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Alpha Protocol

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Revision as of 12:57, 22 January 2020 by 93.228.167.122 (talk) (→‎Graphical tweaks: typo bUseBackgroundLevelStreaming=False)
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Alpha Protocol
Alpha Protocol cover
Developers
Obsidian Entertainment
Publishers
Sega
Engines
Unreal Engine 3
Release dates
Windows May 28, 2010
Alpha Protocol on MobyGames
Alpha Protocol on Wikipedia

General information

Obsidian Entertainment forums
Alpha Protocol Wiki
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Requires online activation
SoftAnchor DRM.[1] Use Patch 1.1 to remove.
Windows
Currently unavailable for purchase due to expired music rights.[2]

Essential improvements

Patches

Patch 1.1 removes DRM and fixes various issues.

Skip intro videos

Delete or rename video files[citation needed]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\APGame\Movies\
  2. Delete or rename slate_ap.sfd, slate_obsidian.sfd, and slate_sega.sfd.

Game data

In-game general settings.
In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Alpha Protocol\APGame\Config\
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/34010/pfx/[Note 1]

Save game data location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Alpha Protocol\Checkpoints\
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/34010/pfx/[Note 1]

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
OneDrive
Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.
Steam Cloud

Video settings

In-game general video settings.
In-game general video settings.
In-game advanced video settings.
In-game advanced video settings.

Template:Video settings

Ultra-widescreen

Enable Ultra-Widescreen[3]
  1. Use Widescreen Fixer
  2. Untick Automatically Detect Resolution.
  3. In Display Count Enter 3.
  4. Enter your desired resolution into Detected Resolution.

Field of view (FOV)

Add FOV hotkey[4]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\APGame\Config\
  2. Open DefaultInput.ini.
  3. Go to ; --- General bindings
  4. Add the line +Bindings=(Name="F11",Command="Fov 93")
  5. Press F11 during gameplay to activate your chosen FOV.

Notes

High FoV causes several issues
  • Most of cutscenes show models before they should appear in view, making them appear out of nowhere or get stuck
  • Sniper scope no longer zooms
  • Player model in Service Record is small

Anisotropic filtering (AF)

Modify APEngine.ini[citation needed]
  1. Open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Alpha Protocol\APGame\Config\APEngine.ini
  2. Change MaxAnisotropy to one of the following values: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16.

Anti-aliasing (AA)

MSAA[citation needed]
  1. Open Alpha Protocol driver profile via Nvidia Profile Inspector.
  2. Change Antialiasing compatibility to 0x00000041[5]
  3. Change Antialiasing - Mode to Override any application setting
  4. Change Antialiasing - Setting to 4x [4x Multisampling] or one of the other MSAA options.
  5. Apply changes.

Notes

Default Nvidia profile has wrong anti-aliasing compatibility bits for Alpha Protocol. Therefore, when MSAA forced through video driver in-game dialogue choices show missing.
SGSSAA[citation needed]
  1. Open Alpha Protocol driver profile via Nvidia Profile Inspector.
  2. Change Antialiasing compatibility to 0x080002C1[6]
  3. Change Antialiasing - Mode to Override any application setting
  4. Change Antialiasing - Setting to 4x [4x Multisampling]
  5. Change Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling to 4x Sparse Grid Supersampling
  6. Apply changes.

High frame rate

Modify APEngine.ini[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration files location.
  2. Open APEngine.ini.
  3. Change bSmoothFrameRate=TRUE to bSmoothFrameRate=FALSE

Input settings

In-game key map settings.
In-game key map settings.

Template:Input settings

Audio settings

Audio settings.
Audio settings.

Template:Audio settings

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Czech
French
German
Italian
Polish
Russian
Spanish

VR support

3D modes State Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision
See Helix Mod: Alpha Protocol.
vorpX
G3D
User created profile, read here, for more details how to get the game running.

Issues fixed

Can't activate (Error code: -1912029)

Install Patch 1.1[7]

Install Patch 1.1 to remove the activation requirement.

Game won't get past the launcher

Reinstall Nvidia PhysX[citation needed]
  1. Uninstall Nvidia PhysX.
  2. Install the Nvidia PhysX System Software.

Hitching / Stuttering

Modify APEngine.ini[citation needed]
  • Edit %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Alpha Protocol\APGame\Config\APEngine.ini
  • Set these lines to the following values:
bSmoothFrameRate=True
bUseBackgroundLevelStreaming=False
UseTextureFileCache=True
OnlyStreamInTextures=True
OneFrameThreadLag=False
UseVsync=True
  • Set this line to match your monitor's refresh rate:
MaxSmoothedFrameRate=62
  • Save the file
Jerky camera movement[citation needed]

Setting the graphics tweaks as previously mentioned will disable background streaming and make the jerky camera occur less often. Using and enabling a controller will all but eliminate it.

Animation fixes

Some animations may look unnatural but it can be fixed with some tweaking.
Modifiy APGame.ini file[citation needed]
  1. Go to %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Alpha Protocol\APGame\Config\
  2. Open APGame.ini
  3. Find and change the following settings to the values shown below:
InteractDistance=250
CoverWalkSpeed=75.f
CoverRunSpeed=125.f
PlayerRotationSpeed=80000.0f
MoveSpeedNormal=240
MoveSpeedScoped=80
SprintSpeed=320

No text visible for dialog choices

No Text Visible for Dialog Choices[citation needed]

When MSAA anti-aliasing enabled via video driver with default anti-aliasing compatibility bits this issue seems to occur. See Anti-aliasing (AA) for the solution.

Motion Blur option doesn't work

Modify APEngine.ini[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration files location.
  2. Open APEngine.ini.
  3. Adjust GlobalMotionBlurAmount=

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 9
Shader Model support 3
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Physics PhysX
Audio OpenAL
Cutscenes Sofdec

Graphical tweaks

The graphics settings for Alpha Protocol are rather basic. There are some other settings which can be altered in the APEngine.ini file, found in the configuration files location.

Before editing the file you must right click it, select properties, and uncheck the "read only" box. Editing the following settings should improve the game's graphics. It is highly recommended to make a backup of this file before editing it.

  • Trilinear=True
  • EnableHighPolyChars=True
  • MaxShadowResolution=4096 (If you experience framerate issues, this can be lowered to 2048 or 1024)
  • bEnableBranchingPCFShadows=True
  • bEnableForegroundShadowsOnWorld=True
  • bUseBackgroundLevelStreaming=False
  • OnlyStreamInTextures=True
  • OneFrameThreadLag=False

Afterwards, check the "read only" box in the file's properties.

Audio tweaks

The sound settings for Alpha Protocol are very rudimentary. There are some other sound settings which can be altered in the APEngine.ini file, found in the configuration files location

Because the Game has OpenAL Support, you can improve the sound quality easily with a couple of changes within the ini file, especially when you have a H/W-based audio solution in use like a Creative Soundblaster Soundcard or similar. Before editing the file you must right click it, select properties, and uncheck the "read only" box. Editing the following settings should improve the game's sound. It is highly recommended to make a backup of this file before editing it.

  • [ALAudio.ALAudioDevice]
  • MaxChannels=32 (some HW-Based soundchips supports up to 256 Channels! Common Settings are 48,64,96,128)
  • UseEffectsProcessing=True
  • TimeBetweenHWUpdates=15
  • MinOggVorbisDurationGame=20
  • MinOggVorbisDurationGame=20
  • MinOggVorbisDurationEditor=4
  • DeviceName=Generic Hardware (Changed from DeviceName=Generic Software - nearly all gaming soundcards supports OpenAL via HW-based emulation)


Experimental: Surround Sound + EAX Support
This Game seems to works with the Creative [ALchemy] Software for supported Creative SoundBlaster Soundcards
Edit the file APEngine.ini and change the line:

  • DeviceName=Generic Software (check section path above) to DeviceName=Generic Hardware

Afterwards, check the "read only" box in the file's properties.
Now you will need to add the Game to the list within Creative ALchemy with the following directory [Drive/Game Path]\Alpha Protocol\Binaries
Start the Game and enjoy surround sound and EAX! - some side effects: it can mess up the dialogue UI

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) XP
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz
AMD Athlon XP 2.0 GHz
System memory (RAM) 1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 12 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce 6800GT
ATI Radeon X1300XT
DirectX 9.0c compatible

Notes

  1. 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>/34010/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (34010) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References