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Control

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Control
Control cover
Developers
Remedy Entertainment
Mi'pu'mi Games[1]
GOG.com General Arcade[2]
Publishers
505 Games
Engines
Northlight
Release dates
Windows August 27, 2019
Reception
Metacritic 85
OpenCritic 84
IGDB 83
Taxonomy
Monetization One-time game purchase, Expansion pack
Microtransactions None
Modes Singleplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives Third-person
Controls Direct control
Genres Action
Art styles Realistic
Themes Sci-fi, North America
Series Control
Control on HowLongToBeat
Control on IGDB
Control guide on StrategyWiki
Control on MobyGames
Control on Wikipedia
Control
Control 2019
Control 2 TBA

Control is a singleplayer third-person action game developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by 505 Games.

The game was first released DRM-free on Epic Games Store on August 27, 2019, followed by its availability on GOG.com and Steam a year later. On January 21, 2021, the game became available on Microsoft Store, included with Xbox Game Pass for PC.[3]

General information

Official support page
Control subreddit
Official Discord server
GOG.com Community Discussions
GOG.com Support Page
Steam Community Discussions
GeForce graphics and performance guide

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Publisher website
Icon overlay.png
Ultimate Edition.
Windows
Epic Games Store
DRM-free after installation through Epic Games Launcher (notes may include more details)
DRM-free after installation.[4]
Ultimate Edition, Standard Edition as well as seperate DLC available.
Windows
GamersGate
Icon overlay.png
Ultimate Edition.
Windows
Gamesplanet logo.svg
Icon overlay.png
Ultimate Edition.
Windows
GOG.com
DRM-free
Ultimate Edition.
Windows
Green Man Gaming
Icon overlay.png
Ultimate Edition.
Windows
Humble Store
Requires online activation
CD key
Standard Edition (Season Pass also available for DLC purchase). Choice between Epic Games Store and Steam versions.[Note 1]
Icon overlay.png
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Humble Store
Requires online activation
CD key
Ultimate Edition. Choice between Epic Games Store and Steam versions.
Icon overlay.png
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Microsoft Store
Microsoft Store
Ultimate Edition, Standard Edition as well as separate DLC available. Included with Xbox Game Pass for PC.
Windows
Steam
Icon overlay.png
Ultimate Edition.
Windows
GamersGate (unavailable)
Epic Games Launcher
Windows
Gamesplanet logo.svg (unavailable)
Epic Games Launcher
Windows
Green Man Gaming (unavailable)
Epic Games Launcher
Windows

Version differences

The Standard Edition does not include The Foundation and AWE expansions, but can be bought separately. Only offered by Epic Games Store, Humble Bundle and Microsoft Store.
The Ultimate Edition includes The Foundation and AWE expansions.
The Ultimate Edition install size is 42.83 GB, while the Standard edition is 49.58 GB in size.[Note 2]

Monetization

DLC and expansion packs

Name Notes
Season Pass The Foundation and AWE expansions.
Windows
Tactical Response Gear Pre-order bonus outfit.
Windows
Crafting Resources Pack Pre-order bonus resources.
Windows
The Foundation First expansion set in a new location, containing new missions, a new enemy type, abilities specific to the story, and in-game mods.
Windows
AWE Second expansion set in a new location, containing new missions, a new enemy type, an unlockable weapon form, and in-game mods.[8]
Windows
Isolation Side mission exclusive to the PlayStation 4 Digital Deluxe Edition.[9]
See Unlock PlayStation 4 DLC to access the content.
Windows
Astral Dive Suit Bonus outfit exclusive to PlayStation 4.[9]
See Unlock PlayStation 4 DLC to access the content.
Windows
Urban Response Gear Bonus outfit exclusive to the PlayStation 4 Digital Deluxe Edition.[9]
See Unlock PlayStation 4 DLC to access the content.
Windows

Essential improvements

Unofficial Comprehensive Patch

download CONTROL - HDR+Ultrawide+DLSS+RT Patch.

includes many essential fixes, check page for further details

  1. Native HDR Support
  2. Ultrawide support
  3. DLAA support
  4. Up to date DLSS
  5. New 'Max' texture setting (blurry textures fix)
  6. Improved quality of SDR output
  7. improved Raytracing (higher quality, less noise)
  8. Improved window+borderless+fullscreen management

Skip intro videos

Skip intro
  1. Download and apply this Unofficial Comprehensive Patch.
  2. Run it once.
  3. Change m_bSkipIntroVideos to true in the renderer.ini config.
Download and extract Control skip intro videos mod into <path-to-game>[10]
Replaces intro video-file with an empty one.
Modify a game file[11][12]
  1. Open <path-to-game>\data_packfiles\ep100-000-pc.rmdp in a hex editor (e.g. HxD).
  2. Search for the following as hex
    • 00 58 02 00 00 10 FC 00 00 58 02
  3. Replace it with
    • 00 03 00 00 00 10 FC 00 00 03 00
  4. Save the changes.


Skip launcher

Use the -dx11 or -dx12 command line arguments to launch the game directly using the desired DirectX version[citation needed]

Prevent DLSS from automatically enabling itself during gameplay

Instructions
  1. Start the game normally and configure your Graphics settings as needed.
  2. Exit the game and make a backup copy of renderer.ini
  3. Open renderer.ini with a text editor and remove the two lines with "m_iRenderResolutionX" and ""m_iRenderResolutionY".
  4. Set the numeric value of "m_eDLSSQuality" = 0.
  5. Save renderer.ini.
  6. Start the game and the values you removed from renderer.ini should now match the values of the resolution you selected in step 1 (same as your monitor resolution).

Tested with Ryzen 9 5900x and RTX 4090 on Windows 10 Pro.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Epic Games Launcher <path-to-game>\renderer.ini
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Remedy\Control\Default-Epic-User\preferences\
GOG.com <path-to-game>\renderer.ini
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Control\Saves\preferences_data
Microsoft Store %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\505GAMESS.P.A.ControlPCGP_tefn33qh9azfc\SystemAppData\wgs\
Steam <path-to-game>\renderer.ini
<Steam-folder>\userdata\<user-id>\870780\remote\preferences_data
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/870780/pfx/[Note 3]
Only renderer.ini is in plain text.

Save game data location

System Location
Epic Games Launcher %LOCALAPPDATA%\Remedy\Control\Default-Epic-User\
GOG.com %LOCALAPPDATA%\Remedy\Control\Default-Generic-User\
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Control\Saves\
Microsoft Store %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\505GAMESS.P.A.ControlPCGP_tefn33qh9azfc\SystemAppData\wgs\
Steam <Steam-folder>\userdata\<user-id>\870780\remote\
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/870780/pfx/[Note 3]

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
Epic Games Launcher
GOG Galaxy
OneDrive
Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.
Steam Cloud
Xbox Cloud

Video

Display settings
Display settings

Graphics feature State Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor
Use this unofficial comprehensive patch or this PCGW community patcher.
Ultra-widescreen
Hor+ scaling over 16:9, pillarboxed FMVs, menu and loading screens.[13]
Locked at a max of 21:9 by default, streched after that:
use this unofficial comprehensive patch (which also fixes other UW issues) or this PCGW community patcher for higher aspect ratios.
4K Ultra HD
[14]
Field of view (FOV)
Use this unofficial comprehensive patch and change m_fFOVMultiplier in the renderer.ini config to your preferred value. Alternative, use this cheat table.
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
As Texture Filtering. Low, Medium, High.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
TAA[15] always on[16] unless forced off with this cheat table. Up to 4x MSAA. DLAA can be added to the game by using an unofficial comprehensive patch.
High-fidelity upscaling
DLSS 2.1
Use this unofficial comprehensive patch to take advantage of more recent DLSS 3.1.1 implementation.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
Always enabled in menus.[17] Double buffered in fullscreen mode under DX11.[citation needed]
60 FPS and 120+ FPS
Capped at 240 FPS. See High frame rate for higher values.
High dynamic range display (HDR)
Native HDR can be achieved via this unofficial comprehensive patch.
Ray tracing (RT)
Limited to the DirectX 12 mode.
Reflections, transparent reflections, diffuse lighting, contact shadows, and debris. While the base game's denoiser is fairly weak, the ray count can be increased to 3x via unofficial comprehensive patch resulting in a much less noisy image.
Color blind mode
Enemy health bar color choice between orange and yellow.

High frame rate

Modify with Cheat Engine[18]
  1. Install Cheat Engine and attach the game process.
  2. While the main exe is selected in the memory search range, search for 240 as a double in rounded (extreme) mode, while Executable, Writable and CopyOnWrite is set to Don't Care and the Fast Scan option disabled.
  3. Select the only value set exactly at 240 and change it to the desired value. 0 will cause a crash.
  4. Save the cheat table.
Temporary solution. The saved cheat table must be used and its values changed with each launch.
Modify with hex editor[19]
  1. Open Control_DX11.exe or Control_DX12.exe with a hex editor such as HxD.
  2. Replace 00 00 00 00 00 00 6E 40 (240 FPS) with one of the following,
    • 00 00 00 00 00 80 76 40 for 360 FPS.
    • 00 00 00 00 00 00 7E 40 for 480 FPS.
    • 00 00 00 00 00 80 86 40 for 720 FPS.
    • 00 00 00 00 00 00 8E 40 for 960 FPS.
Permanent solution. Only needs to be applied once.
If the desired value is not listed above, apply it using the Cheat Engine method above. Right-Click one the changed values and select "Browse this memory region" to view the hex values.

Depth of Field

Turn depth of field off
  1. Download and apply this unofficial comprehensive patch.
  2. Run it once.
  3. Change m_bDepthOfField to false in the renderer.ini config.
Turn depth of field off[20]
  1. Download this file.
  2. Copy renderer_rmdwin7_f.dll and renderer_rmdwin10_f.dll to <path-to-game>.

Visual tweaks cheat table

A cheat table with various visual tweaks is available - including FOV adjustment, free cam, depth of field, bloom, screen space anti-aliasing, object highlights and HUD toggles.
Use Cheat Engine to open the table[21]
  1. Download and install Cheat Engine.
  2. Download the cheat table by right-clicking and saving the page containing the code.
  3. Launch Cheat Engine and the game.
  4. From the File menu of Cheat Engine, click on Open Process.
  5. Select the game process and click on Open.
  6. From the File menu, click on Load (Ctrl+O).
  7. Locate the downloaded cheat table and click on Open.
  8. Follow the instructions in the bottom area of Cheat Engine to activate any of the various tweaks with hotkeys or manual value changes.

Input

Gameplay settings
Gameplay settings
Controls settings
Controls settings

Keyboard and mouse State Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
No acceleration.[22]
Mouse sensitivity
0-100 in increments of 1. Aim mode sensitivity slider is also available.
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Vertical and horizontal inversion options.
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support
For the Big Picture mode of Steam, add <path-to-game>\Control_DX11.exe or <path-to-game>\Control_DX12.exe to it to bypass the game launcher.[23]
Controller remapping
Also includes an option for sticks swapping.
Controller sensitivity
Vertical and horizontal sliders, with additional sliders for aim mode.
Controller Y-axis inversion
Vertical and horizontal inversion options.
Controller types
XInput-compatible controllers
[24]
Xbox button prompts
[24]
Impulse Trigger vibration
[25]
PlayStation controllers
Requires an XInput wrapper, see the glossary page for applicable tools.[26][27][28]
PlayStation button prompts
Set Options > Interface > Controller Button Layout to PS.[26][29]
Light bar support
[30]
Adaptive trigger support
DualSense haptic feedback support
Connection modes

V2 tested with wireless, Bluetooth, and cable.[30]
Generic/other controllers
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Additional information
Controller hotplugging
[24]
Haptic feedback
Vibration strength is adjustable.[24]
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M
[24]

Audio

Audio settings
Audio settings

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Music, Effects, Dialogue.
Surround sound
7.1[31][32]
Subtitles
Size, background, and speaker name display options.
Option to translate in-game signs also available.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Pauses and mutes on focus lost during gameplay, but not at the Loadout menu.
Royalty free audio
Interface settings
Interface settings

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Arabic
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Czech
Fan translation.
French
German
Hungarian
Fan translation.
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Polish
Brazilian Portuguese
Russian
Russian
Fan translation.
Spanish
Turkish
Fan translation. Includes DLCs

VR support

3D modes State Notes
Native 3D
Nvidia 3D Vision
See Helix Mod: Control - 3D-Vision-Ready-Fix - Losti.
vorpX
G3D, Z3D
Officially supported. See the official vorpX game list.

Issues unresolved

Stuttering when opening the map

Accessing the map after using the mouse to interact with inventory items such as loadout entries or collectibles may result in stuttering.[33] Using the keyboard or a gamepad does not trigger this effect.[33]
Open and close the pause menu with Esc to stop the stuttering until the inventory is accessed again.[34]

Anchor Boss Fight Crash

The game crashes during the anchor boss fight. The issue seems to be related to CPU cores.
Don't play the side mission containing the boss fight.
Potential Workaround[35][Note 4]
  1. Launch the game
  2. Open the Details tab of the Task Manager
  3. Right-click Control_DX12.exe or Control_DX11.exe, depending on what you're running
  4. Click "Set Affinity"
  5. Select only CPU 0, CPU 1, CPU 2, and CPU 3

Rainbow-colored lighting bug/glitch

Sometimes you may encounter a lighting glitch that has very bright rainbow-like colors in places that shouldn't have them.
Restart your game

Issues fixed

Hiss voices are in a different language

The Hiss incantation language spoken by the floating bodies is tied to that of the operating system, not the in-game audio settings.[34]
Change Windows regional format[34]
  1. On Windows 10, open Settings > Time & Language > Region.
  2. Change the Regional format to a supported audio language - for example, English or German.
The change is also reflected in the epilepsy warning shown at the start of the game.

No choice of DirectX 11 or 12

Use the -dx11 or -dx12 command line arguments to launch the game in the desired DirectX version.[36]

Blurry textures

High-resolution textures may not load immediately, resulting in signs, posters, portraits, and other objects briefly appearing blurry when nearby.
New "Max" texture quality setting
  1. Download and apply this unofficial comprehensive patch.
  2. Select "Max" as the Textures Quality in the game graphic settings menu.
Mod in more aggressive texture streaming[37]
Applies optional config that increases the texture pool by 1 GB and loads high-resolution textures sooner.
  1. Download Control Blurry Textures Fix mod.
  2. Extract the files to <path-to-game>.
  3. Remove <path-to-game>\data\globaldb\tweakables.xml.
  4. Rename <path-to-game>\data\globaldb\tweakables_high_quality.xml to tweakables.xml.

Note:

This fix may only work on the Ultimate edition of the game.[38]

Ray tracing options unavailable

Update to Windows 10 version 1803 or higher[39][40]

In-game Videos stuttering and tearing on Nvidia GPUs

Turn off Resizable BAR using Nvidia Profile Inspector[41]
  1. Download and open Nvidia Profile Inspector.
  2. On the top left side, using the 'Profiles' drop-down menu, type in or navigate to and select 'Control'.
  3. Scroll down to the fifth section titled '5 - Common' and find 'rBAR - Feature', change this feature from 'Enabled' to 'Disabled'.
  4. On the top right side, click 'Apply changes'.

Note:

This fix will revert to 'Enabled' after a driver update

Other information

API

Launcher options
Launcher options
Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 11, 12 Selectable through the launcher or by using command line arguments.
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Physics PhysX
Audio Wwise
Interface Coherent UI
Cutscenes Bink Video

Unlock PlayStation 4 DLC

PlayStation 4 versions of the game included two exclusive outfits, an exclusive mission and two rare mods.[9]
Modify the game executables to unlock the content[42][43][44]
  1. Depending on the preferred DirectX version, open <path-to-game>\Control_DX11.exe or <path-to-game>\Control_DX12.exe in a hex editor (e.g. HxD).
  2. Modify the file:
    • In the Epic Games Store version of the game,
    1. Search for 40 84 ED 75 07 as hex.
    2. Replace it with 40 84 ED EB 07.
    • In the Steam Humble Bundle version of the game,
    1. Go to offset 1BBB7B (Ctrl+G in HxD)
    2. Change values 8B 4B 04 8D 41 01 83 F8 03 77 12 to B8 01 00 00 00 89 43 04 EB 06 90.
    3. Go to offset Base Decimal: 1345162
    4. Change values 40 84 ED 75 07 to 40 84 ED EB 07
    5. Go to offset Base Decimal: 2793073
    6. Change values C7 81 30 01 00 00 00 to C7 81 30 01 00 00 01
    • In the Steam version of the game,
    1. Go to offset 145B09 (Ctrl+G in HxD) and change 75 to EB.
    2. Go to offset 145BA8 and change 75 2F to 90 90.
    • In the GOG.com version of the game,
    1. Go to offset 145BA8 and change 75 2F to 90 90.
  3. Save the file.
Side mission "Dr. Yoshimi Tokui's Guided Imagery Experience" can be picked up in the Extrasensory Lab of the Research sector.
Additionally unlocks the pre-order DLC of the PC version.
If the Unofficial Comprehensive Patch has been installed, the same steps for the Epic Games Store version of the game can be followed to unlock the additional content.
Use the FearLess Cheat Engine Cheat Table for Control to unlock any outfit.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 7
Processor (CPU) Intel Core i5-4690
AMD FX-4350
System memory (RAM) 8 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 42 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce GTX 780
AMD Radeon R9 280X
2 GB of VRAM
DirectX 11 compatible
Other
A 64-bit operating system is required.


Notes

  1. Discouraged to buy this: is more expensive than the Ultimate Edition and it likely misses several patches for the Ultimate Edition.[5]
  2. Control Content Steam depot contains the Ultimate Edition and and the Control Standard Edition Content Steam depot contains the Standard Edition. Two separate Steam depots also available that contain the expansions. Can be bought for the Standard Edition through Humble Bundle, but also automatically owned when people buy the Ultimate Edition.[6][7]
  3. 3.0 3.1 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>/870780/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (870780) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.
  4. Between muting the game and enabling it to run on a toaster, this was the only thing that worked perfectly for me, running Windows 11 on a Ryzen 5 7600.

References

  1. Control - Mi'pu'mi Games - last accessed on 2022-10-05
  2. CONTROL: Ultimate Edition - last accessed on 2022-08-16
  3. Coming Soon to Xbox Game Pass: Yakuza Remastered Collection, The Medium, and More - last accessed on 2021-01-24
  4. Epic Store games you can play without the Epic Launcher - last accessed on 2020-07-05
  5. Verified by User:Mrtnptrs on 2023-02-03
  6. Control Ultimate Edition - SteamDB - last accessed on 2023-02-03
  7. Verified by User:Mrtnptrs on 2023-02-03
    Checked using the SteamDB page, own the Ultimate Edition myself.
  8. AWE Expansion FAQ Guide - last accessed on 2020-11-16
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Control – Pre-order FAQ - last accessed on 2021-01-10
  10. Verified by User:Aemony on 2020-08-31
  11. Verified by User:Rose on 2019-10-20
    Found the bytes to be unique pre- and post-1.04 update.
  12. disable intros - last accessed on 2019-09-06
  13. Verified by User:Rose on 2019-08-23
    Tested at the native monitor resolution of 2560x1080
  14. Verified by User:Rose on 2019-08-23
    Set 3840x2160 as a custom resolution and selected it in the menu, which resulted in a significant FPS decrease.
  15. Eurogamer - Control PC: a vision for the future of real-time rendering? - last accessed on 2019-09-05
    "The game's TAA anti-aliasing does a pretty great job on opaque edges with MSAA helping in keeping transparency edges more stable, or improving consistency on hair effect."
  16. Verified by User:Aemony on 2019-09-05
    Verified that anti-aliasing, seemingly as a result of TAA, is present even with all options and graphical settings disabled/set to the lowest possible.
  17. Verified by User:Rose on 2020-12-13
    Tested by setting the monitor refresh rate to 50 Hz and to 75 Hz, reflected in RivaTuner.
  18. Verified by User:Radmaxx on 2023-03-24
    Only tested on the GOG version
  19. Verified by User:Radmaxx on 2023-05-03
    Only tested on the GOG version
  20. how to disable motion blur ?
  21. Verified by User:Rose on 2021-06-15
    Tested various effects in the latest Epic Games Store version as of this date.
  22. Verified by User:Rose on 2019-08-23
    The crosshair returned to the starting position after moving the mouse back at higher speed.
  23. Verified by User:Rose on 2019-10-18
    Tested after the official rollback from 1.04.
  24. 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 Verified by User:Rose on 2019-08-23
    Tested with an Xbox 360 Razer Onza controller.
  25. Verified by User:Aemony on 2019-09-10
    Played through the whole game with an Xbox One controller without noticing any impulse trigger vibrations.
  26. 26.0 26.1 Verified by User:Aemony on 2019-09-10
    Confirmed with DualShock 4 v2 controller w/ and w/o an XInput.
  27. Does this game support PS4 controller on PC? - last accessed on 2019-08-29
  28. Performance Issues / Bugs Megathread comment - last accessed on 2019-08-29
  29. Verified by User:Rose on 2019-08-23
    Tested with an Xbox controller by selecting the PS Controller Button Layout option.
  30. 30.0 30.1 Verified by User:Aemony on 2019-09-10
    Confirmed using a DS4v2 controller.
  31. Verified by User:Aemony on 2019-09-10
    Confirmed full 7.1 usage through Special K.
  32. Verified by User:Rose on 2019-08-23
    The rear speakers were used as intended.
  33. 33.0 33.1 Framedrops/Stuttering when opening the map. :: Control General Discussions - last accessed on 2021-01-09
  34. 34.0 34.1 34.2 Verified by User:Waschbär on 2021-01-09
  35. Anchor boss fight freeze and crash - last accessed on 2023-12-15
  36. Verified by User:Aemony on 2020-08-31
    Confirmed the presence of these command line arguments in Control.exe as well as how they bypass the auto-detection method that the launcher otherwise does.
  37. Reddit - /r/controlgame - PC ultra graphics mod - Also fixes blurry signs, pictures and slow loading textures - last accessed on 2020-10-26
  38. Verified by User:Gstone82 on 2022-05-09
  39. Fix for inability to enable RTX - last accessed on 2019-08-30
  40. PSA: those that are unable to enable RTX and are running w10 1803 or older need to update. - last accessed on 2019-08-30
  41. Horizontal line and jitter in all cutscenes - how to solve? - last accessed on 2023-05-31
  42. "(build 1.13; 7.09.20) "Tactical Response" outfit. How to unlock? - last accessed on 2021-01-10
  43. Verified by User:Rose on 2021-01-10
    Produced the Epic Games Store version solution and verified the outcome by receiving the outfits and extra mods.
  44. "GOG forum thread - last accessed on 2023-10-30
  45. Control - PC requirements - last accessed on 2019-08-19