How to Improve Borderlands 2 with .ini File Tweaks
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Gearbox has put together a pretty robust PC version of Borderlands 2, complete with a ton of adjustable options in its menus that mean you won’t have to go digging through config files just to make the game play the way you want.
Of course, you can still go through the config files and make the play better, should you so desire.
We’ve scoured the Internet and poured through Borderlands 2′s .ini config files in order to find a few tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your Borderlands 2 experience. A number of these fixes might help you out if you’re finding your older system is struggling to handling the game; a few others are for general convenience; and a few might make the whole game a little prettier, especially if you’ve got hardware to handle it.
You’ll find your .ini files here: C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Documents\My Games\Borderlands 2\WillowGame\Config\
Once you’ve located that folder, you’ll want to back it up completely before you start messing with anything. That way, you can pull back the default files should something get screwed up. You’ll also want to back up your saved game as well, if you have it. Find that at C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Documents\My Games\Borderlands 2\WillowGame\SaveData\
All set? Okay, with the Config folder opened inside the WillowGame folder, you’ll find a series of .ini files that handle different things. Each tweak will call out the appropriate file, which you’ll want to edit in a text editor such as Notepad. You’ll need to use the Find function (ctrl+F) to locate the appropriate lines for each tweak.
Don’t forget to check out our other Borderlands 2 cheat/tweak/trick/Easter Egg/Walkthrough goodness.
Disable Startup Movies
This will allow you to turn off the various logos when the game starts up. They’re already skippable with a quick click, but this allows you to deactivate all of them.
In WillowEngine.ini, find these lines:
[FullScreenMovie]
StartupMovies=2K_logo
StartupMovies=Gearbox_logo
StartupMovies=NVidia
StartupMovies=Loading
SkippableMovies=2K_logo
SkippableMovies=Gearbox_logo
SkippableMovies=Attract
SkippableMovies=NVidia
Then, add a ; in front of each “StartupMovie” line. The result will be this:
[FullScreenMovie]
;StartupMovies=2K_logo
;StartupMovies=Gearbox_logo
;StartupMovies=NVidia
;StartupMovies=Loading
SkippableMovies=2K_logo
SkippableMovies=Gearbox_logo
SkippableMovies=Attract
SkippableMovies=NVidia
And you’re done — none of the usual logos will load when you start up Borderlands 2, and you’ll get into the game quicker.
Disable Framerate Smoothing
This might help you get better performance if you’re having some graphical issues.
In WillowEngine.ini, find this line:
bSmoothFrameRate=TRUE
If it’s set to TRUE, you can disable it by setting it to FALSE, like this:
bSmoothFrameRate=FALSE
Disable Black Outline Shader
You know that big black outline that surrounds most objects and gives them a more cartoonish look? It’s cool, but removing it is another way you can tone down the graphical requirements of Borderlands 2 to get it to run better.
In WillowEngine.ini, find this line:
DefaultPostProcessName=WillowEngineMaterials.WillowScenePostProcess
To turn off the shader, you need to make adjustments to the line — namely, remove both instances of the word “Willow,” so it looks like this:
DefaultPostProcessName=EngineMaterials.ScenePostProcess
Disable Cel Shading
In WillowEngine.ini, find the same line as above:
DefaultPostProcessName=WillowEngineMaterials.WillowScenePostProcess
and change it to:
DefaultPostProcessName=WillowEngineMaterials.RyanScenePostProcess
That will remove the black outline shader as above, and also disable the cel shading effect to make the graphics slightly more realistic and add more contrast on surfaces. You’ll also get a pretty marked performance boost, because these shaders take a fair amount of processing power.
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15 Comments on How to Improve Borderlands 2 with .ini File Tweaks
MrSliff
On September 26, 2012 at 3:18 am
Heyy Guy, thx for those tweaks!
I cant find those lines in the WillowEingine.ini
MaxProcBuildingLODColorTextureSize
MaxProcBuildingLODLightingTextureSize
should i just add them in the [SystemSettings]-Section ??
One more question:
With VirtuMVP turned on, i have some Graphical issues like Texture-Flickering, dont know whats the cause, maybe the Program itself..
Royalgamer06
On September 26, 2012 at 11:57 am
I have information for you guys!
I’ve put them nicely in these 2 threads:
http://www.tunngle.net/community/topic/97281-borderlands-2-mods/
and…
http://www.tunngle.net/community/topic/95981-borderlands-2-unlocks-and-dlcs-other-tweaks/
Phil Hornshaw
On September 27, 2012 at 7:05 am
@MrSliff
I just double-checked those two lines in the .ini file and found them. Are you sure you’re searching down from the top of the document? Notepad isn’t too smart.
Anyway, they should look like this (I’m recopying from my .ini just in case it’s the text in the original post that’s messing you up, like a typo or something):
MaxProcBuildingLODColorTextureSize=1024
MaxProcBuildingLODLightingTextureSize=256
Look for them under [Engine.Engine]. They’re between a set of five lines that start with VertexColor above them, and seven lines that start with LightComplexityColor below them. That should give you some landmarks to track them down.
DcGames
On September 27, 2012 at 3:06 pm
If you want the graphics shown on the geforce trailor but can buy the video card do this and it will activate the extra graphics such as realistic banners and real blood.
WillowEngine
and find DropParticleDistortion=False and turn it into
DropParticleDistortion=True
then you will have the fancey gforce graphics on any video card
I should get a medal for this Enjoy
Gruntis
On September 30, 2012 at 4:41 pm
Another nice tweak to the WillowEngine
Physx=2
to
Physx=3
I thought 2 was the highest but tried 3, works nice for me but I have a decent rig.
XVicarious
On October 2, 2012 at 10:08 pm
You can enable DirectX 11 by changing:
AllowD3D11=False
to
AllowD3D11=True
or OpenGL:
AllowOpenGL=False
to
AllowOpenGL=True
XVicarious
On October 2, 2012 at 10:23 pm
Wait rearguard my last comment. My mistake.
MJON
On October 4, 2012 at 12:37 pm
Uhm, i just wanted to be clear or make sure that that there is nothing wrong here, but when i disable cel-shading or black line w.e ryanpostscene and just postscene. FXAA, Ambient Oclusion dosnt work neither does DOF, DOF works with RyanPostScene tho, but it makes it really contrast.
Id love to know if i could fix this so i had black outline removed and fxaa and ambient occlusion, thanks!
Thank you!
Veer
On October 20, 2012 at 2:15 pm
I can’t find the ‘DefaultPostProcess’ field in the Willowengine.ini. I’ve searched the text file and manually checked under engine.engine but I cannot find it… Would it be safe just to add those lines in or would that ruin the game?
Nefesta
On October 29, 2012 at 1:36 pm
This one worked in the original Borderlands and I am using it in the sequel, and I do seem to see a FPS difference:
The lines “MinShadowResolution=1024″ and “MaxShadowResolution=1024″ (1024=default). can be scaled down/up to increase/decrease FPS respectively to values such as 512, 256, or 2048.
Z0DI4C
On January 2, 2013 at 4:54 pm
Hello, i tried turning dynamic lights off but now all weapons in inventory and on loading screen are black (like with no textures), anynone noticed that?
mouthfulofbirds
On February 23, 2013 at 7:08 pm
Borderlands 2, like many applications developed in a 32-bit environment, can only handle 2GB of memory address space by default. It bothered me for a while that the game wasn’t making full use of the 16GB of RAM in my laptop. Thankfully there is a way to fix this (and it works for other games and applications as well!)
1. Download and install a program called “CFF Explorer” (to prevent conflicts with saving, I recommend enabling the .exe file to run as administrator).
2. Open your BL2 “binaries/Win32″ folder.
3. Right-click on the “Borderlands2.exe” file and click “Open with CFF Explorer.”
4. In the left pane, click on “File Header.”
5. In the “Characteristics” row, under the “Meaning” column, click where it says “Click Here.” This opens a box called “Characteristics.”
6. Check the box that says “app can handle >2GB address space.” It should be unchecked by default.
7. Save and close CFF Explorer.
That should do it! I’ve used this tweak for a number of other games, including Skyrim and other new ones. It works quite well, in my opinion. Hope it works for you.
Cheers.
Eman
On April 21, 2013 at 9:57 am
ANYONE KNOW WERE EXACTLY I CAN CHANGED THE DIRECT X SETTING TO 10 OR 11 IS
victor
On April 24, 2013 at 2:08 pm
wonder if there is any way to put windowed mode on boderless windows
IwannafuckGaigeallday
On May 16, 2013 at 12:18 pm
you can also use texture size 4096, it looks amazing.