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Dead Space

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Revision as of 04:08, 8 April 2020 by Baronsmoki (talk | contribs) (Added reception to Infobox)
Dead Space
Dead Space cover
Developers
EA Redwood Shores
Publishers
Electronic Arts
Release dates
Windows October 20, 2008
Reception
Metacritic 86
IGDB 88
Dead Space on IGDB
Dead Space guide on StrategyWiki
Dead Space on MobyGames
Dead Space on Wikipedia
Dead Space
Dead Space 2008
Dead Space 2 2011
Dead Space 3 2013
Dead Space (2023) 2023

Key points

In-game Vsync limits frame rate to half the monitor's refresh rate.[1] Disable it and force Vsync externally.
A glitch in the game causes the difficulty to change itself when multiple save files are present. See Issues fixed.
Very poor mouse input due to aggressive acceleration and lowered speed when running above 60 FPS. Use Dead Space Mouse Fix.

General information

Dead Space Wiki
GOG.com Community Discussions
GOG.com Support Page
Steam Community Discussions
Dead Space on TheGameEngine.org

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
Requires online activation
CD key
Can only be used x times
SecuROM PA DRM. Unknown machine limit. A De-Authorization Tool is available.
Windows
Amazon.com
Origin
Windows
Gamesplanet logo.svg
Origin
Windows
GOG.com
DRM-free
Windows
Origin
Origin
Included with EA Play.
Has SecuROM DRM removed.
Windows
Steam
Icon overlay.png
Automatically unlocks on Origin if Origin is installed
Icon overlay.png
Windows

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows %LOCALAPPDATA%\Electronic Arts\Dead Space\
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/17470/pfx/[Note 1]
The file for key-bindings controls.rmp is in a binary format and requires hex editing.

Save game data location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Electronic Arts\Dead Space\
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/17470/pfx/[Note 1]
20 save slots available.

Save game cloud syncing

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

Video settings

Graphics settings.
Graphics settings.
Advanced graphics settings.
Advanced graphics settings.
Brightness settings. With exclusive fullscreen, game is so much brighter that even lowest value looks relatively bright.
Brightness settings. With exclusive fullscreen, game is so much brighter that even lowest value looks relatively bright.
WSGF multi-monitor screenshot.[2]
WSGF multi-monitor screenshot.[2]

Template:Video settings

Anti-aliasing (AA)

Force SGSSAA (Nvidia only)[3]
  1. Download and run Nvidia Profile Inspector.
  2. Select the Dead Space profile.
  3. Change Antialiasing compatibility to 0x004010C0.
  4. Change Antialiasing - Behavior Flags to None.
  5. Change Antialiasing - Mode to Override any application setting.
  6. Change Antialiasing - Setting to 8x Multisampling or your desired setting.
  7. Change Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling to 8x Sparse Grid Supersampling.
  8. Click Apply changes.

Input settings

Input settings.
Input settings.
Game uses controller HUD if controller is present. Simply unplug/disable controller when playing with keyboard and mouse.

Template:Input settings

Remapping

Hex editing example
Hex editing example
Hex edit controls.rmp[4]
  1. Before proceeding change at least one of the default game key bindings in order to generate the required file
  2. Go to the configuration files location.
  3. Open controls.rmp with a hex editor such as HxD.
  4. To simplify things, adjust the program so that you have 20 bytes per row (14 in hex)
  5. Each keyboard or alternate key is stored in the 0C and 0D column
  6. By comparing the codes in the default file with those here you can understand what every lines control
  7. You'll be able to arrange the controls with a little patience and the codes below

Notes

Codes for every keyboard key can be found in one of these website:
  • 1 - "Make" scan code
  • 2 - In the "Keyboard Scan Code" section, the "Make" code of the set 1 column

Audio settings

Audio settings.
Audio settings.

Template:Audio settings

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Czech
GOG and Origin version.
French
German
Hungarian
GOG, Origin and Retail version, the language files are available here and the Steam guide here.
Italian
Polish
GOG, Origin and Retail version.
Russian
GOG, Origin and Retail version, download.
Spanish
Turkish
Fan translation. Details missing—please edit this page and add it.

VR support

3D modes State GG3D Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision
See Helix Mod: Dead Space 3D Vision fix update.
TriDef 3D
iZ3D
vorpX
G3D
Officially supported game, see official vorpx game list.
Devices
3RD Space Gaming Vest

Issues fixed

Mouse acceleration, lag, and random sensitivity

Mouse view becomes messier the more the framerate exceeds 60 FPS.
Use raw mouse input fix[5]

Notes

This fix may disable controller inputs!

Invisible door

With a high frame rate, the first door after getting the Plasma Cutter may be impassable.
Limit frame rate to 60 FPS or lower[citation needed]

Large deadzone

The game inserts massive deadzones onto the analog sticks, making precise control very difficult, especially on gamepads like the Logitech Gamepad F310, which have their own deadzones.
Make deadzones smaller[6]
  1. Download Durazno XInput Wrapper.
  2. Extract the contents and run Durazno.exe.
  3. Set the AntiDeadzone option to 40%, close the program.
  4. Copy Durazno.ini and xinput1_3.dll to the installation folder.
  5. Open the game and disable vsync. Force it through your driver control panel if you want vsync.
For steam users.
Make deadzones smaller
  1. Start the game.
  2. Open Steam Overlay.
  3. Go to Controller Configuration.
  4. Choose Browse Configs.
  5. Go to Community tab.
  6. Choose any from ones at the top that say they fix deadzone problem.

Game crashes at launch

Fix settings.txt[7]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open settings.txt (if it isn't present create it manually).
  3. Eventually change both Window.Fullscreen and Window.VSync to false.
Try unplugging or disabling controllers[8]
  1. Open Device Manager.
  2. Disable all HID compliant game controller under Human Interface Devices [HID].

Audio stutter

This must be done every time you launch the game.
Make Dead Space a high priority task in Task Manager[9]
  1. Launch Dead Space.
  2. Press Alt+Tab to return to the Desktop.
  3. Click the Processes tab.
  4. Right click Dead Space and click "Go to details."
  5. This selects Dead Space in the Details tab. Right click it, and change priority to "High".

Windows mouse cursor visible

If this cursor is visible, it may cause problems on multi-monitor systems.[citation needed]
See Disable Origin in game or Toggle the Steam overlay per game[10]

Spinning camera

These will also fix the camera/reticule being pulled to the top left during turret sequences, like the tentacle grab or asteroid defense sequences.
Create an empty joypad profile[11]
  1. Go to %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Electronic Arts\Dead Space\.
  2. Create an empty text file called joypad.txt.
Unplug any extra input device except mouse and keyboard[citation needed]
Disable Logitech G13 Joystick[citation needed]
  1. Open Device Manager.
  2. Under Human Interface Devices [HID] disable the Logitech G13 Joystick.

Notes

This will only disable the Joystick meaning the G13 can still be used to play the game.

Difficulty changes itself when multiple save files are present

Always select "load game" instead of "continue game" on main menu[12]
Alternatively, delete all save files except the one you are using.

Doctor Challus Mercer doesn't appear in Chapter 5: Lethal Devotion

Momentarily enable Vsync[13]
  • Enter Cryo Chamber with the in-game Vsync enabled.

Deadly lock-up during landing in zero gravity

At high framerates there's a risk of player getting soft-locked in landing state during zero gravity sections, game resolves this lock-up by forcibly killing the player after 5-10 seconds. This can be "fixed" by capping framerates to 60 or 30 FPS. Severity of the issue can potentially scale up with the framerate, being very common at 300+ FPS.

Other information

API

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

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Physics Havok
Audio RwAudioCore [14]

Unlock impossible difficulty without playthrough

Modify settings.txt[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open settings.txt.
  3. Change Game.Played = 0 to 1.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) XP SP2
Processor (CPU) AMD Athlon 64 3000+
Intel Pentium 4 2.8 GHz
System memory (RAM) 1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 7.5 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce 6800 GT
ATI Radeon X1600 Pro
256 MB of VRAM
DirectX 9.0c compatible
Shader model 3.0 support
Sound (audio device) 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>/17470/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (17470) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References