This page is for the original game. For the updated HD version, see Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter. For the version included in Serious Sam Classics: Revolution, see Serious Sam Classics: Revolution.
Warnings
- GameSpy online services have been shut down (see Network for solutions).
General information
- Official game series site
- Seriously! Forums
- GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
- GOG.com Support Page
- Steam Community Discussions
Availability
Source |
DRM |
Notes |
Keys |
OS |
Retail |
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US: Basic disc check. EU: CopyLok DRM. Removed in 1.04 patch leaving only basic disc check. |
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GOG.com |
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Includes soundtrack. |
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Steam |
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Renamed to Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter. |
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Essential improvements
- Serious Sam XPLUS is a mod that enhances the textures, using the HD version textures.
- Updates for non-Steam versions of the game can be downloaded from Serious Zone. (The link is dead, however the Steamify update for non-Steam versions can also be downloaded from Mod DB).
- The game seems to choose the lowest screen refresh rate available to the monitor. In order to change the screen refresh rate, press ~ (or the key above Tab) to open the console, enter the line:
gap_iRefreshRate=60
(or whatever refresh rate desired) then restart the game.
- If the game doesn't recognize the graphics card, try changing Direct3D mode to OpenGL, and vice versa. If that doesn't work, let the game run on windowed mode by pressing Alt+↵ Enter and try again.
Source ports
Real-time path tracing support for Serious Engine 1.10.
Vulkan Serious Engine port based on open source version.
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
Save game data location
Video
In-game general rendering settings.
- Steam version supports 16:9 and 16:10 resolutions from the in-game video options. Non-standard resolutions still need to be edited manually and can't be selected in-game, but FOV does not need to be adjusted for Hor+ ultrawide gameplay. Download the Steam executable here and replace the original executable located in
<path-to-game>/Bin/
instead of the method below to get access to widescreen resolutions in-game. Alternatively, download Steamify, extract the archive and copy SeriousSam.exe
from the Bin
directory and overwrite the executable in <path-to-game>/Bin/
.
This is what happens if the "wide screen" option in-game isn't disabled when setting a custom resolution.
Modify PersistentSymbols.ini [1][2]
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- Launch the game at least once.
- Open
<path-to-game>\Scripts\PersistentSymbols.ini .
- Locate lines:
persistent extern INDEX sam_iScreenSizeI=(INDEX)XXX;
persistent extern INDEX sam_iScreenSizeJ=(INDEX)YYY;
- Change
XXX and YYY to desired resolution.
- Save the changes and launch the game.
Notes
- Do not enable Wide screen option from rendering menu.
- For perfect Hor+ behavior, set field of view according to the given aspect ratio or resolution:
- 16:9 - 106.26
- 16:10 - 100.39
- 2560x1080 - 121.28
- 1366x768 - 106.29
- 1360x768 - 106.04
- Cutscenes are Vert-.
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- Steam version has fixed widescreen FOV (and weapon FOV).
- This does not affect the weapon FOV.
Press ~ to open the in-game console and use the /plr_fFOV=XX command where XX is the desired horizontal FOV[3]
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Modify PersistentSymbols.ini [1]
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- Launch the game at least once.
- Open
<path-to-game>\Scripts\PersistentSymbols.ini .
- Locate the
persistent extern user FLOAT plr_fFOV=(FLOAT)XX; line.
- Change
XX to the desired horizontal FOV.
- Save the changes and launch the game.
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Input
In-game general control settings.
In-game key map settings.
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
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Surround sound |
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[4] |
Subtitles |
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Closed captions |
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Mute on focus lost |
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EAX support |
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EAX 2.0 reverb; no DirectSound3D support. |
Royalty free audio |
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Localizations
Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
English |
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Croatian |
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Retail release, download. |
Czech |
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Fan translation - #1 |
French |
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Retail release, download. |
Italian |
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Retail release, download. |
Polish |
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Retail release, download. |
Brazilian Portuguese |
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Fan translation; download. |
Russian |
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Retail release, download. |
Spanish |
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A patch that adds the Spanish language can be found here. |
Network
Multiplayer types
Type |
Native |
Players |
Notes |
Local play |
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4 |
Co-op, Versus Split-screen. |
LAN play |
| 16 |
Co-op, Versus Co-op supports 4 players. |
Online play |
| 16 |
Co-op, Versus Co-op supports 4 players. To play online with non-Steam versions apply the Master Server Patch. |
Connection types
Ports
Protocol |
Port(s) and/or port range(s) |
TCP |
25600 - 25603 |
UDP |
25600 - 25603 |
- Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.
VR support
Issues fixed
Text scaling
Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
Direct3D |
8 |
Added with patch 1.05 (December 4, 2001) |
OpenGL |
1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 |
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Vulkan |
1.2, 1.3 |
Requires Serious Sam Classic: Vulkan source port. |
- Serious Engine: Ray Traced mod uses Vulkan 1.2; requires VK_KHR_ray_tracing_pipeline extension.
Middleware
|
Middleware |
Notes |
Audio |
DirectSound |
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Multiplayer |
GameSpy |
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Console commands
- List of useful console commands
System requirements
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
95 OSR2 |
98, ME, 2000, XP |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Pentium II 300 MHz AMD K6-3 400 MHz |
Intel Pentium III 650 MHz AMD Athlon 650 MHz |
System memory (RAM) |
64 MB |
128 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
150 MB |
450 MB |
Video card (GPU) |
16 MB of VRAM DirectX 8 compatible
| Nvidia GeForce 256 or TNT2 Ultra PowerVR Kyro S3 Savage2000 3Dfx Voodoo3 ATI Rage128 Pro 32 MB of VRAM |
Sound (audio device) |
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Creative Labs SoundBlaster Live |
Notes
References