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Need for Speed: Underground 2

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Need for Speed: Underground 2
Need for Speed: Underground 2 cover
Developers
EA Black Box[1]
Publishers
Electronic Arts
Engines
EAGL 2
Release dates
Windows November 9, 2004
Reception
Metacritic 82
IGDB 79
Taxonomy
Genres Racing
Vehicles Street racing
Series Need for Speed: Underground
Need for Speed: Underground 2 on HowLongToBeat
Need for Speed: Underground 2 on IGDB
Need for Speed: Underground 2 guide on StrategyWiki
Need for Speed: Underground 2 on MobyGames
Need for Speed: Underground 2 on Wikipedia
Need for Speed: Underground
Subseries of Need for Speed
Need for Speed: Underground 2003
Need for Speed: Underground 2 2004

Warnings

SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see Availability for affected versions).

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]. Has both a 2 CD and a DVD version.
Windows
SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).
A compilation of the original Need for Speed: Underground, Underground 2 and Most Wanted is also available.
Demo

Essential improvements

Patches

Patch 1.2. Strongly recommended.

Skip intro videos

Instructions[citation needed]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\MOVIES\
  2. Delete or rename ealogo.vp6, FMVOpening.vp6, PSA.vp6, and THX_logo.vp6.

Disable regional lock

Allows playing with both EU and US exclusive cars at the same time.
Instructions[citation needed]
  1. Download the missing cars.
  2. Download Need for Speed Underground 2 Extra Options.
  3. Unpack the archive, go to NFSU2 Extra Options\Main Files folder and copy both dinput8.dll file and scripts folder into the installation folder.
  4. Make sure that the option UnlockRegionalCars in scripts\NFSU2ExtraOptionsSettings.ini is set to 1.
  5. Use the US executable to launch the game (even if you have the EU version), otherwise it may crash.[citation needed]

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\EA Games\Need for Speed Underground 2\[Note 2]
Key bindings are stored in %COMMONPROGRAMFILES%\DirectX\DirectInput\User Maps (32-bit Windows) or %COMMONPROGRAMFILES(x86)%\DirectX\DirectInput\User Maps (64-bit Windows).

Save game data location

System Location
Windows %LOCALAPPDATA%\NFS Underground 2\

Video settings

General video settings
General video settings
Advanced video settings
Advanced video settings
Advanced video settings
Advanced video settings
Advanced video settings
Advanced video settings

Template:Video settings

Use 16:9 Safe Zone to modify the offset values of the HUD elements.

Windowed

Set windowed/borderless
  1. Install ThirteenAG's fix.
  2. Create wndmode.ini in <path-to-game>.
Force windowed[citation needed]
  1. Download NFSU2 Extra Options.
  2. Extract the main files to the installation folder.
  3. Open NFSU2ExtraOptionsSettings.ini.
  4. Change WindowedMode = 0 to WindowedMode = 2 for bordered or WindowedMode = 1 for borderless.

High frame rate

Change FPSLimit[citation needed]
  1. Install Need for Speed Underground 2 Widescreen Fix.
  2. Open scripts\NFSUnderground2.WidescreenFix.ini.
  3. Set FPSLimit = 120 to desired frame rate limit.

Notes

Includes 60FPSCutscenes = 1 by default.
Rain particles will not function properly at more than 60fps. If the rain does not work in Windows 7 or 10 follow this guide.Effects flicker (Windows 7 and 10) .[4]
Gear changes are tied to the frame rate.[5]
Multiplayer Outrun mode is 30 FPS capped.

Input settings

Input settings
Input settings

Template:Input settings

Audio settings

Audio settings
Audio settings

Template:Audio settings

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
UK and US english
Traditional Chinese
French
German
Korean
Italian
Polish
Available here.
Russian
Available here.
Slovak
Fan translation, download here or alternative translation here.
Spanish
Thai

Network

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
Local play
Console versions only.
LAN play
6 4 players in all modes; Upto 6 players in URL mode.
Online play
6 4 players in all modes; Upto 6 players in URL mode.

Issues fixed

Custom bindings lost on game restart

Windows Vista and later lack a file needed for the game to remember custom mappings.
Download dimap.dll[citation needed]
  1. Download dimap.dll.
  2. Extract it into the installation folder.

Controller deadzone issues

Fix left stick deadzone[6]
  1. Install ThirteenAG's fix.
  2. Deadzone can be adjusted in NFSUnderground2.WidescreenFix.ini.

Random crashing on entering/exiting shops

Can be caused by multiple CPUs.
Set affinity for speed2.exe to use only 1 CPU[citation needed]
  1. Open Task Manager (Ctrl+ Shift+Esc)
  2. Click "set Affinity..."
  3. Untick all but ONE of the CPUs
  4. Click OK
You can also set affinity automatically on launch by editing the shortcut to the game[citation needed]
  1. Open shortcut properties
  2. In the Target field paste this line: %WINDIR%\System32\cmd.exe /C CD /D "C:\Program Files (x86)\Need for Speed Underground 2\" && START /AFFINITY 1 SPEED2.EXE
  3. Make sure to modify the path to the game if necessary
  4. Click apply
  5. You may want to change the icon manually back to the game icon
Use compatibility mode[citation needed]
It seems to improve the problem by 90%
  1. Open Properties from SPEED2.EXE
  2. Go to Compatibility Tab
  3. Set "Run this program in compatibility mode for: Windows XP (Service Pack 2)
  4. Click OK

Effects flicker (Windows 7 and 10)

Some effects, such as rain, car respawn effect or the nos flames, flicker or glitch. Otherwise, no issues.[citation needed]
Use compatibility mode[citation needed]
  1. Open Properties from SPEED2.EXE
  2. Go to Compatibility Tab
  3. Set "Run this program in compatibility mode for: Windows XP (Service Pack 2)
  4. Click OK
Use dgvoodoo2 Wrapper[citation needed]
  1. Download [1] dgvoodoo2.
  2. Copy D3D9.DLL from the \MS\x86\ folder to the game install directory.

Particle system lag (Windows 10)

Particle system causes lag, mostly at start of races, turning it off gets rid of the issue.
Fullscreen Exclusive Mode causes lag
Run game in Windowed or Borderless Mode

Go to Windowed section

Use compatibility mode[citation needed]
  1. Open Properties from SPEED2.EXE
  2. Go to Compatibility Tab
  3. Set "Run this program in compatibility mode for: Windows XP (Service Pack 2)
  4. Click OK
Change FPSLimit
  1. Install Need for Speed Underground 2 Widescreen Fix.
  2. Open scripts\NFSUnderground2.WidescreenFix.ini.
  3. Set FPSLimit = 120 to 60.
Optionally it is possible to disable VSync through video card settings, and keep Particle System on.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 9
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows

Modifications

Some mods could break LAN multiplayer mode component, making it impossible to host/join LAN servers.

HD Reflections

Changes resolution of reflections.

HUD Resizer

Adds ability to change HUD and FMV scale.

Extra Options

Adds many useful features and fixes.

Unlimiter

Fixes some issues and makes some improvements for add-on cars and events.

Olympic Imports

Aims to add the cut cars from beta/NFSUG1 and Underground Rivals back into Need for Speed Underground 2.
Requires Unlimiter to avoid crashes and bugs.

Scout's UI Remaster

Replaces low-res GUI and HUD graphics with high-res counterparts.

New HD Textures Pack

Remakes some of the ground textures to be as close to the originals as possible.

Dragozool's texture mod

The password is by-Dragozool.
Lots of stuff retextured for a better looking city.
Meant to be used with Dragozool's ENB.
Quite outdated, not the best choice anymore.

Dragozool's ENB

Makes the game look darker and slightly desaturated.
Meant to be used with Dragozool's texture mod.
Quite outdated, not the best choice anymore.

Lightsiders Global

Enhances the visuals of the game.
Does not require Texmod.
Deviates from the original look of the game.
Archived download link

NFS Underground 2 Music Importer

Makes it possible to replace in-game tracks with user .mp3 or .wav.

Visual Reputation Remover

Makes it possible to progress through the game without ricing the car.

Winter Mod by 2fast4u_dk

Adds a winter look to the game.
Does not require Texmod.
Not the highest quality.

NFS Underground 2 REDUX

Graphics improvement mod.

Need for Speed Underground 2 Last Breath

Improves the visuals of the game.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum
Operating system (OS) 98, 2000, ME, XP
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium III 933 MHz
System memory (RAM) 256 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 2 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce 2
ATI Radeon 7500
32 MB of VRAM
DirectX 9.0c compatible
Sound (audio device) DirectX compatible

Notes

  1. SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10[2] 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.[3]
  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