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Prey

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games

This page is for the game released in 2006. For the game released in 2017, see Prey (2017).

Prey
Prey cover
Developers
Human Head Studios
macOS (OS X) Aspyr Media
Linux Ryan C. Gordon
Publishers
2K Games
3D Realms
Re-release Sold Out Software
Engines
id Tech 4
Release dates
Windows July 11, 2006
macOS (OS X) January 15, 2007
Linux December 7, 2008
Reception
Metacritic 83
IGDB 77
Taxonomy
Monetization One-time game purchase
Microtransactions None
Modes Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives First-person
Controls Direct control
Genres FPS
Vehicles Hovercraft
Art styles Realistic
Themes Sci-fi
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Prey on HowLongToBeat
Prey on IGDB
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Prey guide on StrategyWiki
Prey on MobyGames
Prey on Wikipedia
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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.

Prey is a singleplayer and multiplayer first-person FPS game.

General information

Prey Wiki
Prey Tweak Guide
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
CD key
 SecuROM DRM disc check. Install v1.4 Patch to remove disc check. CD keys activate on Steam.[1] 3 CDs on the standard edition or 1 DVD on the limited collectors edition.
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Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Mac App Store (unavailable)
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 No online play (LAN only).[2]
macOS (OS X)
Steam (unavailable)
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 Comes fully patched to v1.4. prey.exe contains Steam DRM, but just like Doom 3 can be replaced with an exe extracted from the 1.4 patch: SetupPreyPt1.4.exe /s /extract_all:[path]. Dedicated server is DRM-free.
Windows
Windows version is no longer available digitally outside Play-Asia
Retail Windows/Linux, retail Mac and Steam keys are compatible with each other.
Demo version available.

Essential improvements

Patches

v1.4 Patch is the latest patch for the retail version. Retail boxed versions may be SecuROM protected (which requires the disc to be in the DVD drive). This patch removes the protection.

SDK, etc.

All downloads available for the game can be found at the 3D Realms Prey download page.

Linux client for Prey

A free client that allows Prey to be played natively on Linux machines. It requires either a full retail copy or the demo to use it.

It can be downloaded here.

SDL Compatibility Library (SDLCL)

Enables native Alt+Tab ↹ and additional screen resolutions by translating SDL 1.2's calls into modern SDL 2.0 on Linux.
Replace libSDL library of the game[3]
  1. Install libsdl2-2.0-0, libsdl2-2.0-0:i386, libsdl1.2debian, libsdl1.2debian:i386, libudev1, libudev1:i386 packages with your distro's software manager.
  2. Backup and remove libSDL-1.2.so.0 library in <path-to-game>.
  3. Download sdlcl-1.0-i686.tar.gz; extract libSDL-1.2.so.0 into <path-to-game>.

Game data

In-game general settings.
In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\base\[Note 1]
macOS (OS X) $HOME/Library/Application Support/Prey/base/
Linux $HOME/.prey/base/
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/3970/pfx/[Note 2]
This game does not follow the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.

Save game data location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\PREY\base\
%USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\HumanHeadStudios\Prey\
macOS (OS X) $HOME/Library/Application Support/Prey/base/savegames/
Linux $HOME/.prey/base/savegames/
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/3970/pfx/[Note 2]
Up to 5 quicksaves, the oldest one gets overwritten.

Save game cloud syncing

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

Video

In-game general video settings.
In-game general video settings.
In-game advanced video settings (1/2).
In-game advanced video settings (1/2).
In-game advanced video settings (2/2).
In-game advanced video settings (2/2).

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
 
 See Widescreen resolution for unlisted resolutions. HUD is only 4:3 and will stretch to the proportion of resolution, unlike Xbox 360 version that have a proper Widescreen HUD.
Multi-monitor
 
 See the WSGF entry.
Ultra-widescreen
 
 See the WSGF entry.
4K Ultra HD
 
 Must be set manually, see Widescreen resolution.
Field of view (FOV)
Open console with Ctrl+Alt+~ and use g_fov X command. (That should be applied before joining a multiplayer game)
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)
MSAA, see Anti-aliasing for levels higher than 4x.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS
120+ FPS
Capped at 63 FPS. Game runs too fast if the frame rate cap is removed.
High dynamic range display (HDR)
See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Widescreen resolution

Some resolutions like 1280x768 and 1920x1080 must be set manually.

Use a custom resolution[citation needed]
  1. Go to configuration file(s) location.
  2. Edit preyconfig.cfg.
  3. Change seta r_customHeight "486" and seta r_customWidth "720" to your desired resolution.
  4. Change seta r_mode to "-1"
  5. Change seta r_aspectRatio to your aspect ratio. "0" is 4:3, "1" is 16:9 and "2" is 16:10.

60 FPS

Screen tearing on Nvidia G-Sync monitors[citation needed]

Prey may automatically set Nvidia G-Sync monitors to 60Hz with G-Sync disabled. This will result in noticeable screen tearing. This can be fixed by manually resetting the monitor to a higher Hz output. This will not affect the in-game framerate, but will solve the screen tearing.

  1. Go to configuration file(s) location.
  2. Edit preyconfig.cfg.
  3. Change seta r_displayRefresh to the highest refresh rate your monitor supports.

Anti-aliasing

8x and 16x MSAA must be set manually.

Increase anti-aliasing level[citation needed]
  1. Go to configuration file(s) location.
  2. Edit preyconfig.cfg.
  3. Change seta r_multiSamples to "8" or "16".

Input

In-game general control settings.
In-game general control settings.
In-game key map settings.
In-game key map settings.

Keyboard and mouse State Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support

Audio

In-game audio settings.
In-game audio settings.

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound
Stereo or 5.1 (software). Up to 7.1 (OpenAL)[4]
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support
EAX 4, EAX 5 (via OpenAL)[4]

Localizations

French, German, Italian and Spanish are only selectable in the retail version, for steam version see enabling unsupported languages.
Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Retail only.
Polish
Retail only. Patch for digital release here.
Brazilian Portuguese
Fan translation by Gamevício, download.
Russian
Official localization by 1C-Softclub. Retail only. Dub for digital release here.
Russian
Fan translation by «ENPY Studio/Spirit Team», download.
Spanish

Enabling unsupported languages

Change the language in the configuration file.[5][6][7]
  1. Go to configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open the preyconfig.cfg file.
  3. Change the value of seta sys_lang "english" to your corresponding language.

Network

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
LAN play
8 Versus
Online play
8 Versus
Master server is down, use Direct IP to connect servers. Not available in the Mac App Store version.[2]

Connection types

Type Native Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP
Enter IP:Port in MultiPrey > IP Connect.
Disable Pure Server to allow cross-platform multiplayer between Mac and PC (Windows, Linux, Steam) releases.

Ports

Protocol Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP 27719
UDP 27719
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

VR support

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

Issues fixed

Poor image quality on modern systems

The game does not properly recognize the available VRAM on modern graphics cards, and as such forces the game to use lower image quality settings.[citation needed]
Force high image quality[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Create and open autoexec.cfg.
  3. Add the following and save.
seta com_machineSpec "3"
seta com_videoRam "2048"
seta r_shadows "1"
seta r_skipSky "0"
seta r_skipBump "0"
seta r_skipSpecular "0"
seta r_skipNewAmbient "0"
seta image_ignoreHighQuality "0"
seta image_downSize "0"
seta image_downSizeBump "0"
seta image_downSizeSpecular "0"
seta image_useCache "0"
seta image_useCompression "0"
seta image_useNormalCompression "0"
seta image_usePrecompressedTextures "0"
seta image_lodbias "-1"
seta image_filter "GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_LINEAR"
seta g_brassTime "2"

Cannot use Alt+Tab ↹ or ⌘ Command+Tab ↹

The game does not support directly switching to desktop by Alt+Tab ↹ or ⌘ Command+Tab ↹ on Windows and Mac.
Windows: Switch to windowed mode
  1. Switch to windowed mode Alt+↵ Enter.
  2. Apply Alt+Tab ↹.
Linux: Use SDLCL to enable native Alt+Tab ↹
  1. Replace game's libSDL library with SDL Compatibility Library (SDLCL).
Mac: Assign a key for windowed mode
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open preyconfig.cfg with a text editor.
  3. Paste bind "F8" "toggle r_fullscreen; vid_restart" at the bottom of the file.
  4. Switch to windowed mode F8.
  5. Apply ⌘ Command+Tab ↹.

Stuttering on AMD Graphics

Windows: Rename prey.exe to enable compatibility profile
  1. Rename prey.exe to CoDSP.exe.
Will have to launch the game from the CoDSP.exe or add a non-steam game if using the Steam version.

Sound doesn't properly work on Linux

Install and use OpenAL

Note, if you're running the Windows version through Wine or Steam Play (Proton), use the surround sound for Windows fix outlined below (using OpenAL-Soft).

  1. Install libopenal1, libopenal1:i386, libasound2, libasound2:i386 packages with your distro's software manager.
  2. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  3. Edit preyconfig.cfg with a text editor.
  4. Change seta s_useOpenAL to "1"
  5. Change seta s_deviceName to "OpenAL Soft"
  6. Change seta s_libOpenAL to "<path to the libopenal.so>" or symlink libopenal.so to <path-to-game>/openal.so

No Surround Sound on Windows 10

Install and use OpenAL Soft
  1. Download the latest Win32/Win64 OpenAL Soft binaries for Windows
  2. Unzip soft_oal.dll from the bin/Win32/ directory in the archive
  3. Rename to OpenAL32.dll
  4. Place in the same folder as prey.exe (e.g., C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Prey 2006)
  5. Launch game and enter main menu
  6. In Options > Audio, select "OpenAL" as Sound System, set Sound Device to "OpenAL Soft" (should already be set) and enable EAX if desired
Alternately, install and use Creative ALchemy
  1. Install Creative ALchemy or, if you don't have a compatible Creative sound card, Creative ALchemy Universal.
  2. Open Creative ALchemy.
  3. Press "Add"
  4. Select "Game Folder" and point to the Prey executable.
  5. Press "Ok"
  6. Press the right directional button to add the game to the ALchemy-enabled game list
  7. Run the game
  8. Go to the Audio settings in the Options menu
  9. Set Sound System to OpenAL
  10. Set Sound Device to your audio device
  11. Turn EAX Advanced HD to On
  12. Close the game
  13. Edit preyconfig.cfg with a text editor.
  14. Change seta s_numberOfSpeakers to the correct number of speakers in your system excluding the number of subwoofers. 5.1 will be 5, 7.1 will be 7, etc.
  15. Save file
Starting the game may reset the config file and reset the number of speakers. Set it to read only to prevent this.

Stuttering in-game

The game can stutter a few times per second with V-Sync enabled, or showcase significant tearing if V-Sync is disabled.
Change game tick behavior[8]
  1. Ensure the game is configured properly in-game as desired before continuing.
  2. Navigate to <path-to-game>\base
  3. Open autoexec.cfg in a text editor and add the following lines, then save and close the file:
seta com_PreciseTic "0"
seta com_FixedTic "1"

Notes

This also removes the in-game FPS cap (60-62 FPS) but may cause the game physics to go out of sync.[9]
Note that changing any settings in-game resets the file, requiring the lines to be added anew.
Starting the game may reset the file. Set it to read only to prevent this.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
OpenGL 2.0
ExecutablePPC 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
Audio OpenAL
Anti-cheat PunkBuster

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 2000 XP
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium 4 2.0 GHz
AMD Athlon XP 2000+		 Intel Pentium 4 2.5 GHz
AMD Athlon 64 3000+
System memory (RAM) 512 MB 1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 2.2 GB
Video card (GPU) DirectX 9.0c compatible
macOS (OS X)
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 10.3.9
Processor (CPU) PowerPC G5 2.0 GHz
Intel 1.8 GHz
System memory (RAM) 512 MB 1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 3 GB
Video card (GPU) ATI Radeon X1600
Nvidia GeForce 7300
Linux
Minimum
Operating system (OS) Kernel 2.6.x
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium 4 2.0 GHz
Athlon XP 2000+
System memory (RAM) 512 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 2.2 GB
Video card (GPU) OpenGL 2.0 compatible
Supported ATI chipsets: Radeon 9600 series, Radeon 9700 series, Radeon 9800 series, Radeon X300 series, Radeon X550 series, Radeon X600 series, Radeon X700 series, Radeon X800 series, Radeon X1300 series, Radeon X1600 series, Radeon X1800 series, Radeon X1900 series
Supported Nvidia chipsets: GeForce3/Ti series, GeForce4/Ti, GeForce FX 5800 series, GeForce 5900 series, GeForce 6200 series, GeForce 6600 series, GeForce 6800 series, GeForce 7300 series, GeForce 7600 series, GeForce 7800 series, GeForce 7900 series
The game does not support Intel integrated graphics chipsets


Notes

  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).
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 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>/3970/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (3970) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References

  1. ↑ Retail / Digital CD Keys - CD-Key - Knowledge Base - Steam Support - last accessed on May 2023
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Mac App Store - Prey
  3. ↑ GitHub - last accessed on 17 May 2023
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sound Blaster X-Fi Audio in Prey™ - SoundBlaster.com (retrieved)
  5. ↑ Gamesvillage.it Forum Discussion - last accessed on May 2023
  6. ↑ guide to enable Spanish - last accessed on May 2023
  7. ↑ Verified by User:Averygoodperson on 2022-07-22
  8. ↑ Steam Community - Microstutter - last accessed on 2019-11-02
  9. ↑ TweakGuides.com - Prey Tweak Guide - last accessed on 2019-11-02
    "com_fixedTic [0,1] - If set to 0 (the default) Prey's ticrate is capped at 60, meaning the game framerate cannot exceed 60FPS. If you want to remove this cap, set com_fixedTic to 1, but this causes the game physics to go out of sync. Note, com_fixedTic -1 is no longer supported in recent builds of the Doom 3 engine."