Difference between revisions of "Area 51 (2005)"
From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
(Distinguish) |
(I changed the 120 fps+ status to limited as the game is playable at 120+ fps with hotkeying the framerate cap from nothing and 50 with Rivatuner.) |
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|60 fps = true | |60 fps = true | ||
|60 fps notes = | |60 fps notes = | ||
− | |120 fps = | + | |120 fps = limited |
|120 fps notes = At higher fps, jumping does not work correctly. See [[#High frame rate breaks jump physics|High frame rate breaks jump physics]]. | |120 fps notes = At higher fps, jumping does not work correctly. See [[#High frame rate breaks jump physics|High frame rate breaks jump physics]]. | ||
|hdr = unknown | |hdr = unknown | ||
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===High frame rate breaks jump physics=== | ===High frame rate breaks jump physics=== | ||
{{ii}} FPS >50 causes inability to jump while moving up sloped surfaces. FPS >100 breaks jumping mechanic entirely.{{CN|Values are anecdotal|date=October 2016}}. | {{ii}} FPS >50 causes inability to jump while moving up sloped surfaces. FPS >100 breaks jumping mechanic entirely.{{CN|Values are anecdotal|date=October 2016}}. | ||
− | {{ii}} Jumping is not required for combat, and in most cases where jumping from one platform to another is required, there is an invisible scripted "jump assist" that allows the player to jump across gaps, even though normal jumping is prevented by high frame rate. | + | {{ii}} Jumping is not required for combat, and in most cases where jumping from one platform to another is required, there is an invisible scripted "jump assist" that allows the player to jump across gaps, even though normal jumping is prevented by high frame rate.Changing between the framerate being capped to 50 and unlimited (preferably with a hotkey, like what is avaliable in Rivertuner) is a suitable workaround. |
{{Fixbox|description=Limit the Framerate to 60FPS |ref={{cn|date=September 2021}}|fix= | {{Fixbox|description=Limit the Framerate to 60FPS |ref={{cn|date=September 2021}}|fix= |
Revision as of 01:40, 28 July 2022
Not to be confused with Area 51 or BlackSite: Area 51.
Developers | |
---|---|
Midway Studios Austin | |
Publishers | |
Midway Games | |
Release dates | |
Windows | June 8, 2005 |
Reception | |
Metacritic | 67 |
Taxonomy | |
Monetization | Freeware |
Series | Area 51 |
Area 51 | |
---|---|
Area 51 | 1995 |
Area 51 (2005) | 2005 |
BlackSite: Area 51 | 2007 |
Warnings
Key points
- This game is available as a free download.
Availability
Source | DRM | Notes | Keys | OS |
---|---|---|---|---|
Retail | StarForce 3 DRM (removed in the latest patch). |
- The installer on the retail version of the game does not function correctly on modern operating systems (Windows 7 and later). See Installing the CD/DVD version for a solution or install the free version.
Free version
- This game was released as a free download sponsored by the US Air Force.[1]
- Install the latest patch to remove the online DRM.
Essential improvements
Skip intro videos
Delete/rename Midway_640x480_30.bik[2] |
---|
|
Patches
- Install the latest patch(1.2) to remove copy protection and fix various issues.
- Latest patch for German and European is version 1.1, it can be found in the above link or here and here.
Project Dreamland
- Updated version of the original Free release with many improvements.
- Fixes many bugs of the original release.
- Adds support for modern aspect ratios and fixes FOV.
- Restores multiplayer mode.
- Improves performance on modern PCs.
- If launcher gets stuck verifying game files see
Area 51 Preservation Project
- Updated version of the original Free release with many improvements.
- Fixes many bugs of the original release.
- Adds support for fullscreen on modern PCs, improves FOV, solves cutscene stutter, and caps FPS to fix physics.
- Restores multiplayer mode.
- Improves performance on modern PCs.
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
System | Location |
---|---|
Windows | <path-to-game>\[Note 1] |
-
UserVConfig.ini
contains player video settings. -
UserInputConfig.ini
contains player input settings. -
LangConfig.ini
contains the game language settings. -
InputConfig.ini
andVConfig.ini
contain default settings; these files do not need to be edited directly.
Save game data location
System | Location |
---|---|
Windows | <path-to-game>\SAVES\[Note 1] |
Video
Graphics feature | State | WSGF | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Widescreen resolution | The game is Vert- by default. Use Area 51 HOR+ FOV fix. | ||
Multi-monitor | Use Area 51 HOR+ FOV fix. | ||
Ultra-widescreen | Use Area 51 HOR+ FOV fix. | ||
4K Ultra HD | Use Area 51 HOR+ FOV fix. HUD elements and menu text are not scaled and are very small. | ||
Field of view (FOV) | Default FOV is 60°. Use Area 51 HOR+ FOV fix. | ||
Windowed | See Windowed. | ||
Borderless fullscreen windowed | See Windowed. | ||
Anisotropic filtering (AF) | See the glossary page for potential workarounds. | ||
Anti-aliasing (AA) | Control panel hack causes glitches, see Anti-aliasing (AA). | ||
Vertical sync (Vsync) | Enabled by default. | ||
60 FPS | |||
120+ FPS | At higher fps, jumping does not work correctly. See High frame rate breaks jump physics. | ||
High dynamic range display (HDR) | See the glossary page for potential alternatives. |
Windowed
Set windowed in UserVConfig.ini[2] |
---|
|
Anti-aliasing (AA)
- Game doesn't support AA natively and forcing it through GPU control panel causes white outlines around letters and some objects.
Use any injector that has FXAA (like ReShade) |
---|
Turn on morphological filtering in the graphics card control panel(AMD)[3] |
---|
Use Virtual/Dynamic Super Resolution[3] |
---|
|
Input
Keyboard and mouse | State | Notes |
---|---|---|
Remapping | ||
Mouse acceleration | Disabled by default. | |
Mouse sensitivity | ||
Mouse input in menus | ||
Mouse Y-axis inversion | ||
Controller | ||
Controller support |
Controller types |
---|
Audio
Audio feature | State | Notes |
---|---|---|
Separate volume controls | Effects, music and speech. | |
Surround sound | ||
Subtitles | ||
Closed captions | ||
Mute on focus lost |
Localizations
Language | UI | Audio | Sub | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
English | ||||
French | ||||
German | ||||
Italian | ||||
Portuguese | ||||
Russian | Official localization by "Новый Диск". Local retail release only. | |||
Spanish |
Network
Multiplayer types
Type | Native | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|
LAN play | |||
Online play | GameSpy servers have been shut down. To play online download Project Dreamland. |
Issues fixed
Problem installing the CD/DVD version
- The installation process fails with the message "The wizard was interrupted before Area 51(R) could be completely installed".
Start the installation manually using the command console[4] |
---|
Notes
|
"An internet connection is required to enjoy free, ad-supported game play" error
- The advertising servers for the free US Air Force version are no longer running.
Install the latest patch[2] |
---|
Choppy cutscene playback
- Non-FMV cutscenes play incorrectly on multi-threaded systems.
Run the game with forced single core CPU affinity |
---|
Broken textures and lighting
- On some systems lighting will be broken and all textures will be black. This is a DirectX 9 issue and can be solved with an API wrapper (DXVK also works for Vulkan capable GPUs).
Use WineD3D for Windows[5] |
---|
|
Use DgVoodoo 2 for Windows[6] |
---|
|
High frame rate breaks jump physics
- FPS >50 causes inability to jump while moving up sloped surfaces. FPS >100 breaks jumping mechanic entirely.[citation needed].
- Jumping is not required for combat, and in most cases where jumping from one platform to another is required, there is an invisible scripted "jump assist" that allows the player to jump across gaps, even though normal jumping is prevented by high frame rate.Changing between the framerate being capped to 50 and unlimited (preferably with a hotkey, like what is avaliable in Rivertuner) is a suitable workaround.
Limit the Framerate to 60FPS[citation needed] |
---|
|
Set refresh rate on 60hz[citation needed] |
---|
Project Dreamland launcher get's stuck in verifying files
- When executing the launcher for Project Dreamland the launcher gets stuck in an endless loop verifying the game's files.
Create a shortcut to the game's exe with launch parameters[7] |
---|
|
Other information
API
Technical specs | Supported | Notes |
---|---|---|
Direct3D | 9 |
Executable | 32-bit | 64-bit | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Windows |
Middleware
Middleware | Notes | |
---|---|---|
Audio | Miles Sound System | |
Cutscenes | Bink Video | |
Multiplayer | GameSpy | Servers have been shut down. To play online use Project Dreamland. |
System requirements
Windows | ||
---|---|---|
Minimum | ||
Operating system (OS) | 2000, XP | |
Processor (CPU) | Intel 1.4 GHz AMD 1.2 GHz |
|
System memory (RAM) | 256 MB | |
Hard disk drive (HDD) | 3 GB | |
Video card (GPU) | ATI Radeon 9500 Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 |
- All GeForce MX series video cards are not supported by the game.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below
%PROGRAMFILES%
,%PROGRAMDATA%
, or%WINDIR%
might be redirected to%LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore
on Windows Vista and later (more details).
References
- ↑ Game Bundle Download Sponsored by Air Force
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Verified by User:Garrett on 2014-07-25
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Verified by User:Antrad on September 1, 2017
- ↑ Problems Installing Midway Games Area 51
- ↑ Broken textures and lighting - last accessed on 2020-04-27
- ↑ Broken textures and lighting - last accessed on 2020-08-8
- ↑ Project Dreamland stuck on verifying files fix [missing title] - last accessed on 2021-12-15