Orcs Must Die!

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Orcs Must Die!

Developer(s)	Robot Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Studios
First release date	October 12, 2011

Orcs Must Die!

Orcs Must Die!	2011
Orcs Must Die! 2	2012

Availability

Source(s)	Store unlock	Notes
Steam
OnLive

All versions require Steam, except for the OnLive version.

Most fixes on this page cannot be used on the OnLive version.

Game of the Year Edition

The Game of the Year Edition includes the Artifacts of Power and Lost Adventures DLCs, providing new weapons, traps and levels.

Demo

A demo version of the game is available on the Steam store.

A demo version is also available through OnLive.

Mods

Orcs Must Die! has a limited capacity for modding; the developers implemented the ability to be able to customise the content of orc waves for existing levels. To do this, navigate to ...\Steam\steamapps\common\orcs must die!\Data\. From here you will need to create a new folder called 'mod', and another folder within it named 'onslaughts'.

By editing the default onslaught files (downloadable here) and putting them in this directory, you can use your custom levels essentially as an override so that the game will load your levels. Note that you should not rename levels when editing them as the game will no longer recognise them. Also of importance is the fact that using these overrides disables leaderboard scoring and statistics for as long as you are using the modified onslaughts. To return the game to its original state after modification, simply delete the contents of the onslaughts directory.

Video settings

Graphics option	Native	Notes
Widescreen resolution		See Widescreen resolution.
Windowed		See Windowed.
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Vertical sync (Vsync)

Windowed

By creating a user.cfg file in your ...\Steam\steamapps\common\orcxs must die!\Data\startup folder you can force the game to run in windowed mode. See Creating user.cfg for more information on the creation of user.cfg.

Once you have created the file, type the following line:

Window

Note that this process will run the game in windowed mode at essentially fullscreen resolution, and there is no way to move the window around the screen.

Widescreen resolution

The game will initially run at your current resolution. You can change it using the slider under Help & Options, Settings or by editing Documents\Orcs Must Die\VideoSettings.xml.

Gameplay is Vert- out of the box, but you can adjust the FOV using GeneralAdmission's tool (see WSGF Links above). Simply extract the tool anywhere, run it, choose your FOV and launch the game. You can freely Alt+Tab from game to tool and change the FOV at any time.

Suggested values for Hor+ gameplay:

   Camera offset = Center (default)

   Aspect ratio 4:3 --- FOV 85 (default)
   Aspect ratio 16:10 --- FOV 95
   Aspect ratio 16:9 --- FOV 101
   Aspect ratio 15:9 (1280x768) --- FOV 98
   Camera offset = Left or Right

   Aspect ratio 4:3 --- FOV 75 (default)
   Aspect ratio 16:10 --- FOV 90 (lowest value in the tool; according to FOVCalc it should be 85.28)
   Aspect ratio 16:9 --- FOV 91
   Aspect ratio 15:9 (1280x768) --- FOV 88 

Eyefinity

Eyefinity / Surround Specific Solution

Same method. Kudos to EvilEngineer and AlexV for their modding of earlier versions of the game, but GA's tool is the only working method by now.

Suggested values for Hor+ gameplay:

   Camera offset = Center (default)

   Aspect ratio 15:4 (3x 5:4) --- FOV 138
   Aspect ratio 48:10 (3x 16:10) --- FOV 146
   Aspect ratio 48:9 (3x 16:9) --- FOV 149
   Camera offset = Left or Right

   Aspect ratio 15:4 (3x 5:4) --- FOV 130
   Aspect ratio 48:10 (3x 16:10) --- FOV 140
   Aspect ratio 48:9 (3x 16:9) --- FOV 144 

Overheating Graphics Card

By creating a user.cfg file, you can manually cap the games frame rate which will reduce the strain on the chipset and should prevent your graphics card from overheating. See Creating user.cfg for more information on the creation of this file. If you have already created this file to modify the game in another way, simply open the file.

From here, type in the following on a new line:

Forcefps=x

Where 'x' is the number of frames per second you wish to cap the game at. Setting this value below 30 will result in visible frame stuttering in-game. As such it is recommended you set it no higher than 60 and no lower than 30 - setting the frame rate cap higher than 60 will result in little or no visible improvement in fluidity but extra strain on your GPU.

Input settings

Input Settings	Native	Notes
Remapping		See Key Remapping.
Controller support		Xbox 360 Controller fully supported.

Key Remapping

See Creating user.cfg for more information on editing user.cfg.

All actions can be remapped to different keys.

// Sample Key Bindings
// Uncomment and remap to your liking. (delete the // marks at the beginning of the line)
// Only the commands listed below support key remappings.

//KeyBinding_Forward="w"
//KeyBinding_Backward="s"
//KeyBinding_Left="a"
//KeyBinding_Right="d"
//KeyBinding_Run="lshift"
//KeyBinding_Jump="space"
//KeyBinding_Go="g"
//KeyBinding_Book="b"
//KeyBinding_Weavers="v"
//KeyBinding_Map="m"
//KeyBinding_Bloodmap="l"
//KeyBinding_SellTrap="e"
//KeyBinding_RotateTrap="r"
//KeyBinding_ActionBar_1="1"
//KeyBinding_ActionBar_2="2"
//KeyBinding_ActionBar_3="-"
//KeyBinding_ActionBar_4="4"
//KeyBinding_ActionBar_5="5"
//KeyBinding_ActionBar_6="6"
//KeyBinding_ActionBar_7="7"
//KeyBinding_ActionBar_8="8"
//KeyBinding_ActionBar_9="9"
//KeyBinding_ActionBar_0="0"

// The following list is a complete list of valid keys that can be used for remapping
//
// Abbrevation Key(s)
//------------ --------------
// a - z letters
// 0 - 9 numerals
// , comma
// . period
// - minus
// ~ tilde
// ins INS
// del DEL
// home HOME
// end END
// pgup PGUP
// pgdn PGDN
// up up arrow
// down down arrow
// left left arrow
// right right arrow
// space space bar
// lshift left shift (single key mapping only - not to be used as a modifier)
// rshift right shift (single key mapping only - not to be used as a modifier)
// kp_slash Keypad /
// kp_mul Keypad *
// kp_minus Keypad -
// kp_plus Keypad plus
// kp_enter Keypad enter
// kp_period Keypad period
// kp_0 Keypad 0
// kp_1 Keypad 1
// kp_2 Keypad 2
// kp_3 Keypad 3
// kp_4 Keypad 4
// kp_5 Keypad 5
// kp_6 Keypad 6
// kp_7 Keypad 7
// kp_8 Keypad 8
// kp_9 Keypad 9 

Alternative Keyboard Layouts

If you are using a QWERTZ/Y or AZERTY keyboard layout and wish to use a control set more suited to your keyboard, you can create a user.cfg file to fix this:

1. See Creating user.cfg for more information on the creation of this file.
2. Open user.cfg and type one of the following in this file depending on your keyboard layout:

Keyboardlayout="azerty"
Keyboardlayout=”qwerty”
Keyboardlayout=”qwertz”

This will act as an override in the locale selection the game uses to determine keyboard layout, essentially forcing the game to adjust controls to suit your keyboard.

Game data

	Location
Save game location	C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\orcs must die!\Data\startup
Configuration files location	C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\orcs must die!\Data\startup\user.cfg

Creating user.cfg

To create a user.cfg file, navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\orcs must die!\Data\startup\ and right click, before selecting New > Text Document. Name this document user.cfg. Ensure that when creating user.cfg you create user.cfg and not user.cfg.txt as this file format will be invalid.

Cloud Syncing

System	Native	Notes
Steam Cloud		Syncs save games.
GameSave Manager		In the database.

Issues And Fixes

Black Boxes On Flaming Arrows

This issue is most likely caused by incompatibility with certain graphics cards. You can avoid this by lowering the graphics detail slider in the games options.

Bladestaff Alt-fire Crash

Recent patches have largely eradicated this issue, however if the problem persists there is a simple solution provided you are using an NVIDIA chipset:

1. Open the NVIDIA Control Panel and click 'Manage 3D Settings'.
2. Click on the 'Program Settings' tab and click Add, before selecting orcsmustdie.exe, most likely found in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\orcs must die!\Build\release.
3. Scroll through the 'Feature' list until you find 'SLI Rendering Mode' and set this to 'Force alternate frame rendering 1', accepting the warning box which will appear.
4. Finally, click apply.

Failed To Correctly Load Data Files Error

The most likely cause of this issue is that some game files have been corrupted. A clean install will fix this.

Failed To Initialise Engine Error

The most recent patch included a fix for this issue, and as such it can largely be avoided by simply making sure your game is up to date. However, if it is still occurring, there are several potential causes:

1. If this is the first time you are starting the game, it is possible that your video card doesn't meet the minimum requirements to run the game (see the bottom of the page). This issue is most likely to be the cause if you have an integrated video card. It is worth noting that the game does not support SVGA drivers.
2. If you meet the minimum system requirements, try re-installing your graphics card drivers. NVIDIA drivers can be found here, whilst AMD drivers can be found here.
3. Another possible cause could be your DirectX 9 install, see below for instructions on doing this from your install directory:
   1. Go to your Orcs Must Die! directory, located in: C:\Program Files (x86)\steam\steamapps\common\orcs must die!\Installer.
   2. Find the executable file dxsetup.exe and run it. Note: If you cannot find this file, go to your Steam client and right click on the game. Click 'Properties' and go to the 'Local Files' tab, before clicking 'Verify Integrity of Game Cache'. This will check the game directory and download any relevant missing files, including dxsetup.exe.
   3. After running dxsetup.exe accept the agreement and let the installer complete.
   4. Note that the same process can be followed to install MSVC Runtime - instead look for the file vcredist_x86.exe and run it.

Missing Knight of the Order DLC

This issue is most likely to occur with pre-ordered versions of the game, and results in the Knight of the Order DLC not appearing in game. To fix this, go to ...\Steam\appcache\appinfo.vdf and delete this file before restarting Steam. This file will then automatically be recreated and the DLC should appear in-game.

Object/Unit Placement Glitch

If a machine is below the minimum requirements to run the game then this issue may occur; involving incorrect positioning of many character models and equipment. Often orcs may appear stuck in the ground and their heads will be colliding with the floor mesh. This is most likely to occur on PCs with single-core processors, as the game itself is optimized to distribute animation-related processes to a second core. Without this core the game will not properly render most enemy units, meaning the game is essentially unplayable on single-core systems. The only solution to this is to run the game on a computer which utilises a multi-core processor.

If your computer has a dual or quad-core processor and you are still encountering this issue, you should check that the game is not being forced to run on a single core. To do this, minimise the game whilst it is running and open the task manager using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+Del and go to the 'Processes' tab. Here, find OrcsMustDie.exe in the list of processes and right click it before selecting 'Set Affinity...'. If you are on a dual core system, a box will appear with two processor cores listed - most likely CPU 0 and CPU 1. On quad core systems, this list will most likely also include CPU 2 and CPU 3. Tick the 'All Processors' box and press OK - the game will now correctly distribute processes amongst all processor cores.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	Windows XP	Windows XP
Processor (CPU)	2 GHz dual core	2 GHz dual core
System memory (RAM)	1 GB	1 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia Geforce 6800 or ATI radeon x1950 256 of VRAM	Nvidia Geforce 6800 or ATI radeon x1950 256 of VRAM
Hard disk drive (HDD)	5 GB free	5 GB free