14 DAY TRIAL // Barely has Bulletstorm been launched and already PC users are encountering a wide array of issues with their version, including 16-bit jaggy shadows, lighting issues or bad overall graphics performance even if they have a powerful PC.
On our own playthrough, Bulletstorm has been running smoothly, with all the details cranked up too high, but the forums of the game are being flooded with complaints from PC users.
As such, we decided to showcase a few of the quick fixes that can be done before the development team at People Can Fly will launch a patch for the game.
First up, before we start addressing the issues, you need to download the Bulletstorm INI File Editor, a special little program that allows you to open the game's .ini files. These files are encrypted, meaning you need to get this little program in order to make changes to them.
Get the Bulletstorm INI File Editor right now from Softpedia.
After you download it, start it up and select File>Open, then navigate through the new window to where you installed Bulletstorm. By default, it's located at C:\Program Files\Bulletstorm. Here, go to Engine\Config folder and select BaseEngine.ini.
The contents of the file will now be displayed in the Bulletstorm INI Editor and you'll be able to make any changes you want.
By far the biggest complaint is that the game has jagged shadows, as if they were rendered in older 16-bit visuals, so a lot of people want a solution.
In order to change this, located the "bUseMaxQualityMode" entry (located towards the end of the .ini file) and change its setting from "False" to "True" (without the quotes).
While this will make the game look better and solve some of the shadow issues, many players are reporting that it pretty much makes it unplayable, because it uses only the best textures, thus reducing framerate.
Another possible solution is to locate the "AllowD3D10" entry (located below bUseMaxQualityMode) and change its entry from "False" to "True".
It seems that the developers set the game to render using the older DirectX 9 protocol, but PC owners who have a DirectX 10-certified video card can edit the entry to render in the newer version.
This doesn't have any impact, from what we can tell, on performance.
Last but not least, another solution has been found, which involves editing multiple entries in the same .ini file. Make the changes mentioned below to affect the shadows in the game.
bEnableVSMShadows=True bEnableBranchingPCFShadows=True bAllowHardwareShadowFiltering=True bAllowBetterModulatedShadows=True bEnableForegroundShadowsOnWorld=True bEnableForegroundSelfShadowing=True bAllowWholeSceneDominantShadows=True
As of yet, the team at People Can Fly hasn't made any statement concerning these issues, instead just sending owners to EA's official support page.
Try these fixes and share your experience with the PC edition of Bulletstorm by leaving a comment below.