Key points
- In-game Vsync option caps frame rate at 30 FPS.[1]
- All weapons unlocked from the start due to DLC. Removing this DLC is recommended for a first-time playthrough. See Weapons/Armor unlocked at start.
- Suffers from poor mouse input. See Raw mouse input fix.
General information
- Steam Community Discussions
Availability
Source |
DRM |
Notes |
Keys |
OS |
Retail |
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All retail versions require signing into your EA account ingame. This unlocks a copy of the game on Origin for that EA account. Also includes TAGES Solidshield DRM. |
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Amazon.com |
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Humble Store |
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Origin |
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Included with EA Play. The Origin version requires signing into your EA account in-game. |
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Steam |
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Included with EA Play (Steam). The Steam version does not require signing into your EA account in-game. It will ask you to sign in, but you can simply decline the agreement and enjoy playing the singleplayer perfectly fine. The multiplayer however, does require signing in. Uses TAGES Solidshield DRM. |
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- All versions activate on Origin.
- The Dead Space 2: Severed story DLC is not available on the PC.[2]
Essential improvements
Unlock conduit rooms
- There are four special rooms in the game that are unlocked by completing the Dead Space Ignition tie-in, which is not available for Windows.
- In order to make this workaround effective, you must have beaten the game at least once.
Unlock conduit rooms[3]
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- Go to the installation folder.
- If you have a
DS2DAT0.DAT , you'll need to rename all existing DS2DAT#.DAT to one number higher.
- For example:
DS2DAT0.DAT → DS2DAT1.DAT , DS2DAT6.DAT → DS2DAT7.DAT , etc.
- Download Dead Space 2 Conduit for PC.
- Extract
DS2DAT0_CONDUIT4PC.DAT to the installation folder and rename it to DS2DAT0.DAT .
- Start the game and load any save file from round two upwards.
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Skip intro videos
- This may cause the main menu to become glitched/unusable.[4]
Delete/rename video[5]
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- Go to
<path-to-game>\movies\ followed by your language's folder.
- Delete or rename
Trio_FrontEnd.vp6 .
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Game data
Configuration file(s) location
Save game data location
- 20 save slots available.
System |
Native |
Notes |
Origin |
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OneDrive |
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Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers. |
Steam Cloud |
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Video
Anisotropic Filter (AF)
In Dead Space 2 the Anisotropic Filter is unnecessary given the dark environments of the game, but you can force it through the graphic control panel of AMD or NVIDIA. The difference between 0 and 16 samples is very evident especially in illuminated areas.
Apply hardware anti-aliasing (Nvidia only)[7][8]
|
- Open the game profile via Nvidia Profile Inspector.
- Change
Antialiasing compatibility to...
0x004030C0 : the anti-aliasing works flawlessly but shadows will only work on normal setting (they disappear completely on high or very high setting), alt-tabbing may possibly break the game's lighting.
0x00411245 : the anti-aliasing is not as thorough and white artifacts may appear on the edges of objects but shadows will work correctly on all settings and the game can be safely alt-tabbed.
- Change
Antialiasing - Behavior Flags to None .
- Change
Antialiasing - Mode to Override any application setting .
- Change
Antialiasing - Setting to 4x [4x Multisampling] or 8xQ [8x Multisampling] .
- Change
Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling to 4x Sparse Grid Supersampling or 8x Sparse Grid Supersampling
- Click apply changes.
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Input
Raw mouse input fix
- Dead Space 2 suffers from negative mouse acceleration by default.
- Mouse sensitivity is dependent on the frame rate, which can lead to inconsistent movement when the performance is not stable. Horizontal sensitivity is also much higher than vertical sensitivity.
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
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Surround sound |
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Up to 5.0 output.[9] |
Subtitles |
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Fixed size, does not scale up with resolution |
Closed captions |
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Mute on focus lost |
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Localizations
Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
English |
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French |
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German |
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Hungarian |
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Fan translation. |
Italian |
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Polish |
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Fan translation, download. |
Russian |
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Retail only. Patch for digital release here. Fan (audio) localization by CGInfo |
Spanish |
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Turkish |
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Fan translation. Details missing—please edit this page
and add it. |
Network
Multiplayer types
VR support
- Dead Space 2 has mediocre Nvidia 3D Vision support out of the box.
- It has however been modded by HeliX to the point where it can be considered a 3D Vision showcase game. You can play with any convergence and depth.
Use Helix Mod[citation needed]
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- Install Dead Space 2 3D Vision Fix.
- If you're playing through Steam or Origin, disable the overlay.
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Issues fixed
Weapons/Armor unlocked at start
- The latest updates of Dead Space 2 includes a piece of DLC that unlocks better armor and all the weapons at the start, thereby negating the need to find schematics and decreasing the difficulty.
Remove the DLC[citation needed]
|
- Download the original executable here.
- Make a backup copy of the currently installed executable and copy the downloaded .exe into the Dead Space 2 folder.
- Reset the keybindings to default.
Notes
- It recommended that you use the newer .exe for subsequent play-throughs, as it properly unlocks some bonus items that you normally get for completing the game.
- The Origin version includes the DLC, and the above fix no longer works.
- This fix is not compatible with Dead Space 2 Mouse Fix and Widescreen Fixer.
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Remove the DLC (for Origin version)
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- Make progress to first savepoint and save.
- Turn automatic game updates off in Origin.
- Download the Dead Space 2 v1.0 FairLight Fixed EXE here.
- Make a backup copy of the currently installed executable and copy the downloaded .exe into the Dead Space 2 folder.
- Delete controls.rmp from AppData\Local\EA Games\Dead Space 2.
Notes
- If you are experiencing "Solar Array Elevator Glitch", just exit to main menu and then hit continue.
- It recommended that you use the newer .exe for subsequent play-throughs, as it properly unlocks some bonus items that you normally get for completing the game.
- Works with Dead Space 2 Mouse Fix.
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No suit unlocks for higher difficulty completion
- Normally upon completing the game on Hardcore or Zealot difficulty, you would unlock a special suit. Unfortunately these suits don't unlock properly, unless you happen to complete the game in a single play through.
Mouse flings to side of screen
- Occasionally with certain USB controllers or devices, the mouse will fling to the far edges of the screen, preventing proper aiming.
Possible solutions[citation needed]
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- Unplugging all USB controllers
- Disabling virtual mouse settings
- Selectively disabling HID compliant devices in the device manager.
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Could not initialize display hardware
Reset settings[citation needed]
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- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Delete or rename
settings.txt .
Notes
- In other cases, where deleting settings.txt did not work, some users with multiple monitors found that disabling their second monitor fixed this issue.
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BSOD on some AMD Radeon cards
- Game falls into BSOD on different occasions, either randomly or at some particular point in the game.
Rollback to older driver version (Such as Catalyst 12.6)[10]
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Game minimizes at launch, or game freezes when changing the resolution
- Occasionally, when starting the game on a newer system, the main window will minimize itself and will not let the user restore it.
- In other cases, the game may freeze upon changing the resolution.
Set resolution manually[citation needed]
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- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Create a file named
settings.txt .
- Open
settings.txt and add the following lines:
Window.Fullscreen = true
Window.Height = 1200
Window.Width = 1920
where Window.Height is your desired height and Window.Width is your desired width.
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Activation problems (Lucid Virtu conflict)
- Some versions of Dead Space 2 may conflict with LucidLogix Virtu graphics switching software which may appear to be an activation error.
Remove the Lucid Virtu software or disabling it when running Dead Space 2[citation needed]
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Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
Direct3D |
9 |
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Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows |
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Middleware
|
Middleware |
Notes |
Physics |
Havok |
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Audio |
RwAudioCore |
[9] |
Activation limits
- EA limits Dead Space 2 to being authorized on a maximum of five computers at a time. The games must be authorized on a computer before you can play it. De-authorizing the game on a computer does not uninstall it.[11]
- To reauthorize the game on a given computer, simply launch the game on that computer while being connected to the Internet.
- To de-authorize the games on a computer, simply uninstall it, or follow these instructions:
De-authorize game (Windows Vista and later)[12]
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- Click on the Windows button on the Windows Taskbar.
- Select All Programs.
- Click on Games.
- Click on Games Explorer.
- Right-click on the Dead Space 2 icon.
- Click on Dead Space 2 - Deauthorize this machine.
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De-authorize game (Windows XP)[12]
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- Click on the Start menu on the Windows Taskbar.
- Select All Programs
- Find the EA Games folder.
- Roll over the Dead Space 2 folder.
- Click on the Dead Space 2 - Deauthorize this machine option.
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Save game editor
- A tool by VakhtinAndrey that allows players to modify their Dead Space 2 game save data. Backing up the original save files is recommended before using this tool. Can be downloaded here.
- Can unlock access to items in the PC version that were previously exclusive to the console versions, such as the Hacker Suit (required a save file from Dead Space: Ignition, which is not on PC) and the Zealot Suit (exclusive to the respective console's Collector's Edition).[13]
System requirements
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
XP SP2 |
Vista, 7 |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Pentium 4 2.8 GHz AMD Athlon 64 4000+ |
Intel Core 2 Duo AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ |
System memory (RAM) |
1 GB (XP) |
2 GB (Vista, 7) |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
10 GB | |
Video card (GPU) |
Nvidia GeForce 6800 ATI Radeon X1600 Pro | |
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
References