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Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

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Revision as of 07:59, 19 August 2022 by Dandelion Sprout (talk | contribs)

This page is for the original release. For the remake, see Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time cover
Developers
Ubisoft Montreal
Publishers
Ubisoft
Engines
Jade
Release dates
Windows December 2, 2003
Reception
Metacritic 89
IGDB 84
Taxonomy
Monetization One-time game purchase
Microtransactions None
Modes Singleplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives Third-person, Bird's-eye view
Controls Direct control
Genres Action, Adventure, Platform
Themes Fantasy, Middle East
Series Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time on HowLongToBeat
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time on IGDB
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time guide on StrategyWiki
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time on MobyGames
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time on Wikipedia
Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia 1989
Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame 1993
Prince of Persia 3D 1999
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time 2003
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within 2004
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones 2005
Prince of Persia (2008) 2008
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands 2010
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown 2024
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake TBA

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a singleplayer third-person and bird's-eye view action, adventure and platform game in the Prince of Persia series.

Key points

A remastered version of Prince of Persia (1989) can be unlocked on 6th gen consoles, but not in the PC version.

General information

Ubisoft forums for game series
GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
GOG.com Support Page
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).
StarForce DRM for this game does not work on modern versions of Windows (see above for affected versions).
A free demo is available here.

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Delete or rename video files[8]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\Video.
  2. Delete or rename Bink.int, Intro.int, nvidia.int, poplogo.int and ubisoft.int.

Skip loading screens

Delete or rename video files
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\Video.
  2. Delete or rename POP_IN.int and POP_OUT.int.
  3. Download this blank video file and replace the original Loading.int with it.

Notes

This can cause a bug preventing the player from progressing in the first level.[9]

Game data

Configuration file location

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\Hardware.ini[Note 3]
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/13600/pfx/[Note 4]

Save game data location

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\Profiles\[Note 3]
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/13600/pfx/[Note 4]

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud
Ubisoft Connect

Video

Basic video settings
Basic video settings
Advanced video settings
Advanced video settings

Widescreen resolution

Apply Widescreen Fix (Hor+)[10]
  1. Download Widescreen fix by nemesis2000 from Here or from our Mirror.
  2. Extract pop.7z files to <path-to-game> (archive password: pop).
  3. Edit pop.ini to set your desired resolution and FOV multiplier.

Notes

Supported exe size: 4 280 320 bytes.

Windowed

Force windowed mode[citation needed]
  1. Download and run DxWnd as administrator.
  2. Click on Edit, then Add.
  3. Set name to Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time.
  4. Set path to <path-to-game>\POP.exe.
  5. Set launch to <path-to-game>\PrinceOfPersia.exe.
  6. Set Acquire admin caps.
  7. Set Desktop for borderless fullscreen windowed.
  8. Click on Mouse tab, set Cursor visibility to Hide.
  9. Click on DirectX tab, set DirectX9.
  10. Click OK, then File and Save.
  11. Run the game directly from DxWnd.

Post-processing

Disable bloom, blur, and distortion
  • Use Peixoto's patch to disable the blur shader.
  • Use 3D Vision fix to disable the low resolution distortion effect as well as the bloom effect.
Increase pixelated post-processing effects and water resolution
  • Use Peixoto's patch and enable Forced Resolution with Super Sampling set to Ceilx2 or Ceilx4.
May require original executable, so Steam version could be downgraded with Steamless.
May be incompatible with overlays like MSI Afterburner/RTSS and ReShade.

Input

Input settings
Input settings

Keyboard and mouse State Notes
Remapping
Supports Mouse4 and Mouse5 buttons
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
XInput controllers have sensitivity issues. See Issues fixed.[11]
Full controller support
Main Menu and Esc Menu only work with mouse and keyboard.
Controller remapping
Might require manual mapping by double-clicking bind and pressing desired button.
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion
Controller types
XInput-compatible controllers
PlayStation controllers
Generic/other controllers
Additional information
Button prompts Input settings icon - Generic Controller.svg
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Audio

Audio settings
Audio settings

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Effects, music and voice.
Surround sound
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support
EAX Unified (compatible with EAX 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0)
May require DirectSound3D restoration software to enable EAX and surround sound functionality on Windows Vista and later.

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Czech
Retail only. Patch for digital release here.
French
German
Hungarian
Fan translation, download.
Italian
Retail, steam and ubisoft connect only. Patch for the GOG release here.
Polish
Retail only. Patch for digital release here.
Russian
Retail and GOG only. Patch for other digital releases here.
Spanish
Retail, Steam and Ubisoft connect only. Patch for GOG release here.

VR support

3D modes State Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision
See Helix Mod: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
vorpX
G3D
User created game profile, see vorpx forum profile introduction.See here for an alternate profile.

Issues fixed

Enable Alt+F4

Instructions
  1. Download SuperF4, Install and open it.
  2. Press Ctrl+Alt+F4 keys simultaneously to exit the game.

Alt+Tab not working

After opening the game, pressing alt + tab does not return to the desktop
Before entering the game, open a folder or a txt file and then enter the game.

Controller input not detected. Unable to use Power of Haste when using Controller

Gamepads are not working on some systems.[12] The game also has sensitivity issues with diagonal input for XInput controllers (running diagonally does not work because the game expects DirectInput values).
XInput Controllers need the below fix to enable both triggers to work simultaneously to use The Power of Haste in the game.[13]
Use XInput Plus[14]
  1. Download XInput Plus and extract it to any folder.
  2. Launch XInput Plus.
  3. Set the Target Program by browsing to the <path-to-game> and selecting pop.exe.
  4. Go to Sticks tab and for the Left Stick change the Rect Correction slider from 0 to 1.
  5. Go to DirectInput tab and check Enable DirectInput Output.
  6. In the same tab, click on LT/RT and select Button 12/13 from the drop-down menu.
  7. Click Apply; this will install a DLL file to your game folder that will automatically be used when you start the game.
  8. Start the game and rebind the triggers in Options.

Notes

If pressing Left Stick fully forward results in walking instead of running, go to Sticks then Left Stick and reduce Saturation in 5% increments until rectified.

Water effects not rendering

When the Water effects graphics option is enabled, water does not render on certain modern systems, such as those employing Intel HD Graphics.
Disable "Water Effects" option in the video settings
Use 3D Vision fix

Extreme amounts of fog

Fixed in the GOG.com version.[15]
Use Peixoto's patch
Disable "Fog" option in the video settings
Edit Hardware.ini[16]
  1. Go to <path-to-game> and open Hardware.ini.
  2. Change the following values as noted:
    • ForceVSFog=1
    • InvertFogRange=0
  3. Save the file, then right-click on it and select Properties.
  4. Check Read-only and click OK.

Missing interface

Edit Hardware.ini[citation needed]
  1. Go to <path-to-game> and open Hardware.ini.
  2. Change the following value as noted:
    • CanStretchRect=1 to CanStretchRect=0
  3. Save the file, then right-click on it and select Properties.
  4. Check Read-only and click OK.

Most of the dialogue has low volume causing it to be inaudible

Appears to be an issue on modern systems only.
Enable Loudness Equalization
  1. Press Win+R.
  2. Type mmsys.cpl and press Enter.
  3. Under the Playback tab, double-click on Speakers.
  4. Under the Enhancements tab, tick Loudness Equalization and click OK.
  5. Adjust volume in the game sound settings, if needed.

Prince stuck in attack motion / Game running too fast

Force CPU affinity to one core[citation needed]
Use DxWnd

Use the following configuration in DxWnd:

  • Under the Compat. tab, tick Set single core process affinity.

Game engine runs fast / Prince's animations seem too fast

Don't use RTSS, in-engine frames (prince) still run fast.
Limit the frame rate to 60 FPS[citation needed]
Enable V-Sync and set the refresh rate to 60Hz

Other information

API

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

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Cutscenes Bink Video

Extract all Voice, SFX & Music files

Instructions
  1. Download from official site or direct link or mirror.
  2. Extract all files to <path-to-game>\Sound and run extract_and_convert_all.bat.
  3. As soon as it's finished, check the newly created !audio folder.

Note

For more information, check the README.txt file inside the archive.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 98SE, ME
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium III 800 MHz
AMD Athlon 800 MHz
System memory (RAM) 256 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 1.5 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce 3
ATI Radeon 8500
Matrox Parhelia
DirectX 9.0b compatible
Sound (audio device) DirectX 8.0 compatible
Nvidia GeForce 4 MX is 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. This version of StarForce DRM does not work on Windows Vista or later.[3][4][5][6] For supported versions of Windows the StarForce driver may need to be updated manually using SFUPDATE.
  3. 3.0 3.1 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).
  4. 4.0 4.1 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>/13600/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (13600) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References