step has a comment saying what it does and why.

If you would rather not run a script at all, don't: MANUAL.txt is the same two
steps done by hand, and it is the honest option, not the fallback.


CREDITS AND DISCLAIMER
----------------------

Arctic Combat was developed by Battery Studios and published by Webzen. This is
a fan-made preservation project, with no affiliation to and no endorsement from
either company. All rights to the game belong to their respective owners.

Nothing in this kit is a game file: it is setup scripts and a server written
from scratch. Your client stays original.
