TimeShift

TimeShift

Developers
	Saber Interactive
Publishers
	Sierra Entertainment
Digital	Activision
Engines
	Saber3D Engine
Release dates
Windows	October 30, 2007
Reception
Metacritic	71
IGDB	75
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	First-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Action, FPS, Shooter
Vehicles	Motorcycle, Flight
Art styles	Realistic
Themes	Sci-fi

Warnings

GameSpy online services have been shut down (see Network for solutions).

TimeShift is a singleplayer and multiplayer first-person action, FPS and shooter game.

The game has some compatibility issue with modern hardware. Additionally, due to how the title implemented GPU checks, the game will refused to launch on any system using Intel graphics by default regardless of actual hardware capabilities, in addition it may not switching to compatible discrete graphics device on hybrid GPU systems. Affected user can check Issues Fixed for workaround.

General information

Official developer site

GOG.com Community Discussions

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		SecuROM DRM.
GOG.com
Steam		Is currently using an outdated version of the game. See Patches.

Missing the Urban ReDuel Multiplayer Map Pack DLC, and Futures-Past Multiplayer Map Pack DLC.

Not available for sale on GOG or Steam in Germany.

Version differences

The Steam version is outdated and has certain unintended gameplay effects not seen on a fully patched retail copy. I.E. the protective helmets on green-armored enemies do not function correctly, as a result they die in one headshot from any weapon. See Patches for a fix.

Demo

Demo can be downloaded here or here.

Essential improvements

Patches

• All available patches for the retail version can be found here.
• Patch 1.02 for the Steam release can be found here.
• GOG release is already patched to 1.02.

Skip intro videos

Delete game files
Go to <path-to-game>\video\ Delete or rename saber_logo.bik, sierra_logo.bik and twimtbp.bik.

Fix startup crash on modern multi-core CPUs

Make sure that the game is updated to 1.02 release before following the steps below. See Patches for more information.

Install Unofficial Patch for > 8 Thread CPUs
Download the patched executable. Go to <path-to-game>\bin\. Make a backup of the original executable TimeShift.exe. Copy and paste the patched executable over the original.

Game data

In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\UserConfigs
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/10130/pfx/

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\UserConfigs
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/10130/pfx/

Each hit of the "quicksave" button creates a permanent new save, quicksaves don't override each other.

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud

Video

In-game video settings.

Graphics feature	State	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen			Menu and HUD elements are stretched. FMVs are in 16:9 resolution.
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)		Slider in settings appears to specify current horizontal FOV, however the game itself uses vertical FOV. To avoid confusion, it is best to set the vertical FOV via config. See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed		See Windowed.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See Windowed.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		Up to 16 samples.
Anti-aliasing (AA)		Nvidia users can force SGSSAA. See Anti-aliasing (AA).
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS and 120+ FPS		Capped at 200 fps
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Field of view (FOV)

This game uses vertical FOV. See FOV Calculator for help.

Set custom FOV[citation needed]
Go to <path-to-game>\UserConfigs\Default\ Edit user.ini. Change FOV = 56.250000 value to the desired vertical FOV. WPN_FOV = 56.250000 sets the FOV for viewmodel, Menu_FOV = 56.250000 sets the main menu FOV.

Windowed

Force windowed mode[citation needed]
Download and run DxWnd. At the top click on Edit, then Add. Set the name and executable path. Enable Do not notify on task switch. Click OK, start the game normally.

Anti-aliasing (AA)

Force SGSSAA
Download and run Nvidia Profile Inspector. Search and open the game profile. Set Antialiasing Compatibility to 0x004010C4. Set Antialiasing Behavior Flags to None. Set Antialiasing Mode to Override any application setting. Set Antialiasing Setting to Multisampling (2x, 4x, 8xQ). Set Antialiasing Transparency Supersampling to Sparse Grid Supersampling (same as previous value). Apply changes.

Enable FSAA
Go to <path-to-game>\UserConfigs\Default\. Edit user.ini. Set the VIDEO_FSAA property to yes. Set the VIDEO_FSAA_Qual property to 2. Save the changes.

Input

In-game mouse settings.

In-game key map settings.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support

Controller types

Audio

In-game audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound		Options mentions 5.1 but it outputs up to 7.1.
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support		EAX 5.0.
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
French				Not available on Steam.
German				Only retail in Germany, censored violence. This patch adds German language to Steam version while keeping the game uncut, and also includes the 1.2 patch. This patch does the same for the GOG and international DVD versions.
Italian				Not available on Steam.
Polish				See this guide to enable in the Steam version.
Brazilian Portuguese				Unofficial translation; TriboGamer.
Russian				Local retail version only, download.
Spanish				GOG only. Steam version, download.

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
LAN play		16
Online play		16	GameSpy services have been shut down; see GameSpy for workarounds.

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

Ports

Protocol	Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP	7777-7877, 27900, 27901, 28910, 29910
UDP	7777-7877, 27900, 27901, 28910, 29910

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

VR support

3D modes	State	GG3D	Notes
Native 3D
Nvidia 3D Vision
TriDef 3D
iZ3D
vorpX		G3D User created game profile, see vorpx forum profile introduction.

Devices
3RD Space Gaming Vest

Issues fixed

Game refuses to launch on system with more than 8 CPU cores or threads.

The game does not run on CPUs with more than 8 cores or threads. Issue including stuck at shader compilation process and general instabilities.

Install Unofficial Patch for > 8 Thread CPUs
Download the patched executable. Go to <path-to-game>\bin\. Make a backup of the original executable TimeShift.exe. Copy and paste the patched executable over the original.

(AMD only) Use Ryzen Master Utility and limit CPU to 8 cores without multithreading.

Setting up compatibility settings[citation needed]
Right click on the TimeShift.exe file (located in <path-to-game>\bin) and select "Properties". Go to the "Compatibility" tab and enable Compatibility Mode (set it to "Windows XP (Service Pack 3)") and Run this program as an administrator. Launch the game. If the game still does not launch, disable Compatibility Mode and try again.

Driver error message upon launch

Setting up compatibility settings[citation needed]
Right click on the TimeShift.exe file (located in <path-to-game>\bin) and select "Properties". Go to the "Compatibility" tab and enable Compatibility Mode (set it to "Windows Vista (Service Pack 2)"). Launch the game.

Micro stuttering

Lock frame rate
Enable VSync in Video Settings. Limit frame rate to your monitor's refresh rate.

Use DXVK
Download the latest DXVK release. Extract the dxvk-version.tar.gz archive. Copy d3d9.dll from the x32 folder. Paste d3d9.dll into <path-to-game>\bin.

Game launches with black screen

Fix black screen[citation needed]
If game launches with black screen, disable all monitors other than the primary one in Windows, or just for the game by changing HRTF value in UserConfigs\Default\user.ini to 1 ("HRTF = 1").

Game crashes with Intel GPU

Use one of these fixes when the game launches with a white screen. Or closes immediately after launching it.

Use 3D-Analyze
Download 3D-Analyze. Start the program with administrative rights and select Timeshift.exe In the Vendor ID field type: 4318 Start the game via Run

Use Fallout 3's Intel GPU bypass package.
The fixes were made for Fallout 3, but also works with TimeShift. Only extract d3d9.dll from the archive to <path-to-game>\bin.

"Shadow map resolution" option grayed out and locked at medium

Due to how graphics card detection was implemented in this game, modern GPUs will not able to increase "Shadow Map Resolution" above the default Medium setting.

Edit Configuration File
Go to the configuration files location. Open user.ini. Search for VIDEO_ShadowMapRes and change values from 1 to 0. Changing any option in graphics settings will cause reverting "Shadow map resolution" option to medium setting.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9.0c
Shader Model support	2.0b

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Physics	Havok
Cutscenes	Bink Video
Multiplayer	GameSpy

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	XP	Vista
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium 4 2.0 GHz	Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+
System memory (RAM)	1 GB	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	8 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 6600 ATI Radeon X700 128 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0c compatible Shader model 2.0b support	Nvidia GeForce 8600 GTS 256 MB of VRAM

The game does not support Intel integrated graphics chipsets