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Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell cover
Developers
Ubisoft Montreal
macOS (OS X) i5works[1][2]
Publishers
Ubisoft
OS X Aspyr Media
Russia Russobit-M
Engines
Unreal Engine 2
Release dates
Windows February 19, 2003
macOS (OS X) September 29, 2004
Reception
Metacritic 91
IGDB 85
Taxonomy
Monetization One-time game purchase
Modes Singleplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives Third-person
Controls Direct control
Genres Action, Stealth
Art styles Realistic
Themes Contemporary, Asia, North America
Series Splinter Cell
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell on HowLongToBeat
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell on IGDB
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell guide on StrategyWiki
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell on MobyGames
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell on Wikipedia
Splinter Cell
Subseries of Tom Clancy
Splinter Cell 2003
Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow 2004
Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory 2005
Splinter Cell: Double Agent 2006
Splinter Cell: Conviction 2010
Splinter Cell: Blacklist 2013

Warnings

The Mac OS X version of this game does not work on Mac OS X Lion (version 10.7) or later due to the removal of support for PowerPC apps.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell is a singleplayer third-person action and stealth game in the Splinter Cell series.

It is based on the technically superior Xbox version and, as a result of this, the PlayStation 2 exclusive mission Nuclear Power Plant is missing. The depth of field effect that appears when using night goggles on the Xbox version is also missing.

General information

GOG.com Community Discussions
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)
SafeDisc 2 DRM[Note 1]
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Retail
DRM-free
DVD releases and the Ubisoft Action-Adventure Collection release.
Windows
Epic Games Store
Icon overlay.png
Windows
GamersGate
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Gamesplanet logo.svg
Icon overlay.png
Windows
GOG.com
DRM-free
Windows
Green Man Gaming
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Humble Store
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Steam
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Ubisoft Store
Icon overlay.png
Included with Ubisoft+
Windows
SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).
A faithful and higher quality icon is available on SteamGridDB.
A demo is available from Archive.org. It includes parts from Police Station and Kalinatek missions.

Monetization

DLC and expansion packs

Name Notes
Bonus missions Included in the latest patch. Not included in the Steam release.
Windows

Essential improvements

Patches

The latest official patch is v1.3, available from PCGamingWiki, Ubisoft's patch repository and Patches-Scrolls.

Skip intro videos

Instructions[5]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\Videos.
  2. Delete or rename Logos.bik and videointro.bik.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\system\*.ini[Note 2]
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/13560/pfx/[Note 3]

Save game data location

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\Save\<user-id>\[Note 2]
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/13560/pfx/[Note 3]

Save game cloud syncing

Video

In-game video settings.
In-game video settings.

Widescreen resolution

Use ThirteenAG's Widescreen Fix[7]
  1. Download the ZIP file here.
  2. Extract the system folder to <path-to-game>.

Notes

FOV is automatically adjusted according to the resolution.
Removes stretched HUD and moves HUD elements to the edge of the screen.
Cutscenes are no longer in fullscreen. But they are played in 640x480 unscaled.
The ending of the game is stretched.
When running the game, a prompt message may request to download dgVoodoo 2 for fixing some rendering issues.

Field of view (FOV)

Edit configuration file[8]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open SplinterCellUser.ini.
  3. Find the [Engine.PlayerController] section.
  4. Edit the following lines:
    • DesiredFOV=75.0
    • DefaultFOV=75.0

Notes

For Hor+ gameplay, a new profile must be created after this solution was applied.
Otherwise, previously created profiles will continue to use the old FOV settings.
Using this method or the ThirteenAG's Widescreen Fix will be too wide.

Anti-aliasing (AA)

Override AA settings[citation needed]
  1. Download and run Nvidia Profile Inspector.
  2. Search and select the game profile.
  3. Locate the Antialiasing section.
  4. Set Antialiasing - Behavior Flags to None.
  5. Set Antialiasing - Mode to Override.
  6. Set Antialiasing - Setting to the desired AA (e.g. Multisampling).
  7. Click Apply changes.

Notes

This works for both Nvidia and AMD GPUs.
Force MSAA using dgVoodoo 2[7]
  1. Read the instructions below to properly setup dgVoodoo 2 for this game.
  2. Run dgVoodooCpl.exe and click on the DirectX tab.
  3. Set Antialiasing (MSAA) to 2x, 4x or 8x.

Notes

When using ThirteenAG's Widescreen Fix, the included <path-to-game>\system\dgVoodoo.conf file overrides the global dgVoodoo settings. Delete or rename that file to apply global settings, or edit the file through dgVoodooCpl.exe.
Water will be rendered incorrectly in few places (sea in the Oil Refinery level and water in two gardens in the last two levels of the main campaign).[9]
Force SMAA using ReShade[7]
  1. Read the instructions below to properly set up dgVoodoo 2 for this game.
  2. Download and install ReShade.
  3. Click Select game, then select SplinterCell.exe located in <path-to-game>\system.
  4. Select Direct3D 10/11/12 as the rendering API.
  5. Select the preset to install located in the game executable directory.
  6. Select effect packages to install or just standard effects.
  7. Run the game, press Home to enter the configuration menu, then create a new profile and activate SMAA.
  8. Click on the Settings tab, and set Usage Mode to Performance Mode.
  9. Click X in the upper right corner to exit the configuration menu.

Notes

No water rendering issues.
Using Night Vision Goggles causes a loss of performance because ReShade tries to anti-alias the grain effect.

Vertical sync (Vsync)

Edit configuration file[7]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open SplinterCell.ini.
  3. Find the [D3DDrv.D3DRenderDevice] section.
  4. At the bottom of the section, after FullScreenVideo=True, add the following line:
    • UseVsync=True
  5. Save the changes.

Notes

It only works in full screen mode.

INI tweaks

Edit configuration files[10]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open SplinterCell.ini.
  1. Edit the file as shown below:
[WinDrv.WindowsClient]
TextureDetail=High
SkinDetail=High
Decals=True
NoDynamicLights=False
SkinDetail=High
TextureDetail=High
NoFractalAnim=False
Decals=True ; => Yes, Decals appear twice in the .ini, you can safely remove the duplicate if you want.

[D3DDrv.D3DRenderDevice]
Translucency=True
VolumetricLighting=True
ShinySurfaces=True
HighDetailActors=True
UsePrecaching=True
UseMipmapping=True
UseTrilinear=True
UseMultitexture=True
UsePageFlipping=True
UseGammaCorrection=True
DetailTextures=True
UseTripleBuffering=True
UsePrecache=True
Use32BitTextures=True
HardwareSkinning=False ; => Designed for older GPUs. Not needed now.
ReduceMouseLag=False
UseTripleBuffering=True
ForceShadowMode=1 ; Set to 1 (buffer) only if using DgVooDoo 2 or a compatible graphics card; otherwise use 0 (projector).
EmulateGF2Mode=0 ; => Seems to only make the infrared vision goggles look worse.
FullScreenVideo=True ; => Setting it to False causes the FMVs to not display at all.
UseVsync=True
  1. Do the same for SplinterCellUser.ini:
[Engine.EPCGameOptions]
AnimatedGeometry=True
ShadowLevel=3
LightMapsLevel=3
TextureLevel=3
AudioVirt=2
Sound3DAcc=true
EAX=True ; => Set true only if using DirectSound restoration software or using a compatible sound card.
ShadowResolution=2 ; =>Not tested enough; should be the highest quality setting, however it should be worth checking if any higher values look better.
EffectsQuality=3
EAX_Capable=true ; => Same as EAX.
AntiAliasing=2 ; =>Not tested enough; should enable antialiasing, but I'm not sure if it does, or what values work.
  1. Save the changes.

Input

In-game general control settings.
In-game general control settings.
In-game mouse settings.
In-game mouse settings.

Audio

In-game audio settings.
In-game audio settings.

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Ambient, voice, music and SFX.
Surround sound
Subtitles
In-game subtitles for OPSAT dialogues only. Not available in cutscenes.
Except for the Polish version which also adds subtitles to all in-game dialogues.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support
EAX 3.0[11]
EAX Unified[12]
GOG.com and Uplay releases have broken support for EAX Advanced HD; falling back to EAX 2.0.

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
French
Retail, Steam, Epic Games Store and Ubisoft Store only.
German
Retail, GOG.com and Ubisoft Store only.
Hungarian
Fan translation, download.
Italian
Retail and Ubisoft Store only.
Polish
Retail only; download for digital releases.
Brazilian Portuguese
Retail only.[13]
Russian
Retail only; download for digital releases.
Spanish
Retail and Ubisoft Store only; download for digital releases.

Issues unresolved

Sounds stop playing

When quicksaving or entering the menu (OPSAT), some looped sounds such as clock ticking or water running may not be played.
Quick save and quick load the game to reset sounds[7]

Vselka Infiltration - Stuck in the control room

In the Vselka Infiltration mission, after using the laptop in the control room, the player can not get out because the doors remain closed.
Since the enemies that are supposed to open them, they can get stuck in the stairway.
This issue does not occur if you do not quick save during the mission.
Use no clip cheat[14]
  1. Press F2 to open the console.
  2. Type ghost and press Enter to activate no clipping mode.
  3. Go through the closed doors.
  4. Type walk and press Enter to deactivate no clipping mode.

Issues fixed

Broken shadows

Shadow comparison.
Shadow comparison.
Relying on a now-obsolete feature of Nvidia GPUs, the default "buffer" shadows are broken on modern hardware. This impacts gameplay, as many light sources (e.g. searchlights) become invisible but can still trigger alarms.

Use dgVoodoo 2 with default buffer shadows

Use dgVoodoo 2[15]
  1. Install dgVoodoo 2.
  2. Run dgVoodooCpl.exe and open the DirectX tab.
  3. Set Videocard to GeForce4 Ti 4800.

Force projector shadows

The game, when tweaked, supports projection shadows which work on modern hardware.
Run the game with the -shadowmode=projector command line argument[7]
Edit SplinterCell.ini[15]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open SplinterCell.ini.
  3. Find the [D3DDrv.D3DRenderDevice] section.
  4. Uncomment the line ;ForceShadowMode=0 by deleting the semicolon.

Official patch does not install (retail)

When trying to install the official patches, an error message may pop up since the installer cannot find the correct version number.
Instructions (Patch 1.3)[16]
  1. Copy SplinterCell.exe from the DVD Patch 1 folder to <path-to-game>\system and overwrite when prompted.
  2. Run setup.exe and now the installation should be successful.
  3. Copy SplinterCell.exe from the DVD Patch 2 folder to <path-to-game>\system and overwrite when prompted.

Stuttering during gameplay

Force CPU affinity to one core[citation needed]

EAX support not detected

Edit SplinterCellUser.ini
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open SplinterCellUser.ini.
  3. Find the [Engine.EPCGameOptions] section.
  4. Change the following lines as noted:
    • EAX=false to EAX=true
    • EAX_Capable=false to EAX_Capable=true
    • Sound3DAcc=false to Sound3DAcc=true
  5. Save the changes.

Notes

EAX is automatically disabled if the audio settings menu is opened. The process has to be repeated then.

Frame rate issues

The game is capped at 200 FPS.
Above 60 FPS, some physics of "softbody" materials like curtains are broken[17].
If its above 100 FPS, the Bottom Tooltip has erratic movement[18][citation needed].
If it exceeds 120 FPS, pathfinding is broken[citation needed].
These issues also happen in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow.
Use dgVoodoo 2[19]
  1. Install dgVoodoo 2.
  2. Install ThirteenAG's Widescreen Fix or manually create a config with dgVoodooCpl.exe.
Limit the frame rate to 60 FPS[citation needed]

VR support

3D modes State Notes
vorpX
G3D
User created profile. Requires dgVoodoo 2 v2.55.4. See profile introduction.
Profile may not work with the latest wrapper.
In case of issues, please report to the vorpx forum.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 8.1
Shader Model support 1.4
ExecutablePPC 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Audio Dolby Digital, DirectSound
Cutscenes Bink Video

Mods

PS3 Textures - higher resolution textures from the PS3 version, mostly faithful to the original ones. The only exceptions are the removal of ads and the Abattoir level which looks much cleaner. Causes certain shadows not to display correctly.
PS2 Cutscenes for PC - replaces the FMV cutscenes with the PS2 ones which had a slightly altered story, certain dates were changed in the mod to make sense chronologically. The videos are only in English.
Unlocked Thermal Vision Mod - allows the use of thermal vision goggles in the first four missions of the game.
Xbox DLC Loading Screens - replaces the loading screens for the bonus missions with the ones from the Xbox versions.
Improved loading screens[20] - adds new loading screens for bonus missions that fit much better with the rest of the game and flesh out the story. It restores the correct loading screens displayed between Kalinatek and Chinese Embassy from the leaked Xbox prototype. Only works when the game language is set to English.
Spell Check - fixes some typos from the English version of the game.
Texture Shader Fixes[21][22] - disables problematic texture shaders that render incorrectly on PC at certain angles, improving visual quality. Affected levels include Defense Ministry and CIA HQ.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 98 SE
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium III 800 MHz
AMD Athlon 800 MHz
System memory (RAM) 256 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 1.5 GB
Video card (GPU) 32 MB of VRAM
DirectX 8.1 compatible
Sound (audio device) DirectX 8.1 compatible
Supported ATI chipsets: Radeon 7500, 8500, 9000, 9500, 9700.
Supported Nvidia chipsets: GeForce 256, GeForce2 Ti/Ultra/Pro/GTS/MX400/MX, GeForce3 series, GeForce4 series.
The Matrox Parhelia is also supported.
macOS (OS X)
Minimum
Operating system (OS) 10.2.8
Processor (CPU) PowerPC 74xx
PowerPC G4
System memory (RAM) 256 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)
Other 2x DVD-ROM drive


Notes

  1. SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10[3] 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.[4]
  2. 2.0 2.1 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).
  3. 3.0 3.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/13560/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (13560) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References

  1. Aspyr Media, Inc. Ships Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell For Macintosh - Business Wire - last accessed on 2016-7-23
  2. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Ships for Mac - The Mac Observer - last accessed on 2016-7-23
  3. Not Loading in Windows 10; this will break thousands of - Microsoft Community - last accessed on 2017-01-16
  4. Microsoft - MS15-097: Description of the security update for the graphics component in Windows: September 8, 2015 - last accessed on 2018-02-16
  5. Verified by User:aaronth07 on 2017-9-05
  6. Cloud save support for games available on Ubisoft+ - last accessed on 2021-09-18
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named refcheck Antrad
  8. Splinter Cell | WSGF
  9. Dege's stuffs - dgVoodoo test results - last accessed on May 2023
  10. Source of the grapical tweaks. - last accessed on 2023-08-28
  11. EAX Featured Game: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell - EAX.CREATIVE.COM (retrieved) - last accessed on May 2023
  12. A Guide to Testing Positional Audio and EAX - EAX_QA.pdf (retrieved)
  13. Splinter Cell. - last accessed on May 2023
  14. Ubisoft Forums - Splinter Cell Vselka Infiltration bug - last accessed on May 2023
  15. 15.0 15.1 Verified by User:Expack3 on 2016-09-14
  16. Steam Community - last accessed on May 2023
  17. An example of someone playing at 200 FPS. - last accessed on 2022-05-09
  18. Verified by User:LukasThyWalls on 2023-11-05
    Bottom Tooltip Erratic Movement issue For Splinter Cell 2 (Pandora Tomorrow). More info in Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow discussions and this GIF as proof.
  19. Bottom Tooltip Erratic Movement on Talk:Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow - last accessed on 2023-11-05
  20. Reddit - last accessed on May 2023
  21. https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?p=554710#p554710
  22. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1692255530