Additional Setup#
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If you're here after installing the archive or using the Setup Utility on Windows, skip to optimal graphics settings:
If you're here after anything else (including installing the archive on Linux), start with the launch options.
Launch options#
Setup Utility (Windows only)
The Setup Utility can set up the launch options automatically for you.
Manual instructions#
- Find the location for the game properties:
- Steam: Right click the game in your library, press
Properties...and locate theLaunch optionsfield. - Rockstar Games Launcher: Open the game page in your library, open settings and locate the
Launcher argumentsfield. - Shortcut: Right click on the game shortcut, click
Propertiesand locate theTargetfield.
- Steam: Right click the game in your library, press
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Paste the following:
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If using FusionFix, enable
WindowedandBorderless WindowedinSettings-Gamein-game.
- In the game folder, create a
commandline.txtfile. - Open the file.
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Insert the following lines to it:
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If using FusionFix,
-windowedcan be removed in favor of the mod's in-game toggle. - If using FusionFix and/or ZolikaPatch, enable
Borderless WindowedinSettings-Gamein-game orBorderlessWindowedinZolikaPatch.inidepending on which of the two you install.- If you don't plan to install either of the mods, remove
-windowed. - If using both, only enable the option in FusionFix.
- If you don't plan to install either of the mods, remove
If using DXVK...
- Remove
-managed. - Add
-availablevidmem 3072.0to the list of options.- Replace the value with your VRAM value in MBs if you have less than 3 GB of VRAM. Don't make it higher, though.
- If using a version older than 1.0.8.0, this value is broken. Experiment manually to get as close to 3072 MB as possible (the value may looks something like 60.0, 80.0 etc).
- If the game doesn't allow you to use the correct resolution/refresh rate in the graphics settings, add
-width,-heightand-refreshratewith your monitor's native values.- If that still doesn't help, add
d3d9.forceAspectRatio = 16:9todxvk.conf. Change16:9with your exact aspect ratio if you don't use a 16:9 monitor.
- If that still doesn't help, add
- If using Windows, make sure you disabled
Enable Shader Pre-cachinginSettings-Downloadson Steam.
Full list of available launch options
You can use these options for intensive tweaking or debugging.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| -help | Lists the available commands. |
| -adapter | Uses the specified screen adapter. |
| -autoconfig | Automatically adjusts the graphics settings depending on computer specifications. |
| -availablevidmem | Sets the amount of available physical video memory. |
| -benchmark | Launches the game in Benchmark mode and then quits it. |
| -detailquality | Sets the game's detail distance (0-99). |
| -disableimposters | Turns off imposter rendering for vehicles. |
| -forcehighqualitymirrors | Unknown. |
| -forcer2vb | Forces rendering to Vertex Buffer. |
| -frameLimit | Sets the setting for V-Sync. |
| -framelockinwindow | Forces framelock to work even in a window. |
| -fullscreen | Forces fullscreen mode. |
| -fullspecaudio | Forces high-end CPU audio footprint. |
| -gpucount | Allows to manually set the GPU count if query fails. |
| -height | Sets the vertical resolution. |
| -managed | Uses D3D runtime managed resources. |
| -memrestrict | Restricts the amount of available memory the game can use. |
| -minspecaudio | Forces low-end CPU audio footprint. |
| -no_3GB | Disables 3GB memory support on 32-bit OSes which have been set to allow games and applications to use that much memory. |
| -noBlockOnLostFocus | Prevents the game from blocking window updates during focus loss. |
| -noprecache | Disables precaching of resources. |
| -nomemrestrict | Disables memory restrictions. |
| -nominimize | Disables the ability to restore the game from minimize and altering resolutions (reduces system memory footprint). |
| -norestrictions | Disables restrictions on graphics settings. |
| -noswapdelay | Disables sleep delay before Present (disables the hard present stalls fix). |
| -notimefix | Disables Time Fix. |
| -novblank | Disables vertical blanking for V-Sync. |
| -percentvidmem | Percentage of video memory to be made available for the game. |
| -refreshrate | Sets the refresh rate (values set must be supported by the monitor used). |
| -reserve | Sets the amount of memory to be used by other programs. |
| -reservedApp | Sets the amount of memory to be left available within application space. |
| -renderquality | Adjusts anisotropic filtering (0-4). |
| -safemode | Sets the game's graphics to the lowest setting possible. |
| -shadowdensity | Adjusts night shadows (0-16). |
| -shadowquality | Sets the shadow quality (0-4). |
| -stereo | Enables stereo audio support. |
| -texturequality | Sets the game's texture quality (0-2). |
| -unmanaged | Uses application managed resources. |
| -usedirectinput | Allows DirectInput support alongside XInput support. |
| -viewdistance | Sets the game's view distance (0-99). |
| -windowed | Forces windowed mode. |
| -width | Sets the horizontal resolution. |
Optimal graphics settings#
Following settings are targetted for the recommended spec sheet hardware.
If you came here from the archive, use the FusionFix tab.
| Setting | Optimal setting | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Video Mode | Your native resolution (max option, usually) | This setting controls your monitor resolution or, if the -windowed launch option is set, the size of the game window. |
| Aspect Ratio | Auto | This setting controls the aspect ratio of the screen relative to the resolution of your monitor. |
| Texture Quality | High | This setting controls the resolution of all textures. |
| Reflection Resolution | Very High | This setting controls the resolution of reflections (excluding water reflections). |
| Water Quality | Medium | This setting controls the density and intensity of waves in the water, aswell as the resolution of water reflections. Medium is recommended as it is less extreme, more realistic and most similar to the intended look on the consoles. |
| Shadow Quality | High | This setting controls the resolution and render distance of shadows. Medium and Low rely too much on static shadows, making them look ugly. Very High consumes too much performance for little gain and may appear broken at times. |
| Night Shadows | Medium | This setting controls how many local lights (e.g. car headlights) can cast shadows. Each quality level adds 4 additional shadow maps. This setting does not affect the resolution of dynamic shadows. Setting it above Medium is known to create artifacts. |
| Texture Filter Quality | Anisotropic 16x | This setting controls texture filtering. |
| View Distance | Between 21 and 70 | This setting controls the main LOD render distance for things like buildings and vehicles. Also affects the render distance for props. Setting it above 21 causes pop-in, and above 70 is known to cause instability and artifacts, as well as a negative impact on framerate. |
| Detail Distance | Between 10 and 70 | This setting controls the secondary LOD render distance for props detail. Setting it above 10 causes pop-in, and above 70 is known to cause instability and artifacts. |
| Vehicle Density | Below 70 | This setting controls the number of cars on the road. Setting it too high can make driving too much of a hassle, especially with the unstable traffic AI, which can occasionally create random blocks even on straight roads and bridges. |
| Definition | On Off if playing at 1280x720 |
This setting controls depth of field and motion blur (Off is enabled, On is disabled). If playing above 1280x720, Off ends up blurring the image on PC and effects simply do not scale up with resolution - due to that, keep it On unless you play at that resolution. Can be quickly toggled by pressing P button in-game. |
| VSync | Off if using DXVK On |
This setting controls vertical synchronization. If using DXVK with configuration applied, keep the game's implementation Off in favor of DXVK's implementation. Also add d3d9.maxFrameRate = 60 to dxvk.conf or limit framerate with other methods you know to 60 or 30 to avoid timing-related issues. AMD Fluid Motion Frames (if DXVK is used) or Lossless Scaling can be used to artificially increase the framerate. |
Following options require FusionFix.
| Setting | Optimal setting | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Video Mode | Your native resolution (max option, usually) | This setting controls your monitor resolution or, if Windowed is enabled, the size of the game window. |
| Aspect Ratio | Auto | This setting controls the aspect ratio of the screen relative to the resolution of your monitor. |
| Texture Quality | High | This setting controls the resolution of all textures. |
| Reflection Resolution | Very High | This setting controls the resolution of reflections (excluding water reflections). |
| Water Quality | Very High | This setting only controls the resolution of the water reflections when using FusionFix. |
| Shadow Quality | Very High | This setting controls the resolution and render distance of shadows. If the performance loss is too high, use High instead. Further tuning available in GTAIV.EFLC.FusionFix.ini. |
| Night Shadows | Very High | This setting controls how many local lights (e.g. car headlights) can cast shadows and the shadows' resolution. Further tuning available in GTAIV.EFLC.FusionFix.ini. |
| Texture Filter Quality | Anisotropic 16x | This setting controls texture filtering. |
| View Distance | 25 Up to 70 |
This setting controls the main LOD render distance for things like buildings and vehicles. Also affects the render distance for props. Setting it above 25 causes pop-in, and above 70 has diminishing results. |
| Detail Distance | 31 Up to 70 |
This setting controls the secondary LOD render distance for props detail. Setting it above 31 causes pop-in, and above 70 has diminishing results. |
| Vehicle Density | Below 70 100 with a custom popcycle (archive) |
This setting controls the number of cars on the road. Setting it too high can make driving too much of a hassle, especially with the unstable traffic AI, which can occasionally create random blocks even on straight roads and bridges. |
| VSync | Off if using DXVK On |
This setting controls vertical synchronization. If using DXVK with configuration applied, keep the game's implementation Off in favor of DXVK's implementation. |
| Shadow Filter | Preference | This setting controls how sharp the shadows look (as, in real life, shadows are pretty soft). Further tuning available in GTAIV.EFLC.FusionFix.ini. |
| Sun Shafts | Preference | This setting controls custom-implemented godrays. Further tuning available in GTAIV.EFLC.FusionFix.ini. |
| Anti-aliasing | SMAA | This setting controls the anti-aliasing method. |
| FPS Limiter | 60 30 |
This setting controls the FPS limit. Recommended to set to 60 or 30 to avoid timing-related issues, although the story can be beaten above 60 if ignoring bugs. You may want to lower it to 30 for some minigames. AMD Fluid Motion Frames (if DXVK is used) or Lossless Scaling can be used to artificially increase the framerate. Further tuning available in GTAIV.EFLC.FusionFix.ini. |
| FOV | Preference | This setting controls the game FOV in increments from the game's default value. |
| Lamppost Shadows | Preference | This setting enables lamppost shadows at the cost of potential pop-in and reduced performance. |
Following options are located in the Display tab.
| Setting | Optimal setting | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Motion Blur | Preference | This setting controls the motion blur effect. |
| Bloom | On | This setting controls bloom. |
| Console Gamma | Preference | This setting changes the gamma to match the console levels. The game was never supposed to be so whitewashed, so I recommend setting this to On. |
| Screen Filter | Default | This setting allows you to switch the timecyc file to match different screen filters (e.g. to have TBoGT filters in IV and vice versa). |
| Depth of Field | Preference | This setting controls the intensity of the distant blur and allows you to lock Depth of Field only to cutscenes. |
| Tree Lighting | Preference | This setting controls the vegetation's ambient occlusion. Further tuning available in GTAIV.EFLC.FusionFix.ini. |
| Tree Alpha | Preference | This setting controls the vegetation's "transparency". Further tuning available in GTAIV.EFLC.FusionFix.ini. |
| Definition | On | This setting smoothes out stippled and dithered objects to reduce shimmering and aliasing. |
Following options are located in the Game tab.
| Setting | Optimal setting | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Windowed | On | This setting controls whether game is in Exclusive Fullscreen mode or (Borderless) Windowed. Borderless is generally more recommended than Exclusive Fullscreen for multitasking purposes. |
| Windowed Borderless | On if using WindowedOff |
This setting controls if the game is a normal window or a Borderless Fullscreen window when the Windowed setting is On. |
| Pause Game on Focus Loss | Off | This setting controls whether or not the game process will be locked when the window loses focus (alt-tabbing). You should set this to Off to avoid potential crashes. |
What are these settings?
These settings are identical to the console versions of the game.
I don't really recommend playing with these settings, so this list is more for referring to what settings are most authentic to the console version.
Following options require FusionFix.
| Setting | Console-identical setting | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Video Mode | 1280x720 on X360 1152x640 on PS3 |
This setting controls your monitor resolution or, if Windowed is enabled, the size of the game window. |
| Texture Quality | Medium | This setting controls the resolution of all textures. |
| Reflection Resolution | Medium | This setting controls the resolution of reflections (excluding water reflections). |
| Water Quality | Medium | This setting only controls the resolution of the water reflections when using FusionFix. |
| Shadow Quality | Medium (?) | This setting controls the resolution and render distance of shadows. |
| Night Shadows | Off | This setting controls how many local lights (e.g. car headlights) can cast shadows and the shadows' resolution. |
| Texture Filter Quality | Tri-Linear | This setting controls texture filtering. |
| View Distance | 21 | This setting controls the main LOD render distance for things like buildings and vehicles. Also affects the render distance for props. |
| Detail Distance | 10 | This setting controls the secondary LOD render distance for props detail. |
| Vehicle Density | 33 | This setting controls the number of cars on the road. |
| Sun Shafts | Off | This setting controls custom-implemented godrays. |
| Anti-aliasing | N/A | This setting controls the anti-aliasing method. The game used SSAA 2x on the Xbox 360 and QAA on the PS3, neither of which are avaialable on PC. |
| FPS Limiter | 30 | This setting controls the FPS limit. |
| FOV | Default (lowest) | This setting controls the game FOV in increments from the game's default value. |
| Lamppost Shadows | On | This setting enables lamppost shadows at the cost of potential pop-in and reduced performance. |
Following options are located in the Display tab.
| Setting | Console-identical setting | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Motion Blur | On | This setting controls the motion blur effect. |
| Bloom | On | This setting controls bloom. |
| Console Gamma | On | This setting changes the gamma to match the console levels. |
| Screen Filter | Default | This setting allows you to switch the timecyc file to match different screen filters (e.g. to have TBoGT filters in IV and vice versa). |
| Depth of Field | Very High (?) | This setting controls the intensity of the distant blur and allows you to lock Depth of Field only to cutscenes. |
| Tree Lighting | Console | This setting controls the vegetation's ambient occlusion. |
| Tree Alpha | Console | This setting controls the vegetation's "transparency" |
| Definition | Off | This setting smoothes out stippled and dithered objects to reduce shimmering and aliasing. |
Navigation#
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If you came here after installing the archive, congratulations - you are done here!
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If you are going through the guide manually step-by-step, continue with Essential Modding.