Aliens versus Predator 2

Aliens versus Predator 2

Developers
	Monolith Productions
Primal Hunt	Third Law Interactive
macOS (OS X)	The Omni Group
Publishers
	Sierra Entertainment
	Fox Interactive
macOS (OS X)	MacPlay
Japan	Capcom
Engines
	Lithtech Talon
Release dates
Windows	October 30, 2001
macOS (OS X)	July 23, 2003
Reception
Metacritic	85
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase, Expansion pack
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	First-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Action, FPS, Stealth
Vehicles	Robot
Art styles	Stylized
Themes	Horror, Sci-fi, Space
Series	Aliens versus Predator

Aliens versus Predator
Subseries of Alien
Subseries of Predator
Aliens versus Predator	1999
Aliens versus Predator 2	2001
Aliens vs. Predator	2010

Warnings

GameSpy online services have been shut down (see Network for solutions).

Aliens versus Predator 2 is a singleplayer and multiplayer horror sci-fi FPS in the Aliens versus Predator series set in space and developed by Monolith Productions.

The game was released to Windows on October 23, 2001. The following year in August 2002 an expansion pack developed by Third Law Interactive titled Primal Hunt was released. In May 2003 the Gold Edition was released which bundled the base game with the expansion pack. Two months later on July 23, 2003 an OS X port developed by The Omni Group was released.

As the multiplayer service GameSpy has terminated its services, the game requires either a community-created Master Server Patches or the use of the third-party software GameRanger to enable online functionality.

General information

AvP Universe - fansite with some useful links

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		SecuROM 4.54.00.0018 DRM. SecuROM 4.77.00.0002 DRM for Primal Hunt.

The game is not sold digitally due to various legal issues with several parties.

Free singleplayer and multiplayer demos are available.

Version differences

Gold Edition released in May 2003 bundles the base game with the Primal Hunt expansion pack.

Monetization

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Primal Hunt	Expansion pack which adds new weapons and multiplayer maps as well as a singleplayer prequel campaign to the base game.

Essential improvements

Patches

• The v1.0.9.6 patch is available in the following languages: English, French, German, Italian, Korean and Spanish. It can be downloaded from the Files section

Map updates

Make sure the game is patched to v1.0.9.6 before installing the updates

• Single Player Map Update #1 - Fixes some bugs in the single player levels, only for the English version of the game (already included for others).
• Multiplayer Map Update #1 - Adds 10 new maps.

Master Server Patch

• ModDB download

Contrary to the name, this is an unofficial patch that not only redirects the multiplayer segment of the base game and Primal Hunt to a community-run master server, but also introduces fixes for modern systems.

Requires the official 1.0.9.6 patch and Single Player Map Update #1.

Includes widescreen and high resolution support, anisotropic filtering in the custom performance menu, a mouse input fix, and framerate issue fixes.

Includes a console with commands for turning off visor color inversion, showing the framerate, toggling patch options, etc.

Incompatible with custom launchers.

Skip intro videos

Intro videos can be skipped by clicking on Options in the launcher and ticking Disable Logos.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\autoexec.cfg
macOS (OS X)

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\Save\Player_0
macOS (OS X)

Video

Video settings.

Graphics feature	State	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution			See Widescreen resolution.
Multi-monitor			See Widescreen resolution.
Ultra-widescreen			See Widescreen resolution.
4K Ultra HD			See Widescreen resolution. HUD and menus do not scale well at very high resolutions.
Field of view (FOV)		See Widescreen resolution.
Windowed		Add +windowed 1 to the advanced command-line in the launcher.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See Borderless windowed.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		Up to 16 samples for the base game with the Master Server Patch.
Anti-aliasing (AA)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
High-fidelity upscaling		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Vertical sync (Vsync)		Can be forced off.[citation needed]
60 FPS
120+ FPS		Sound and animation issues at higher frame rates. Cap the game at 60 FPS to prevent these.
High dynamic range display (HDR)

Widescreen resolution

Using the Master Server Patch
Install patch 1.0.9.6 and Single Player Map Update #1 from the Patches section. Install the Master Server Patch.

Custom launchers

Alternative method: Use custom launchers

Install patch 1.0.9.6 and Single Player Map Update #1 from the Patches section. Download launcher executables for the base game and/or expansion. Place chosen executable(s) in <path-to-game>. Run the launcher for the base game or expansion and configure desired settings. Notes: Allows the FOV to be freely configured to a chosen number value Needs to be run with administrator privileges in order to launch. Conflict with the Master Server Patch, preventing the use of the patch's console.

Alternative method: Edit autoexec[dubious – discuss]

Install patch 1.0.9.6 and Single Player Map Update #1 from the Patches section. Open the autoexec.cfg file located in <path-to-game>\Fox\Aliens vs. Predator 2 with a text editor. For Primal Hunt, the file is found in <path-to-game>\Fox\Aliens vs. Predator 2 - Primal Hunt. Search for the following entries: "SCREENWIDTH" "#" "GameScreenHeight" "#" "SCREENHEIGHT" "#" "GameScreenWidth" "#" 4. Change the resolution numbers that appear after those entries to the desired screen resolution. Notes: It is possible to use resolutions that go beyond the game's resolution settings, but accessing and modifying the display settings in the game launcher will immediately overwrite the value. FOV will be stretched to fit the aspect ratio Does not work for resolution heights greater than 2048 or resolution widths greater than 1536

Borderless windowed

Master Server Patch: Activate borderless windowed mode
Add +windowed 1 and +borderless 1 command line arguments to the advanced command-line in the Options section of the launcher.

Lithfix: Activate borderless windowed mode
Go to <path-to-game> and open autoexec.cfg in a text editor. Create a new line at the top and type "lf_borderless_window" "1.0". Save the file. Notes: With the custom launchers, borderless windowed mode can be toggled in the Game settings section of the custom launcher.

Use Borderless Gaming

Input

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration		Slider option for mouse smoothing present. Lacks options for mouse acceleration.
Mouse sensitivity		Slider present.
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		Joystick only.
Full controller support
Controller remapping
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

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

Audio

Audio settings.

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

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
French
German
Hungarian				Fan translation; download for base game, Primal Hunt
Italian
Korean				Requires patch v1.0.9.6 installed.
Spanish				Download for base game, Primal Hunt

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
LAN play		16
Online play		16	The official GameSpy service has been shut down; use the Master Server Patch for a community-run replacement.

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

Ports

Protocol	Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP	2300-2400, 7000-10000
UDP	27888-27900

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

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
vorpX		Z3D User created profile, requires DGvoodoo2 v 2.6 (DX6), see vorpx forum.

Issues fixed

The game does not launch or crashes when loading a level

Run avp2.exe in compatibility mode for Windows 98 / Me and as administrator.[citation needed]

Windows 8 low frame rate in fullscreen

Use low frame rate fix
Download the Windows 8/8.1 DDraw FPS Fix and extract ddraw.dll into <path-to-game>. Notes: May cause black screen freezing on startup for Windows 10.

Uncontrollable mouse movement

Mouse moves in wavelike pattern when attempting y-axis movement.

Decrease mouse polling rate to 125 Hz.

Use the Master Server Patch

Install mrNuku and Ayleia's dinput.dll
Download it here extract it to <path-to-game>. Notes: Fixes a common crash on launch and any problems with keybindings. Conflicts with DI-wrapper.

Alternative method: Use DI-wrapper
Download DI-Wrapper extract it to <path-to-game>. Notes: Conflicts with mrNuku and Ayleia's dinput.dll. Will require reassigning mouse buttons.

Alternative method: Use LithFix for smoother mouselook
Download LithFix and copy it to installation folder. Remove any custom .rez files and add -rez lithfix to advanced command-line in the launcher. Notes: Custom launchers have basic support for LithFix since version 1.3.0 (base game) or 1.1.0 (Primal Hunt). Conflicts with Master Server Patch.

Screen turns black in alternate Alien and Predator vision modes

With recent graphics drivers, the game's color inversion does not work, resulting in the Alien vision and the Predator tech visor displaying black screens.

Disable inverted vision modes in the Master Server Patch's console
Install the Master Server patch. When in-game, hit ~ on the keyboard to open the console. Type invertbypass into the console and hit enter to toggle the inversion off. Notes: Works in both multiplayer and singleplayer. The toggle will be saved, remaining on or off through restarts as set. Changes the look of the inverted vision modes significantly. Doesn't work for "Primal hunt" expansion.

Alternative method: Disable inverted vision modes by installing the vision mode fix

Download the file and unzip it in the custom subfolder in <path-to-game>\Fox\Aliens vs. Predator 2. If the folder does not exist, create it. In the launch settings, go to Options, then type in the -rez custom/visionfix.rez command line argument. Notes: Can also be installed to <path-to-game> and launched with the -rez visionfix.rez command line argument. Changes the look of the inverted vision modes significantly. Only works in singleplayer. Predator's night vision does not work underwater.

Alternative method: Install dgVoodoo 2

Download the latest version of dgVoodoo 2 and unpack it (verified working on version 2.78). Extract dgVoodooCpl.exe and dgVoodoo.conf, paste them into <path-to-game>. Extract DDraw.dll from the MS\x86 folder to <path-to-game>. Run dgVoodooCpl.exe and configure the settings. Notes: Makes the inverted vision modes display properly, rather than turning off their color inversion. Can be used to force anti-aliasing and higher resolutions without shrinking the HUD and menus. Works with all patches except the Windows 8 FPS fix. Has severe performance issues with the game's dynamic lighting.

Cutscenes play too fast

Cap the frame rate at 60 FPS

Set monitor refresh rate to 60 Hz

MFC Application Client Application Has Stopped Working error

This error seems to also occur more often when running in fullscreen mode; consider using windowed or borderless windowed mode.^{[citation needed]}

Install the Master Server Patch

Check the Windows Event Log for the application error - if it refers to a \system32\HID.DLL then it's likely an error with some input devices.^{[citation needed]}

Install mrNuku and Ayleia's dinput.dll
Download it here and extract dinput.dll to <path-to-game>. Notes: Built to solve this crash, mouse issues, and any problems with keybindings. Conflicts with DI-wrapper.

Disable HID devices
Open the Windows Device Manager. Expand Human Interface Devices. Right-click on each driver starting with "HID Compliant", and left-click on "Disable Device". Notes: Test re-enabling them and re-launching the game one after the other to determine the driver(s) causing the problem. Uninstalling these drivers tends to result in them being reinstalled and reenabled almost immediately.

MSI Afterburner overlay makes the game crash

Change the settings in RivaTuner[citation needed]
After launching MSI Afterburner, open the Riva Tuner Statistics Server from the system tray. Add lithtech.exe from <path-to-game> to the settings. Set Stealth mode to "ON".

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	7

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

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	Miles Sound System	6.0i
Cutscenes	Bink Video	1.0h
Multiplayer	GameSpy

Modding

Complete Texture Overhaul Mod

Replaces most textures in the game with higher resolution ones.

The mod drastically changes the game's overall aesthetic, aiming for a grittier, more desaturated look.

System requirements

Windows

macOS (OS X)

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	98
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium III 450 MHz	Intel Pentium III 700 MHz
System memory (RAM)	128 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	750 MB
Video card (GPU)	16 MB of VRAM DirectX 8.0 compatible	32 MB of VRAM

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	10.2.6
Processor (CPU)	G4 700 MHz
System memory (RAM)	256 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	1.2 GB
Video card (GPU)	ATI Radeon Nvidia GeForce 32 MB of VRAM