Warnings
- For Games for Windows - LIVE on Windows 8 or later, install the latest Games for Windows - LIVE software.
Key points
- Play as the Joker and Prey in the Darkness DLCs have been ported to the OS X GOTY version.[1] The Windows version still requires manually downloading the files and patching the game's executable.
General information
- Developer minisite
- Arkham Wiki
- Batman Wiki
- Steam Community Discussions
- Square Enix Batman: Arkham Asylum Forums
Availability
- A demo is available here
- The Mac OS X version is no longer sold digitally.
- The non-GOTY version upgrades to GOTY when activated on Steam.[3]
Essential improvements
Skip intro videos
BIK Method
|
- Go to
<path-to-game>\BmGame\Movies\
- Delete or rename
baa_logo_run_v5_h264.bik
Notes
- Deleting or renaming the file in step 2 should be enough. If not, then proceed to delete or rename:
Legal.bik , Legalus.bik , nvidia.bik and utlogo.bik in the same folder.
|
INI Method
|
- Go to
<path-to-game>\BmGame\Config\
- Open
DefaultEngine.ini
- Find
StartupMovies and replace with ;StartupMovies
|
- Updates many low resolution textures
- Texture pack can take a while to load
Game data
In-game general settings.
Configuration file(s) location
Save game data location
System |
Location |
Windows |
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Square Enix\Batman Arkham Asylum GOTY\SaveData\ |
macOS (OS X) |
~/Library/Application Support/Feral Interactive/Batman Arkham City GOTY/Save Data/ |
Steam |
<Steam-folder>/userdata/<user-id>/35140/remote/ |
Steam Play (Linux) |
<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/35140/pfx/[Note 1] |
- The save subfolder is named with a long string of letters and numbers.
- For non-goty version, path for both configuration files and save data start with
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Eidos\Batman Arkham Asylum\
instead.
GFWL save files compatible with Steamworks version
Prepare to replace saves[citation needed]
|
- Start the game
- Accordingly to the name of your GFWL saves, make sure the corresponding slot is also occupied in-game
- Close game and Steam
- Delete
<Steam-folder>\userdata\<user-id>\35140\remotecache.vdf
|
Remove old GFWL file header[4]
|
- Go to GFWL save game data location.
- Open your desired
save#.sgd with a hex editor such as HxD.
- Search for the first hex
00 00 01 instance not located in the initial part of the file where all values start with 0
- Delete everything before this.
- Save files over the corresponding ones in
<Steam-folder>\userdata\<user-id>\35140\remote\
|
Transfer/Migrate/Convert Xbox360 save games to Epic Store version
Note: this is bit more involved and manual than the removing GFWL above, but still easy. "0x" refers to hexadecimal values e.g. 0x10 means "the hexadecimal value 10 (decimal 16) NOT decimal 10".
- Make a note of the save(s) you want to use on the PC version as above i.e. save 0, 1, 2, and/or 3
- Insert a USB flashdrive into your Xbox360
- Use your Xbox360 Settings menu to copy your Arkham Asylum savegames to the drive
- Complete transfer of files to your PC - there will be a "Content" folder on your USB drive, and your saves will be in it, search for the files
save0.sgd
, save1.sgd
etc depending on which you want to convert
- Open the save file you want to transfer in your hex editor
- Go to offset
0xD000
, or search for the first occurence of 0x9E2A83
- I have only seen this near position 0xD000
in my saves, but it may vary.
- Delete everything before position
0xD000
- You should end up with a file starting with
0x00 0x00 0x01
- Now scroll down the file until you hit a big block of 0x00s. How far you have to scroll depends on how much is in your savegame. It will be a big block, you can tell it's the right block because before it you'll see lots of game related words like Harpoon Gun, Objective, but afterwards just gibberish
- Look at the top of the of block of 00s and find the last
0x11
byte, this is the "end" of the real data. You may have 9 or so bytes of 0x00
before it
- Delete everything AFTER the
0x11
so that the 0x11
is now the last byte in the file
- Now make a note of the offset of the
0x11
- this is Value A
.
- Go back to the start of the file.
- Insert 4 bytes of
00 00 00 00
at the start.
- Your file will now begin
00 00 00 00 00 00 01
...
- You now will change the 3rd byte. If
value A
is less than 0x10000 - it will be 01
i.e. your file will start 00 00 01 00
. If value A
is more than 0x10000 - it will be 02
i.e. your file starts 00 00 02 00
. And presumably onwards to bigger depending on save length e.g. if A > 0x20000 use 03 and so on... In actual fact, I've tested this up to 09 - it's just important that it's more than 1 (or rather, more than the number of 0x10000 blocks length that your savegame is) - it seems to be just an initialisation size for some sort of uncompression buffer so needs to be at least big enough.
- Save your changes.
- Copy your edited save into the correct folder as documented above, or in MrJAG's video on Youtube - TUTORIAL Batman Arkham How To Install SaveGames
Transfer/Migrate/Convert Steam save games to Epic Store version
- Open your save file in your hex editor.
- It will start with
00 00 01
.
- Insert the 4 bytes
00 00 01 00
at the start of the file, so it now starts 00 00 01 00 00 00 01
- Save the file and transfer to the save folder as documented above.
NOTE: If your save file is longer than 65kB, you may want to try 0x02 etc as documented in the Xbox360 section above.
Transferring Epic to Steam is presumably the reverse of this, but I haven't tried it - feel free to attempt and update this page.
Video settings
- Video settings can only be changed in the launcher
Template:Video settings
- Default field of view is somewhere between 86 and 86.5.
Edit BMInput.ini[5]
|
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Open
BmInput.ini
- Add the line
Bindings=(Name="xx",Command="fov yy") in the [Engine.PlayerInput] section.
- Save the file
Notes
-
xx is the button/key you want to assign to switch to the new FOV, while yy is the FOV value
|
Anisotropic filtering (AF)[citation needed]
|
- The game defaults to 4x Anisotropic Filtering. Use the graphics driver control panel or the game's ini file to force 16x Anisotropic Filtering.
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Open
BmEngine.ini .
- Under the
[SystemSettings] section, add line MaxAnisotropy=16 .
- Save file and make it "read only".
|
Ambient Occlusion
- The game's default SSAO implementation of Ambient Occlusion is very poor and results in a shimmering effect on the shadows, as shown in this video.
Force HBAO+ through the Nvidia Profile Inspector[6]
|
- Disable the game's included Ambient Occlusion and force HBAO+ through the inspector instead.
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Open
BmEngine.ini .
- Under the
[SystemSettings] section, find the AmbientOcclusion parameter and set it to False .
- Save file and make it "read only".
- Download and run Nvidia Profile Inspector.
- Select the
Batman: Arkham Asylum profile, and make sure the game's exe file is included. If it's not, add it to the profile with the "Add application to current profile" button.
- In the Compatibility section set the
Ambient Occlusion compatibility value to 0x00000024 .
- In the Common section set the
Ambient Occlusion setting value to High quality , and set the Ambient Occlusion usage value to Enabled .
- Click the Apply Changes button at the top of the window.
|
Raise frame rate smoothing[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Open
BMEngine.ini .
- Search
MaxSmoothedFrameRate . Best value should be your monitor refresh rate +2 so e.g. with 144hz monitor value should be 146 . Change configs value to this. There may be multiple instances so change them all.
- Save file and make it "read only".
- For more information, see the Unreal Engine 3 page.
In addition to the above if that does not work:
- Open
BMEngine.ini (make sure the file is not read-only again so that it can be re-saved)
- Search for
MinAllowableRefreshRate and MaxAllowableRefreshRate and change both values to your monitor's refresh rate, for example 144
- Save file and make it "read only".
- For more information, see the Unreal Engine 3 page.
|
Input settings
External movement commands key map settings.
External action commands key map settings.
The gamepad layout for Batman: Arkham Asylum
Template:Input settings
Change Mouse sensitivity[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Open
BmInput.ini .
- Change the value of
MouseSensitivity to your desired value and save it (overwrite).
- Right click
BmInput.ini go to Properties and set the file to Read-only .
Notes
- The game will overwrite your sensitivity values when launched, unless the file is set to read-only.
|
Disable Mouse Smoothing
Disable Mouse Smoothing[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Open
BmInput.ini .
- Change the value of
bEnableMouseSmoothing to false
|
Audio settings
Template:Audio settings
Localizations
VR support
Issues unresolved
- Saved game selection screen in Steam GOTY version always queries and prioritizes Cloud synchronized files regardless of Steam settings. If it is indeed disabled or savegames have been externally altered (e.g. GFWL saves conversion), this may create conflicts that lead to general protection faults[7]
- Deleting savegames in Steam GOTY version will still refer to the old GFWL saves path. Together with the previous bug this imply you can only delete them manually while the game is running and Steam Cloud is enabled
Issues fixed
QA_APPROVED_BUILD_OCTOBER_2008 whatever error just after title screen
Trigger Steam Cloud sync conflict[citation needed]
|
- Make sure Steam Cloud sync is enabled
- Start the game
- Before doing anything, Alt+Tab ↹ and disable Steam Cloud sync.
- Close the launcher/game
- Quit Steam
- Go to the save game data location.
- Edit every file with a hex editor such as HxD.
- Delete
<Steam-folder>\userdata\<user-id>\35140\remotecache.vdf
- Start Steam and re-enable Steam Cloud sync.
- Launch the game.
- Delete
<Steam-folder>\userdata\<user-id>\35140\remote\ folder.
- In the Steam Cloud sync conflict dialog select Download to this machine button.
|
Microsoft.NET Framework error
Keyboard not working
- Sometimes the only thing you can do in-game is pan the camera; the keyboard will not work at all.
Delete your config files[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Delete the whole
config folder.
- Navigate
<path-to-game>\Batman Arkham Asylum GOTY\BmGame\Config\ and delete the whole config folder.
- When launching the game, the config files should be re-created with their defaults, if not, verify the game cache.
Notes
- If you have edited your configuration files, you will need to set them back to how you want them.
|
Game crashes when leaving the Morgue
Disable PhysX[citation needed]
|
- Save and exit the game.
- Turn off PhysX in the launcher.
- Start the game.
- After the next checkpoint you can restore your previous settings.
|
Set lowest resolution[citation needed]
|
- Set resolution to 640x480 in the launcher.
- Start the game.
- After the next checkpoint you can restore your previous settings.
|
Second cutscene before Joker boss battle (Jack Ryder Show clip) is skipped
- Right before the Joker boss battle at the end of the game, there are 2 cutscenes. The first one (Joker talking to Batman) will play, but the second one (a clip of the Jack Ryder Show) may be skipped.
Restart from Checkpoint[citation needed]
|
- If the second cutscene does not appear normally, pause the game as soon as the game loads again.
- From the pause menu, select "Restart from Checkpoint" and confirm. The second cutscene should then play.
|
Extreme lag in second Scarecrow level
- Even on an otherwise capable machine this section can run at sub-20 fps.
Turn PhysX to normal or off (the issue occurs on high)[citation needed]
|
Notes
- If you have previously edited
BMEngine.ini for high frame rate, you will need to edit it manually. Set PhysXLevel=2 to 1 (normal) or 0 (off).
|
Failed to initialise NVIDIA PhysX error
- When trying to start the game from the launcher you get an error message that reads: "Failed to initialise NVIDIA PhysX. Please install the latest NVIDIA PhysX system software."
Install the version of PhysX that is included within the game's redist folder[citation needed]
|
- If you already have a version of PhysX installed on your computer, uninstall it or the installation of the older version of PhysX that this game needs will fail.
- Go to
<path-to-game>\Batman Arkham Asylum GOTY\redist\
- Inside this folder you will find a file called
PhysX_9.08.14_9.09.0814_SystemSoftware.exe . Double click on it to start the installation of the PhysX version that this game uses.
- If the installation finished successfully, you should now be able to launch the game without getting this error message.
|
Game doesn't launch after clicking "Play", no error
- After clicking "Play" in the launch menu, the launcher closes and Steam says you are in-game, and the process "ShippingPC-BmGame.exe" is running, but the game doesn't actually launch.
Delete your config files[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration files location.
- Delete the whole
config folder.
- Navigate
<path-to-game>\Batman Arkham Asylum GOTY\BmGame\Config\ and delete the whole config folder.
- When launching the game, the config files should be re-created with their defaults, if not, verify the game cache.
Notes
- If you have edited your configuration files, you will need to set them back to how you want them.
|
PhysX effects are not present in game despite setting being on "normal" or "high"
- Effects such as cloth physics (other than Batman's cape), smoke, and small objects such as papers and leaves are not active despite PhysX being enabled.
Shadows appear to have a shimmering effect
- This is caused by the SSAO implementation of Ambient Occlusion in the game. See Ambient Occlusion to use HBAO+ instead.
Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
Direct3D |
9 |
|
OpenGL |
2.0 |
OS X only. |
Shader Model support |
3 |
|
Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows |
|
|
|
macOS (OS X) | |
|
|
Middleware
Ex-exclusive PS3 DLCs
- This only works with Steam GOTY version & Epic Games GOTY version.
- You need to acquire the DLC files from the OS X version of the game.[9] The files are also available for download directly from PCGamingWiki.
Use xdelta patch[citation needed]
|
- Extract the DLC files into
<path-to-game> .
- Extract these patch files into new folder.
- Copy
<path-to-game>\Binaries\ShippingPC-BmGame.exe into patch folder.
- Start
patch.bat for automatic patcher.
- Alternatively simply use
batmanps3dlc.xdelta with Xdelta.
- Copy
ShippingPC-BmGame.exe and ShippingPC-BmGame.exe.bak into <path-to-game>\Binaries\ .
Notes
- For more information, see Xdelta.
|
Manually hex edit executable[10]
|
- Extract the DLC files into
<path-to-game> .
- Open
<path-to-game>\Binaries\ShippingPC-BmGame.exe with a hex editor such as HxD
- Search for
25 00 00 08 00 31 86 80 (offset 12153C6)
- Replace it with
0D 00 00 08 00 89 86 80
|
System requirements
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
XP, Vista, 7 | |
Processor (CPU) |
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2 GHz Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz |
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4 GHz |
System memory (RAM) |
1 GB (XP) 2 GB (Vista/7) |
2 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
8 GB | |
Video card (GPU) |
ATI Radeon X1300 Nvidia GeForce 6600 256 MB of VRAM DirectX 9 compatible
| ATI Radeon HD 3870 Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTX 512 MB of VRAM |
macOS (OS X) |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
10.9.5 |
10.10.3 |
Processor (CPU) |
2.0 GHz
| 2.4 GHz |
System memory (RAM) |
4 GB |
8 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
10 GB |
10 GB |
Video card (GPU) |
256 MB of VRAM
| 1 GB of VRAM |
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
References