Valkyria Chronicles

Valkyria Chronicles
Valkyria Chronicles	2014
Valkyria Chronicles 4	2018

Key points

Includes all the currently released DLC from the PS3 version.

The PC version lacks the enhancements that are in the PS4 version.

General information

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		Europe only.

Green Man Gaming
Humble Store
Microsoft Store
Steam		DRM-Free when Steam is not installed or when steam_appid.txt is in directory containing any number.^[1]

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Delete files in the installation folder^[2]
Go to `<path-to-game>\movie\` Delete or rename files `OPENING.SFD` and/or `SEGALOGO.SFD`

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Steam	<path-to-game>\*.xml
Microsoft Store	%LOCALAPPDATA%\SEGA\Valkyria Chronicles\
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/294860/pfx/^{[Note 1]}

Save game data location

System	Location
Steam	<path-to-game>\savedata\<user-id>\
Microsoft Store	%LOCALAPPDATA%\SEGA\Valkyria Chronicles\savedata\
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/294860/pfx/^{[Note 1]}

The DLC save games are separate from the main storyline save games.

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Steam Cloud
Xbox Cloud

Video

Configuration tools graphics settings.

Configuration tool in the Microsoft Store version.

Graphics feature	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor		Pillarboxed 16:9.
Ultra-widescreen		Pillarboxed gameplay. Use the widescreen hack as a workaround.
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed	Use Borderless Gaming or adding `borderless_windowed="1"` to the line `<custom_gfx_options` in the file system_config.xml^[3]
Anisotropic filtering (AF)	See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)	Appears to use a built in post-processing AA that is non adjustable. Nvidia users can force SGSSAA with flag `0x084010C0`.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS and 120+ FPS	Set Frame Limit to Refresh Rate. Introduces audio desync for cutscenes rendered in engine, causes tanks to sometimes consume more AP over less distance (particularly when trying to go uphill). You will encounter this clipping issue.
High dynamic range display (HDR)	See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

HBAO also available on Nvidia with flag 0x00000032.

SLI support

Use Nvidia Profile Inspector^[4]

Change the SLI compatibility bits to 0x03402005 which works good or 0x42402405 also gave good balance
Change the NVIDIA predefined SLI mode to SLI_PREDEFINED_MODE_FORCE_AFR2
Click on Apply changes

Incompatible with Downsampling

Input

Configuration tools key rebinding and input settings.

In-game audio & input inversion settings.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus		Only during the command mode.
Mouse Y-axis inversion		Independent toggle for normal ("Action") and aiming ("Target") modes
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support
Controller remapping
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion		Independent toggle for normal ("Action") and aiming ("Target") modes

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration

DualShock 4 controllers

Generic/other controllers

Additional information
Button prompts		For DualShock prompts see PlayStation Button Prompts
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Steam Input
Steam Input API support
Hook input (legacy mode)
Official controller preset(s)
Steam Controller button prompts
Cursor detection

Make walk hold from WASD with Shift

Use AutoHotkey^{[citation needed]}

Save the following as a .ahk file then compile it into an app. Place the exe in the game's directory then use it to launch the game (you could make a shortcut to it or rename Valkyria.exe to something else and name it in its place).

Click expand to view contents

RunWait, Valkyria.exe
ExitApp

#IfWinActive, ahk_class Valkyria Chronicle
#SingleInstance Ignore

+w::Up
+s::Down
+a::Left
+d::Right

~w::sendinput {up up}
~a::sendinput {left up}
~s::sendinput {down up}
~d::sendinput {right up}

To change the modifier used for walking change the pluses(+) in the first stanza to ^(Control) or !(Alt).

Audio

Configuration tools audio settings.

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

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Japanese
Russian				Fan translation by «Alliance Team», download.
Spanish				Fan translation, download.

VR support

3D modes	Native	Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision		See Helix Mod: Valkyria Chronicles.

Issues fixed

Unable to get up the ramp Chapter 18a

Change video setting/resolution to 60HZ^{[citation needed]}
Press play Valkyria Chronicles Choose 'Configure Valkyria Chronicles' Change resolution to desired resolution with 60HZ

Crash in Chapter 3

Change video setting to Windowed and switch off Steam Overlay^{[citation needed]}

Press Valkyria Chronicles with the right mouse button on Steam
Choose Properties
Uncheck "Enable Steam Overlay while in-game"
Press play Valkyria Chronicles
Choose 'Configure Valkyria Chronicles'
Change screen mode to Windowed

You may also need to change the launch file to run in Windows 7 Compatibility Mode.^{[citation needed]}

Once you have returned to Book Mode without the crash you can change your settings back to normal.

Game is accepting input from nonexistant device and is infinitely scrolling up on start

Enter Windows Device Manager and disable devices^{[citation needed]}

Open Device Manager from Windows Start Menu
Expand "Human Interface Devices" list
Find and disable device labeled "HID-compliant vendor-defined device"

When you reopen the game after you have disabled the device, the scrolling should stop and everything should work as normal.

There may be more than one device with that label, but for me it was the first one in the list.

Desktop visible even in fullscreen (Windows 10)

Disable fullscreen optimization of Valkyria.exe^[5]
Open Properties of `<path-to-game>\Valkyria.exe` In Compatibility tab check "Disable fullscreen optimization"

Falling through the map after climbing up the ladders at the back of the map in Episode 15a - Fight for Ghirlandaio

Download fix from mega or google drive and install in Valkyria Chronicles\data\mx^[6]
Included in Imperial Onslaught (v2+) and "Quality of Life Fixes" gameplay mod.

Framerate dies when walking through grass

Disable vsync^{[citation needed]}

This game really doesn't like Vsync (at 60 fps at least). It can also cause other types of slowdown-related bugs. You can try to alleviate screen tearing by locking fps to 58.

Nvidia's "Fast Sync" works fine, no tearing and no slowdown. You might need to enable it through the Profile Inspector if it's not in the control panel.

Text semitransparent in target information box

Change refresh rate^{[citation needed]}
Correct display on top, wrong on bottom This happens with some refresh rates. Refresh rates of 30 and 60hz work. 50 and 59.94 does not work.

Stuttering in cutscenes

Limit framerate to 30^{[citation needed]}

The game incorrectly upconverts video framerate resulting in heavy stuttering at times. Limiting framerate to 30 in the launcher mostly fixes this. Using external framelimiters work so you can use FPS Limiter with hotkey support to toggle between 29.97FPS for cutscenes and 60FPS for gameplay while ingame.

This can also be automated with Autohotkey:

Download and install AutoHotkey
Download FPS Limiter and extract it to <path-to-game>
Edit fpslimiter.cfg and set InitialFps to 29.97 and ToggleFps to your desired framerate
Create a new Autohotkey script in <path-to-game> with the following content:

Click expand to view contents

Run,fpslimiter32.exe,,hide
Run,Valkyria.exe
Loop {
	Sleep,1
	PlayingMovie := 0
	Loop,Files,movie\*
		{
		FileMove,%A_LoopFileLongPath%,%A_LoopFileLongPath%
		if (ErrorLevel = 1)
			PlayingMovie := 1
		}
	if (PlayingMovie = 1)
		SendInput,^{Numpad0}
	if (PlayingMovie = 0)
		SendInput,^{Numpad1}
	Process,Exist,Valkyria.exe
	if (ErrorLevel = 0) {
		Process,Close,fpslimiter32.exe
		ExitApp
		}
	}

You should now be able to launch the game with this script and get less stutter. Some minimal stuttering is unavoidable unless you can live with the 59.94hz bug mentioned above, since the cutscenes are 29.97 FPS.

Units fail to evade successfully

Set game resolution to 1280×720 and framerate to 30 fps.^[7]^[8]
As in many Japanese console ports, the engine’s inner workings are affected by framerate, so that the game functions identically to its original version only when played at the original version’s framerate (and in this case resolution).

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9.0c

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows			64-bit exclusive to the Microsoft Store.

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Physics	PhysX
Audio	CRI ADX2
Cutscenes	CRI Sofdec2

Mods

Save file hacking guide

ValkyrieEdit - For character bug workaround see here.

Texture extraction/replacement tool guide

Gallian Crossfire - Game play balancing (more info)
Imperial Onslaught - Extension to Gallian Crossfire (more info)
No Intercepting Fire - Makes the game truly turn based by removing intercepting fire during your turn.
"Quality of Life Fixes" gameplay mod - Modifies AP, Accuracy, and A-rank requirement to match Valkyria Chronicles 4, making non-scout units actually useful and eliminates the need to scout-rush in order to achieve A rank.
High Res Characters
Hi Res Unit Icon Mod - Replaces command mode unit icons with high resolution ones.
PlayStation Button Prompts
Japanese Title Screen
Canvas Tweak - (Explanation)
Remove canvas and/or streak effect - (Explanation)

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	Vista	7
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz	Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz
System memory (RAM)	2 GB	3 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	25 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce GTS 240	Nvidia GeForce GTX 280

Notes

↑ ^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>/294860/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (294860) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References

↑ Steam games you can play without the Steam client :: GOG.com Community Discussions - last accessed on May 2023
↑ How to skip Intro/Sega logo - last accessed on May 2023
↑ how to fix fullscreen on Valkyria Chronicles pc - last accessed on May 2023
↑ Valkyria Chronicles - SLI-AFR2 works great! (outside of DSR and GeDoSaTo Tool) - last accessed on May 2023
↑ Valkyria Chronicles Full Screen Fix - last accessed on May 2023
↑ Ghirlandaio ladder bugfix - last accessed on May 2023
↑ How to a get scouts to dodge lance and tank shells? - last accessed on May 2023
↑ Is this how you suppose to clear Ch. 15? - last accessed on May 2023

[Proton_path_note-3] 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>/294860/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (294860) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

[1] Steam games you can play without the Steam client :: GOG.com Community Discussions - last accessed on May 2023

[2] How to skip Intro/Sega logo - last accessed on May 2023

[4] w to fix fullscreen on Valkyria Chronicles pc - last accessed on May 2023

[5] Valkyria Chronicles - SLI-AFR2 works great! (outside of DSR and GeDoSaTo Tool) - last accessed on May 2023

[6] Valkyria Chronicles Full Screen Fix - last accessed on May 2023

[7] Ghirlandaio ladder bugfix - last accessed on May 2023

[8] How to a get scouts to dodge lance and tank shells? - last accessed on May 2023

[9] Is this how you suppose to clear Ch. 15? - last accessed on May 2023

[1]

[2]

[Note 1]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

Developers

	Sega
Windows	Little Stone Software
Microsoft Store	Lab42
Publishers
	Sega
Engines
	CANVAS
Release dates
Windows	November 11, 2014
Reception
Metacritic	85
OpenCritic	85
IGDB	90
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer
Pacing	Real-time, Turn-based
Perspectives	Third-person, Top-down view
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Tactical RPG
Vehicles	Tank
Art styles	Anime, Stylized
Themes	Europe, World War II
Series	Valkyria Chronicles