Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

Splinter Cell
Subseries of Tom Clancy
Splinter Cell	2003
Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow	2004
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory	2005
Splinter Cell: Double Agent	2006
Splinter Cell: Conviction	2010
Splinter Cell: Blacklist	2013

Warnings

The Mac OS X version of this game does not work on Mac OS X Lion (version 10.7) or later due to the removal of support for PowerPC apps.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell is a singleplayer third-person action and stealth game in the Splinter Cell series.

Key points

Based off the Xbox version.

Doesn't contain the Depth of Field effect when using the night goggles from the Xbox version.

Nuclear Power Plant mission from the PlayStation 2 version is missing.

General information

Official Forums

Splinter Cell Wiki

GOG.com Community Discussions

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		SafeDisc 2 DRM^{[Note 1]}
Epic Games Store
GamersGate

GOG.com
Green Man Gaming
Humble Store
Steam
Ubisoft Store		Included with Ubisoft+

SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).

GOG.com and Uplay releases have broken support for EAX Advanced HD, falling back to EAX 2.0.

A faithful, higher quality icon can be found on SteamGridDB.

A demo is available here. It includes parts from Police Station and Kalinatek missions.

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Bonus missions	Added in the latest patch, not included in the steam release.

Essential improvements

Patches

The latest patch is 1.3. Older patches are available here (if you get a "403 Forbidden" message, simply try again).

Digital distribution versions are already patched.

Skip intro videos

Instructions^[5]
Go to `<path-to-game>\Videos`. Delete or rename `Logos.bik` and `videointro.bik`.

Improved loading screens

Adds new loading screens for the Bonus missions which fit much more with the rest of the game and try to flesh-out the story wherever possible.

Restores the correct loading screens that should display between Kalinatek and Chinese Embassy from the leaked Xbox prototype.

Works only when the game language is set to English.

Spell Check

Fixes some typos from the English version of the game.

Texture Shader Fixes

Disables problematic texture shaders that render incorrectly on PC at certain angles, improving visual quality. Affected levels include Defense Ministry and CIA HQ.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\system\^{[Note 2]}
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/13560/pfx/^{[Note 3]}

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\Save\<user-id>^{[Note 2]}
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/13560/pfx/^{[Note 3]}

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Epic Games Launcher
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud
Ubisoft Connect		^[6]

Video

In-game video settings.

Graphics feature	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution		See Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor		See Widescreen resolution
Ultra-widescreen		See Widescreen resolution
4K Ultra HD		See Widescreen resolution
Field of view (FOV)	See Field of view (FOV)
Windowed	Toggle with `Alt`+`↵ Enter`
Borderless fullscreen windowed	See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)	See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)	See Anti-aliasing (AA)
Vertical sync (Vsync)	See Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS
120+ FPS	Capped at 200 FPS. At frame rates higher than 60 physics of some "softbody" objects like curtains break; at even higher numbers (140+) pathfinding is broken.^[7]

Widescreen resolution

Use ThirteenAG's Widescreen Fix^[8]

Go to this site and hit the small arrow on the right of the Download button for a direct download link in the drop down list.
- Alternatively, download SplinterCell.WidescreenFix.zip after going to the GitHub release page.
Extract the system folder to <path-to-game>.

Notes

FOV is automatically adjusted to resolution.

Removes HUD stretching and moves HUD elements to the edge of the screen.

Cutscenes are no longer fullscreen; instead, they are played in an unscaled 640 x 480 resolution.

The ending of the game is stretched 4:3.

When launching the game a window may appear asking to download the latest version and dgVoodoo 2 which is required to fix some rendering issues.

Field of view (FOV)

Edit SplinterCellUser.ini^[9]

Go to the configuration file(s) location.
Open SplinterCellUser.ini.
Find a section [Engine.PlayerController].
There you'll find the two lines:
- DesiredFOV=75.0
- DefaultFOV=75.0

Notes

For Hor+ gameplay, a new profile must be created after this solution was applied. Otherwise, previously made profiles will still use the old FOV setting.

Use either this or ThirteenAG's Widescreen Fix or the FOV will be too wide.

Anti-aliasing (AA)

Override AA settings^{[citation needed]}

Download and run Nvidia Profile Inspector.
Search and open the game profile.
Locate the Antialiasing section.
1. Set Behavior Flags to None.
2. Set Mode to Override.
3. Set Setting to desired AA (e.g. Multisampling).
Apply changes.

Notes

This works for both Nvidia and AMD GPUs.

Force MSAA using dgVoodoo 2^[8]

Read the instructions below to properly setup dgVoodoo 2 for this game.
Open dgVoodooCpl.exe and click on the DirectX tab.
Set Antialiasing(MSAA) to 2x, 4x or 8x.

Notes

When using ThirteenAG's Widescreen Fix the included <path-to-game>\system\dgVoodoo.conf file overrides the global dgVoodoo settings. Delete/rename that file for the global settings to be applied, or edit that file directly in dgVoodooCpl.exe.

Water will be rendered incorrectly in few places (sea in the Oil Refinery level and water in two gardens in the last two levels of the main campaign).^[10]

Force SMAA using ReShade^[8]

Read the instructions below to properly setup dgVoodoo 2 for this game.
Download the latest version of ReShade and run the Reshade Setup program.
Click Select game, then select SplinterCell.exe found in <path-to-game>\system\.
Select Direct3D 10+ as the rendering API.
Allow to download shaders/effects and choose either all of them or just SMAA.
Run the game, press Home to enter the configuration menu and follow the tutorial to create new profile and activate SMAA.
In the Settings tab, under Usage Mode select Performance Mode.
Click X in top right to exit the configuration menu.

Notes

If downloading shader archive fails, download the archive manually and extract it to <path-to-game>\system\. Then in game in ReShade settings add \reshade-shaders-master\Shaders to end of the Effect Search Paths and \reshade-shaders-master\Textures to the end of Texture Search Paths field. Restart the game and continue from Step 6.

No water rendering issues.

Using the Night Vision Goggles causes a huge performance loss because ReShade tries to anti-alias the grain effect.

Vertical sync (Vsync)

Edit SplinterCell.ini^[8]

Go to the configuration file(s) location.
Open SplinterCell.ini.
Find a section [D3DDrv.D3DRenderDevice].
At the bottom of the section, after FullScreenVideo=True, add a line:
- UseVsync=True
Save the file.

Notes

Only works in fullscreen mode.

Input

In-game general control settings.

In-game mouse settings.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		Edit SplinterCellUser.ini
Full controller support
Controller remapping		Edit SplinterCellUser.ini
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers

PlayStation controllers

Generic/other controllers

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Audio

In-game audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Ambient, voice, music and SFX.
Surround sound
Subtitles		Only in-game subtitles for the OPSAT dialogue, not available in cutscenes, except for Polish version, which also adds subtitles to every dialogue in-game.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support		EAX 3.0^[11] EAX Unified^[12]

GOG.com and Uplay releases have broken support for EAX Advanced HD, falling back to EAX 2.0.

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
French				Not included on GOG.
German				Not included on steam.
Hungarian				Fan translation, download.
Italian				Not included on GOG and steam.
Polish				Retail only. Patch for digital release here.
Brazilian Portuguese				Retail only – EA Brasil.^[13]
Russian				Retail only. Patch for digital release here.
Spanish				Not included on GOG and steam, download.

Issues unresolved

Sounds stop playing

Sometimes when quicksaving or entering the menu (OPSAT) some looped sounds, like clock ticking or water running, can stop playing.

Instructions^[8]
Quick save and quick load the game to reset the sounds.

Vselka Infiltration - Stuck in control room

In Vselka Infiltration mission after using the laptop in the control room the player can't get out, because the closed doors never open, since enemies that should open them can get stuck in the stairway.

Note: This issue does not occur if you do not quick-save during the mission.

Instructions^[14]
Use `F2` to open the console. Type `ghost` and press `↵ Enter` to activate the no clipping mode. Go through the closed doors. Type `walk` and press `↵ Enter` to deactivate the no clipping mode.

Issues fixed

Broken shadows

Shadow comparison.

Due to relying on now-obsolete functionality in Nvidia GPUs, the default "buffer" shadows are broken on modern hardware. This impacts gameplay as many light sources such as searchlights become invisible but can still trigger alarms.

Force projector shadows

The game, when tweaked, supports projection shadows, which work on modern hardware.

Launch the game with -shadowmode=projector parameter^[8]

Edit SplinterCell.ini^[15]
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open `SplinterCell.ini`. Find `[D3DDrv.D3DRenderDevice]` section. Uncomment `;ForceShadowMode=0` line (remove the semicolon).

Use dgVoodoo2 with default buffer shadows

Use dgVoodoo2^[15]

Download dgVoodoo 2.
Extract the contents to the folder of your choice.
Open dgVoodooCpl.exe and click the DirectX tab.
Under Videocard select GeForce 4 Ti 4800 from the drop-down menu.
Select 256 MB from the VRAM drop-down menu.
Click Apply and OK at the bottom of the dgVoodoo 2 application window.
Copy D3D8.dll file from dgVoodoo2\MS\ folder to <path-to-game>\system folder.

Notes

Requires dgVoodoo2 2.53 or later. Please note, however, that the more recent versions of dgVoodoo2 will break compatibility for this method. Recommended to use a version at, or slightly above, the one posted.

Patch won't install

On a retail install, attempting to install the official patches may throw up an error stating the installer can't find the correct version number.

Instructions (Patch 1.3)^[16]
Place the "SplinterCell.exe" from the DVD Patch 1 folder to the System folder, where the game is installed. Click setup.exe - it should now install properly. Once patching is complete, place the "SplinterCell.exe" from the DVD Patch 2 folder in the same location, overwriting it.

Stuttering during gameplay

Force CPU affinity to one core^{[citation needed]}

Game not detecting EAX support

Edit SplinterCellUser.ini

Go to the configuration file(s) location.
Open SplinterCellUser.ini
Find [Engine.EPCGameOptions] section.
Change the following lines:
- EAX=false
- EAX_Capable=false
- Sound3DAcc=false
To:
- EAX=true
- EAX_Capable=true
- Sound3DAcc=true
Save file.

Notes

EAX will automatically be disabled if the audio settings menu is opened. The process has to be repeated then.

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
vorpX		G3D User created profile, requires DGVoodoo2 v 2.55.4, see profile introdution. `Note:` Profile may not work with the latest wrapper, in case of issues please report to the vorpx forum.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	8.1
Shader Model support	1.4

Executable	PPC	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	Dolby Digital, DirectSound
Cutscenes	Bink Video

HD Textures from the PS3 version

Instructions^[8]

Download the archive from here.
Extract the archive and copy the Textures folder to the game installation folder and overwrite the existing files.

Notes

HD textures are mostly faithful to the original textures, except in the Abattoir level which looks much cleaner. Ads have been removed.

Cutscenes from the PS2 version

Instructions^{[citation needed]}

Download the archive from here.
Extract the archive and copy the Videos folder to the game installation folder and overwrite the existing files.

Notes

PlayStation 2 cutscenes are pre-rendered and story is slightly altered in that version.

The videos are only in English.

Thermal vision in every level

The game allows the use of thermal vision after mission four, this mod allows to use them from the beginning of the game.

Instructions^{[citation needed]}
Download the archive from here. Extract the archive to `<path-to-game>\maps`.

Loading screens for the bonus levels from the Xbox version

The Xbox version of the game had different loading screens for the bonus levels, this mod adds them back.

Instructions^{[citation needed]}
Download the archive from here. Extract the archive to `<path-to-game>\system`

Improved graphics

The game allows for better graphics by editing the ini files.

Instructions^{[citation needed]}

Change the values of SplinterCell.ini located at <path-to-game> to be like the below:

[WinDrv.WindowsClient]
TextureDetail=High
SkinDetail=High
Brightness=0.500000
Contrast=0.500000
Gamma=1.000000
MipFactor=1.000000
UseJoystick=True
CaptureMouse=True
StartupFullscreen=True
ScreenFlashes=True
NoLighting=False
DeadZoneXYZ=True
DeadZoneRUV=False
InvertVertical=False
ScaleXYZ=1.000000
ScaleRUV=1.000000
MinDesiredFrameRate=10.000000
Decals=True
NoDynamicLights=False
SkinDetail=High
TextureDetail=High
NoFractalAnim=False
Decals=True

[D3DDrv.D3DRenderDevice]
Translucency=True
VolumetricLighting=True
ShinySurfaces=True
HighDetailActors=True
UsePrecaching=True
UseMipmapping=True
UseTrilinear=True
UseMultitexture=True
UsePageFlipping=True
UseFullscreen=False
UseGammaCorrection=True
DetailTextures=True
UseTripleBuffering=True
UsePrecache=True
Use32BitTextures=True
HardwareSkinning=False
AdapterNumber=-1
ReduceMouseLag=False
UseTripleBuffering=True
; ForceShadowMode flag : 0==projector, 1==buffer, unspecified==auto-detect
ForceShadowMode=1
EmulateGF2Mode=0
FullScreenVideo=True
UseVsync=True

Change the values of SplinterCellUser.ini located at <path-to-game> to be like the below:

[Engine.EPCGameOptions]
AnimatedGeometry=True
ShadowLevel=2
LightMapsLevel=2
TextureLevel=2
Resolution=1920x1080
AmbiantVolume=99
VoicesVolume=99
MusicVolume=99
AudioVirt=2
Sound3DAcc=true
EAX=True
InvertMouse=False
FireEquipGun=False
MouseSensitivity=50
ShadowResolution=2
EnableFadeOut=0
FadeOutNearPlane=1000
FadeOutFarPlane=1250
SFXVolume=99
Brightness=50
Gamma=50
EffectsQuality=3
FadeOut=0
VidMem=2
GraphicsCaps=0
EAX_Capable=true
AntiAliasing=2

Set both the files as read-only through file properties.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	98SE	ME, 2000, XP
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium III 800 MHz AMD Athlon 800 MHz	Intel Pentium III 1.0 GHz AMD Athlon 1.0 GHz
System memory (RAM)	256 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	1.5 GB	2.1 GB
Video card (GPU)	32 MB of VRAM DirectX 8.1 compatible	64 MB of VRAM

Supported ATI chipsets: Radeon 7500, 8500, 9000, 9500, 9700.

Supported Nvidia chipsets: GeForce 256, GeForce2 Ti/Ultra/Pro/GTS/MX400/MX, GeForce3 series, GeForce4 series.

The Matrox Parhelia is also supported.

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	10.2.8
Processor (CPU)	PowerPC 74xx PowerPC G4
System memory (RAM)	256 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)
Other	2x DVD-ROM drive

Notes

↑ SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10^[3] 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.^[4]
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 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).
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1
Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
- File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
- Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
- The app ID (13560) may differ in some cases.
- Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
- See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

References

↑ Aspyr Media, Inc. Ships Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell For Macintosh - Business Wire - last accessed on 2016-7-23
↑ Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Ships for Mac - The Mac Observer - last accessed on 2016-7-23
↑ 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
↑ Verified by User:aaronth07 on 2017-9-05
↑ Cloud save support for games available on Ubisoft+ - last accessed on 2021-09-18
↑ An example of someone playing at 200 FPS. - last accessed on 2022-05-09
↑ ^8.0 ^8.1 ^8.2 ^8.3 ^8.4 ^8.5 ^8.6 Verified by User:Antrad on September 21, 2017
↑ Splinter Cell | WSGF
↑ Dege's stuffs - dgVoodoo test results
↑ EAX Featured Game: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell - EAX.CREATIVE.COM (retrieved)
↑ A Guide to Testing Positional Audio and EAX - EAX_QA.pdf (retrieved)
↑ Splinter Cell.
↑ Ubisoft Forums - Splinter Cell Vselka Infiltration bug
↑ ^15.0 ^15.1 Verified by User:Expack3 on 2016-09-14
↑ https://steamcommunity.com/app/13560/discussions/0/1474222595302461643/

[5] SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10^[3] 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.^[4]

[gamedir-7] 2.0 ^2.1 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).

[Proton_path_note-8] 3.0 ^3.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
The app ID (13560) may differ in some cases.
Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

[4] File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.

[5] Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.

[6] The app ID (13560) may differ in some cases.

[7] Treat backslashes as forward slashes.

[8] See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

[1] Aspyr Media, Inc. Ships Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell For Macintosh - Business Wire - last accessed on 2016-7-23

[2] Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Ships for Mac - The Mac Observer - last accessed on 2016-7-23

[3] Not Loading in Windows 10; this will break thousands of - Microsoft Community - last accessed on 2017-01-16

[4] Microsoft - MS15-097: Description of the security update for the graphics component in Windows: September 8, 2015 - last accessed on 2018-02-16

[6] Verified by User:aaronth07 on 2017-9-05

[9] Cloud save support for games available on Ubisoft+ - last accessed on 2021-09-18

[10] An example of someone playing at 200 FPS. - last accessed on 2022-05-09

[refcheck_Antrad-11] 8.0 ^8.1 ^8.2 ^8.3 ^8.4 ^8.5 ^8.6 Verified by User:Antrad on September 21, 2017

[12] Splinter Cell | WSGF

[13] Dege's stuffs - dgVoodoo test results

[14] EAX Featured Game: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell - EAX.CREATIVE.COM (retrieved)

[15] A Guide to Testing Positional Audio and EAX - EAX_QA.pdf (retrieved)

[16] Splinter Cell.

[17] Ubisoft Forums - Splinter Cell Vselka Infiltration bug

[Expack3-18] 15.0 ^15.1 Verified by User:Expack3 on 2016-09-14

[19] ttps://steamcommunity.com/app/13560/discussions/0/1474222595302461643/

[1]

[2]

[Note 1]

[5]

[Note 2]

[Note 3]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[3]

[4]

Developers

	Ubisoft Montreal
macOS (OS X)	i5works^[1]^[2]
Publishers
	Ubisoft
OS X	Aspyr Media
Engines
	Unreal Engine 2
Release dates
Windows	February 19, 2003
macOS (OS X)	September 29, 2004
Reception
Metacritic	91
IGDB	85
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Modes	Singleplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Third-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Action, Stealth
Art styles	Realistic
Themes	Contemporary, Asia, North America
Series	Splinter Cell