Anonymous edits have been disabled on the wiki. If you want to contribute please login or create an account.

Postal²

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Postal²
Postal² cover
Developers
Running With Scissors
macOS (OS X) Ryan C. Gordon
Linux Ryan C. Gordon
Publishers
Whiptail Interactive
Europe Hell-tech[1]
Russia Akella[2]
Apocalypse Weekend Tri Synergy
Linux Linux Game Publishing
Engines
Unreal Engine 2
UnrealScript Unreal Engine 1[3]
Release dates
Windows April 14, 2003[4]
macOS (OS X) December 9, 2004[5]
Linux February 4, 2005[6]
Reception
Metacritic 50
IGDB 59
Taxonomy
Monetization One-time game purchase, Expansion pack
Modes Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives First-person
Controls Direct control
Genres Action, FPS
Art styles Cartoon
Themes Comedy, North America
Series Postal
Postal 2 on HowLongToBeat
Postal 2 on IGDB
Postal 2 guide on StrategyWiki
Postal 2 on MobyGames
Postal 2 on Wikipedia
Postal
Postal 1997
Postal² 2003
Postal III 2011
Postal Redux 2016
Postal 4: No Regerts 2022
Postal: Brain Damaged 2022
Poostall Royale 2023

Warnings

The macOS (OS X) version of this game does not work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later due to the removal of support for 32-bit-only apps.
GameSpy online services have been shut down (see Network for solutions).

Postal² is a singleplayer and multiplayer FPS game in the Postal series developed by Running With Scissors and published by Whiptail Interactive.

General information

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
GOG.com Support Page
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
Some copies use SafeDisc 3 DRM[Note 1], some use StarForce 3 DRM[Note 2] (primarily Russian copies), some use SecuROM 4 DRM, and others use simple disc checks.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Developer website
Icon overlay.png
Paradise Lost also available.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
GOG.com
DRM-free
Paradise Lost also available.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Green Man Gaming
Icon overlay.png
Paradise Lost Bundle also available.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
GamersGate
Icon overlay.png
Paradise Lost also available.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Gamesplanet logo.svg
Icon overlay.png
Paradise Lost also available.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Humble Store
Icon overlay.png
Paradise Lost also available.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Steam
DRM-free after installation through Steam client (notes may include more details)
Paradise Lost also available.
Can be played without Steam if launched directly through Postal2.exe and ParadiseLost.exe (Paradise Lost expansion).
Not available in Germany.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
ZOOM Platform
DRM-free
Fudge Pack Plus. Your Mom's Box Set also available.
Includes anniversary update 5100, with version 5025 as a separate setting in the installer.
Windows
Developer website (unavailable)
DRM-free
Icon overlay.png
20th Anniversary Collectors Edition.
Icon overlay.png
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).
StarForce DRM for this game does not work on modern versions of Windows (see above for affected versions).

Version differences

Share the Pain is an updated version of the game that includes various bug fixes, two new areas, multiplayer mode and POSTed (SDK/level editor).[13][14]
Digital versions have the standalone multiplayer-only movie tie-in version, but they can be downgraded.[15][16]
The Fudge Pack and Postal X: 10th Anniversary edition are compilation packs that include Postal Plus and Postal 2: Share the Pain along with the "Apocalypse Weekend" expansion and feature the mods A Week in Paradise, Eternal Damnation and A Very Postal Christmas with some slight version differences.[17][18][19] The Polish release also had the mods translated.
Postal 2 Complete features huge amount of bug fixes, many additional options and extra content. Updated digital versions are simply named POSTAL 2.[20][21] It should be noted that this version includes "A Week in Paradise" mod but some content altered/missing for unknown reasons, though it can be restored.
Postal 20th Anniversary Collectors Edition is a compilation pack that includes Postal Plus, Postal 2 Complete, Postal 2: Paradise Lost, Postal III and Postal Redux.
The Zoom Platform exclusive Your Mom's Box Set edition includes Postal Plus, Postal 2 (patches 5025 and 5100), Postal 2: Share the Pain (Patch 1409 build and multiplayer-only movie tie-in version), Postal 2: Paradise Lost DLC, Postal 2: Apocalypse Weekend, A Very Postal Christmas, Eternal Damnation, Штопор ЖжОт! (Corkscrew Rules) and From Russia With Love (a Japanese version of Штопор ЖжОт! featuring an English dub by the original voice actors).

Demos

Monetization

DLC and expansion packs

Name Notes
Apocalypse Weekend Included in Postal 2 Complete.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Corkscrew Rules (Штопор ЖжОт!) Russian licensed add-on.[22] Freeware, available here, Steam conversion here.
Windows
Paradise Lost Available only for digital releases.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux

Essential improvements

Patches

Digital releases include newer patches than these.
Patch notes up to version 5025 can be found here.

A Week in Paradise

Combines Postal 2 and Apocalypse Weekend into one game.
Allows for getting back the weapons found in the base game in Apocalypse weekend, as well as adding some new ones to the game.

A Week In Paradise: Classic

An up to date port of A Week In Paradise for digital versions.
Bug fixes for issues found in the AWP.
May be incompatible with version 5100 due to the native inclusion of xPatch 3.0 into the game. Revert the game version to 5025/5024 and install xPatch 2.0 from ModDB.
Currently in beta.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\System\[Note 3]
macOS (OS X) $HOME/Library/Application Support/Postal 2/System
Linux $HOME/.lgp/postal2/System

Save game data location

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\Save\[Note 3]
macOS (OS X) $HOME/Library/Application Support/Postal 2/Save
Linux $HOME/.lgp/postal2/Save
This game does not follow the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.
Saves are cross platform, but for intra-platform Steam sync to occur, files must be manually moved between operating systems. Inter-platform Steam sync is not available.[24]

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
GOG Galaxy
200 MB available.
Steam Cloud
Approx. 477 MB available. Does not sync between Windows and Linux. Cloud saves do not work on MacOS.

Video

In-game video settings.
In-game video settings.
In-game advanced video settings.
In-game advanced video settings.
In-game general video settings (Share the Pain).
In-game general video settings (Share the Pain).
In-game advanced video settings (Share the Pain).
In-game advanced video settings (Share the Pain).

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
Native support in Postal 2 Complete. Added in 1412 update.
May require fix for other versions, see Widescreen resolution.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
80-110°. Native support in Postal 2 Complete.
Added in 1412 update. For other versions & Share the Pain, see Field of view (FOV).
Windowed
Select in-game or toggle with Alt+ Enter
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Native support in Postal 2 Complete. Added in 1417 update.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Up to 16x. Native support in Postal 2 Complete. Added in 1412 update.
For other versions & Share the Pain, see Anisotropic filtering (AF).
Anti-aliasing (AA)
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
High-fidelity upscaling
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
See Vertical sync (Vsync).
60 FPS and 120+ FPS
High dynamic range display (HDR)
See the glossary page for potential alternatives.
Ray tracing (RT)

Widescreen resolution

Use the Widescreen Fix (Share The Pain)[25]
  1. Download the widescreen fix.
  2. Extract the folder system to <path-to-game>.
Makes the HUD display properly in widescreen.
Adds widescreen resolutions to the menu.
Adjusts the weapon viewmodels correctly according to the resolution.
To make the game Hor+ set the field of view (FOV) according to the given values.

Field of view (FOV)

Open the console (~) and use FOV followed by the desired value[26]
Modify User.ini[27]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open the User.ini file with Notepad or other text editor.
  3. Change the values of DesiredFOV and DefaultFOV to the desired value.
  4. Save the changes.

Hor+ field of view (FOV) values

Aspect ratio or resolution Field of view (FOV) value
16:9 101.4
16:10 95.43
2560x1080 116.91
1366x768 101.43
1360x768 101.18

Anisotropic filtering (AF)

Modify Postal2.ini[26]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open the Postal2.ini file with Notepad or other text editor.
  3. Change the value of LevelOfAnisotropy to:
    • 2, 4, 8 or 16 to enable anisotropic filtering (AF)
    • 1 to disable anisotropic filtering (AF)
  4. Save the changes.

Vertical sync (Vsync)

Modify Postal2.ini[26]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open the Postal2.ini file with Notepad or other text editor.
  3. Change the value of UseVSync to:
    • False to disable vertical sync (Vsync)
    • True to enable vertical sync (Vsync)
  4. And/Or Change the value of OverrideDesktopRefreshRate to:
    • False to disable overriding Refresh Rate
    • True to enable overriding Refresh Rate
  5. Save the changes.
For Paradise Lost, open ParadiseLost.ini

Input

In-game key map settings.
In-game key map settings.
In-game mouse settings.
In-game mouse settings.

Audio

In-game audio settings.
In-game audio settings.
In-game audio settings (Share the Pain).
In-game audio settings (Share the Pain).
In-game audio settings (Paradise Lost).
In-game audio settings (Paradise Lost).

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Music volume, sound volume
Surround sound
Up to 7.0 output with DirectSound3D restoration software or OpenAL.[28]
Subtitles
Native support in Postal 2 Complete. Added in 5022 update.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support
EAX 3.0.
Royalty free audio
DefOpenAL32.dll works as DirectSound3D driver which can be used with DSOAL to restore EAX.
Using Creative ALchemy or DSOAL will cause some voices to play at a much higher pitch.
Postal 2 has poor hardware-accelerated audio support and will often crash on real Sound Blaster hardware. DSOAL seems to work fine.[citation needed]

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Simplified Chinese
Hungarian
Retail only, Apocalypse Weekend wasn't localized. Dub for digital release here.
Hungarian
Fan translation for the base game here and for Apocalypse Weekend here.
Japanese
Retail only. Patch for digital release here.
Polish
Retail only. Patch for digital release here.
Polish
Fan translation for Paradise Lost, download.
Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese
Fan translation by 'Niccbilac', download
Russian
Official localization by «Akella».
Russian
Fan translation for Paradise Lost by CatBug TV, download.
Spanish
Turkish

Network

In-game network settings.
In-game network settings.

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
LAN play
16 Versus
Online play
16 Versus
Native support in Postal 2 Complete.
For other versions, see Online play.

Connection types

Ports

Protocol Port(s) and/or port range(s)[29]
UDP 7777-7779
This game does not support Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) for automatic port configuration.

Online play for older versions

Modify Postal2.ini[30]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open the Postal2.ini file with Notepad or other text editor.
  3. Replace all instances of master.gamespy.com with master.333networks.com
  4. Save the changes.

Co-op

Not officially supported.
This requires the Share the Pain expansion.
Copy singleplayer maps to Share the Pain[31]
  1. Copy singleplayer maps from <path-to-game>\Maps to <path-to-game>\ShareThePain\Maps.
  2. Rename them to contain the prefix MPDGT-.
  3. Host a multiplayer server with the selected maps.
Not all maps function correctly without editing.
Use Nicks Coop mod (Windows only)
Currently incompatible with the 5100 Update. An update for the mod is being worked on with Nick & Man Chrzan[32].

Issues fixed

Black-red screen in fullscreen mode

Set Brightness, Contrast and Gamma to 10 and then back to the desired values[33]

Low performance on modern PC

Modify Postal2.ini[34]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open the Postal2.ini file with Notepad or other text editor.
  3. Change the value of ReduceMouseLag to False
  4. Save the changes.
Change the number of prerendered frames[35]
  1. Go to the Nvidia Control Panel.
  2. Set the maximum number of prerendered frames to 1.

Game won't use laptop's GPU

Switch to OpenGL renderer[36]
Use dgVoodoo 2
  • Follow the instructions for DirectX 2-8 here.
Compatible with fullscreen D3D rendering, will utilize Nvidia/AMD GPU.

General protection fault (Share the Pain)

Change performance settings[37][38]
  1. Turn off limb and head fix (Dismemberment Physics).
  2. Reduce Corpse population to 0 or reduce Ragdolls to 5 or below.

Postal 2 and Paradise Lost crashes randomly

Switch to OpenGL renderer[39]

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 8.1
OpenGL 1.2
ExecutablePPC 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)
This 32-bit-only macOS game does not work on macOS Catalina (10.15) or later.
Linux

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Audio OpenAL
Multiplayer GameSpy Service is now defunct. See Online play for older versions.

Console commands

Open the console (~) and use one of the following commands.
Command Description
FOV Sets the field of view (number).
BEHINDVIEW Switches between first and third-person perspective (0-1).[40]

Mods

AWP Mod

An addon for the A Week in Paradise mod.
Restores content from AW7, an older version of the mod.
Adds new game mode, cheats, option window, weapons and various bug fixes.

xMod

A modern equivalent to AWP Mod.
A modifier version of this mod which includes less content can be found here.

Штопор ЖжОт!

A licensed stand-alone conversion of the game, developed by Avalon Style Entertainment and published by Akella for the Russian market.
Also known, as "Corkscrew Rules/Rocks!" or "From Russia with Love" for the Japanese release.
While the game also have English translation is known to be of very poor quality, in terms of acting and translation.
The mod is confirmed to be incompatible with the 5100 update. Until then, use this patch.[41]

Eternal Damnation Steam Port

This version is based on unfinished 2009 v8.0 of Eternal Damnation by Resurrection Studios. It also contains xPatch related QoL features and bug fixes and was made specifically for the latest version of the game.
It's recommended that you install the patch before starting a new game.
Also available as a Steam Workshop download

Eternal Damnation (Original)

It's recommended to install the patch before starting a new game.
The mod is prone to crashing, see general protection error.

A Very Postal Christmas

A map for the original version is available here.
The modern conversion has a map, errands and fast travel, but it cut a lot of things, like the new weapons, and has more bugs.
Haven’t been ported to the latest, modern version of Postal 2.

Happy Night

Christmas stand-alone expansion made by Revival Studios.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum[42][43] Recommended
Operating system (OS) 98, 2000, ME, XP
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium III 733 MHz
AMD Athlon 733 MHz
System memory (RAM) 128 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 1.2 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce 2
ATI Radeon
32 MB of VRAM
DirectX 8.1 compatible
Other 8x CD-ROM drive
macOS (OS X)
Minimum[44] Recommended
Operating system (OS) 10.2.8
Processor (CPU) PowerPC G3 700 MHz
System memory (RAM) 256 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 2 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce 2
ATI Radeon
32 MB of VRAM
Linux
Minimum[45]
Operating system (OS) Linux kernel 2.2
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium 1.0 GHz
System memory (RAM) 256 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 1.4 GB
Video card (GPU) 64 MB of VRAM
Sound (audio device) Open Sound System compatible
Other 8x CD-ROM drive


Notes

  1. SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10[7] or Windows 11 and is disabled by default on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 when the KB3086255 update is installed.[8]
  2. This version of StarForce DRM does not work on Windows Vista or later.[9][10][11][12] For supported versions of Windows the StarForce driver may need to be updated manually using SFUPDATE.
  3. 3.0 3.1 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).

References

  1. "POSTAL 2: Share The Pain" to Ship In Europe (retrieved) - last accessed on 2023-10-20
  2. Running With Scissors licenses Russian publishing rights to Akella | Running With Scissors Official Website (retrieved) - last accessed on 2023-10-20
  3. Legacy:Postal 2 - Unreal Wiki (retrieved) - last accessed on 2023-07-19
  4. Controversial Game "POSTAL 2" is #1 at Retail | Running With Scissors Official Website (retrieved) - last accessed on 2023-10-12
    "POSTAL 2 shipped to retail stores across North America on Monday April 14th."
  5. POSTAL 2 Shares The Pain on Mac (retrieved) - last accessed on 2023-10-12
  6. Fri, February 4 2005 - last accessed on 2023-10-12
  7. Not Loading in Windows 10; this will break thousands of - Microsoft Community - last accessed on 2017-01-16
  8. Microsoft - MS15-097: Description of the security update for the graphics component in Windows: September 8, 2015 - last accessed on 2018-02-16
  9. Windows Vista support - StarForce Support
  10. Windows 7 support - StarForce Support
  11. Windows 8.1 support - StarForce Support
  12. Windows 10 support - StarForce Support
  13. Postal Wiki - POSTAL 2: Share The Pain - last accessed on May 2023
  14. Postal Wiki - POSTed - last accessed on May 2023
  15. Verified by User:Averygoodperson on 2022-07-17
    At least on steam and GOG, not sure about ZOOM platform, but it's probably the same.
  16. Verified by 2600:8801:2180:2E17:1043:7C69:FDB9:94C8 on 2018-01-02
  17. Verified by User:Averygoodperson on 2022-10-09
    Eternal Damnation is a newer version, but has simpler levels and while fixing some bugs also added some new ones, and A Very Postal Christmas is the first version which was basically a map pack, also all copyrighted content was removed.
  18. Verified by 2600:8801:2180:2E17:2CCE:7FF:ADCD:D9D on 2018-01-02
  19. Postal Wiki - Fudge Pack - last accessed on May 2023
  20. Steam News - Upcoming New DLC/Patch - last accessed on May 2023
  21. Postal Wiki - POSTAL 2 Complete - last accessed on May 2023
  22. Postal Wiki - POSTAL 2: Штопор ЖжОт!
  23. Postal Wiki - 1409X Multiplayer patch - last accessed on May 2023
  24. Verified by 1.123.157.15 on 2015-11-08
  25. Verified by User:Averygoodperson on 2022-06-21
  26. 26.0 26.1 26.2 Verified by User:Suicide machine on 2016-02-02
  27. Verified by User:Averygoodperson on 2022-06-22
  28. PC Gaming Surround Sound Round-up - last accessed on May 2023
  29. Verified by User:Aemony on 2018-10-17
  30. Verified by 2600:8801:2180:2E17:49BB:80C7:7B73:DB85 on 2018-01-09
  31. Steam Community :: Guide :: How to play Postal 2 Coop] - last accessed on 2022-11-30
  32. [1]Man Chrzan, answer
  33. Steam Community Discussions - Black - red screen when I try to play with full screen - last accessed on May 2023
  34. Steam Community Discussions - Speed issues resolved for Dual Core CPU - last accessed on May 2023
  35. Verified by 91.122.160.133 on 2013-09-09
  36. Why does my game keep crashing? Reddit - last accessed on May 2023
  37. Steam Community Discussions - awp crash general fault error how i fix it ?? - last accessed on May 2023
  38. Resurrection-Studios - Postal 2 AWP random Crash/Freeze - last accessed on May 2023
  39. Why does my game keep crashing? Reddit - last accessed on May 2023
  40. Verified by User:2600:8801:2180:2E17:70FC:F0E1:34D8:9884 on 2018-01-08
    Note however that there are some glitches in the third-person pistol animation when sprinting and the HUD is not displayed in third-person perspective.
  41. Chrzan, answer - last accessed on May 2023
  42. Postal 2 (Windows) back cover - last accessed on 2023-10-19
  43. POSTAL 2: Share The Pain Hybrid CD-Rom (retrieved) - last accessed on 2023-10-19
  44. POSTAL 2: Share The Pain for MAC (retrieved) - last accessed on 2023-10-19
  45. POSTAL 2: Share The Pain for LINUX (retrieved) - last accessed on 2023-10-19