Painkiller

Painkiller

Developers
	People Can Fly
Publishers
Retail	DreamCatcher Interactive
Retail (Russia)	Akella
Digital (2007-2020)	THQ Nordic
Digital (2020-present)	Deep Silver
Engines
	Pain Engine
Release dates
Windows	April 12, 2004
Reception
Metacritic	81
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase, Expansion pack
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	First-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Action, FPS, Shooter
Art styles	Realistic
Themes	Dark, Horror, Supernatural, Zombies
Series	Painkiller

Painkiller
Painkiller	2004
Painkiller: Overdose	2007
Painkiller: Resurrection	2009
Painkiller: Redemption	2011
Painkiller: Recurring Evil	2012
Painkiller: Hell & Damnation	2012
Painkiller (2025)	2025

Warnings

GameSpy online services have been shut down (see Network for solutions).

Painkiller is a singleplayer and multiplayer first-person action, FPS and shooter game in the Painkiller series.

General information

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions

Steam Community Discussions for Gold Edition

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		International: SafeDisc 3 DRM Russia: StarForce 3.04 DRM
Retail		Black Edition
GOG.com		Black Edition
Steam		Black Edition
GamersGate (unavailable)
GamersGate (unavailable)		Painkiller Universe
(unavailable)		Black Edition

SafeDisc DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected releases).

StarForce DRM for this game does not work on modern versions of Windows (see above for affected releases).

Version differences

Painkiller: Black Edition includes the base game along with the Battle Out of Hell expansion.

Painkiller Universe includes the base game along with the Battle Out of Hell expansion and Painkiller: Overdose.

Demo

A free demo can be installed on Steam by using a direct link: steam://install/3210 (allow Steam popup).

Other demos:

• Exclusive retail demo
• PC Gamer demo
• Singleplayer demos: #1 EN, #1 PL, #2, #3
• Multiplayer demo

Monetization

Type	Notes
Expansion pack	Includes a new campaign, weapons, enemies, and multiplayer modes.
One-time game purchase	The game requires an upfront purchase to access.

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Battle Out of Hell	Includes a 10-level campaign, two new weapons, new enemies, and two new multiplayer modes. Released on December 1, 2004.

Essential improvements

Patches

A list of official patches can be found here. Digital distribution versions are already patched.

Unofficial patch 1.66

This is essentially the unofficial patch 1.65, with two new fixes.

Fixes various issues like broken items, enemies placement, levels logic, weapons and tarot cards behavior.

Installation
Download the PKBE_u1.66.rar archive. Extract the downloaded archive to <path-to-game> (overwrite existing files if prompted). Notes Included in Randomguy7's fix compilation. If your game language has changed to English after installation, see here.

Randomguy7's fix compilation

Includes the unofficial patch 1.66, Widescreen HUD fix, and DSOAL.

Fixes slowdown on dual-core processors, clipping issues with HUD elements, and disables the game's precache.

Installation
Download the latest version of Randomguy7's fix compilation. Extract the downloaded archive to <path-to-game> (overwrite existing files if prompted). Notes If your game language has changed to English after installation, see here.

Skip intro videos

Delete or rename video files
Go to <path-to-game>\Data\Movies. Delete or rename logo-dreamcatcher.bik, logo-nvidia.bik, and logo-pcf.bik.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\Bin\config.ini
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/39530/pfx/

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\SaveGames
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/39530/pfx/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud

Video

General video settings

Advanced video settings

Graphics feature	State	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution			Vert- gameplay; stretched menus, HUD, and FMV. See Widescreen resolution for solutions.
Multi-monitor			Install Widescreen HUD fix.
Ultra-widescreen			See Widescreen resolution for solutions.
4K Ultra HD			See Widescreen resolution for solutions.
Field of view (FOV)		Default FOV is 95° horizontal. Use the fov <value> console command or install Widescreen HUD fix to adjust.
Windowed		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		On/Off only (no quality levels).
Anti-aliasing (AA)		x2, x4 or x6 MSAA.
High-fidelity upscaling		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Frame generation		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Vertical sync (Vsync)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
60 FPS and 120+ FPS		Frame rate is uncapped.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.
Ray tracing (RT)
Color blind mode		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.

Widescreen resolution

Install Widescreen HUD fix

Delete config.ini from <path-to-game>\Bin (if it exists). Download the HUDfix_Vers2.2.zip archive. Extract the downloaded archive. Copy the Data folder to <path-to-game> (overwrite existing files if prompted). Open the folder corresponding to your aspect ratio (e.g. 16.9) and copy the Data folder inside it to <path-to-game>. Set widescreen resolution in the general video settings. Notes Included in Randomguy7's fix compilation. If you plan to use the unofficial patch 1.66, apply the above instructions only after installing it—otherwise, the patch files will overwrite these changes. Additionally, if your game language has changed to English after installation, see here. Menus and FMV are still stretched.

Set correct field of view (FOV) with a console command
Set widescreen resolution in the general video settings. Open the in-game console (~) and use: fov 111 for 16:9, fov 105.27 for 16:10, fov 124.73 for 21:9. Notes Menus, FMV, and HUD are still stretched.

Input

Control settings (1/2)

Control settings (2/2)

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse acceleration		Mouse smoothing can be disabled in the control settings.
Mouse input in menus
Keyboard and mouse prompts
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		The original configuration file contains the line Cfg.UseGamepad = false – further testing required.

Audio

Audio settings

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Battle music, ambient music, and sound
Surround sound		Up to 8 speakers.
Subtitles		Subtitle files for viewing with a media player.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support		A3D, EAX 3 May require DirectSound3D restoration software on Windows Vista and later.
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Czech				Retail only; base game, Black Edition.
French
German				Retail and Steam only; download for GOG.com version.
Italian				Retail only; download for digital versions.
Polish				Retail and GOG.com only.
Brazilian Portuguese				Fan translation; download.
Russian				Retail only; download for digital versions.
Slovak				Fan translation; base game, Battle Out of Hell.
Spanish
Ukrainian				Fan translation; Black Edition.

Network

General server settings

Advanced server settings

Dedicated server settings

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
Local play
LAN play		16	Versus
Online play		16	Versus GameSpy services have been shut down; see Online play for workarounds.
Asynchronous multiplayer
Crossplay

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated		Run the game with the -dedicated parameter.
Self-hosting
Direct IP

Ports

Protocol	Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP	3455
UDP	3455

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

The default port can be changed by the user in-game.

Online play

Replace GameSpy server calls with OpenSpy calls

Go to <path-to-game>\Bin. Open Engine.dll in HxD. From menu bar, select Search, then Replace… In the Search for field, enter gamespy.com. In the Replace with field, enter openspy.net. Click Replace all, then OK if prompted. Click on the floppy disk icon to save changes. Repeat the procedure for Engine.dll located in the Editor subfolder. Notes If you plan to use the unofficial patch 1.66, apply the above instructions only after installing it—otherwise, the patch files will overwrite these changes. Additionally, to connect to servers with version number 1.64, you must change the value of PK_VERSION to 1.64 in Definitions.lua, located in <path-to-game>\Data\LScripts\Main.

VR support

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

Issues fixed

Frame rate drops

Set the "3D sound provider" to anything other than "RAD Game Tools RSX 3D Audio" in the audio settings.

Frame rate drops when taking damage

Install Hit blur effect fix
Download the Painkiller Hit Blur Fix.zip archive. Extract the downloaded archive. Copy the LScripts folder to <path-to-game>\Data. Notes This completely disables the blur effect when taking damage.

Low frame rate on GeForce FX series and similar graphics cards

Disable "Bloom" in the advanced video settings.

Fluctuating game speed

Install Dual-core fix
Download the RANDOMGUY7_FIXES.zip archive. Extract the downloaded archive. Open the RANDOMGUY7 FIXES folder and copy the Bin folder inside it to <path-to-game> (overwrite existing files if prompted). Notes Included in Randomguy7's fix compilation.

Try setting Vsync to "On" or "Off" in the graphics card control panel and check the results.

Game editor asks for a CD-ROM

The issue does not occur in GOG.com version.

Hex edit the game editor executable
Go to <path-to-game>\Bin\Editor. Open PainEditor.exe with a hex editor. Go to offset 36C1 and change 75 0C to EB 0C.

Game language changes after installing a mod

Edit Lua script
Go to <path-to-game>\Data\LScripts\Main. Open Cfg.lua in a text editor. Change the line Cfg.Language = "<language>" to match your language. If there is a -- at the beginning of the line – remove it.

Game doesn't fill screen (Proton/Linux)

With Proton 6.3-8 and newer, the game occupies only a small area of the screen and may not be fully visible.

Use Proton 5.13-6 or older
In the game properties on Steam, go to Compatibility. Enable Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool. Select Proton 5.13-6 or older from the drop-down menu.

Enable "Use WineD3D"
Run Proton with the environment variable PROTON_USE_WINED3D set to 1 (in the General tab of the game's Properties window in Steam, put PROTON_USE_WINED3D=1 %command% in the launch options field).

Use GameScope
Alternatively, set up windowed mode with d3d9-wrapper and run the game via gamescope with the -f flag to play in fullscreen.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9	Includes compatibility levels for Direct3D 8 and 7 cards.

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Physics	Havok Physics	2
Audio	Miles Sound System	6.6a
Cutscenes	Bink Video	1.6g
Multiplayer	GameSpy

Other settings

• 

  HUD settings

• 

  Weapon settings

• 

  Multiplayer player settings

• 

  Multiplayer messages settings

Bypass GameSpy installer

Digital distribution versions do not include this installer.

Delete or rename GameSpy installer
Go to <path-to-game>\GameSpy. Delete or rename ArcadeInstallPAINKILLER14c.exe.

Unlock all levels

Install All levels mod to access all levels, regardless of difficulty.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum		Recommended
Operating system (OS)	98, ME, 2000		XP
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium III 1.2 GHz Intel Pentium 4 1.6 GHz AMD Athlon 1.2 GHz		Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz AMD Athlon XP 2400+
System memory (RAM)	384 MB		512 MB
Storage drive (HDD/SSD)	2.6 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 2 GTS ATI Radeon 8500 64 MB of VRAM DirectX 8.1b compatible		Nvidia GeForce FX 5700 ATI Radeon 9700 256 MB of VRAM DirectX 9 compatible