This page is for the original Substance release. For the Master Collection re-release, see Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty - Master Collection Version.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance is a singleplayer first-person and third-person and top-down view action stealth game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and published by Konami. It is part of the Metal Gear series.
The original game, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, was released on PlayStation 2 in 2001, and chronologically takes place after the events of Metal Gear Solid and before Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. The expanded re-release, Substance, was released in 2002 on PlayStation 2 and Xbox, and added new features such as Boss Survival Mode, Skateboarding mini-game, the additional Snake Tales storyline, additional 500 VR and alternative missions and Casting Theater, among other changes. It was later ported to PC by Success and released on March 27, 2003. However, the PC version was based on the European release, which features toned-down graphic imagery. In addition, the Skateboarding minigame was removed from the PC version due to Evolution Skateboarding not being released on PC.
The initial, unpatched release of the PC version has poor compatibility with most graphics cards and causing serious graphical issues, but can be fixed with third-party patches. Most of these problems are fixed in the GOG re-release.
General information
- GOG.com Community Discussions
- GOG.com Support Page
Availability
| Source |
DRM |
Notes |
Keys |
OS |
| Retail |
|
Simple disc check |
|
|
| GOG.com (unavailable) |
|
Unavailable due to licensing issues[1] |
|
|
Version differences
- The GOG.com version fixes compatibility issues of the original 2003 release on modern Windows operating systems.[2]
Essential improvements
Patches
- The latest official Patch 2.0 (ATI Patch) is available at community.pcgamingwiki.com and at soggi.org.
It fixes some graphical issues with ATI Radeon chipsets.
- Installer built from scratch with many fixes automatically applied.
- Open source.
- Includes the official patch 2.0 and sound fix.
- Simplified resolution and graphics configuration process.
- Nvidia & Intel fix automatically applied.
- Nemesis2000 widescreen fix automatically applied.
- Xbox 360 controller supported + restored vibration (uses XInput Plus).
- V's button layout + simil-PS2 one.
- Includes anti-aliasing (FXAA/SMAA).
- Last updated on January 31, 2021. Outstanding issues reported on Github, such as the right stick and mouse not working, have yet to be resolved.
- Requires MGS2 V's Fix.
- A mod that disables the additional frame skipping during cutscenes, making them run at 60 FPS like on PS2.
- Fixes physics-based objects during cutscenes that ran at half frame rate, most notably the rope during the first cutscene.
PCGamingWiki Patch
- Alternative to MGS2 V's Fix.
- Fixes missing textures and other graphical issues.
- Includes an enhanced control scheme.
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
Save game data location
- MGS2 V's Fix (version 1.7 and above) will move savegames location to
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\METAL GEAR SOLID 2 SUBSTANCE\.
Video
- Settings in the GOG.com version must be changed with the included DirectX Configuration tool.
|
Use Widescreen Fix
|
|
For original retail release:
- Download Widescreen fix by nemesis2000.
- Extract all files from
mgs2.7z to the installation folder.
- Edit
mgs2w.ini to set the resolution.
For GOG.com version:
- Download Ultimate-ASI-Loader.zip and extract
dinput8.dll.
- Rename
dinput8.dll to winmm.dll, and place it inside the bin folder.
- Create a folder named
scripts inside the bin folder located in the installation folder.
- Extract all files from
mgs2.7z, except for d3d8.dll, to the newly created scripts folder.
- Rename
mgs2w.dll to mgs2w.asi.
- Edit
mgs2w.ini to set the resolution.
Notes
- Archive password:
mgs2
- Supported exe size: 6,733,892 bytes.
|
Input
- The Right-Click button is used to shoot weapons, choke, drag, throw, or drop enemies during gameplay.
Audio
| Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
| Separate volume controls |
|
|
| Surround sound |
|
Certain cutscenes and transitions are presented in stereo |
| Subtitles |
|
|
| Closed captions |
|
|
| Mute on focus lost |
|
|
| Royalty free audio |
|
|
Localizations
Issues fixed
Green screen on the projector in Tanker Chapter
- Fixed in the GOG.com release.
Black screen at startup
- Fixed in the GOG.com release.
|
Sound Device Playback at 44,100 Hz
|
- Download and install the PCGamingWiki Patch.
- Press ⊞ Win+R, then type
mmsys.cpl and press ↵ Enter.
- Find the Default playback device, marked by a green icon, and double-click on it.
- Select the Advanced tab, then under the Default Format header, click on the drop-down menu.
- Set the playback frequency to
44,100 Hz, either 16 bit or 24 bit, and click OK.
|
Access the Realtek control panel and set "Speaker Configuration" to Quadraphonic
|
|
Notes
- It may be sufficient to set anything other than
Stereo.
- This applies similarly to all non-Realtek control panels (e.g. Creative, ASUS, etc.).
|
Broken graphics (Black textures and/or Ugly shadows).
|
Hex editing[7]
|
- For Retail versions, Install the Official Patch 2.0.
- Open
mgs2_sse.exe (and mgs2.exe for retail releases) with a hex editor such as HxD.
- Press Ctrl+F and search for
geforce as a text string. The word RADEON is to the left of it.
For NVIDIA GPUs:
- Replace
GeForce with removed.
- Then replace the
RADEON to the left of it with GeForc. Case-sensitive!
- Save the changes.
For Intel GPUs/Dual Graphics Laptops:
- Replace
RADEON with Intel(. No need to change GeForce.
- Save the changes.
Notes
- This will allow playing at the highest Model Quality without visual glitches.
- Compatible with Nemesis2000's Widescreen fix and crosire's d3d8to9.
|
|
Change graphic settings[8]
|
- Run
MGS2SConfig.exe.
- Click OPTION.
- Click on the Drawing tab.
- Select CUSTOM.
- Set Model Quality to the second value.
|
The intro video freezes
|
Edit Windows Registry[citation needed]
|
- Press ⊞ Win+R.
- Type
regedit and press ↵ Enter.
- Go to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\LAV\Splitter.
- Create a new Key named
Blacklist and select it.
- Create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value named
mgs2_sse.exe and double-click on it.
- Change its value data to
1 and click OK.
Notes
- Alternatively, disable mpegvideo format in LAV Splitter Configuration program.
|
Caption language gets reset after each game restart
- The game resets the captions to the operating system language, regardless of the in-game choice. Changing the operating system language fixes the issue.
|
Change the operating system language[citation needed]
|
- Go to Start → Settings → Time & Language → Language.
- Choose a language from the Windows display language menu.
Notes
- Alternatively, under Preferred languages, click Add a language to install the desired language if not listed.
|
Other information
API
| Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
| Direct3D |
8.1 |
|
| Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
| Windows |
|
|
|
Modifications
- A mod that adds a toggleable and fully controllable 360-degree third-person camera to the game. Just like the one used in MGS3: Subsistence.
System requirements
| Windows |
|
Minimum | Recommended |
| Operating system (OS) |
98, ME | 2000, XP |
| Processor (CPU) |
Intel Pentium III 800 MHz or AMD Athlon | Intel Pentium III 1.2 GHz or AMD Athlon |
| System memory (RAM) |
128 MB | 256 MB |
| Storage drive (HDD/SSD) |
3.9 GB | 7.6 GB |
| Video card (GPU) |
3D accelerator card
32 MB of VRAM
DirectX 8.1 compatible | 64 MB of VRAM |
Notes
References
