Sonic Adventure DX
This page is for the original 2004 port. For the 2011 version, see Sonic Adventure DX (2011). For the Steam version, see Sonic Adventure DX (Steam).
Developers | |
---|---|
Sonic Team | |
Publishers | |
Sega | |
Activision Value|Activision|Activision Value | |
Release dates | |
Windows | September 14, 2004 |
Taxonomy | |
Modes | Singleplayer, Multiplayer |
Pacing | Real-time |
Perspectives | Third-person |
Controls | Direct control |
Genres | Action, Adventure, Platform |
Vehicles | Flight |
Art styles | Cartoon |
Themes | Contemporary |
Series | Sonic Adventure |
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 |
Warnings
- SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see Availability for affected versions).
Sonic Adventure DX is a cartoon third-person platforming game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega and Activision Value, and was released for PC on September 14, 2004. It was the first mainline Sonic the Hedgehog game to brought the series into 3D.
The original Sonic Adventure, released in Japan on December 23, 1998 and localized for North America, Europe, and Australia between September-December of 1999, was notable for not only bringing the Sonic the Hedgehog series in 3D, it brought a larger emphasis on story elements, featuring full voice-acting with cutscenes animated in-engine and through FMV sequences. The game also featured six playable characters, each with their own unique gameplay styles and perspectives of the game's story.
The game was later re-released in 2003 for the Nintendo GameCube as Sonic Adventure DX as an updated version of the game, with a number of unlockable Game Gear games as an added bonus, however, it also features a multitude of changes that differ from the original Dreamcast version of Sonic Adventure; see this blog or this video for details about the changes between the original Dreamcast version and its later ports. The 2004 PC version of Sonic Adventure DX, however, is a subpar port marred with inferior visual and sound quality compared to previous versions, with a broken windowed mode, lacks keyboard remapping, and a camera spinning bug with certain controllers, among other problems; see TCRF for details. The 2004 PC version did not receive any official patches, however, it did serve as the basis of the 2010 Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 ports (with the DX version's extra content as paid DLC), which also served as the basis of the 2011 Steam version (with the DX version's content mostly in-tact) as part of the Dreamcast Collection and was later updated in 2014.[1]
The 2004 PC version has an active modding scene with many modders not only fixing the PC version's issues, but also have worked on restoring features that was altered or removed from the original Dreamcast version of Sonic Adventure. PkR, the author of Ultimate Guide to SADX Sins blog, also has developed SADX Mod Installer, a tool that eases the installation of MainMemory's SADX Mod Loader and bundles various community-created mods to restore elements from the original Dreamcast version, or enhance the features of the GameCube version in this port. SADX Mod Installer can also downgrade the later Steam versions into the 2004 version.
General information
- 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 series can also be found here.
Availability
Source | DRM | Notes | Keys | OS |
---|---|---|---|---|
Retail | Original European release uses SecuROM 5 DRM. The Sold Out Software re-release uses SafeDisc 4 DRM[Note 1]. The version in the "Sonic PC Collection" bundle, as well as the North American version, uses disc check but no DRM middleware. Use SADX Mod Loader to bypass disc check. |
- SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).
- A demo is available.
- The default desktop icon used by the executable has issues with improper usage of transparency. A fixed version of the icon can be found in the Files section.
Essential improvements
SADX Mod Installer
- A mod/patching tool that offers bleeding-edge mod updates, downgrading the later PC re-releases to the 2004 port, advanced and beginner-friendly options for installing mods, multiple mod presets (Dreamcast, Enhanced SADX, Minimal), install necessary dependencies, apply compatibility fixes, and configure SADX Mod Loader's settings before installation.
- Provides a custom configuration tool to customize game settings as well as keyboard and controller bindings.
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
System | Location |
---|---|
Windows | <path-to-game>\sonicDX.ini[Note 2] |
- If using SADX Mod Loader, its configuration file is
SADXModLoader.ini
found under<path-to-game>\mods
. The Input Mod's configuration files areconfig.ini
andgamecontrollerdb.txt
found under<path-to-game>\mods\sadx-input-mod
.
Save game data location
System | Location |
---|---|
Windows | <path-to-game>\savedata\SonicDX*.snc[Note 2] <path-to-game>\savedata\SONICADVENTURE_DX_CHAOGARDEN.snc[Note 2] |
- A collection of save files after every level, boss fight, and cutscene, along with full completion saves can be found here
Video
Graphics feature | State | WSGF | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Widescreen resolution | Supports only 4:3 resolutions.[4] Use SADX Mod Loader and disable Force 4:3 Aspect Ratio for widescreen.[5] | ||
Multi-monitor | |||
Ultra-widescreen | Use SADX Mod Loader for 21:9 widescreen. | ||
4K Ultra HD | Use SADX Mod Loader for 4K resolution. | ||
Field of view (FOV) | |||
Windowed | The game's windowed mode is broken.[4] Can be fixed with SADX Mod Loader. | ||
Borderless fullscreen windowed | Use SADX Mod Installer, then enable Borderless and Fullscreen in SADX Mod Loader. | ||
Anisotropic filtering (AF) | Use SADX Mod Installer, then enable Force Mipmapping in SADX Mod Loader and force anisotropic filtering via GPU control panel. | ||
Anti-aliasing (AA) | Use SADX Mod Installer, then force desired anti-aliasing method via GPU control panel. | ||
Vertical sync (Vsync) | Use SADX Mod Installer, then enable Enable V-sync in SADX Mod Loader or force it via via GPU control panel. | ||
60 FPS | In-engine cutscenes are capped at 30 FPS. | ||
120+ FPS | Gameplay is capped at 60 FPS. | ||
High dynamic range display (HDR) |
Input
Keyboard and mouse | State | Notes |
---|---|---|
Remapping | Only mouse buttons can be remapped.[4] Use the Input Mod and SADX Mod Installer's AppLauncher.exe tool for custom keybindings.[5] |
|
Mouse acceleration | ||
Mouse sensitivity | ||
Mouse input in menus | ||
Mouse Y-axis inversion | ||
Controller | ||
Controller support | ||
Full controller support | Certain controllers may causes camera spinning issues.[4] Use the Input Mod to workaround this issue. | |
Controller remapping | Controllers are remapped from the Set up pad screen in the pause menu, however, some controller inputs may not be remapped.[4] Use the Input Mod and SADX Mod Installer's AppLauncher.exe tool for custom controller remapping.[5] |
|
Controller sensitivity | ||
Controller Y-axis inversion |
Controller types |
---|
XInput-compatible controllers | Use Input Mod to wrap XInput inputs to SDL2.[5] | |
---|---|---|
Xbox button prompts | Use SADX Mod Installer, then install the Xbox 360 Prompts or Xbox One Prompts mods. | |
Impulse Trigger vibration |
PlayStation controllers | Use Input Mod to wrap DualShock 4 inputs to SDL2.[5] | |
---|---|---|
PlayStation button prompts | Use SADX Mod Installer, then install the PlayStation 4 Prompts mod. | |
Light bar support | ||
Adaptive trigger support | ||
DualSense haptic feedback support | ||
Connection modes | Wireless (Bluetooth), Wired V2 controller tested with the Input Mod included in SADX Mod Installer. |
Generic/other controllers | DirectInput controllers are supported, however, certain controllers may require the Input Mod included in SADX Mod Installer to work properly. | |
---|---|---|
Button prompts | Keyboard prompts only without mods.[4] HD GUI 2 mod from SADX Mod Installer uses Dreamcast controller prompts by default. For DualShock 3 prompts, use the DualShock 3 Prompts mod. For Nintendo prompts, use either Wii U Pro Prompts or Switch Pro Prompts mods. |
Additional information | ||
---|---|---|
Controller hotplugging | Use the Input Mod included in SADX Mod Installer. | |
Haptic feedback | Use Input Mod bundled with SADX Mod Installer to restore vibration feedback on XInput controllers.[5] | |
Digital movement supported | ||
Simultaneous controller+KB/M |
Audio
Audio feature | State | Notes |
---|---|---|
Separate volume controls | Background muisc, Sound effects/Voice. Both options has individual sliders and can be muted. | |
Surround sound | Up to 7.0 output with DirectSound3D restoration software. | |
Subtitles | On by default. Idle Chatter mod does not use captions. |
|
Closed captions | ||
Mute on focus lost | ||
EAX support | DirectSound3D.[6] |
Localizations
Language | UI | Audio | Sub | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
English | Dubtitles only. Use SADX Mod Installer with Sonic Adventure Retranslated if playing with Japanese audio and English subtitles. | |||
French | ||||
German | ||||
Japanese | ||||
Spanish | Castilian. |
Issues resolved
Broken windowed mode
- The game's windowed mode does not function properly and causes the game to be stretched out to 1434x730, regardless of resolution selected from the game's configuration tool, resulting in grainy and distorted graphics.
Install SADX Mod Loader (included with SADX Mod Installer) and use its graphics settings instead[7] |
---|
Controller causes camera to spin uncontrollably
- Certain controllers may cause the game's camera to spin around and cannot be stopped unless constantly holding down the Whistle button.
Install Input Mod (included with SADX Mod Installer)[8] |
---|
Other information
API
Technical specs | Supported | Notes |
---|---|---|
Direct3D | 9 | |
Shader Model support | 2.0a |
Executable | 32-bit | 64-bit | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Windows |
Middleware
Middleware | Notes | |
---|---|---|
Audio | WMA, ADX | Use SADX Mod Installer to use ADX audio instead of non-looping WMA.[Note 3] |
Input | SDL2 | Use the Input Mod bundled with SADX Mod Installer for SDL2 support. |
Modifications
- This section assumes that you have already patched Sonic Adventure DX with SADX Mod Installer. The later re-releases needs to be downgraded first before modding the game.
- SADX Mod Loader, included with SADX Mod Installer, eases installation of mods without replacing files, as well as configuring game settings and mod options (if available).
Featured websites
- GameBanana - Hosts a large number of user-created mods for Sonic Adventure DX.
- Sonic Community Hacking Guide for Sonic Adventure DX PC on Sonic Retro.
Featured mods
Included with SADX Mod Installer (varies by mod presets):
- SADX: Fixed Edition - A suite of bugfixes and minor enhancements for Sonic Adventure DX.
- Input Mod - Replaces the game's DirectInput polls with SDL2 while offering various controller tweaks and keyboard remapping via Virtual Key Codes.
- Smooth Cam - Makes the first-person camera full range and variable speed instead of 8-directional fixed speed.
- Frame Limit - A precise frame rate limiter for the PC version.
- Onion Blur - Reimplements the psuedo-motion blur effect from the Japanese version of Sonic Adventure.
- Dreamcast Conversion - An overhaul project that aims to restore the original features of the Dreamcast version back into the PC version.
- Dreamcast Character Pack - Replaces the higher-poly DX models and textures with their original Dreamcast counterparts.
- Lantern Engine - Reimplements the Dreamcast's original palette lighting. Requires d3d8to9 wrapper to work.
- Dreamcast DLC - Reimplements the lost downloadable contents from the Dreamcast version and recreates them to work with the PC version.
- Sound Overhaul - An audio overhaul project that replaces the low-quality sound files of the PC version with higher-quality ones from the Dreamcast version.
- HD GUI 2 - Remasters the game's HUD and GUI elements for HD resolutions with SADX Mod Loader's UI scaling feature. Uses Dreamcast controller prompts by default, but add-on variants for other controllers are also available.
- Time of Day - Adds a time of day system when transitioning between hub areas.
- Idle Chatter - Adds the ability to hear what your character has to say about the stage by pressing the in-game Z button.
- Pause Hide - Press X+Y to hide the pause menu like the Dreamcast version.
- Super Sonic - Enables the ability to unlock and play as Super Sonic after completing the game's Last Story.
- Enhanced Emerald Coast - Improves Sonic Adventure DX's version of the Emerald Coast stage. Not compatible with the Dreamcast Conversion.
- Egg Carrier Ocean Music - Plays "The Ocean" music in outside areas of the Egg Carrier after it has sunk.
- Steam Achievements - Restores Steam Achievement functionality after downgrading the Steam version of the game.
- Camera Code Error Fix - A speedrun-friendly mod that fixes problems with the camera. Only available to the "Minimal" mod preset in SADX Mod Installer.
Dreamcast enhancements:
- Fixes, Adds, and Beta Restores - Fixes various issues leftover in the Dreamcast version of the game, while adding and restoring cut beta content into the game.
- Minor Palette Fixes - An extension for the Lantern Engine mod that fixes some objects being lit too brightly in Station Square (Night) and Mystic Ruins Chao Garden (Evening).
- Mimic DC Textures - Replaces the textures of the higher-poly DX character models with ones that closely resemble the original Dreamcast version. Recommended for those using the Dreamcast Conversion and related mods included in SADX Mod Installer.
- AI HD Textures - Dreamcast textures upscaled with Topaz AI Gigapixel neural network.
SADX enhancements:
- GameCube Textures - Replaces the heavily compressed textures with their less compressed (and sometimes higher resolution) GameCube equivalents.
- GameCube Style Lighting - Another extension for the Lantern Engine mod that attempts to recreate the lighting as appeared on the GameCube version.
Miscellaneous:
- Sonic Adventure Retranslated - A fan-translation of the game's Japanese script into English. Recommended when playing with the Japanese voice-overs.
- Uekawa-Accurate Colors - Replaces the playable characters' textures with ones that appear more faithfully to Yuji Uekawa's artwork. Compatible with Dreamcast and DX character models.
- No Gloss - Removes the "shininess" (specular highlights) from character models. Should be loaded last in SADX Mod Loader so it affects custom models as well.
- Chao Spin Swap - Swaps the in-game X and B buttons in the Chao Garden. X is to Spin Dash and B is used to grab your Chao.
- Character Select - Change which character loads by holding buttons on the controller.
- Physics Swap - Allows you to swap characters' physics values to another character's.
- AI HD FMVs - All FMVs upscaled to 1080p with Topaz AI Gigapixel neural network.
SASave utility
- A save game editor that can not only modify the PC version's save files (region independent), but it can also modify the Dreamcast (all regions) and GameCube (all regions) version's save files as well. Can be downloaded here.
System requirements
Windows | ||
---|---|---|
Minimum | Recommended | |
Operating system (OS) | 98, ME | 2000, XP |
Processor (CPU) | Intel Pentium III 600 MHz AMD Athlon 600 MHz |
Intel Pentium III 800 MHz AMD Athlon 800 MHz |
System memory (RAM) | 128 MB | 256 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) | 700 MB | 1.4 GB |
Video card (GPU) | 16 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0a compatible | 32 MB of VRAM |
Notes
- ↑ 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]
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 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). - ↑ More Information about CRI Middleware (in Japanese)
References
- ↑ Sonic Adventure (2010) - Sonic Adventure - last accessed on 2020-10-28
- ↑ Not Loading in Windows 10; this will break thousands of - Microsoft Community - last accessed on 2017-01-16
- ↑ Microsoft - MS15-097: Description of the security update for the graphics component in Windows: September 8, 2015 - last accessed on 2018-02-16
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2020-07-23
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2020-07-23
- ↑ Sonic Adventure DX w/ 3D spatial sound 🎧 (OpenAL Soft HRTF audio)
- ↑ Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2020-07-24
- Issue encountered with the vanilla version of the 2004 port. The issue was fixed after installing SADX Mod Loader and using its settings to configure the game's graphics settings to display properly.
- ↑ Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2020-07-23
- Tested on a clean vanilla installation of the 2004 port, where the issue occured with an Xbox One controller. The issue was resolved after using the Input Mod with SADX Mod Loader.