American McGee's Alice

This page is for the original release. For the 2011 remastered version, see American McGee's Alice (2011).

American McGee's Alice

Developers
	Rogue Entertainment
Mac OS (Classic)	Westlake Interactive
macOS (OS X)	Westlake Interactive
Publishers
	Electronic Arts
Retail re-release	Sold Out Software
Retail (Russia)	1C-SoftClub
Mac OS	Aspyr Media
macOS (OS X)	Aspyr Media
Engines
	id Tech 3
Release dates
Windows	December 5, 2000
Mac OS (Classic)	July 10, 2001
macOS (OS X)	July 10, 2001
Reception
Metacritic	85
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Modes	Singleplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Third-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Platform, Puzzle, Shooter
Art styles	Stylized
Themes	Fantasy, Horror, Victorian
Series	American McGee's Alice

American McGee's Alice
American McGee's Alice	2000
American McGee's Alice (2011)	2011
Alice: Madness Returns	2011

Warnings

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

The macOS (OS X) version of this game does not work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later due to the removal of support for 32-bit-only apps.

American McGee's Alice is a singleplayer third-person platform, puzzle and shooter game in the American McGee's Alice series.

The game was released as Alice in Nightmare in Japan.

The game does not install correctly on Windows 10 without a custom fix program.

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		SafeDisc DRM.

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

Free demo versions can be downloaded: English (ModDB), English (Archive.org), Japanese (Archive.org).

Essential improvements

Patches

Patch v1.1.2 is the latest patch for the OS X version.

Peixoto's patch

Use Peixoto's patch for easy resolution setup - no need to edit configuration files - and persistent FOV correction - the FOV won't keep resetting as is happens if modified via console or config files

Skip intro videos

Use the command line argument +forcemenu main

Skip intro videos and main menu, and go straight to the save file load screen

Use the command line argument +forcemenu loadsave

Notes At least one already existing save file must be present first. If no saves exist, then the game will softlock, as there are no saves to load, and selecting "Back" will only show a blank screen because there is nothing to go back to. All of the main menu's options are also available at the pause screen. So to access those menu options, simply load an existing save and pause the game. For example, to start a new game: load a save, open the pause screen, and select "New Game".

Remastered version audio quality

The 2011 Remastered version has much higher quality audio, however there are some graphic changes and the removal of the Chesire help button that some players might not like. If desired, just copy the superior audio files from the Remastered version over to the original version.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\base\config.cfg
macOS (OS X)
Mac OS (Classic)

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\base\save\
macOS (OS X)
Mac OS (Classic)

Video

Graphics feature	State	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)		90° by default. See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed		Can also be toggled with Alt+↵ Enter.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		Use Simple Runtime Window Editor with the Remove Borders option.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
High-fidelity upscaling		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Vertical sync (Vsync)		See Vertical sync (Vsync).
60 FPS
120+ FPS		Capped at 63 FPS by default; see High frame-rate.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Widescreen resolution

Set custom resolution
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open config.cfg with a text editor. In the Cvars section, change seta r_mode "X" to seta r_mode "-1" (add it if it doesn't exist). Add the following lines and adjust them to the desired resolution: seta r_customwidth "1920" seta r_customheight "1080" Notes HUD is stretched. Vert-. Increase FOV to compensate, see Field of View (FOV).

Field of view (FOV)

Use Peixoto's patch
If there are issues with taking screenshots or recording the game, remove the line HD=wide nofov from Peixoto\Scripts\Alice.ini.

Hex editing
Open fgamex86.dll with a hex editor like HxD. Press Ctrl+G and go to offsets 000A5580 (gameplay FOV) and 0006CAC0 (cutscenes FOV). In both offsets, change 0000B442 to 295CCD42 for 15:9 1F85D442 for 16:9 AEC7C842 for 16:10 5C8FF242 for 64:27 1F05F142 for 21:9 D7E30A43 for 32:9 8FC20643 for 32:10 14EE1743 for 48:9 33F31443 for 48:10

Use the FOV Fix

Vertical sync (Vsync)

Enable Vsync

Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open config.cfg with a text editor. In the Cvars section, add seta r_swapinterval "1" as a new line, and then save the changes. Notes If the framerate is low when Vsync is enabled, rename alice.exe to quake3.exe. If the game slightly stutters in some areas, disable Vsync and run the game instead in fullscreen borderless window using Simple Runtime Window Editor using the Remove Borders option. Windows should then apply triple buffering to prevent screen tearing.

High frame-rate

Remove frame-rate cap
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open config.cfg with a text editor. In the Cvars section, add seta com_maxfps "0" as a new line, and then save the changes.

Level of detail

Default LOD settings can be overridden to make the game render highest quality models all the time.

Instructions
Run the game at least once, so the configuration file gets created. Open <path-to-game>\Base\config.cfg file with a text editor. Add lines seta r_lodbias "-2" and seta r_lodcurveerror "10000" in the Cvars section. Save the changes and run the game.

Trilinear Texture Filtering

Enable trilinear texture filtering
Run the game at least once, so the configuration file gets created. Open <path-to-game>\Base\config.cfg file with a text editor. Add the line seta r_texturemode "gl_linear_mipmap_linear" in the Cvars section. Save the changes and run the game. Notes Is needed for the AMD Radeon Software to enforce anisotropic filtering, see glossary page.

Input

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		Although it is possible to enable controller support in the original version by using the console commands in_joystick "1" and in_restart, it was not properly implemented nor fully functional.
Full controller support
Controller remapping		Remapping controller buttons via the in-game Options menu will replace keybindings.
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration

PlayStation controllers		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.

Generic/other controllers
Button prompts		Controller buttons and axes are referenced as "Joy1", "Joy10", etc.

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

Improve mouse responsiveness

Edit config.cfg
Open <path-to-game>\Base\config.cfg in a text editor. Add the following lines: seta m_filter "1" seta in_mouse "-1" Increasing the frame rate may also have a positive effect. Other solutions: If possible, lower the polling rate on the mouse. Use an older mouse with a lower polling rate.

Audio

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Music, Sound Effects
Surround sound		Up to 7.0 output with DirectSound3D restoration software.
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support		A3D 1.0 and 2.0, EAX 1 and 2.
Royalty free audio

• 

  General settings.

• 

  Video settings.

• 

  Keyboard remapping.

• 

  Audio settings.

Localizations

All translations are compatible with the original game and the remaster.

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Czech				Fan translation, link #1 or link #2.
Dutch				Use the Alice Dutch Patch.
French
German
Italian				Fan translation, download.
Japanese				Only in the Japanese Alice in Nightmare release.
Hungarian				Fan translation, download.
Polish				Fan translation, download.
Brazilian Portuguese				Fan translation, download. Menus aren't translated.
Russian				Retail only. Localization by Softclub.
Spanish

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision		See How to Play American McGee's Alice in 3D using 3D Vision.

Issues fixed

Can not save progress

When attempting to save the game, a "Hard disk full, try deleting save files" message is sometimes displayed.

Copy the game folder to the proper location[citation needed]
Notes The game folder must be installed in either Program Files (for 32-bit Windows) or Program Files (x86) (for 64-bit Windows) to save properly. When installing the game, either accept the default install location, or copy/move the pre-existing installation to the specified location. This was tested on Windows 10 64-bit ver. 1709.[citation needed]

Game does not install correctly on Windows 10

The installer seems to skip over several files during the installation process on computers running Windows 10.

Copy missing files and fix shortcuts

Run through the installation process from the discs as normal, and make a note of the game's installation folder. Re-insert Disc 1 back into your computer's optical drive. Download and run the Alice Windows 10 Fixer, then follow its instructions. If you have installed the game to a different location than the default, you will need to enter this path manually when it asks you where to install the missing files.

Game launches in a window

Launch the game using the +set r_fullscreen "1" command line argument

Edit config.cfg
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open config.cfg with a text editor. In the Cvars section, add seta r_fullscreen "1" as a new line, then save the changes. Write-protect the file by setting a "read-only" attribute.

"Archiving recursive error" freeze

Run the .exe as an administrator[citation needed]

Game runs at a low frame-rate

The game may run poorly even on modern hardware.

Edit config.cfg
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open config.cfg with a text editor. In the Cvars section, add seta r_primitives "2" as a new line, then save the changes.

Alternative solution
Rename alice.exe to quake3.exe (this will make the graphics card use Windows' compatibility shims for Quake III: Arena instead).

Cannot enable A3D surround sound

Bypass card detection
Open game alice.exe with a hex editor. Search for B000520053E87095070083C40885C0751A. Replace it with B000520053E87095070083C40885C0741A, then save the changes.

Audio driver issues

See here for details and a fix[citation needed]

Alt+Tab does not work, even in windowed mode

Apply this registry fix here

Game output is offset from the screen/renders outside the screen

The game's video output is offset downward and to the right. It renders outside the lower-right of the screen, with black bars on the top and left.

"Vanilla" installation without mods
Set Windows Compatibility for the game's executable to Windows XP (Service Pack 3)

Modded installation
Disable screen scaling on your primary monitor

Audio does not work on Linux under Wine/Proton

Inside <path-to-game>, rename SndDrivers to snddrivers

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
OpenGL	1.2

Executable	PPC	16-bit	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)					Install the version 1.1.2 patch for Intel support.
Mac OS (Classic)

Alice HD Texture Pack

Features an expanded tweaks/cheats menu and optional Overkill mod that adds more lighting effects and enemies. Can be omitted by not installing the z(Mod)OverKill.pk3 file.

Install the Alice HD Texture Pack

Download the HD texture pack here, then extract its content somewhere conveniently accessible on your computer. Go to <path-to-game>\base\, then move or delete pak1_large.pk3. This is required for the game to load the HD textures. Copy the *.cfg and *.pk3 files from the HD texture pack into <path-to-game>\base\. Now run the game. The game's visuals should be changed with those from the HD texture pack.

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	Miles Sound System	6.0b

System requirements

Windows

Mac OS (Classic)

macOS (OS X)

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	95	98, ME
Processor (CPU)	AMD K6-2 400 MHz Intel Pentium II 400 MHz	AMD Athlon 500 MHz Intel Pentium III 500 MHz
System memory (RAM)	64 MB	128 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	600 MB	620 MB
Video card (GPU)	16 MB of VRAM DirectX 7 compatible	32 MB of VRAM
Other	4X CD/DVD-ROM	8X CD/DVD-ROM

Mac OS
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	8.6
Processor (CPU)	PowerPC G3
System memory (RAM)	128 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)
Other	2x CD-ROM drive