Steam has a Guide Index itself, but here's what you can find on each section of the guide, so it's easier for you to get around!

1 - Basic Configuration:

• How to run the Configuration Tool
  
• Setting up your Direct Input (Non-Xbox360(Non Xinput)) Controller
  
• Enabling Vibration (Force Feedback) on your Generic Controller

2 - Making the game run fast on Low/Mid-Range computers

• Learning how every quality setting affects the game
  
• Finding the best resolution
  
• Finding the best Frame Rate Target
  
• Learning about and why Frame Capping is good contrary to popular believe
  
• Locking the game’s Frame Rate for a butter-smooth, console-like experience

3 - Improving Quality on High/Enthusiast-Range Computers

• Improving the game’s Graphical Quality (with picture samples!)
  
• How to Apply the Quality Settings on AMD/ATI Cards
  
• How to Apply the Quality Settings on Nvidia Cards

4 - Other Tweaks and Improvements (High/Enthusiast-Range Computers only)

• Taking out the Black Bars on non 16:9 Screen Resolutions
  
• Playing on Multiple Screens (Dual/Quad Screens) with Friends!
  
• Playing in Eyefinity
  
• Playing With 3D Vision
  
• Reducing Input Lag (experimental)
  
• Other Helpful Tweaks
  
• Preventing Frame Drops in Samba Studios / Sanctuary Falls
  
  • Table of CPU Overclock Speeds you should target
    
  • How to get 5FPS more without Overclocking

5 - Troubleshooting

• Minimum System Requirements
  
• Wrong GPU detected/being used
  
• Configuration Tool not opening / Crashing (Missing MSVCP*.dll)
  
• Game Black Screens / Crashes
  
• Sound Problems
  
• The game is Too Slow!
  
• ATI HD3xxx Missing Water
  
• Game's too Dark / Shadow Stripes
  
• Known Online Problems
  
• Known In-Game Bugs
  
• General Good Advice for Everyone

6 - Quick GPU Settings Table

• Easily find the most-used settings for your GPU!

Ok then, let's get started!

Ok then, let's started! Here's the most basic of the basic stuff you need to know before starting tweaking the game / open it for the first time:

# How to run the Configuration Tool

This is the most basic thing you need to know: how to open the game's Configuration Tool. There you can find the most important settings, including the Graphics, Language and Control Options. Audio Options are In-Game.

To open the game's Configuration Tool, do the following:

• Open your Steam Library;
  
• Right click on the game's name on your game list;
  
• Click on "Configure", right below "Play now".

# Setting up your Non-Xbox360(Non Xinput) Controller

Chances are if you're reading this, you don't own a Xbox 360 or any other Xinput-Ready controller. The game has very basic D-Input capabilities, so, it's better to configure your non-Xinput controller this way.

If you use your game in D-Input, you'll have most likely issues with stunts (due to the analog not being so responsive), and 99% sure your Menu Keys will be all messed up, no Mather how much you re-map the keys on the Configuration Tool. So, let's just do this quick Controller Setup Guide instead!

We will be using x360ce, a Xinput emulator that will make the game think you have a real Xinput Controller. This can be also use for pretty much any Xinput-Ready game!

• Download x360ce here[www.mediafire.com] (uploaded myself);
  
• Go to your game's folder (usualy C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed) and decompress the zip file files in there;
  
• Open up the file x360ce.exe;
  
• Configure the keys properly in the window that will open, after that press "Save" and close it;
  
• Open up the game's Configuration Tool, and select your controller from the list. DO NOT CHANGE ANY KEY BINDINGS;
  
• Ready to go! Quit the configuration tool and try the game now!

No, not at all! This program only stretches your game's window to fit the screen, it doesn’t mess with the game's memory at all.

I've Also Checked with IceBlade and S0L (the developer himself) also said it's ok to run this program, so, go ahead and have no fear!

# Enabling Vibration (Force Feedback) on generic D-Input controllers

Now we got the controller working, but it doesn't vibrate! To make the controller vibrate, you need to install proper force feedback drivers on your PC!

Note: Is shouldn’t have to say this but for this to your controller needs to have the "vibrating parts" inside. If it doesn't, it won't vibrate even with this driver.

Here are the step-by-step instructions on how to do this:

• Download the drivers here[mega.co.nz] (uploaded by myself);
  
• After Downloading, uncompress the zip file. You should have 3 files inside;
  
• Run "Setup.exe" and install the new driver;
  
• After it finishes installing, unplug and plug back in your controller to the PC;
  
• Open up the file "ForceTest.exe", and click on the checkbox "Constant Force (the top middle one). Your controller should vibrate!
  
• Open up x360ce.exe inside Sonic All-Stars Folder, and press "Save";
  
• Open up the Game's Configuration Tool and make sure your controller is selected;
  
• Play Samba Studios to test vibration! It's the best track!

All done! Enjoy your Force Feedback active controller!

This section of the guide is dedicated to all you Slow Laptop / Desktop Users!

It has come to my attention that a lot of our fellow not-so-tech-savvy players are running this amazing game with God Awful frame rates / Stuttering / Lag or even BELLOW REAL-TIME SPEED, and this can be a MAJOR setback in becoming good and having fun in this game.

I have worked with KJ3400, who owns a very simple laptop with an Intel HD4000 graphics card (The Intel HD3000 tested was mine), to see if I could work out a way to improve his horrible frame rate without sacrificing the resolution / graphics too much, and especially, make the game run butter smooth on this type of systems that cannot handle constant 60FPS.

# Why should I bother following this guide if my computer is so Slow anyway?

Do you know that Fish_Goes_Something guy that always DNF’s you on Dream Valley? Or any other track for the Mather? Do you find your game super sluggish, super jumpy, super non-responsive or very slow? Are you going way slower than the other players?

Well then, if any of those above is true, that’s why you should follow this quick guide! Trust me, your computer is probably much more capable than you think!

----------

# What will this part cover?

This topic will help you learn to archive the best quality / performance settings really quick, as well as getting a not before achievable butter smooth console-like frame rate experience on your mid-low range laptop / desktop!

We will learn how every quality setting impacts the game, as well as a brand new way to get your game butter smooth after finishing tweaking it! It will be just like playing in the PS3/Xbox 360, only better!

We will also learn about Frame Capping, and how that’s a GOOD THING contrary to the popular believe. We’ll learn how it affects our experience, and why/how we can use it to get a smoother game experience!

----------

# Additional Software required for this guide

We will be using one other program to help our beautiful game run better. The program’s name is Bandicam. I know this program is usually used to record video, but that’s not only what it can do! We can also use it to do other things, like make our Frame Rate constant and check your current Frame rate for testing purposes!

Bandicam is the best and easiest option to keep our frame rate locked and constant. However, if you own an Nvidia or AMD/ATI card, you can also use other software like Nvidia Inspector (For Nvidia Cards) or RadeonPro (For AMD/ATI Cards), but for the sake of simplicity, we’ll be showing just the Bandicam method, because not only it’s easier, it can also run on Intel Graphic Cards.

You can also use other software to measure your Frame Rate if you don’t like Bandicam’s own FPS meter. You can use Fraps for example!

If your computer can’t handle the 1280x720 (720p), we will need to use another tool to test it properly. This tool is “ResizeEnable”, it allows you to reside any window you want. This will be needed to test your game further.

I’ll providing the download links below:

# Bandicam[www.bandicam.com] (Required to cap and smooth the game’s Frame Rate)
# Fraps[www.fraps.com] (used to see the Frame Rate, not required)
# ResideEnabler[www.mediafire.com] (Only if necessary for further testing)

----------

# Settings you should change before starting tweaking the game!

There is one setting you should change in Windows’s Power Options, especially if you own a laptop.

First off, Laptop users: PLUG IN YOU LAPTOP TO THE CHARGER. Very important!

Now, both Desktop and Laptop users: Find the Power Options Menu in your system (click on the battery icon or go to the Control Panel), and select the mode “High Performance Mode”.
Doing this will prevent the computer from downclocking your CPU during your game section, which will give you a much better stutter free experience!

DO NOTICE THOUGH: Beware that using the High Performance mode will make your PC never clock down to slower speeds, making it use more power. This is great for gameplay, but beware that your battery will suffer if you do not switch back to "Balanced" mode after finishing plating the game!

----------

# Picking the right Target Frame rate

WARNING: Your screen’s refresh rate should be set to 60Hz to obtain good results! (99% sure it is, don't worry!)

Note: If you want to learn why you should target 30FPS and not 60FPS, please read the “2.3 – Frame Capping” part of this guide. I explain in detail what Frame Capping is, and how that’s not a bad thing at all contrary to the popular believe surrounding the PC gaming community.

Before we start tweaking the quality settings, let me make this clear: You will NOT achieve constant 60FPS by tweaking this settings in a slow laptop. At least not without leaving the game looking like dog vomit :( So, our target frame rates will be different in this guide, more console-like ones!

The target you should be aiming for in a low and mid-range computer is 30 FPS. If your computer can render 30 FPS 95% of the time during a race you’ll have a very cool, great, awesome, outstanding, AMAZING! Experience.

There are 3 target frame rates you can be aiming for:

60FPS
The one everyone wants, but you won’t achieve this in a mid-range computer properly, especially due to CPU Limitations. There are a lot of tracks that will slow down to the 40’s FPS, giving you a bad experience. Just let it go. Consoles play at 30FPS too, so, it won’t be that bad, promised! If you have a good computer however, and are just using this low/mid-range part of the guide to learn how to tweak settings for games, do target this one! Remember tough! This game has a small issue: When vSync is disabled, it won’t go any higher than 56FPS. If you are at constant 56FPS, then you are also constant at 60FPS when you enable vSync back on!

30FPS
This is the target you’re aiming for. 30FPS will give you a very smooth gaming experience. This is the number you should be looking to stay above during our test session next topic! If you can have 95% of the time during a race 30FPS+ (40+ is even better), you’re going to have an amazing experience after the tweaking!

20FPS
This is the Bottom line, minimum acceptable Frame Rate you can run the game with. Anything below, even 1 FPS and you’ll be running below Real-Time Speed. You’ll be in a tremendous disadvantage because your PC will be rendering the game slower than the other racer’s computers, and this is what causes you to go MUCH slower than them. Make sure your system rarely touches the 20’s during our next testing phase, and if it can’t keep up 30FPS’s even in the lowest quality settings, you should target at all costs 20FPS’s. If you can’t handle 20 with everything in the lowest possible settings, well then, time for a new PC, that one belong in a museum!

Now then, let’s get ready to and see how to find the proper game settings.

# Find the best and Impact of Quality Settings and Screen Resolutions

We’re ready to start understanding, testing and finding the best quality settings for our beloved game!

Let’s start by opening the Game’s Configuration Tool.

Click on the option "Graphics". When this new window pops up, we are presented with 5 different lines. Let’s see what each one of them has to offer us:



Device
This part shows what graphics card you have in your system. Do not change this setting.

Display Options
This changes how the game is supposed to be opened in your computer. Make sure that you have the mode “Fullscreen” activated. Do not pick the “Windowed/Fullscreen” one, because this will render your game at your screen max resolution, making it run too slow if your PC can’t handle it. It has also been tested and reported by a lot of players (myself included) that using "Fullscreen" mode will improve frame rates and make the game more stable!

Screen Resolution
This is the setting that has the most impact on your game’s performance. The higher the number, the more stress will your computer be under when playing the game. Lower numbers will increase dramatically the performance, but also decrease dramatically the quality.Find the one that's best suited for you! But never above 1280x720 or your low end GPU will most likely not be able to handle it!

Graphics Quality
Here you have basic click-to-go quality settings changers. You can select Low, Normal or High Quality. For now, since we need to first figure out if your computer can handle the game, set this option to “Low”.

Advanced Graphics
Before we go into this deeper, just open this menu and make sure that “VSYNC” is OFF for testing. After this, open the game with Bandicam or Fraps opened and do a race in Samba Studios and Sactuary Falls, the most demanding tracks this game has. Check if your game can keep above 30FPS. If you do not have this tracks unlocked as of yet, race on Ocean View and Dragon Canyon!

-----------

If your game can’t reach 30FPS, it’s time to lower the resolution. Before rushing in the configuration tool to get the resolution down, don’t. Fraps/Bandicam cannot show their fps meter properly in any other of the lower resolutions, because they are not 16:9. What you need to do now is use the software “ResideEnable”. Just open it to be able to reside any window you want, and change the setting “Display Options” from “Fullscreen” to “Windowed”. In the game’s Configuration Tool.
After doing so, launch the game. It will launch in a 1280x720 Window. Reside this window so it’s roughly half the size. See how much FPS you get with this. If it can now run properly, you will need to play with 640x480 or a very slightly higher resolution from the “Screen Resolution” menu. Try a few after we’re done with the tweaking!
We did this so we can still see the FPS counter, and to be faster to test resolution sizes on slower GPU’s.

-----------------

Now let’s see what we can tweak more! Open the Advanced Graphics menu. After doing so, your “Graphics Quality” setting in the previous window will have changed its name from “Low” to “Custom Settings”. This is normal, don’t worry.

Let’s see what each option in this window does, and how they impact your game’s performance.



The following Recommended Settings are for the Intel HD3000/4000. This settings where tested extensively and are only validated to be used along with Bandicam’s Frame Capping mechanism. The settings that are worth tweaking for other slightly more capable GPU’s will have a note saying so. The game resolution this settings are supposed to be used in is 1280x720 (720p).

Ambient Occlusion – Recommended: OFF
Ambient Occlusion enhances lightning by creating dark highlights on the edges of objects in order to make lightning appear more realistic. This setting has a moderate performance impact on the game, so, disable this. There is also a bug with this option, check the “Known In-Game Bugs” on this guide for more info.

Motion Blur – Recommended: OFF
Motion blur in this game gives you the sensation of going a bit faster. However, below 60 FPS, all it does is make your image so blurry that you have a hard time seeing the map. So, disable it. If you don’t believe me, try Samba Studios with it on and off and see for yourself!

Anti-Aliasing – Recommended: ON
Anti-Aliasing will smooth out the rough edges on 3D objects on the screen. This game uses a very simple blur-like method called “FXAA”. Not as good as True MSAA, but still very, very good! This will have a quite measurable performance hit. However, for Intel HD3000/4000 it should be no big deal for the card. If you are still testing, and find the game slow, turn this setting OFF (and see how horrible graphics get along with it!)

ScreenSplash – Recommended: OFF:
This will allow the camera to have water splashes during the races in water. This can have a pretty bad impact on some GPU’s, so it’s recommended to leave it off.

VSync – Recommended: ON
VSync synchronizes the images your GPU renders with your screen. This prevents the phenomenon called Tearing.[zoneitastuces.com] Tearing is a break in the image on-screen, because the graphics card sent to the screen a new image while the screen was showing the previous one, making it look like the image was cut in half. Tearing manifests itself by horizontal “break” lines on screen, it’s very annoying, but while we’re testing the game you must leave VSYNC »»OFF«« so your GPU can render all the FPS it can.

After finishing testing and finding the best settings, turn this back ON.

Water Quality – Recommended: LOW
This will change the quality that the water will rendered in. Set this to LOW, since water can be quite heavy on your FPS’s! Try changing this higher after doing the initial tests *IF* your computer still renders above 30FPS in the water part of SAMBA STUDIOS.

Texture Quality – Recommended: LOW
Most laptops with integrated Graphics cards like the Intel ones, have very low dedicated RAM memory. So, leave the textures at a low resolution so you can get a big boost in FPS! You can also play with this setting later on if your computer still renders well above 30FPS.

Model Quality – Recommended: NORMAL
Use Samba Studios to properly test the impact of this setting on your computer, it’s the heaviest track in the entire game. Normal will show most objects in Samba Studios (including the super cool Dancing Tity Cactus). However, if your computer cannot handle it above 30FPS in most parts, set this to LOW.

Shadow Quality – Recommended: NORMAL
This will affect the quality of shadows in your game. If you cannot run properly above 30FPS with this settings, try running it on LOW to check again.

----------

Play around with the settings until you can satisfy the “Above 30FPS” target, or 60 if your PC is good enough and you are just reading to learn how each setting affects the game! Remember, it doesn’t need to stay above 30 100% of the time, but make sure it rarely drops below 30! If you couldn’t hit stable 30’s, but you stay above 20’s, then your target frame rate for our next part is 20FPS. Once you're satisfied, go to the next part!

# Making the game Butter Smooth with Bandicam, just like consoles!

Now let’s go to the most epic part of this guide! Using Bandicam to make your GPU and Screen properly sync at 30 or 20FPS, so you have a constant and smooth frame rate to give you a console-like experience.


# Why should I cap my game to 30FPS? Won't it make the game run slower?

No! By capping the frame rate to a value your computer can handle, you're making your game run more stable, thus, faster! When your computer can't render 60 FPS constantly, you'll get stuttering. Stuttering is a very abrupt frame drop that will make your game seem to slowdown abruptly and then speed up (repeat infinitely). Now this the entire race, can't be good right? You'll be hitting walls, failing stunts all over the place because of this! This is due to the GPU trying to sync the FPS to the screen, but it can only send 60 or 30 to keep the game stutter-free. Anything else will make the game jump and skip frames like mad. The only moment you will notice the game "slower" (not actually slower, just LESS SMOOTH) is navigating the main menus, as stated bellow after this part of the guide. However, try running a race, like Samba Studios! You'll LOVE the Frame Capa fter one lap!

# If VSync is the culprit, why not just disable it?

Tearing my dear.[zoneitastuces.com] Tearing is the most horrible thing ever. You will get huge horizontal image cuts all over the place, and contrary to popular believe, tearing also happens on sub-60 FPS. Having the game caped at 30FPS VS having it running at 40FPS with Vsync off, you'll love WAY MORE the [/b]first alternative, it will be just like that sweet nectar from the Gods themselves!


----------


And you do very well for not being happy with the simpler answers above. Let’s learn a bit more how you GPU and Screen works then!

(Pretty pictures/graphs down below, but keep reading!)

Your screen can only show 60 Images per second (if set to 60 Hz. 60hz = 60FPS or 60 Images Per Second (One Frame = One Image)). This update cycle is fixed and cannot vary (well, Nvidia is developing some promissing technology tough! Google for Nvidia G-Sync!)

It takes 16.66ms to each frame(image) to show on screen. So, you graphics card needs to have the frame ready within that short time. If it fails, the frame will be ONLY shown in the next image update, making your game stutter (jump / lag).

Your screen can ONLY update the images in those specific time intervals (each 16.66ms it draws one image). If your GPU sends a new image while your screen is still drawing the previous one, you’ll get tearing, because the screen starts to draw one image, and mid-draw it will switch to draw another one.

VSYNC is the name of the option that makes your GPU send images to the screen ONLY and ONLY when the screen is ready to show the next one. Every 16.66ms, it gives the screen a new image to draw.

When your game is running at 40FPS with VSYNC ON, you get stuttering, even if it’s constantly rendering 40FPS all the time. This is because 40 is not a good a good 60 division result. You need clean 60 divider, or the GPU cannot sync with the screen.

Here’s the simple math on why this happens:

Screen Update time per frame: 16.66ms [For 60hz]
60 FPS = 16.66ms per frame. (60/1)
40 FPS = 25.00ms per frame. (60/1.5 – BAD)
30 FPS = 33.33ms per frame. (60/2)
20FPS = 49.98ms per frame (60/3)

Now, when your GPU tries to sync the 40 frames with the screen, we have a problem: Your screen is constantly updating each 16.66ms. However, it takes 25ms for your GPU to finish one frame.

This means that during the 1 second cycle, the first frame will be shown during the third screen update (third Frame out of 60), but the second one will miss the next update cycle, and be delayed to the 4th update cycle.

Confused? Here’s some images on how your GPU will try to sync the frames to the screen, so you can understand when Stuttering happens:

# At 60FPS (On a 60hz Screen)


As you can see, it goes smoothly. The reason we have the “frame 60 from previous cycle” is because while your PC is rendering frame 1 the previous one is being displayed.
Or in other words, During the Second Update Frame 1 is displayed, Third Update Frame 2 is displayed and so on.

# At 30FPS (On a 60Hz Screen)

The same as the 60FPS graph, but this time one image is shown during 2 Update Cycles. Since it’s constant, you get every 2 update cycles 1 image, so the game will render smoothly and stutter free.

# At 40FPS (On a 60Hz Screen)


All Hell breaks loose on this one! As you can see, during the First and Second Screen Update, frame 40 is being displayed. Frame 1 meantime, during that same period is being rendered by your GPU. Since the Frame 1 wasn’t ready when the second Update Cycle started, that frame is put on hold and delayed until the Third Cycle, and the GPU starts to work on another frame, then, Update Cycle 3 comes, and Frame 1 is Displayed. Now, Frame 2 finished right on time to be sent to the screen during the Fourth Update, so there it goes. Frame 3 is still being rendered, so it cannot go to the screen on the Fifth Update Cycle, so it gets delayed to the sixth one.

As you can see, some frames are being displayed 1 time (one Update Cycle) and others are being displayed 2 times (two Update Cycles) making the game look like it’s constantly speeding up / down, thus you feel it stuttering. This is because the GPU will miss and delay frames by not being able to render and send them to the screen on time.

All clear now? See why capping the frames to 30FPS is better? Good! Now, lets learn how to do it!

First off, you need to already know if your GPU can handle 30FPS, or 20FPS. Also, remember: Your screen refresh rate should be set to 60hz (Check the "Troubleshooting" section for help).

Now that you know which frame rate your GPU can handle, open up Bandicam.
Here is a picture of all Bandicam Settings so you can copy them over. If you don’t want the picture, below I have the settings you need to change in written text:

Under the FPS TAB, disable the “F9” hotkey in the “Overlay” part (Left side) by taking away the checkmark in the square box. Then, uncheck also the setting “Only When Capturing”, and change the FOS Limit from 60 to 30 or 20 according to the results you got before.

Under the Video TAB, uncheck the F12 Hotkey for recording (Record/Stop checkbox).

And finally, under the Image TAB, uncheck the F11 Hotkey checkbox.

---------

# STUPIDITY WARNING (About the Menu’s Low Framerate):

(READ THIS BEFORE JUMPING TO SILLY CONCLUSIONS)
(I’M SERIOUS, READ THIS)

Before you fire up the game, here is something you NEED to know before jumping to conclusions: The menu of the game WILL LOOK SLOWER because you are accustomed to it rendering at over 30FPS.

However, try to run a race and you’ll see just how much better your game now is! If you want your game to run at 60FPS in the menus and 30FPS in the game, you can create a Hotkey to Enable / Disable Bandicam’s Frame Limiting on-demand under the FPS Tab, the “Limit” Hotkey (default disabled, F10 key). You will have to press it to enable it/disable it every time, it is not automatic.

To be humble, just ignore the fact that the menu is running at 30FPS. You get used to it after running one race, and saves you the hassle of switching frame rates like a nutjob. Seriously, just ignore it.

# 20FPS TARGET GUYS:

The game cannot render the initial Sumo Digital and SEGA videos properly at 20FPS. This is normal. You will have sound crackling. The menus will also look sluggish, but they will be rendered in real-time. If you want, use the Frame Limiter Hotkey in Bandicam to toggle it OFF during the game’s boot up process, and after that, press it again to activate it in-game!

Now remember! This is what you should do before playing the game:

- Make sure your Desktop/Laptop is on High Performance mode in the Power Options;
- Laptop Users, Plug the laptop to the charger!
- Open up Bandicam;
- Open the game and enjoy!

All right, all set up! Fire up the game and have fun with your super butter smooth Samba Studios Tity Cactus Cruzade Race!

Just because you have a biffy rig, doesn’t mean you have to know how to punk it up a little! So, this guide is for you if you, the guy with that super cool PC but that doesn’t know how to tune it!

Intro:

This game has by itself very cool graphics, but they can become better with just a little tweaking!

I’ll be providing the universal ways of implementing this, the AMD/ATI way and NVIDIA way of implementing this changes, as well as a few screenshots for comparison.

High/Enthusiast-Range Computers - Index:

• Improving the Game’s Graphical Quality (Samples);
  
• Applying the Quality Settings (AMD/ATI - AMD Catalyst);
  
• Applying the Quality Settings (AMD/ATI - Radeon Pro);
  
• Applying the Quality Settings (Nvidia – Nvidia Control Panel);
  
• Applying the Quality Settings (Nvidia – Nvidia Inspector);

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Improving the Game’s Graphical Quality (Samples).

This configuration was tested on an ATI HD5870 and a i7 2600K clocked at 4.6 Ghz @ 1080p
Well, before anything, let me show you a few comparisons on what this changes provide:

If you want, download here[mega.co.nz] a zip file with all the pictures in full resolution!

(Example Picture: SMAA Ultra + Anisotropic x16)

To use the comparisons bellow, know the following: Without your mouse over the picture, it's the first one. With the mouse over the picture, it's the second one! (1 VS 2). The pictures might take a while to load on the website, be patient!


» Default FXAA VS SMAA + Anisotropic x16[screenshotcomparison.com]
» Defaut FXAA + Anisotropic x16 VS SMAA Ultra + Anisotropic x16[screenshotcomparison.com]
» Default FXAA VS Default FXAA + Anisotropic x16[screenshotcomparison.com]
» No AA VS No AA + Anisotropic x16[screenshotcomparison.com]
» SMAA Ultra VS SMAA Ultra + Anisotropic x16[screenshotcomparison.com]


» Default FXAA VS SMAA + Anisotropic x16[screenshotcomparison.com]
» Defaut FXAA + Anisotropic x16 VS SMAA Ultra + Anisotropic x16[screenshotcomparison.com]
» Default FXAA VS Default FXAA + Anisotropic x16[screenshotcomparison.com]
» No AA VS No AA + Anisotropic x16[screenshotcomparison.com]
» SMAA Ultra VS SMAA Ultra + Anisotropic x16[screenshotcomparison.com]

As you can see, just forcing the Anisotropic 16x on the game will have a HUGE impact on its textures quality! So, forcing it is a MUST for any capable system!

Just look at the picture that compares SMAA VS FXAA! The diffrence is HUGE! SMAA has a better aliasing algorithm than FXAA, it will blur less the image overall, and aliases better the edges of the 3D objects. It will, of course, come with the price of being more stressful to your graphics card. Anything above HD5870 can handle it just fine (I think 5850 can handle it pretty well too).

Sold yet? Let’s see how to apply this!

Applying the Settings: AMD/ATI

# Via Catalyst Center

Catalyst from AMD’s drivers can only apply the anisotropic filter unfortunately, so you’re either stuck with no AA, or the game’s default one (FXAA). But here’s the way of applying Anisotropic x16 only Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed via Catalyst:

• Open up Catalyst Center
  
• Make sure you are on Advanced mode. Click on “Preferences” and pick “Advanced View”
  
• Click on the “Gaming” Tab » 3D Application Settings.
  
• Click on “+ Add …” and select the game’s EXE file (ASN_App_PcDx9_Final.exe)
  
• Switch “Anisotropic Filtering Mode” to “Override Application Settings”
  
• Switch “Anisotropic Filtering Level” to 16x
  
• Switch “Texture Filtering Quality” to High Quality
  
• Switch “Surface Format Optimization” to OFF

All Done!

# Via Radeon PRO

Radeon Pro is the most complete and epic tool to use if you have a AMD/ATI Card. It has a hell of a lot of settings you can tweak, including the better Anti-Aliasing SMAA. SMAA takes less detail away from textures, and provides a better aliasing of those ugly rough edges!

Download Radeon PRO Here: http://www.radeonpro.info/download/

• First of, go to the Game's Configuration tool and disable Anti-Aliasing (place it on OFF);
  
• After installing Radeon pro, Add a new profile for the game (Click the document with the green +, and find the game .exe file (ASN_App_PcDx9_Final.exe):
  
• On the “Visual” Tab, Check “SMAA” and set the quality to “Ultra”;
  
• Still on the “Visual” Tab, check “Anisotropic Filtering” and select 16x;
  
• On the "Advanced" Tab, check the box "Texture Filtering Quality" and set it to "High Quality";
  
• Right Click on the name of the game on the list (left side of Radeon Pro), and click “Apply Now”.

All Done!

Applying the Settings: Nvidia

# Via Nvidia Control Center

Nvidia Control Center can only apply the anisotropic filter unfortunately, so you’re either stuck with no AA, or the game’s default one (FXAA). But here’s the way of applying Anisotropic x16 only Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed via the Control Panel:

• Open up Nvidia's Control Panel (Right Click anywhere on the Desktop)
  
• Under "3D Settings" (left side), click on "Manage 3D Settings"
  
• Click on the “Program Setting" tab;
  
• Click on “Add" and select the game’s EXE file (ASN_App_PcDx9_Final.exe);
  
• If it's a Laptop, under "2. Select the preferred Graphics Processor for this program", select "Nvidia processor";
  
• Switch “Anisotropic Filtering” to “16x”;
  
• Switch “Texture Filtering Quality” to High Quality;
  
• Press "Apply"

All Done!


----------

# Via Nvidia Inspector

We can't also apply SMAA on Nvidia Inspector. Read the "Notes" bellow for more information. But here’s the way of applying Anisotropic x16 only Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed via the Control Panel:

Download Nvidia Inspector Here: http://www.guru3d.com/files_details/nvidia_inspector_download.html

• After downloading the program and open it;
  
• On the newly opened window, click on the Wrench Icon located in the "Driver Version" line;
  
• On this new tab, click on the profiles list. If you can't find Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed there, keep reading;
  
• If you don't have the profile already listed, do the following: On the top of the program, click on that Yellow Sun Icon. When it shows up a window asking for a name input "Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed" and press Enter;
  
• After that, on top of the program click on the tiny symbol of a blue window with a green cross. Go to the game's folder and select the file "ASN_App_PcDx9_Final.exe" (usually located at: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed\ASN_App_PcDx9_Final.exe"
  
• Under "Texture Filtering", on "Anisotropic Filtering Mode" select "User Defined / Off";
  
• On the "Anisotropic Filtering Setting", select "x16";
  
• On "Texture filtering - Quality select "High Quality";
  
• Press "Apply Changes".

All Done!

# Notes:
I don't have a way of applying SMAA on Nvidia GPU's YET. I'm researching and testing it, after that I’ll post it here! However, I have a even better Nvidia Anti Aliasing available, that can be forced trough Nvidia Inspector, but it's very taxing on the GPU! Be careful!

Here are the instructions:

• On the Profile of the game inside Nvidia Inspector, do the following:
  
• Under "Compability", switch the following:
  Switch "Ambient Occlusion compability" to "0x000000 (Dragon Age 2);
  Switch "Antialiasing Compability" to "0x004812C5";
  
• Under "Antialiasing", switch the following:
  Antialiasing - Gamma Correction: OFF
  Antialiasing - Line Gamma: Disabled
  Antialiasing - Mode: Override Any Application Setting
  Antialiasing - Setting: 4x [4x Multisampling] (if the game get's too slow, try lower values)
  Antialiasing - Transparency Supersampling: 4x Sparse Grid Supersampling (same tip as above)
  Toggle FXAA on or off: OFF
  
• Under "Texture Filtering", switch the following:
  Anisotropic Filtering Mode: User-Defined / Off
  Anisotropic Filtering Setting: 16x
  Texture Filtering - LOD Bias (DX): -0.500
  
• Under Common, switch the following:
  If your PC can't handle 60FPS wit this AA, but you still want it, change "Frame Rate Limiter" to "30". Else, mark it as "60". Rmemeber to try to also Disable Motion Blur and Ambient Occlusion in the game's confguration tool, and see if you like it better ON or OFF!
  Switch "Triple Buffering" to "ON".
  You can also Copy-Paste this screenshot's configurations![gyazo.com]

There are some more things you can improve! Here you can find a lot of cool tweaks to make your experience even better. See below the mini-index of this part of the guide!

Other Tweaks and Improvements (High/Enthusiast-Range Computers only)

• Taking out the Black Bars on non 16:9 Screen Resolutions
  
• Playing on Multiple Screens (Dual/Quad Screens) with Friends!
  
• Playing in Eyefinity
  
• Playing with 3D Vision
  
• Reducing Input Lag (experimental)
  
• Other Helpful Tweaks
  
• Preventing Frame Drops in Samba Studios / Sanctuary Falls
  
  • Table of CPU Overclock Speeds you should target
    
  • How to get 5FPS more without Overclocking

# Removing the Black Bars on non 16:9 Screen Resolutions

So, you have an older screen with a non-standard 16:9 resolution? Have no fear, BlackLionPT is here!

Screenshot Examples at 1440x900 (16:10 Screen)

------------------------- Before -------------------------------------------------------- After ---------------------------




It’s very easy to remove the bars! Here’s how to do it:

• Go to the Game's Configuration, on Display Options, select "Windowed";
  
• Still on the Game's Configuration, Select ANY 16:9 resolution (1280x720 for example);
  Don't worry. The resolution selected will NOT be the one used by the game. It will use your DESKTOP resolution instead!
  
• Download GameCompanion[www.mediafire.com], decompress the folder, and open the file "GameCompanion.exe". It will show a green icon next to your clock in the taskbar.
  
• Open up the game, enjoy!

The only penalty will be that the menus and HUD will be just very slightly stretched as you can see on the screenshots. You’ll barely notice it (unless you have a 4:3 screen, but even on this ones the game will be perfectly playable)!



No, not at all! This program only stretches your game's window to fit the screen, it doesn’t mess with the game's memory at all.

I've Also Checked with IceBlade and S0L (the developer himself) also said it's ok to run this program, so, go ahead and have no fear!

Playing on Multiple Screens with Friends (Dual Screens or Quad Screens)

Have a friend over to play with you as Co-Op in World Tour, or Online in Matchmaking? Do you hate that horrible tiny half-screen view?



(See more Pictures below!)

Do you have the hardware capable of rendering the game with two screens?
Well then, time to impress your friend! Here’s how to play in Multi-Player mode with more than one screen, getting each of you its own screen!

Here's what you have to do:

• On AMD Catalyst Center/Nvidia Control Center, Enable Eyefinity/Nvidia Surroud. On the setup, make sure to place the screens in a vertical layout (one above the other);
  
• If your computer can't handle it, turn down the resolution a little;
  
• Go to the Game's Configuration, on Display Options, select "Windowed";
  
• Still on the Game's Configuration, Select ANY 16:9 resolution (1280x720 for example);
  
• Download GameCompanion[www.mediafire.com], decompress the folder, and open the file "GameCompanion.exe". It will show a green icon next to your clock in the taskbar.
  
• Open up the game, enjoy!

There are some problems with the menus of course, but nothing much! See below the "More Pictures!", I show the menus there!

BONUS: If you PC is struggling to keep a good frame rate, you can use the "Frame Capping" from the second part of this guide to lock the game at 30FPS, so you and your friend can have a better experience!



No, not at all! This program only stretches your game's window to fit the screen, it doesn’t mess with the game's memory at all.

I've Also Checked with IceBlade and S0L (the developer himself) also said it's ok to run this program, so, go ahead and have no fear!

# Playing in True Eyefinity

If you are a triple-screen owner, and like eyefinity, this part is for you! You can play this game with all your 3 / 6 screens, and have no stretched HUD at all!


Here are the steps you need to follow:

• Activate Eyefinity / Nvidia Suround in your Drivers;
  
• First, download and install on your computer the FlawlessWideScreen program[www.flawlesswidescreen.org];
  
• Open the program as Administrator (Right click the shortcut » Run as Admin)
  
• After you open the program, search in the left side for "transformed";
  
• Click on "Sonic: ASR Transformed" and leave the program running in background;
  
• Now, go to the game's configuration tool and pick 1280x720 (don't worry, it's just so the internal render is at 16:9, you'll have your true eyefinity resolution!);
  
• Select in "Display options" the mode "Windowed".
  
• Play the game!

There is one bug with the "Hud Fix": The character marks will be wrongly positioned, as shown below:


It's better, however, than having this mess! :

You can also disable the HUD completly in the "FlawlessWideScreen" program by ticking the "No Hud" option!

Here's how you can play in 3D Vision! This is for Nvidia cards only!

• Disable Shadows in the Configuration Tool. They are bugged (Set them to Low).
  
• Place this files[s3.amazonaws.com] in the game's folder;
  
• You need to Download Nvidia Inspector, and remove "ASN_App_PcDx9_Final.exe" from the "ASN_App_PcDx9_Final.exe" profile (Might also be Called "Sonic All Stars Transformed"). Then, add this to the Prototype Profile. If you have questions, follow this guide: Link[helixmod.blogspot.com]
  CAREFULL TOUGH! This will delete the profile you created before! Do this with caution! Research this with patience! I don't own a Nvidia GPU so, i'm kind of in the dark here!
  
• All Done!

There are some HUD issues, nothing much.

This tutorial was taken from here: http://helixmod.blogspot.com.es/2012/12/container-position-relative-sonic-all.html

If you can help me with better instroctions, write a comment or add me on steam!

Thanks to NoVa, I’ve found that tweaking some settings can help get rid of some stuttering, as well as reducing by a noticeable amount the Input Lag on the Game.

(This is subject to everyone's evaluation first so, for now "Experimental", some people might not notice it, i did and a lot!)

This is done by tweaking a few settings! Let's see how to apply this!


# Before we start, read this (About "Maximum Pre-Rendered Frames):

This value is very very touchy. It can not only make the game run better but it can also make the game run very VERY worse, or not run at all. Here are a few already tested values and their impact on the game's performance:

• The default value for AMD/Nvidia cards is 3;
  
• Lower Values will decrease Input Lag, but might make the game stutter more;
  (it didn't on my end [GPU: HD5870]);
  
• Higher Values will increase Input Lag, but make the game stutter less;
  (it only made the input lag higher on my end as i don't have stuttering at all[GPU: HD5870]);
  
• AMD Values goes from 0 to 5. Values of 1 and 5 will make the game behave erratically, making it have huge performance losses (frame drops). 0 or 2 is recommended.
  (This was tested on a HD5870 GPU)
  
• Nvidia Values go from 1 to 4. Nvidia seems to be just fine with any of this values.
  Recommended to use a value of "1" (tested on a Nvidia GTX780)

Now that you have an idea, let's start tweaking!


------------


AMD doesn't have the required settings available on Catalyst Center, so you will need to have RadeonPro installed on your PC.

Bellow are the settings you need to change on the game's profile in RadeonPRO:

• Go to the Game's Configuration Tool (launcher.exe) and under "Advanced Graphics" disable Vsync.
  
• Now, close the Configuration Tool, and open up RadeonPro and select the All-Stars Profile.
  
• Under the "Advanced" tab:
  
  • Check the box "Flip Queue Size". Change this to "0". Read above if you skipped to better understand the impact of this value.
• Under the "Tweaks" tab:
  
  • Under "Direct3D Tweaks", change "VSync Control" to "Always on (Double Vsync);
    
  • Activate the checkbox "Triple-Buffering"
    
  • Set the "Display Refresh Rate" to 60 Hz;
    
  • Activate the checkbox "Lock Frame rate up to monitor's refresh rate";
    
  • Under "Misc Tweaks" activate the checkbox "Force Process High Priority.
• Right Click on the game's profile's name (left-side of RadeonPro) and click "Apply Now".

All Done!

Note: I know that the "Vsync (double Vsync)" option is supost to make the game run at 30FPS. However, due to we having the option "Lock Frame rate up to monitor's refresh rate" activated, we get 60FPS.


-----------


To be added as soon as I find a Nvidia person available to write step-by-step.


Again, follow this part of the guide at your own risk!

There are a few things you can also do to prevent Stuttering on your game!


- Always use "Fullscreen" mode instead of "FullScreen/Windowed" mode. Fullscreen mode will lose less frames, and feel overall more smooth.

- DO NOT have your browser opened with ADOBE FLASH PLAYER VIDEOS INSIDE. A lot of GPU's will have trouble, even if the browser is not playing / is minimized!

Now, there are a few technical things you can also change! Here's the Radeon Pro / Nvidia Inspector Extra Settings you can use:

# Radeon Pro

In order to prevent a few stutters the game has, change also this settings on the “Tweaks” Tab:

• VSync Control: ALWAYS ON
  
• Check the box “Triple-Buffering”
  
• Manually Input your Screen Refresh Rate: (60Hz Recommended)
  
• Check the box “Lock Frame rate up to monitor’s refresh rate.
  
• Check the box “Force Process High Priority”.
  
• Right click on the game’s name in the left list, and click on “Apply Now”.

Check also the "Prevent Stuttering on Samba Studios / Sanctuary Falls" part for more Advanced Settings!

----------

# Nvidia Inspector

In order to prevent a few stutters the game has, change also this settings on the “Profile" (make sure to select the game's profile first!) Tab:

• Under "Common", activate the "Vertical VSync" option;
  
• Under "Common", change the setting "Triple Buffering" to "ON";
  
• Under "Other", change the "Preferred Refresh Rate" and manualy input "60hz";
  
• Manually Input your Screen Refresh Rate: (60Hz Recommended)
  
• Click on the "Apply Changes" button! All done!

Check also the "Prevent Stuttering on Samba Studios / Sanctuary Falls" part for more Advanced Settings!

There are two things you can do to make the game faster, and thus, preventing frame drops and stuttering!:

• Overclock your CPU;
  
• Take out Core 0 / HT Cores from the Affinity of the game for + 5FPS.

You might not want to overclock your CPU for a lot of reasons: be it shortening its durability, not knowing / afraid of doing so or simply not having the patience to test and get stable overclock settings (or, well, you know, OWNING a laptop maybe?). So, I’ll just leave a few marks of what speeds you might want to target when overclocking (more will be added if other people test):

# Overclock Speed Table for Solid 60FPS on All Tracks @ Max Settings:

The following OC speed recommendations are tested on SAMBA STUDIOS, with the car stopped at the first Car <> Boat Transformation gate.
# Intel CPU’s:

• [i5/i7 2XXX] Sandy Bridge CPU’s: 4 Ghz or better;
  
• [i5/i7 3XXX] Ivy Bridge CPU: 3.8 or Better;
  
• [i5/i7 4XXX] Haswell CPU: 3.7 or Better;

# AMD CPU’s:

• No samples Available.

Note: This results may vary from computer to computer, depending on the hardware / software installed.


----------

# Obtaining +/- 5 FPS more changing the game’s Core Affinity (NO OVERCLOCKING NEEDED)

A simple trick can give you +/- 5FPS, and it’s also completely safe to do. You will see this change take effect only on the most demanding tracks, on the most demanding situations, and only if your CPU is not under a decent OC.
This was tested with my CPU (Sandy Bridge) below 4 Ghz, and I obtained +/- 5FPS more with the car at the Samba Studio’s Car <> Boat Transformation Gate.
Let’s see the various ways of implementing this:

## MUST READ STUFF. READ. NOW.

Before going on with this, you need to know how many cores (REAL ONES) your CPU has! Here’s a quick list of the most likely scenarios so you can know what settings to choose:

• Intel i7s [4+ Cores, 8 Threads (HT Cores)] – Disable Core 0, 1, 3, 5, 7
  
• Intel i5s [4 Cores, 4 Threads] – Disable Core 0
  
• Intel i3s [2 Cores, 2/4 Threads] – DO NOT DISABLE ANY CORE.
  
• Any other Intel Quad Core WITHOUT HT – Disable Core 0
  
• Any other Intel Quad Core WITH HT – Disable Core 0, 1, 3, 5, 7
  
• AMD X4 (Quad Core+) and above – Disable Core 0
  
• ANY AMD/Intel DUAL CORES – DO NOT DISABLE ANY CORE

Note 1: HT = Hyper Threading.
Note 2: You cannot disable any cores on DUAL CORE CPU’s, because you would be preventing the game from accessing the only two cores available.



Why do this? How come disabling cores won’t make the game SLOWER?

Core 0 (or Core0/1 in i7 CPU’s) is the busiest core of the entire system. This is because Windows likes to keep its stuff more on the Core 0. Preventing the game from using Core 0, will make it faster, because you will be using the remaining 3 cores only (the less busy ones), you will have a better performance, and get a few more FPS extra on the most demanding parts!

We also disable the HT core parts because the game isn’t optimized to use them. Letting the core 3 5 and 7 ON has little effect on performance, but we disable them to prevent the game from using the same Core (because Core0 and 1 are effectively the same Core, “1” is just the Hyper Threading part. I can’t get any more technical on this because I don’t know exactly how Hyper Threading works!)

So, now that you know what CPU you have, let’s get to business shall we?


----------

## Via Task Manager

This is the less convenient way of doing this, because you must do it every single time you open the game. So, skip this one unless you’re insane!

• Open the game.
  
• Open up Task Manager (CTRL+SHIFT+ESC);
  
• On the processes tab, find the game’s .exe (ASN_App_PcDx9_Final.exe);
  
• Right click it, and select “Affinity”;
  
• Disable the cores according to the CPU you have and press OK.

## Universal Way (Via Shortcut)

Steam will force the game to be processed with the same affinity as its main process. So, to run the game with the proper affinity, you must ALSO run steam with the affinity we want to use. Remember, this will apply to ALL your other games (It will probably also help you get better frame rates on most of them too!).

Creating the shortcut:

• Go to your Steam install folder (usually C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam), and right click » COPY the “steam.exe” file;
  
• On your Desktop, right click anywhere and select “Paste Shortcut”.
  
• Right Click the Shortcut, and click on "Proprieties"
  
• Now it's time to change the "Target" Line. it should have something like this inside:
  
  C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /C start "" /affinity 0E "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steam.exe"
  
  
• Press OK to save the changes. You icon will also change to a Black Rectangle with C:\ On the icon. This is normal.

Now, close steam and open it up using that shortcut. Then, go to the Task Manager using the process shown above (the "Manual way") and confirm that only the core 2 3 and 4 (for i7s, it should be Core 3 5 and 7 only) are checked. If yes, good, everything went according to plan! If not, check if you didn't screw up in any of those steps!

Now, if you want to make this 100% automatic, it's time to make your PC Boot Steam with the new core affinity. See how to do it below:

• Open up this folder: C:\Users\<YOUR USER NAME HERE>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
  
• Copy the Shortcut you made to inside this folder
  
• Right Click the Shortcut inside the new folder, and click on "Proprieties"
  
• Now it's time to change the "Target" Line. it should have something like this inside:
  
  C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /C start "" /affinity 0E "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steam.exe" -silent
  
  
• Press OK to save the changes.
  
• Open Steam, go to "Settings". Then click on "Interface" and untick the checkbox "Start Steam when my computer starts".

Doing this will make steam normally boot up with your PC, but with the new affinity of 3 cores only already automated!

----------

## Via Radeon PRO

For AMD users that want to use RADEON PRO, your life is way more chilled. A few steps and you’re done! Let’s see them:

• Open Radeon Pro and click on the game’s name;
  
• Click on the “Tweaks” tab. On “Misc Tweaks”, disable the cores according to the CPU you have.
  
• Right click on the game’s name in the left list, and click on “Apply Now”.
  
  BONUS:
  In order to prevent a few stutters the game has, change also this settings on the “Tweaks” Tab:
  
  
• VSync Control: ALWAYS ON
  
• Check the box “Triple-Buffering”
  
• Manually Input your Screen Refresh Rate: (60Hz Recommended)
  
• Check the box “Lock Frame rate up to monitor’s refresh rate.
  
• Check the box “Force Process High Priority”.
  
• Check the box “Force Process High Priority”.
  
• Right click on the game’s name in the left list, and click on “Apply Now”.

You’re all Set Time to play!

Before you going around saying this game sux... STOP. Bad kitty. The game doesn't suck, your PC (at least until you don't fix it following this guide) sux!

Find on the next part the problems you are having, as well as how to fix pretty much all of them!

Here's a mini-Index of this Troubleshooting part:

• Finding if your computer respects the Minimum System Requirements
  
• Most Common Crashes / Black Screens / Errors
  
• "Why is my game so Slow?!"
  
• ATI HD3XXX Missing Water / Graphic Corruptions
  
• Game's too Dark on some GPU's / Shadow shows as stripes
  
• Known Online Problems
  
• Known In-Game Bugs
  
• General Good Advice for Everyone

First of let's see if you didn't rush out, bought the epic game, but are now trying to play it on a toaster. This are the Minimum System Requirements your computer needs to have in order to be able to run and enjoy the game:

OS: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8
Processor: 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or equivalent
Memory: 1GB Ram (Windows XP), 2GB Ram (Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8)
Graphics: 256MB with Shader Model 3.0 support
DirectX®: 9.0c
Hard Drive: 6.7GB free hard drive space
Sound: DirectX 9 Compatible

Ok, compare these to your computer. If you have a Pentium 4, that's a toaster. A very old Intel Celeron? Also a Toaster. Old AMD Althon? Toaster.

# Alright, I made sure I’m not playing in a toaster

Not a toaster, you say? Still crashing / not opening / showing Black Screens? Next page then!

Most of this is handled by the drivers themselves, but human/driver stupidities are a reality too! So, here's how you can check what GPU's your PC has and how to switch to the correct one for better performance!


Nowadays a lot of PC's have two GPU's (Graphic Cards) inside of them, especially Laptops. If your Laptop Has a "Nvidia" or "AMD" Sticker, but the Game's Configuration Tool is reading as "Intel HD" something might be wrong on your configuration!

Here's simple ways to check what GPU's your PC has:

# For Laptops

- Check if your PC has any sticker that says "AMD" or "Nvidia".
- If your PC doesn't have stickers at all, download and run GPU-Z, and check on the drop down menu the list of GPU's you have.


# For Desktops

Sometimes human stupidity strikes, and it's funny to watch. Lot's of people accidentally do this mistake, and get poor Desktop performance because of it.

Lot's of Desktops have a Integrated Graphics card as well as a Discrete, more powerful GPU, but people accidentally connect the screen to the wrong GPU.

Check the back of your PC. If you have down below an horizontal Monitor VGA/DVI/HDMI port (usually bellow the "motherboard" part, where you connect the USB ports, Ethernet Cable, etc), connect your screen there! Make sure it's not on the "top vertical" port, as that one will use the iGPU (Integrated Graphics Card) instead of the powerful dGPU (Discrete Graphics Card)! That's all you need to do on desktops, no software configuration needed!

For reference and better understanding, check the image below:





Now that we know that we have another GPU, it's time to make the game detect it and use it!

# For Nvidia Laptops with OPTIMUS (Switchable Graphics):

Ok, let's see how to change the settings on Laptops with Nvidia GPU's!

• Open up Nvidia's Control Panel (Right Click anywhere on the Desktop)
  
• Under "3D Settings" (left side), click on "Manage 3D Settings"
  
• Click on the “Program Setting" tab;
  
• Click on “Add" and select the game’s EXE file (ASN_App_PcDx9_Final.exe);
  
  Usualy located at "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed"
• If it's a Laptop, under "2. Select the preferred Graphics Processor for this program", select "Nvidia processor";
  
• Press "Apply"
  
  
• To make the Launcher.exe (Configuration Tool) also detect the Nvidia GPU, you might need to do the following too:
  
• Open up Nvidia's Control Panel (Right Click anywhere on the Desktop)
  
• Under "3D Settings" (left side), click on "Manage 3D Settings"
  
• Click on the “Program Setting" tab;
  
• Click on “Add" and select the game’s configuration tool .EXE file (Launcher.exe);
  
  Usualy located at "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed"
• If it's a Laptop, under "2. Select the preferred Graphics Processor for this program", select "Nvidia processor";
  
• Press "Apply"

All Done!

# Cannot Open Configuration tool / Errors Opening / Nothing Happens Opening it

Crashing and stuff not opening can be a lot of things. So, let's try to correct "lots of things" by following a typical fool-proof fix guide!

If you cannot open the “Launcher.exe” file (Configuration Tool of the game), follow this procedure bellow very carefully!

REMEMBER: If you have a 64 Bits System, you need to install BOTH the 32 bits and the 64 bits versions!


-----------


This is very important. Running old drivers can make your system very unstable. Download the latest drivers for your graphic card, according to your manufacturer. I'll be providing quick Links bellow:

# Intel:
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/

# Nvidia:
http://www.nvidia.co.uk/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-uk

# AMD/ATI:
http://support.amd.com/

----------


Without Direct X you can't Run the game AT ALL. Download, and run the Microsoft Direct X Run Time tool, and let it automatically download and install / repair the Direct X on your system

DirectX Run Time: http://www.microsoft.com/en-au/download/details.aspx?id=35


----------


Your PC is missing some redistributable libraries. You can download Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables And NET Framework 4 below. Make sure to download the right version for your system. If you are running a Windows 64 Bits machine, you need both of them.

32 Bits Version: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8328

64 Bits Version: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=14632

NET Framework 4 [32/64 bits]: http://www.microsoft.com/en-au/download/details.aspx?id=17851

-----------


First off, make sure you installed the above dependencies.

If it still doesn't work, go to your Documents folder and delete the file "controllers.xml" inside the "SART" folder. (Or just delete the folder "SART" completly)

Before re-opening it, make sure you unplug and plug back in your controller. Also, read the "Basic Configuration" part of this guide, and configure properly x360ce in case you already have it on folder.

If it still isn't opening, Reboot your computer and run the Configuration Tool (Launcher.exe) as Admin (Right Click it » Run as Admin) from the game's folder (usually C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed").


-----------

This is a common problem, and easy to fix! Just unplug your controller and open the Configuration Tool again! Tadah!

NOTE: If your configuration Tool isn't working and you figured "I'll just skip it and play the game without configuring it", BAD MODE! Go to point "5.3 - Config. Tool Crashing / Errors" and install all dependencies first!

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This can be quite a few things. Let's go by parts then!

# If you are playing on a TV:

If you are using a TV to play this game, make sure your game is at the TV's native Resolution (or at least one your TV supports!). If this won't fix the Black Screen on the TV, you might need to change the option "GPU Scalling" your AMD/Nvidia Drivers have. To do so, proceed as the following:

AMD/ATI:

• Open up the Catalyst Center by Right Clicking your Desktop anywhere;
  
• On the left side, find the "My Digital Flat Panels";
  
  • On Windows XP, Expand the "Digital Panel Properties" and Highlight the "Attributes" tab.
• Check the "Enable GPU Scaling" Checkbox
  
• Press Apply. It should fix your problem! If not, Keep reading bellow!

Nvidia:

• Open up the Nvidia's Control Center by Right Clicking your Desktop anywhere;
  
• On the left side, find "Display", expand that menu and click on "Adjust Desktop Size and Position";
  
• Change the Scaling mode to "Aspect Ratio" and change "Performing Scaling On:" to GPU.
  
• Press Apply. It should fix your problem! If not, Keep reading bellow!

# Disabling Forced Anti-Aliasing (most common fix for BlackScreen / Missing Geometry):

This problem mostly occurs on AMD/ATI cards. You need to disable the Forced Anti-Aliasing in Catalyst Center. Here's how to do so:

• Open up Catalyst Center by Right-Clicking anywhere on your Desktop;
  
• First, make sure you are in "Advanced" mode. On top of Catalyst Center, click "Preferences" and switch to "Advanced View";
  
• Click on "Gaming" and then "3D Application Settings".
  
• On the bottom of the window, press "Defaults".
  
• If necessary, press "Apply". Your game should now work!

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A few crashes are to be expected. But if you are having lots and lots of crashes, try the following, it might help a lot:

• Go to the Game's Folder (usualy C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed");
  
• Right Click on "ASN_App_PcDx9_Final.exe" and select "Proprieties";
  
• Click on the "Compability" Tab;
  
• Tick the box "Run this program in compability mode for:" and make sure "Windows XP (Service Pack 3) is selected;
  
• Tick the box "Run this program as Administrator"
  
• Try now.

If crashing still persists a lot, make sure you don't have any crazy Anti-Virus, Firewalls, DirectX Intrusive programs running in Background (as an old version of Fraps, DXTory, etc).

If you are running custom Anti-Virus and Firewalls, make sure to put this game (and Steam itself!) on the exceptions list!

If it STILL crashes a lot, please post on the forum so we can try and help you out!

# Sound too loud/low when opening/closing the game

If your game has the Sound too loud or too low when playing, follow this simple step-by-step bellow to get it working again!

• On your System Tray (next to the clock), find the speaker item and right click it;
  
• Click on "Playback Devices";
  
• On the new window, click on the "Communications" Tab;
  
• Select the option "Do Nothing" and press OK
  
• Should be working now!

If your game is running too slow, go back on this guide a little! Also make sure your computer is not a Toaster and respects the Minimum System Requirements.

First Check if you are not running on the Wrong GPU. Check the point "5.2 - Wrong GPU Detected" for more information!

Read the "Low/Mid-Range PC's Configuration" part of this guide, it will help you select the best configurations for your game, as well as teaching you how to cap your frame rate to an even better experience!

If your game is running at decent frame rates, but still going too slow Online, check the part "5.6 - Known Online Problems" and follow the "# Going way slower than other Racers" tutorial!

If you have an ATI HD3XXX card, sorry but, there is no known cure for this. S0L (One of the Developers) said his team tried to find out what could be the problem but, it's most likely a driver issue.

If you have this card well, no water for you, sorry :(

Time to finally upgrade that Toaster I guess!

This problem will occur on some very old GPU's, like the Nvidia GForce 7600GS (AGP8x).

Again, like in our AMD counterpart, there is no cure for this. It's either play it like that or just upgrade your Toaster with a better, more recent GPU. If you have an AGP card tough, upgrading just the GPU will not be enough, because that Toaster is REALLY old :(

Here's a list of the most common crazy bugs that might happen in this game while you're online. Most of them are occasional tough so, don't be scared!

# Going way slower than other Racers

If your PC is capable of running the game well, and if you already tried to lower every single detail to "Low" by following the "Low/Mid-Range" guide (point 2 of the guide), here's something you can also try!

This is especially useful if you see yourself going way slower than other players online:

The game's timer uses Window's queryperformancecounter to get you going at Real Time Speed. Queryperformancecounter interval is calculated using FSB or hypertransport at boot time of your computer, however some laptops / desktops will change this value after while in Idle to save power, and thus making the game run erratically at a slower speed.

To fix this, do the following (Windows 7 Tested):

• Open Start menu and type "cmd". Open the file that shows up (it has a black icon);
  
• type the following, and press enter:
  bcdedit /set useplatformclock true
  
• press Enter;
  
• Restart your computer, your problem should be fixed!

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# Network Error During a Matchmaking/Online Custom Game Session

This error is very common to a lot of players, especially those with a very crappy Internet connection. There are two very common factors that can cause the game to throw you out if the race / lobby with a Network error:

- Your Modem is losing too many packets to the Internet;
- Your Modem/Router / Antivirus Firewall is blocking the requests of the game to the internet.

This isn't only on your side: The error can be triggered if someone else's router / firewall is acting up.

Make sure you allow your game and Steam itself to access all UDP and TCP ports from and to the internet!

The most ideal and easy solution for Modem (Or router if it's a 2in1 device) Package Loss to the internet is to simply unplug it and plug it back in before racing. You'll have a lot less problems if you do this!

Also, beware that this game requires a lot of Download and Upload Bandwidth! Full Lobbies can take almost 70 KB/s (that’s ~ 0.76 Mbps or ~768 Kbps) of Download AND Upload (140KB/s total combined). Having a good internet connection is fundamental!


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# Unable to Join Game using Steam's Friend list

This is a bug that was introduced in a Steam Update. If you want to join a friend without asking for a lobby invite, just open up their profile and click the big green "Join Match" button!


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# I got DNF'd Online, even though I crossed the Finish Line!

This is mostly caused by your Internet Connection, not the other player's one. Your router might be losing too many packets, and you eventually lost sync from the other players.

Again, the most ideal and easy solution for Modem Package Loss to the internet is to simply unplug it and plug it back in before racing. You'll have a lot less problems if you do this!


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# Crazy Collisions / Bumps off-track / Players very jumpy online

This game is very Lag sensitive. It's also a very underrated game, so the player base is a little bit small, meaning, you will be placed against players from all around the globe. And that means you'll be facing some seriously high pinged players.

You can help fixing this by not downloading ANYTHING while you play, or seeing if the other person you're playing with is also not downloading anything.

It's a bit frustrating but, it's just how it is. Try to bear with it. The plus part is, at least most of the crazy bumps are HILARIOUS! :D


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# [Cheaters] That Guy went so fast / Is spamming a million Rockets / Ices!

There are a few known uncool players that cheat. They are very rare to see, and most of them are apparently from Brazil. If you are from Brazil you will have more chances of finding someone cheating in a Lobby.

The most common signs of cheating are:

• Infinite Ice / Rockets
  
• Going too fast without Drifting at all
  
• Infinite Gloves / never slows down from being hit

Now, do not confuse Cheaters with Veteran Players! There are some REALLY HARDCORE players on this game that are extremely difficult to win against. Here's a small list of names i can remember:

• Fish_Goes_Moo
  
• Xenn
  
• NoVa
  
• XVIII / Princia Flower / Flower Vase

The list goes on and on and on, but those players will rarely spam items on a race. The track they are most likely to DNF the entire lobby is Dream Valley, as that track is very Skill-Based.

About the cheaters, don't worry! Steam's VAC will eventually get them ;)

This game is very well polished, but there are still some funky bugs you might encounter from time to time! Most of them are hilarious tough, so that's a plus!


The game might go sometimes crazy, blurring the screen too much with motion blur. This will fix it-self tough.

There is however one bug with the game: You cannot have “Motion Blur” disabled and “Ambient Occlusion” Enabled in the Game’s Configuration tool. It’s either both enabled or disabled, or you’ll have VERY CRAPPY SHADOWS all over the place!



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First off, this game HATES going above 60FPS. It will cause a lot of issues on the game! Make sure you enable "VSync" in the Game's Configuration Menu, and also that your Graphics Card Driver isn't forcing VSync *OFF* as this is what will cause the game to go over 60FPS.

Make sure your screen is also running at 60 Hz or else you will see crazy Stuttering all over the place!

Alternatively, follow the "Frame Capping" procedure of the "Low/Mid-Range PC's" part of this guide and use Bandicam to make the game be locked at 60FPS.

You can always Check "Tweaks" part of this guide, there are some ways of getting rid of the Stuttering that will most likely work very well!


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One of the most hilarious bug the game has. It's less frequent now (actually VERY RARE even) since Sumo did a pretty good job fixing most of the glitch-triggers.

This will happen mostly if you miss the transformation ring in the transaction parts of the track. Try to not miss them and you should be 100% fine!

If you missed it by accident, try your hardest to get back to the circle, and you'll be re-spawn normally again!

The tracks where this is most common to happen if you are not careful:

• Temple trouble right at the beginning of the track if you jump too high as a boat;
  
• Graffiti City Lap 3, last Transformation Ring (Plane <> Car)
  
• Race of Ages Planes <> Car Rings
  
• Samba Studios Car <> Boat Rings

All Stars are also EVIL! Sometimes going all-star in the middle of a transformation ring = You're doomed, so, make sure to do it well after the transformation ring!


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This will happen if you make stunts too quickly! You need to time your stunts better! Tricks will also fail if you hit a wall / the ground / other character mid-air, so watch out!


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This issue has been plaguing a few players. This seems to happen more when making stunts (and the game will not perform them) coming from air sections. They are also very common in Water Sections of the game.

As soon as you try to make a stunt, and it doesn't do one, you KNOW the next time you make one (or the time after that one) it WILL make 2 stunts instead of one, so, just do a single one and let the game do the second one to prevent the ever-annoying "STUNT FAILED!".

There is a small workaround found by IceBlade you can try: While you are transforming (in every blue round gate), hold the Stunt DOWN button during the entire transformation. It should prevent stunt buffering!


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This happens because the game still has not loaded your Profile Data at that screen, and that data contains all your preferences, including your sound settings. You can work around this using Windows Mixer to change the volume lower than other applications. To do this, click on the speaker icon on your notification area (next to your clock) and then select "Mixer".


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You can watch a Video-Example here, made by Neeku

This bug will allow you to keep drifting in a straight line, just like you do in All-Star mode. This will go on until you pass the next transformation ring. It's both a blessing and a curse, you decide!


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This bug will happen when you switch too quickly from tracks in the menu. This happens because the game is still downloading the data to the previous track when you switch.

For example, you have Ocean View picked. After a bit you switch to Dragon Canyon. You will see Ocean View's Times instead of Dragon Canyon ones, and if you go racing, you will see the Ocean View Ghost instead of the Dragon Canyon one.

Switch carefully between tracks to avoid this problem!


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The key "\" is bugged when you use a keyboard. The work around for his is to use your Mouse and click on the "S" in "Options" on the top right of the screen.


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Character stats shown in the character select screen will reflect the mod for your currently selected character even if you haven't unlocked it for them, rather than the standard stats.

For example: I have Tails Console but haven't unlocked Console for AGES. If I choose Tails Console, then go back, I will see Console mod stats for every character, including AGES.


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This is more common on the Wii U version of the game. So far only a few players saw this happening on the PC version. It manifests itself by making the Hot Rod item fail after one second of triggering it. Once this happens, every single Hot Rod will also fail the same way until you restart your game.

There are a few simple rules that you can follow to improve your game experience.

Your PC is exactly that, a PC. It can multitask, but that doesn't mean it can handle everything you throw at it without losing speed or going crazy. So, here’s a small list of things you can do:

• Activate High Performance Mode in Control Panel » Power Options. This will prevent your PC from downclocking the CPU / other components, thus reducing greatly stuttering during the game. Especially useful for laptops!
  
• If you have any torrents, stop them before going to play! The game is very bandwidth hungry, and needs all it can get so you can have a good experience!
  
• Reboot your Modem(Or Router if it's a 2-in-1 device) before playing online. This way you can get a new, less busy internal ISP route to the internet, greatly improving your online experience!
  
• Close all unnecessary programs running in your computer, to free up resources for the game!

And the most important of them all:

• Close your Browser, or at least tabs that have Adobe Flash Player Videos inside! Flash player will really mess with your GPU clock, making your game go nuts! Just close it! Flash is EVIL!!

This section is for you if you are looking for quick Quality Settings to use, i got 4 video cards here with ready-to-copy-paste ones.

Remember to follow the Bandicam tutorial part of this guide, or else YOU WILL GET A LOT OF STUTTERING due to unstable framerate!



Main Page:

Advanced Graphics Page:



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Main Page:

Advanced Graphics Page:


If you can, please share in the comments your GPU and the configurations you found are best for you! This will help a lot of other people!

Ok, you are now all ready to start crossing the skies, boating dem rivers and crashing dem walls in World Tour! Yes! First finish World Tour, then go online! By this order!

Why you ask? Because you must first learn how to not drift to a wall!

If you find any miss-information or have new information to add, just say so, I'll be happy to do it!

Also, a big thanks to kj3400, NoVa, Ice Blade, Sadistic Cyanide, JohnTH, Twinbee and Perforated Soul for bearing with me with some testing / print screening requests / questions i had to make!

Good games and Happy Racing!

BlackLionPT Out