Batman: Arkham Asylum

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Batman: Arkham Asylum
Batman: Arkham Asylum cover
Developers
Rocksteady Studios
macOS (OS X) Feral Interactive
Publishers
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Prior to 2010 Eidos Interactive
OS X Feral Interactive
Engines
Unreal Engine 3
Release dates
Windows September 15, 2009
macOS (OS X) November 19, 2011
 
 
 
Batman: Arkham Asylum guide on StrategyWiki
Batman: Arkham Asylum on Wikipedia

Warnings

For Games for Windows - LIVE on Windows 8 or later, install the latest Games for Windows - LIVE software.
Batman: Arkham
Subseries of Batman
Batman: Arkham Asylum 2009
Batman: Arkham City 2011
Batman: Arkham Origins 2013
Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate 2014
Batman: Arkham Knight 2015
Batman: Arkham VR 2017

Key points

Play as the Joker and Prey in the Darkness DLCs have been ported to the OS X GOTY version.[1] The Windows version still requires manually downloading the files and patching the game's executable.

General information

Developer minisite
Arkham Wiki
Batman Wiki
Steam Community Discussions
Square Enix Batman: Arkham Asylum Forums

Availability[edit]

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
Requires online activation
Icon overlay.png
 SecuROM 7 and SecuROM PA DRM.
Icon overlay.png
Windows
GamersGate
Icon overlay.png
 Game of the Year Edition.
Windows
Gamesplanet
Icon overlay.png
 Game of the Year Edition.
Windows
Green Man Gaming
Icon overlay.png
 Game of the Year Edition.
Windows
Humble Store
Icon overlay.png
 Game of the Year Edition.
Windows
Origin
Icon overlay.png
 Game of the Year Edition. Included with Origin Access Basic.
Windows
Steam
Icon overlay.png
 Game of the Year Edition.
Windows
A demo is available here
All non-Steam Windows versions require Games for Windows - LIVE DRM.[Note 1][2]
The Mac OS X version is no longer sold digitally.
The non-GOTY version upgrades to GOTY when activated on Steam.[2]

Essential improvements[edit]

Skip intro videos[edit]

BIK Method
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\BmGame\Movies\
  2. Delete or rename baa_logo_run_v5_h264.bik

Notes

Deleting or renaming the file in step 2 should be enough. If not, then proceed to delete or rename: Legal.bik, Legalus.bik, nvidia.bik and utlogo.bik in the same folder.
INI Method
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\BmGame\Config\
  2. Open DefaultEngine.ini
  3. Find StartupMovies and replace with ;StartupMovies

HD Texture Pack[edit]

Updates many low resolution textures
Texture pack can take a while to load

Game data[edit]

In-game general settings.
In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location[edit]

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Square Enix\Batman Arkham Asylum GOTY\BmGame\Config\
macOS (OS X)
Linux (Proton) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/35140/pfx/[Note 2]

Save game data location[edit]

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Square Enix\Batman Arkham Asylum GOTY\SaveData\
macOS (OS X) ~/Library/Application Support/Feral Interactive/Batman Arkham City GOTY/Save Data/
Steam <Steam-folder>/userdata/<user-id>/35140/remote/
Linux (Proton) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/35140/pfx/[Note 2]
The save subfolder is named with a long string of letters and numbers.
For non-goty version, path for both configuration files and save data start with %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Eidos\Batman Arkham Asylum\ instead.

GFWL save files compatible with Steamworks version[edit]

Save before editing
Save before editing
Modified save
Modified save
Prepare to replace saves[citation needed]
  1. Start the game
  2. Accordingly to the name of your GFWL saves, make sure the corresponding slot is also occupied in-game
  3. Close game and Steam
  4. Delete <Steam-folder>\userdata\<user-id>\35140\remotecache.vdf
Use GFWL-stripper[citation needed]
Remove old GFWL file header[3]
  1. Go to GFWL save game data location.
  2. Open your desired save#.sgd with a hex editor such as HxD.
  3. Search for the first hex 00 00 01 instance not located in the initial part of the file where all values start with 0
  4. Delete everything before this.
  5. Save files over the corresponding ones in <Steam-folder>\userdata\<user-id>\35140\remote\

Save game cloud syncing[edit]

System Native Notes
Origin
1 GB available.
Steam Cloud
Approx. 954 MB available.

Video settings[edit]

External video settings.
External video settings.
Video settings can only be changed in the launcher
Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
 
Multi-monitor
 
 Check here if you have broken cutscene
Ultra-widescreen
 
4K Ultra HD
 
Field of view (FOV)
See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed
In launcher, click settings. Doesn't properly capture mouse, may click background windows by accident.
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Use Borderless Gaming 9.3 or higher.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
See Anisotropic filtering (AF).
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Up to 16xQ MSAA.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
Set via launcher.
60 FPS
120+ FPS
See High frame rate.

Field of view (FOV)[edit]

Default field of view is somewhere between 86 and 86.5.
Edit BMInput.ini[4]
  1. Go to the configuration files location.
  2. Open BmInput.ini
  3. Add the line Bindings=(Name="xx",Command="fov yy") in the [Engine.PlayerInput] section.
  4. Save the file

Notes

xx is the button/key you want to assign to switch to the new FOV, while yy is the FOV value

Anisotropic filtering (AF)[edit]

Anisotropic filtering (AF)[citation needed]
The game defaults to 4x Anisotropic Filtering. Use the graphics driver control panel or the game's ini file to force 16x Anisotropic Filtering.
  1. Go to the configuration files location.
  2. Open BmEngine.ini.
  3. Under the [SystemSettings] section, add line MaxAnisotropy=16.
  4. Save file and make it "read only".

Ambient Occlusion[edit]

The game's default SSAO implementation of Ambient Occlusion is very poor and results in a shimmering effect on the shadows, as shown in this video.
Force HBAO+ through the Nvidia Profile Inspector[5]
Disable the game's included Ambient Occlusion and force HBAO+ through the inspector instead.
  1. Go to the configuration files location.
  2. Open BmEngine.ini.
  3. Under the [SystemSettings] section, find the AmbientOcclusion parameter and set it to False.
  4. Save file and make it "read only".
  5. Download and run Nvidia Profile Inspector.
  6. Select the Batman: Arkham Asylum profile, and make sure the game's exe file is included. If it's not, add it to the profile with the "Add application to current profile" button.
  7. In the Compatibility section set the Ambient Occlusion compatibility value to 0x00000024.
  8. In the Common section set the Ambient Occlusion setting value to High quality, and set the Ambient Occlusion usage value to Enabled.
  9. Click the Apply Changes button at the top of the window.

High frame rate[edit]

Raise frame rate smoothing[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open BMEngine.ini.
  3. Search MaxSmoothedFrameRate. Best value should be your monitor refresh rate +2 so e.g. with 144hz monitor value should be 146. Change configs value to this. There may be multiple instances so change them all.
  4. Save file and make it "read only".
For more information, see the Unreal Engine 3 page.

In addition to the above if that does not work:

  1. Open BMEngine.ini (make sure the file is not read-only again so that it can be re-saved)
  2. Search for MinAllowableRefreshRate and MaxAllowableRefreshRate and change both values to your monitor's refresh rate, for example 144
  3. Save file and make it "read only".
For more information, see the Unreal Engine 3 page.

Input settings[edit]

External movement commands key map settings.
External movement commands key map settings.
External action commands key map settings.
External action commands key map settings.
The gamepad layout for Batman: Arkham Asylum
The gamepad layout for Batman: Arkham Asylum
Keyboard and mouse State Notes
Remapping
Remappable in the launcher
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
See Mouse sensitivity.
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
XInput supported, DirectInput has some mapping issues.
Full controller support
Controller remapping
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion
Controller types
XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration
DualShock 4 controllers
Tracked motion controllers
Supports the Razer Hydra.[citation needed]
Button/gesture prompts
Generic/other controllers
DirectInput has some mapping issues.
Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Mouse sensitivity[edit]

Change Mouse sensitivity[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration files location.
  2. Open BmInput.ini.
  3. Change the value of MouseSensitivity to your desired value and save it (overwrite).
  4. Right click BmInput.ini go to Properties and set the file to Read-only.

Notes

The game will overwrite your sensitivity values when launched, unless the file is set to read-only.

Disable Mouse Smoothing[edit]

Disable Mouse Smoothing[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration files location.
  2. Open BmInput.ini.
  3. Change the value of bEnableMouseSmoothing to false

Audio settings[edit]

In-game audio settings.
In-game audio settings.
Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound
Dolby Digital 5.1[citation needed]; Analog 7.1
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Czech
Fan translation.
French
German
Hungarian
Fan translation.
Italian
Brazilian Portuguese
Fan translation, download.
Russian
Retail version, download.
Spanish
Turkish
Fan translation, download.

VR support[edit]

3D modes Native GG3D Notes
Native 3D
 
Nvidia 3D Vision
 
 Issues with glass effects; to fix use Helix Mod: Batman Arkham Asylum.
TriDef 3D
 
iZ3D
 
vorpX
G3D
Officially supported game, see official vorpx game list.

Issues unresolved[edit]

Saved game selection screen in Steam GOTY version always queries and prioritizes Cloud synchronized files regardless of Steam settings. If it is indeed disabled or savegames have been externally altered (e.g. GFWL saves conversion), this may create conflicts that lead to general protection faults[6]
Deleting savegames in Steam GOTY version will still refer to the old GFWL saves path. Together with the previous bug this imply you can only delete them manually while the game is running and Steam Cloud is enabled

Issues fixed[edit]

QA_APPROVED_BUILD_OCTOBER_2008 whatever error just after title screen[edit]

Trigger Steam Cloud sync conflict[citation needed]
  1. Make sure Steam Cloud sync is enabled
  2. Start the game
  3. Before doing anything, Alt+Tab ↹ and disable Steam Cloud sync.
  4. Close the launcher/game
  5. Quit Steam
  6. Go to the save game data location.
  7. Edit every file with a hex editor such as HxD.
  8. Delete <Steam-folder>\userdata\<user-id>\35140\remotecache.vdf
  9. Start Steam and re-enable Steam Cloud sync.
  10. Launch the game.
  11. Delete <Steam-folder>\userdata\<user-id>\35140\remote\ folder.
  12. In the Steam Cloud sync conflict dialog select Download to this machine button.

Microsoft.NET Framework error[edit]

Uninstall and re-install .NET Framework 4[citation needed]
Instructions[7]
  1. Install the latest NVIDIA PhysX System Software.
  2. Copy all of the files from C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\PhysX\Common\ to <path-to-game>\Binaries\

Keyboard not working[edit]

Sometimes the only thing you can do in-game is pan the camera; the keyboard will not work at all.
Delete your config files[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration files location.
  2. Delete the whole config folder.
  3. Navigate <path-to-game>\Batman Arkham Asylum GOTY\BmGame\Config\ and delete the whole config folder.
  4. When launching the game, the config files should be re-created with their defaults, if not, verify the game cache.

Notes

If you have edited your configuration files, you will need to set them back to how you want them.

Game crashes when leaving the Morgue[edit]

Disable PhysX[citation needed]
  1. Save and exit the game.
  2. Turn off PhysX in the launcher.
  3. Start the game.
  4. After the next checkpoint you can restore your previous settings.
Set lowest resolution[citation needed]
  1. Set resolution to 640x480 in the launcher.
  2. Start the game.
  3. After the next checkpoint you can restore your previous settings.

Second cutscene before Joker boss battle (Jack Ryder Show clip) is skipped[edit]

Right before the Joker boss battle at the end of the game, there are 2 cutscenes. The first one (Joker talking to Batman) will play, but the second one (a clip of the Jack Ryder Show) may be skipped.
Restart from Checkpoint[citation needed]
  1. If the second cutscene does not appear normally, pause the game as soon as the game loads again.
  2. From the pause menu, select "Restart from Checkpoint" and confirm. The second cutscene should then play.

Extreme lag in second Scarecrow level[edit]

Even on an otherwise capable machine this section can run at sub-20 fps.
Turn PhysX to normal or off (the issue occurs on high)[citation needed]

Notes

If you have previously edited BMEngine.ini for high frame rate, you will need to edit it manually. Set PhysXLevel=2 to 1 (normal) or 0 (off).

Failed to initialise NVIDIA PhysX error[edit]

When trying to start the game from the launcher you get an error message that reads: "Failed to initialise NVIDIA PhysX. Please install the latest NVIDIA PhysX system software."
Install the version of PhysX that is included within the game's redist folder[citation needed]
  1. If you already have a version of PhysX installed on your computer, uninstall it or the installation of the older version of PhysX that this game needs will fail.
  2. Go to <path-to-game>\Batman Arkham Asylum GOTY\redist\
  3. Inside this folder you will find a file called PhysX_9.08.14_9.09.0814_SystemSoftware.exe. Double click on it to start the installation of the PhysX version that this game uses.
  4. If the installation finished successfully, you should now be able to launch the game without getting this error message.

Game doesn't launch after clicking "Play", no error[edit]

After clicking "Play" in the launch menu, the launcher closes and Steam says you are in-game, and the process "ShippingPC-BmGame.exe" is running, but the game doesn't actually launch.
Delete your config files[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration files location.
  2. Delete the whole config folder.
  3. Navigate <path-to-game>\Batman Arkham Asylum GOTY\BmGame\Config\ and delete the whole config folder.
  4. When launching the game, the config files should be re-created with their defaults, if not, verify the game cache.

Notes

If you have edited your configuration files, you will need to set them back to how you want them.

PhysX effects are not present in game despite setting being on "normal" or "high"[edit]

Effects such as cloth physics (other than Batman's cape), smoke, and small objects such as papers and leaves are not active despite PhysX being enabled.
Install latest PhysX System Software[citation needed]

Shadows appear to have a shimmering effect[edit]

This is caused by the SSAO implementation of Ambient Occlusion in the game. See Ambient Occlusion to use HBAO+ instead.

Other information[edit]

API[edit]

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 9
OpenGL 2.0 OS X only.
Shader Model support 3
64-bit executable
OS X only.[citation needed]

Middleware[edit]

Middleware Notes
Physics PhysX 2.8.1
Audio FMOD
Interface Scaleform
Cutscenes Bink Video 1.9i

Ex-exclusive PS3 DLCs[edit]

This only works with Steam GOTY version of the game.
You need to acquire the DLC files from the OS X version of the game.[8] The files are also available for download directly from PCGamingWiki.
Use xdelta patch[citation needed]
  1. Extract the DLC files into <path-to-game>.
  2. Extract these patch files into new folder.
  3. Copy <path-to-game>\Binaries\ShippingPC-BmGame.exe into patch folder.
  4. Start patch.bat for automatic patcher.
    • Alternatively simply use batmanps3dlc.xdelta with Xdelta.
  5. Copy ShippingPC-BmGame.exe and ShippingPC-BmGame.exe.bak into <path-to-game>\Binaries\.

Notes

For more information, see Xdelta.
Manually hex edit executable[9]
  1. Extract the DLC files into <path-to-game>.
  2. Open <path-to-game>\Binaries\ShippingPC-BmGame.exe with a hex editor such as HxD
  3. Search for 25 00 00 08 00 31 86 80 (offset 12153C6)
  4. Replace it with 0D 00 00 08 00 89 86 80

System requirements[edit]

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) XP, Vista, 7
Processor (CPU) AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2 GHz
Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz		 AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ 2.4 GHz
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4 GHz
System memory (RAM) 1 GB (XP)
2 GB (Vista/7)		 2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 8 GB
Video card (GPU) ATI Radeon X1300
Nvidia GeForce 6600
256 MB of VRAM
DirectX 9 compatible 		ATI Radeon HD 3870
Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTX
512 MB of VRAM
macOS (OS X)
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 10.9.5 10.10.3
Processor (CPU) 2.0 GHz 2.4 GHz
System memory (RAM) 4 GB 8 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 10 GB 10 GB
Video card (GPU) 256 MB of VRAM 1 GB of VRAM

Notes

  1. ↑ Games for Windows - LIVE DRM features: Legacy activation, local profile support unknown.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/35140/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (35140) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References

  1. ↑ Batman Arkham City GOTY mac edition? :: Steam Community Discussions
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Arkham Steamworks
  3. ↑ [How to!] Use old GFWL savegame in Steamwork version :: Batman: Arkham City GOTY General Discussions
  4. ↑ How to Change FOV in Batman Arkham Asylum GOTY Edition :: Steam Community Discussions
  5. ↑ 3DCenter Forum post by SLIKnight
  6. ↑ Batman AA GOTY refuses to launch ported over from GFWL :: Steam Community Discussions
  7. ↑ Oh god. Help. - Steam Users' Forums (retrieved)
  8. ↑ You CAN play as the Joker on PC! - Steam Users' Forums (retrieved)
  9. ↑ Batman Arkham Asylum • CS.RIN.RU - Steam Underground Community