Syndicate (2012)

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Syndicate (2012)
Syndicate (2012) cover
Developers
Starbreeze Studios
Publishers
Electronic Arts
Release dates
Windows February 21, 2012
 
 
Syndicate
Syndicate 1993
Syndicate Wars 1996
Syndicate (2012) 2012

This page is for the first-person shooter reboot. For the original 1993 game, see Syndicate.

Key points

Publisher dropped support for the game immediately after release. No patches were released.
Game lacks PC-specific features like text chat, push-to-talk microphone and FOV customization. However, the FOV can be hacked.

Availability[edit]

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
 
 
Green Man Gaming
 
 
Origin
 
 
All versions require Origin DRM.

Essential improvements[edit]

Advanced Config Tool[edit]

  • SynAdvCFG is an advanced config tool which can adjust many configuration settings. Beware that using it will reset graphics settings to default.

Syndicate DeBloom[edit]

  • Syndicate DeBloom is a HelixMod fix that removes the game's overbearing bloom effects, and as a side effect, disables the blue colour correction.

Skip intro videos[edit]

Rename/delete Logos.ogg[1]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\Content\Videos\
  2. Delete or rename Logos.ogg.

Enhanced quality[edit]

Enhanced quality[citation needed]
  1. Enter console by pressing Ctrl+Alt+~.
  2. Enter xr_adaptivequalitymode 3.
  3. Enter xr_fxaa 3 for better antialiasing.
  4. Enter xr_postaa 3 for post processing antialiasing.
  5. Enter xr_ssao 2 for ambient occlusion.
  6. Enter xr_ssaogain 0.5 for setting strength of SSAO.
  7. Enter xr_selfshadowing 1 to make your character's shadow affect weapons.

Notes

Enabling Ambient Occlusion will likely make textures turn black.
Most settings entered via console will not be preserved after a level transition.

Game data[edit]

Configuration file(s) location[edit]

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Syndicate\environment.cfg
There is also an Environment.cfg file located in the <path-to-game> .Do not modify this version of the file, and especially do not delete it. It seems to be used for default settings, and the game will crash if it is not present.

Save game data location[edit]

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Syndicate\SaveGames\default

Save game cloud syncing[edit]

System Native Notes
Origin
Syncs save games and settings.

Video settings[edit]

Video settings.
Video settings.
Graphics option Option WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
 
 4:3, 5:4 and 16:10 resolutions are letterboxed to 16:9.
Multi-monitor
 
 See Multi-monitor.
Ultra-widescreen
 
 See Multi-monitor.
Field of view (FOV)
Default is 70°. See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed
See Windowed.
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Use Borderless Gaming.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Vertical sync (Vsync)
Causes mouse lag. Nvidia Fast Sync will eliminate both mouse lag and tearing.
60 FPS
120+ FPS
No frame rate or refresh rate cap.[2]

Multi-monitor[edit]

Multi-monitor resolution must be set manually in config file.
Multi-monitor resolution[3]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open Environment.cfg.
  3. Set VID_DWIDTH= and VID_DHEIGHT= to the desired values.

Field of view (FOV)[edit]

Using a modified FOV for online play is not recommended.
Modified FOV doesn't scale well with Iron-sights.
Using this hack may result in game's not being able to save its settings and campaign progress in Windows 10.
Use Syndicate FOV Mod[4]
  1. Download the Syndicate FOV Mod.
  2. Choose a fitting FOV and copy its GameClasses_Win32_x86_Release.dll to ..\Syndicate\Content overwriting original file.

Windowed[edit]

Enable toggle in config file[1]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open Environment.cfg.
  3. Locate a line VID_FULLSCREEN_WINDOWED_TOGGLE_ENABLED=0
  4. Change it to VID_FULLSCREEN_WINDOWED_TOGGLE_ENABLED=1
  5. Now launch the game and press Alt+↵ Enter to toggle between windowed and fullscreen mode.
  6. This fix is needed for Borderless Gaming to hook the game.

Input settings[edit]

Keyboard and mouse Native Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Seems to be enabled by default. No option in menu.
Mouse sensitivity
Separate sliders for X and Y axis.
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
XInput controllers only. Whenever a controller is connected the game shows only gamepad controls. See fixes.
Full controller support
Controller remapping
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion
Other
Touchscreen optimised
Additional information
Button prompts
Whenever a controller is connected the game shows only gamepad controls. See fixes.
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Vibration option is located under Game settings.

Audio settings[edit]

Audio settings.
Audio settings.
Audio options Native Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound
5.1
Subtitles
Under Game options.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Can not be disabled.

Localizations

Language UI Audio CC Notes
English
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Japanese fan translation can be downloaded here. It apparently covers the entire singleplayer campaign, but proper testing is needed.
Russian
Spanish

Network[edit]

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
LAN play
Online play
4 Co-op

Connection types

Type Native Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP
If a lobby leader leaves the ongoing game, players will be thrown back to a lobby.

Issues unresolved[edit]

Crash when joining COOP[edit]

Sometimes a game crashes when joining a COOP game. Possible solutions include disabling Third-party overlay software like FRAPS or Steam. Other solution is disabling voice input and output in audio settings of a game. Both solutions seem to reduce an amount of game crashes, but none fixes it fully.

Falling through the ground[edit]

Some players experience a bug where they fall through the ground on the mission Downzone, particularly after the scripted event where they leave the vehicle.
Noclip cheat[5]
  1. Press Ctrl+Alt+~ to enter console.
  2. Enter cmd(noclip) to toggle no clipping mode on/off. This may allow you to bypass the bug.
Save file[citation needed]

One possible workaround is using a save file which unlocks all chapters. As soon as the player jumps out of the vehicle go immediately into dartmode and try to climb up (Do not spent any points into upgrades!) This should lead to a soft landing onto the ground. This workaround however can only be used with chapter select, since the "Continue Campaign" option will always start at the final checkpoint.

Issues fixed[edit]

Cannot launch the game[edit]

Cannot launch the game[citation needed]

A common fix is launching by Syndicate.exe file straight from the installation folder rather than from any launcher/client.

NVidia users crash[edit]

nVidia users crash[citation needed]
  1. Go to Nvidia control panel by right clicking the icon in the taskbar.
  2. Then manage 3d settings and set Threaded Optimization to on.

NVidia Optimus Crashes the Game[edit]

nVidia Optimus Crashes the Game[citation needed]

If you’re using a newer laptop that’s using an nVidia Optimus card, try checking your Optimus settings.

  1. Open the “nVidia Control Panel” from your start menu.
  2. On the lefthand side, under “Select a task…”
  3. Open the “3D Settings” tree, and select “Manage 3D Settings”
  4. On the righthand panel, click the “Program Settings” tab.
  5. Under “1. Select a program…”, click “Add”, navigate to the installation folder and navigate to the application / exe file.
  6. Under “2. Select the preferred graphics…”, choose “High-performance NVIDIA processor”
  7. Then (VERY IMPORTANT!) click “Apply” in the bottom right.
  8. Launch the game.

No sound or weak sound[edit]

No Sound or weak sound on Windows Vista / 7[citation needed]
  1. Update your sound card drivers.
  2. If doing that doesn’t clear up the problem, make sure you have volume set to max for Syndicate in the volume mixer (click on the little speaker icon in the bottom-right of your screen in the system tray).
  3. If you’re in-game, just alt+tab out of the game and check if Syndicate is set to max in the volume mixer.
  4. Another tip you could try is to go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Sound > Communications Tab then select the “Do Nothing” radio button to permanently fix this issue.
No Sound or weak sound on Windows XP[citation needed]
  1. Reduce hardware acceleration
  2. Set your speakers to Stereo.

Crash to Desktop upon Launch / Startup[edit]

Crash to Desktop upon Launch / Startup[citation needed]

If you’re game randomly crashes upon launching the game, ensure or try the following:

  • Update your nVidia / ATI graphics drivers. Check our Technical References page for proper and official download links.
  • Turn off SLI / Crossfire then start the game. See if it stabilizes Syndicate performance.
  • Turn off your anti-virus software before launching the Syndicate, but make sure you turn it back on after playing. Make sure Windows Defender is also disabled.
  • Try using only one GPU first (turn the other one off via your nVidia / ATI graphics control
  • Try running the game as an administrator (right-click the shortcut and choose Run as administrator).

Game Only Shows Gamepad Controls[edit]

Game Only Shows Gamepad Controls[citation needed]

If you are having an issue where you only see gamepad controls, and no keyboard mouse controls follow these steps:

  • First make sure you have any physical gamepads or joysticks unplugged.
  • Next open device manager in windows.
  • Under device manager look for "Human Interface Devices", expand this.
  • Look for any entries related to a gamepad, in some cases these are 'software' controllers, or created by keyboard drivers.
  • Manually disable all such entries, now when you launch the game, you should get keyboard/mouse controls.

Notes

It should be apparent right away if the issue is fixed, as the main menu will say "press return to start" instead of "press [start icon] to start"

Visual C++ Runtime Error R6034 on Startup[edit]

Visual C++ Runtime Error R6034 on Startup[citation needed]
  1. Go to %WINDIR%\WinSxS
  2. Search for msvcr90.dll
  3. Copy (do not move) the file to the game's installation folder.

Notes

If the first file used does not work simply try another version.

Profiles for gaming software[edit]

This game doesn't run its process from EXE file but from BIN file that is located here: \System\Win32_x86_Release\Syndicate.bin. You need to add this path or file name to your gaming software in order to software properly recognize game running.

Logitech G-series Key Profiler[edit]

Logitech G-series Key Profile - Solution 1[citation needed]
  1. Start game
  2. Alt+tab back to windows
  3. Create new profile in Profiler and select executable with GamePanel
  4. Go back to game and push button under LCD
Logitech G-series Key Profile - Solution2[citation needed]
  1. Create new profile
  2. Select Syndicate.exe as executable
  3. Export profile
  4. Open exported file with notepad
  5. Search for Syndicate.exe and change it to Syndicate.bin
  6. Save and import profile in Profiler

Notes

Tested with version 3.06.109

Logitech SetPoint[edit]

Logitech SetPoint[citation needed]
  1. Create new profile or edit current one
  2. Add Syndicate.exe as assigned application
  3. Close SetPoint
  4. Go to %LOCALAPPDATA%\LogiShrd\SetPoint II\Devices\PointingDevice\[numbers]\[numbers]\profiles
  5. There should be list of your profiles. If it's not, look under different [numbers] folders within PointingDevice folder
  6. After you located your profiles, go one folder up and open profilemap.xml with notepad
  7. Search for Syndicate.exe and change it to Syndicate.bin
  8. Open SetPoint, select your syndicate profile and check if Syndicate.bin is in assigned applications
  9. If so, click Apply

Notes

Tested with version 5.45.10

Other information[edit]

Disable lens flares[edit]

Disable lens flares[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open Environment.cfg.
  3. Locate XR_FLARES=-1 and change -1 to 0

Disable motion blur[edit]

Disable motion blur[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open Environment.cfg.
  3. Locate XR_MOTIONBLUR_DOF=1 and change 1 to 0

Notes

This will disable motion blur AND depth of field.
When character is running glow is also disabled and picture is darker.

Disable film grain[edit]

Disable film grain[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open Environment.cfg.
  3. Locate XR_GRAIN=1 and change 1 to 0

System requirements[edit]

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) XP, Vista, 7
Processor (CPU) Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 2.4 GHz
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+		 Intel Core 2 Quad Q6400 2.13 GHz
AMD Athlon II X3 440
System memory (RAM) 2 GB (XP/7)
3 GB (Vista)		 4 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 12 GB
Video card (GPU) ATI Radeon HD 4650
Nvidia GeForce 8800 GS
512 MB of VRAM 		ATI Radeon HD 4850
Nvidia GeForce GT 545
1 GB of VRAM

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Verified by User:Suicide_machine on 2016-08-19
  2. ↑ New 120Hz Games Report
  3. ↑ Syndicate (2012) | WSGF
  4. ↑ Syndicate | 2012 | PC | Field of view (FOV) Mod + Download - YouTube
  5. ↑ Syndicate gunship bug - Syndicate (2012) Answers for PC - GameFAQs