This page contains several tweaks to increase the in-game performance of Darkest Hour. They are not necessarily dependent on each other and can be tried individually or all at once. More performance increases can be found in the Unofficial Tweak Guide.

More Accurate Aiming

To make aiming with the mouse more accurate and more like Day of Defeat,

  1. Go to Configuration in the Main Menu
  2. Click the Input section at the top
  3. Uncheck Mouse Smoothing
  4. Uncheck Reduce Mouse Lag

Turn Off CPU Suckers

There are a few features of this engine that make the game look great but can cause performance issues on lower-end computers. Disabling these should improve your performance, without having a major aesthetic impact.

  1. Go to Configuration in the Main Menu
  2. Click the Display section at the top
  3. Check the box next to Show Advanced Options to enable the options on the right half of the screen
    1. Uncheck Motion Blur
    2. Uncheck HDR Bloom
    3. Uncheck Dynamic Lighting

Lower Game Details

If you are getting low FPS and find it difficult to play, try lowering the overall detail of your video.

  1. Go to Configuration in the Main Menu
  2. Click the Display section at the top
  3. Select the drop-down box next to Game details and choose a lower setting

If there are still performance issues, try turning the setting to “Lowest”

Change DirectX Version

This is a very common problem. If your game runs unusually slow or there are very odd visual defects in game, your video card may not be supporting DirectX 9.0 properly. Simply changing the version of DirectX used by Darkest Hour should fix this.

  1. Go to Configuration in the Main Menu
  2. Click the Display section at the top
  3. Select the drop-down box next to Render Device and choose “Direct 3D” instead of “Direct 3D 9.0”

Turn Off VSync

Your video card may have a feature called VSync enabled by default, which helps make movement more realistic and less like a “computer game”. This, however, requires a decent amount of processing power and disabling it can improve your FPS a great deal.

Disabling VSync is not done inside Darkest Hour, but in your video card’s control panel. To find this, go to Start > Control Panel and look for Display Settings or a section with your video card’s brand name on it (such as NVIDIA Control Panel). Browse around for a section on VSync and disable it. If you are having trouble finding this, ask for help in the Medical Office.

Change Audio Settings

If you have a physical soundcard that isn’t onboard/integrated, this fix will take some of the load off the CPU.

  1. Go to Configuration in the Main Menu
  2. Click the Audio section at the top
  3. Select the drop-down box next to Audio Mode and choose “H/W 3D Audio” instead of “3D Audio”

In addition, you can check the box next to Low Sound Detail to further help performance, but only do this if necessary as the audio is arguably one of the best parts of the game.

Change Your Resolution

Increasing your game resolution will provide a sharper, larger and more detailed image. Decreasing it will do the opposite. A lower resolution is less demanding and can provide better performance, but looks less attractive visually. To change your resolution:

  1. Go to Configuration in the Main Menu
  2. Click the Display section at the top
  3. Select the drop-down box next to Game details and choose your desired resolution

Run in a Window

Running the game in a window reduces the risk of crashing but can have an negative effect on FPS. To switch between fullscreen and a window, hold your [Alt] key and press the [Enter] key. You can switch between these modes at any time during the game. If the window is too small, change your resolution.

keyboard_window.jpg

Reconfigure Your Controls

Red Orchestra and Darkest Hour use controls that vary from Day of Defeat in several ways. For example, [Q] and [E] are used for leaning, and crouching is a toggle. By going to Configuration in the Main Menu and selecting the Controls section at the top, you can change your control setup. A few recommended (but entirely optional) changes are:

  • Set Crouch to [CTRL]. Note the difference between Crouch and Toggle Crouch being that Toggle Crouch requires you to tap the key again to stand up, whereas Crouch simply stands up when you let go of the key.
  • Set Prone to [Z] like in Day of Defeat
  • Set Use to [F] as [E] is taken and [F] is closeby
    • If you do this, you will have to set Attach Bayonet/Deploy MG to an alternative (such as [C]) in the Weapons section below.
  • In the Communication section, you may want to change Say to [Y] like in Day of Defeat, and Team Say to [U].
  • Your microphone button choice is up to you, but it is in the Communication section as well, and bound to Scroll Lock by default, which is far out of reach. I personally use [CAPS LOCK].
    • The Public/Local/Team channel switch binds are a way of switching between “all talk”, “team talk” and “vehicle talk”

TweakGuides.com

If you still have trouble with performance or simply want to max out your computer’s potential in Darkest Hour, read TweakGuide.com’s UT2004 Guide. It is for Unreal Tournament 2004, but Darkest Hour runs on that engine so the tweaks will work just the same. The guide even includes a program that can assist you in your tweaking.

Network Issues

What Gamers Need To Know About Network Synchronization In Games PingTest: Online Broadband Quality Test