Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare

Alone in the Dark
Alone in the Dark	1992
Jack in the Dark	1993
Alone in the Dark 2	1993
Alone in the Dark 3	1994
Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare	2001
Alone in the Dark (2008)	2008
Alone in the Dark: Illumination	2015
Alone in the Dark (2024)	2024

Key points

Unplayable under Windows 10 due to serious graphical glitches,^[1] check Issues fixed for a solution. The GOG.com version (all languages) has been fixed since early October 2018.

General information

GOG.com Community Discussions

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		Russian versions have a simple disc check. All other versions are DRM-free.

GOG.com		Windows 10 problems fixed.
Steam		See Launch.exe does not work on the Steam version.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Spiral House\launch\Data
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/259190/pfx/^{[Note 1]}

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\_Alone4_.000.sav^{[Note 2]}
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/259190/pfx/^{[Note 1]}

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud

Video

Launcher.

Only two graphics options are available; resolution can be manually set, and a "high quality" mode can be enabled, greatly improving shadow quality.

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution		4:3 aspect ratio only. Selecting a 16:9 resolution will only 'stretch' the image. Select a 4:3 resolution to see the correct aspect ratio displayed.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD		4k resolutions can be selected, but it will be a stretched 4:3 image.
Field of view (FOV)		Backgrounds are pre-rendered; no camera controls are available.
Windowed		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Vertical sync (Vsync)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
60 FPS and 120+ FPS		Game limited to 60 Hz refresh rate in some cases.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Input

In-game input settings.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping		Mouse buttons cannot be bound to commands.
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus		Mouse buttons work but no cursor is visible while in menus.
Mouse Y-axis inversion		Game does not use the mouse for gameplay.
Controller
Controller support		"Action/Fire" will also confirm menu options, while "Run" will work as a back button in menus.
Full controller support		Pause (`Esc`) cannot be bound to a controller.
Controller remapping		By default, all buttons are unbound. Options allow for one keyboard binding and one controller binding.
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion		"Tank controls" with fixed camera angles. Aiming cannot be inverted.

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers		Triggers, thumbstick clicks, and D-pad inputs are not detected.^[2]
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration

PlayStation controllers

Generic/other controllers

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Audio

In-game general settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Music, SFX, dialogue
Surround sound		Stereo & mono options
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
French
German
Italian				Retail only. Patch for digital release here.
Japanese				Retail only.
Brazilian Portuguese				Retail only. Patch for digital release here.
Russian				Retail only.
Spanish				GOG only. Patch for Steam release here.

Issues unresolved

Cheat mode and resolution settings

Running cheat mode will not allow the game to save the launcher resolution setting.

Issues fixed

Fix serious graphical issues under Windows 10

Common issue is white block in menu, and the blue characters models on white backgrounds.

Fix graphical issues^[3]
Download these files from dropbox. Replace the original `alone4.exe` with the .exe from the Spanish GOG.com version. Put the `LOC_##.COK` file on the Provider folder and rename it to `Locale` (Don't forget to DELETE the .COK extension).

Alternative solution for any windows version

Fix graphical issues with bonus^[4]

Download patch with integrated 10 / 15 save slots for russian version
Download patch with integrated 10 / 15 save slots for english version
Extract any zip archive to the game dir. Renaming is not necessary.

[WARNING: This fix based on english demoversion]

No movies, audio only

Sometimes running High Quality means the movie video becomes disabled.

Run as administrator^[5]
Set `launch.exe` and `alone4.exe` to run as admininistrator. Set `alone4.exe` to run in compatibility for Windows 2000.

Launch.exe does not work on the Steam version

Launch.exe does not work on the Steam version, preventing you from adjusting the resolution from the default 640x480.

The following is a corrected version of launch.exe for Steam. It also comes bundled with a partial fix for the game not running on Windows 8 or 10, as well as higher-quality movies ripped from the Dreamcast version.

Use unofficial fix^[6]
Download Alone In The Dark TNN Fixes & Cutscenes. Delete the `movies` folder inside the installation folder. Extract everything from the archive into the installation folder and replace as necessary. Run the game directly through `launch.exe` instead of launching it through Steam.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
OpenGL	1.1	^[7]

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows			^[7]

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	Miles Sound System	6.0h
Cutscenes	Bink Video	1.0x

Activate cheat mode

Running cheat mode will not allow the game to save the launcher resolution setting.

Activate cheat mode^[8]
Edit the shortcut and replace `launcher.exe` with `alone4.exe`. Add the `wizardmaster` command line argument.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	95 OSR2, 98, ME, 2000
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium II 300 MHz AMD K6-2 300 MHz	Intel Pentium III 600 MHz
System memory (RAM)	64 MB	128 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	400 MB	500 MB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia RIVA TNT ATI Rage Pro 8 MB of VRAM DirectX 8.0 compatible	16 MB of VRAM DirectX 8.0 compatible

The game is not compatible with the Savage 4, 4 Pro +, Savage Rage II C, SIS 6326, Permedia 3, Riva 128ZX chipsets

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/259190/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (259190) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.
↑ 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

↑ https://www.gog.com/forum/alone_in_the_dark_the_new_nightmare/graphics_glitch
↑ Verified by User:Cptmold on 2019-06-21
Tested with an Xbox One wired controller on Windows 10 v1809
↑ https://steamcommunity.com/app/259190/discussions/0/357287935551283008/?ctp=1
↑ AITD4 Patch (with 15 save slots bonus) - YouTube
↑ https://www.gog.com/forum/alone_in_the_dark_the_new_nightmare/cant_see_movies
↑ Fix pack and higher quality FMVs :: Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare General Discussions - last accessed on 2017-04-17
↑ ^7.0 ^7.1 Verified by User:Expack3 on 2019-12-04
Tested using GOG version and apiTrace (build 2019-11-28 07:35).
↑ https://www.gog.com/forum/alone_in_the_dark_the_new_nightmare/help_with_the_cheats

[Proton_path_note-2] 1.0 ^1.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/259190/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (259190) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

[gamedir-3] 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).

[1] ttps://www.gog.com/forum/alone_in_the_dark_the_new_nightmare/graphics_glitch

[4] Verified by User:Cptmold on 2019-06-21
Tested with an Xbox One wired controller on Windows 10 v1809

[5] ttps://steamcommunity.com/app/259190/discussions/0/357287935551283008/?ctp=1

[6] AITD4 Patch (with 15 save slots bonus) - YouTube

[7] ttps://www.gog.com/forum/alone_in_the_dark_the_new_nightmare/cant_see_movies

[8] Fix pack and higher quality FMVs :: Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare General Discussions - last accessed on 2017-04-17

[Expack3_12032019-9] 7.0 ^7.1 Verified by User:Expack3 on 2019-12-04
Tested using GOG version and apiTrace (build 2019-11-28 07:35).

[10] ttps://www.gog.com/forum/alone_in_the_dark_the_new_nightmare/help_with_the_cheats

[1]

[Note 1]

[Note 2]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

Developers

	Darkworks
Windows	Spiral House
Publishers
Former	Infogrames
Current	THQ Nordic
Japan	CyberFront
Russia	Akella
Engines
	Nocturne
Release dates
Windows	June 22, 2001
Reception
Metacritic	66
IGDB	80
Taxonomy
Series	Alone in the Dark