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Batman: Arkham City

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Batman: Arkham City
Batman: Arkham City cover
Developers
Rocksteady Studios
macOS (OS X) Feral Interactive
Publishers
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
OS X Feral Interactive
Russia 1C-SoftClub
Engines
Unreal Engine 3
Release dates
Windows November 22, 2011
macOS (OS X) December 13, 2012
Reception
Metacritic 91
IGDB 91
Taxonomy
Monetization One-time game purchase
Modes Singleplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives Third-person
Controls Direct control
Genres Action, Adventure, Open world, Stealth
Art styles Realistic
Themes Contemporary
Series Batman: Arkham
Batman: Arkham City on HowLongToBeat
Batman: Arkham City on IGDB
Batman: Arkham City guide on StrategyWiki
Batman: Arkham City on MobyGames
Batman: Arkham City on Wikipedia
Batman: Arkham
Subseries of Batman
Batman: Arkham Asylum 2009
Batman: Arkham City 2011
Batman: Arkham Origins 2013
Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate Deluxe Edition 2014
Batman: Arkham Knight 2015
Batman: Arkham VR 2017
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League 2024

Warnings

For Games for Windows - LIVE on Windows 8 or later, install the latest Games for Windows - LIVE software.

Batman: Arkham City is a singleplayer third-person action, adventure, open world and stealth game in the Batman: Arkham series.

General information

Arkham Wiki
Batman Wiki
GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
GOG.com Support Page
OS X minisite
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
Icon overlay.png
SecuROM 8 and Games for Windows - LIVE DRM.[Note 1] The standard edition has 2 DVDs while the Game of the Year edition has 3 DVDs.
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Retail
Icon overlay.png
2014 rerelease of GOTY edition.
Windows
Epic Games Store
DRM-free after installation through Epic Games Launcher (notes may include more details)
Game of the Year Edition.
DRM-free when launched directly from executable.[1]
Windows
GamersGate
Icon overlay.png
Game of the Year Edition.
Windows
Gamesplanet logo.svg
Icon overlay.png
Game of the Year Edition.
Windows
GOG.com
DRM-free
Game of the Year Edition.
Windows
Green Man Gaming
Icon overlay.png
Game of the Year Edition.
Windows
Humble Store
Icon overlay.png
Game of the Year Edition.
Windows
Steam
Icon overlay.png
Game of the Year Edition.
Link for free demo: steam://install/200240
Windows
Developer website (unavailable)
Icon overlay.png
Game of the Year Edition.
macOS (OS X)
Games for Windows Marketplace (unavailable)
Icon overlay.png
Requires online activation
SecuROM PA DRM.[2]
Windows
Mac App Store (unavailable)
Icon overlay.png
Requires online activation
Game of the Year Edition.
macOS (OS X)
Origin (unavailable)
Origin
Game of the Year Edition.
Windows
The retail version activates on Steam.[3]
SecuROM PA and Games for Windows - LIVE DRM were removed from the Steam version in 2013.[3]
The non-Steam OS X version uses Feral Interactive's DRM which requires online activation on their website.
The non-GOTY version upgrades to GOTY when activated on Steam.[3]

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Delete or rename video files[4]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\BmGame\Movies\.
  2. Delete or rename Startup.swf and StartupNV.swf.
Toggle Disable Startup Movies in the Batman: Arkham City - Advanced Launcher[citation needed]

Batman: Arkham City - Advanced Launcher

This custom launcher replaces the original one and includes all the features from the vanilla launcher along with common tweaks and bug fixes already covered on this page and more. Also supports more advanced tweaks to improve performance and visual fidelity beyond what the vanilla launcher allows.
Supports Steam GOTY, Epic Games Store GOTY and GOG GOTY releases. GFWL version is not supported. Windows and native Linux are supported.
A PCGamingWiki mirror of the launcher binary is available.

Game data

In-game general settings.
In-game general settings.
A well-written post on the Steam Users' Forums about the way the game handles save data. Note that this forum post is only relevant to the deprecated GFWL version.

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\WB Games\Batman Arkham City GOTY\BmGame\Config\
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/200260/pfx/[Note 2]

Save game data location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\WB Games\Batman Arkham City GOTY\SaveData\
Steam <Steam-folder>\userdata\<user-id>\200260\
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/200260/pfx/[Note 2]
Steam saves are compatible with the GOG.com version.[5]

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
Epic Games Launcher
GOG Galaxy
Origin
OneDrive
Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.
Steam Cloud
Approx. 954 MB available.

Convert GFWL savegames to Steamworks

Use GFWL-stripper

Convert Xbox 360 save games to Epic Games Store version

This is a bit more involved and manual than removing GFWL above, but still easy. 0x refers to hexadecimal values. For example, 0x10 means "the hexadecimal value 10 (decimal 16), not decimal 10".
Instructions
  1. Make a note of the save(s) you want to use on the PC version as above i.e. save 0, 1, 2, and/or 3
  2. Insert a USB flashdrive into your Xbox 360
  3. Use your Xbox 360 Settings menu to copy your Arkham City savegames to the drive
  4. Complete transfer of files to your PC - there will be a "Content" folder on your USB drive, and your saves will be in it, search for the files save0.sgd, save1.sgd etc. depending on which you want to convert
  5. Open the save file you want to transfer in your hex editor
  6. Go to offset 0xD000, or search for the first occurrence of 0x9E2A83 - I have only seen this near position 0xD000 in my saves, but it may vary.
  7. Delete everything before position 0xD000
  8. You should end up with a file starting with 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x03
  9. Insert 4 bytes of 00 80 04 00 at the start.
  10. Your file will now begin 00 80 04 00 00 00 00 03...
  11. Save your changes.
  12. Copy your edited save into the correct folder as documented above, or in Youtube - TUTORIAL Batman Arkham How To Install SaveGames

Convert Steam save games to Epic Games Store version

Instructions
  1. Open your save file in your hex editor.
  2. It will start with 00 00 00 03.
  3. Insert the 4 bytes 00 80 04 00 at the start of the file, so it now starts 00 80 04 00 00 00 00 03
  4. Save the file and transfer to the save folder as documented above.

Convert Epic Games Store save games to Steam

Instructions
  1. Open your copied save file in your hex editor.
  2. Select and delete the first 4 bytes 00 80 04 00.
  3. Save the file and transfer to the save folder as documented above.

Video

External video settings.
External video settings.

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor
Multi-monitor HUD: Position Affects Gameplay.[6]
Ultra-widescreen
Some cutscenes are pillar-boxed.
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Default is 4x ("MaxAnisotropy=4"), See Anisotropic filtering (AF).
Anti-aliasing (AA)
FXAA or up to 8x MSAA.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
Set via launcher.
Triple Buffering.
60 FPS
120+ FPS
See 120+ FPS.
High dynamic range display (HDR)
See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Field of view (FOV)

Change FOV[7]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open BmInput.ini.
  3. To bind a FoV value of 100 to F10, add this line at the end of [Engine.PlayerInput]: Bindings=(Name="F10",Command="fov 100").

The result:

Notes

The game might revert this change when graphic or control settings are altered, especially when using the separate configuration tool. In case of multiple edits to an .ini file, it is useful to make a copy of the customized file and copy it over the reverted one when necessary, in order to avoid repeated manual editing.

Anisotropic filtering (AF)

Anisotropic filtering (AF)[8][citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open UserEngine.ini.
  3. Under the [SystemSettings] section, add line MaxAnisotropy=16.

120+ FPS

Change Framerate[9]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open BmEngine.ini.
  3. Search for SmoothFrameRate and edit all occurences of MinSmoothedFrameRate= and MaxSmoothedFrameRate= to the desired values.

AND

  1. Open UserEngine.ini.
  2. Take the values for MinSmoothedFrameRate and MaxSmoothedFrameRate
  3. Add the entries under the section [Engine.Engine]
  4. Add a new section [Engine.GameEngine]
  5. Add the values there again.

---

Now both files should contain:
[Engine.Engine]
MinSmoothedFrameRate=120
MaxSmoothedFrameRate=144

[Engine.GameEngine]
MinSmoothedFrameRate=120
MaxSmoothedFrameRate=144

Input

External key map settings.
External key map settings.
The gamepad layout for Batman: Arkham City
The gamepad layout for Batman: Arkham City

Disable Mouse Smoothing

Disable Mouse Smoothing[10]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open BmInput.ini.
  3. Under the [Engine.PlayerInput] section, change the value of bEnableMouseSmoothing to false

Mouse sensitivity

Change Mouse sensitivity[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open BmInput.ini.
  3. Under the [Engine.PlayerInput] section, change the value of MouseSensitivity=X to your desired mouse sensitivity.

Mouse cursor reappears when using controller

When using a controller, entering menus (such as the map) un-hides the mouse cursor and positions it in the center of the screen.
Use AutoHideMouseCursor set to "Classic strategy"[11]

Audio

In-game audio settings.
In-game audio settings.

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
SFX, Music and Dialogue.
Surround sound
Auto configures up to 5.1 output[12]
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Japanese
Fan Translation https://kakihey.com/pc-gaming/batman-arkham-city-japanese/
Arabic
Fan translation by AR Team, download.
Czech
Fan translation.
French
German
Hungarian
Fan translation.
Italian
Polish
Brazilian Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Depends on Windows Language preferences, for Spain must be on any configuration of Spanish.
Latin American Spanish
Depends on Windows Language preferences, for Latin America, Windows language must be on Español (México), For configure through UserEngine.ini, change ESN to ESM.
Turkish
Fan translation.

Change language

By default the Windows system language takes over other preferences.
Change game language[13]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open UserEngine.ini for Steam version or BmEngine.ini for Epic version.
  3. Change the language to the code of your desired language.

Notes

Menu texts preference can be simply overridden with -LANGUAGEFORCOOK=XXX parameter
Dialogues preference can be simply overridden with -LANGUAGE=XXX parameter
Language codes (XXX) and available localizations can be checked in the <path-to-game>\BmGame\Localization\ folder

VR support

3D modes State GG3D Notes
Native 3D
Nvidia 3D Vision
TriDef 3D
DirectX 9 only.
iZ3D
vorpX
G3D
Officially supported game, see official vorpx game list.

Issues fixed

Fix Catwoman's Quickfire Disarm key missing on keyboard

Although it is possible to do Catwoman's "Quickfire Disarm" with a gamepad, this move is made unavailable with a keyboard after unlocking the Caltrops as the Quickfire Caltrops move (double tap "2") replaces the Quickfire Disarm (the only way to do a disarm then being first selecting the whip then holding the left mouse button and clicking the middle mouse button, which might lead to broken combos). Note that the Quickfire Disarm is a different move from the Quickfire Trip (double tap "1").
Edit BmInput.ini and UserInput.ini[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  1. Open BmInput.ini.
  2. Find the line IniVersion=6.9.
  3. Under this line add Bindings=(Name="KEY",Command="HoldToZoom | QuickGadgetY", Shift=false, Control=false, Alt=false, bIgnoreShift=false, bIgnoreCtrl=false, bIgnoreAlt=false):META:COM_QUICK_GADGET1,1,-1,-1,"",false,true,CI_QuickWhip.
  4. Replace KEY with the desired key for the quickfire batclaw/whip disarm. Note that if a key is already used for another function it can't be associated with this action.
  5. Save the file.
  6. Now open UserInput.ini.
  7. Find the line IniVersion=6.9.
  8. Under this line add .Bindings=(Name="KEY",Command="HoldToZoom | QuickGadgetY", Shift=false, Control=false, Alt=false, bIgnoreShift=false, bIgnoreCtrl=false, bIgnoreAlt=false):META:COM_QUICK_GADGET1,1,-1,-1,"",false,true,CI_QuickWhip. Note that differently from the BmInput.ini file, there has to be a dot "." at the beginning of the line.
  9. Replace KEY with the same desired key for quickfire batclaw/whip disarm you have set in the BmInput.ini file.
  10. Save the file.
Set the Catwoman Disarm Fix key remap to key of choice through Batman: Arkham City - Advanced Launcher[citation needed]

DirectX 11 lighting bug

Replace graphics cache files from GFWL version[14]
  1. Download the Zip file here.
    • Alternatively, copy both GlobalShaderCache-PC-D3D-SM3.bin and GlobalShaderCache-PC-D3D-SM5.bin in <path-to-game>\BmGame\CookedPCConsole\ from the GFWL version.
  2. Extract the contents of the archive/copy the two files to <path-to-game>\BmGame\CookedPCConsole\ and overwrite the existing files.
Use the Batman: Arkham City - Advanced Launcher[citation needed]
The fix will be automatically applied when using the launcher.

Game crashes during introductory cutscene

Install PhysX or disable it[citation needed]

Storyteller achievement not unlocking

The game only tracked 10 years from launch so 2021 and further will be bugged.
Set the date of your PC to any date before year 2021[citation needed]

Massive stuttering

Running the game from a conventional HDD causes extreme stuttering when traversing the map due to loading. Moving the game to an SSD may fix this issue.
Move or reinstall the game to an SSD

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 9.0c, 11
Metal support
macOS >= 10.14 only
Shader Model support 3, 5
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)
macOS only.[15]

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Physics PhysX
Audio Wwise
Cutscenes Bink Video

Center Main Camera View

By default the game's main third-person camera view is off-center (i.e. the character stands at the left side of the screen). For those who prefer the character to be central to the screen, the camera position can be changed via an in-game console command.

Center Camera View[16]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open BMInput.ini.
  3. Under the [Engine.PlayerInput] section, add a key bind line to enable the console:
  4. Bindings=(Name="F10",Command="set console TypeKey F10")
  5. Launch the game and play until you can control your character normally.
  6. Make your character run (i.e. hold Space by default).
  7. Press the F10 key. The in-game console should appear at the bottom of the screen.
  8. Quickly paste the following code into the console and hit return:
  9. set R3rdPersonCamera WalkCamConfig (StateFreeCameraSitOffsetMin=(X=0.000000,Y=0.000000,Z=0.000000),StateFreeCameraSitOffsetMax=(X=0.000000,Y=0.000000,Z=0.000000),StateFreeCameraPullOffset=(X=0.000000,Y=0.000000,Z=0.000000),CameraPivotOffset=(X=0.000000,Y=0.000000,Z=65.000000),ZoomedOffset=(X=0.000000,Y=0.000000,Z=80.000000),maxPitch=14500.000000,MinPitch=-13000.000000,MinFreeCameraDistance=300.000000,MaxFreeCameraDistance=300.000000,ShortCamSpringConst=250.000000,LongCamSpringConst=250.000000,DefaultCameraPitch=-910.000000,CameraSitOffsetPower=1.500000,bUseSeparate43Settings=True,StateFreeCamera43SitOffsetMax=(X=0.000000,Y=25.000000,Z=60.000000),StateFreeCamera43SitOffsetMin=(X=-100.000000,Y=67.000000,Z=-20.000000),bDontModifySitOffsetWhenLookingUp=False)
  10. The camera should now remain centered.
Note the character must be running while you execute the console command.
Note you will have to repeat this process each time you launch the game. It may be possible to bind this command to a single key, but for the moment the only published workaround is via the use of AutoHotKey or a similar macro program to issue the commands as a single key.[17]

To simplify this process, you can bind this command to a hotkey.

Center Camera View via hotkey[16]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\Binaries.
  2. Create a new text file in that folder named center.txt with the following content: set R3rdPersonCamera WalkCamConfig (StateFreeCameraSitOffsetMin=(X=0.000000,Y=0.000000,Z=0.000000),StateFreeCameraSitOffsetMax=(X=0.000000,Y=0.000000,Z=0.000000),StateFreeCameraPullOffset=(X=0.000000,Y=0.000000,Z=0.000000),CameraPivotOffset=(X=0.000000,Y=0.000000,Z=65.000000),ZoomedOffset=(X=0.000000,Y=0.000000,Z=80.000000),maxPitch=14500.000000,MinPitch=-13000.000000,MinFreeCameraDistance=300.000000,MaxFreeCameraDistance=300.000000,ShortCamSpringConst=250.000000,LongCamSpringConst=250.000000,DefaultCameraPitch=-910.000000,CameraSitOffsetPower=1.500000,bUseSeparate43Settings=True,StateFreeCamera43SitOffsetMax=(X=0.000000,Y=25.000000,Z=60.000000),StateFreeCamera43SitOffsetMin=(X=-100.000000,Y=67.000000,Z=-20.000000),bDontModifySitOffsetWhenLookingUp=False)
  3. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  4. Open BMInput.ini.
  5. Under the [Engine.PlayerInput] section, add a new key binding line like the following:
    Bindings=(Name="F8",Command="exec center.txt", Shift=false, Control=false, Alt=false, bIgnoreShift=false, bIgnoreCtrl=false, bIgnoreAlt=false)
  6. Launch the game and while running press the key to center the camera.

Notes

You will need to press the key once each time you launch the game.
The character will still need to be running while executing this command.
To add the command to an existing keybind, precede it with a pipe (|) character. For example, to make the F8 key change the FOV and center the camera:
Bindings=(Name="F8",Command="fov 110{{!}}exec center.txt", Shift=false, Control=false, Alt=false, bIgnoreShift=false, bIgnoreCtrl=false, bIgnoreAlt=false)

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) XP
Processor (CPU) AMD Athlon X2 4800+
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz
System memory (RAM) 2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 17 GB
Video card (GPU) ATI Radeon HD 3850
Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT
512 MB of VRAM
DirectX 9.0c compatible
macOS (OS X)
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 10.14
Processor (CPU) Intel 2.0 GHz
System memory (RAM) 4 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 16 GB
Video card (GPU) 512 MB of VRAM
Users with macOS versions prior to 10.14 can select the branch mac_retail_11 - macOS 10.13.6 or older only from the Beta tab on Steam. This enables the game to run with the legacy OpenGL backend on macOS >= 10.9.5.


Notes

  1. Games for Windows - LIVE DRM features: SSA+ZDPP activation, supports local profiles.
  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>/200260/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (200260) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References