Call of Juarez

Call of Juarez

Developers
	Techland
Publishers
North America	Ubisoft
Europe	Focus Home Interactive
Engines
	Chrome Engine 3
Release dates
Windows	September 5, 2006
Reception
Metacritic	72
IGDB	75
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	First-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	FPS
Art styles	Realistic
Themes	Western
Series	Call of Juarez

Call of Juarez
Call of Juarez	2006
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood	2009
Call of Juarez: The Cartel	2011
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger	2013

General information

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		SecuROM 7 DRM disc check
GOG.com
Humble Store
Steam		Can be played without Steam running.

The gameplay in certain sections of the game was changed in the 1.1.1.0 patch, e.g. a stealth sequence gets replaced by a chase sequence and several sub-levels are cut out.

Demo

A demo is available here (German site).

Essential improvements

Patches

Patch 1.1.1.0 is the latest patch available. Included in GOG and Steam version. Mind that different patches and different local versions (European vs. American) have some gameplay differences that some might regard as changes to the worse.

Censorship in German version

When playing the German version (German retail or installing the German version in GOG / Steam), most blood effects and a few other things are censored out. This can be mitigated by installing the English version in Steam or GOG, but then the German language support is gone. To remove the censorship while keeping the German version, first install the German version and then download and install this patch.

This patch garbles the description of two graphics options in the options menu, but they keep functional, so this doesn't impact the game.

Black bars on top and bottom

To remove the black bars on top and bottom of the screen, download this patch, unpack it and put the content of the archive into the game folder.

Make sure to use the DirectX 10 version

The game comes with two .exe, one for DirectX 9 (CoJ.exe) and one for the much better looking DirectX 10 (CoJ_DX10.exe). Make sure to launch the game from the DX10 version to get improved graphics. When using Steam or GOG, make sure that this exe is the one that gets started when clicking Play.

On GOG Galaxy, this is done by clicking on the symbol to the right of the play button, then Manage Installation → Configure. There you select the DX10 as Default Executable.

When launching with the DirectX 10 version, you can go to the graphics menu in-game and change the option at the very bottom to "yes". This will activate all DirectX10 improvements.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\call of juarez\out\Settings\
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/3020/pfx/

CD-key is stored in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Techland\CallOfJuarez\SerialNumber

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\call of juarez\out\save\
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/3020/pfx/

Save game cloud syncing

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

Video

Video: DX9, DX10, Presets (both versions)

Graphics feature	State	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution			To remove the black bars, see the WSGF entry. Image gets cut on top and bottom at certain 16:9 resolutions. The patch can be downloaded here.
Multi-monitor			Vert- by default. See the WSGF entry for a fix.
Ultra-widescreen			Vert- by default. See the WSGF entry for a fix.
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)		See the WSGF entry
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)		Up to 8x FSAA.
Vertical sync (Vsync)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
60 FPS and 120+ FPS		See Run the game at screen refresh rate.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Input

Control settings

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration		No mouse acceleration.
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support

Audio

Audio settings

General settings

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Music, SFX and Speech.
Surround sound		Up to 7.0 output with DirectSound3D restoration software or OpenAL.
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support		Supports EAX through either DirectSound3D or OpenAL.
Royalty free audio

OpenAL mode has reversed front and rear channels.

DirectX mode has reversed height channels for enemies even with DSOAL. Sounds above you will sound like they're below you.

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
French
German				Setting the language to German causes the violence censorship to activate, unless using this fix.
Italian				Retail only.
Polish				Retail and GOG only. Patch for the Steam release here.
Brazilian Portuguese				Retail only (Fullgames). Patch for digital release here.
Russian				Retail and GOG only.
Spanish

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Notes
LAN play		Versus
Online play		Versus The official multiplayer service was shut down.

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
vorpX		G3D User created game profile, see vorpx forum profile introduction.

Issues unresolved

Crash in Episode 4 when reloading left gun

In episode 4 (where Billy has to sneak to the mine/train), getting a revolver for your left hand and then reloading it sometimes crashes the game in DirectX10 mode. This is especially problematic for the section at the end where you have to defend your position and wait for the train.

The same bug can happen during the two bossfights towards the end of the game (seemingly whenever a boss' health bar is on screen). The same solutions apply.

There are some workarounds for this:

Don't use your left revolver in this section
Play through that part just using your right revolver, pick up a rifle and use your bow. The bug also doesn't happen if you dual-wield with sawn-off shotguns. It just happens with the weapon in your number 1 slot. After the next loading screen (end of episode 4), you can use it again.

Use DirectX 9 mode
Start the game with CoJ.exe instead of CoJ_DX10.exe. If using Steam or GOG, you can set which exe the client uses. After the next loading screen (end of episode 4), you can go back to CoJ_DX10.exe.

Use safe mode
Start the game in safe mode. Play through that section (ends with jumping on the train). After the next loading screen (end of episode 4), you can go back to normal mode.

Issues fixed

See also the game's page on TweakGuides.

Game crashes on launch after Techland logo when running in DirectX 10 mode

The DirectX 10 version may have compatibility issues with Windows 7 and later.

Enable the following compatibility settings for the CoJ_DX10.exe file: Compatibility mode (Windows XP (Service Pack 2))

Run the game at screen refresh rate

Maximum selectable refresh rate is 100 Hz. This does not limit FPS, but may set your monitor's refresh rate to 100 Hz, which may result in screen tearing on a 120 Hz or 144 Hz monitor.

Set screen refresh rate[citation needed]
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open Video.scr with a text editor. Set MaxRefresh to the screen refresh rate (e.g. MaxRefresh(120)).

Possible fix for 100Hz cap[citation needed]

Create a custom resolution using your graphics card's control panel, so that only one resolution with that specific refresh rate exists. For example: on a 1080p monitor, create a desktop resolution of 1920x1079 with a refresh rate of 144 or 240 or 360 (or any value). Set that specific resolution in the game; since only that specific instance of that specific resolution exists, the game will force whichever refresh rate you set that resolution to.

Force borderless fullscreen windowed mode

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9.0c, 10	For Direct3D 10, launch the game through CoJ_DX10.exe file, and for Direct3D 9 through the CoJ.exe.
Shader Model support	2, 3, 4

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	DirectSound3D, OpenAL

Make corpses stay

There is an option in the game menu to make corpses stay longer, but this only increases the time for a few seconds. Corpses still quickly disappear, which makes it hard to find their guns laying around. You can install this mod to make the corpses stay much longer. The mod installation UI is in German, but it works with any game version.

Careful, this mod also allows you to shoot civilians, but you still fail the game when you kill one. However, it is easy to distinguish civilians from enemies.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	2000, XP	Vista
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium 4 2.2 GHz, Intel Celeron 2,4 GHz AMD Athlon 2400+	Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz, Intel Celeron 3 GHz AMD Athlon 3000+
System memory (RAM)	512 MB	1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	2 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 6600 ATI Radeon 9800 DirectX 9.0c compatible
Sound (audio device)	DirectX 9 compatible
Other	56 K modem	Broadband

Supported Video Cards at Time of Release: nVidia GeForce 6600, 6800, 7600, 7800, 7900 | ATI Radeon: 9800, X800, X1300, X1600, X1800. X1900