Sonic Adventure DX (Steam)

This page is for the Steam version. For the original 2004 port, see Sonic Adventure DX. For the 2011 version, see Sonic Adventure DX (2011).

Sonic Adventure
Subseries of Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic Adventure DX	2003
Sonic Adventure DX (2011)	2011
Sonic Adventure 2	2012
Sonic Adventure DX (Steam)	2014

Sonic Adventure DX (Steam) is a cartoon third-person platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega, and was released for PC on September 16, 2014. It is the updated version of the previous 2011 version, which in turn was also an updated version of the original 2004 PC port.

The current Steam version of Sonic Adventure DX features fixes of various issues present the previous 2011 version; however, despite these fixes, not only do similar issues that plagued the previous PC releases remain in this release, such as the game being pillarboxed to 4:3 (despite supporting higher resolutions) and limited XInput controller support (despite being derived from the Xbox 360 port.), but the port introduces unique issues, such as the game's frame-rate intermittently reducing from 60 FPS to 40 FPS. The unlockable Game Gear games that were present in the original GameCube and 2004 PC release of the game remain removed in this version.^[1]

Initially, CheakFreak's BetterSADX was widely considered the standard mod package for installing mods for the Steam version of Sonic Adventure DX; however, it has since been succeeded in popularity by SADX Mod Installer due to its increased modularity, updates, and additional features.

General information

Game Banana - The largest repository of community-made mods for Sonic Adventure DX

Sonic Retro - An extensive fan-website dedicated to Sonic the Hedgehog that additionally hosts various mods for Sonic Adventure DX and other games in the Sonic series.

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Humble Store
Steam		DRM-free if Steam is not installed or by creating a `steam_appid.txt` file containing its Steam App ID number `71250` in <path-to-game>.^[2]

All versions require Steam DRM.

A faithful higher resolution desktop icon can be downloaded from the Files section; it can also be applied to the game's executable with SADX Mod Installer.

Essential improvements

SADX Mod Installer

A modding and patching tool that features both advanced and beginner-friendly options for installing mods, in addition to coming pre-installed with mod presets, necessary dependencies, and compatibility fixes.

Provides a custom configuration tool to customize game settings as well as keyboard and controller bindings.

Enables the option to downgrade to the 2004 PC port, if desired.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\input_config.xml^{[Note 1]} <path-to-game>\keycap_config.xml^{[Note 1]} <path-to-game>\system_config.xml^{[Note 1]}
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/71250/pfx/^{[Note 2]}

SADX Mod Installer moves the game and SADX Mod Loader settings to <path-to-game> and <path-to-game>\mods, respectively.

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\SEGA\Sonic Adventure DX\SAVEDATA
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/71250/pfx/^{[Note 2]}

SonicAdventure##.snc is the game's save data for each save slot. Up to 10 save slots are available.

SonicAdventureChaoGarden.snc is the game's Chao Garden save data.

SADX Mod Installer moves the save files to <path-to-game>\SAVEDATA.

Save files from the 2014 Steam version can be converted to be compatible with the 2004 port with SADX Mod Installer.

Save game cloud syncing

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

Video

Graphics tab from external configuration tool.

Graphics feature	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution		The Steam version is pillarboxed to 4:3 in widescreen resolutions. Use SADX Mod Loader included with SADX Mod Installer and disable Force 4:3 Aspect Ratio under its graphics settings for widescreen support.^[3]
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen		Use SADX Mod Manager included with SADX Mod Installer for 21:9 widescreen.
4K Ultra HD		Use SADX Mod Manager included with SADX Mod Installer for 4K resolution.
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed	Use Borderless Gaming for the Steam version. Alternatively, use SADX Mod Installer, then enable Borderless and Fullscreen under SADX Mod Loader's graphics settings.^[4]
Anisotropic filtering (AF)	Not available in the Steam version. Use SADX Mod Installer, then enable Force Mipmapping in SADX Mod Loader's graphics settings and force anisotropic filtering via GPU control panel.^[3]
Anti-aliasing (AA)	FXAA on/off for the Steam version. Nvidia card owners can force any kind of anti-aliasing with Nvidia Inspector with compatibility flag `0x080000C1` as long as they are using a 4:3 resolution (e.g. 1200x900 on a 1600x900 monitor). If using SADX Mod Installer, anti-aliasing can be forced by from the GPU's control panel.^[3]
Vertical sync (Vsync)	Built-in V-sync setting in the Steam version may cause perform issues. If using SADX Mod Installer, check Enable V-sync in SADX Mod Loader's graphics settings or force it via GPU control panel.^[3]
60 FPS	In-engine cutscenes are capped at 30 FPS. While they can be switched to 60 FPS via a cheat in the SADX Mod Loader after downgrading to the 2004 port, they will play at double the speed.
120+ FPS	Gameplay is capped at 60 FPS.
High dynamic range display (HDR)	See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Input

Keyboard remapping from external configuration tool.

Controller remapping from external configuration tool.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus		Mouse is not use outside of external configuration tool.
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support
Controller remapping
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers		The D-pad is not supported in the Steam version.^[5] Use the Input Mod included with SADX Mod Installer for improved XInput support.
Xbox button prompts		Steam version uses Xbox 360 prompts with XInput controllers. Use SADX Mod Installer, install either the Xbox 360 Prompts or Xbox One Prompts mods.
Impulse Trigger vibration

DualShock 4 controllers		Although the game recognizes DualShock 4 controllers as a generic DirectInput controller, its configuration tool does not and requires manually editing the `input_config.xml` file found in <path-to-game> to remap controls.^[6] Use the Input Mod included with SADX Mod Installer for improved DualShock 4 support, however, its configuration tool does have an issue with remapping controls (see here).
DualShock button prompts		Use SADX Mod Installer, then install the PlayStation 3 Prompts or PlayStation 4 Prompts mods.
Light bar support
Connection modes	Bluetooth, Wired, V2 V2 controller tested.^[6]

Generic/other controllers		Certain controllers may require the Input Mod included with SADX Mod Installer to work properly.
Button prompts		Generic prompts are used with DirectInput controllers. HD GUI 2 mod included with SADX Mod Installer uses Dreamcast controller prompts by default. For Nintendo prompts, use either Wii U Pro Prompts or Switch Pro Prompts mods.

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

Audio

Audio settings tab from external configuration tool.

In-game language settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Sliders for Sound FX, Voice, BGM.
Surround sound
Subtitles		On by default.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English				Dubtitles only. Use SADX Mod Installer, then install Sonic Adventure Retranslated if playing the game with Japanese voice-overs and English subtitles.
French				Dubtitles only. Use French Retranslation if playing with Japanese audio and French subtitles.
German
Hebrew				Fan translation, download.
Italian				Fan translation, download.
Japanese
Portuguese				Fan translation, download.
Brazilian Portuguese				Fan translation, download.
Russian				Fan translation, download.
Spanish
Latin American Spanish				Fan translation, download.

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Players	Notes
Local play	4	Co-op ^[7]
LAN play
Online play

Issues fixed

Low frame rate

If the frame-rate is stuck around 40 FPS and won't rise to 60, disable the in-game FXAA and Vsync and instead force them through the Nvidia/Radeon control panel instead.^[8] Alternatively, if forcing Vsync and FXAA via video card control panel does not fix the issue, downgrade the game to the 2004 port and patch it with mods via SADX Mod Installer.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9.0c
Shader Model support	3.0

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	Criware	Audio files in this re-release are low-quality compared to the Dreamcast version.^[9] The original Dreamcast audio files can be restored with the Sound Overhaul mod included with SADX Mod Installer.
Input	SDL2	Use the Input Mod included with SADX Mod Installer for SDL2 support.^[10]
Cutscenes	Criware	Sofdec format FMV files.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	XP	7
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz	Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz
System memory (RAM)	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	1.8 GB	4 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 7300 series ATI Radeon X1600 256 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0c compatible Shader model 3.0 support	Nvidia GeForce 8800 series ATI Radeon X1900 512 MB of VRAM
Sound (audio device)	DirectX 9.0c compatible

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 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).
↑ ^2.0 ^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>/71250/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (71250) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References

↑ Sonic Adventure DX (2010) - last accessed on 2020-10-28
↑ Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2019-12-11
Creating a new steam_appid.txt file for the game with its Steam App ID number when it didn't initially had this file allowed the game to legitimately launch without Steam.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 ^3.3 Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2021-01-29
↑ Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2021-01-29
Used Borderless Gaming on the vanilla Steam version at my display's native resolution. Borderless without Fullscreen in SADX Mod Loader only uses basic Windowed mode instead.
↑ Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2020-07-20
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2021-01-27
↑ Character Select Mod - last accessed on 1 July 2022
↑ Why is the frame rate stuck at 48FPS? - Steam Community Discussions - last accessed on 2020-07-19
↑ Sound and Music Quality Downgrades - Dreamcastify - last accessed on 2021-01-24
↑ sadx-input-mod - Github - last accessed on 2020-07-19
"sadx-input-mod is a mod for SADX PC that replaces the default DirectInput polling with SDL2 to enable more robust gamepad support. It allows the use of DirectInput and XInput controllers simultaneously."

[gamedir-3] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 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-4] 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>/71250/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (71250) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

[1] Sonic Adventure DX (2010) - last accessed on 2020-10-28

[2] Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2019-12-11
Creating a new steam_appid.txt file for the game with its Steam App ID number when it didn't initially had this file allowed the game to legitimately launch without Steam.

[Modded_SADX-5] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 ^3.3 Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2021-01-29

[Borderless_fullscreen-6] Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2021-01-29
Used Borderless Gaming on the vanilla Steam version at my display's native resolution. Borderless without Fullscreen in SADX Mod Loader only uses basic Windowed mode instead.

[XInput-7] Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2020-07-20

[DualShock_4_support-8] 6.0 ^6.1 Verified by User:AmethystViper on 2021-01-27

[9] Character Select Mod - last accessed on 1 July 2022

[10] Why is the frame rate stuck at 48FPS? - Steam Community Discussions - last accessed on 2020-07-19

[11] Sound and Music Quality Downgrades - Dreamcastify - last accessed on 2021-01-24

[12] sadx-input-mod - Github - last accessed on 2020-07-19
"sadx-input-mod is a mod for SADX PC that replaces the default DirectInput polling with SDL2 to enable more robust gamepad support. It allows the use of DirectInput and XInput controllers simultaneously."

[1]

[2]

[Note 1]

[Note 2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

Developers

	Sonic Team
Publishers
	Sega
Release dates
Windows	September 16, 2014
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Third-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Action, Adventure, Platform
Sports	Fishing
Vehicles	Flight
Art styles	Cartoon
Themes	Contemporary
Series	Sonic Adventure, Dreamcast Collection