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Need for Speed: Carbon

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Revision as of 22:31, 26 October 2020 by Jenya (talk | contribs) (→‎Version differences: formatting)
Need for Speed: Carbon
Need for Speed: Carbon cover
Developers
EA Black Box
macOS (OS X) TransGaming Inc.
Publishers
Electronic Arts
Engines
EAGL 3
Release dates
Windows October 31, 2006
macOS (OS X) (Cider) August 17, 2007
Need for Speed: Carbon guide on StrategyWiki
Need for Speed: Carbon on MobyGames
Need for Speed: Carbon on Wikipedia

Warnings

The macOS (OS X) version of this game does not work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later due to the removal of support for 32-bit-only apps.
The Need for Speed 1994
Need for Speed II 1997
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (series)
Need for Speed: High Stakes 1999
Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed 2000
Need for Speed: Underground (series)
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (series)
Need for Speed: Carbon 2006
Need for Speed: ProStreet 2007
Need for Speed: Undercover 2008
Need for Speed: Shift (series)
Need for Speed: World 2010
Need for Speed: The Run 2011
Need for Speed Rivals 2013
Need for Speed (2016) 2016
Need for Speed Payback 2017
Need for Speed: Edge 2017
Need for Speed Heat 2019
Need for Speed Unbound 2022

General information

Need for Speed Wiki

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
CD key
SafeDisc v4 DRM[Note 1], Collectors Edition also available
Windows
SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).
DLC that was only released for the Xbox 360 can be accessed in the PC version using save file editting.[3]
This game is not available digitally.
Demo

Version differences

Collectors Edition content includes four exclusive vehicles, specially tuned cars, six exclusive races, three exclusive challenges (with three races per Checkpoint, Pursuits, Race Wars) and a bonus DVD.

Essential improvements

Patches

Latest 1.4 patch can be found here. Select the version more suitable to your version.

NFSC HD Reflections

Scales the resolution of road, vehicle, and rear view mirror reflections.
Fixes misaligned vehicles reflections and other problems.
Controls the amount of blur used for road reflections and increases its resolution.

Skip intro videos

Delete/rename video files[citation needed]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\Game\MOVIES\.
  2. Delete or rename attract_english_ntsc.vp6, ea_bumper_english_ntsc.vp6, eahd_bumper_english_ntsc.vp6 and psa_nikki_english_ntsc.vp6.

Notes

If you have another language then the delete the file with your language instead and if you have the PAL version the files will have PAL instead of NTSC in the end.
Skip intro videos[citation needed]
  1. Install ThirteenAG's fix.
  2. Open NFSCarbon.WidescreenFix.ini.
  3. Change SkipIntro = 0 to SkipIntro = 1.
  4. Change WindowedMode = 0 to WindowedMode = 1.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Electronic Arts\Need for Speed Carbon\[Note 2]
macOS (OS X)

Save game data location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\NFS Carbon\<user-id>\
macOS (OS X)

Video settings

ThirteenAG's fix may require the latest patch. See Patches.

Template:Video settings

Field of view (FOV)

Set custom FOV[citation needed]
  1. Download NFS-VltEd.
  2. Extract the contents and open the application.
  3. Click on File → Open and select the installation folder.
  4. On the left side, expand camerainfo and default.
  5. Select the camera you want to modify (bumper, close, etc.)
  6. On the right side, expand FOV and change the value beside [0] to the FOV you want.
    • For the hood camera, you may have to change the value for each car individually.
  7. Click on File → Save to apply the changes.

Input settings

Template:Input settings

Audio settings

Audio settings.
Audio settings.

Template:Audio settings

Though the game does not use EAX, Creative Alchemy still can be used to enhance sound quality. It will just emulate DirectSound and 3D positional audio with OpenAL. Difference can be easily noticeable when music is off. For non-Creative cards users see here or use dsoal. Run in Windows XP SP3 compatibility mode to avoid crashing career mode while using Alchemy/DSOAL (alternatively as admin, or use 13AG widescreen which will most likely fix the issue). Sometimes whole career need to be started from the beginning with compatibility mode and Alchemy enabled. The solutions are to avoid disapearing car in career menu and crash after attempt to race. Alternative fix for the issue can be found here. Compatibility mode can cause resetting of the game settings. Please note that attempt of changing details in the game (renderer reset after returning from video settings), and either alt tabbing, have an influence on audio quality, also giving diffreent results depending on g_AudioMode setting to 0, 1 (default) or 2 [4] in registry. Consider also setting 24 or 32 bit 192kHz in Control Panel>Sound>[Default Device]>Advanced.

Subtitles

Enable English subtitles[citation needed]
  1. Install NFSC Extra Options.
  2. Open NFSCExtraOptionsSettings.ini.
  3. Change ShowSubs = 0 to ShowSubs = 1.

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
See Subtitles.
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Czech
Danish
Dutch
Finnish
French
German
Hungarian
Italian
Korean
Polish
Russian
Official localization by 1C-Softclub
Russian
Fan translation by «ENPY Studio»
Spanish
Latin American Spanish
Swedish

Network

Online settings.
Online settings.

Multiplayer types

Type Native Notes
Local play
Console versions only.[5]
LAN play
Online play
Currently unplayable without a mod called "Online Enabler".

Issues fixed

Poor frame rate and crashes

Install DirectPlay
Windows 8/8.1/10 removes important DirectX components, causing game to run poorly, and possibly lead to multiple crashes. These components can be brought back by installing DirectPlay. More about DirectPlay here.
  1. Go to Control Panel, and select 'Programs'.
  2. Select 'Turn Windows features on and off'
  3. Click on 'Legacy Components' and check the box 'DirectPlay'.
  4. Select OK, once the installation is done, restart your computer.
It is recommended to reinstall the game after installing DirectPlay.

Controller deadzone issues

Fix left stick deadzone[6]
  1. Install ThirteenAG's fix.
  2. Deadzone can be adjusted in NFSCarbon.WidescreenFix.ini.

Unable to load save game

Fix save game loading crash[citation needed]
  1. Install NFSC Extra Options.
  2. Make sure CrashFix = 1 is set in NFSCExtraOptionsSettings.ini.

Stuttering in Windows 10

Fix stuttering once every second[citation needed]
  1. Install ThirteenAG's widescreen fix.
  2. Open NFSCarbon.WidescreenFix.ini.
  3. Set WindowedMode = 1 to run the game borderless windowed.
This will also fix 60 FPS cap if you encounter.

Crashes in Challenge Series

Fix crashes during certain races[citation needed]
  1. Open NFSC.exe compatibility settings.
  2. Enable Windows XP (SP3) compatibility mode.

Game does not save the graphics options

Enable the local settings file[citation needed]
  1. Install ThirteenAG's widescreen fix.
  2. Open NFSCarbon.WidescreenFix.ini.
  3. Set WriteSettingsToFile = 1 to store the game settings in the Settings.ini file.
  4. Check your audio settings afterwards, they can be messed up.

Game can't be uninstalled

eauninstall.exe error: "The program can't start because EAInstall.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem."
Fix uninstall error[7]
  1. Go to the installation folder.
  2. Copy EAInstall.dll to %WINDIR%\.
  3. Uninstall the game normally.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 9
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)

Change physics frame rate

This makes everything in the game smoother, such as the drift force being applied much smoother to the car.
Custom physics hertz[8]
  1. Download Ultimate ASI Loader.
  2. Extract dinput8.dll to the installation folder.
  3. Download NFSC Physics Framerate Changer.
  4. Extract the contents to <path-to-game>\scripts\ (create if necessary).
  5. Open SpeedCarbonPhys.ini and change PhysicsHZ = 120 to the desired value.

Rainy weather modifications

Force rainy weather[citation needed]
  1. Install NFSC Extra Options.
  2. Open NFSCExtraOptionsSettings.ini.
  3. Change AlwaysRain = 0 to AlwaysRain = 1.
Change size of rain drops[9]
  1. Install ThirteenAG's fix.
  2. Open NFSCarbon.WidescreenFix.ini.
  3. Add RainDropletsScale = 0.5 and change the value if needed.
Xbox Rain Droplets[citation needed]
  1. Install ThirteenAG's fix.
  2. Download Xbox Rain Droplets and put the asi file in scripts folder.

Mods

NFSC Extra Options

Adds various new settings and fixes vanilla game bugs.

NFSC Fog Options

This mod gives you full control over the CG fog settings.

NFSC Wingman

This mod brings you some new crew stuff.

NFSC Enhanced Visual Treatment

Enables an unused graphics option and other tweaks.[10]

World Filters & Sky for Carbon

This mod ports Visual Treatment filters and Sky Shaders from World to Carbon.

Need for Speed Carbon HD Edition

Includes high resolution textures.
To fix CPU related issues with optional ENB attached, check this dedicated Reshade.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 2000 SP4, XP SP2
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium 4 1.7 GHz
System memory (RAM) 512 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 4.7 GB (Retail)
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce3 Series/4 Ti Series
ATI Radeon 8500
64 MB of VRAM
DirectX 9.0 compatible
macOS (OS X)
Minimum[11]
Operating system (OS) 10.4.9
Processor (CPU) Intel Core Duo 1.83 GHz
System memory (RAM) 1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 6 GB
Other 8x DVD-ROM drive
Integrated Intel graphics cards are not supported.

Notes

  1. 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]
  2. Applications writing to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE will be redirected to other locations based on various criterias, see the glossary page for more details.

References