This page is for the original release. For the updated version, see Gears of War: Ultimate Edition.
Warnings
- SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see Availability for affected versions).
- For Games for Windows - LIVE on Windows 8 or later, install the latest Games for Windows - LIVE software.
Availability
- SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).
- All versions require Games for Windows - LIVE DRM.[Note 2]
Essential improvements
Patches
- Title Update 3 is available here. Among else, it fixes an expired digital signatures issue that prevents all earlier versions of the game from launching.[4] This is a required update.
Update Games for Windows - LIVE
- Games for Windows Live has been retired by Microsoft. See more info here.
Remove Games for Windows - LIVE
Install XLiveless
|
- Download XLiveless
- Extract the two xlive files into
<path-to-game>\Binaries folder
- When the game is opened, it should show "GAMER PROFILE: PLAYER I" near the bottom of the main menu. Saving games and advancing through the campaign should work as normal, but achievements will not unlock.
|
Skip intro videos
Delete/rename video files[5]
|
- Go to
<path-to-game>\WarGame\Movies .
- Delete or rename:
EpicLogo.bik
ESRB.bik
ESRB_chi.bik
ESRB_kor.bik
MGSLogo.bik
|
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
System |
Location |
Windows |
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Gears of War for Windows\WarGame\Config\ |
Save game data location
System |
Location |
Windows |
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Gears of War for Windows\WarGame\SaveData\ |
Video
- Anti-aliasing is activated in the game with the "DirectX 10/antialiasing" to "On/antilaliasing". By default, it uses 4x multisampling and can't be adjusted or overwritten by graphics card's driver in D3D10 mode.
Increase field of view[citation needed]
|
- Go to
<path-to-game>\WarGame\Config .
- Edit
WarCamera.ini with a text editor.
- Find
[WarfareGame.WarCameraMode_Default]
- Edit
FOVAngle=<#> , replace # to desired value.
- Save the changes
- Temporary alternative:
Open console (~) and enter set WarfareGame.WarCameraMode FOVAngle <#>
- The FOV for zooming can be changed in the
WarWeapon.ini file. and denotes the WarWeapon[Casual/Hardcore/Insane].ini , Each gun must be changed individually.
|
Motion blur
Disable motion blur[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Open
WarEngineUserSettings.ini with a text editor.
- Change
MotionBlur=True to MotionBlur=False
- Save the changes.
|
Frame rate
- Does not work with Direct3D 10 mode.
Edit configuration files
|
- Go to configuration file(s) location
- Open
WarEngine.ini with a text editor and navigate to the section [Engine.GameEngine] .
- Change
bSmoothFrameRate=TRUE to bSmoothFrameRate=FALSE .
- Set the game to run in DirectX 9 mode (turn DirectX 10 off in in-game graphics settings) and restart.
|
Input
Disable mouse smoothing[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Open
WarInput.ini with a text editor.
- Go to the
[Engine.PlayerInput] section.
- Change
bEnableMouseSmoothing=true to bEnableMouseSmoothing=false .
- Save the changes.
|
Toggle aim down sights
Edit configuration file[6]
|
- Launch the game at least once and configure the controls.
- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Open
WarInput.ini with a text editor.
- Go to the
[WarfareGame.WarPlayerInput] section.
- Locate the line
Bindings=(Name="Game_Target",Command="ButtonPress L2 | OnRelease ButtonRelease L2",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False)
- Replace it with
Bindings=(Name="Game_Target",Command="ButtonPress L2 | SetBind RightMouseButton Game_TargetOff",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False)
- Beneath that line, insert the following line
Bindings=(Name="Game_TargetOff",Command="ButtonRelease L2 | SetBind RightMouseButton Game_Target",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False)
- Save the file.
- If intending to use a different button, replace
RightMouseButton with an alternative keybind.
|
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
|
Music, SFX, dialogue |
Surround sound |
|
Up to 7.1 output[7] |
Subtitles |
|
|
Closed captions |
|
|
Mute on focus lost |
|
|
EAX support |
|
Use OpenAL Soft for binaural HRTF mixing.[8] |
Royalty free audio |
|
|
Localizations
Network
Multiplayer types
Connection types
Ports
Protocol |
Port(s) and/or port range(s) |
UDP |
80, 3074 |
- Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.
Issues fixed
Cannot run the game with modified executable code
- Full error message: "You cannot run the game with modified executable code. Please reinstall the game."
EULA prompt shows no text
- Proton/Wine Gecko does not display the prompt correctly, preventing game from booting up.
Delete content in CurrentSite folder and set it to read only[10]
|
- Locate the Wine/Proton prefix used to install and launch the game.
- Navigate to
%USERPROFILE%\%APPDATA%\Microsoft Games\Gears Of War .
- Delete all contents in
CurrentSite and set the folder's permission to read-only.
- The Windows'
%USERPROFILE% in the Wine prefix are based on Linux usernames.
- Proton uses
steamuser as the default Windows username regardless of the native username on the system.
- Methods to set folder permission with may differ with running desktop environment. Open a terminal in the
Gears Of War folder and use this command: chmod 555 CurrentSite [Note 3].
|
Cannot save campaign progress
- The campaign requires you to log into Games for Windows - LIVE to save your progress. Without logging in, the campaign needs to be restarted every time.
Remove the Games for Windows Live requirement by installing XLiveless.
|
Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
Direct3D |
9.0c, 10 |
|
Shader Model support |
3, 4 |
|
Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows |
|
|
|
Middleware
System requirements
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Operating system (OS) |
XP, Vista |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel 2.4 GHz AMD 2.0 GHz |
System memory (RAM) |
1 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
12 GB |
Video card (GPU) |
Nvidia GeForce 6600 ATI Radeon X700 DirectX 9.0c compatible |
Notes
- ↑ SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10[1] or Windows 11 and is disabled by default on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 when the KB3086255 update is installed.[2]
- ↑ Games for Windows - LIVE DRM features: Legacy activation, supports local profiles.
- ↑ This set the folder's permission to be only read or execute (opened) by current user, current group assigned to the folder and other users and groups.
References