Anonymous edits have been disabled on the wiki. If you want to contribute please login or create an account.

Alien: Isolation

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Alien: Isolation
Alien: Isolation cover
Developers
Creative Assembly
macOS (OS X) Feral Interactive
Linux Feral Interactive
Microsoft Store Lab42
GOG.com General Arcade[1]
Publishers
Sega
OS X, Linux Feral Interactive
Russia 1C-SoftClub
Engines
Cathode
Release dates
Windows October 7, 2014
macOS (OS X) October 27, 2015[2]
Linux October 27, 2015[2]
Reception
Metacritic 81
OpenCritic 81
IGDB 86
Taxonomy
Monetization One-time game purchase, DLC
Modes Singleplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives First-person
Controls Direct control
Genres Survival horror, Stealth, Action, Shooter
Art styles Realistic
Themes Sci-fi, Space
Series Alien
Alien: Isolation on HowLongToBeat
Alien: Isolation on IGDB
Alien: Isolation guide on StrategyWiki
Alien: Isolation on MobyGames
Alien: Isolation on Wikipedia
Alien
Aliens: A Comic Book Adventure 1995
Alien Trilogy 1996
Aliens Online 1998
Aliens versus Predator (series)
Aliens: Colonial Marines 2013
Alien: Isolation 2014
Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2021
Aliens: Dark Descent 2023

Key points

Supports Oculus Rift.
The PC version lacks a voice detection feature from the console versions where the player must maintain the microphone's noise level during the game.
The anti-aliasing that ships with the game is rather poor but can be improved.[3] See Anti-aliasing (AA).

Alien: Isolation is a singleplayer first-person survival horror, stealth, action and shooter game in the Alien series.

General information

GOG.com Community Discussions
GOG.com Support Page
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Icon overlay.png
2 DVDs. Nostromo (includes Crew Expendable DLC) and Ripley (includes Crew Expendable and Last Survivor DLC) editions also available.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Epic Games Store
Epic Games Launcher
DLCs don't work without the epic launcher running. The main game works without the launcher when the executable is run with the
-EpicPortal command line argument, but it's not possible to load a save from main menu. However, it's possible to load the previous save and mission saves after starting a new campaign.[4]
Windows
Gamesplanet logo.svg
Icon overlay.png
The Collection also available.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
GOG.com
DRM-free
The Collection also available.
Windows
Humble Store
Icon overlay.png
The Collection also available.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Mac App Store
Icon overlay.png
The Collection.
macOS (OS X)
Microsoft Store
Microsoft Store
Windows
Steam
Icon overlay.png
The Collection also available.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Amazon.com (unavailable)
Icon overlay.png
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
All Linux versions require Steam DRM.

Monetization

DLC and expansion packs

Name Notes
Season Pass
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Corporate Lockdown Part of Season Pass and The Collection.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Crew Expendable Part of The Collection.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Last Survivor Part of The Collection.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Lost Contact Part of Season Pass and The Collection.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Safe Haven Part of Season Pass and The Collection.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Trauma Part of Season Pass and The Collection.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
The Trigger Part of Season Pass and The Collection.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Delete/rename video files[citation needed]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\DATA\UI\MOVIES\ (Linux: <path-to-game>/share/data/ui/movies)
  2. Delete or rename AMD_IDENT.USM, CA_IDENT.USM and FOX_IDENT.USM (Linux: loading_ident.webm, ca_feral_ident.webm and fox_ident.webm)

Skip save confirmation dialog

Use ThirteenAG's mod[5]
  1. Download Save confirmation dialog skipper for Alien: Isolation.
  2. Unpack winmm.dll and AlienIsolation.SkipSaveConfirmationDialog.asi to the installation folder.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Steam <Steam-folder>\userdata\<user-id>\214490\local
GOG.com %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Alien Isolation\
Microsoft Store
Epic Games Launcher %LOCALAPPDATA%\The Creative Assembly\Alien Isolation\
macOS (OS X)
Linux $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/feral-interactive/AlienIsolation
This game follows the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.

Save game data location

System Location
Steam <Steam-folder>\userdata\<user-id>\214490\remote
GOG.com %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Alien Isolation\
Microsoft Store
Epic Games Launcher %LOCALAPPDATA%\The Creative Assembly\Alien Isolation\
macOS (OS X)
Linux $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/feral-interactive/AlienIsolation/Steam Saves (<user-id>)
Game supports 2 manual save files and will create an automatic permanent checkpoint save at the beginning of each chapter.
Loading a chapter save will automatically overwrite your manual save file.
On Linux the "Steam Saves" directory is a symlink into $HOME/.steam/debian-installation/userdata/<user-id>/214490/remote

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
Epic Games Launcher
GOG Galaxy
OneDrive
Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.
Steam Cloud
Save-file and key bindings.
Xbox Cloud

Video

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

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor
Use Flawless Widescreen to center the HUD.
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Up to 16x, but doesn't cover all textures; it is recommended to prefer driver-level AF.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
FXAA, SMAA T1X, SMAA T2X (unavailable in SLI/Crossfire). See Anti-aliasing (AA).
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS and 120+ FPS
Cutscenes are pre-rendered at 30fps.
Audio during death scenes may be silent when the frame rate is over 100.
High dynamic range display (HDR)
Supports 10-bit output via Deep Color option. Does not support HDR natively. Hackable via Special K.

Field of view (FOV)

Slider ranges from 47-75° vertical, with the higher FOV on the left side of the slider.
Slider is using vertical FOV. See FOV Calculator for help.
Slider can be customized to have different selectable values. See Menu Customization.
FOV higher than 55° makes the player character's legs and feet disappear.
FOV is locked at 47° during real-time rendered cinematics and when using terminals.

Anti-aliasing (AA)

The built-in anti-aliasing methods don't clean up aliasing and shimmering on high-contrast edges well enough, thus it might be preferable to use TAA instead.
Updated Fork of Alias Isolation with performance fix[6]
  1. Download and extract Alias Isolation to <path-to-game>.
  2. Download and extract Ultimate ASI Loader to <path-to-game>.
  3. Apply the following in-game video settings
    1. Anti-aliasing must be set to SMAA T1x.
    2. Chromatic Aberration must be disabled.
    3. Motion blur must be enabled.

Notes

This version does not currently support the Cinematic Tools mod.
In case of weird light flickering/shadows behaviour, use version 1.1.1 of RyanJGray's fork instead of v1.1.2.
If using Proton, add WINEDLLOVERRIDES="d3d11=n,b" command line argument in the game properties.
Temporal AA injector fix[7]

Instructions for the Steam version of the game:

  1. Download and extract Alias Isolation to <path-to-game>.
  2. aliasIsolationInjectorGui.exe can then be launched with or without Steam present in the background, though it might not work for some users; Running aliasIsolationInjector.exe or aliasIsolationInjectorGui.exe instead before launching Steam works as an alternative.
  3. Apply the following in-game video settings
    1. Anti-aliasing must be set to SMAA T1x.
    2. Chromatic Aberration must be disabled.
    3. Motion blur must be enabled.

Notes

Alias Isolation's official GitHub says the following: "If the game is a Steam copy, first exit Steam before running the injector."
Alias Isolation will provide better performance than using downsampling methods such as NVIDIA's DSR.
Alias Isolation can be launched directly from within Steam. To do that, add the "<path-to-game>\aliasIsolationInjector.exe" "<path-to-game>" %command% command line argument in the game properties.
Alias Isolation also includes a modified version of the Cinematic Tools mod, which allows for camera and post-processing control, time freezing, and a few other extras.[8]

Input

Keyboard and mouse State Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse smoothing, cannot be disabled in options (alternate opinion: mouse actually seems to have two independent mouse speeds unrelated to acceleration with a speed threshold, similar to a joystick dead zone).
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support
Controller remapping
4 Presets (2 'left handed')
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion
Controller types
XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration
PlayStation controllers
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Tracked motion controllers
Use MotherVR Mod.
Button/gesture prompts
Generic/other controllers
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Additional information
Button prompts
For DualShock use the Playstation UI Mod
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Audio

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

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound
Up to 7.1 output.[9]
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
See Mute on focus lost.
Royalty free audio

Mute on focus lost

Set mute in background[citation needed]
  1. Download Special K.
  2. Copy SpecialK32.dll to the installation folder.
  3. Rename SpecialK32.dll to dxgi.dll.
  4. Run the game and exit.
  5. Edit dxgi.ini in the installation folder.
  6. Change MuteInBackground=false to MuteInBackground=true under [Window.System].

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Czech
French
German
Hungarian
Fan translation. Available to download.
It substitutes the english localization.
Italian
Polish
Brazilian Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Ukrainian
Fan translation. Available to download.
It substitutes the english localization.

VR support

Issues fixed

Missing sound-effects (High FPS Issues)

When frame-rates are high, there are issues playing audio sound effects during the following (known) scenarios:
  1. "Alien kills Ripley" death scenes.
  2. "Working Joe kills Ripley" death scenes
  3. "Ripley struggles against Working Joe" combat scenes
Cap FPS with RTSS[10]
  1. Download and install MSI Afterburner with RivaTuner.
  2. In RivaTuner, create a new profile for (AI.exe).
  3. Limit frame rate to 105FPS and enable Custom Direct3D Support for (AI.exe) in RivaTuner.

Notes

It is possible that there are other, higher frame rates than 105FPS that also fix the issue, but this is unexplored. If limiting to 105 FPS doesn't work, try lowering it to 100FPS.
Enable V-sync in Graphics Options and set refresh rate to 60Hz[citation needed]

Game shows "Disk access" error while loading

Run game (AI.exe) as administrator
Give full permissions to your user on installation folder[citation needed]

Brightness issues

When using a flamethrower or plasma cutter, there is a chance that the whole screen will become excessively bright and blurry. The issue is likely connected with the trainer for the game.
Change anti-aliasing setting in game options[citation needed]
Turn off any trainers[citation needed]

Crashing every 15 minutes on Windows 10

Game plays normally but crashes every 10 to 15 minutes on Windows 10. This issue is caused by a touch screen keyboard service.
Disable touch screen keyboard service[11][12]
  1. Open Task Manager.
  2. Go to Services.
  3. Identify TabletInputService (Touch Keyboard and Handwriting Panel Service).
  4. Stop the service

Notes

Disabling this service won't disable your touchscreen, but may disable the use of your touchscreen's keyboard.
The actual executables associated with this service is usually TabTip.exe or TabTip32.exe

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 11
OpenGL
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux

Disabling lens flare

Disable lens flare[citation needed]
  1. Go to the DATA folder of the game.
  2. Delete or rename the LENS_FLARE*.bin files.

Menu customization

By editing engine_settings.xml, in-game video options are easy to modify, and changes will be reflected in the game's menu as well.
Editing engine_settings.xml file
A specific setting line in the file consists of:
  1. <Quality , followed by the name= which is reflected as the setting name you see in-game (i.e. HDAO).
  2. Next is the actual value, which can be a int, bool, or float.
  3. The line content then ends with a precedence= which determines the order of the Quality items. A higher number means the item is more on the right. So precedence=2 will be the next item after precedence=1.
With this knowledge the FOV slider can be customized to show horizontal FOV values instead of the default vertical ones. Furthermore, we can cut off all values that don't show the main character's body anymore:
Customizing FOV slider[13]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\DATA\
  2. Open engine_settings.xml.
  3. Locate the Field Of View setting. The node starts with <Setting name="Field Of View"> and ends with </Setting>
  4. Now customize the lines in between. For example, remove every of those lines and insert <Quality name="75" float="47.0" precedence="1"/>, <Quality name="80" float="51.0" precedence="2"/> and <Quality name="85" float="55.0" precedence="3"/>.
  5. Save changes.
The FOV slider now has three possible settings: A horizontal FOV of 75, 80 or 85.

Increased planar reflections

It is possible to greatly increase planar reflections (floor reflections).
Planar Reflections Tweak[13]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\DATA\
  2. Open engine_settings.xml.
  3. Search for "Planar"
  4. Locate line <Quality name="On" int="3" precedence="2"/> and change it to <Quality name="On" int="6" precedence="2"/>.
  5. Save changes.

or, to preserve the vanilla setting as an in-game option to quickly change between vanilla and increased reflections

  1. Go to <path-to-game>\DATA\
  2. Open engine_settings.xml.
  3. Beneath line <Quality name="On" int="3" precedence="2"/> add line <Quality name="Increased" int="6" precedence="3"/>.
  4. Save changes.

Notes

This change of visuals is highly dependable on personal taste. Refer to the original guide for screenshots that show the enhanced "shininess" of the floor.

Increased shadow map resolution

2K Shadow Maps (Vanilla)
2K Shadow Maps (Vanilla)
4K Shadow Maps with flickering
4K Shadow Maps with flickering
In-game settings allow for a maximum shadow map resolution of 2048. It is possible to change the settings and increase the value.
Shadow map resolution tweak[13]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\DATA\
  2. Open engine_settings.xml.
  3. Locate line <Quality name="2048" int="2048" precedence="4"> which represents the maximum vanilla shadow map resolution.
  4. Change line to <Quality name="4096" int="4096" precedence="4">
  5. Save changes.

Notes

4096 is not the max value. However, there are almost no noticeable differences above this value.[14]
Increasing shadow map resolution introduces shadow flickering in some areas.

Increased level of detail (pop-in distance)

Default Level of Detail setting even on Ultra results in excessive object pop-in which can be rectified.
LOD Tweak[15]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\DATA\
  2. Open engine_settings.xml.
  3. Under the section marked "<Setting name="Level of Detail">", Locate the line <Quality name="Ultra" float="1.0" precedence="4"/> and change to <Quality name="Ultra" float="6.0" precedence="4"/>
  4. Save changes.

SLI Fix

Default SLI compatibility bits do not scale properly in certain areas. Use alternative bits to improve performance at expense of some minor UI & light shaft flicker in places.
SLI Compatibility Bits Modification[16]
  1. Open the game profile via Nvidia Profile Inspector.
  2. Change SLI compatibility bits (DX1x) to 0x0C0080F5
  3. Apply changes.

Notes

Light shaft flicker when using this fix appears to be itself fixable by increasing shadow map resolution to 4096. See Increased Shadow Map Resolution.

DualShock 4 button prompts

Replaces the default button prompts with PlayStation/DualShock 4 button prompts.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 7 (32-bit)
Processor (CPU) Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16 GHz
AMD Phenom II X3 710 2.6 GHz
System memory (RAM) 4 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 35 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce GT 430
AMD Radeon HD 5550
1 GB of VRAM
DirectX 11 compatible
The minimum requirements are quoted for all settings on "Low" at 800x600 at 30fps. The recommended ones - for all settings on "High" at 1920x1080 at 60fps.[17]
macOS (OS X)
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 10.10.4
Processor (CPU) Intel 2.0 GHz
System memory (RAM) 4 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 35 GB
Video card (GPU) 1 GB of VRAM
The following graphics cards are not supported: AMD Radeon HD 4xxx series, ATI Radeon X1xxx series, ATI Radeon HD2xxx series, Intel Iris 5100, Intel HD5000, Intel Iris 6100, Intel HD6000, Intel HD5300, Intel GMA series, Intel HD3000, Intel HD4000, Nvidia 1xx series, Nvidia 9xxx series, Nvidia 8xxx series, Nvidia 7xxx series and Nvidia 3xx series.
Linux
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) Ubuntu 14.04.3 64-bit, SteamOS
Processor (CPU) Intel 2.0 GHz
System memory (RAM) 4 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 35 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce 600 series
1 GB of VRAM
Requires an Nvidia GeForce 600 series graphics card or better running driver version 355.11 or better.
Intel and AMD GPUs are not officially supported.


References