Observer - PCGamingWiki PCGW - bugs, fixes, crashes, mods, guides and improvements for every PC game

This page is for the original game. For the updated and improved version, see Observer: System Redux.

>observer_
Developers

	Bloober Team
Publishers
	Aspyr Media
Engines
	Unreal Engine 4^{[Note 1]}
Release dates
Windows	August 15, 2017
macOS (OS X)	October 24, 2017^[2]
Linux	October 24, 2017^[2]
Reception
Metacritic	78
OpenCritic	78
IGDB	74
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Third-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Adventure
Art styles	Realistic
Themes	Cyberpunk
Series	Observer

Observer
Observer	2017
Observer: System Redux	2020

Contents 1 Availability 2 Essential improvements 2.1 Skip intro videos 2.2 Performance enhancement 3 Game data 3.1 Configuration file(s) location 3.2 Save game data location 3.3 Save game cloud syncing 4 Video 4.1 Ultra-widescreen 4.2 Field of view (FOV) 4.3 Anisotropic filtering (AF) 4.4 High frame rate 4.5 Chromatic aberration 4.6 Depth of field 5 Input 6 Audio 6.1 Localizations 7 VR support 8 Issues fixed 8.1 Game crashes during gameplay 9 Other information 9.1 API 9.2 Middleware 10 System requirements 11 Notes 12 References

General information

Official Wiki

Aspyr Media support page

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		Special Edition released in Poland
Amazon.com
Humble Store
Epic Games Store (unavailable)		DRM-free when launched directly from executable.^[3]
GOG.com (unavailable)
Steam (unavailable)

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Delete or rename startup videos^[4]
Go to `<path-to-game>\TheObserver\Content\Movies\`. Delete or rename `LoadingScreen.mp4`, `LoadingScreen.ogv`, `LoadingLoop.mp4` and `LoadingLoop.ogv`.

Performance enhancement

Set motion blur to off if you notice unexplained frame rate drops. The frame rate will be cut in half in most areas of the game. This affects all versions of the game.^{[citation needed]}

Game data

In-game gameplay settings.

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%LOCALAPPDATA%\TheObserver\Saved\Config\WindowsNoEditor\ %LOCALAPPDATA%\TheObserver\Saved\SaveGames\PlayerPreferences.sav
macOS (OS X)
Linux	$HOME/.config/Epic/TheObserver/Saved/Config/LinuxNoEditor/

This game does not follow the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.

PlayerPreferences.sav contains key bindings.

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%LOCALAPPDATA%\TheObserver\Saved\SaveGames\
macOS (OS X)
Linux	$HOME/.config/Epic/TheObserver/Saved/SaveGames/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Epic Games Launcher
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud

Video

In-game basic video settings

In-game advanced video settings

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor		See Ultra-widescreen.
Ultra-widescreen		See Ultra-widescreen.
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)		See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed		Disable fullscreen in video settings and select native desktop resolution.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		Scales with texture quality preset. To set manually see Anisotropic filtering (AF).
Anti-aliasing (AA)		FXAA, TXAA.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS
120+ FPS		See High frame rate.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the engine page to force native HDR output, or the glossary page for other alternatives.

The game engine may allow for manual configuration of the game via its variables. See the Unreal Engine 4 page for more details.

Ultra-widescreen

Hex edit executable^[5]
Go to `<path-to-game>\TheObserver\Binaries\Win64\` Open `TheObserver-Win64-Shipping.exe` with a hex editor such as HxD. Search for `398EE33F` and change the value to: `26B41740` for 2560x1080 `8EE31840` for 3440x1440 `ABAAAA40` for 5760x1080 `B497B040` for 5960x1080 Save the file. Notes The Field of view (FOV) fix should also be applied. The HUD is stretched.

Hex edit executable^[5]

Go to <path-to-game>\TheObserver\Binaries\Win64\
Open TheObserver-Win64-Shipping.exe with a hex editor such as HxD.
Search for 398EE33F and change the value to:
- 26B41740 for 2560x1080
- 8EE31840 for 3440x1440
- ABAAAA40 for 5760x1080
- B497B040 for 5960x1080
Save the file.

Notes

The Field of view (FOV) fix should also be applied.

The HUD is stretched.

Field of view (FOV)

Change FOV scaling to Hor+^[5]
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open `Engine.ini`. Add the following and save. [/Script/Engine.LocalPlayer] AspectRatioAxisConstraint=AspectRatio_MaintainYFOV Notes Makes in-game computer screen text hard to read.

Change FOV scaling to Hor+^[5]

Go to the configuration file(s) location.
Open Engine.ini.
Add the following and save.

[/Script/Engine.LocalPlayer]
AspectRatioAxisConstraint=AspectRatio_MaintainYFOV

Notes

Makes in-game computer screen text hard to read.

Anisotropic filtering (AF)

Set AF sample rate manually^[6]
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open `Engine.ini`. Add the following and save. [SystemSettings] r.MaxAnisotropy=16

Set AF sample rate manually^[6]

Go to the configuration file(s) location.
Open Engine.ini.
Add the following and save.

[SystemSettings]
r.MaxAnisotropy=16

High frame rate

Unlock frame rate^[7]
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open `GameUserSettings.ini`. Change `FrameRateLimit=0.000000` to the desired frame rate cap, e.g. `FrameRateLimit=120.000000`.

Chromatic aberration

Disable chromatic aberration^[6]
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open `Engine.ini`. Add the following and save. [SystemSettings] r.SceneColorFringeQuality=0

Disable chromatic aberration^[6]

Go to the configuration file(s) location.
Open Engine.ini.
Add the following and save.

[SystemSettings]
r.SceneColorFringeQuality=0

Depth of field

Disable depth of field^[6]
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open `Engine.ini`. Add the following and save. [SystemSettings] r.DepthOfFieldQuality=0

Disable depth of field^[6]

Go to the configuration file(s) location.
Open Engine.ini.
Add the following and save.

[SystemSettings]
r.DepthOfFieldQuality=0

Input

In-game controls settings

In-game controller layout menu

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration		Negative mouse acceleration.
Mouse sensitivity		The in-game sensitivity slider may not go low enough for high DPI users.
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support		Steam version uses a launcher which doesn't support controller input.
Controller remapping		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration

DualShock 4 controllers

Generic/other controllers		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Audio

In-game audio settings

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Simplified Chinese
French
German
Hungarian				Fan translation
Italian
Japanese
Polish
Brazilian Portuguese
Russian
Spanish

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
Native 3D
Nvidia 3D Vision		See Helix Mod: Observer_ (DX11) or Helix Mod: Observer_ (DX11).
vorpX		G3D User created game profile, see vorpx forum profile introduction.

Issues fixed

Game crashes during gameplay

See Bypass OpenSSL SHA bug on Intel 10th gen and later CPUs.^[8]

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	11
Metal support
Shader Model support	5.0

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Physics	PhysX
Audio	Fmod	[1]
Interface	Qt

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	7
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core i3 (3.4 GHz) AMD A8-6700 (3.1 GHz)
System memory (RAM)	8 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	10 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 AMD Radeon R9 270 DirectX 11 compatible

A 64-bit operating system is required.

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	10.12	10.13
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core i5 3.2 GHz (4 Cores)
System memory (RAM)	8 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	20 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 AMD Radeon R9 M290 2 GB of VRAM
Other	Intel graphics are not supported

A 64-bit operating system is required.

Linux
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	16.04	17.04, SteamOS 2.0
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core i3 (3.4 GHz) AMD A8-6700 (3.1 GHz)
System memory (RAM)	8 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	10 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 AMD Radeon R9 270 2 GB of VRAM
Other	Intel and AMD graphics are not supported

A 64-bit operating system is required.

Notes

↑ Unreal Engine 4 engine build: 4.15.3.0^[1]

References

↑ Verified by User:Mastan on 2021-12-04
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Steam Community :: Group Announcements :: Observer - last accessed on 2017-10-29
↑ Verified by User:Baronsmoki on 2019-10-17
↑ Observer PC Error - 21:9 Ultra Wide Support, Change FOV, Uncap FrameRate, Skip Intro And More - last accessed on May 2023
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 wsgf.org - View topic - Observer (>observer_) - last accessed on 2017-11-05
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 ^6.2 Verified by User:Waschbär on 2017-11-05
↑ Steam Community :: Guide :: Uncap fps, change FOV, skip Intro Guide - last accessed on May 2023
↑ Verified by User:Mastan on 2022-04-03