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Max Payne

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Max Payne
Max Payne cover
Developers
Remedy Entertainment
Mac OS (Classic) Feral Interactive
macOS (OS X) Westlake Interactive[1]
Publishers
Windows (Past) Gathering of Developers
Windows (Current) Rockstar Games
Mac OS MacSoft
Russia 1C-SoftClub
Engines
MAX-FX
Release dates
Windows July 23, 2001
Mac OS (Classic) July 16, 2002
macOS (OS X) July 16, 2002
Reception
Metacritic 89
Taxonomy
Microtransactions None
Modes Singleplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives Third-person
Controls Direct control
Genres Action, Shooter
Art styles Realistic
Themes North America, Contemporary
Series Max Payne
Max Payne on HowLongToBeat
Max Payne on IGDB
Max Payne guide on StrategyWiki
Max Payne on MobyGames
Max Payne on Wikipedia
Max Payne
Max Payne 2001
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne 2003
Max Payne 3 2012
Max Payne 1&2 Remake TBA

Key points

Some sounds are missing on Windows Vista and later. See Missing audio.
Unofficial startup hang patch should be applied to prevent the game from locking up during startup.
The game does not work on Ryzen Zen 2-based processors.[2] See JPEG errors on AMD Zen 2-based CPUs.

General information

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
SafeDisc v2 DRM[Note 1].
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Retail
DRM-free
Max Payne Anthology released only in Poland and Germany
Windows
GamersGate
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Gamesplanet logo.svg
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Green Man Gaming
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Humble Store
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Mac App Store
Icon overlay.png
macOS (OS X)
Steam
Icon overlay.png
Can only be purchased in the USA, Canada, UK, Switzerland, EU countries except Croatia, and Russia.
Windows
SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).
Max Payne Demo
Faithful higher quality icons for Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne can be found here. You must be logged in to download.

Essential improvements

Patches

The latest official patch v1.05 is available at community.pcgamingwiki.com and at soggi.org. The Steam version is already patched.

Peixoto's patch

  • Fixes missing audio on cutscenes and in some areas
  • Forced vsync - which is not possible via driver on Direct3D8\Windows 10 anymore - also prevents some bugs
  • Forced resolution solves some artifacts on the edges of polygons and allows super sampling anti aliasing

Unofficial patches

  • Complete FixPack A combined patch with startup hang patch, ThirteenAG's Widescreen Fix, a high-res texture pack, different options for video wrappers and fixes.
  • Definitive Fix A combined patch with startup hang patch, ThirteenAG's Widescreen Fix, a high-res texture pack, a d3d9 wrapper and fixes.

Skip intro videos

Launch the game with the -skipstartup parameter[5]

Skip Launcher

Launch the game with the -nodialog parameter[6]

Game data

In-game general settings.
In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Remedy Entertainment\Max Payne\
Mac OS (Classic)
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/12140/pfx/[Note 2]

Save game data location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Max Payne Savegames\
Mac OS (Classic) {Boot}:Documents:Max Payne Saved Games or user's Documents folder
macOS (OS X) ~/Documents/Max Payne Saved Games/
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/12140/pfx/[Note 2]
10 save slots + 2 quicksave slots + 1 autosave slot available.

Save game cloud syncing

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

Video

Launcher general settings.
Launcher general settings.
Launcher advanced settings.
Launcher advanced settings.
In-game video settings.
In-game video settings.

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
Use ThirteenAG's fix.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
Use ThirteenAG's fix.
4K Ultra HD
Use ThirteenAG's fix.
Field of view (FOV)
See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed
Toggle with Alt+ Enter or use the -window parameter.
Borderless fullscreen windowed
See Borderless fullscreen windowed.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Can be improved by forcing 16x in the graphics card control panel.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Up to 8x MSAA.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
Always enabled. See Vertical sync (Vsync) on Windows 10.
60 FPS
120+ FPS
High frame rate breaks physics.[7] See Game breaking bugs at high frame rate. Game appears to be completable when locked to 144 fps.
High dynamic range display (HDR)
See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Field of view (FOV)

Set FOV with widescreen fix[citation needed]
  1. Install ThirteenAG's fix.
  2. Edit MaxPayne.WidescreenFix.ini.
  3. Set FOVFactor to the desired value (capped at around 1.43).

Notes

It might turn the nightmare levels unplayable, since these sections of the game already alter the camera FOV.

Borderless fullscreen windowed

Force borderless fullscreen
  1. Install ThirteenAG's fix.
  2. Go to <path-to-game> and create a file called wndmode.ini.

Vertical sync (Vsync)

Using Vsync on modern systems (Windows 10+) requires a workaround.
Activate d3d8to9 in Widescreen Fix[8]
  1. Download ThirteenAG's fix.
  2. Copy all contents to the installation folder.
  3. Open global.ini in the scripts folder.
  4. Change UseD3D8to9=0 to UseD3D8to9=1.
Use d3d8to9 by itself[8]
  1. Download d3d8to9.
  2. Copy d3d8.dll to the installation folder.

Input

In-game key map settings.
In-game key map settings.
In-game mouse settings.
In-game mouse settings.

Audio

In-game audio settings.
In-game audio settings.

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Music, Effects
Surround sound
Up to 7.0 output with DirectSound3D restoration software.
Subtitles
Cutscenes only, not in-game voices and intro.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support
DirectSound3D.[9] You can use DSOAL with HRTF after applying sound fix[10][11]

Localizations

Some regions only have certain languages available. All audio languages can be downloaded from here.
Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
French
German
Italian
Polish
Retail only. Patch for digital release here.
Brazilian Portuguese
Retail only (GreenLeaf). Patch for digital release here.
Russian
Retail only. Patch for digital release here.
Spanish
Retail only. Patch for digital release here.
Turkish
Fan translation, download

Issues unresolved

There are visible polygon seams when running under Windows 10

When the game is running under Windows 10 there are a lot of visible polygon seams when both Hardware T&L and MSAA (any type) enabled. The only known workarounds is to disable Anti-aliasing (MSAA) in the launcher and force MSAA through the GPU's control Panel, or use supersampling (use Nvidia Inspector for Nvidia Cards).

Missing intro video (Proton/Linux)

With Proton 5.13-6 and newer, the intro video before the main menu plays audio only. (It can be skipped by adding -skipstartup to the launch options.)
With Proton 5.0-10 and older, the intro video before the main menu is skipped entirely, even if the -skipstartup parameter is not used.

Issues fixed

Corrupted files in the French version

The French Steam version of Max Payne has corrupted files, with the error message Invalid Data Read from R_memory File("part1_level1b). Reports indicate issues with the files x_level1.ras, x_level2.ras and x_level3.ras
To solve the crash
  1. Download the files.
  2. Copy/past the content in the game folder.

Installer fails on Windows 7 64-bit and later (Retail)

Default installer on disc root is 16-bit.
Run from setup[12]
  1. Run Disk1\setup.exe from the disc instead.
  2. Click Yes on prompts regarding not enough memory and install anyway.

Missing audio

Use IndirectSound[13]
Restores DirectSound.
Doesn't work for all chipsets (leading to no sound at all).[14][15]
Use Creative Lab's ALchemy Software[16]
  1. Download and install ALchemy.
  2. Launch ALchemy.
  3. Add a new Profile (skip to Step 11 if using retail version of the game).
  4. Name it "MaxPayne".
  5. Select Use Game Path and navigate to Max Payne's install directory.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Click the newly created profile and then click ">>" to enable it.
  8. Close ALchemy and play.

Notes

The best quality DirectSound wrapper to use with Creative cards as well as others.
The Max Payne profile will automatically show up in ALchemy when using retail version of the game.
If you encounter random stuttering after applying the fix, try moving your game folder to an SSD.
Use an unofficial patch[17]
  1. Download the unofficial patch.
  2. Extract the contents to the installation folder.
  3. Run MaxBatch.bat.
  4. Follow the on-screen instructions.
Relies on automated loseless sound files recompression into other format.

The launcher does not start

Set the compatibility mode to Windows 98 / Me[citation needed]

JPEG errors on AMD Zen 2-based CPUs

Use a fixed rlmfc.dll[18]
  1. Download this file.
  2. Extract it in <path-to-game> and overwrite rlmfc.dll.
Instructions to do the fix manually here.

Game crashes or videos fail to load

Set the compatibility mode to Windows 98 / Me[citation needed]

Error: setFullscreen - creating the device failed: E_FAIL

Use ThirteenAG's fix[citation needed]

Exception in engineInit: Unable to load save game "Files"

Reinstall the game on the C: drive[citation needed]

Exception in startupInit: Directory \data not found

Move the game to a folder without spaces[citation needed]

Reinstall the game to a folder without spaces in the folder path (e.g. C:\Games\MaxPayne).

Disable Anti-Aliasing[citation needed]
(Steam) Move the game to a folder without spaces[citation needed]
  1. Set up a new Steam library folder without spaces in the folder path (e.g. C:\Steam).
  2. Remove the game and install it to the new Steam library folder.
  3. Go to that folder and go into SteamApps\common.
  4. Rename the Max Payne folder to MaxPayne.
  5. Go back to the SteamApps folder and open appmanifest_12140.acf with a text editor.
    • If Windows Notepad can't read it, use another text editor like Notepad++.
  6. Change the line "installdir" "Max Payne" to "installdir" "MaxPayne"
  7. Restart Steam.
  8. If needed, run the game in compatibility mode for Windows 98 / Me.

Game won't launch, shows up in task manager, white screen

Use the unofficial Startup hang patch[citation needed]
Run the game in compatibility mode for Windows 98 / Me[citation needed]
Skip the intro or delete it in the game folder[citation needed]
Force CPU affinity to one core[citation needed]
Roll back AMD Catalyst drivers to 12.6 from here[citation needed]

Game breaking bugs at high frame rate

An extremely high uncapped frame rate reduces your shootdodge and jump distance and may make some areas unfinishable.
d3d8to9 already uses the game's built-in vsync. Use d3d9 wrapper only if you need to cap the frame rate to lower than your display's refresh rate. Alternatively, you can lower the display's refresh rate.
Vsync (Enabled by default) not working on Windows10
Vsync is enabled by default, but in Windows 10 it does not work because the Vsync of DirectX 8 in Windows 10 is broken.
  1. Download the d3d8to9.
  2. Copy D3D8.DLL from the folder to the game install directory and set the monitor refresh rate to 60 Hz.

Reshade/SweetFX doesn't work

This problem occurs when using the Thirteen AG Widescreen Patch.
Use the d3d8to9 wrapper[citation needed]
  1. Open global.ini in the scripts folder.
  2. Change UseD3D8to9=0 to UseD3D8to9=1.
  3. Install ReShade or SweetFX as DirectX 9.
Remove dinput8.dll or rename it to d3d8.dll

Reduced color depth with Proton 6.3 (Linux)

Color banding may occur with Proton 6.3.
Use d3d8to9
  1. Download d3d8to9.
  2. Copy d3d8.dll to the installation folder.
  3. Run the game with the environment variable WINEDLLOVERRIDES set to "d3d8=n,b". (In the General tab of the game's Properties window in Steam, put WINEDLLOVERRIDES="d3d8=n,b" %command% in the launch options field.)
Use ThirteenAG's widescreen fix with UseD3D8to9 enabled
  1. Download ThirteenAG's fix.
  2. Copy all contents to the installation folder.
  3. Open global.ini in the scripts folder.
  4. Change UseD3D8to9=0 to UseD3D8to9=1.
  5. Run the game with the environment variable WINEDLLOVERRIDES set to "d3d8=n,b". (In the General tab of the game's Properties window in Steam, put WINEDLLOVERRIDES="d3d8=n,b" %command% in the launch options field.)
Use Proton 5.13-6 or older

In the Compatibility tab of the game's Properties window in Steam, enable the "Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool" option and select Proton 5.13-6 or older from the drop-down list.

VR support

3D modes State Notes
vorpX
G3D
Requires D3D8to9 wrapper, see vorpx forum profile introduction.
Devices
Novint Falcon

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 7, 8 Direct3D 7 in cutscenes only. Everything else is in Direct3D 8.
OpenGL
Mac OS only.
Shader Model support 1.1
ExecutablePPC16-bit 32-bit 64-bitARM Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)
PowerPC applies for retail version only. ARM aplies for Mac App Store version only.
Mac OS (Classic)

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Audio DirectSound3D

Max Payne Remastered

HD texture pack using ESRGAN, an upscaling method that takes a low-res image and adds realistic details to it.

Console commands

See this article.

Command line arguments

See command line arguments on how to use the following options.
Parameter Description
-screenshot Enables F10 for taking screen shots. Screen shots are saved to the "screenshots" folder in the Max Payne installation folder.
-nodialog Skips the Max Payne startup dialog when loading the game (uses options previously set).
-skipstartup Skips the startup video.
-disable3dpreloads If the system runs out of texture memory while loading a level, this option may prevent the game from crashing due to a driver error.
-window Runs the game in a windowed mode, in the resolution selected from the Max Payne launch dialog. Not all 3d accelerators support running in a windowed mode.
-novidmemcheck Disables the video memory check at the start of the game.
-developer Enables "developer mode", including console (toggled with F12).
-developerkeys Enables special developer keys. Requires developer mode. Using developer keys can break the game flow.
-showprogress Shows extended loading information. Requires developer mode.
-profile Enables in-game profiler. Toggle profile with F11, and see console aliases for profiling options.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 95 OSR2
Processor (CPU) 450 MHz
System memory (RAM) 96 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 530 MB
Video card (GPU) 16 MB of VRAM
DirectX 8.0 compatible
Sound (audio device) DirectSound compatible
Mac OS
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 9.1
Processor (CPU) PowerPC G3 400 MHz
System memory (RAM) 128 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 900 MB
Video card (GPU) OpenGL compatible
16 MB of VRAM
macOS (OS X)
Minimum
Operating system (OS) 10.2
Processor (CPU) PowerPC G3 400 MHz
System memory (RAM) 128 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 900 MB
Video card (GPU) OpenGL compatible
16 MB of VRAM


Notes

  1. SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10[3] 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.[4]
  2. 2.0 2.1 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>/12140/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (12140) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References