Word tonight is that programmers around the net have managed to crack the "console" in MW2. They have looked inside the programming and they report that, though many of the dvars (features) we used to have in CoD4 are gone - some are still available.

WARNING: Kids...don't try any of this at home. Though the work being discussed here has virtuous ends (remember that Fourzerotwo said on BASH 123, that he had no problems with paid-for, but hacked .exe's), any tampering with your game could have serious consequences - the least of which might bring you a Steam-wide bans through VAC.

For those who have never played a CoD game prior to MW2, the console was a command line that could be used in-game by tapping the "~" key. Though MW2's manual states there is a console in-game, its access has been blocked by Infinity Ward, the game's developer.

The inability to get to the console prohibits PC gamers to modify client-side settings from within the game.

"Tuners", as IW's Jason West likes to call some of the hardcore community, have worked around the lack of console access, by modifying player settings in their configuration file: config_mp.cfg.

This has not proven to be completely successful as many commands no longer appear functional. One common attempt has been to bring back the cg_drawfps command so as to monitor your framerate on screen.

Clearly IW has "locked down" the game and only a modification of the game's executable file would unlock some of the features gamers most want.

The first interesting item I have seen in the attempt to mod this game is, BASHandSlash forum-goer Twofingers who extracted the .exe commands:

I saved a list of everything I found within the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer executable. You will find every available Command/Dvar, a description for most of them, and a ton of other readable content.  Anyone can get this info using a hex editor or similar software, I am just making the info available for those who are unaware of the process and would like to add the info to their resource collection.  The information is very scattered but using the search option in your text editor will make finding things very easy. I hope that a few of you will find the info useful in tweaking your game and verifying if a Command/Dvar is really in the game. 

- Twofingers

BASH Forum post: Inside the executable
Download Twofingers' file of commands: CasualKilling.com

This brings us to tonight's news...

There are programmers right now who are running MW2 locally and have modified the Multiplayer executable to enable their boxes to function as dedicated servers. Though at this moment, no one can connect to them - mainly due to the fact that no clients are running a "hacked" executable.

Here is a screenshot of one such attempt:

Console 1
From Rudedog's site: Console 2

Interestingly for the competitive guys out there, I am happy to report that "/record" is definitely one of the dvars that is, without question, in the game.

A test of the "hacked" executable reveals that you can indeed make a recording of your game play (...something known as creating a demo-file) -- a must for online competitive play due to the fact that you can review the demo to make sure the player is not cheating.

The demo file can be played back - but right now, this is only possible using SP mode, not MP.

The good news here is that it, if they wanted to, Infinity Ward could simply "switch on" this functionality.

There's additional information in this thread on folks already trying to disseminate their console "unlockers"

Console Unlocker

Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.