Summoner

Summoner is a singleplayer and multiplayer bird's-eye view RPG game developed by Volition and published by THQ.

After its initial PlayStation 2 release in October 2000, Summoner released for Windows on March 20, 2001, followed by a Graphsim Entertainment-developed Mac OS port on June 29, 2001.^[3]^[4]

The game re-released digitally on GOG.com on February 24, 2014, followed by Steam on March 12, 2014.^[5]^[6]

General information

GOG.com Community Discussions

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail
GamersGate

GOG.com
Green Man Gaming
Humble Store
Steam

Demo

Available to download from PCGamingWiki Files.

Monetization

Type	Notes
One-time game purchase	The game requires an upfront purchase to access.

Essential improvements

Official patch

The latest official patch is 1.40.

Available to download from PCGamingWiki Files.

Digital releases are already patched.

Game data

In-game options menu.

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Volition\Summoner <path-to-game>\summoner.cfg^{[Note 1]}
Mac OS (Classic)
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/275570/pfx/^{[Note 2]}

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\savegame\^{[Note 1]}
Mac OS (Classic)
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/275570/pfx/^{[Note 2]}

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud

Video

Launcher general video settings.

Launcher advanced video settings.

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution		Use Timeslip's Summoner patch for high/widescreen resolutions. However, this displaces the menus. Not compatible with German version.^[7]
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen		Use Timeslip's Summoner patch.
4K Ultra HD		Use Timeslip's Summoner patch.
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS
120+ FPS		Exceeding 60 FPS increases game speed.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.
Color blind mode		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.

Input

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

Audio

Launcher audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound		May require DirectSound3D restoration software.
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support		EAX 2.0.
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Czech				Fan - 1
French				Retail only.
German
Russian				Pirate translation (Fargus) Audio and Subtitle Download

Network

Launcher network settings.

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
LAN play		4	Co-op
Online play		4	Co-op The official multiplayer service has been shut down.

Connection types

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

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
vorpX		Z3D User created game profile, (Glide !!) see vorpx forum profile introduction.

Issues fixed

Video card detection not working in launcher

Enable the following compatibility settings for `<path-to-game>\Summoner.exe`: `Compatibility mode (Windows XP Service Pack 3)`^[8]

Better performance on modern systems

Use dgVoodoo 2 Wrapper^[9]
Download and install dgVoodoo 2 (DirectX 1-7). Run the game launcher and go to Setup. Make sure `Detect Glide` is checked. Click `Detect Available Cards`.

Missing mouse and/or incomplete in-game rendering

Enable the following compatibility settings for `<path-to-game>\Summoner.exe`: `Compatibility mode (Windows XP Service Pack 3)`^[10]

Game runs too fast

Enable Vsync in game options and set monitor refresh rate to 60 Hz^{[citation needed]}

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	7
OpenGL		Mac OS only.
Glide	2.4

Executable	PPC	16-bit	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
Mac OS (Classic)

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Cutscenes	Bink Video	1.0x

Modifications

Summoner Texture Upscale

Console higher quality music

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum^[11]	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	95, 98, ME
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium II 400 MHz AMD K6-2 400 MHz	Intel Pentium III 500 MHz AMD K6-2 500 MHz
System memory (RAM)	64 MB	128 MB
Storage drive (HDD/SSD)	800 MB
Video card (GPU)	3dfx Voodoo2 4 MB of VRAM DirectX 8.0 compatible	3dfx Voodoo3 Nvidia RIVA TNT2
Sound (audio device)	DirectX compatible	EAX compatible
Other	4x CD-ROM drive

Mac OS
	Minimum^[12]^[13]	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	8.6
Processor (CPU)	PowerPC G3 300 MHz PowerPC G4 300 MHz	PowerPC G3 400 MHz PowerPC G4 400 MHz
System memory (RAM)	64 MB	128 MB
Storage drive (HDD/SSD)	800 MB
Video card (GPU)	6 MB of VRAM OpenGL 1.2.1 compatible	16 MB of VRAM
Other	8x CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1
Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
- File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
- Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
- The app ID (275570) may differ in some cases.
- Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
- See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

References

↑ Volition on X - last accessed on 2023-10-16
"It's our own in-house engine that we call CTG after our Core Technology Group."
↑ Volition on X - last accessed on 2023-10-16
"It's been updated and changed over the years, but certain aspects of the engine like slew mode have been the same since the Freespace days."
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 PR - 03/20/01 - THQ SHIPS SUMMONER FOR PC (retrieved) - last accessed on 2023-05-20
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 Summoner for Mac Shipping! (retrieved) - last accessed on 2023-07-04
↑ Release: Summoner - GOG.com (retrieved) - last accessed on 2024-06-29
↑ News - Now Available on Steam - Summoner, 20% off! - last accessed on 2024-06-29
↑ Summoner Patch (by Timeslip), page 1 - Forum - GOG.com - last accessed on 2023-05-20
↑ Verified by User:Mystyle48 on 2022-09-05
↑ Optional solution for modern systems, page 1 - Forum - GOG.com - last accessed on 2023-10-17
↑ can't play help :: Summoner General Discussions - last accessed on 2023-05-20
↑ Summoner PC Manual : THQ : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive - last accessed on 2023-05-31
↑ sumnr-features (retrieved) - last accessed on 2023-05-20
↑ support-faq-smnr (retrieved) - last accessed on 2023-06-02

[gamedir-7] 1.0 ^1.1 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).

[Proton_path_note-8] 2.0 ^2.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
The app ID (275570) may differ in some cases.
Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

[3] File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.

[4] Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.

[5] The app ID (275570) may differ in some cases.

[6] Treat backslashes as forward slashes.

[7] See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

[1] Volition on X - last accessed on 2023-10-16
"It's our own in-house engine that we call CTG after our Core Technology Group."

[2] Volition on X - last accessed on 2023-10-16
"It's been updated and changed over the years, but certain aspects of the engine like slew mode have been the same since the Freespace days."

[release-3] 3.0 ^3.1 PR - 03/20/01 - THQ SHIPS SUMMONER FOR PC (retrieved) - last accessed on 2023-05-20

[release2-4] 4.0 ^4.1 Summoner for Mac Shipping! (retrieved) - last accessed on 2023-07-04

[5] Release: Summoner - GOG.com (retrieved) - last accessed on 2024-06-29

[6] News - Now Available on Steam - Summoner, 20% off! - last accessed on 2024-06-29

[9] Summoner Patch (by Timeslip), page 1 - Forum - GOG.com - last accessed on 2023-05-20

[10] Verified by User:Mystyle48 on 2022-09-05

[11] Optional solution for modern systems, page 1 - Forum - GOG.com - last accessed on 2023-10-17

[12] 't play help :: Summoner General Discussions - last accessed on 2023-05-20

[13] Summoner PC Manual : THQ : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive - last accessed on 2023-05-31

[14] sumnr-features (retrieved) - last accessed on 2023-05-20

[15] support-faq-smnr (retrieved) - last accessed on 2023-06-02

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[Note 1]

[Note 2]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

Developers

	Volition
Mac OS (Classic)	Graphsim Entertainment
Publishers
2001-2013	THQ
2013-present	THQ Nordic
Engines
	CTG^[1]^[2]
Release dates
Windows	March 20, 2001^[3]
Mac OS (Classic)	June 29, 2001^[4]
Reception
Metacritic	78
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Continuous turn-based
Perspectives	Third-person, Bird's-eye view
Controls	Point and select
Genres	RPG
Art styles	Stylized
Themes	Fantasy