FlatOut 2

Not to be confused with Flashout 2 or Fallout 2.

FlatOut
FlatOut	2004
FlatOut 2	2006
FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage	2008
FlatOut 3: Chaos & Destruction	2011
FlatOut 4: Total Insanity	2017

Warnings

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.

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

FlatOut 2 is a singleplayer and multiplayer first-person and third-person action, racing, tricks and vehicle combat game in the FlatOut series.

General information

Remade as FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage in 2008.

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		US: SecuROM 7 DRM Europe: StarForce 4 DRM^{[Note 1]}
Retail		Polish and Czech release. (Czech release v1.0)
Publisher website
Amazon.com
Epic Games Store
GamersGate

GOG.com
Green Man Gaming
Mac App Store		No online play ^[4]
Steam
ZOOM Platform		Super Digital Deluxe Edition. Pre-packaged with DxWrapper.
GamersGate (unavailable)		DRM: Deliver2Mac
Publisher website (unavailable)		Russia, CIS. The site states that the game does not support Windows 8 and higher. But the game works fine.
Publisher website (unavailable)		Russia, CIS. Bundled with FlatOut, FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage, Flatout 3: Chaos & Destruction.

StarForce DRM for this game does not work on modern versions of Windows (see above for affected versions).

The Retail version requires SecuROM 7 DRM for US release, StarForce 4 DRM^{[Note 2]} for EU release. Retail Czech and Polish versions of this game, Epic Games Store, GOG and Steam versions was released without anti-piracy protection SecuROM v7 and StarForce v4.

Version differences

The Mac App Store version does not support online play.^[4]

The Linux version found at GOG uses Wine wrapper to run the game.

Super Digital Deluxe Edition: ZOOM Platform version, has several fixes that other versions don't have. It also has more supported languages.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]

Essential improvements

Patches

The latest version for Windows is patch 1.2, available from Patches-Scrolls.

The latest version for OS X is patch 1.0.7, available from Patches-Scrolls.

Opening the launcher

After the first time launching the game, the launcher will not show up again, rendering the player unable to reconfigure the settings.

Run the game with the `-setup` command line argument.^[10]

Delete Device configuration file^{[citation needed]}
Locate `<path-to-game>\Savefile` or in `%LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore` and delete/remove `device.cfg`.

Skip intro videos

Use ZolikaPatch

Use ThirteenAG's widescreen fix^[10]

Skip intro fix^{[citation needed]}
Download BFS file and place it in the installation folder. Open the `filesystem` file with a text editor. Add this new line at the bottom: `mcz-fo2noint.bfs`

ZolikaPatch

Removes forced VSync and the 100FPS cap, enables Multiplayer via OpenSpy, re-enables Split Screen mode and fixes widescreen scaling

Fixes the stretched HUD elements in widescreen resolutions

Applying ZolikaPatch^{[citation needed]}
Download the ZPatchFO2_v#.#.zip file. Extract the contents of the download to `<path-to-game>`; replace the file(s) when prompted.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\Savegame\^{[Note 3]}
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/2990/pfx/^{[Note 4]}

It's unknown whether this game follows the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux. Please fill in this information.

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\Savegame\^{[Note 3]}
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/2990/pfx/^{[Note 4]}

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Epic Games Launcher
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud

Video

Game launcher (access with -setup parameter).

Ingame video options

Graphics feature	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution		Native support in patch version 1.2, but the HUD and menu are stretched. Use ThirteenAG's fix or ZolikaPatch.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen		Use ThirteenAG's fix or ZolikaPatch.
4K Ultra HD		Use ThirteenAG's fix or ZolikaPatch.
Field of view (FOV)	See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed	See Windowed.
Borderless fullscreen windowed	See Windowed.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)	Up to 16x.
Anti-aliasing (AA)	Up to 8x MSAA.
Vertical sync (Vsync)	Use ZolikaPatch to disable it.
60 FPS
120+ FPS	Frame rate is capped at 100 FPS. Use ZolikaPatch to remove the cap.
High dynamic range display (HDR)	See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Field of view (FOV)

Set FOVFactor^{[citation needed]}
Install ThirteenAG's fix. Edit `Flatout2.WidescreenFix.ini`. Set `FOVFactor` to the desired value.

Windowed

Use ZolikaPatch for borderless windowed mode

Force windowed mode^{[citation needed]}
Download d3d9hook. Extract `d3d9.dll` to `<path-to-game>`.

Input

Input options

Remapping options

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration		No mouse support in-game.
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		Must be enabled in options and plugged in before launching; default controls are unintuitive but can be rebound in options.
Full controller support		Requires user to press `↵ Enter` on the keyboard to begin a race. No controller support in menus.
Controller remapping
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers

DualShock 4 controllers

Generic/other controllers
Button prompts

Additional information
Button prompts		Not functioning on more recent controllers; prompts do not match required input.
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback		For XInput controllers see XInput force feedback vibration in DirectInput games.
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Audio

Audio options

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Music, Effects.
Surround sound		Up to 7.0 output with DirectSound3D restoration software.
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support		DirectSound3D.^[11] Select Hardware 3D in launcher.
Royalty free audio		The game uses licensed songs with no option to change to other songs

During development, FlatOut 2 lost several songs; AFI - Rabbits Are Roadkill On Rt. 37; Nine Black Alps - Cosmopolitan; Papa Roach - Blood Brothers (race mode); Nine Black Alps - Cosmopolitan (stunt mode); Yellowcard - Breathing (stunt mode).

Songs Papa Roach - Blood Brothers (race mode) and Yellowcard - Breathing (stunt mode) returned in Zoom Platform release.

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
Czech				Retail and Zoom Platform only.
English				Metric measurements
French
German
Hungarian				ZOOM Platform only
Italian
Polish				Retail and Zoom Platform only. Fan translation; download.
Russian				Retail, Buka Shop and ZOOM Platform only.
Spanish

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Players	Notes
Local play	8	Hot seat Rag Doll mini-games (Party Mode). See also FlatOut 2 Splitscreen Mod.
LAN play	8
Online play	8	Use the patched FlatOut2.exe or ZolikaPatch. Not available in the Mac App Store version.^[4]

VR support

3D modes	Native	Notes
vorpX		G3D Officially supported game, see official vorpx game list.

Issues fixed

Juddery motion despite having a consistent frame rate

Use either 50 Hz or 100 Hz if your monitor is capable. If using G-Sync/FreeSync, use a third-party tool to cap the frame rate at 50 FPS or leave it uncapped for 100 FPS. Only leave it uncapped if the PC is capable of delivering 100 FPS consistently.^{[citation needed]}

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9.0c

Executable	PPC	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)				This 32-bit-only macOS game does not work* on macOS Catalina (10.15) or later.*
Linux

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Physics	Havok
Audio	DirectSound3D
Multiplayer	GameSpy	GameSpy has been shut down; use the patched FlatOut2.exe or ZolikaPatch.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	2000	2000 SP4, XP
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium III 1.5 GHz AMD Athlon XP 2000+ 1.5 GHz	Intel Pentium 4 2.0 GHz
System memory (RAM)	256 MB	1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	3.5 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce FX 5xxx ATI Radeon 9600 Pro 64 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0c compatible	256 MB of VRAM

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	10.6.8
Processor (CPU)	Intel
System memory (RAM)	512 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	4 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 7300 ATI Radeon X1600 Intel GMA X3100 128 MB of VRAM

Linux
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	Ubuntu 14.04, Linux Mint 17
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz
System memory (RAM)	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT ATI Radeon HD 5770

Intel GPUs are not supported.

Notes

↑ This version of StarForce DRM does not work on Windows 8.1, Windows 10, or Windows 11.^[2]^[3] For supported versions of Windows the StarForce driver may need to be updated manually using SFUPDATE.
↑ This version of StarForce DRM does not work on Windows 8.1, Windows 10, or Windows 11.^[2]^[3] For supported versions of Windows the StarForce driver may need to be updated manually using SFUPDATE.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 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).
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 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>/2990/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (2990) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References

↑ GOG.com Now Supports Linux! - July 24, 2014 - last accessed on May 2023
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Windows 8.1 support - StarForce Support
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Windows 10 support - StarForce Support
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 Mac App Store - FlatOut 2

↑ Update 1.1 - ZOOM Platform Discord - last accessed on 2023-04-06

"FlatOut 2: - Various bug fixes. - Added Russian language support. Special Thanks to @SRDLINE | ZOOM! - Added French, Italian and Spanish Manuals. - All languages are now contained within one installer.
"

↑ Update 1.2 - ZOOM Platform Discord - last accessed on 2023-04-06

"FlatOut 2: - Added Czech, Polish and Hungarian localizations, alongside some fixes.
"

↑ Update 1.3 - ZOOM Platform Discord - last accessed on 2023-04-06

"FlatOut 2: - Fixed Installer issues for some languages, added final localization fixes.
"

↑ Update 1.4 - ZOOM Platform Discord - last accessed on 2023-04-06

"FlatOut 2: - Updated to ZOOM Version 1.4. - Fixed an issue where Alt-Tabbing/Minimizing would sometimes cause a white screen error. - Fixed a bug that would sometimes cause sound stuttering.
"

↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named 1.5 update
↑ ^10.0 ^10.1 Verified by User:Nessy on 2022-03-21
↑ FlatOut 2 with 3D spatial sound 🎧 (OpenAL Soft HRTF audio)

[4] This version of StarForce DRM does not work on Windows 8.1, Windows 10, or Windows 11.^[2]^[3] For supported versions of Windows the StarForce driver may need to be updated manually using SFUPDATE.

[6] This version of StarForce DRM does not work on Windows 8.1, Windows 10, or Windows 11.^[2]^[3] For supported versions of Windows the StarForce driver may need to be updated manually using SFUPDATE.

[gamedir-13] 3.0 ^3.1 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-14] 4.0 ^4.1 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>/2990/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (2990) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

[1] GOG.com Now Supports Linux! - July 24, 2014 - last accessed on May 2023

[StarForce_Windows_8.1-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Windows 8.1 support - StarForce Support

[StarForce_Windows_10-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Windows 10 support - StarForce Support

[Mac_App_Store-5] 4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 Mac App Store - FlatOut 2

[1.1_update-7] Update 1.1 - ZOOM Platform Discord - last accessed on 2023-04-06
"FlatOut 2: - Various bug fixes. - Added Russian language support. Special Thanks to @SRDLINE | ZOOM! - Added French, Italian and Spanish Manuals. - All languages are now contained within one installer.
"

[1.2_update-8] Update 1.2 - ZOOM Platform Discord - last accessed on 2023-04-06
"FlatOut 2: - Added Czech, Polish and Hungarian localizations, alongside some fixes.
"

[1.3_update-9] Update 1.3 - ZOOM Platform Discord - last accessed on 2023-04-06
"FlatOut 2: - Fixed Installer issues for some languages, added final localization fixes.
"

[1.4_update-10] Update 1.4 - ZOOM Platform Discord - last accessed on 2023-04-06
"FlatOut 2: - Updated to ZOOM Version 1.4. - Fixed an issue where Alt-Tabbing/Minimizing would sometimes cause a white screen error. - Fixed a bug that would sometimes cause sound stuttering.
"

[1.5_update-11] Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named 1.5 update

[2022-03-21-12] 10.0 ^10.1 Verified by User:Nessy on 2022-03-21

[15] FlatOut 2 with 3D spatial sound 🎧 (OpenAL Soft HRTF audio)

[1]

[Note 1]

[4]

[Note 2]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[Note 3]

[Note 4]

[11]

[2]

[3]

Developers

	Bugbear Entertainment
macOS (OS X)	Virtual Programming
Publishers
Retail (Europe)	Empire Interactive
Retail (North America)	Vivendi Universal Games
Retail (Russia/CIS)	Buka Entertainment
Retail (Poland)	CD Projekt
Retail (Poland)	Techland
Retail (Italy/Spain)	FX Interactive
Retail (Germany)	Ak tronic Software & Services
Digital	Strategy First
OS X	Virtual Programming
Engines
	ROMU Engine
Release dates
Windows	June 30, 2006
macOS (OS X)	October 3, 2008
Linux (Wine)	July 24, 2014^[1]
Reception
Metacritic	76
IGDB	83
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	First-person, Third-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Action, Racing, Tricks, Vehicle combat
Vehicles	Automobile, Off-roading, Track racing
Art styles	Realistic
Themes	Contemporary
Series	FlatOut