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General information
- Steam Community Discussions
Availability
- A demo is available.
- A 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 version is v1.01. The Steam version is up-to-date.
Fix packs
- Max2Fixes. A combined patch with startup hang patch, ThirteenAG's Widescreen Fix, different options for video wrappers and other fixes.
- Definitive Fix. A combined patch with startup hang patch, ThirteenAG's Widescreen Fix, bonus maps for dead man walking, a d3d9 wrapper and other fixes.
Skip intro videos
Skip launcher
Game data
In-game general settings.
Configuration file(s) location
Save game data location
- 10 save slots + 2 quicksave slots + 1 autosave slot available.
System |
Native |
Notes |
OneDrive |
|
Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers. |
Steam Cloud |
|
|
Video
Launcher general settings.
Launcher advanced settings.
- Can only be changed in the launcher
- Changing the FOV causes visual glitches during some in-game cutscenes, and might turn the nightmare levels unplayable, since these sections of the game already alter the camera FOV.
Use widescreen fix[4]
|
- Install ThirteenAG's fix.
- Edit
MaxPayne2.WidescreenFix.ini .
- Set
FOVFactor to the desired value.
|
Use game's console command[5]
|
- Start the game with the
-developer command line argument.
- Type in the command
fov x where x is a value.
|
Force borderless fullscreen[citation needed]
|
- Install d3d8to9 to the installation folder.
- Install Special K by following the Special K Unofficial Guide.
- Start the game once and close it to allow the configuration file of Special K to be created.
- Open
<path-to-game>\d3d9.ini or %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Mods\SpecialK\Profiles\maxpayne2.exe\SpecialK.ini depending on the installation method used.
- Change
Borderless=false to Borderless=true and Fullscreen=false to Fullscreen=true under [Window.System] .
- Change
ForceWindowed=false to ForceWindowed=true under [Display.Output] .
|
- Graphical issues occur when using anti-aliasing.
Apply MSAA/SGSSAA[6]
|
- Disable antialiasing in the Max Payne 2 launcher.
- Select the Max Payne 2 driver profile in Nvidia Profile Inspector.
- Change
Antialiasing compatibility to 0x00000040 or 0x02000001
- Change
Antialiasing - Mode to Override any application setting
- Change
Antialiasing - Setting to 4x [4x Multisampling] or another level of MSAA.
- (Optional) To use SGSSAA, change
Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling to 4x Sparse Grid Supersampling or any other level of SGSSAA. The amount used should be equal to MSAA for proper application.
- Apply changes.
Notes
- Default Nvidia profile does not use any compatibility bits. Without these, MSAA or SGSSAA will not be applied when the Bullet Time effect is active.
|
Input
In-game key map settings.
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
|
|
Surround sound |
|
|
Subtitles |
|
|
Closed captions |
|
|
Mute on focus lost |
|
|
EAX support |
|
EAX 3.0 |
Royalty free audio |
|
Credits feature the song "late goodbye" by "Poets of the fall". |
Localizations
Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
English |
|
|
|
|
French |
|
|
|
|
German |
|
|
|
|
Italian |
|
|
|
|
Polish |
|
|
|
Retail only. Patch for digital release here. |
Brazilian Portuguese |
|
|
|
Fan translation, download. |
Russian |
|
|
|
Retail only. Patch for digital release here. |
Spanish |
|
|
|
Retail only. Patch for digital release here. |
Turkish |
|
|
|
Fan translation, download |
Issues fixed
Application load error 5:0000065434
Set Anti-aliasing to Off [citation needed]
|
The launcher does not start
Laptops using Nvidia Optimus must set the preferred graphics processor for Max Payne 2 to "Intel Integrated Graphics"[citation needed]
|
Error: setFullscreen - creating the device failed: E_FAIL
Use ThirteenAG's fix[citation needed]
|
- Download ThirteenAG's fix.
- Extract the contents to the installation folder.
- Disable anti-aliasing in the game's launcher.
|
Exception in engineInit: Unable to load save game "Files"
Reinstall the game on the C: drive[citation needed]
|
Error: 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\MaxPayne2).
|
(Steam) Move the game to a folder without spaces[citation needed]
|
- Set up a new Steam library folder without spaces in the folder path (e.g. C:\Steam).
- Remove the game and install it to the new Steam library folder.
- Go to that folder and go into SteamApps\common.
- Rename the Max Payne 2 The Fall of Max Payne folder to MaxPayne2.
- Go back to the SteamApps folder and open
appmanifest_12150.acf with a text editor.
- If Windows Notepad can't read it, use another text editor like Notepad++.
- Change the line
"installdir" "Max Payne 2 The Fall of Max Payne" to "installdir" "MaxPayne2"
- Restart Steam.
- If needed, run the game in compatibility mode for Windows 98 / Me.
|
Game won't launch on modern AMD graphics cards, still shows up in task manager
Launcher starts, but game won't launch on Nvidia graphics cards, crashes and doesn't show up in task manager
Make sure that Options->Video Settings->Antialiasing is set to 'Off'
|
Mods don't work
Make sure that version of the game contains few RAS archive files, instead of unpacked game files to folder "data".
|
Mouse hitches and stops oddly
Make sure that Options->Video Settings->Antialiasing is set to 'Off'
|
High frame rate and/or V-sync issues
- There appears to be Vsync issues when using DX8 on Windows 10 and Windows 11, since using d3d8to9 makes Vsync work again.
Use d3d8to9
|
- Download d3d8to9.
- Copy
d3d8.dll to the game directory.
|
Reshade/SweetFX doesn't work
- This problem occurs when using the ThirteenAG's fix.
Use d3d8to9[9]
|
- Go to the game directory, and rename
d3d8.dll to dinput.dll .
- Download and copy d3d8to9 to the game directory.
- Install ReShade or SweetFX as DirectX 9.
|
Edit INI file[10]
|
- Go to
<path-to-game>\scripts .
- Open
global.ini .
- Change
UseD3D8to9=0 to UseD3D8to9=1 .
|
Max and/or Mona suddenly run continuously without pressing anything
Reduced color depth (Proton/Linux)
- Color banding may occur with Proton 6.3-8 or newer.
Use Proton 5.13-6 or older
|
- In the game properties on Steam, go to Compatibility.
- Enable Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool.
- Select
Proton 5.13-6 or older from the drop-down menu.
|
The player's head is not rendered in the reflection while looking in a mirror
VR support
3D modes |
State |
Notes |
vorpX |
| G3D, Z3D Requires "D3D8to9" wrapper, see vorpx forum profile introduction. |
Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
Direct3D |
8 |
[12] |
Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows |
|
|
|
Middleware
|
Middleware |
Notes |
Physics |
Havok |
|
Cutscenes |
Bink Video |
|
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 under the Max Payne 2 installation folder. |
-nodialog |
Skips the Max Payne 2 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 2 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 ~). Mostly useful for mod developers. |
-developerkeys |
Enables special developer keys (requires -developer as well). Note: you can break the game flow using developer keys. |
-showprogress |
Sshows extended loading information. -developer is required. |
-profile |
Enables in-game profiler. Toggle profile with F11, and see console aliases for profiling options. |
- Official maps for the Dead Man Walking mode made by Rockstar games.
Modifications
- Allows for mods to have more weapons than in the original game.
- Required by most mods.
- Will not work if there is
data
in <path-to-game>
, if this patch is used with data
in <path-to-game>
, the folder and MP2_Arsenal.ras
have to be deleted and MP2_Data.ras
has to be redownloaded.
- Epilepsy Accessibility Mod Removes certain effects to make the game accessible to those with epilepsy issues.
- Payne Effects 3 Gameplay mod that adds new effects and overhauls most of the gameplay mechanics. (not recommended to use with EAX)
- Payne Evolution Gameplay mod that emulates the mechanics closer to that of Max Payne 3. (not recommended to use with EAX)
- Fixing the Payne Adds lots of minor tweaks like balance fixes, skipping bullet time reload cutscene, additional bullet cam, sounds ported from Max Payne etc.
- Xbox Rain Droplets Basic implementation of Xbox rain droplets from SkyGFX for other games.
System requirements
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
98 |
2000, ME, XP |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Pentium III 1.0 GHz Intel Celeron 1.2 GHz AMD Athlon 1.0 GHz AMD Duron 1.2 GHz |
Intel Pentium 4 1.7 GHz Intel Celeron 1.7 GHz AMD Athlon 1.4 GHz AMD Duron 1.7 GHz |
System memory (RAM) |
256 MB |
512 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
1.5 GB | |
Video card (GPU) |
32 MB of VRAM DirectX 9 compatible
| 64 MB of VRAM |
Sound (audio device) |
DirectSound compatible sound card | |
Notes
References