Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit


⤏ Go to series page
The Need for Speed	1994
Need for Speed II	1997
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (series)
Need for Speed: High Stakes	1999
Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed	2000
Need for Speed: Underground (series)
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (series)
Need for Speed: Carbon	2006
Need for Speed: ProStreet	2007
Need for Speed: Undercover	2008
Need for Speed: Shift (series)
Need for Speed: World	2010
Need for Speed: The Run	2011
Need for Speed Rivals	2013
Need for Speed (2016)	2016
Need for Speed Payback	2017
Need for Speed: Edge	2017
Need for Speed Heat	2019
Need for Speed Unbound	2022

For the original game from 1998, see Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit.

Key points

No DLCs for the PC version. DLC content can still be accessed by modding the game, see How to get DLC events and DLC cars.

General information

Need for Speed Wiki

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		TAGES Solidshield DRM.
Amazon.com
Origin
Steam

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Lamborghini Untamed Pack	Never officially released on PC; ported by modders (see How to get DLC events and DLC cars).
Porsche Unleashed Pack	Never officially released on PC; ported by modders (see How to get DLC events and DLC cars).
Super Sports Pack	Never officially released on PC; ported by modders (see How to get DLC events and DLC cars).

Essential improvements

Patches

Patch 1.0.5.0 (NFSHP_1000_to_1050.exe) is the last patch for the game. It is only required for retail version of the game. Digital versions are already patched. Changelog.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Criterion Games\Need for Speed(TM) Hot Pursuit\Save\config.NFS11Save %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Criterion Games\Need for Speed(TM) Hot Pursuit\Save\Default\controls.NFS11Save
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/47870/pfx/^{[Note 1]}

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Criterion Games\Need for Speed(TM) Hot Pursuit\Save\Default\
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/47870/pfx/^{[Note 1]}

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Origin
OneDrive		Requires enabling backup of the Documents* folder in OneDrive on all computers.*
Steam Cloud

Video settings

Video settings.

Template:Video settings

Windowed

Force windowed^{[citation needed]}
Download and run DxWnd. Click on Edit, then Add. Set the name and executable path. Set the window position and size. Set Desktop for borderless fullscreen windowed. Click OK, then File and Save.

Input settings

Controller and Keyboard bindings.

Template:Input settings

Audio settings

Audio settings.

Template:Audio settings

To improve sound quality copy DSOAL + HRTF into the game dir to greater enhance car engine volume (also no HRTF ini attached). Make sure you have stereo set in audio options for 2.0 configurations.

Alternatively use IndirectSound (no HRTF) and .ini. Too low player car engine audio volume was also fixed in v 1.0.2.0 in some extend. In dsoal the changes are even pushed forward. Now you may like to lower SFX volume to hear the music louder. The game sound mix is bad.

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Players	Notes
Local play
LAN play
Online play	8	Versus Features three game modes: Hot Pursuit (team based, semi-co-op racers vs. cops race), Interceptor (racer vs. cop head-to-head battle), and Race (classic race).

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

Issues fixed

Stuttering

By default, the game places its processing load on the first CPU core only, which causes occasional framerate dips on some systems. To fix this, you must change the affinity of the NFS11.exe process to exclude CPU 0; after doing this, it places its load equally across the remaining cores.

Fix for occasional stuttering on modern systems^[1]

Enter the Task Manager via Ctrl+Alt+Delete.
Move to the 'Details' tab.
Right-click on the 'NFS11.exe' process and click on 'set affinity'.
All of the cores will be activated by default. Left-click the 'CPU 0' entry and its tickbox should clear.
This process will need to be repeated upon every launch of the game.

For 1+2+3 cores/threads setting on launch you can create .bat with such line, and place it in game dir:

Start /affinity E nfs11.exe "E" is a hex value. To set it manually, just add corresponding "Associated value(s) (n)" from here and convert it to hex value (third option here)

"Some issues with CPU performance" were fixed in 1.0.2.0 version (though this core change fix is still needed)

In 1.0.1.0 patch was introduced: rain, snow, corona effects (can state some performance overlay)

Run the game at screen refresh rate

Fullscreen mode defaults to 60 Hz, even if the screen refresh rate is set higher than that.

Set screen refresh rate^{[citation needed]}
Install Special K by following the Special K Unofficial Guide. Start the game once and close it to allow the configuration file of Special K to be created. Open `<path-to-game>\d3d9.ini` or `%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Mods\SpecialK\Profiles\NFS11.exe\SpecialK.ini` depending on the installation method you used. Change `RefreshRate=-1` to `RefreshRate=0` under `[Render.FrameRate]`.

Controls settings not being saved

Edit controls file

Open in notepad %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Criterion Games\Need for Speed(TM) Hot Pursuit\Save\Default\controls.NFS11Save and edit name "KEYBOARD" or however it's called in your language to "KEYBOARD" in english, or in reverse, depends on you game language, and what was your previous save language. Alternatively you can delete it.

Possibly one of the patches fixes it.

Partial no intro fix

Download the file
Movie and irritating sound of intro won't play. It will show black screen for some time. You can switch task immediately after the game launch - till the blank intro screens end.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Mods

How to get DLC events and DLC cars

The Events DLC can cause bugs and crashes at some points, while the Cars DLC should be safe. This method does not provide access to events and cars DLCs at the same time.

Follow this guide: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit PC - How to get DLC events and DLC cars.

5 Hardest trials hints

link

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	XP SP3	Vista SP2, 7
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+	Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz AMD Phenom II X3 720
System memory (RAM)	1 GB	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	8.3 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 7800 ATI Radeon X1900 256 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0c compatible Shader model 3.0 or Higher support	Nvidia GeForce 9800 ATI Radeon HD 4850 1 GB of VRAM
Sound (audio device)	DirectX 9.0 compatible
Other	512Kb/s or Faster Broadband connection for Activation and Online Play

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1
Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
- File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
- Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
- The app ID (47870) may differ in some cases.
- Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
- See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

References

↑ Steam Community :: Guide :: Reduce Stuttering Tweaking CPU Cores & Hyper-Threading

[Proton_path_note-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
The app ID (47870) may differ in some cases.
Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

[2] File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.

[3] Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.

[4] The app ID (47870) may differ in some cases.

[5] Treat backslashes as forward slashes.

[6] See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

[2] Steam Community :: Guide :: Reduce Stuttering Tweaking CPU Cores & Hyper-Threading

[Note 1]

[1]

Developers

	Criterion Games
	DICE
Publishers
	Electronic Arts
Engines
	Chameleon
Release dates
Windows	November 16, 2010