Monsters vs. Aliens

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Monsters vs. Aliens

Developers
	Beenox
Publishers
	Activision
Russia	1C Company
Engines
	Goliath Engine
Release dates
Windows	March 27, 2009
Reception
Metacritic	63
IGDB	65
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Third-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Action, Hack and slash, Platform
Art styles	Stylized
Themes	Contemporary, North America
Series	DreamWorks

Monsters vs. Aliens is a singleplayer and multiplayer third-person action, hack and slash and platform game in the DreamWorks series.

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		SecuROM v7.39.0004 DRM.

This game is not available digitally.

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Instructions[citation needed]
Go to <path-to-game>\video\. Delete or rename DreamWorksIntro.usm, ActivisionIntro.usm, BeenoxIntro.usm, and PreRender1.usm.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Activision\Monsters vs. Aliens (TM)\Settings\Display

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Activision\Activision\Monsters vs. Aliens (TM)\Save\MVA_Save.fpop

Video

Video options

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution		Set aspect ratio to Widescreen for 16:9 resolutions other wise the game will be Stretched.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen		It is possible to edit the height and weight through Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Activision\Monsters vs. Aliens (TM)\Settings\Display in Regedit.
4K Ultra HD		Antialiasing remains at 2X or off when reaching 4K/3840x2160 resolution.
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)		Up to 8x MSAA, can be broken when the resolution is at 4K/3840x2160.
High-fidelity upscaling		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS
120+ FPS		Although the FPS is at 120 during pre-rendered cutscenes (Although all cutscenes are pre-rendered at 30FPS.) the gameplay limits itself to 65 FPS.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.
Color blind mode		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.

Input

Keyboard settings

Haptic/Vibration and invert Y-axis option

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse sensitivity		The mouse is only used in 2 player mode, certain sections and menu.
Mouse acceleration
Mouse input in menus
Keyboard and mouse prompts
Mouse Y-axis inversion		Although there is an option to invert the y axis, the adjustment only works for controllers.
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support
Controller remapping
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts		If one plugs in the Xbox controller while the game is already running, the game won’t display the button prompts and one will only be able to navigate through the menus. To avoid this issue, one needs to go to the options menu and switch from keyboard to gamepad, or return to the game’s start menu and press a button on the controller first.
Impulse Trigger support

DirectInput-compatible controllers

PlayStation controllers		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.

Nintendo controllers

Other controller(s)
Additional button prompts

Additional information
Controller hotplugging		If the controller is disconnected, it prompts the user to reconnect it, but provides the option to switch to the keyboard if the user presses the ↵ Enter ley.
Input prompt override
Haptic feedback
Simultaneous controller+KB/M		It can only detect keyboard and controller keystrokes in the menus and multiplayer mode. This is because the game can only detect one type of control for a player and not both keyboard and controller for the same player.

Audio

Audio options

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Music and FX.
Surround sound		Stereo only unlike console versions.
Subtitles
Closed captions		Only certain dialogue, such as burps, screaming, etc.
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Dutch
French
German
Italian
Russian				Local retail only.
Spanish
Swedish

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
Local play		2	Co-op
LAN play
Online play

VR support

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

Issues unresolved

"THE SELECTED SAVE GAME IS CORRUPTED OR INVALID/WARNING : BAD SAVEGAME VERSION"

When loading a saved game, the game displays one of the following two messages.

Example

Example 2

Patch the Vitality cracked executable with a Hex editor.
Offset: 000AEA6C. Change 56 to C3 Offset: 00124FD8. Change 40 to 00 Offset: 0012512C. Change 74 to EB Offset: 0012519E. Change 74 to EB Offset: 0012575C. Change FF to C3

Issues fixed

The game crash when it stars/loads a save

Patch the Vitality cracked executable with a Hex editor.
Offset: 000AEA6C. Change 56 to C3 Offset: 00124FD8. Change 40 to 00 Offset: 0012512C. Change 74 to EB Offset: 0012519E. Change 74 to EB Offset: 0012575C. Change FF to C3

Use MSCONFIG to reduce the core count.
Go to MSCONFIG.exe. Go to the Boot tab. Go to Advanced Options. Check Number of Processors and set the drop-down to 10 (If this doesn't work, set to to other value). Hit OK and Apply and reboot. After you play the game set your settings back by following the instructions again except uncheck Number of Processors.

Use the Compatibility Administrator to configure Windows to automatically restrict the game to using 10 CPU cores.

Download the Windows ADK. During installation, it gives the option to select multiple tools; the only one needed is Compatibility Administrator. Once installed, open the Start Menu folder named Windows Kits, and launch Compatiblity Administrator (32-bit). Select "New database" under "Custom Databases". Right click on "New Database", then go to "Create New" > "Application Fix". Provide the full path of Game.exe and give it a name of choosing. Skip past the compatibility mode options. In compatibility fixes select ProcessorCountLieForHybridCPU. Open "Parameters" and set the "Command line" value to 10. In compatibility fixes select ProcessorCountLie. Open "Parameters" and set the "Command line" value to 10. (The "Command line" value determines the number of cores to use. If the parameter is not set it will only use one core, and the FPS will be low.) Select Next. Select Finish. Select File > Save and give it a name when prompted. Select File > Install. Then, search for the .sdb file that was previously saved and select it. The fix will now automatically be applied whenever the game is launched. Run the game. These steps only need to be performed once, and the Windows ADK does not need to be running with the game. Note: On Windows 11, the patch previously installed for the .exe fix appears as a different program in Add or Remove Programs. There is also another solution for this problem, but it's only compatible with certain MSI laptop models with 12th-generation Intel processor. On these devices, use the MSI DRM Fix Tool.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Interface	Scaleform GFx	Scaleform is also used for video playback.
Cutscenes	Criware

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum		Recommended
Operating system (OS)	XP		Vista
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium 4 1.8 GHz AMD Athlon XP 2400+		Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz
System memory (RAM)	512 MB		1 GB
Storage drive (HDD/SSD)	8 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 6600 ATI Radeon X800 128 MB of VRAM DirectX 9 compatible		Nvidia GeForce 7600 GS ATI Radeon X1600 XT 256 MB of VRAM
Other	6x CD-ROM drive