Crysis 2, one of the most anticipated games of the year, is finally released. Just like its predecessor, the game has superb graphics but heavily taxes hardware and you’ll need a high end gaming rig to play it with everything maxed out. Needless to say this is one game you’ll want to tweak to get optimal performance on your system with minimal loss of visual quality. Thankfully, you can now tweak the hell out of Crysis 2 thanks to an awesome tool created by an avid fan of the franchise - Crysis 2 Advanced Graphics Options Tool allows you to change a number of advanced game settings though an easy to use graphics user interface. Either way this is our routine troubleshooting article for Crysis 2 – it discusses in detail how to use this tool to change game settings and provides generic tips to avoid random crashes you might experience while playing.

What is the Crysis 2 Advanced Graphics Options Tool and how does it work?

The Crysis 2 Advanced Graphics Options Tool allows you to enable/disable, turn on/off or change the following settings: shaders, post processing, motion blur, effects, shadows, radial blur, objects, sound, MSAA, particles, physics, edge AA, water, anisotropy. Additionally, it comes with options to disable intro movies, mouse acceleration , mouse smoothing, toggle zoom, toggle couch as well as to adjust field of vision (FoV) and movement FoV.

And how does this tool make it all possible? It uses the autoexec.cfg file to pass the settings on to the game during startup. Autoexec.cfg is a file that comes with Crysis 2 by default – all of the settings stored in the file automatically get applied during game startup. Crysis 2 Advanced Graphics Options Tool automatically updates this file as the user changes settings through the graphical user interface. Screenshot of the GUI can be seen below:

Crysis 2 Config Tool

How to use Crysis 2 Advanced Graphics Options Tool to tweak and change advanced game settings

Using this tool is pretty easy and straightforward - you don’t need to be a power user to do it.

  • Make sure you have .NET Framework 2.0 or higher installed on your system.
  • Download the tool from here or here.
  • Unzip the download. Once you have unzipped place anywhere you want.
  • Delete any autoexec.cfg files found in the Crysis 2 root folder (default is C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\Crytek\Crysis 2).
  • Run the Crysis2AdvancedGraphicsOptions.exe
  • Hit apply once all settings are set. Start the game.

Full credit for making this tool and making it available online should go to wasdie, who originally posted it on this thread.

The configuration tool did not work for me. How do I edit game settings manually?

If for some reason the automated configuration utility above did not work for you, there is still no need to panic. You can always do it manually, the old school way.

1. Open notepad. Paste the following inside a new document.

g_skipIntro=1
cl_fov=72
pl_movement.power_sprint_targetFov=72
i_mouse_accel=0
i_mouse_accel_max=100
i_mouse_smooth=0
r_motionblur=2
g_radialBlur=1
cl_zoomToggle=0
r_UseEdgeAA=0
r_TexMaxAnisotropy=16
sys_spec_shading=3
sys_spec_gameeffects=3
sys_spec_objectdetail=3
sys_spec_particles=3
sys_spec_physics=3
sys_spec_postprocessing=3
sys_spec_shadows=3
sys_spec_sound=3
sys_spec_texture=3
sys_spec_water=3
r_PostMSAA=2
cl_crouchtoggle=1

2. Go to File-> Save As. Change ‘Save As Type’ to all files. Enter autoexec.cfg as the save name. Save the file.

3. Locate the saved .cfg file and move it inside your Crysis 2 home directory. Backup and replace any existing files if prompted to overwrite. Default is C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\Crytek\Crysis 2.

4. Any settings you edit and save in the above file will automatically get applied every time the game is run. For example, if you set g_skipIntro=1, intro movies will be disabled. If you set sys_spec_shadows=1, shadows will be set to low.

P.S. – If you are worried by the excessive amount of blur, try changing the Edge AA setting.

General tips to avoid Crysis 2 crashes and random CTD

  • If the game crashes during launch, try changing your audio settings to Stereo (Go to Control Panel –> Sound, Select ‘Speakers’ and click the ‘Configure’ button, Choose ‘Stereo’ in the next dialog.) Crysis 2 is known to crash on some systems with surround sound.
  • Update your DirectX – Crysis 2 relies heavily on the Direct3D API. It’s highly recommended that you upgrade to the latest monthly runtime of DirectX which can be located here.
  • Apply the v1.1 day one patch. You can download it from here.

This article is a work in progress. Check back here for more updates.

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5 Comments

  1. Silencer // 3/26/2011 10:12:00 AM  
    This comment has been removed by the author.
  2. Silencer // 3/26/2011 10:13:00 AM  

    pushing the FPS genre to next step...

    congrats. CRYTEK

  3. Silencer // 3/26/2011 10:32:00 AM  
    This comment has been removed by the author.
  4. Silencer // 3/26/2011 10:34:00 AM  

    This options cannot work well on game, after settings game cannot start even. my config is 4850 Palit 1gb ,4gb ram, Phenom 4X 9550...i can play game in 1920x1080 with advanced...but all you know it's DX9...:)))

  5. Unknown // 4/11/2011 02:28:00 AM  

    can you use this on multiplayer as well?