Hello xForcer!
I'm very happy to hear that you like Unofficial Patch 1.5!
(I know that you noticed most of those things, but I'll post them for the potential new readers):
- To play Multiplayer on Unofficial Patch 1.5, you don't need to install any additional programs like Tunngle, GameRanger, etc. We have a new Multiplayer Lobby which is integrated in game, and works the same way as GameSpy Lobby in the past. Currently all old GameSpy features work, and there are many improved things. You can watch this video to learn how to use the Multiplayer on EE2 1.5:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhZ7ESYLLSo
The new Multiplayer Lobby has a new rating system, more control over players accounts, etc. On this site it's possible to check leaderboards history, rating system log, change EE2.eu Lobby nickname/email/password:
https://www.ee2.eu/multiplayer/
EE2.eu Lobby uses a very useful "MonaNAT" technology (that's how I named it):
https://www.ee2.eu/multiplayer/help/#monanat MonaNAT uses one EE2.eu Servers (currently 3) to create a direct connection with players in case when direct connection between their computer fails. So basically, if somebody uses 3G/LTE connection, or another connection with blocked ports - MonaNAT will help to establish a stable connection anyway. It then works as stable as playing other Multiplayer games (for example League of Legends).
- Unofficial Patch 1.5 has an "Auto CD-KEY" feature. It automatically detects if a CD KEY is missing, and inserts one of working CD-KEYs. This was added because some stores like Gog.com sell EE2 without providing any CD-KEY. In this case players wouldn't be able to play Multiplayer games, even by LAN.
- Due to all CD-KEY problems which our community experienced in the past - I managed to disable keys verification on Multiplayer Lobby. So basically people won't longer see messages like "CD-KEY is in use", etc. Therefore to play Multiplayer - installing UP1.5 is enough. Nothing else has to be done.
In Unofficial Patch 1.5 Settings (UP1.5 Settings button in the Launcher) it's possible to enable/disable some of Launcher and game features. I personally use the following configuration:
oldpics/o-n9cgIWG.png
The most important option is DirectX 9 "Enable DirectX 9 (DX8 to DX9 Converter)". It improves game performance and fixes a lot of problems with game on modern graphics cards. For example Nvidia doesn't support DirectX 8 games on laptops with Nvidia Optimus. Without UP1.5 with the DirectX 9 - it would be impossible to use the better graphics card on laptops with two GPUs on Windows 10 and newer.
There are much more cool things in the patch, but it would take years to describe all of features. That's why I recommend to check the full changes list available at:
http://ee2.eu/patch/#changes It might take a while to read, but thanks to it you can explore new features (for example a hotkey for the free camera mode, hotkey for the full screen move which removes user interface, etc).
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask