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Max Payne 3

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Max Payne 3
Max Payne 3 cover
Developers
Rockstar Vancouver
Rockstar London[1]
Rockstar Toronto[1]
Rockstar New England[1]
Rockstar San Diego[1]
Rockstar Leeds[1]
Rockstar North[1]
macOS (OS X) TransGaming Inc.[2]
Publishers
Rockstar Games
Russia 1C-SoftClub
Engines
RAGE
Release dates
Windows June 1, 2012
macOS (OS X) (Cider) June 20, 2013
Reception
Metacritic 87
IGDB 89
Taxonomy
Monetization One-time game purchase, DLC
Modes Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives Third-person
Controls Direct control
Genres Action, Shooter
Art styles Realistic
Themes North America, South America, Contemporary
Series Max Payne
Max Payne 3 on HowLongToBeat
Max Payne 3 on IGDB
Max Payne 3 guide on StrategyWiki
Max Payne 3 on MobyGames
Max Payne 3 on Wikipedia
Max Payne
Max Payne 2001
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne 2003
Max Payne 3 2012
Max Payne 1&2 Remake TBA

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).

Max Payne 3 is a singleplayer and multiplayer third-person action and shooter game in the Max Payne series.

The OS X version suffers from multiple issues, one being the complete lack of multiplayer, due to the GameSpy services being shut down.[3]

General information

Official changelog
GeForce Tweak Guide
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Steam and Rockstar Games Social Club online key verification on launch.
Steam and Rockstar Games Social Club online key verification on launch.
Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Requires online activation
Comes on four DVDs.
Retail version can be activated on Rockstar Games Launcher.[4]
Icon overlay.png
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Official website
Icon overlay.png
Requires online activation
If the Steam version is detected, the launcher can launch the game through Steam instead.
Windows
Gamesplanet logo.svg
Icon overlay.png
Requires online activation
Windows
Humble Store
Icon overlay.png
Requires online activation
Windows
Steam
Icon overlay.png
Icon overlay.png
Requires online activation
DLC is loaded through the Rockstar Games Social Club and Rockstar Games Launcher. Logging in there is required independently from Steam, after game launch.
Windows
Amazon.com (unavailable)
Icon overlay.png
Icon overlay.png
Requires online activation
Windows
macOS (OS X)
GamersGate (unavailable)
Icon overlay.png
Requires online activation
Windows
Green Man Gaming (unavailable)
Icon overlay.png
Requires online activation
Complete Pack (includes the Rockstar Pass DLC).
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Mac App Store (unavailable)
Icon overlay.png
Requires online activation
macOS (OS X)
All versions require Rockstar Games Social Club for activation and online features. Steam version also requires Rockstar Games Launcher since game update v1.0.0.255.[5]
All Windows versions use GameShield IronWrap DRM.[6] Rockstar have not disclosed details of how many machine activations are allowed nor any other restrictions.[7] Unknown if this DRM is still included in the latest digital releases.
If not launching through Steam, the Rockstar Launcher will perform integrity checks on every launch, preventing any mods from being used.[8]

DLC and expansion packs

All DLC included in base game since a game update v1.0.0.255 on April 19, 2021, also for existing users who never bought the DLC.[9]
Name Notes
Cemetery Map
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Classic Max Payne Character
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Deadly Force Burst
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Deathmatch Made In Heaven Pack
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Disorganized Crime Pack Free
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Hostage Negotiation Pack
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Local Justice Pack
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Painful Memories Pack
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Pill Bottle Item
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Rockstar Pass
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Silent Killer Loadout Pack
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Special Edition Pack
Windows
macOS (OS X)

Essential improvements

Patches

Updates for the retail versions can be found here.

FusionFix

Installation
  1. Go to Releases and download latest version.
  2. Extract the contents of the archive to <path-to-game>.

Notes

To use this alongside this FOV Fix, rename ASI Loader's dinput8.dll to d3d11.dll, d3d10.dll or d3d9.dll.
Fixes various crashes and other bugs, such as random game pausing.
Also adds the ability to hide the "skip" button in cutscenes and an option to increase the size of subtitle text outlines.
Adds button prompts for various gamepads.
Includes Ultimate ASI Loader.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Rockstar Games\Max Payne 3\
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/204100/pfx/[Note 1]

Save game data location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Rockstar Games\Max Payne 3\Profiles\<user-id>\
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/204100/pfx/[Note 1]

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
OneDrive
Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.
Steam Cloud

Video

Advanced graphics settings.
Advanced graphics settings.
Letterboxed behavior example (16:10 resolution used).
Letterboxed behavior example (16:10 resolution used).

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
Aspect ratios other than 16:9 are letterboxed in non-engine cutscenes.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
Displays incorrectly game UI, FMV and cutscenes. See here for fix Or use Lyall's fix here.
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Use Max Payne 3 FOV Fix. Default is 45° vertical; see FOV Calculator for help.
Windowed
Can also use the -windowed parameter.
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Install FusionFix.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Up to 16 samples.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Low to Very High FXAA and up to 8x MSAA.
High-fidelity upscaling
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
Double buffered in fullscreen mode, triple buffered in windowed mode. Alt-tabbing out of and back to fullscreen mode may change double buffering to triple buffering.[citation needed]
60 FPS and 120+ FPS
No frame rate or refresh rate cap.[10]
High dynamic range display (HDR)
See the glossary page for potential alternatives.
MSAA is unusually demanding and not especially effective compared to other games. FXAA offers good results and far better performance.

Input

Keyboard and mouse State Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Has a toggle for positive mouse acceleration, however frame rate dependent negative mouse acceleration is always present.[11]
Mouse sensitivity
The Y axis is 75% slower than X axis, a close to 1:1 aim can be achieved by having the in-game Y axis on "5" and the X axis on "3". A more precise 1:1 aim could be achieved by having both in-game axis at the same setting and using separate DPI values via supported mouse software (e.g. 1400 DPI on Y axis and 800 DPI on X axis).
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support
Controller remapping
4 presets available.
Controller sensitivity
The Y axis is 75% slower than X axis, a close to 1:1 aim can be achieved by having the in-game Y axis on "5" and the X axis on "3".
Controller Y-axis inversion
Controller types
XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Apply FusionFix for Xbox One button prompts.
Impulse Trigger vibration
PlayStation controllers
See DualShock 4 or DualSense.
PlayStation button prompts
Apply FusionFix for DualShock 3&4 and DualSense button prompts.
Light bar support
Adaptive trigger support
DualSense haptic feedback support
Connection modes

Generic/other controllers
See Nintendo Switch Pro Controller.
Button prompts
Apply FusionFix for Switch Pro Controller, Steam Deck and Steam Controller button prompts.
Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M
Button prompts switch flickers between keyboard+mouse and controller input.[12] Right stick camera and mouse camera inputs conflict with each other[Note 2], certain actions (like Pause and Roll actions) may not work properly, and Aim Assist can be activated regardless of Aim Mode (for controllers).[13]
Steam Input
Steam Input API support
Hook input (legacy mode)
Official controller preset(s)
Steam Controller.
Steam Controller button prompts
Apply FusionFix for Steam Controller and Steam Deck button prompts.

Audio

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Music, SFX.
Surround sound
Up to 5.1 output.[14]
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Polish
Brazilian Portuguese
Limited to some characters and enemies.
Russian
Official localization by «1C-Softclub».
Russian
Fan translation by «ENPY Studio». More faithful to the original storytelling and contains all of the strong language official localization lacks.
Spanish
Ukrainian
An Ukrainian fan patch is available here.
Most languages can be forced by using -language Language. For Brazilian Portuguese use -language Portuguese. See Command line arguments.

Network

Multiplayer types

Type Native Notes
LAN play
Online play
Versus, Co-op
Co-op included in Deathmatch Made In Heaven DLC. OS X multiplayer no longer works.[3]

Connection types

VR support

3D modes State GG3D Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision
TriDef 3D
vorpX
G3D, Z3D, DirectVR
Officially supported game, see official vorpx game list.
Devices
3RD Space Gaming Vest
Novint Falcon

Issues fixed

Freeze in the final cutscene

Update v1.0.0.255 from April 19, 2021, caused the final cutscene to become corrupted, causing the game to freeze 13 seconds into the cutscene.[15]
Apply the final cutscene fix[16]
Replaces corrupted cutscene with older non-corrupted one in the games' internal files.
  1. Download Max Payne 3 final cutscene fix.
  2. Extract the contents of the download to <path-to-game>.
  3. Run apply.bat.

Unable to sign into Rockstar Games Social Club

Delete files[17]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>.
  2. Delete maxpayne3_steam.ini, steam_api.dll and steam_appid.txt.
  3. Verify integrity of game cache.

Game goes to pause menu randomly

This error is caused by Device Manager refresh (either random, or when device is plugged in or out).[18][19]

Apply FusionFix[citation needed]

Game crashes with StackHash_XXX Error

Fix Data Execution Prevention setting[citation needed]
  • Ensure Data Execution Prevention (DEP) is set to the default (Windows programs and services only).

Requires Service Pack 1

The game may show the error message 'Requires Service Pack 1 or superior'.
Requires Service Pack 1[20]
  • Right click maxpayne3.exe in <path-to-game> and set the compatibility mode to Windows XP (Service Pack 3).

Notes

Running maxpayne3.exe as an administrator may also fix the problem.

Asus software

Asus software 'Smart Doctor' or 'Asus Gamer' may cause crashing.
Uninstall Asus software[citation needed]

New York Minute Hardcore troubleshooting and glitches

This mode can reveal few glitches which can be encountered during gameplay, resulting in being unable to finish the game.
List:
  • Fighting with Passos is not necessary when enemies are searching the balcony (waiting until they are gone is advised). There is a place with painkillers ahead. [Stadium, PT I CH III].
  • Fabiana dies during shooting from boat during final cutscene (shooting on the enemies from the left side is recommended, as killing her accidentally on low brightness is possible) [Stadium, PT I CH III].
  • IT man gets shot if going down the stairs (killing all enemies first is required - bullet cam must appear).
  • Infinite loading of Branco’s office PT 2 (disappears after few NYMHC attempts, trying to not skip prior cutscenes may help against this).
  • Enemies stop to respawn, doors are closed, in Favela PT 1 (if flipping all the time through the section leading to enemy with flare, and if running too fast when spotting him from distance - staying where one is when seeing him until he disappears and when he shoots the flare is suggested).
  • Rare case when picking up shotgun in a chapel in the very end of the level is impossible [PT 2 CH VIII].
  • Shooting enemies in the helicopter during cutscene of Favela PT 2 is impossible (1. If having no ammo left for M972 2. If picking up M972 after enemy).
  • Destroying the aforementioned helicopter is impossible (if shooting only once in the rocket later - even when bullet cam appeared, failing when rocket does not explode is inevitable).
  • Caps lock, num lock, scroll lock are not registered as pressed, during melee fight in the end of Favela PT II level (using them as any of primary keys is discouraged - only as secondary).
  • Game is glitched when getting hit while shooting Desert Eagle on a rope (probably while shooting very fast and inaccurate while having infinite clip in this interactive cutscene) [Boat, PT III, CH XI].
  • Death occurs after the end of the armoured-truck-defence cutscene (if pressing W while the cutscene is shown - key pressing is still registered during the cutscene - as a result, leaning out from the cover when the truck is shooting instantly after the end of cutscene is possible) [Police Station, PT III, CH XIII].
  • Glitched enemy death camera (enemy does not die) if getting hit by the enemy running out after beep signal, after the sequence of shooting at distant enemies on the rooftop (if shooting from behind cover with mesh fence) [PT III, CH XIII].
  • Shooting with Desert Eagle with no ammo during train jump cutscene in the end level (if not replacing this weapon in second slot from the beginning; immediately after the bullet time cutscene, there will still be no ammo just like before cutscene) [PT III, CH XIV].
  • Rare falling under map glitch in airport level (one of the custom libraries might cause it, e.g. SweetFX, ddraw, dsound or slow HDD).
  • Random crashes during the game (some fixes might include using Steam in offline mode, setting CPU/GPU clocks to stock values, or restarting computer before playing).

Notes

If using the no cutscenes script, carefully read notes here.

Crash when selecting Hoboken Alleys map in Dead Men Walking mode[21]

Apply FusionFix

Ultra widescreen mode is broken

Apply MaxPayne3Fix

Notes

To use this alongside this FOV Fix, rename the ASI Loader's dinput8.dll to d3d11.dll, d3d10.dll or d3d9.dll.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 9.0c, 10, 10.1, 11
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows
32-bit system support is officially deprecated as of update v1.0.0.255.[9] Game itself is still 32-bit, but the 64-bit Rockstar Games Launcher is required.[22]
macOS (OS X)
This 32-bit-only macOS game does not work on macOS Catalina (10.15) or later.

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Physics Euphoria
Multiplayer GameSpy, Steamworks OS X version dropped multi-player support.[3] Steam version multiplayer was ported to SteamWorks.

Command line arguments

Add parameters to a commandline.txt file in the installation folder, or see command line arguments for other methods.
Parameter Description
adapter Force specific DirectX adapter starting from 0.
aspectratio Force aspect ratio [width:height].
availablevidmem Force Video RAM limit to the amount specified (MB).
cpucount Force CPU count if query is not successful.
d3dmt Force multi-threaded DirectX runtime. Can cause graphical problems like a overly bright sky, incorrect lightning, no rain etc. in at least DX11.[23]
dx10 Force DirectX 10 if available.
dx10_1 Force DirectX 10.1 if available.
dx11 Force DirectX 11 if available.
dx9 Force DirectX 9.
frameLimit Force VSync [0, 1, 2]
fullscreen Force Fullscreen mode.
fxaa Force FXAA quality [0..3].
gpucount Force GPU count if query is not successful.
height Force vertical resolution.
language english Force English language.
language french Force French language.
language italian Force Italian language.
language german Force German language.
language spanish Force Spanish language.
language russian Force Russian language.
language portuguese Force Portuguese language.
language polish Force Polish language.
MSAA Force MSAA [0..5].
MSAAQuality Force MSAA quality level.
nomouseaccel Disable mouse acceleration.
outputMonitor Force specific monitor starting from 0.
reflectionquality Force reflection quality [0..3].
refreshrate Force refresh rate.
safemode Force game to load with safest settings.
shadowquality Force shadow quality [0..3].
ssao Force SSAO [0..1].
stereo Force 3D stereo support [0..1] (1 is on)
tessellation Force tessellation quality [0..3].
texturefilterquality Force the Anisotropic texture filter quality [0..4].
texturequality Force the texture quality [0..2].
useHighQualityShaders Force usage of high quality shaders [0..1].
waterquality Force water quality [0..2].
width Force horizontal resolution
windowed Force windowed mode.

Mods

Max Payne 3 Script Hook and trainer/mod menu

To activate, press F4. Press 8 to scroll up, 2 down, 0 to back out, 5 to accept, 6 scroll sideways.

English Subtitles for Portuguese Dialogues

Enables English translation for Portuguese-speaking enemies.

Xbox Rain Droplets

Basic implementation of Xbox rain droplets from SkyGFX for other games.

KTMXHancer

High quality texture modification + Lighting Reshade Mod[24]
Unknown if it still works with the latest digital version.
  1. Texture download
  2. Reshade download
  3. Reshade preset download

Skip in-game cutscenes

Apply Cutscene Skipper[25]
  1. Download Cutscene Skipper.
  2. Extract the contents of the download to <path-to-game> (Cutscenes will now have a prompt in the lower right indicating to press ENTER to skip).

Notes

This mod significantly improves replayability as the game contains lots of cutscenes.
Intro cutscene cannot be skipped the very first time the game is booted, even with the mod. Once a new game is started, then the cutscenes can be skipped.
This mod hasn't been thoroughly tested by the community. Reload from checkpoint or press F9 to go back to main menu in case an issue occurs after skipping a cutscene.
Known issue: if the cutscene before the final boss fight is skipped and Max dies during this boss fight, the game will softlock on a black screen.[26]

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) XP SP3
Processor (CPU) Intel Dual Core 3GHz
System memory (RAM) 3 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 35 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce 450
AMD Radeon HD 4870
512 MB of VRAM
DirectX 9.0c compatible
Sound (audio device) DirectX 9.0 compatible
A 64-bit OS is required as of update v1.0.0.255 and later[9] due to requiring the 64-bit only Rockstar Launcher[22].
macOS (OS X)
Minimum
Operating system (OS) 10.7.5 Lion
Processor (CPU) Intel Dual Core Xeon 2.4 GHz or greater
Intel Core i Series 2.4 GHz or greater
System memory (RAM) 4 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 32 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT
AMD Radeon HD 4870
512 MB of VRAM


Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 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>/204100/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (204100) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.
  2. There's a chance the aiming camera will freeze (despite the character's camera animation) whenever the player stops moving (gamepad analog movement). This doesn't affect other actions.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Credits - Rockstar Games Presents Max Payne 3 - last accessed on 2017-01-06
  2. TransGaming on Twitter: "MEDIA ALERT: Rockstar Games and TransGaming Inc Partner To Bring Max Payne 3 To Mac http://t.co/dLvyMx3XEs" / Twitter - last accessed on 2021-01-07
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Effect of GameSpy Closure on Past Rockstar Titles – Rockstar Support
  4. Verified by User:Tomasak on 2021-04-25
    Logged into account with MP3 retail activated into RGL and it had button to install the game.
  5. Verified by User:Mrtnptrs on 2022-08-22
  6. [ProjectRYG v2.0 & v3.0] RYG Evaluation- Max Payne 3
  7. Rockstar Support on Twitter: "@PalZer0 We don't announce max activations, reset timers, etc. but we can make sure that you can play the game on computers you own. :)" - last accessed on 9 June 2023
  8. Verified by User:Chipsnapper on 2023-12-31
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 Max Payne 3 PC Title Update v1.0.0.255 Notes - last accessed on 2022-08-22
  10. New 120Hz Games Report - last accessed on May 2023
  11. Is it just me, or is Max Payne 3 completely unplayable on pc? - Reddit - last accessed on 17 May 2023
  12. Verified by User:Tomasak on 2024-01-20
  13. Verified by User:Al2009man on 2024-01-22
    Just by simply binding the Mouse Input with Controller Inputs (i.e playing on Steam Deck), I've noticed that despite selecting Free Aim and disabling both Target Tracking and Target Slowdown: Aim Assistance can still be activated. it's apparent when using Shootdodge or Explosion-based Weapons like Grenade Launcher.

    As of this writing: I have no idea if Hardcore Free Aim is affected as I only have access to it on Multiplayer at the moment.
  14. PC Gaming Surround Sound Round-up - last accessed on 17 May 2023
  15. Bahia Beach Cutscene Fix (s_beach) at Max Payne 3 Nexus - Mods and community - last accessed on 2022-09-04
  16. Verified by User:Orzelek303 on 2022-09-04
  17. Unable to sign into rockstar social club. - Steam Users' Forums (retrieved)
  18. [1] - last accessed on 2024-01-20
  19. Verified by User:Tomasak on 2024-01-20
    Tested by unplugging various devices and also waiting for random refresh
  20. Fixed Service Pack 1 Issue. - Steam Users' Forums - last accessed on 2024-02-21
  21. Proper Dead Men Walking/Co-op Fix Steam Guide - last accessed on May 2023
  22. 22.0 22.1 Verified by User:Mrtnptrs on 2023-03-14
    Confirmed with Task Manager that RGL launches as 64-bit, but the main executable of Max Payne 3 is still 32-bit. The 64-bit requirement thus only comes from the launcher, not the game itself.
  23. Verified by User:Mrtnptrs on 2022-08-22
  24. Max Payne 3 Graphics Mod 2018 - KTMXHancer HQ Texture + Lighting Reshade Mod Download Page - last accessed on 2022-08-22
  25. Verified by User:Orzelek303 on 2022-08-30
  26. Cutscene Skipper by l0m – List of changes - last accessed on 2022-08-30