Command Line Parameters

Command Line Parameters are secondary commands used to enable, disable, or change features of the game when the program begins. Command line parameters are also called Launch Parameters since they are executed when the game launches or starts. A "command line" typically refers to a box in which users would type a line or string of commands for an operating system (or even a program) to run. Command line parameters can be used in command-line interpreting programs such as Command Prompt for Windows or Terminal in MacOS. They can also be used in graphical interface icons called "shortcuts" (Windows) or "aliases" (MacOS). Lastly, a command line parameter can also be typed into the Extra Launch Parameters box in the City of Heroes Launcher, which is probably the easiest way to use these parameters (and the only way to use command line parameters if you are running the game in MacOS).

A command line parameter is typically placed after the command executable, with a space in-between. A hyphen (-) must be added to the beginning of each parameter in order to tell the game that it is an option that must be used when the game starts. Multiple parameters can be used in the same command line as long as each one is separated by a blank space. The order in which you place the parameters generally doesn't matter, however if there's trouble try adding the parameters to the command line in a different sequence.

The following are some examples of using command line parameters:

Command Prompt

<COH Install Directory>\bin\win64\live\CityOfHeroes.exe -lodbias 10 -showfps 1

Shortcut

COH Launcher

• 

  COH Launcher Settings

• 

  Extra Launch Parameters

Note: Command line parameters are often referred to as command line arguments, switches, flags, or options. All of these are correct or incorrect depending on the operating system environment used to run the program and the programming language used to write the program. Suffice it to say there is a lot of confusion as to which name to use, and in casual discussion they are often used interchangeably as more or less the same thing. Back when City of Heroes was live, the developers primarily referred to these as "command line parameters" in patch notes, but also used "command line options" and "command line overrides" in various data files.