Deadly Premonition PC resolutions unlocked by Dark Souls modder

Deadly Premonition will always be a bit wonky, but mostly in ways that are charming. So it was disappointing to discover when the game launched on PC yesterday that it's locked to a 720p resolution, like that other high-profile Japanese PC port, Dark Souls. Fortunately, just like with the die 'em up, modder 'Durante' has released a little hack opening up higher resolutions.

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Deadly Premonition will always be a bit wonky, but mostly in ways that are charming. So it was disappointing to discover when the game launched on PC yesterday that it's locked to a 720p resolution, like that other high-profile Japanese PC port, Dark Souls. Fortunately, just like with the die 'em up, modder 'Durante' has released a little hack opening up higher resolutions.

Durante first got higher resolutions working only 1 hour and 19 minutes after he finished downloading the game, then fixed it up a little to release DPfix 0.1 alpha.

It's not quite perfect yet, as using the hack will see your the minimap in the wrong place and enemies' teleporting effects misplaced too, but hey, we can now run Deadly Premonition on PC in whichever resolution we jolly well please. And we shall, as we have all bought what is one of the most interesting games of the generation, haven't we?

From The Chatty
  • reply
    October 30, 2013 6:00 AM

    Alice O'Connor posted a new article, Deadly Premonition PC resolutions unlocked by Dark Souls modder.

    Deadly Premonition will always be a bit wonky, but mostly in ways that are charming. So it was disappointing to discover when the game launched on PC yesterday that it's locked to a 720p resolution, like that other high-profile Japanese PC port, Dark Souls. Fortunately, just like with the die 'em up, modder 'Durante' has released a little hack opening up higher resolutions.

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      October 30, 2013 6:09 AM

      Durante is my hero.

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      October 30, 2013 6:33 AM

      Am I the only one who thinks its kinda lame to dump these half-assed ports onto Steam and ask anything but like $10 for them?

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        October 30, 2013 6:45 AM

        Why exactly is it locked if it's a simple modification by a fan? That makes no sense.

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          October 30, 2013 6:53 AM

          I'm sure it does weird stuff with the famebuffer at various points in the game/other random stuff. So it would require more QA testing to allow users to select resolution.

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      October 30, 2013 6:33 AM

      so how is this game good? seems like everytime I read about it there are Hsu as many criticisms as there are praises for it.

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      October 30, 2013 6:49 AM

      Did you just coin the phrase die 'em up?

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      October 30, 2013 8:15 AM

      Dear Japanese developers, please just stop making PC versions or ports if you don't understand the platform at all - which you clearly don't. Thanks.

      Buh-bye.

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        October 30, 2013 8:17 AM

        This attitude is awful, and it's dismaying to see people express it.

        I'm very glad Deadly Premonition is on PC.

        It's a shame the port a bit shoddy.

        But the world would be a less interesting place without it.

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          October 30, 2013 8:26 AM

          I hear you, we need a PC version of Vampire Rain, stat.

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          October 30, 2013 8:30 AM

          I suspect you missed the key word in my mini-rant.

          "IF"

          If they don't give a crap and want to foist off shoddy versions of their products, then it's better they don't even bother, frankly.

          I prefer to think that the world would be a less annoying place with the shoddy version and a much less annoying place without a shoddy version.

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            October 30, 2013 8:47 AM

            Please explain why "it's better they don't even bother."

            What are the dire consequences of this?

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              October 30, 2013 9:00 AM

              You'd rather a have a poor port that's perhaps unreflective of the true quality of the game, because it's mired in port issues?

              In this case, a resolution issue, it sucks but it's fixable, so I don't agree with wytefang necessarily..but on the issue of bad ports in general, I'd much rather a good product say a good product on it's original platform, then degenerate in quality as it's ported to different platforms.

              I'd rather watch an original print of a film, if the "restored" print has issues, even if it's harder to find that old print.

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              October 30, 2013 9:23 AM

              IMO, it's a fair point. Customers without access or the knowledge to access mods shouldn't be susceptible to shoddy ports. Even if the game itself may be great, I'd prefer for it to just not be ported in a half-hearted attempt. I think it's ok to expect more than the minimum of "it runs" from a product.

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                October 30, 2013 9:45 AM

                If someone doesn't know about mods, it's unlikely they'll notice or be bothered about it running in 720p. Especially not to the point of considering it a deal-breaker. If they do, perhaps they can get a refund.

                What about people who'd rather it were in better shape but are happy to experience it anyway?

                I own Deadly Premonition on Xbox 360, it's one of my favourite games, and I'm excited to be playing again on PC with a few new odds and ends.

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                  October 30, 2013 10:00 AM

                  You're honestly excited to play this port, after having already played the game? Are you planning on using Durante's fix? Will you be using a M+KB to play the game, or are you going to use Xpadder or some other less-than-ideal solution to hack in gamepad support?

                  Without either of those things, would you still be excited to re-play this game on the PC? For what reasons?

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                    October 30, 2013 10:06 AM

                    I certainly didn't pay $25 "for the laughing out louds."

                    I will use Durante's fix, now it's out. I'll probably wait a while to see if official Xbox 360 controller support gets patched up, then look into alternate solutions if not, or just use keyboard and mouse.

                    Yes, I would still play it without either. It's a really good game. I haven't played it in a while, though, so it'll be really nice to visit again with a version that's got a few new (minor) additions and changes. I generally prefer the experience of playing games on PC too, and have already had the "OH WOW WHAT IS THIS OH GOSH THIS IS GREAT" couch playthrough with my flatmate.

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                      October 30, 2013 10:12 AM

                      I've never played this game as I have a PC, but have been pretty intensely curious since it came out (for obvious reasons). I was really looking forward to the port - it's not like I was expecting some DX11 tessellation or anything, but I was really quite disappointed with the news about this port. I mean it seems like the whole point of this thing would be to allow me to sit on my couch and play this game at a 1080p.

                      Anyway, What are the new features/changes, even if they're minor? I haven't heard much about additional content. I don't think Steam Achievements should really count here.

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                  October 30, 2013 10:09 AM

                  It's very subjective and I think arguments for both sides can be construed. Obviously everyone (?) is happy that Dark Souls eventually made it to PC, even though the quality of the port leaves something to be desired. So it even differs on a case by case basis. I have some personal faves that I wouldn't mind playing even in less-than-perfect condition.

                  I just end up on the side (in general) that sees shoddy ports (also subjective, but a fixed 720p resolution does it for me) as bad products that customers should not be lured into buying.

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          October 30, 2013 8:31 AM

          I dunno, I think the Deadly Premonition PC port is almost uniquely terrible, like they understood nothing about why people would want to play this game on a PC as opposed to a console and just did minimal effort to try and squeeze more cash out of this thing. It seems kind of disrespectful to the audience.

          For instance, no controller support. What the hell is with that? From Durante's findings they actually disregarded the Xinput API which is standard for the 360 and went with an older precursor. I'm assuming this was done to minimize the QA period, but that is just speculation.

          The whole thing just reeks of a cheap cash grab, and I certainly don't think the world is a less interesting place with more of that. I would personally be more on board with keeping it platform exclusive to retain some strange sense of mystery surrounding the title if they're not going to invest the resources to justify jumping to another platform besides the bottom line.

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        October 30, 2013 8:24 AM

        [deleted]

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        October 30, 2013 8:26 AM

        Dear Japanese developers,

        Please ignore wytefang, he doesn't know wtf.

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          October 30, 2013 8:31 AM

          Well except for the fact that if you ask someone whether they'd rather have a PC-specific version of their game that works properly and has full-features or a shoddy, craptacular port, they'll take the former.

          So yeah, sorry, but I do know WTF I'm talking about. But hey, nice try.

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            October 30, 2013 8:40 AM

            they need to learn how to do pc ports. saying they just shouldn't do them at all until they can do it 'right' is a pretty crappy attitude.

            let them learn from their mistakes.

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              October 30, 2013 10:24 AM

              All they learn is that it sells regardless of the half ass effort and the community will fix it for them.

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                October 30, 2013 10:29 AM

                This. Which is why this trend is troubling.

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                October 30, 2013 10:42 AM

                A lot more effort is being put into dark souls 2, iirc. Give it some time, don't assume the worst.

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                  October 30, 2013 6:55 PM

                  im 100% positive DS2 will be a proper port. im not worried about it, but the trend is something that needs some negative attention directed towards it. Dark Souls was a masterpiece, beyond reproach to the point that even with the half ass port its still worth it. Not every game is going to benefit from the unimaginable good will that the Souls franchise brings with it, that causes people to overlook the problems and even inspires talented amateurs to fix the game themselves.

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          October 30, 2013 9:00 AM

          wow a lot of posts appeared between reading and posting.

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        October 30, 2013 8:29 AM

        I honestly lost some interest in this game when I learned it was from a Japanese dev. A friend's got me interested though, so. But yeah, Japan needs to learn to computer.

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        October 30, 2013 8:32 AM

        so you'd rather not even get to play a great game if it means playing in some imperfect state?

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          October 30, 2013 8:37 AM

          Yes. Exactly.

          Have you ever tried to play a game to completion on Dolphin/PCSX2? Having done plenty of that, I feel it is a similar situation. One or two graphical glitches pop up, fine. Not ideal, and you certainly didn't get the experience the creators intended, but you get the main thrust of the game. Once more fundamental/core features start to display some errors, such as audio skips or crashes or whathaveyou, at a certain point you (or at least me, personally) feel like you would have been better off not playing this creative work in this broken state at all.

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            October 30, 2013 8:38 AM

            i don't mean broken, i just mean sub-optimal. like resolution. if that's the worst thing about a port, i can still enjoy myself.

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              October 30, 2013 8:47 AM

              Sub-optimal would be fine, but still worthy of criticism. When is sub-optimal acceptable in anything?

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            October 30, 2013 8:52 AM

            Though, of course, you are quite free to not play the game yourself.

            Actively wanting something not to exist for anyone because it's not what you want is a terrible and awful trait I loathe in 'gamers.'

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              October 30, 2013 9:15 AM

              Well, we as human beings take ideological stances on things all the time. I don't think wanting/expecting a certain base level of quality/effort is something you should loathe.

              Obviously I don't want to take copies of DP out of gamers' hands. I just don't want this precedent of shoddy, barebones cash-grab ports to further take hold, as it's already becoming a trend.

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              October 30, 2013 9:20 AM

              So you would like us to be dispassionate about games then?

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                October 30, 2013 9:37 AM

                I think you are missing the point. It's ok to be unhappy about the product & vote with your wallet. But taking a stance that they shouldnt create ANY product ever again is not exactly conductive to producing an improved product in the future.

                Its like saying; sorry Mr. Ford, your model T isnt a Ferrari, just stop making cars.

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                  October 30, 2013 9:42 AM

                  well imo, it circles that refund issue. I guess Origin will issue refunds now. games seem to still be released with mind-boggling show stopping bugs, so people should be able to get refunds if necessary. back to the car example: people are being sold lemons. that's why there are lemon laws. Id don't think anyone is actually saying NEVER produce any products... but the consumer grievances are pretty serious these days. so car makers also issue recalls to fix stuff....

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                    October 30, 2013 9:49 AM

                    but the OP said that exactly: "please just stop making PC versions or ports"

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                      October 30, 2013 10:22 AM

                      true true. over just a resolution issue, which is odd, since that's unfolding in a big way on a different game and with respect to consoles instead of PCs. haha.

                      If the game is BUGGY, then we can get super pissed off. locking resolution is not the end of the world, since PC folks have had to deal with locked FOV and such for a long time.

                      so this is mostly exposing how games are made to certain fixed specifications, like websites were made to fixed resolutions. if things are scalable and adjustable from the get go, we're all better off.

                      but I agree, it really does not warrant a literal call out to stop making things. if the game is marketed as such, the consumer is informed and that's that. buyer beware. if the underlying product doesn't even work, like Brink, well holy shit fuck then I'll support some blow ups. hahaha.

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                October 30, 2013 9:48 AM

                Don't worry, I suspect there may be room for reactions between not caring and wishing something didn't even exist.

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              October 30, 2013 9:41 AM

              People might buy the game and be unaware that they won't be able to use their x360 pad or run at their native resolution.

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                October 30, 2013 10:13 AM

                so in other words people should try to be an educated consumer before purchasing just like with every other product in the world.

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                  October 30, 2013 10:25 AM

                  Not if you expect it to work like similar products. When you buy a tv, you might check whether it's a smart tv, is 1080p or 3D. You don't check if it accepts hdmi in.

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                  October 30, 2013 10:26 AM

                  So no responsibility for the creators/publishers to inform consumers about their product?

                  Keep in mind, there was literally no way to know about any of this stuff without having first paid your $25 and then loading the game. No press releases about lack of controller support/standard PC options, no pre-release interviews to that effect, nothing.

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              November 4, 2013 8:53 AM

              And blithely accepting broken crap without expressing a desire for it to be FAR better is a trait I loathe in gamers, too. ;)

              Guess it works both ways. Cheers!

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          October 30, 2013 9:34 AM

          unfortunately, yeah pretty much. Simcity 5 and Brink and whatnot. we keep having devs/pubs release things in that state, and someone has to speak up and say STOP IT

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        October 30, 2013 8:48 AM

        [deleted]

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        October 30, 2013 9:00 AM

        Dear Japanese developers, please ignore this man.

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          November 4, 2013 8:54 AM

          Well based on the quality of recent Japanese ports, clearly they have already. LOL

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        October 30, 2013 9:56 AM

        Just don't buy it.

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        October 30, 2013 10:06 AM

        This is a dumb post.

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          November 4, 2013 8:54 AM

          Aren't they all here on the Shack, though? I mean really? ;)

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        November 2, 2013 11:57 AM

        What a MORON.

        Buh-bye.

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      October 30, 2013 9:23 AM

      Judging from the visuals, I'm guessing that gameplay and story are this game's strong points. I had to check to see if this was originally a Dreamcast game, heh.

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        October 30, 2013 9:30 AM

        i think it has a cult following for whatever reason. i watched a few episodes of the GiantBomb marathon sessions and everything about it seemed downright awful. gameplay, graphics, story, voice acting... everything. yet, it was so much fun watching those guys run through it. it seemed like gaming's version of Mystery Science Theater. After watching those dudes play it, though, i have zero interest in playing it myself.

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        October 30, 2013 10:05 AM

        I don't know if gameplay is the strong point either.

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        October 30, 2013 10:20 AM

        [deleted]

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          October 30, 2013 10:32 AM

          lol disagree. didnt give 2 shits about the story and characters. the game play owned

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