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Sonic Adventure DX (Steam)

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Revision as of 05:00, 14 June 2021 by Dandelion Sprout (talk | contribs) (→‎top: Upgrading links to HTTPS with AutoWikiBrowser, replaced: http://www.sonicretro.org/ → https://www.sonicretro.org/)

This page is for the Steam version. For the original 2004 port, see Sonic Adventure DX. For the 2011 version, see Sonic Adventure DX (2011).

Sonic Adventure DX (Steam)
Sonic Adventure DX (Steam) cover
Developers
Sonic Team
Publishers
Sega
Release dates
Windows September 16, 2014
Taxonomy
Modes Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives Third-person
Controls Direct control
Genres Action, Adventure, Platform
Sports Fishing
Vehicles Flight
Art styles Cartoon
Themes Contemporary
Series Sonic Adventure, Dreamcast Collection
Sonic Adventure DX (Steam) on IGDB
Sonic Adventure DX (Steam) guide on StrategyWiki
Sonic Adventure DX (Steam) on MobyGames
Sonic Adventure DX (Steam) 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

Sonic Adventure DX (Steam) is a cartoon third-person platforming game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega, and was released for PC on September 16, 2014. It is the updated version of the previous 2011 version.

The current Steam version of Sonic Adventure DX features some fixes over the previous 2011 version as well as some other additional graphics settings. Unfortunately, it also carries some of the same issues from the previous PC releases, such as the game still being pillarboxed to 4:3 despite supporting higher resolutions, limited XInput controller support despite being derived from the Xbox 360 port, and introduced another problem where the game's framerate is occasionally reduced to ~40 FPS instead of running at 60 FPS. All of the unlockable Game Gear games are removed in this version compared to the GameCube version and previous PC releases, similarly to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions regardless of owning their respective DX Upgrade DLC.[1]

For a while, CheakFreak's BetterSADX was considered the de facto mod package for downgrading and installing mods for the Steam version of Sonic Adventure DX. It has since been succeeded by PkR's SADX Mod Installer[2], however, BetterSADX is still being maintained and is still available to download for those interested in using it as well.

General information

Sonic Retro - A huge fan site for everything Sonic the Hedgehog. Mods for all the series can also be found here.
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Humble Store
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Steam
DRM-free after installation through Steam client (notes may include more details)
DRM-free if Steam is not installed or by creating a steam_appid.txt file containing its Steam App ID number 71250 in <path-to-game>.[3]
Windows
All versions require Steam DRM.
A faithful higher resolution desktop icon can be downloaded from the Files section; it can also be applied to the game's executable with SADX Mod Installer.

Essential improvements

SADX Mod Installer

A mod and 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 Manager's settings before installation.
Provides a custom configuration tool to customize game settings as well as keyboard and controller bindings. It is also compatible with BetterSADX and can be downloaded here.
After downgrading to the 2004 port with SADX Mod Installer, see here and here for recommended mods.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\input_config.xml[Note 1]
<path-to-game>\keycap_config.xml[Note 1]
<path-to-game>\system_config.xml[Note 1]
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/71250/pfx/[Note 2]
SADX Mod Installer moves the game and SADX Mod Loader settings to <path-to-game> and <path-to-game>\mods, respectively.

Save game data location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\SEGA\Sonic Adventure DX\SAVEDATA
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/71250/pfx/[Note 2]
SonicAdventure##.snc is the game's save data for each save slot. Up to 10 save slots are available.
SonicAdventureChaoGarden.snc is the game's Chao Garden save data.
SADX Mod Installer moves the save files to <path-to-game>\SAVEDATA.
Save files from the 2014 Steam version can be converted to be compatible with the 2004 port with SADX Mod Installer.

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
OneDrive
Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.
Steam Cloud

Video

Graphics tab from external configuration tool.
Graphics tab from external configuration tool.

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
The Steam version is pillarboxed to 4:3 in widescreen resolutions. Use SADX Mod Loader included with SADX Mod Installer and disable Force 4:3 Aspect Ratio under its graphics settings for widescreen support.[4]
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
Use SADX Mod Manager included with SADX Mod Installer for 21:9 widescreen.
4K Ultra HD
Use SADX Mod Manager included with SADX Mod Installer for 4K resolution.
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Use Borderless Gaming for the Steam version. Alternatively, use SADX Mod Installer, then enable Borderless and Fullscreen under SADX Mod Loader's graphics settings.[5]
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Not available in the Steam version. Use SADX Mod Installer, then enable Force Mipmapping in SADX Mod Loader's graphics settings and force anisotropic filtering via GPU control panel.[4]
Anti-aliasing (AA)
FXAA on/off for the Steam version. Nvidia card owners can force any kind of anti-aliasing with Nvidia Inspector with compatibility flag 0x080000C1 as long as they are using a 4:3 resolution (e.g. 1200x900 on a 1600x900 monitor). If using SADX Mod Installer, anti-aliasing can be forced by your GPU's control panel.[4]
Vertical sync (Vsync)
Built-in V-sync setting in the Steam version may cause perform issues. If using SADX Mod Installer, check Enable V-sync in SADX Mod Loader's graphics settings or force it via GPU control panel.[4]
60 FPS
In-engine cutscenes are capped at 30 FPS. While they can be switched to 60 FPS via a cheat in the SADX Mod Loader after downgrading to the 2004 port, they will play at double the speed.
120+ FPS
Gameplay is capped at 60 FPS.
High dynamic range display (HDR)
See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Input

Keyboard remapping from external configuration tool.
Keyboard remapping from external configuration tool.
Controller remapping from external configuration tool.
Controller remapping from external configuration tool.

Keyboard and mouse State Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse is not use outside of external configuration tool.
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support
Controller remapping
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion
Controller types
XInput-compatible controllers
The D-pad is not supported in the Steam version.[6] Use the Input Mod included with SADX Mod Installer for improved XInput support.
Xbox button prompts
Steam version uses Xbox 360 prompts with XInput controllers. Use SADX Mod Installer, install either the Xbox 360 Prompts or Xbox One Prompts mods.
Impulse Trigger vibration
PlayStation controllers
Although the game recognizes DualShock 4 controllers as a generic DirectInput controller, its configuration tool does not and requires manually editing the input_config.xml file found in <path-to-game> to remap controls.[7] Use the Input Mod included with SADX Mod Installer for improved DualShock 4 support, however, its configuration tool does have an issue with remapping controls (see here).
PlayStation button prompts
Use SADX Mod Installer, then install the PlayStation 3 Prompts or PlayStation 4 Prompts mods.
Light bar support
Adaptive trigger support
DualSense haptic feedback support
Connection modes Wireless (Bluetooth),

V2 controller tested.[7]
Generic/other controllers
Certain controllers may require the Input Mod included with SADX Mod Installer to work properly.
Button prompts
Input settings icon - Generic Controller.svg
Generic prompts are used with DirectInput controllers. HD GUI 2 mod included with SADX Mod Installer uses Dreamcast controller prompts by default. For Nintendo prompts, use either Wii U Pro Prompts or Switch Pro Prompts mods.
Additional information
Button prompts
Input settings icon - Generic Controller.svg
Generic prompts are used with DirectInput controllers. HD GUI 2 mod included with SADX Mod Installer uses Dreamcast controller prompts by default. For Nintendo prompts, use either Wii U Pro Prompts or Switch Pro Prompts mods.
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Audio

Audio settings tab from external configuration tool.
Audio settings tab from external configuration tool.
In-game language settings.
In-game language settings.

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Sound FX, Voice, BGM
Surround sound
Subtitles
On by default.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Dubtitles only. Use SADX Mod Installer, then install Sonic Adventure Retranslated if playing the game with Japanese voice-overs and English subtitles.
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Spanish
Castilian.
Russian
Fan translation, available here.

Issues fixed

Low frame rate

If the frame rate is stuck around ~40 FPS and won't rise to 60, disable the in-game FXAA and Vsync and instead force them through the Nvidia/Radeon control panel instead.[8] Alternatively, if forcing Vsync and FXAA via video card control panel does not fix the issue, downgrade the game to the 2004 port and patch it with mods via SADX Mod Installer.

Other information

API

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

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Audio Criware Audio files in this re-release are low-quality compared to the Dreamcast version.[9] The original Dreamcast audio files can be restored with the Sound Overhaul mod included with SADX Mod Installer.
Input SDL2 Use the Input Mod included with SADX Mod Installer for SDL2 support.[10]
Cutscenes Criware Sofdec format FMV files.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) XP
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz
System memory (RAM) 2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 1.8 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce 7300 series
ATI Radeon X1600
256 MB of VRAM
DirectX 9.0c compatible

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 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).
  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>/71250/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (71250) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References

  1. Sonic Adventure DX (2010) - last accessed on 2020-10-28
  2. BetterSADX 4.4.6 - Now available + SADX Mod Installer - last accessed on 2020-10-28
  3. Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2019-12-11
    Creating a new steam_appid.txt file for the game with its Steam App ID number when it didn't initially had this file allowed the game to legitimately launch without Steam.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2021-01-29
  5. Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2021-01-29
    Used Borderless Gaming on the vanilla Steam version at my display's native resolution. Borderless without Fullscreen in SADX Mod Loader only uses basic Windowed mode instead.
  6. Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2020-07-20
  7. 7.0 7.1 Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2021-01-27
  8. Why is the frame rate stuck at 48FPS? - Steam Community Discussions - last accessed on 2020-07-19
  9. Sound and Music Quality Downgrades - Dreamcastify - last accessed on 2021-01-24
  10. sadx-input-mod - Github - last accessed on 2020-07-19
    "sadx-input-mod is a mod for SADX PC that replaces the default DirectInput polling with SDL2 to enable more robust gamepad support. It allows the use of DirectInput and XInput controllers simultaneously."