Spec Ops: The Line

Spec Ops: The Line

Developers
	Yager Development
Multiplayer	Darkside Game Studios
macOS (OS X)	Virtual Programming
Linux	Virtual Programming
Publishers
	2K Games
	Missing Link Games
OS X	Digital Tribe
Engines
	Unreal Engine 3
Release dates
Windows	June 26, 2012
macOS (OS X)	November 7, 2013
Linux	May 14, 2015
Reception
Metacritic	76
IGDB	77
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Third-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Action, Tactical shooter, TPS
Art styles	Realistic
Themes	Contemporary, Dark, Middle East
Series	Spec Ops

Spec Ops
Spec Ops: Rangers Lead the Way	1998
Spec Ops II: Green Berets	1999
Spec Ops: The Line	2012

Warnings

The macOS (OS X) release of this game does not work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later due to the removal of support for 32-bit-only apps.

Spec Ops: The Line is a singleplayer and multiplayer third-person action, tactical shooter and TPS game in the Spec Ops series.

General information

Official forums

Spec Ops Wiki - A wiki for the series

GOG.com Community Discussions

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		Premium Edition also available.
Amazon.co.uk (unavailable)
GOG.com (unavailable)		Singleplayer only. Delisted on January 31, 2024. Offline Installer only installs one language at a time. Language must be chosen in installer's 'Installation Options' (this is seperate from the setting used for the language of the game installer itself). Has options for English, French, German, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish
GamersGate (unavailable)
(unavailable)
Green Man Gaming (unavailable)
Humble Store (unavailable)
Steam (unavailable)		Delisted on January 29, 2024.

A faithful, higher quality icon can be found on this wiki's community site.

Monetization

Microtransactions

Type	Notes
No microtransactions	Spec Ops: The Line has no microtransactions.

Version differences

Premium Edition content includes:

• FUBAR pack for multiplayer
• Double XP for a week
• AK-47 at Rank 1
• Clan Accesories: Exclusive Skins/Accessories for all classes and Unique and Visually Distinct items

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Set launch options
Use the -nostartupmovies command line argument.

Delete .bik files
Delete the following files from <path-to-game>\SRGame\Movies: 2KLogo.bik Legal.bik legal_logo_screen.bik LegalScreen.bik StartupMovie.bik UnrealLogo.bik YagerLogo.bik

Skip the splash screen

Set launch options[citation needed]
Use the -nosplash command line argument. There is no splash screen under OS X [citation needed] and Linux ports.

Skip the update search

At startup the game spends quite some time searching for updates.

Prevent game from connecting with online servers Open Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security Create a new outbound rule Block SpecOpsTheLine.exe

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\SpecOps-TheLine\SRGame\Config\
macOS (OS X)	$HOME/Library/Application Support/Spec Ops The Line/GameDocuments/My Games/SpecOps-TheLine/SRGame/Config/
Linux	$XDG_DATA_HOME/yager/specops/GameDocuments/My Games/SpecOps-TheLine/SRGame/Config/

This game follows the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.

Configuration files are encrypted in the Windows version of the game. (The Linux and Apple OS X Steam port configuration files are not encrypted.)

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\SpecOps-TheLine\SRGame\SaveData\profile.bin %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\SpecOps-TheLine\SRGame\SaveData\*.sav
Steam	<Steam-folder>/userdata/<user-id>/50300/remote/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
GOG Galaxy
OneDrive		Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.
Steam Cloud

Video

In-game video settings.

In-game brightness settings.
Available filters are Default, Vintage, and Vibrant.

Graphics feature	State	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution			Non-16:9 resolutions are anamorphic; use Flawless Widescreen to remove.
Multi-monitor			Use Flawless Widescreen
Ultra-widescreen			Use Flawless Widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)		Default FOV is 72°. See Field of view (FOV).
Windowed		Set in options or use -windowed parameter.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		Default is 4x. See Anisotropic filtering (AF).
Anti-aliasing (AA)		Nvidia users can force MSAA and TrSSSGAA in Nvidia Profile Inspector with the Antialiasing Compatibility flag 0x080102C1. AMD users can force AA through AMD Control Center.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS		Some cutscenes are pre-rendered at 30 FPS.
120+ FPS		See Helicopter Run on FUBAR difficulty is impossible.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.
Color blind mode		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.

Field of view (FOV)

Flawless Widescreen can set the FOV up to 92° by default.

Change max FOV for Flawless Widescreen[citation needed]

Download and run Flawless Widescreen. Install the Spec Ops: The Line plugin. Exit Flawless Widescreen. Open the folder where Flawless Widescreen is installed. Go into PluginCache\FWS_Plugins\Modules\SpecOpsTheLine\Dependencies\Scripts\. Edit SpecOpsTheLine.lua with a text editor. Find the line fAdditionalFOV = Sender:GetScaledFloat(5). Change (5) to (2) and save the file. Launch Flawless Widescreen and adjust the slider.

Anisotropic filtering (AF)

Changing anisotropic filtering level[citation needed]
Go to the configuration file location. Decrypt SREngine.ini. Change MaxAnisotropy=4 to MaxAnisotropy=16. Save and re-encrypt SREngine.ini.

Frame rate (FPS)

Limit frame rate[citation needed]
Go to the configuration file location. Decrypt SREngine.ini. Look for [Engine.Engine] class and edit MaxSmoothedFrameRate= to your preference. Save and re-encrypt SREngine.ini.

Disable motion blur

Disable motion blur[citation needed]
Go to the configuration file location. Decrypt SREngine.ini. Change MotionBlur=True to MotionBlur=False. Save and re-encrypt SREngine.ini.

Input

In-game keyboard/mouse settings.

In-game gamepad settings.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse sensitivity		See Mouse sensitivity to fine-tune.
Mouse acceleration		See Mouse acceleration.
Mouse input in menus
Keyboard and mouse prompts
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support
Controller remapping		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger support

DirectInput-compatible controllers

PlayStation controllers

Nintendo controllers

Other controller(s)

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Input prompt override
Haptic feedback
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Mouse acceleration

Disable mouse acceleration[citation needed]
Go to the configuration file location. Decrypt SRInput.ini. Find m_viewAccelEnabled=true change it to false. Save and re-encrypt SRInput.ini.

Mouse sensitivity

Change general sensitivity[citation needed]
Go to the configuration file location. Decrypt SRInput.ini. Find MouseSensitivity=60.0 and change it to a different value according to your preferences. Save and re-encrypt SRInput.ini.

Change aim sensitivity[citation needed]
Go to the configuration file location. Decrypt SRInput.ini. Find m_targetingModeMouseViewScalePct=0.6 change it to 1.0. That way it will only scale with FOV which is good for muscle memory. Save and re-encrypt SRInput.ini.

Mouse smoothing

Disable mouse smoothing[citation needed]
Go to the configuration file location. Decrypt SRInput.ini. Find bEnableMouseSmoothing=true change it to false. Save and re-encrypt SRInput.ini.

Audio

In-game audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Music, Speech, SFX, Voice chat.
Surround sound		Up to 7.1 output.
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Czech				Fan translation - #1
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Brazilian Portuguese				New fan translation by Lucaz "BIG BOSS" Andrade & OAleex; download. Steam version.
Russian
Spanish
Turkish				Fan translation, download
Polish				Fan translation, download

Most languages have the in-game option to select English audio.

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
Local play		8	Versus, Co-op Use Nucleus Co-op. Co-op 2 players
LAN play		8	Versus, Co-op Co-op 2 players
Online play		8	Versus, Co-op Co-op 2 players

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
vorpX		G3D User created game profile, see vorpx forum profile introduction.

Issues fixed

Xbox button prompts always displayed

Disable XInput controller for the game[citation needed]
Download NoX360. Extract the contents to <path-to-game>\Binaries\Win32\. OR Unplug all controllers from your computer.

D3DERR_INVALIDCALL error

Launch the game in windowed mode

Helicopter Run on FUBAR difficulty is impossible

At high fps, the section where the helicopter appears and you have to run is almost impossible to pass on FUBAR difficulty.

Limiting the frame rate to 60fps
See Frame Rate (FPS)

Enable Vsync and set refresh rate on 60hz

No sound during cutscenes

Fix binkw32.dll
Download the Bink Video 1.99r DLL. Extract the contents to <path-to-game>\Binaries\Win32

Disable HDMI output
Go into "control panel" → "hardware and sound" → "device manager" Search under "audio, video and game controller" for the graphics card's audio device for AMD: "AMD High Definition Audio Device")-> open the properties → open the "driver" tab → deactivate the device

Set stereo sound
Open Windows audio panel (right click on the speaker icon on the bottom right of the screen) Configure your playback device Set 2 channels

Crashing and low frame rate

Install Nvidia PhysX[citation needed]
Install the latest Nvidia PhysX System Software. Right click Spec Ops: The Line in the Steam games list. Click on Properties. Under Local Files, select Verify Integrity of Game Cache.

Reset configuration files[citation needed]
Launch the game at least once. Go to %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\. Delete the SpecOps-TheLine folder. This will reset all game settings, but save games will preserved.

White/Black screen after launching game

Launch game in windowed mode through Steam
Right click the game on Steam. Click Properties. Select Set Launch Options... Type in -windowed. Go to options and then select a screen resolution that is compatible with the monitor used. Can now select fullscreen in game options if setting is desired. Can now remove -windowed option from Set Launch Options...

Shadow banding/stripes

Tweak the SREngine.ini
Go to the configuration file location. Decrypt SREngine.ini. Get into the SREngine.ini file and set the following under [SystemSettings]: bEnableVSMShadows=True bEnableBranchingPCFShadows=False bAllowHardwareShadowFiltering=True ShadowDepthBias=0.100 4. Save and re-encrypt SREngine.ini.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9.0c
OpenGL	2.0	OS X and Linux only.

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)			This 32-bit-only macOS game does not work on macOS Catalina (10.15) or later.
Linux

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Physics	PhysX	v2.8.3.14
Audio	FMOD	v0.4.32.4
Cutscenes	Bink Video	v1.9.99.0
Multiplayer	Steamworks

Mods

Eternal Penance

Greatly rebalances the gameplay

Deadly Bullets

Alternate mod to Eternal Penance

Edit encrypted configuration files

Use Rick's tools

Download the decrypter. Unzip it in a handy folder. Such as %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\SpecOps-TheLine\SRGame\Config\. Open the file you need to edit with Gibbed.SpecOpsTheLine.IniDecrypt.exe (drag-and-drop). Make the changes you want in the now unencrypted file. Save the file. Open the modified file with Gibbed.SpecOpsTheLine.IniEncrypt.exe, thus re-encrypting it. Alternative use the INI Decrypt/Encrypt Tool by LuKeStorm Rewritten in the programming language C without third-party dll (based on the Tool by Rick Gibbed from 2012) Drag & drop one or more INI files on the decrypt tool to decrypt Make any changes in the decrypted INI file Save and drag & drop one or more INI files on the encrypt tool to encrypt Commandline: Decrypt/Encrypt.exe <inifilename>.ini

System requirements

Windows

macOS (OS X)

Linux

Windows
	Minimum		Recommended
Operating system (OS)	XP SP3		Vista, 7
Processor (CPU)	AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz		2.4 GHz Quad Core
System memory (RAM)	2 GB		3 GB
Storage drive (HDD/SSD)	6 GB		10 GB
Video card (GPU)	ATI Radeon HD 2600XT Nvidia GeForce 8600 256 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0c compatible		ATI Radeon HD 4850 Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTX 512 MB of VRAM