Mass Effect 2

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Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 2 cover
Developers
BioWare
Publishers
Electronic Arts
Engines
Unreal Engine 3
Release dates
Windows January 26, 2010
 
 
 
 
Mass Effect
Mass Effect 2008
Mass Effect 2 2010
Mass Effect 3 2012
Mass Effect: Andromeda 2017

Key points

Saves can be imported from Mass Effect (see Import Mass Effect saves).

General information

Official game site
Mass Effect Wiki
Steam Community Discussions
Steam Users' Forums for game series

Availability[edit]

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
 
 
 The Retail 2010 version
 
 
Amazon.com
 
 
Gamesplanet
 
 
Origin
 
 
Steam
 
 
 
Uplay (US/Canada)
 
 
Uplay (EMEA/other)
 
 

Downloadable content (DLC) and expansions

DLC can be bought on the Bioware Social Network or through Origin by right clicking Mass Effect 2 and View Game Details or Amazon.
DLC from the Bioware Social Network has to be installed separately and manually for non-Origin versions; the Origin version can install this DLC automatically.[1]
For some time now Origin will overwrite any installation of the game, including Steam, with a stand alone client independent version of the game with all bought DLCs. Autorization for the DLCs still is dependent of ingame login but it'll work without Origin or Steam.
Name Notes
Aegis Pack
 
Alternate Appearance Pack 1
 
Alternate Appearance Pack 2
 
Arrival
 
Blood Dragon Armor Requires Dragon Age: Origins to be registered on same account
 
Cerberus Arc Projector Requires Cerberus Network
 
Cerberus Network Free. Gives access to free DLCs
 
Cerberus Weapon and Armor Requires Cerberus Network
 
Equalizer Pack
 
Firepower Pack
 
Firewalker Pack Requires Cerberus Network
 
Genesis
 
Kasumi - Stolen Memory
 
Lair of the Shadow Broker
 
Mass Effect 2 Digital Art Books Included in Digital Deluxe
 
Mass Effect 2 Documentary Included in Digital Deluxe
 
Mass Effect 2 Soundtrack Included in Digital Deluxe
 
Normandy Crash Site Requires Cerberus Network
 
Recon Hood Free on Origin.
 
Overlord
 
Sentry Interface Free on Origin.
 
Terminus Weapon and Armor Free on Origin.
 
Umbra Visor Free on Origin.
 
Zaeed - The Price of Revenge Requires Cerberus Network
 

Essential improvements[edit]

Skip intro videos[edit]

Skip intro movies[citation needed]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\BioGame\Movies\
  2. Delete or rename BWLogo.bik and ME_EAsig_720p_v2_raw.bik

Shorter loading screens[edit]

Regardless of the speed of your system the game will always wait for the loading screen animation to end
Replace .bik clips with shorter ones[2]

Patches[edit]

Patch 1.02 is a cumulative update. The Steam version is already patched.

HD Texture Pack[edit]

The A Lot of Textures (or ALOT for short) is a re-texture community project that brings extra details for the game. The installation process can take a lot of time to finish as it has to be done manually

Game data[edit]

In-game general settings.
In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location[edit]

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\BioWare\Mass Effect 2\BIOGame\Config\
<path-to-game>\BioGame\Config\PC\Cooked\Coalesced.ini
Coalesced.ini must be edited with a specific process due to the special format required (see Editing Coalesced.ini).

Save game data location[edit]

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\BioWare\Mass Effect 2\Save\
For the folders used for importing saves see Mass Effect.
DLC files are saved in <path-to-game>\BioGame\DLC\; an explanation of the folder names and which DLC they represent can be found here.

Save game cloud syncing[edit]

System Native Notes
Origin
Steam Cloud

Import Mass Effect saves[edit]

Importing saves can be done through the game's launcher.
The save importer may not work. In this case, move your Mass Effect into a ME1 folder inside your ME2 folder.[3]

Import Xbox 360 Mass Effect 2 saves[edit]

Import Xbox 360 Mass Effect 2 Save Files[4]
  1. Configure a USB device as a memory device on the 360
  2. Download Modio.
  3. Move the save file to the USB using the Xbox 360.
  4. Move the USB to your PC.
  5. Open the save with Modio.
  6. Upload the save here and download the processed file.
  7. Move the downloaded save to the appropriate folder.

Video settings[edit]

External video settings.
External video settings.
In-game video settings.
In-game video settings.
Graphics option Option WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
 
Multi-monitor
 
 Use Flawless Widescreen or Widescreen Fixer to fix FOV and HUD.
Ultra-widescreen
 
 Use Flawless Widescreen or Widescreen Fixer to fix FOV and HUD.
Field of view (FOV)
Use Flawless Widescreen.
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Can be changed in MassEffect2Config.exe.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Can be forced through graphics driver.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
Enabled by default; see Vertical sync (Vsync).
60 FPS
120+ FPS
See High frame rate.

Vertical sync (Vsync)[edit]

Disable Vsync[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open GamerSettings.ini.
  3. Add UseVsync=False line under the [SystemSettings] section
  4. Save changes

High frame rate[edit]

Arrange frame rate smoothing[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open GamerSettings.ini.
  3. Add one of the following lines under the [SystemSettings] section:
    SmoothFrameRate=False to completely disable the FPS cap
    MaxSmoothedFrameRate=XX to raise the FPS cap (where XX is the threshold)
  4. Save changes

Input settings[edit]

In-game general control settings.
In-game general control settings.
In-game key map settings.
In-game key map settings.
Keyboard and mouse Native Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Enabled by default; see Mouse acceleration.
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
See Controller support.
Full controller support
Controller remapping
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion
Additional information
Button prompts
See Controller support.
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
See Controller support.

Mouse acceleration[edit]

Disable Mouse acceleration[5]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open GamerSettings.ini.
  3. Add the following lines:
    [Engine.PlayerInput]
    bEnableMouseSmoothing=false
    MouseSensitivity=0.15
    [SFXGame.BioPlayerInput]
    bUseMouseDampening=false
    [SFXGame.BioSFHandler_PCConversation]
    AccumulationDivisor=600.0f
  4. Save changes

Notes

This may not work with the Origin version. If this is the case, make these changes in Coalesced.ini (see Editing Coalesced.ini).

Controller support[edit]

This mod brings full XInput controller support to the game with haptic feedback support. This mod is currently complete (see official thread).
Instructions[6]

Use the ME2Controller mod.

Audio settings[edit]

In-game audio settings.
In-game audio settings.
Audio options Native Notes
Separate volume controls
Music, sound effects and dialogue
Surround sound
5.0[7]
Subtitles
Closed captions
Found under Gameplay settings in-game.
Mute on focus lost
Always mutes.

Localizations

Language UI Audio CC Notes
English
Czech
French
German
Hungarian
Italian
Polish
Russian
Spanish


Changing language[edit]

Instructions[citation needed]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\Mass Effect 2\data
  2. Open sku.ini, then set the following fields to the desired values.
VOLanguage=INT
TextLanguage=INT

Notes

The possible values are INT, FRA, ITA, ESN.

The languages other than english (INT) must have been installed in order to work.

VR support[edit]

3D modes Native GG3D Notes
Native 3D
 
Nvidia 3D Vision
 
 For better support see Helix Mod: Mass Effect 2
TriDef 3D
 
iZ3D
 

Issues fixed[edit]

Installation interrupted[edit]

Install the game from a shared drive from another computer[citation needed]
  1. Insert Disc 1 and share it through Windows.
  2. When the installer asks for the second drive, stop sharing the first disc, replace it with the second and start sharing it.
Fix the corrupted folder path in Windows registry[8]
  1. Launch Registry Editor:
    Press ⊞ Win+R to invoke the Run dialog.
    Type regedit.
    Press Enter to launch Registry Editor.
  2. Go to the HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\BioWare\Mass Effect 2\
  3. Find the Path variable on the right and double click it to open for editing.
  4. Add a backslash (\) to the end of the path string and hit OK.
  5. The game should now launch from Origin.

Physx Error on Startup[edit]

Install Nvidia Physx Legacy System Software[citation needed]
  1. Go to http://www.nvidia.com/object/physx-9.13.0604-legacy-driver.html and Download the drivers.
  2. Install Nvidia Physx Legacy System Software.
  3. Run Mass Effect 2 again.

Cerberus Network autologin failure[edit]

Enable .NET Framework 3.5.1[citation needed]
  1. Go to Windows's Control Panel.
  2. Go to Programs -> Turn Windows features on or off.
  3. In the tree stucture, check both boxes under Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5.1.
  4. Restart your system.

Black screen when entering/exiting planets[edit]

Black screen entering/exiting[citation needed]
If you get a black screen when entering/exiting a planet, specifically the shadow broker base, this is fixed by starting the game with the -nomoviestartup command. To do this:
  1. Go to the MassEffect2.exe file. It's in the .../Mass Effect2/Binaries folder.
  2. Create a shortcut to the MassEffect2.exe file. Right click the shortcut, and click 'Properties'.
  3. Add -nomoviestartup to the 'target' field. It should look like this: ...\Mass Effect 2\Binaries\MassEffect2.exe -nomoviestartup
This shortcut (skip the actual launcher) will not freeze when entering/exiting planets
Important Unfortunately, when using this command, your game WILL freeze when trying to enter the citadel. The only way to circumvent this is by saving the game, exiting and restarting it with the regular MassEffect2.exe

Dark lightning in cutscenes[edit]

Disable depth-of-field[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open GamerSettings.ini.
  3. Add under [SystemSettings]:
    DepthOfField=False
Alternatively, tweak the game's shaders[citation needed]
Depth-of-field can be left enabled using this method
  1. Open <path-to-game>\Engine\Shaders\UberPostProcessBlendPixelShader.usf
  2. Find float3 x = max(0,InLinearColour-0.004); on line 45
  3. Replace with float3 x = max(0,InLinearColour);

Clipping into walls/objects[edit]

This method involves Coalesced.ini file. Make sure you have understood what this means.
Add the option to noclip out of the object[citation needed]
  1. Under [SFXGame.SFXGameModeDefault] add:
Bindings=( Name="Add", Command="Ghost | OnRelease Walk")

Notes

Holding the NUMPAD + key in-game will now make you noclip until you release the button.

Game freeze on Illium[edit]

Walking through the ground level corridor, that connects to the other side of the map, under Liara's office may cause a black screen and CTD.
Enable windowed or windowed borderless mode[citation needed]
After passing through the corridor, it's safe to enable fullscreen mode again.

Unable to save any more games[edit]

Patch game files[9]
  1. Download Mass Effect 2 PCC Patcher (mirror)
  2. Extract the program in <path-to-game>\Binaries\ and open it
  3. Provide the path for the following packages and load them
    Engine.pcc: <path-to-game>\BioGame\CookedPC\Engine.pcc
    SFXGame.pcc: <path-to-game>\BioGame\CookedPC\SFXGame.pcc
  4. Go to Gameplay tab and tick Increase max saves count
  5. Save packages

Long loading times with patch 1.02[edit]

Use Playwrite's MassAffinity program[citation needed]
  1. Download MassAffinity.
  2. If automatic Mass Effect 2 directory detection fails, manually select it.
  3. Click the "Run Game" button.

Notes

Use the included batch file if you need to set up again the tool

Conrad Verner claims player has pointed at him[edit]

Fix save file variable[10][11]
  1. Download ME2 Gibbed modified Save Editor (mirror).
  2. Run it and open your actual savegame.
  3. Go to Plot tab and then to ME1 Imported plot table.
  4. Go to Flags sub-tab and untick [Conrad] (3) Intimidated Conrad (Renegade).
  5. Save changes

Notes

This only works if the player has not spoken with the Asari bar owner in Illium yet.

"Unable to authorize the listed DLC" error[edit]

"Unable to authorize the listed DLC" error[citation needed]
  1. Use Binkw32 proxy DLL.
  2. Block internet connection of ME2game.exe through your firewall settings.

Notes

Optionally you can disable automatic login through in-game settings although any time the game does attempt to connect it'll reverse the DLC crack.

Importing ME1 character still launches the interactive story[edit]

This happens if you have installed the Genesis DLC (You can un-check it during download on Origin)
Can invalidate your ME1 character's decisions in place of new ones
Remove the DLC[12]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\BioGame\DLC\
  2. Remove the DLC_DHME1 folder

Forcing Anti-Aliasing causes heavy geometry flicker and other artifacts[edit]

This can potentially happen if you force AA from control panel
injectSMAA[citation needed]
  1. Disable any forced AA you had before
  2. Download injectSMAA
  3. Copy the contents of d3d9 folder to <path-to-game>\Binaries\

Other information[edit]

API[edit]

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 9
Shader Model support 3
64-bit executable

Middleware[edit]

Middleware Notes
Physics PhysX
Audio Wwise
Interface Scaleform
Cutscenes Bink Video

Editing Coalesced.ini[edit]

Some of the fixes for this game require you to modify this special file, but editing it in the normal way will cause the game to crash.
Editing Coalesced.ini[citation needed]
  1. Locate your Coalesced.ini inside <path-to-game>\BioGame\Config\PC\Cooked
  2. Open it with a text editor that can handle UNIX-format files (Notepad++ is recommended)
  3. Make the changes you have to and save
  4. Download ME2IniFixer (mirror) and extract it in the folder your Coalesced.ini file is
  5. Run it from there.

Notes

Do not use default windows notepad or Word. They will permanently corrupt your ini file.
  • Advanced users could also use Mass Effect 2 Coalesced Editor (mirror) which is recommended
  • It might be necessary to make the Coalesced.ini file read-only (right-click -> Properties -> Attributes: Read-only) as the game can restore your edits. If you want to change anything in it, simply uncheck the Read-only box.

Increase shadow resolution[edit]

Increase shadow resolution[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open GamerSettings.ini.
  3. Add under [SystemSettings]:
    MinShadowResolution=256
    MaxShadowResolution=4096
  4. Save changes

Disable Post-Processing Effects[edit]

Some of the post-processing effects can be disabled in the game's GamerSettings.ini file. These effects include light bloom, and motion blur.
Disabling Depth of Field/Light Bloom/Motion Blur/Lens Flares[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open GamerSettings.ini.
  3. Under [SystemSettings] add one or more of the following lines:
    DepthOfField=False
    Bloom=False
    MotionBlur=False
  4. Save changes
A longer list of options that can be added and altered under [SystemSettings] can be found here.
  1. ↑ Origin is malware. But we all knew that, didn't we? - Multiplayer - The BioWare Forum - last accessed on 2016-8-17
  2. ↑ ME2 PC Shorter Loading Screens Mod : masseffect - Reddit
  3. ↑ How To Import ME1 Saves For ME2 - tehPARADOX
  4. ↑ How to mod ME2 for the Xbox 360 - The BioWare Forum - last accessed on 2016-8-17
  5. ↑ Fix / Tweak Guide to PC Issues (updated 1-27-10 - last accessed on 2016-8-17
  6. ↑ ME2 Controller Support (Power Wheel) • me3explorer.freeforums.org
  7. ↑ Can ME1 and ME2 support 7.1 surround sound? - The BioWare Forum - last accessed on 2016-8-17
  8. ↑ Mass Effect 2 won't start - EA Answers HQ
  9. ↑ ME2 (PC) 50 Save limit & Shared power cooldown NUKED!!!!!!! - The BioWare Forum - last accessed on 2016-8-17
  10. ↑ Conrad Verner - Mass Effect Wiki
  11. ↑ *FIX INCLUDED* Conrad Verner Paragon style - Kirrahe mail? - The BioWare Forum - last accessed on 2016-8-17
  12. ↑ How to disable Genesis? :: Mass Effect 2 General Discussions - last accessed on 2016-8-15