DUST 3.1 - Combined Arms mod for Battlefield 2

What is DUST 3.1 Combined Arms?

DUST 3.1 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 3.1 Promotional Video by Dukern

Dust 3.1 gameplay video by Mohammed Furqon

You can find the DUST 3.1 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. If you find Dust too hard? Ask for help!

Tactical
The new map layouts aim to make winning a round more challenging. Work as squad leader, and use 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 loadout wisely based upon 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 7 years.
Nearly all of the middle eastern buildings and props, including vegetation, have been retextured and enhanced.

DUST - Oman

DUST - Oman

DUST - Oman

DUST - Karkand

DUST - Karkand

DUST - Factory

DUST - Abandoned Town

Maps
The maps in DUST are a mixture of classic vanilla BF2 maps and maps made by other modders. All have been completely reworked by me. They have new colourmaps, details, lightmaps, vegetation, undergrowth, and lighting. They also have unique custom effects such as waves, dust storms, and custom sounds.
Control Point layouts have been arranged specifically for single player and, as far as possible, make use of the whole map.

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 simply 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, 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

Handheld Weapons
The carbines, pistols, marksman's rifles and rpg's have been ported from other versions of Battlefield and elsewhere. This is because I believe the that vanilla weapons are mostly of too poor quality to use.

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, ambient sounds, radio messages, and many other ingredients that add to the general atmosphere.

What are the requirements to run DUST?
DUST needs 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 all 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 makers.
So, I want to say a collective thanks you to all the BF2 modders who've shared their work with the community.

Thanks to the makers of the USI mod who kindly allowed me to use their assets: Link to USI mod

Most of the handheld weapons were ported to BF2 by Ponysaurus_Rex: Link to his moddb page

Custom maps

Abandoned Town: original map Abandoned Village by Jones

Airbase: original map Airport by SPFreak & ShaneJohn

Al Janna: original map by dennis75 and StrykerJ

Blackhawk: original map Operation Blackhawk Down by pro.bf2|Du$t

Factory: original map Kubaysah Cement Factory from BF2 Australian Forces

Kirkuk: original map Battle of Kirkuk Oilfields by ImTheHeadhunter

A special mention to my friends and fellow modders Dukern and Mortarty for their tips, advice, tweaks, and testing!
Custom aerodynamics for the Dust jets were created by Mortarty.
Last but not least thanks go to my wife, 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.

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.

Download Dust 3.1 HERE