Dishonored Errors, Performance Tweaks, Launch Crash, Unable to Sync 7

Dishonored Performance Tweaks

Go to C:\Users\Name\Documents\MyGames\Dishonored\DishonoredGame\Config and open the file labeled DishonoredEngine.ini.

Look for the following lines and adjust accordingly. Thanks to Kakkoii from the Steam forums for posting great descriptions on these parameters:

• bUseMaxQualityMode=True – This removes shadows on non-static objects, and glitches up the specular shading on water at certain angles. Leave it FALSE.
• TextureForcedLODBias=4 – High number means lower detailed LOD’s will be loaded at a closer distance than normal. Leave it 0. (Making it a negative number might even make the highest detailed LOD’s last for longer distances, like -2)
• bAllowHardwareShadowFiltering=True – Yup, good.
• SkeletalLODDistanceFactorMultiplier=4 – Same as TextureForcedLod, put 0.
• iType_AntiAlias=32 – This isn’t an antialiasing multiplier. This is a switch for AA modes. It even says it beside the line in the dev comment. (EPpAa_None=0, EPpAa_Mlaa=1,). And if EPpAa_Fxaa= is 2, then that is ignored anyways and FXAA is used.
• bAllowRatsShadow=True – Yup, good.
• MaxAnisotropy=16 – Yup, good. I’d put it up to 32 if you have the power.
• ShadowFilterQualityBias=4 – Bad, same as texturelod. Put 0.
• MaxShadowResolution=4096 – Good.
• MaxWholeSceneDominantShadowResolution=4096 – Good
• AmbientOcclusion=True – Doesn’t do anything, deferred rendering engine.
• AllowD3D10=True – Not implemented, game doesn’t even have D3D10 DLL’s.

Dishonored error: “Steam was unable to sync your files”

Simple, just deactivate Steam cloud!

How to increase FOV beyond 85 in Dishonored for the PC

Credits go to jim2point0 in the Steam forums for this tweak! We really don’t understand why the developers would limit FOV to 85, when it is so much better beyond that. Here’s how you can do it.

Pay attention to the FOV XXX commands. Replace XXX with your desired FOV. You can include another binding to switch it back to 85 if you’d like. I’m using keys F10 and F12 because I know those are free. If you use those keys for something else like screenshotting, you may wish to change it.

In C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Dishonored\Dishonored Game\Config\DefaultInput.ini

Find the following sections where you see several bindings like this:

Code:
 .m_PCBindings=(Name="F5",Command="GBA_QuickSave")
 .m_PCBindings=(Name="F9",Command="GBA_QuickLoad")

Add the following lines underneath those:

Code:
 .m_PCBindings=(Name="F10",Command="FOV 85",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False)
 .m_PCBindings=(Name="F12",Command="FOV XXX",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False)

Find:

Code:
 .BaseBindings=(Name="GBA_Zoom",Command="Dis_Zoom")

Replace with:

Code:
 .BaseBindings=(Name="ZoomIn",Command="Dis_Zoom | FOV 35 | setbind RightMouseButton ZoomOut",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False,LeftTrigger=False,RightTrigger=False,bIgnoreCtrl=False, bIgnoreShift=False,bIgnoreAlt=False)
 .BaseBindings=(Name="ZoomOut",Command="Dis_Zoom | FOV XXX | setbind RightMouseButton ZoomIn",Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False,LeftTrigger=False,RightTrigger=False,bIgnoreCtrl=False,b IgnoreShift=False,bIgnoreAlt=False)

Find:

Code:
 .m_PCBindings=(Name="LeftAlt",Command="GBA_Zoom")

Replace with:

Code:
 .m_PCBindings=(Name="LeftAlt",Command="ZoomIn" ,Control=False,Shift=False,Alt=False,LeftTrigger= False,RightTrigger=False,bIgnoreCtrl=False,bIgnore Shift=False,bIgnoreAlt=False)

Zooming in is really just a matter of decreasing the FOV by a lot. I found the FOV used by the game when zooming (35) and added that command to the binding. If you want to zoom in more, just reduce that number.

Also, you can remove the “optics hud” (the spyglass effect) if you want to. To do that, remove “Dis_Zoom” from your ZoomIn and ZoomOut commands above.

Dishonored cannot save video settings, settings keep resetting

Try restarting Dishonored and see if the save bug goes away. Also try restarting Steam for that matter.

At any case, if both these simple methods do not work, you may want to directly input your video setting adjustments in the DishonoredEngine.ini file and make sure to set it to read-only. Check our first tip at the top of the page about this. If you have suggestions to fix this, please leave a comment!

Dishonored crashes after “Press any Key”

This is a pretty tricky problem as it may involve multiple factors. Here’s a good troubleshooting list to go through:

1. Update your nVidia / ATI graphics drivers.
2. Turn off SLI / Crossfire then start the game. See if it stabilizes Dishonored performance.
3. Turn off your anti-virus software before launching the Dishonored, but make sure you turn it back on after playing. Make sure Windows Defender is also disabled.
4. Try using only one GPU first (turn the other one off via your nVidia / ATI graphics control panel)
5. Try running the game in Windowed Mode (frequently works for low-end PCs)
6. Disable anti-aliasing and filtering, then restart Dishonored
7. Disable V-sync, then restart Dishonored
8. Disable background apps, and turn off your anti-virus software
9. In Windows 7 right-click the Dishonored exe file, go to the ‘Compatibility Mode’ tab and check ‘Disable Desktop Composition’

Xbox 360 or other controller doesn’t work with Dishonored

There are two known possible solutions as of writing for this controller bug:

1. Manually download and install any Dishonored game patch from the official source instead rather than automatically updating via Steam or any similar game client.
2. If you haven’t yet, go to your Windows Control Panel and ensure that the Xbox 360 Controller is enabled. Then, in-game, go to Options – Controls- Customize Controls (or similar menu path) and ensure that the proper controller is selected.

Can I run Dishonored?

Last but not the least, the reason you may be having problems is because your rig isn’t up-to-spec. Here’s the minimum system requirements for Dishonored:

• OS: Windows Vista / Windows 7
• Processor: 3.0 GHz dual core or better
• Memory: 4 GB system RAM
• Hard Disk Space: 9 GB
• Video Card: DirectX 9 compatible with 512 MB video RAM or better (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 / ATI Radeon HD 5850)
• Sound: Windows compatible sound card