Final Fantasy XIII

Final Fantasy XIII

Developers
	Square Enix
Engines
	Crystal Tools
Release dates
Windows	October 9, 2014

Key points

Includes the "Easy" mode from Final Fantasy XIII Ultimate Hits International.

Unfavorable to the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions in areas. Has:

• poorly-encoded 720p cutscenes with artifacts
• pixelated, jagged shadows
• low audio volume
• no support for controller vibration

Inconsistent frame rate.

Display resolutions other than 1280×720 can cause missing text during enemy scans.

General information

Steam Community Discussions

Square Enix Forums - Final Fantasy XIII Discussion

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		XIII + XIII-2 double pack available in Europe
Amazon.com
Green Man Gaming
Humble Store
Publisher website		European store
Publisher website		North American store
Steam

All versions require Steam DRM.

Essential improvements

Remove unused cutscenes to free up space

Features dual audio English and Japanese for the ROW release. Removing the cutscene files for either language frees about 20 GB of space.

Verification and updating by Steam will redownload the files.

Remove English or Japanese cutscene files
Go to <path-to-game>/white_data/movie/ Arrange list by file size making biggest files to show up first. Ignore the 1KB files. To remove the Japanese cutscenes, delete the 18 files without the us prefix. To remove the English cutscenes, delete the 18 files with the us prefix.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\setup.xml
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/292120/pfx/

All in-game configurations are stored directly in the saved game data. Changes made while in the title screen are not preserved after loading a saved game.

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%LOCALAPPDATA%\SquareEnix\FinalFantasyXIII\save\
Steam	<Steam-folder>/userdata/<user-id>/292120/remote/
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/292120/pfx/

The Steam folder is used when Steam Cloud is enabled; otherwise, the Windows folder is used.

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Steam Cloud		Up to 100 save files (29.3 MB) can be synced.

Video settings

Launcher options in ROW version.

Anti-aliasing (AA)

Nvidia users can follow this guide at Guru3D for alternative hardware AA.

Follow the guide to modify AA settings if various issues arise, as the game needs very specific settings to function correctly with Nvidia cards.

Input settings

In-game options in ROW version.

Console button prompts

The game uses Xbox button prompts without differentiating colors.

This mod allows PlayStation and Xbox prompts.

Audio settings

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English				Worldwide (audio not available in Asia)
Traditional Chinese				Asia only
French				Not available in Asia
German				Not available in Asia
Italian				Not available in Asia
Japanese				Worldwide (UI and subtitles only available in Asia)
Korean				Asia only
Polish
Spanish				Not available in Asia

Issues unresolved

Inconsistent FPS

While there are several workarounds and fixes for inconsistent FPS (an issue not entirely unique to the PC port), for some this issue remains unresolved and may be due to issues within the game itself.

As the game was originally designed for the PlayStation 3's Cell processor, this port incorrectly processes all game logic on a single thread, making single-core responsiveness imperative.

Some theorize that the engine's resource management may be broken, leaving the CPU and GPU underutilized.

The game also uses a custom frame rate pacer that locks the frame rate to refresh rate intervals similarly to Vertical Sync, but much more aggressively. This leads to issues when locking at a lower frame rate than the 60 FPS cap, such as stuttering both in-game and during FMV playback. Manually locking the game at a lower frame rate through third party tools does not resolve these issues.

In the GPU and Power control panels set the power management mode to maximum performance[citation needed]

Enable Triple Buffering for Vsync in the GPU control panel[citation needed]

Turn off "adaptive" Vsync in the GPU control panel[citation needed]

Turn off the mini-map in-game[citation needed]
The mini-map can drop the frame rate up to 10-20FPS, depending on the scenes. The mini-map can be toggled off in-game.

Turn off AA (even FXAA) in the GPU control panel[citation needed]
This may change 30FPS into 60FPS. However, this may result in abnormal eyelashes and hair.

Use a controller instead of the mouse/keyboard, or fake using one

Some users have reported that using a controller instead of mouse/keyboard increases FPS and prevents stuttering. If you don't have a controller, vJoy is an alternative. This may be because the game is searching for an input device and timing out, causing the stutter. It fires the event every one second. In addition, the following steps may help, possibly needed every launch: Unplug controller Launch the game Exit the game Plug in the controller Launch and play the game

Disable hyperthreading on Intel processors
Somewhat extreme.[citation needed]

Disable all occurrences of "HID-Compliant Device" in the Device Manager
Helps for some, but is somewhat extreme and can make your OS unbootable.

Try closing web browsers (such as Google Chrome)[citation needed]
This solved a stuttering issue in one particular instance.

Install OneTweakNG
This can eliminate stuttering at 60FPS and increase performance potentially

Enable Half Refresh Rate Vsync in the GPU control panel
This can eliminate stuttering by locking frame rate to the game engine's original 30 FPS.

Shadows appear pixelated and jagged

Example of pixelated and jagged shadows.

Shadows are inferior to the console versions, appearing pixelated and jagged.

Increase the shadow resolution in the launcher[citation needed]
Though this may help in alleviating the problem, it does not fix it completely. Extremely high shadow resolutions may prove taxing for lower-end hardware.

Increase the shadow resolution via GeDoSaTo[citation needed]
In the GeDoSaTo .ini file mentioned under missing enemy text there is an option for shadowScale. Set this value to 8 or 12.

Controller vibration doesn't work

The game lacks the controller vibration support found in the console versions entirely.

Audio volume is low

The game has a low volume level that is about half as loud as a typical game, and there are no in-game volume options. The only thing a player can do is crank up their speaker volume.

Crashes when loading a new area

The game can crash when loading a new area. This can be fixed with going into windowed mode, or borderless windowed mode.

2560x1440 resolution is broken

This, and only this resolution breaks the game, making it look more pixelated than it should..

Use DSR
If you have a NVIDIA card, a workaround is to enable literally any DSR factor above native resolution and set the game to that resolution. 2560x1440 is the only broken resolution, all other resolutions work fine.

Use GeDoSaTo
This is the ideal solution as it also fixes the problem with the missing text during enemy scans.

Issues fixed

Launcher doesn't launch

Bypass the launcher and run the program directly

Run <path-to-game>\white_data\prog\win\bin\ffxiiiimg.exe with the desired command line arguments: -width=1920 and -height=1080 control the width and height of the display resolution. -shadow=512 controls the shadow resolution (512, 1024, 2048, 4096, or 8192). -msaa=4 controls the MSAA amount (2, 4, 8, or 16). -fullscreen or -fullscreen force runs in full screen mode. -fullscreen=window-mode forces windowed mode. -voicejpmode runs the game with Japanese audio. Without this the game has English audio.

Could not secure sufficient VRAM

This issue occurs when launching the game due to the inability to allocate the required VRAM.

Check if you meet the system requirements through Steam. It can be done directly by entering steam://checksysreqs/292120 in a web browser. There are additional checks such as Can You RUN it available.

Run "dxdiag.exe" and ensure at least 256 MB is shown under "Approx. Total Memory" under the "Display" tab.

Close other applications and services using VRAM[citation needed]

Assign more RAM to the GPU
This is a method for just one particular setup. Other setups may vary. Restart and enter the BIOS configuration when starting up, typically by pressing one of the F1-F12 or DEL keys. Under "Peripherals" then "GFX Configs" ensure the "Graphic Interface" is set to "Force". An option to assign RAM should appear. Select the a sufficient higher value from the list such as 2 GB.

Abnormal eyelashes and hair

When antialiasing is completely disabled through system drivers or external programs, features such as eyelashes and hair display abnormally.

MSAA is required for proper alpha-to-coverage on hair and eyelashes.

In the Nvidia Control Panel ensure "Antialiasing - Mode" is not set to "Off" in "Manage 3D settings"[citation needed]

In the AMD Catalyst Control Panel ensure "Anti-Aliasing Samples" is not set to "None" in "3D Application Settings"[citation needed]

Macroblock-like hair artifacts

This fix is for Nvidia users with GeForce 400 series (Fermi architecture) or higher and occurs only when using MSAA (on by default).

Follow the Nvidia anti-aliasing guide under the section "anti-aliasing" to create or modify an Nvidia Profile Inspector profile for "ffxiiiimg.exe" and set "Antialiasing fix" to "On" under "Compatibility"

Continuous cursor cycling in menus

Symptoms of this issue include continuous cursor cycling through menu entries as if the user was pressing a directional button.

Disable offending HIDs in Device Manager
Go into Device Manager and start disabling your Human Interface Devices (HIDs) one by one until you find which one is causing the issue. It's been reported that redundant HID-compliant gaming controllers are usually the issue, often created by third party accessories such as DolphinBar.

Missing text during enemy scans

Display resolutions other than 1280×720 can cause missing text during enemy scans, such as whether an enemy is vulnerable to specific status effects et al.

Change the display resolution to 1280×720 in the launcher[citation needed]

Use Generic Downsampling Tool (GeDoSaTo)[citation needed]

Using GeDoSaTo you can leave the launcher option at 1280x720 and manually upscale to your monitor's native resolution. Try following Bad Wolfx's fix guide using the GeDoSaTo .ini file. Be sure to adjust settings to match your resolution and system spec (if you have a more powerful computer than the guide author for example). The following lines will probably be necessary if you choose to create a GeDoSaTo user file specific to FFXIII, instead of simply replacing GeDoSaTo.ini as the guide recommends. ## Downsample Resolution presentWidth 2560 presentHeight 1440 presentHz 144 Change to your monitor's native resolution and refresh rate as needed. Here is an explanation of GeDoSaTo user files if you're not familiar with GeDoSaTo. Note: This fix may not work if you also try to force exclusive fullscreen mode.

Crashes when saving

The game can crash when saving with Steam Cloud synchronization active. This can also result in corrupted save files.

Disable Steam Cloud synchronization for the game[citation needed]
Right-click the game in your Steam library and select "Properties". Uncheck/deselect "Enable Steam Cloud synchronization for FINAL FANTASY XIII" under "Steam Cloud" in the "Updates" tab. You'll have to copy your saved data from Steam Cloud to %LOCALAPPDATA%\SquareEnix\FinalFantasyXIII\save\.

Mouse cursor appears

The mouse cursor may appear on program launch and will not disappear.

Switch to another application and back to the game
Notes Must be done every time this happens. Typically this is done by pressing Alt+Tab ↹ to switch between applications.

Force exclusive full screen

Force exclusive full screen mode using a registry hack (Windows 8+ only)

Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Direct3D\Shims\MaximizedWindowedMode. If an entry for the game's path exists, delete it or set it to 0. Right-click the MaximizedWindowedMode key, select Permissions..., and under Group or user names: click Add.... Enter Everyone, and then under Permissions for Everyone click the checkbox under Deny for Full Control. Notes With exclusive full screen enabled some GUI elements are disabled, in this case the confirmation message box when quitting the game by pressing Esc. If pressed the game will pause, and you can press ↵ Enter to quit or Esc or cancel and go back to the game. This is a global shared key and doing this denies access to all applications and may cause issues with other applications.

Xbox One Controller bug in menus

Use Final Fantasy XIII Fixer
Run the utility before and alongside the game each time you play.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Cutscenes	Bink Video

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	XP SP2	Vista, 7, 8
Processor (CPU)	2 GHz dual core	Intel Core 2 Quad (2.66 GHz) AMD Phenom II X4 (2.8 GHz)
System memory (RAM)	1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	60 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 8 Series ATI Radeon HD 2000 series 256 MB of VRAM	Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 AMD Radeon HD 5870
Sound (audio device)	DirectX 9.0c compatible	DirectX 11 compatible
Other		XInput controller (map DirectInput controllers using drivers)