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 |
|
Released on 2 DVDs. TAGES Solidshield DRM.
All retail versions require signing into an EA account in-game. This unlocks a copy of the game on Origin for that EA account. |
|
|
| Amazon.com |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| Humble Store |
|
|
|
|
| EA app |
|
Included with EA Play.
The Origin version requires signing into an EA account in-game. |
|
|
| Steam |
|
Included with EA Play (Steam). TAGES Solidshield DRM.
EA account sign-in can be skipped in the Steam version for singleplayer, however, it is required for multiplayer. |
|
|
- All versions activate on Origin.
- The Dead Space 2: Severed story DLC is not available on the PC.[2]
Essential improvements
Skip intro videos
- This may cause the main menu to become glitched/unusable.[3]
|
Delete/rename video[4]
|
- Go to
<path-to-game>\movies\ followed by your language's folder.
- Delete or rename
Trio_FrontEnd.vp6.
|
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
Save game data location
- 20 save slots available.
| System |
Native |
Notes |
| EA app |
|
|
| OneDrive |
|
Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers. |
| Steam Cloud |
|
|
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)[6][7]
|
- 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.
|
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 |
|
|
| Surround sound |
|
Up to 5.0 output.[8] |
| Subtitles |
|
Fixed size, does not scale up with resolution |
| Closed captions |
|
|
| Mute on focus lost |
|
|
Localizations
| Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
| English |
|
|
|
|
| French |
|
|
|
|
| German |
|
|
|
|
| Hungarian |
|
|
|
Fan translation. |
| Italian |
|
|
|
|
| Polish |
|
|
|
Fan translation, download. |
| Russian |
|
|
|
Retail only. Patch for digital release here. Fan (audio) localization by CGInfo |
| Spanish |
|
|
|
|
| Turkish |
|
|
|
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]
|
- Install Dead Space 2 3D Vision Fix.
- If you're playing through Steam or Origin, disable the overlay.
|
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.
|
|
Remove the DLC (for Origin version)
|
- 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.
|
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.
- This fix can also be used to unlock Hardcore difficulty early without beating the game once prior, by modifying Controls.AcL.X.
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]
|
- Unplugging all USB controllers
- Disabling virtual mouse settings
- Selectively disabling HID compliant devices in the device manager.
|
Could not initialize display hardware
|
Reset settings[citation needed]
|
- 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.
|
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)[9]
|
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]
|
- 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.
|
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]
|
Other information
API
| Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
| Direct3D |
9 |
|
| Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
| Windows |
|
|
|
Middleware
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.[10]
- 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)[11]
|
- 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.
|
|
De-authorize game (Windows XP)[11]
|
- 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.
|
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[12]
|
- 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.
|
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) |
| Storage drive (HDD/SSD) |
10 GB | |
| Video card (GPU) |
Nvidia GeForce 6800
ATI Radeon X1600 Pro | |
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
References
