Mass Effect 3

Mass Effect 3

Developer(s)	Bioware
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts
Engine	Unreal Engine 3
First release date	March 6, 2012

Mass Effect

Mass Effect	2008
Bring Down the Sky
Pinnacle Station
Mass Effect 2	2010
Normandy Crash Site
Zaeed - The Price of Revenge
Firewalker Pack
Kasumi - Stolen Memory
Overlord
Lair of the Shadow Broker
Arrival
Mass Effect 3	2012
From Ashes
Extended Cut
Leviathan
Omega
Citadel

Mass Effect 3 can optionally import save games from Mass Effect 2, which in turn can import save games from Mass Effect.

General information

Social.bioware.com for game series

Availability

Source(s)	Store unlock	Notes
Origin

All versions require Origin

DLC need to be bought through Social.Bioware.com, website uses BioWare points.

Game will not run in offline mode on Origin.

Game data

	Location
Save game location	%USERPROFILE%\My Documents\BioWare\BioWare\Mass Effect 3\Save
Configuration files location	%USERPROFILE%\My Documents\BioWare\Mass Effect 3\BIOGame\Config

Video settings

Graphics option	Native	Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor
Field of view (FOV)		see FOV Fix and Better FOV Fix
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed		Native option called "Window (No Border)".
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)		Native on/off toggle.
Vertical sync (Vsync)

Borderless fullscreen windowed

If the taskbar appears on top, set the game to Fullscreen and then back to Window (No Border) to eliminate it.

FOV Fix

FOV Fix • Link Custom FoV will break cutscenes so it is advised to reset FoV to default during every cutscene with numpad 0. 1. Download ME3 Coalesced Utility from http://wenchy.net/me3-coalesced-utility/ 2. In that utility open Coalesced.bin from Mass Effect 3\BIOGame\CookedPCConsole\ 3. Navigate to bioinput.ini -> sfxgame -> sfxgamemodebase -> bindings 4. Add these custom bindings and try what FoV suits you best. New lines can be added via empty line at the bottom of bindings list. These will bind different FoV values to keypad. Key 0 will reset FoV to default value which is needed during cut scenes. ( Name="NumPadZero", Command="FOV 0" ) ( Name="NumPadOne", Command="FOV 32" ) ( Name="NumPadTwo", Command="FOV 75" ) ( Name="NumPadThree", Command="FOV 80" ) ( Name="NumPadFour", Command="FOV 85" ) ( Name="NumPadFive", Command="FOV 90" ) ( Name="NumPadSix", Command="FOV 95" ) ( Name="NumPadSeven", Command="FOV 100" ) ( Name="NumPadEight", Command="FOV 105" ) ( Name="NumPadNine", Command="FOV 110" ) 5. After selecting your best FoV locate line (should be second line) ( Name="Shared_Aim", Command="SwapWeaponIfEmpty ..... and change it to ( Name="Shared_Aim", Command="SwapWeaponIfEmpty | TightAim | FOV 0 | OnRelease FOV xx | OnRelease StopTightAim" ) where xx is your FoV. This will reset FoV to default when you are aiming with gun and return to your custom FoV when not. Screenshots: default FoV 70, custom FOV 90 For additional info see this thread on the Steam forums: http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2584112

Better FOV Fix

Better FOV Fix • Link This custom FOV will not break cutscenes, recoil, or any side effects like the above FOV fix. The only issue is that you may be banned from multiplayer by changing Coalesced.bin, however there has been no known reports of this happening and so should be considered a low risk. 1. Download Gibbed Mass Effect 3 Coalesced.bin tool from http://blog.gib.me/2012/02/16/mass-effect-3-coalesced-bin-tool/ 2. In the utility open Coalesced.bin from Mass Effect 3\BIOGame\CookedPCConsole\ 3. In the utility, navigate to the bioinput.ini -> sfxgame -> sfxgamemodedefault -> bindings section. 4. Add this custom binding and try what FoV suits you best. New lines can be added via empty line at the bottom of bindings list. ( Name="Period", Command="set SFXGame.SFXCameraMode FOV 100" ) 5. If you've been using the previous FOV fix, revert SharedAim and RightMouseButton to their original values. 6. Save the file and exit the utility. 7. You will need to press the Period key once each gaming session while being able to control Shepard, i.e. not in a cutscene or menu. For an alternative method with the same result, see http://hamstergene.github.com/blog/2012-11-27-mass-effect-fov/

Adjust Image Quality using Nvidia Inspector

Adjust Image Quality using Nvidia Inspector • Link Advantages: Ingame AA is post process AA that reduce texture quality but helps reduce visible aliasing but does not eliminate them. Nvidia inspector can remove jaggly edges and enhance image quality Method: Open nVidia Inspector, and click Mass Effect 3 profile. Add the following settings: Antialiasing Compatibility = 0x080100C5 (Mass Effect, Mass Effect II) Antialiasing Mode = Override any application settings Antialiasing Setting = 4xMSAA. Antialiasing Transparency Multisampling = Enabled Antialiasing Transparency Supersampling = 4x Supersampling Anisotropic Filtering Mode = User-defined / Off Anisotropic Filtering Setting = 16x Texture Filtering Quality = High Quality. Note: if this does not work, try antialiasing compatibility of 0x000010C1 (type it in manually into that field) Source: Post by Sneakback on the Bioware Mass Effect 3 forums.

Input settings

Input Settings	Native	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Controller support

Controller support

Mass Effect 3 does not support standard controller configurations. Please refer to the controller page and JoyToKey to hack in controller support for this game.

Issues fixed

TweakGuides has created a comprehensive guide for fixing issues in this game. It can be found here.

'Origin (EA) is no longer running. Mass Effect 3 will now close'

Reinstall Origin into default directory • Link Make sure Origin is installed in the default directory (C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin\), not on another drive.

64bit Version Error Message

The following error message may appear:

The version of this file is not compatible with the version of Windows you're running. Check your computer's system information to see whether you need a x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64-bit) version of the program, and then contact the software publisher.

Selecting Mass Effect 3 in Origin and clicking 'repair install' and 'check for update' may fix this issue.

Mouse Causing Stuttering

Mouse movement may cause slowdowns. This can be fixed by disabling Origin overlay within the game.

Mouse Causing Stuttering • Link Click on the gear in the top right. Click "Settings". Click the "In Game" tab. Make sure "Enable Origin In Game" is disabled

Startup Crash

This error message may appear on startup:

 Problem signature:
 Problem Event Name:    BEX
 Application Name:    MassEffect3.exe
 Application Version:    1.1.5427.4
 Application Timestamp:    4f46d052
 Fault Module Name:    awc.dll
 Fault Module Version:    3.2.4.6
 Fault Module Timestamp:    4ee2521d
 Exception Offset:    0008342f
 Exception Code:    c0000417
 Exception Data:    00000000
 OS Version:    6.1.7601.2.1.0.768.3
 Locale ID:    1033
 Additional Information 1:    636e
 Additional Information 2:    636ed4ad6e2ce5a3e01564e40133fee8
 Additional Information 3:    61e2
 Additional Information 4:    61e20e96bfcd8b3479be5a6b63429556

Going into the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Bioware\Mass Effect 3\Binaries\Win32\ and remove or rename the "atiags.dll" may fix this issue.

• Source: Thread by seph22 on the Bioware Mass Effect 3 forums

Crash on From Ashes DLC

At Eden Prime, shortly after watching the cutscene for the first pod, the player crashes.

To fix this, access the second pod first, and then the first pod.

There is a second way to fix this so you can watch the vids in order: And that is right after the first vid has done playing start pressing your escape button a few times.

Retail CD Install Issue

Some users experience issues installing Mass Effect 3 from a retail disc. After starting the install process and entering the CD key, an error message claiming it is not a valid Mass Effect 3 serial number appears. Despite this, Mass Effect 3 will now be activated in your Origin library. Further attempts to run the installation process will still prompt for a product key, and upon entering it will result in an error message stating the key has already been used. It is impossible to continue the install process from this point.

There are two possible solutions to this issue. The first and easiest option is to simply download Mass Effect 3 via Origin. However for those on slower or bandwidth limited internet connections, this may not be a viable option. It is still possible to install from the CD's using the following workaround:

Retail CD Install Issue • Link Start downloading Mass Effect 3 via Origin, pause the download and exit Origin. Delete all files in the Mass Effect 3 subfolder of Origin's game install folder. By Default this is C:\Program Files\Origin Games\Mass Effect 3 Also, delete all files in Origin's download cache C:\ProgramData\Origin\DownloadCache\[Your Email Address]</pre> and <code>C:\ProgramData\Origin\DownloadCache\ Copy the file Mass Effect 3.z01 from disc 1 and Mass Effect 3.zip from disc 2 to a temporary location on your hard drive. Extract these files to the Mass Effect 3 folder in Origin's game install directory. Default C:\Program Files\Origin Games\Mass Effect 3 (NOTE: Traditional unzipping software such as WinRAR or 7-zip may experience critical errors extracting these files. If this occurs, you can use a program called Total Commander to extract them. In Total Commander some error messages will appear, but these can be ignored) Remove the read-only attribute to these files and folders (Right Click on the folder in Windows, select properties and uncheck the "Read-only" box). Launch Origin and resume the download. A small download of approximately 60MB should start to fix missing or broken files. After this, Mass Effect 3 should be fully installed and working.

Origin Install Issue

In some cases where Mass Effect 3 has been downloaded through Origin, upon installation users are met with this error message:

Error: The VC++ runtime redistributable package was not installed successfully. Setup cannot continue.

In order to solve the issue:

Origin Install Issue • Link Exit Origin. Go to the Control Panel and uninstall any 'Microsoft Visual C++ 20XX' packages you may have. Download both the 2010 x64 and 2010 x86 redistributable files from the Microsoft website. Once both files have downloaded successfully, navigate to Mass Effect 3's install directory, default is C:\Program Files\Origin Games\Mass Effect 3\__Installer\vc\vc2008sp1\redist\ Inside that folder, either delete or rename both the vcredist_x64.exe and vcredist_x86.exe and replace them with your newly downloaded versions. Open Origin and install the game.

Language Fix

If you buy the game on Origin and discover the in-game menu and subtitles are a different language then English, there is a way to correct it;

Language Fix • Link After you have downloaded and installed the game: 1) Download the language pack: From MediaFire 2) *Click Start, Run, and type: Regedit and the press Enter 3) on 32 bit Windows; Navigate to: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\BioWare\Mass Effect 3] on 64 bit Windows; Navigate to : [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\BioWare\Mass Effect 3] Now change the Locale data to: en_US and change the final part of GDFBinary path to GDFBinary_en_US.dll by right clicking the relevant row and pressing 'edit value'. 4) After changing these values navigate to: on 32 bit Windows; Find: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Origin Games\71402] on 64 bit Windows; Find: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Origin Games\71402] Now change the Locale value to en_US by right clicking the relevant row and pressing 'edit value'. Now replace the CookedPCConsole folder found in Mass Effect 3\BIOGame with the one found in the language pack, and accept all the changes and overwrites. Finally, just delete the BIOGame_RUS.tlk in your Mass Effect 3\BIOGame\CookedPCConsole folder and rename the BIOGame_INT.tlk language file, that you will find in the CookedPCConsole folder after you have replaced it with the one found in the language pack, to BIOGame_RUS.tlk. Mass effect 3 is now fully in English.

DLC Error

Sometimes the game will have problems loading DLC (both free and paid DLC) and will present an error message stating "Unable to authorize the listed DLC. Please log in to the Alliance Network with the account used to purchase the DLC". This is usually caused by an error during the download. To solve the error, open Origin and bring up Mass Effect 3's information by clicking the "i" icon below it. Then right click on the DLC causing the error and select "Check for update". A download should begin to download any missing or broken files. The DLC should work the next time you launch the game.

Import Issues And Fixes

Import Save Game

For general troubleshooting with importing, please refer to EA's save game import FAQ and this detailed post about modding and save game imports from LiveJournal user bluefall.

Import From Mass Effect 2 Folder

Mass Effect 3 does not use an import save game data in the same way that one could import save game data from Mass Effect to Mass Effect 2. Instead, it detects an existing Mass Effect 2 save games folder (as if Mass Effect 2 was installed and completed). Therefore there should be no issue as long as the same computer used to complete Mass Effect 2 is used to start a new game in Mass Effect 3.

Import Without Reinstalling

Import Without Reinstalling • Link To import a Mass Effect 2 save file from an old computer to the one in which Mass Effect 3 is currently installed, copy your old career folders to: %USERPROFILE%\My Documents\Bioware\Mass Effect 2\Save\ Click here for more information regarding save imports.

Lost Old Save Game

One can replace an old save game by going to Mass Effect 2 Saves, which is a repository of Mass Effect 2 save games with various playthroughs which can be imported into Mass Effect 3.

Save Game Not Detected

If a Mass Effect 2 save game is not detected, there are currently some methods to fix this.

Method 1 - Rename Save Game Folder

Rename Save Game Folder • Link A save editor may have changed the folder structure. Change this back to allow Mass Effect 3 to autodetect correctly. Go to %USERPROFILE%\My Documents\My Games\Bioware\Mass Effect 2\Save\ Change the folder name to Name_12_Class_012610

Method 2 - Edit gamersettings.ini

Rename Edit gamersettings.ini • Link 1) Navigate to %USERPROFILE%\My Documents\My Games\Bioware\Mass Effect 3\BIOGame\Config\gamersettings.ini,/code> 2)Change: <code>%USERPROFILE%\My Documents\My Games\Bioware\Mass Effect 3\BIOGame\Config\gamersettings.ini Copy and paste the folder address for your ME 2 save next to [SaveGames] Location= So that: [SaveGames] Location=C:\Users\<name>\My Documents\BioWare\Mass Effect 2\Save\ Make sure that the above location is the correct location of your save games.

Import Xbox 360 Version

One can copy Mass Effect 2 save game data from Xbox 360 by referring to the guide entitled Mass Effect 2 - Import Xbox 360 Mass Effect 2 Save Files.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	Windows XP/Vista/7	Windows XP/Vista/7
Processor (CPU)	1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo	2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
System memory (RAM)	1 GB for XP/ 2GB for Vista/7	2 GB for XP/ 4GB for VISTA/7
Video card (GPU)	256 MB (with Pixel Shader 3.0 support)	AMD/ATI Radeon HD 4850 512 MB or greater, Nvidia GeForce 9800 GT 512 MB or greater
Hard disk drive (HDD)	15 GB free	15 GB free