Lyall/MGSHDFix 3.0.2

on GitHub

What's Changed

🚀 New Fixes & Features

🎧 Audio Output Mode

• The "Force Stereo Output" option has been replaced with a new "Audio Output Mode" dropdown in the config tool to better clarify its purpose.
  • This option defaults to Stereo (2.0) audio output.

In some environments, the game always outputs 5.1 channel surround sound, even on systems which only have stereo audio / headphones.

• This causes audio to be routed to channels that do not exist, resulting in several issues:
  • Punching sounds being quiet while in first person view
  • Gunshots and voices from enemies behind you being extremely quiet or outright silent
  • Rain sounds drowning out codec/radio conversations.
  • Audio peaking / crackling at times (outside of the normal initial Windows volume issue.)
  • Some systems may have only presented one of these issues. Quiet gunshots & punching, for example, are really are only noticeable if you're actively listening for the problem (I just realized a few days ago that I've had the issue myself the entire time the Master Collection has been out. It's extremely subtle, lol.)
• These issues are resolved by the "Stereo" audio output option.
• There is no impact on audio quality between Stereo vs Surround Sound, spectrogram analysis shows audio signal is pretty much 1:1 - https://i.imgur.com/f7Wh1lX.png
• Note: Proper surround sound output requires physical 5.1+ speakers. Virtual surround solutions such as Razer THX Spatial Audio are not supported by the game's audio engine and will result in missing audio.
• Some users may need to slightly adjust in game volume after switching to Stereo, as multiple channels are no longer being collapsed into a single speaker.

Comparison video of broken vs fixed stereo output: https://youtu.be/sl6WfmQvALw

Full Changelog: 3.0.1...3.0.2

Installation

🚩 If updating from a previous version of MGSHDFix:

• Delete d3d11.dll from your game folder.

Steps:

1. Download the file marked MGSHDFix_v3.0.2.zip from the "Assets" section below.
2. Extract the contents of the release zip into your game folder.
   • (e.g., steamapps\common\MGS2 or steamapps\common\MGS3 for Steam.)
3. Set both "Internal Resolution" & "Internal Upscaling" to Default / Original in the game's launcher. (Resolution is entirely handled by MGSHDFix.)
4. Launch the MGSHDFix Config Tool (in the game's /plugins folder) to generate a settings file if you're installing the mod for the first time.

Steam Deck/Linux Additional Instructions

🚩 These steps are only needed if you’re on Steam Deck/Linux. Skip if you’re using Windows.

• Open up the game properties of either MGS2/MGS3 in Steam and add the following line to the launch options:

   `WINEDLLOVERRIDES="wininet,winhttp=n,b" %command%` 
  

• When opening the MGSHDFix Config Tool on Steam Deck/Linux, a Proton Tricks Wine Prefix window will pop up. Select any game and hit "OK" to open the MGSHDFix Config Tool.

  • If you do not have any games in the list, or the MGSHDFix Config Tool fails to launch, add it as a non-steam game and launch it once through Steam to generate a new Proton Tricks Wine Prefix entry.
  • You can remove the Config Tool from your Steam game list and launch it directly after generating this prefix.

Configuration

• See MGSHDFix Config Tool.exe in the /plugins folder to adjust settings for the fix.

Feedback & Support

If you encounter bugs, need help, or want to suggest improvements, please open an issue on the GitHub repository.