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Amnesia: The Dark Descent

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Revision as of 15:46, 14 July 2020 by Airo24 (talk | contribs) (→‎Mods)
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Amnesia: The Dark Descent cover
Developers
Frictional Games
macOS (OS X) Edward Rudd
Linux Edward Rudd
Engines
HPL Engine 2
Release dates
Windows September 8, 2010
macOS (OS X) September 8, 2010
Linux September 8, 2010
Reception
Metacritic 85
IGDB 89
Taxonomy
Perspectives First-person
Controls Direct control
Genres Adventure, Survival horror
Themes Europe
Series Amnesia
Amnesia: The Dark Descent on HowLongToBeat
Amnesia: The Dark Descent on IGDB
Amnesia: The Dark Descent guide on StrategyWiki
Amnesia: The Dark Descent on MobyGames
Amnesia: The Dark Descent on Wikipedia
Amnesia
Amnesia: The Dark Descent 2010
Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs 2013
Amnesia: Rebirth 2020
Amnesia: The Bunker 2023

Warnings

The macOS (OS X) version of this game does not work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later due to the removal of support for 32-bit-only apps.

Key points

Various custom campaigns and mods are available.
Will not run on various Intel and AMD integrated cards.[1]

General information

Official Forums
Official Changelog
Unofficial Wiki
GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
GOG.com Support Page
Steam Community Discussions
AMD+Intel HD Laptop OpenGL Troubleshooting Guide

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
CD key
Windows
Epic Games Store
DRM-free after installation through Epic Games Launcher (notes may include more details)
DRM-free when launched directly from executable.[2]
Windows
macOS (OS X)
GOG.com
DRM-free
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Humble Store
DRM-free
Icon overlay.png
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Mac App Store
Icon overlay.png
macOS (OS X)
Steam
DRM-free after installation through Steam client (notes may include more details)
Can be played without Steam running.[3]
Amnesia Collection also available.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux

DLC and expansion packs

Name Notes
Justine Initially Steam exclusive but later released as freeware bundled with patch 1.2. A "softcore" (can save anywhere) version is also available here.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Remember Short stories bundled with patch 1.2. Located in a PDF file called "Remember - Short Story Collection" in the <path-to-game>\redist folder.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux

Essential improvements

Patches

Patches are available here.

Skip intro videos

Edit main_settings.cfg[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open main_settings.cfg with a text editor.
  3. Change ShowPreMenu="true" to ShowPreMenu="false"
  4. Save the changes.

Enable quick save

Edit user_settings.cfg[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Go into <user-id> and open user_settings.cfg with a text editor.
  3. Change AllowQuickSave="false" to AllowQuickSave="true"
  4. Save the changes.

Notes

Press F4 to save and F5 to load.

POM and Shadow Distorting

May result in FPS drops and crashes on some systems.
Enable Parallax Occlusion Mapping and Shadow Distorting with eye-vector clamping[4]
  1. Replace the default deferred_gbuffer_solid_frag.glsl with this one in <path-to-game>\core\shaders\
  2. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  3. Edit main_settings.cfg.
  4. Change ParallaxQuality="1" and GBufferType="1"

Game data

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

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Amnesia\
macOS (OS X) ~/Library/Application Support/Frictional Games/Amnesia/
Linux ~/.frictionalgames/Amnesia/
This game does not follow the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.

Save game data location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Amnesia\
macOS (OS X) ~/Library/Application Support/Frictional Games/Amnesia/
Linux ~/.frictionalgames/Amnesia/

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
Epic Games Launcher
GOG Galaxy
OneDrive
Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.
Steam Cloud

Video

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

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
See Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
UI doesn't scale.
Field of view (FOV)
See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed
Set to Windowed, and use a third-party tool like Borderless Gaming.
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Up to 16x.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Faked FSAA,[5] labeled as Edge Smooth or Smoothing.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
Not present in launcher. Can be enabled in-game.
60 FPS
120+ FPS
Capped at 60 FPS by default; see High frame rate.
High dynamic range display (HDR)
See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Field of view (FOV)

Edit game.cfg[6]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\config\
  2. Open game.cfg in text editor
  3. Locate line FOV = "70" in section Player_General and change its value to your desired field of view value.

Ultra-widescreen

Edit EXE properties
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\config\
  2. Open main_settings.cfg in text editor
  3. Set Screen Width and Height to your resolution
  4. Save and exit
  5. Right-click Amnesia.exe, select Properties
  6. Check Disable Fullscreen Optimizations
  7. Click Change high DPI settings, check Use this Setting and Override High DPI Scaling.
  8. Apply and launch via Steam.

High frame rate

The game limits frame rate to 60 FPS by default.
Edit main_settings.cfg[7]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open main_settings.cfg with a text editor.
  3. Locate entry Engine LimitFPS="true" and set it to false.

SLI support

Use bits from Penumbra series in Nvidia Profile Inspector[8]
  1. Change the SLI compatibility bits to 0x02400001
  2. Change the NVIDIA predefined SLI mode to SLI_PREDEFINED_MODE_FORCE_AFR2
  3. Click on Apply changes

Input

In-game input settings.
In-game input settings.

DualShock 4 Button Mod

Use SOMA DualShock 4 Button Mod[citation needed]
  1. Download the DualShock 4 Button Mod
  2. You only need either the "ps4" or "x360" folder in the archive's graphics/general/input directory so either extract one from the archive or extract the whole archive to a folder, taking one and discarding the rest.
  3. Right off the bat your can also discard the files but_middle, dpad_base, dpad_down, dpad_left, dpad_right and dpad_up.
  4. Rename stick_l and stick_r to gamepad_ls and gamepad_rs, then add gamepad_ to the remaining dpad files (i.e. dpad_u becomes gamepad_dpad_u) and finnally replace the but_ prefix on the remaining files with a gamepad_ prefix.
  5. Navigate to <path-to-game>\gui\gamepad\ and drop the renamed files from the archive in this folder, replace all when asked.

Audio

In-game audio settings.
In-game audio settings.

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Only master volume slider.
Surround sound
DirectSound3D output by default. See below if running Vista or later. Up to 7.0.[9]
Subtitles
Closed captions
Additional toggle button for effects.
Mute on focus lost
EAX support
EAX 5.0.

Restore hardware devices

Employ OpenAL Soft[10][11]
  1. Download OpenAL Soft (PCGamingWiki mirror).
  2. Extract archive, navigate to Win32 folder from this archive.
  3. Locate file soft_oal.dll and copy it to <path-to-game>.
  4. Launch game launcher and navigate to the Sound options tab.
  5. There should be new Unsupported device. Select it and launch the game.

In case there is no Unsupported device:

  1. Launch game with soft_oal.dll file in the same folder as game's exe file.
  2. Quit game.
  3. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  4. Open launcher.log.
  5. Locate section Initializing Sound Module. There are all available sound devices.
  6. Open main_settings.cfg from the same Main folder.
  7. Locate line <Sound Device= and change to corresponding value of sound device from launcher.log.

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Fan translation available here.
French
German
Hungarian
Download.
Italian
Japanese
Fan translation available here.
Polish
Only available in Polish retail release and at local digital distributors. Can be added to any digital with this and any retail with this.
Brazilian Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Official translation.
Spanish
Improved fan translation for the base game and Justine DLC, download.
Fan translation and fan dub for the base game and Justine DLC, download.
Turkish
A Turkish fan translation for the game is available here and for Justine DLC here.

VR support

3D modes State Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision
Use 3D Surround Gaming.
vorpX
G3D
Official supported game, see official vorpx game list.

Issues fixed

Frictional Games has put together a troubleshooting guide for Amnesia: The Dark Descent

"Failed to load menu config file" error

Verify the integrity of game cache[citation needed]
  1. Find Amnesia: The Dark Descent in your Steam Library
  2. Right-click the game name
  3. Select Properties
  4. Go to the Local Files tab
  5. Click Verify Integrity of Game Cache
  6. This will download missing files, it may take a while, depending on how many files are missing.
Disable Steam Community in-game[citation needed]
  1. Find Amnesia: The Dark Descent in your Steam Library
  2. Right-click the game name
  3. Select Properties
  4. Uncheck Enable Steam Community In-Game
  5. Go to the Updates tab
  6. Change to Don't Update
  7. Press OK
  8. Go to %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Amnesia (on Windows) and delete the folder named Main
  9. Reboot the game, this should fix the problem. The Main folder will be recreated once the game is rebooted

Adjusting in-game gamma does nothing

Disable gamma changing programs such as f.lux[citation needed]

Gamma changes persist after exiting the game

If the in-game gamma setting is increased, it can sometimes alter the desktop's gamma even after the game is closed.
Use f.lux to restore gamma[citation needed]
  1. Download and install f.lux.
  2. Run it and the desktop gamma should return to normal.
Enable Nvidia's own color settings in the Nvidia Control Panel[citation needed]

Walking on the ceiling

Disable insanity[citation needed]
  1. Go to the in-game Options >> Graphics >> Advanced Options.
  2. Disable insanity.
Update graphics drivers[citation needed]

Lamp lights through walls

Use the high performance card[citation needed]
  1. Go to the graphics software.
  2. Tell it to use the high performance card.
Disable switchable graphics[citation needed]
  1. Go to the BIOS.
  2. Disable switchable graphics.

Mouse cursor stuck in corner after Alt+Tab

Update file SDL.dll from version 1.2.14.0 to 1.2.15.0
  • Download the updated DLL file from here and copy and replace in the game's folder.[12]
Disable fullscreen[citation needed]
Bring up the Steam Overlay before using Alt+Tab [13]

Skyboxes in custom stories are corrupted

Replace DevIL library with and older version[14]

Download older DevIL DLL file from here and copy and replace in the game's folder.

Camera/Mouse keeps resetting to screen center on Linux

Disable unclutter[citation needed]
  • The 'unclutter' program may be running in the background. Terminate it through task-manager or the following command in a terminal: kill `pidof unclutter`

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
OpenGL 2.1 [15]
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)
This 32-bit-only macOS game does not work on macOS Catalina (10.15) or later.
Linux
The 64bit application for macOS is currently in development and will be released later in 2020.

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Physics Newton Dynamics
Audio OpenAL
Interface Fast Light Tool Kit (FLTK)

Mods

Enhanced Shaders - Improves shaders, such as bloom and SSAO, making them more realistic.
Improved lantern - adds a more realistic and detailed lantern model. Also incorporates the Dynamic shadows from lantern mod.
Darkness Light - Makes the dark darker, thus more realistic and harder.
New Insanity Ear Ring - Makes the tinnitus effect more realistic.
Virtual Surround Music - Ups the music to 2.1 Virtual Surround (anything above 2.1 is not supported for music on the engine unfortunately).
Amnesia The Dark Descent Remastered - This mod adds Parallax Occlusion Mapping, updates the game’s shaders and allows every light source to cast shadows. Moreover, it adds more reflections, and allows players to see through windows. These are just some of the features of this massive mod.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum
Operating system (OS) XP, Vista, 7
Processor (CPU) 2.0 GHz
System memory (RAM) 2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 3 GB
Video card (GPU) ATI Radeon X1000
Nvidia GeForce 6 series
Integrated graphics and low budget cards might not work
Drivers should be from Nvidia/ATI to ensure proper functionality.
Graphics cards that do not support OpenGL 3.0 will not be able to run the game at all. Laptops that contain integrated graphics cards generally do not support OpenGL 3.0.
macOS (OS X)
Minimum
Operating system (OS) 10.5.8
Processor (CPU) 2.0 GHz
System memory (RAM) 1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 2 GB
Video card (GPU) ATI Radeon X1000
Nvidia GeForce 6 series
Integrated Intel Graphics not supported
Drivers should be from Nvidia/ATI to ensure proper functionality.
Graphics cards that do not support OpenGL 3.0 will not be able to run the game at all. Laptops that contain integrated graphics cards generally do not support OpenGL 3.0.
Linux
Minimum
Operating system (OS) Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, Mint 13 LTS, Fedora 16
Processor (CPU) 2.0 GHz
System memory (RAM) 2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 3 GB
Video card (GPU) ATI Radeon X1000
Nvidia GeForce 6 series
Integrated graphics and low budget cards might not work
Drivers should be from Nvidia/ATI to ensure proper functionality.
Graphics cards that do not support OpenGL 3.0 will not be able to run the game at all. Laptops that contain integrated graphics cards generally do not support OpenGL 3.0.


References