Need for Speed: Underground

Need for Speed: Underground

Developers
	EA Black Box
Publishers
	Electronic Arts
Engines
	EAGL
Release dates
Windows	November 17, 2003
Reception
Metacritic	82
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	First-person, Third-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Racing
Vehicles	Automobile, Street racing
Art styles	Realistic
Themes	Contemporary
Series	Need for Speed: Underground, Need for Speed

Need for Speed: Underground
Subseries of Need for Speed
Need for Speed: Underground	2003
Need for Speed: Underground 2	2004

Warnings

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

Need for Speed: Underground is a singleplayer and multiplayer racing game developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. It is the seventh entry in the Need for Speed series and the first entry in the Need for Speed: Underground duology.

Unlike past Need for Speed games which has exotic cars, Underground features JDM cars as the game centers around the import racing/tuning scenes. It is also the first game in the series to have a career mode that have a comprehensive storyline, and a garage mode that allowed players to fully customize their cars with a large variety of performance and visual upgrades. The career mode's story takes place in the fictional Olympic City and focus on an unnamed racer as they race to become the best underground racer in the city. The story continued in Need for Speed: Underground 2.

It was released in North America on November 17, 2003, followed by Europe and Japan releases on November 17, 2003 and January 15, 2004 respectively.

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		SafeDisc 2.90.040 DRM

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

This game is not available digitally.

A faithful, higher quality icon can be found on NFSCars or on SteamGridDB.

Monetization

Type	Notes
One-time game purchase	The game requires an upfront purchase to access.

Essential improvements

Patches

Patch 4

NFS Underground Widescreen Fix

Add support for widescreen resolutions among other things.

Skip intro videos

Use Widescreen Fix
Install NFS Underground Widescreen Fix. Open NFSUnderground.WidescreenFix.ini. Change SkipIntro = 0 to SkipIntro = 1.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\EA GAMES\Need For Speed Underground\ %PROGRAMDATA%\NFS Underground\*.cfg %PROGRAMDATA%\NFS Underground\*.opt

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%PROGRAMDATA%\NFS Underground\*.ugd

Video

Graphics feature	State	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution			Use NFS Underground Widescreen Fix.
Multi-monitor			Use NFS Underground Widescreen Fix.
Ultra-widescreen			Use NFS Underground Widescreen Fix and UltraWide HUD Fix.
4K Ultra HD			Use NFS Underground Widescreen Fix.
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed		See Windowed.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See Windowed.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		Use dgVoodoo 2 or GPU control panel to enable.
Anti-aliasing (AA)		See Anti-aliasing (AA).
High-fidelity upscaling		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Vertical sync (Vsync)		Use dgVoodoo 2 or GPU control panel to disable.
60 FPS
120+ FPS		Frame rate and physics simulation rate capped at 60 Hz. See High frame rate to fix.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.
Ray tracing (RT)

Windowed

Set windowed/borderless/windowed with resizing
Install NFS Underground Widescreen Fix. Set WindowedMode to desired value. 1 for borderless, 2 for border, 3 for resizeable border.

Anti-aliasing (AA)

On AMD cards, supersampling must be used, otherwise various objects will not render (wheels, leaves, fences, driver, etc.). Motion blur might also have to be disabled.

Forcing MSAA with dgVoodoo 2
Download dgVoodoo 2. Copy \dgVoodoo2\MS\x86\D3D9.dll into <path-to-game>. Configure dgVoodoo2 using dgVoodooCpl.exe to enable MSAA antialiasing under the DirectX tab.

High frame rate

Use ThirteenAG's fix

Install NFS Underground Widescreen Fix. Set FPSLimit to desired value. -1 is recommended to match monitor's refresh rate. Notes Very high frame rates may be difficult to achieve due to the game only using a single processing thread. See workaround. Higher frame rates may cause the game to run faster than usual. The intensity of motion blur and the light trail post-processing effects are reduced at higher frame rates.

Input

Input settings

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		Use NFS Underground Widescreen Fix to adjust deadzone.
Full controller support		Use NFSU XtendedInput.
Controller remapping
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers		Use NFSU XtendedInput.
Xbox button prompts		Use NFSU XtendedInput. Set ControllerIconMode = 0 in NFSUnderground.WidescreenFix.ini
Impulse Trigger vibration

DualShock 4 controllers		See DualShock 4.
DualShock button prompts		Use NFSU XtendedInput. Set ControllerIconMode = 1 in NFSUnderground.WidescreenFix.ini
Light bar support
Connection modes	unknown

Generic/other controllers

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback		For XInput controllers see here. Keep in mind that the force feedback feature for PC version was made with steering wheel in mind and differs from console versions.
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

NFSU XtendedInput

Improves gamepad support by implementing native XInput support into the game.

Reimplements console-like controls with being able to move the camera with the right stick in Garage.

Xbox and PlayStation prompts are both supported.

Restores leftover features from Hot Pursuit 2.

Controls are reset to default.

Audio

Audio settings

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound		Only Stereo and Mono available. Optimized for Dolby Pro Logic.
Subtitles		Only available in certain language edition.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support		Although not advertised as such the game does support EAX, at least reverb effects, but without surround sound. It can be restored with ALchemy.
Royalty free audio		The main menu uses licensed music. It is hardcoded to play Get Low (ft. The Eastside Boyz) by Lil Jon every time the game starts.

DirectSound can be restored with wrappers (DSOAL recommended, e.g. w/o HRTF - specifically for low quality engine sounds).

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Traditional Chinese
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Polish				Fan translation, download.
Brazilian Portuguese				Fan translation, download.
Russian				Russian localisaton by 1С-СофтКлаб, reworked to be compatible with mods.
Slovak				Fan translation, download.
Spanish
Swedish

Manually change game's language

Registry edit to change game language

Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\EA Games\Need For Speed Underground\. Find the Language key and double click it. Change the value to the following list below: English US Chinese (Traditional) Dutch French German Italian Korean Russian Spanish Swedish Notes Certain languages may not work for FMV and voices if the installed game doesn't come with it. You can download them here. The drag racing tutorial doesn't work for Dutch and Swedish languages. See workaround.

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
Local play		Console versions only.
LAN play		4	Use NFS U LAN Mod.
Online play		4	The official multiplayer service was shut down in 2006. However, a fan-made server emulator was developed and can be used instead.

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking		Only user-created lobbies with user-created races.
Peer-to-peer		A server is always required.
Dedicated		A developer-hosted server was available until it's shutdown. Unofficial server software like NFS U LAN Mod and Need For Speed: Underground Server are available. There is also a new client (kickStart NFSU Netplay Launcher) which provides a list of servers which can be selected for online play from within the software.
Self-hosting		Not supported.
Direct IP		Not supported.

Ports

Protocol	Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP	10900-10999
UDP	3658, 3659

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision		Use Helix's 3D fix
vorpX		G3D User created game profile, see important setting hints in the vorpx forum profile introduction.

Issues fixed

Low frame rate due to game using single core

Use dxvk to wrap D3D9 API calls to Vulkan
This may reduces overall CPU usage and overhead but increases GPU usage; however, results may vary. Texture mods using TexMod and anisotropic filtering settings forced through GPU control panel will not be applied.

Game is not running in installed language version

This might happens for non-US version game installer in which the registry is installed into wrong path

Registry fix
Run regedit. Find the registry path of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\EA Games\. Change the key name NFS Underground which is under EA Games into Need For Speed Underground.

The drag racing tutorial doesn't work for Dutch and Swedish languages

Copy or rename files
Go to <path-to-game>\Movies\ Rename or copy eng_drag.mad with the following names dut_drag.mad if you are using Dutch language. swe_drag.mad if you are using Swedish language.

Custom bindings lost on game restart

Windows Vista and later lack a file needed for the game to remember custom mappings.

Download dimap.dll[citation needed]
Download dimap.dll. Extract it into the installation folder.

The game doesn't load (stuck on initial loading screen)

This probably caused by an compatibility issue on modern systems.^{[citation needed]}

Use dgVoodoo [citation needed]
Download the latest version of dgVoodoo 2 and extract the archive. Open the MS\x86 folder and copy the D3D9.dll file. Paste the file into the game installation folder where the game executable is.

This is likely caused by multi-monitor setups using multiple GPU's.^{[citation needed]}

Potential workaround[citation needed]
Turn off monitors which use another GPU or monitor duplication when starting up the game Turn it on once the game finishes loading if you still need them

Another problem might be missing cutscene files which are not found in non-US version of the game if the game is run in Windows 10 and above

Cutscene files restoration
Download the missing cutscene files. Extract into <path-to-game>\Movies. Run the game.

Can't install both NFS Underground and NFS Most Wanted (2005) on the same PC

This problem occurs because both games use the same name for their main executables (speed.exe). After installing one game and attempting to install the other, its autorun program assumes it's already been installed.

Workaround: rename executable of already installed game
Install the first game. It doesn't matter whether it's Underground or Most Wanted. Go to the installation folder of the just installed game. Change the name of speed.exe to anything else. Install the other game. Restore the original name of the first game's speed.exe.

Controller deadzone issues

Fix left stick deadzone
Install NFS Underground Widescreen Fix. Deadzone can be adjusted in NFSUnderground.WidescreenFix.ini.

Use NFSU XtendedInput

The game occasionally freezes on loading screen or after race

Install latest patch (or binary) 1.4 or 1.3.4

Copying proper .exe for EU or US version should suffice. Although patcher also extracts filter.efx (possibly NOS black screen effect fix) to the patch exe folder if proper game binary or registry entry is not found. Widescreen patch compatibility not tested. If all above fail, reinstall the game, and use e.g. 1.0 version (afterwards, replacing exe and filter.efx should suffice). The problem can happen e.g. after Samantha Time Trial 2:07 (hard), on 1.4 binary version, and is gone on 1.3.4.

Remove dimap.dll from game-folder
If the game just freezes for a short amount of time while loading, then this can be solved by removing the dimap.dll from the game-folder. Keep in mind that this can have the side-effect that the custom bindings might get lost on game restart (see here).

The game randomly crashes after races (when clicking the Continue button) and progress is lost

Change the language at "programs that doesn't support UNICODE" to English (US) in Windows
Open the operating system’s Region Settings. You can do it, for example, by typing region settings into the task bar search box. In the Region Settings window, click Language and then click Administrative language settings. In the Region dialog, on the Administrative tab, click Change system locale. In the resulting dialog, select the English (US) language from the Current system locale list.

Background of magazine covers is black

Use ThirteenAG's fix
Install NFS Underground Widescreen Fix. Make sure that the option BlackMagazineFix in scripts\NFSUnderground.WidescreenFix.ini is set to 1. This solution works only with US version of the game.

Disable Motion Blur and Light Trails

The game doesn't launch or "the application was unable to start correctly" error

Enable Fullscreen Optimizations
Go to the installation folder Right click speed.exe and select properties Click on the Compatibility Tab and be sure to untick "disable fullscreen optimizations" Click on apply

Using Widescreen Fix reveals debug objects in menus

Use ThirteenAG's fix
Install NFS Underground Widescreen Fix. Set HideDebugObjects in NFSUnderground.WidescreenFix.ini to 1. You can also set it to 2 to add borders to hide those objects.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

No middleware information; you can edit this page to add it.

Modifications

NFS.onl/kickStart NFSU Netplay Launcher & Lap Recorder

A multifunctional tool that combines a range of features, including WidescreenFix with a GUI

ServerChanger with online server list, game server infos, users online custom audio/text notifications, and EATrax editor

Lap Recorder for Free Run mode with overlay and detailed statistics, and an upload/import function for the online database on NFS.onl which provides rankings

Game files manager with profile creation, a 100% savegame import function, and TJs unique parts editor

Ghost mode/collisions switcher

Firewall rules info and setup

Also provides hotkeys for taking screenshots

NFSU Beta Edition

Converts the game into its E3 2003/PS2 demo state, which has a dramatically different look and feel from the released game.

Need for Speed Underground Definitive Edition

Adds 4K world textures, 8K skyboxes, rain puddles, improves the lighting, etc.

Need for speed Underground - Redux 2017 (Graphics mod) AMTxDRxRL

It adds new lighting so that it better reflects the atmosphere of street racing at night.

Archie Goldmill's Cheat Engine table

Unlocks hidden vinyls and rim sizes

Extended Customization

Extends customization feature of the game.

Fixes engine load texture.

HD Reflections

Adds higher quality reflection.

Extra Options+

Adds many useful features.

ZPatch

Fixes random chance of crashing when the game tries to save.

HD Car Logos and Emblems

Replaces car logos and emblems with the higher resolution counterparts.

Visual Reputation Remover

Makes it possible to progress through the game without decorating the car.

Various NFS ASIs

Lets you use debug features, such as the debug camera (AKA freecam)

Free Roam Mod

Lets you freely explore Olympic City

Extremely rare traffic

No option to explore the Drag mode tracks, use the old version of the mod for that (notice: you won't be able to explore the full city with the old version)

Winter Olympic City

Gives the games a winter overhaul

Does not require Texmod

Make sure to disable road reflections

Archived download link

Nightbreath Mod by BojanV03 (SweetFX + texture & FX mod)

Improves the visuals and exaggerates the night time feeling

Need for Speed Underground - Midnight Light

Alternative graphics

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	98, ME, 2000, XP
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium III 700 MHz	Intel Pentium III 733 MHz
System memory (RAM)	128 MB (98, ME) 256 MB (2000, XP, online play)	256 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	2 GB
Video card (GPU)	ATI Radeon 7500 Nvidia GeForce2 Matrox Parhelia 32 MB of VRAM DirectX 9 compatible
Sound (audio device)	DirectX compatible
Other	8X CD-ROM, Network card for broadband or connectivity