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Difference between revisions of "Sonic Adventure 2"

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{{ii}} Enabling FXAA will cause the game to stop responding.{{cn|Talk page for more info.}}
 
{{ii}} Enabling FXAA will cause the game to stop responding.{{cn|Talk page for more info.}}
 
===Game freezes and hardlocks when trying to load level===
 
===Game freezes and hardlocks when trying to load level===
{{ii}} Rebooting the PC seems to help temporarily.<ref>{{Refcheck|user=SirYodaJedi|date=2019-12-19|comment=It might be due to one of my mods, because uninstalling the mod loader worked reliably. Doesn't explain how rebooting the PC helped though.}}</ref>
+
{{ii}} This issues is related to the Mod Loader. Rebooting the PC with the mod loader uninstalled seems to help temporarily.<ref>{{Refcheck|user=SirYodaJedi|date=2019-12-19|comment=It might be due to one of my mods, because uninstalling the mod loader worked reliably. Doesn't explain how rebooting the PC helped though.}}</ref> An issue ticket can be found [https://github.com/sonicretro/sa2-mod-loader/issues/4 on the Mod Loader's GitHub repo].
  
 
==Issues fixed==
 
==Issues fixed==

Revision as of 22:21, 23 December 2019

Sonic Adventure 2
Sonic Adventure 2 cover
Developers
Sonic Team USA
Publishers
Sega
Release dates
Windows November 9, 2012
Sonic Adventure 2 guide on StrategyWiki
Sonic Adventure 2 on Wikipedia
Sonic Adventure
Subseries of Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic Adventure DX 2003
Sonic Adventure DX (2011) 2011
Sonic Adventure 2 2012
Sonic Adventure DX (Steam) 2014

Key points

This port, as well as the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions, was based on the GameCube version, which has simplified fog, missing vertex and colored lighting, and some missing and/or changed content compared to the original Dreamcast version; mods can fix some of these problems.[1]
Game physics and speed are tied around 60 FPS, meaning slowdowns on lower end machines and speedups with high refresh-rate displays.
The two-player Battle Mode, extra versus characters and maps, and Chao Karate from Sonic Adventure 2: Battle are locked behind a separate DLC purchase, similarly to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 version.

General information

Official developer site
Sonic News Network - A massive wiki for the Sonic the Hedgehog universe
Sonic Retro - A huge fan site for everything Sonic the Hedgehog. Mods for all the games can be found here
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Publisher website
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Gamesplanet logo.svg
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Steam
Icon overlay.png
Windows
All versions require Steam DRM.

DLC and expansion packs

Name Notes
Sonic Adventure 2: Battle Unlocks the Battle Mode, extra versus characters and maps, and Chao Karate.
Windows

Essential improvements

Bypass launcher

Use the -q command line argument[2]
If configuration files are missing, it will load the launcher regardless of the command line argument.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\Config\[Note 1]
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/213610/pfx/[Note 2]

Save game data location

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\resource\gd_PC\SAVEDATA\[Note 1]
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/213610/pfx/[Note 2]
Chao Garden is saved to the file SONIC2B__ALF
Game progression is saved to numbered SONIC2B__S## files; one file per slot.

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
Steam Cloud

Video settings

In game general settings. Options clockwise starting from the bottom: Vibration, Save/Load, Erase save, main menu theme, speech language and Stereo/Mono.
In game general settings. Options clockwise starting from the bottom: Vibration, Save/Load, Erase save, main menu theme, speech language and Stereo/Mono.
Launcher general settings.
Launcher general settings.

Template:Video settings

Input settings

Launcher control settings.
Launcher control settings.

Template:Input settings

Audio settings

Template:Audio settings

Localizations

Text language is selected from launcher, dialogue language is selected from in game settings.
Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Dubtitles only, use Sonic Adventure 2 Retranslated if playing with Japanese audio and English subtitles.
German
French
Italian
Japanese
Spanish
Castilian.
Russian
Fan localization by «Sonic and all Characters/Joker Studio».

Network

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
Local play
2 Other player can use keyboard or controller if enabled in the config file. "Battle" DLC adds 21 battle maps to multiplayer.
LAN play
Online play
2 Use Sonic Adventure 2: Battle Network.

Issues unresolved

Menus don't render

On AMD cards menus won't render if the resolution exceeds 4579 x 3965, on either axis.[citation needed]

FXAA breaks the game

Enabling FXAA will cause the game to stop responding.[citation needed]

Game freezes and hardlocks when trying to load level

This issues is related to the Mod Loader. Rebooting the PC with the mod loader uninstalled seems to help temporarily.[3] An issue ticket can be found on the Mod Loader's GitHub repo.

Issues fixed

Fixing crashes[citation needed]

If the game is crashing only in fullscreen mode, an easy workaround is to use a borderless fullscreen tool to make windowed mode fill the entire screen. The SA2 Mod Loader offers an option to do that.[4]

If the game is crashing in both fullscreen & windowed mode:

  • Disable any overlays (e.g. Steam Overlay, GeForce Experience).
  • For Nvidia cards, open Nvidia Control Panel, click Manage 3D Settings, Program Settings, and add sonic2app.exe.
  • Set V-Sync to On and set Preferred refresh rate to Application-controlled, then click Apply.

Game freezing for few seconds randomly

Fixing crashes[citation needed]
  • For Nvidia cards, open Nvidia Control Panel, click Manage 3D Settings, Program Settings, and add sonic2app.exe.
  • Set Power management mode to Prefer maximum performance, click Apply.

Sound effects are too loud

Install the Fixed SFX Volume mod[citation needed]

Get the mod here.

Run the game at screen refresh rate

Fullscreen mode is limited to 60 Hz, even if the screen refresh rate is set higher than that.
Set screen refresh rate and 60 FPS cap[citation needed]
  1. Download Special K.
  2. Copy SpecialK32.dll to the installation folder.
  3. Rename SpecialK32.dll to d3d9.dll.
  4. Start the game and then exit.
  5. Open d3d9.ini in the installation folder.
  6. Change TargetFPS to 60.0.
  7. Change RefreshRate to 0.

Launcher crashes when trying to start the game, No resolution options available

Manually create config files[5]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. If no files are present, create files named Keyboard.cfg and UserConfig.cfg.
  3. Copy and paste following to files.
    • Keyboard.cfg:
    
    <?xml version="1.0" ?>
    <Setup Layout="0" />
    <Players>
    <Player InputWay="1" Vibrate="0">
    <key index="83" />
    <key index="65" />
    <key index="73" />
    <key index="79" />
    <key index="5" />
    <key index="52" />
    <key index="56" />
    <key index="54" />
    <key index="25" />
    <key index="16" />
    <key index="37" />
    <key index="23" />
    <key index="4" />
    <key index="37" />
    <key index="27" />
    <key index="67" />
    </Player>
    <Player InputWay="0" Vibrate="0">
    <key index="22" />
    <key index="18" />
    <key index="0" />
    <key index="3" />
    <key index="102" />
    <key index="98" />
    <key index="101" />
    <key index="99" />
    <key index="66" />
    <key index="104" />
    <key index="37" />
    <key index="76" />
    <key index="105" />
    <key index="37" />
    <key index="28" />
    <key index="111" />
    </Player>
    </Players>
    • UserConfig.cfg:
    
    <?xml version="1.0" ?>
    <Configs FullScreen="1" Display="0" Res="22" Width="640" Height="480" RefreshRate="60" Language="0" Analytics="0" />
  4. Start the game from <path-to-game>\sonic2app.exe.
  5. If everything works you can change UserConfig.cfg values to desired ones. You may also want to bypass launcher.

Fix Pumpkin Mountain Skull Spitting Flame, Digging, Missile and Footsteps Effects (Graphical Effects Bug)

Fixing graphical effects[6]

For some reason, with some graphical cards, some graphical effects in the game are missing by default, like the Skull Spitting Flame in the Pumpkin Mountain, the digging effect when digging with Knuckles or Rouge, the smoke effect from the missile, and even the stepping on dirt effect.

  • One solution for this is to change the main executable file name (sonic2app.exe) to Launcher.exe, and for some reason, it fixes theses issues. It is advised to make a backup of these two files before doing this.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 9.0c
Shader Model support 3.0
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows

Modding

Modding essentials

How to install SA2 Mod Manager[7]
  1. Download SA2 Mod Manager from here.
  2. Extract the contents of SA2ModLoader.7z to <path-to-game>.
  3. Run SA2ModManager.exe, click the Install loader, then go to the Options tab and adjust settings as desired.

Notes

Eases installation and configuration of mods without replacing installation files.

Featured websites

Featured mods

This section may require cleanup to meet basic quality standards. The specific problem is: Needs to be organized better. You can help by modifying the article. The discussion page may contain useful suggestions.
  • Render Fix - Fixes some of the rendering oddities of the PC version, focusing on the GameCube models.
  • Misc. Improvements and Dreamcast Textures - Attempts to restore some of the missing effects and modified textures to their Dreamcast counterparts.
  • Stache Fix - A texture replacement for Sonic and Shadow that fixes a rendering issue on their face.
  • Dreamcast Characters - Dreamcast character models converted for the PC version.
  • Dreamcast Chao Garden - Restores the original Dreamcast version of the Chao Garden into the PC version.
  • Cutscene Revamp - Overhauls the game's Story Mode cutscenes by fixing various issues, importing assets, and workarounds so they appear closer to the original game. This also features tweaks such as 16:9 widescreen cutscenes and restoring the Dreamcast intro.
  • Sonic Adventure 2 Retranslated - A fan-translation of the original Japanese script into English. Recommended when playing with Japanese voice-overs.
  • HQ Chao Sounds - Replaces Chao sound effects with higher quality recordings from Team Sonic Racing and adds some other music improvements.
  • Black Market Sound Fix - Replaces the duller sounding menu sounds from the Chao Garden's Black Market with ones that sound closer to the GameCube version.
  • Menu Overhaul - Overhauls and revises the menu system of the game while removing unnecessary clutter and discrepancies. This mod however causes some of the main menu descriptions to not properly reflect the rearranged menu options, but a temporary fix is a available.
  • HD GUI: SA2 - Updates many GUI and HUD elements with higher resolution ones, along with optional tweaks. Recommended with Menu Overhaul.
  • Better Buttons - Replaces the stock Xbox 360 prompts with ones from Sonic Generations.
  • GameCube Textures - Replaces the textures of the game with ones leftover from the GameCube port.
  • Restore SOAP ads - Restores the various references to SOAP in City Escape, Radical Highway, Downtown Race, and the kart racing stages, without adding incidental GameCube button prompts.
  • Neuro AI HD Texture Pack - Enhanced HD-quality textures upscaled 4x by Gigapixel AI using neural networks.
  • Character Select Mod - Allows players to play as other characters in stages they weren't intended for by pressing certain buttons while loading a stage.
  • Disable Upgrade Models - Disable or show upgrade items on characters.
  • No Loading Screen Tips - Removes the gameplay tips that appear during a loading screen which may not be readable by default due to the faster loading times of the PC version.
  • Action Remap - Remaps the "Light Speed Dash" to the Y button, so that you don't unintentionally use the "Somersault" and "Bounce Bracelet" moves while trying to use the "Light Speed Dash".

Co-op Story Mode

By using Cheat Engine after launching the game, you can enable co-op play at 2 players for the Story Mode, only possible on PC port.
Address 0043D6EB must be set as 3D898989898989, Address 00439703 as 9090 and Address 01934BE4 as 1 for having Shadow as P2 (or : 0 - Sonic / 1 - Shadow / 2 - Mechless Tails/ 3 - Mechless Eggman/ 4 - Knuckles/ 5 - Rouge/ 6 - Mech Tails / 7 - Mech Eggman)

SA2 Save Utility

A utility designed to modify save files for the game. Can be downloaded here.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) XP
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium 4 3.2 GHz
AMD Athlon 64 3000+
System memory (RAM) 1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 3 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce 8600
ATI Radeon HD 3650
256 MB of VRAM
DirectX 9.0c compatible
Sound (audio device) DirectX compatible sound card

Notes

  1. 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).
  2. 2.0 2.1 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>/213610/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (213610) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References

  1. Why SA2B's cutscenes suck - Sonic Adventure 2 - YouTube
  2. Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2019-12-13
  3. Verified by User:SirYodaJedi on 2019-12-19
    It might be due to one of my mods, because uninstalling the mod loader worked reliably. Doesn't explain how rebooting the PC helped though.
  4. Verified by User:SirYodaJedi on 2019-12-09
  5. Game doesn't launch :: Sonic Adventure™ 2 General Discussions
  6. https://steamcommunity.com/app/213610/discussions/0/1693785669848380532/
  7. Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2019-12-12