AvP Classic 2000 vs. AvPx source port, plus most useful mods

[Showtime, Synergy!]

I just spent some time figuring out how to get the game running best in 2024. Here are my findings so far.

Note that my PC setup is Windows 10 / Nvidia GPU / Realtek audio + HeSuVi[sourceforge.net] for 3D audio headphone virtualization.

You can run the Steam / GoG version (Classic 2000) or install a source port over it (AvPx[homepage.eircom.net]). Both mostly work but there are pros and cons. (There is also a nascent source port called NakedAvP[github.com] that I've not tried yet.)

There is also the retail boxed version AvP Gold Edition from (the year) 2000 which apparently has fewer bugs but I have not explored using that and am not aware of the pros/cons. I know it cannot play online with the Steam/GoG "Classic 2000" version which I assume most people have these days, though. That is the last I will mention multiplayer in this post because it's outside of my area of interest.

Classic 2000

+ runs at 120fps, but...
- high fps causes bugs (see AvP Classic Bug List, etc.), so for best gameplay need to limit to 59fps with RTSS or similar. but...
- RTSS corrupts the main menu gfx once I return to it after being in-game. Sucky...

- surround sound is busted (and even stereo sounds pretty mono for me)
- IndirectSound did not restore surround; it broke all audio.
+ Creative ALchemy Universal[community.pcgamingwiki.com] (run it in compatability mode for Win Vista) seems to have restored 5.1. Volume's a bit low though...

- soundtrack bug means all music tracks play in the wrong levels
+ can fix with Fixed AvP Classic Soundtrack mod

- mouse control has some major unfixable shortcomings, see AvP Classic Bug List for details
- mouse speed is halved when walking/crouching; can't be fixed in Classic 2000
- 1000Hz mouse polling caused framerate chunk during mouse movement
+ reducing polling rate to 500Hz or lower resolved the framerate drops

- may be unable to bind mouse4 and/or mouse5 buttons to actions
+ (indispensible, life-giving) app X-Mouse Button Control[www.highrez.co.uk] can work around this by letting you assign those mouse buttons to spit out keyboard letters, and you can then bind the letters in-game.

- fullscreen mode makes alt-tab suck
+ run game with -w command line flag for windowed mode
+ can use (great app) Lossless Scaling to center window, scale to fill the screen, make window borderless, and clip 1 gray pixel from left, right, and bottom

Source Port: AvPx

+ runs at high fps, but...
- high fps seems to still cause bugs. for example, at 165fps my character constantly gets stuck on walls, which feel sticky
- what AvPx actually fixes is poorly documented, therefore it's probably safest to limit it to 59fps with RTSS, again :(
+ RTSS causes no menu display bugs in AvPx

+ surround sound works without any messing around

- AvPx has no music unless you manually add the .ogg files it looks for in a /Music folder
+ can get them from Fixed AvP Classic Soundtrack mod

+/- mouse control problems are improved somewhat over Classic 2000 but downward movement still has negative acceleration, it's still far from perfect
- 1000Hz mouse polling caused framerate chunk during mouse movement
+ reducing polling rate to 500Hz or lower resolved the framerate drops

- may be unable to bind mouse4 and/or mouse5 buttons to actions
+ (indispensible, life-giving) app X-Mouse Button Control[www.highrez.co.uk] can work around this by letting you assign those mouse buttons to spit out keyboard letters, and you can then bind the letters in-game.

- fullscreen mode makes alt-tab suck
+ run game with -w command line flag for windowed mode
+ can use Lossless Scaling to center window, scale to fill the screen, make window borderless, and clip 1 gray pixel from left, right, and bottom
+ Lossless Scaling frame generation can double RTSS-locked framerate from 59 to 118 without re-triggering AvP high fps bugs, at the expense of a little input lag. Getting back that smoothness is appreciated.

So, Classic 2000 or AvPx?

They're not that different, but the fact that RTSS framerate limiting corrupts the menu in Classic 2000 is pushing me toward AvPx. I haven't played AvPx much yet though so it's possible I'll find new issues in that. Hopefully not!

Bobblen notes in a reply that if you're interested in multiplayer, AvPx is completely off the table as that lacks multiplayer entirely.

Suggested configuration fixes

Check out the PCGamingWiki entry[www.pcgamingwiki.com] for instructions on enabling infinite savegames (for AvPx just toggle it on in AliensVsPredator.cfg), binding quicksave / quickload keys, setting up a toggle crouch mode, and fixing the half mouse sensitivity when crouching (only possible in AvPx).

Mods that fix and restore

Fixed AvP Classic Soundtrack is mentioned above. Essential. I also chose to restore the more pleasing title screen music from the 1999 version.

Custom Menu Backgrounds can restore the main menu starfield bg from OG 1999 version. Feels much nicer imo.

Original Ingame FMVs is supposed to replace the newer Brit gamedev in-game videos with the original American actor vids from 1999 version. However, I have not tried this linked mod because I got that fix from the Skin Pack below. And some ModDB comments suggest the linked mod doesn't work correctly...?

Uncut Predator Intro restores the original 1999 non-censored head splat from the Predator campaign's intro.

Predator Crosshair Fix - Download AvP Universal Skins Pack v2.0 (see below) and navigate to NPCs and HUDs\Predator HUD\Crosshair Correction. Install the mod here to correct a dev bug and make the Predator's crosshair fully opaque, as it should be.

Other major mods

Universal Skins Pack v.2.0 archives hundreds of character skins. While this collection is a labor of love AvP's graphics are so rudimentary I found them pointless. However, for whatever reason, this Skins Pack also includes a majority of the mods mentioned above, making it a very handy one-stop download for most of the restorative-style fixes.

Universal Map Pack has a ton of new maps! No brainer.

Universal Sounds Pack v.1.1 offers a lot of sound effect replacement options. I imagine at least a few of the weapon ones are clear improvements, but I haven't had the gumption to test any yet. Wish there were sample audio files somewhere.

Aliens versus Predator Classic Redux is the main graphics enhancement mod you hear about but to my eye it seems somewhat lacking in taste and there are tons of reports of it causing crashes, so I am not using it.

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Shoutout to Olde, who compiled many of the mods above and whose various guides have proven very helpful to getting my AvP running as best it can. 🙏♥

[Bobblen]

The big disadvantage with avpx is that multiplayer has been completely stripped out.

It offers advantages over classic 2000 for single player though
-no tyrargo crash
-auras when playing as alien are the right colour
-no minigun crash
-title screen scales with your resolution so you can run fullscreen mode even if your graphics card doesn't support full screen 640x480

The big problem I have with it is that the surround sound seems to be screwed up if you don't have a proper setup. The reverb is bumped up way too high and there doesn't seem to be a way to turn it off. Any advice on working around that would be appreciated!