Silent Hill 2: Director's Cut

Silent Hill
Silent Hill 2: Director's Cut	2002
Silent Hill 3	2003
Silent Hill 4: The Room	2004
Silent Hill: Homecoming	2008
Silent Hill 2	2024

Silent Hill 2: Director's Cut is a survival horror game developed by Team Silent, ported by Creature Labs, and published by Konami. It is the second installment in the Silent Hill series.

The game was originally released for the PlayStation 2 on September 21, 2001 worldwide. The game later received an extended Director's Cut version on PlayStation 2 as a Greatest Hits re-release, Xbox, and PC, which added a new Born from a Wish scenario, a secret UFO ending, and for the PC version, a quick-save function, real-time weapon swapping, and a movie gallery. The PC version also features improved flashlight lighting like in the Xbox port, however, it also has a number of inaccuracies, missing or downgraded effects, and lower audio and FMV quality than previous versions.^[1] It also has compatibility issues with newer versions of Windows and hardware (see here for details).

There have been growing efforts by modders to fix the issues with the PC version, starting with sh2proxy by emoose to address compatibility issues and implement widescreen support for the game. It has since been succeeded by Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition, a community-driven project for the PC version that restores features from the original PlayStation 2 version, adds support for HD and widescreen resolutions, improved controller support, and other quality-of-life improvements.

General information

Silent Hill Memories - Informative site

Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		SecuROM 4.83 DRM. Patch 1.1 removes the DRM. Released on 3 CDs.

There are two versions: the North American version and the European Director's Cut version. If the title screen lacks "Director's Cut" on it, it's the North American version. Both versions include the extra scenario Born from a Wish along with an extra UFO ending.

Essential improvements

Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition

All improvements in this section are included in the full installation of the Enhanced Edition project.

Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition is a collection of unofficial mods which implement widescreen resolution support, add PlayStation 2 quality audio and fog that were missing from the PC version, provide upscaled images and FMVs, improve controller support and much more.

Silent Hill 2 PC Fix by Steam006

This fix should not be combined with the Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition project.

A fix which adds new features and fixes some bugs.

Instructions^{[citation needed]}
Copy all the files to `<path-to-game>` Configure the width and height and other options in `Silent_Hill_2_PC_Fix.ini`. Start the game with `DLLInjector.exe`.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\^{[Note 1]}

keyconf.dat stores input bindings.

language.ini stores language settings.

options.ini stores gameplay and volume settings.

settings.ini stores video and audio settings.

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\data\save\Folder 01\^{[Note 1]}

Video

Video settings

Graphics feature	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution		Use Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen		Use Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition.
4K Ultra HD		Use Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition.
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed	Use Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition, then set `ScreenMode = 1` in `d3d8.ini`.
Borderless fullscreen windowed	Use Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition, then set `ScreenMode = 2` in `d3d8.ini`.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)	See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)	Use Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition for SMAA; set `EnableSMAA = 1` in `d3d8.ini`. Alternatively, MSAA can be forced via the GPU control panel; see here for instructions and recommended settings.
Vertical sync (Vsync)	See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
60 FPS	Capped at 30 FPS. See High frame rate for a workaround.
120+ FPS	Capped at 30 FPS. See High frame rate for a workaround.

High frame rate

Change the frame rate cap^[2]

Install Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition.
Open d3d8.ini.
Add the following to its own lines in the file:

; Controls the frame rate limit, but it may cause bugs if increased above 30 FPS.
FPSLimit = 60

Notes

Changing the value to 0 will disable the frame rate cap.

Playing the game at high frame rates causes various audio/visual bugs, some of which are detailed below.^[3]

The intensity/effectiveness of the motion blur is reduced by half.
The bullet casing sound effects for the handgun and shotgun glitch out.
Animation for James transcribing notes onto his map is significantly faster.
James's inner monologue (immediately upon exiting the hospital) may be significantly faster.
Water animates/moves quicker in all areas (James rowing on the lake, water in the labyrinth, etc) and drains significantly faster during the RPT Apartment boss fight.
The flames in Angela's staircase move significantly faster.
The flashlight dies out significantly faster in the prison bug room.
The "ritual" prison monster's footsteps happen way too fast.

Change noise effect resolution

Change IncreaseNoiseEffectRes^[4]
Install Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition. Open `d3d8.ini`. Set `IncreaseNoiseEffectRes` to any value between `128` and `4096`. The larger the value, the smaller the noise grain will be. `512` is the default noise grain value.

Input

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping		Mouse buttons cannot be remapped with other keys.
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus		Not supported in the pause menu.
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		DirectInput only.
Full controller support
Controller remapping		Use Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition to assign multiple actions to any button.
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers		See Controller support.
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration

PlayStation controllers
PlayStation button prompts
Light bar support
Adaptive trigger support
DualSense haptic feedback support
Connection modes	wired

Generic/other controllers
Button prompts

Additional information
Button prompts
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback		DirectInput only. Use Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition to restore vibration for XInput controllers.
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Controller support

Analog triggers and vibration on XInput controllers won't function without workarounds.

Fix triggers and vibration via Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition^[5]

Install Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition.

The "XInput Plus" package contained in the project has to be installed. This will restore trigger and vibration functionality for XInput-based controllers and includes a pre-configured keyconf.dat file so that inputs on XInput controllers are correctly mapped for Silent Hill 2: Director's Cut out of the box.

Fix triggers and vibration via XInput Plus
Download and run XInput Plus. Set the Target Program to `sh2pc.exe`. Go to DirectInput and check Enable DirectInput Output. Assign LT/RT to Button 11/12. Click Apply and OK.

Audio

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Background music and sound effects.
Surround sound		Up to 7.0 output.^[6]
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support		DirectSound3D.

May require DirectSound3D restoration software to restore hardware-accelerated 3D sound functionality on Windows Vista and later. (DSOAL is included in Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition)

Localizations

Use Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition to restore the language selection in the options menu.

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Arabic				Fan translation, download.
Simplified Chinese				Fan translation, download.
French
German
Italian
Polish				Fan translation, download. Versions for both the original game (which includes an older widescreen patch, it's recommended to use the one by thirteenAG instead) and Enhanced Edition are available.
Brazilian Portuguese				For the vanilla game: Silent Fandub - Silent Hill 2: Dublado e Legendado. For Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition: Text only (interface/subtitles) – download; Text and audio: Silent Fandub - Silent Hill 2 Enhanced Edition: Dublado e Legendado.
Russian				Fan translation by «HomeTown.ru / Ashigaru».
Spanish				Improved fan translation also available, download.
Indonesian				Fan translation, download.
Turkish				Fan translation, download.

Issues fixed

Audio stutters endlessly or stops completely

The game shipped with a buggy, beta version of CRIWARE audio middleware. Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition comes with a custom reimplementation of this audio engine to fix the issue.

Use EnableCriWareReimplementation^{[citation needed]}
Install Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition. Open `d3d8.ini` and ensure `EnableCriWareReimplementation = 1` is set.

Clicking or popping sound effects

Use AudioClipDetection^[7]
Install Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition. Open `d3d8.ini` and ensure `AudioClipDetection = 1` is set.

Textures appear as solid white surfaces

Use WhiteShaderFix^[8]
Install Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition. Open `d3d8.ini` and ensure `WhiteShaderFix = 1` is set.

"Insert a disc" message appears during the ending

In rare situations, the game will look for "end.bik" instead of "ending.bik" for the credits video. If that happens, this error will occur.

Install Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition^[9]
The project fixes this issue without having to rename the video file.

Rename the video file^[10]
Go to `<path-to-game>\data\movie\`. Rename `ending.bik` to `end.bik`.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	8.1	For Direct3D 9 support, use Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition.
Shader Model support	1.4

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	ADX	Sound files are compressed compared to the PlayStation 2 version. PlayStation 2 quality audio can be restored into the PC version by installing the Audio Enhancement Pack as part of the Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition project.
Cutscenes	Bink Video	FMVs are compressed and play at 29.97 full frames per second (29.97p), compared to the PlayStation 2 version which plays them at 59.94 half frames per second (29.97i). The quality of the PC version's FMVs can be improved by installing the FMV Enhancement Pack as part of the Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition project.

Silent Hill 2 HD Collection Voice Pack

This replaces the original voice acting with the new voices from the Silent Hill HD Collection release.^[11]

The HD Collection voices are very divisive and often considered to be inferior to the original voice acting.

The HD Voice Pack includes and integrates the Audio Enhancement Pack and FMV Enhancement Pack from the Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition project for its audio improvements.

Make James run without slowing down

Apply unlimited stamina-hack^[12]
Open `sh2pc.exe` with a hex-editor such as HxD. Press `Ctrl`+`F` and find address `89 BE 20 01 00 00 D8 B6 40 01 00 00` (Hex-values). Press `Ctrl`+`G` and go to `41` (offset relative to: current offset). Change the value `CF` to `C8` and save the changes.

Disable background fog

Disable fogging^[13]
Download and run DxWnd. Click on Edit, then Add. Set the path to `<path-to-game>\sh2pc.exe` Disable Run in Window. Click on the Direct3D tab and enable Disable Fogging. Click OK, File, Save, and start the game with DxWnd running.

Add icon to executable file

sh2pc.exe may have no icon set by default.

Set icon with Rcedit^[14]

Download Rcedit depending on the OS bitness, and copy it to <path-to-game>.
Download sh2_newicon.zip and extract sh2_new.ico to <path-to-game>.
Open a Command Prompt.
Type in and enter cd <path-to-game>.
- Replace <path-to-game> with the actual path; e.g. cd C:\Games\Silent Hill 2.
Type in and enter rcedit-x64.exe sh2pc.exe --set-icon sh2_new.ico.
- If the 32-bit version is used, replace rcedit-x64.exe with rcedit-x86.exe above.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	98, ME, 2000, XP
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium 700 MHz AMD Athlon 700 MHz	Intel Pentium 1.0 GHz AMD Athlon 1.0 GHz
System memory (RAM)	64 MB	128 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	1.8 GB	2.3 GB
Video card (GPU)	32 MB of VRAM DirectX 8.1 compatible	64 MB of VRAM

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 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).

References

[gamedir-2] 1.0 ^1.1 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).

[1] DF Retro: Silent Hill 2 - Horror Perfected on PS2/Xbox/PC/PS3 - YouTube - last accessed on 2020-11-01

[3] Silent Hill 2 FPS won't increase beyond 30 FPS · Issue #826 · ThirteenAG/WidescreenFixesPack

[4] Side effects playing the game at 60 FPS · Issue #28 · elishacloud/Silent-Hill-2-Enhancements

[5] Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition - Configuration Examples

[6] Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition - Update Video #3 - YouTube

[7] PC Gaming Surround Sound Round-up

[8] Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition - Configuration Details

[9] Silent Hill 2: Enhanced Edition - Installation Guide

[10] Silent Hill 2 Director's Cut PC Ending Troubles : silenthill

[11] Silent Hill 2 Director's Cut PC Ending Troubles : silenthill

[12] Voice Comparison

[13] Silent Hill 2 stamina fix · Issue #344 · ThirteenAG/WidescreenFixesPack

[14] DxWnd / Discussion / General Discussion:Silent Hill 2: no sound on alt-tab

[15] SH2 Options/Inventory Font Resolution · Issue #375 · ThirteenAG/WidescreenFixesPack

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Developers

	Team Silent
Windows	Creature Labs
Publishers
	Konami
Release dates
Windows	December 2, 2002
Reception
Metacritic	70
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Modes	Singleplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Cinematic camera, Third-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Survival horror
Art styles	Realistic
Themes	Contemporary, Horror, North America
Series	Silent Hill