For the updated HD version, see Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter.
Warnings
- GameSpy online services have been shut down (see Network for solutions).
Key points
- Engine was made open source in 2016, it's licensed under GNU GPL v2.[1]
- Online functionality is restored on the Steam versions, for non-Steam versions use the Master Server Patch.
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 |
|
US: Basic disc check EU: CopyLok DRM |
|
|
GOG.com |
|
Includes soundtrack. |
|
|
Steam |
|
Renamed to Serious Sam Classic: The First Encounter. |
|
|
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 you want) then restart the game.
- If the game doesn't recognize your 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 resolution from 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. You can download the Steam executable here (click) and replace the original executable located in [game directory]/Bin instead of the method below to get access to widescreen resolutions in-game. Alternatively, download Steamify, extract the archive and copy the SeriousSam.exe from the Bin directory and overwrite the executable in the game's Bin directory.
This is what happens if you don't disable widescreen when setting a custom resolution in Serious Sam: The First Encounter.
Modify PersistentSymbols.ini [2][3]
|
- Launch the game at least once.
- Go to
<path-to-game>\Scripts\ .
- Open
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.
- 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
|
- Steam version has fixed widescreen FOV (and weapon FOV).
Use /plr_fFOV=XX in the in-game console (~), where XX is the desired horizontal FOV[4]
|
Modify PersistentSymbols.ini [2]
|
- Launch the game at least once.
- Go to
<path-to-game>\Scripts\ .
- Open
PersistentSymbols.ini .
- Locate the
persistent extern user FLOAT plr_fFOV=(FLOAT)XX; line.
- Change
XX to desired horizontal FOV.
- Save the changes and launch the game.
|
Input
In-game general control settings.
In-game key map settings.
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
|
|
Surround sound |
|
[5] |
Subtitles |
|
|
Closed captions |
|
|
Mute on focus lost |
|
|
EAX support |
|
EAX 2.0 reverb; no DirectSound3D support. |
Royalty free audio |
|
|
Localizations
Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
English |
|
|
|
|
Polish |
|
|
|
Retail release, download. |
Brazilian Portuguese |
|
|
|
Fan translation; download. |
Russian |
|
|
|
Retail release, download. |
Spanish |
|
|
|
A patch that adds the Spanish language can be found here. |
Network
Multiplayer types
Type |
Native |
Players |
Notes |
Local play |
|
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 |
|
Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit | ARM |
Notes |
Windows |
|
| |
|
macOS (OS X) | |
| |
[7] |
- Serious Engine: Ray Traced mod uses Vulkan 1.2; requires VK_KHR_ray_tracing_pipeline extension.
Middleware
|
Middleware |
Notes |
Audio |
DirectSound |
|
Multiplayer |
GameSpy |
|
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
| 32 MB of VRAM |
Notes
References