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Difference between revisions of "Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth"

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{{Availability/row| GamersGate | call-of-cthulhu-dark-corners-of-the-earth | Steam | | | Windows }}
 
{{Availability/row| GamersGate | call-of-cthulhu-dark-corners-of-the-earth | Steam | | | Windows }}
 
{{Availability/row| GOG.com | call_of_cthulhu_dark_corners_of_the_earth | DRM-free | | | Windows }}
 
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{{Availability/row| GMG | call-of-cthulhu-dark-corners-of-the-earth | Steam | | | Windows }}
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{{Availability/row| Humble | call-of-cthulhu-dark-corners-of-the-earth | Steam | | | Windows }}
 
{{Availability/row| Steam | 22340 | Steam | | | Windows }}
 
{{Availability/row| Steam | 22340 | Steam | | | Windows }}
 
{{Availability/row| Amazon | B00GXHIK4M | Steam | | | Windows | unavailable }}
 
{{Availability/row| Amazon | B00GXHIK4M | Steam | | | Windows | unavailable }}
 
{{Availability/row| Bethesda.net | CA1CSTPCBG01 | Bethesda.net |  |  | Windows | Unavailable }}
 
{{Availability/row| Bethesda.net | CA1CSTPCBG01 | Bethesda.net |  |  | Windows | Unavailable }}
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Revision as of 21:18, 28 June 2022

Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth cover
Developers
Headfirst Productions
Publishers
Bethesda Softworks
Release dates
Windows March 27, 2006
Reception
Metacritic 76
IGDB 80
Taxonomy
Microtransactions None
Modes Singleplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives First-person
Controls Direct control
Genres Survival horror
Art styles Realistic
Themes Detective/mystery, Lovecraftian
Series Call of Cthulhu
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Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth on HowLongToBeat
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth on IGDB
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Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth guide on StrategyWiki
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth on MobyGames
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth on Wikipedia
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Call of Cthulhu
Call of Cthulhu: Shadow of the Comet 1993
Call of Cthulhu: Prisoner of Ice 1995
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth 2006
Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land 2012
Call of Cthulhu 2018

Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth is a singleplayer first-person survival horror game in the Call of Cthulhu series.

Key points

DCoTEPatch unlocks extra features, adds cheats and allows modifying gameplay values.
The game is unstable at frame rates above 60 FPS.[1] See Frame rate capping methods.
No Surround support like in the console version.

General information

GOG.com Community Discussions
GOG.com Support Page
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
DRM-free
Windows
GamersGate
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Windows
GOG.com
DRM-free
Windows
Green Man Gaming
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Windows
Humble Store
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Steam
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Amazon.com (unavailable)
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Bethesda.net (unavailable)
Bethesda.net Launcher
Windows

Version differences

The GOG.com version includes various small fixes, including: proper Vsync functionality, a fix for the triangle raindrops on AMD cards, and a custom-made fix provided by user Guzz, which allows the invisible sorcerers on the reef to appear properly, plus restores skybox rendering.[2]

Essential improvements

Installation

If you own both this game AND the 2018 CoC game on Steam, be aware they both try to install to the same directory, by default 

(<Steam install>\steamapps\common\Call of Cthulhu). It is suggested to install them to different -drives-, to fix this issue, for time being

HD Textures

Sharp Corners of the Earth mod. Original game textures upscaled with neural networks. All game textures are upscaled. Download on Nexus and ModDB.

DCoTEPatch

Bypasses a game breaking bug, allows changing FOV, skipping intro videos and more.
Only the original retail executable enables all features.

Skip intro videos

Delete/rename video files[citation needed]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\Development\pcvideo\.
  2. Delete or rename beth_logo.wmv, cocdcote_logo.wmv, hf_logo.wmv, legal.wmv, and warning.wmv.
legal.wmv, and warning.wmv come with german and french variants. User will need to delete or rename them if they play in any of these languages.

Game data

Configuration file location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Bethesda\Call of Cthulhu\Options\ HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Bethesda Softworks\Call Of Cthulhu DCoTE\Settings
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/22340/pfx/[Note 1]
Configuration file is encrypted.

Save game data location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Bethesda\Call of Cthulhu\
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/22340/pfx/[Note 1]

Save game cloud syncing

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

Video

Launcher.
Launcher.

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
 
 Use Call of Cthulhu Widescreen Fix or see the WSGF entry.
Multi-monitor
 
 Use Call of Cthulhu Widescreen Fix or see the WSGF entry.
Ultra-widescreen
 
 Use Call of Cthulhu Widescreen Fix or see the WSGF entry.
4K Ultra HD
 
 Use Call of Cthulhu Widescreen Fix or see the WSGF entry.
Field of view (FOV)
Use DCoTEPatch. Requires starting a new game.
Windowed
See Windowed.
Borderless fullscreen windowed
See Windowed.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Up to 8x MSAA.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
On by default in the GOG.com version. Can be forced in the graphics card control panel.
60 FPS
120+ FPS
The game is unstable at frame rates above 60 FPS.[1]
High dynamic range display (HDR)
See the glossary page for potential alternatives.
Resolutions above default reduce movement speed, making the game unwinnable.[3]

Windowed

Force windowed[citation needed]
  1. Install Call of Cthulhu Widescreen Fix.
  2. Create wndmode.ini in <path-to-game>\Engine\.

Input

Keyboard and mouse State Notes
Remapping
By default, X is bound to "backwards" and S to "use".[1]
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Controller types

Audio

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Music, SFX and voice.
Surround sound
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
See Mute on focus lost.

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
French
German
Italian
Fan translation, download.
Polish
Local retail version only.
Brazilian Portuguese
Fan translation: download (GameVício)
Russian
Spanish
Fan translation, download.

Mute on focus lost

Set mute in background[4]
  1. Install Special K by following the Unofficial Special K Guide.
  2. Start the game and press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+← Backspace to open Special K's control panel.
  3. Expand the Window Management → Input/Output Behavior section.
  4. Turn on Mute Game under Background Behavior.

VR support

3D modes State Notes
vorpX
G3D
User created game profile, requires important pre-settings, see vorpx forum profile introduction.

Issues fixed

Sky lighting problems

Fixed in the GOG.com version.[2]
Use fixed shaders[5]
  1. Download Call of Cthulhu Modern OS BUGFIX.
  2. Copy Resources folder to the installation folder.

Invisible cannon targets

When you first get to use the cannon, you need to hit three targets shown as a blue light. If playing on Windows Vista or later, these targets are not visible.
Fixed in the GOG.com version.[2]
Use fixed shaders[5]
  1. Download Call of Cthulhu Modern OS BUGFIX.
  2. Copy Resources folder to the installation folder.
Run DCoTEPatch[6]
  • This fix adjusts the script, with the result being equivalent as if the sorcerers only made three waves against the ship.
  • A blind-fire guide also exists.

Alt+Tab crashes the game

Force game into windowed mode[citation needed]

Run the game at screen refresh rate

In the GOG.com version, fullscreen mode defaults to 60 Hz, even if the screen refresh rate is set higher than that.
Set screen refresh rate and 60 FPS cap[4]
  1. Install Special K by following the Unofficial Special K Guide. Manual local installation may work better.
  2. Start the game once and close it to allow the configuration file of Special K to be created.
  3. Open <path-to-game>\Engine\d3d9.ini or %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Mods\SpecialK\Profiles\CoCMainWin32.exe\SpecialK.ini depending on the installation method you used.
  4. Change TargetFPS=0.0 to TargetFPS=60.0.
  5. Change RefreshRate=-1 to RefreshRate=0.

High frame rate issues

All of the issues below can be solved by capping the frame rate at 60 FPS. However, this only works for some users.[citation needed]

Basement stairs crash

When descending into the basement during the prologue, the game may crash if you don't get down fast enough. The crash can be avoided if you jump off of the ladder without touching the stairs. Be advised that this may take a few tries.

Room with the hung woman glitch

In the old newspaper office, during A Visit to Old Town near the beginning of the game, there are two doors on your way out, if you take the right door you will enter a room with a woman who has hung herself. This room can sometimes glitch and will cause you to lose mobility of Jack and be unable to progress. Just skip that room as there is nothing of interest otherwise in it, take the locked door on the left, by unbolting it in the upper corner of the door.

Hogg's Office bookcase crash

In chapter 3 (Attack of the fishmen) you will sneak through a warehouse. After crawling under the floor you will climb into an office. When you try to get to the save symbol by pushing the bookshelf the game crashes.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 9
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Audio FMOD Ex 4.1.5
Interface Microsoft GDI+ 5.1.3097.0 (xpclient.010811-1534)
Cutscenes Windows Media Video V8

Digital ArchAngel's patch

Changes various aspects of the gameplay and adds support for cheats.

SweetFX

Simulates HDR and bloom lighting, as well as advanced contrast for a more natural and realistic atmosphere.
In-game MSAA must be disabled in order to work. Force it through graphics card control panel.
Instructions[citation needed]
  1. Download SweetFX.
  2. Extract the contents to the installation folder.
  3. Copy the text from this guide and paste it in SweetFX_settings.txt

System requirements

Windows
Minimum
Operating system (OS) 2000
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium III 800 MHz
System memory (RAM) 256 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 2 GB
Video card (GPU) 128 MB of VRAM
DirectX 9 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>/22340/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (22340) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References