Hitman: Contracts

Hitman: Contracts

Developers
	IO Interactive
Publishers
Former	Eidos Interactive
Former	Sold Out Software
Former	Square Enix
Current	IO Interactive
Russia	Noviy Disk
Engines
	Glacier
Release dates
Windows	April 20, 2004
Reception
Metacritic	74
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Modes	Singleplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	First-person, Third-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Stealth
Art styles	Realistic
Themes	Asia, Contemporary, Eastern Europe, Europe
Series	Hitman

Hitman
Hitman: Codename 47	2000
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin	2002
Hitman: Contracts	2004
Hitman: Blood Money	2006
Hitman: Sniper Challenge	2012
Hitman: Absolution	2012
Hitman GO	2015
Hitman	2016
Hitman 2	2018
Hitman World of Assassination	2021

Hitman: Contracts is a singleplayer first-person and third-person stealth game in the Hitman series.

General information

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		SecuROM 5 DRM.
Retail		The version included in the retail 'Hitman Collection' (Eidos, 2009) is entirely DRM-free.
Amazon.com
GamersGate
GOG.com
Humble Store
Steam
Green Man Gaming (unavailable)

The European release of the Hitman Collection is DRM-free, already patched to the latest version and have the cheats enabled by default.

Essential improvements

Patches

Patch v1.74 is the latest retail patch.

Steam version is v1.75 and comes with widescreen support.

Unofficial Patch

Adds bug fixes and general improvements.

Works only on the English version.

Skip intro videos

Skip intro
Go to <path-to-game> and open HitmanContracts.ini. Find the line DefaultScene=AllLevels\Logos.gms and replace it with DefaultScene=mainmenu.gms.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\HitmanContracts.ini
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/247430/pfx/

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\Save
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/247430/pfx/

Maximum of 99 save files.

Save states contain system information. Loading a mid-mission save file from a different computer or operating system may result in severe broken game timing.

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud		Added on September 11, 2020.

Video

Graphics settings.

Graphics feature	State	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution			Vert- in Steam version. See Widescreen resolution.
Multi-monitor			See Widescreen resolution.
Ultra-widescreen			See Widescreen resolution.
4K Ultra HD			Vert- in Steam version. See Widescreen resolution.
Field of view (FOV)		See Widescreen resolution or the WSGF entry.
Windowed		See Windowed.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		Force in GPU control panel for better results.
Anti-aliasing (AA)		Nvidia users can force AA using Nvidia Profile Inspector. 0x000020C0 for MSAA and 0x000000C0 for SGSSAA. Ensure the AA fix is enabled.
Vertical sync (Vsync)		Vsync does not work when running the game on Windows 10 or later. See the Vsync fix.
60 FPS and 120+ FPS		The game doesn't run properly at higher than 60 frame rates. See High frame rate issues

Widescreen resolution

Steam version supports widescreen (including 4K Ultra HD) natively, but has a Vert- FOV, and horizontally stretches the image.

Widescreen fix (Hor+)

Download Widescreen fix for Hitman: Contracts, unzip it and copy the contents to <path-to-game>. (Optional) To change the resolution, go to <path-to-game>\scripts\, open h3.ini and change the Width and Height values. (Optional) If you set the resolution to lower than your display's resolution, open the video driver control panel and set the scaling to fullscreen or maintain aspect ratio. Notes: Correct widescreen aspect ratio while maintaining the original vertical field of view (FOV). It is recommended not to change the in-game resolution setting to avoid conflicts.

Combining the Widescreen fix with dgVoodoo 2

Specify the path to the dgVoodoo 2 dll
Apply the Widescreen fix. Open d3d8.ini, find RealDllPath, and change AUTO to scripts\d3d8.dll. Copy over dgVoodoo 2's d3d8.dll to scripts. Note: dgVoodoo.conf and dgVoodooCpl.exe can be in either folder.

Too small UI elements at higher resolutions

Set a lower game resolution and force a higher one with dgVoodoo 2

A. If using the widescreen fix, go to <path-to-game>\scripts, open h3.ini and change the resolution to 1280x720. B. If not, pick a resolution in-game that offers a UI size you like, e.g. 1024x768. A. If using the widescreen fix, use this method to apply dgVoodoo 2. B. If not, simply apply dgVoodoo 2. Run dgVoodooCpl.exe, go to the DirectX tab, and in the Resolution box select your desired high resolution. Note: Post Process effects don't seem to scale to the forced higher resolution.

Windowed

Enable windowed mode
Go to <path-to-game> and open HitmanContracts.ini. Add Window 1 on a new line. Change StartUpperPos 2,2 to StartUpperPos 0,0.

Input

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		Use this file for full Xinput support.
Full controller support		See above
Controller remapping		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Controller sensitivity		When the above fix is applied the "mouse speed" option in control setup will control the analog stick's sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers		Controller supports with this file.
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration

PlayStation controllers

Generic/other controllers

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

Audio

Sound settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound		Up to 7.0 output, based on Windows speaker settings.
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost		No option to disable it.
EAX support		EAX 3.
Royalty free audio

May require DirectSound3D restoration software to restore proper sound functionality on Windows Vista and later.

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
French				Retail and steam only. Patch for the GOG release here.
German				Retail and steam only.
Hungarian				Fan translation. Available to download.
Italian				Retail and steam only.
Japanese				Retail only.
Polish				Retail only. Patch for digital release here.
Brazilian Portuguese				DVD Game release (CD Editora, 2009).
Russian				Retail only. Patch for digital release here.
Spanish				Retail and steam only.

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision		See Helix Mod: Hitman: Contracts.
vorpX		G3D, Z3D User created profile, requires DGVoodoo2 v 2.6, see profile introdution. Note: Profile may not work with the latest wrapper, in case of issues please report to the vorpx forum.

Issues unresolved

Enable OpenGL effects in the Direct3D renderer

Certain graphical effects are only available when using Direct3D whilst others only available with OpenGL. Also post-processing injectors typically cause heavy artifacts and graphical glitches.

Restore the raindrop, fog, and water effects

Open hitmancontracts.exe with a HEX editor. Find the 1st hex string 53 6A 18 53 50 FF 92 FC 00 00 00. Replace it with 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90. Find the 2nd hex string 6A 00 6A 18 6A 00 50 FF 92 FC 00 00 00. Replace it with 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90. A pre-made version of this fix is available here. 2nd hex string still needs to be replaced manually. Restores the raindrop effect in most levels along with other effects. Not all OpenGL effects have been restored.

Issues fixed

Vsync doesn't work on Windows 10

The built-in Vsync requires a wrapper to function on Windows 10 and later.

Apply the built-in wrapper of the Widescreen fix
Open dxwrapper.ini, find d3d8to9 and change 0 to 1.

Use the standalone d3d8to9
Redundant when using the Widescreen fix. Download d3d8to9. Copy d3d8.dll to <path-to-game>.

Use dgVoodoo 2 by itself, or combine it with the Widescreen Fix.

High frame rate issues

The physics and logic of the game are linked to 60 FPS, so playing at high fps can cause significant problems.

Apply the Vsync fix
Set the display's refresh rate to 60 Hz.

Cap the frame rate to 60 FPS or lower
Both Nvidia and AMD control panels cannot cap the frame rate, unless a wrapper is applied.

Game runs in slow motion

Apply the High frame rate fix

Game doesn't save

Create <path-to-game>\Save if it doesn't exist yet

Jerky/Uneven mouse movement

Edit HitmanContracts.ini
Go to <path-to-game> and open HitmanContracts.ini. Add the line UseDirectInputMouse 1.

Game crashes in some integrated Intel Graphics cards

Run the game in compatibility mode for Windows XP (SP3)
Go to <path-to-game>. Turn on Windows XP (SP3) compatibility mode in the Hitman.exe properties.

Low framerate on modern systems

The post filter option in the graphics settings is poorly optimized for modern systems. Disabling it will boost the framerate significantly, but will also remove several atmospheric effects such as fog.

Disable the post filter option in the graphic settings

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	8

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

OpenGL renderer

It has serious graphical problems.

Not compatible with the widescreen fix.

Manually edit the game settings file
Open HitmanContracts.ini. Locate DrawDll and change its value to RenderOpenGL.dll.

Character Overhaul

Retextures Agent 47 and other characters in higher quality.

Adds the uncensored textures from the remastered version.

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	DirectSound3D

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	98SE/ME	2000/XP
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium III 800 MHz or AMD Athlon equivalent	Intel Pentium 4 1.6 GHz or AMD Athlon XP equivalent
System memory (RAM)	128 MB	256 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	2 GB
Video card (GPU)	GeForce 2 32 MB of VRAM DirectX 8.0 compatible	GeForce 3 64 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0b compatible