Max Payne 1, Complete FixPack - 2025 Edition

Max Payne 1 Fix Pack, v1.2025.1
The purpose of this Fix Pack is to try and and correct the many known issues with this game in a single install.
Compiled by Darkje, 24-February-2025

The 2025 version has all components update to their latest versions as per 20-Feb. '25.
- installer checks for proper directory.
- possibility to unlock all difficultly levels.
- cap fps on high refresh rate monitors (above 144hz).

This pack contains a number of fixes for the game that can be installed selectively.

•High resolution textures and executable with fix for addressing 4GB of memory, needed by high res textures.
v1.3 by Gaiver74, https://www.moddb.com/games/max-payne/addons/max-payne-remastered
•Startup fix v1.01 by UCyborg, https://community.pcgamingwiki.com/files/file/838-max-payne-series-startup-hang-patch/
•Dx8to9 v1.13.0.0. wrapper by Crosire, https://github.com/crosire/d3d8to9/releases
•dgVoodoo v2.84.1 by Dege, http://dege.freeweb.hu/dgVoodoo2/dgVoodoo2/
•Soundfix based on DSOAL 1.31 by kcat https://github.com/kcat/dsoal and a special dll for max payne https://github.com/kcat/dsoal/issues/23
•Ultimate Soundpatch v1.12 by me, Darkje, https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=945164243
•Directsound3d v0.20 by J.P. Ownby, https://www.indirectsound.com/
•Widescreenfix v16-05-2020 by ThirteenAG, https://thirteenag.github.io/wfp#maxpayne
•D3d9 Wrapper v1.20 wrapper by ThirteenAG, https://github.com/ThirteenAG/d3d9-wrapper/releases
•JPEG error fix on newer CPU's, formerly known as AMD Ryzen3 fix by luigoalma, https://steamcommunity.com/app/12140/discussions/0/1640919737479023003
•DXwebsetup by Microsoft, https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35
•VCredist2010 SP1 by Microsoft, https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=26999

Credits to everyone that made this fix possible for their efforts to keep Max Payne alive. Special thanks to Lethal Placebo for chasing the best sound option and the reporting at kcat and back to me.

Some fixes might depend on an other fix being installed or might exclude eachother. This installer is organized in a way that makes this visible and will take care of these dependencies/exclusions.

Introduction

Warning: This installer is unofficial, if you find a problem please report! If you mess up your game, don't blame me ;) just start over fresh and follow the instructions carefully.

I made a complete installer for all the previous fixes and included the option of installing the high-res textures. All fixes have been updated to latest version as of 06-April-2021

The installer will let you pick from the following patches:

[1] High Resolution textures. This does not work with the Italian game!
[1a] With either a fixed executable for the STEAM game. * if you use the Italian version of the game, please select the CD exe.
[1b] Or a fixed executable for the CD game.

[2] Startup Fix.
[2a] With Crosire's Directx8to9 Wrapper to fix FPS (Windows 10).
[2b] With Dege's dgVoodoo Dx8 to Dx11 Wrapper to fix FPS (Windows 10).
[2c] With no wrapper at all (Windows 7).

[3] Sound Fix.
[3a] DSOAL wrapper.
[3b] Or by using Ultimate Soundpatch to convert the audio.
[3c] Or by using indirectsound 3d.

[4] WideScreen Fix.

[5] JPEG Error fix for new CPU's.

[6] Unlock all difficulties, makes all difficulty levels available without the need to finish 'Fugitive' first.

[7] support files
[7a] DirectX setup files (installs directx 9 and previous on newer systems).
[7b] VCredist 2010. (installs Visual C++ support files)
[7c] Rasmaker, Remedy's packer/unpacker for the game

Download and install

Full Version:
Download from mega.co.nz: MP1-Fixpack v1.2025.1 (578.8 MB)[darkje.page.link]
Download from google drive: MP1-Fixpack v1.2025.1 (578.8 MB)[drive.google.com]

No added textures version:
Download from mega.co.nz: MP1-Fixpack v1.2025.1 notex (13.2 MB)[darkje.page.link]
Download from google drive: MP1-Fixpack v1.2025.1 notex (13.2 MB)[drive.google.com]



Install:
Install is best done on a clean version of the game. In that case uninstall will fully restore the game back to clean. On windows 7 you probably don't need the FPS fix.

If you have already modified your game, it is advised to make a copy of your game directory - just in case something gets overwritten or removed.

For steam game you should be installing in 'Steam\steamapps\common\Max Payne'
If you use the cd version the above goes too, but then the right directory usually is 'Program files(x86)\Max Payne'.

If you are unsure about the install directory, you can go into your steam library, right click Max Payne, then Manage, then Browse Local Files. then copy the path from the address bar of the explorer window and paste that into the installer when asked for the directory. That way it should always go to the right directory.

The Important note below was fixed in the 2021 version, you can now select the target directory yourself, no more installing it too deep, or not working if you had an alternative directory name, just select the folder you want it to go. I'll leave the note for the old version for now just in case you were using that one:

Some pictures of the installer v1.2021.1 (newer versions add some more choices)





Trying other options:
Uninstall first, then run installer again with the options of your choice. Uninstaller should appear in your startmenu in MaxPayne-FixPack and in settings/add remove apps section.

What are all these options for?

All the options are for... ha right, giving you options on what to install or not while still keeping all possible fixes in a single download. Usually it's best to first try everything with the default selection of fixes, this is the most common setting that works for most systems. In case it doesn't perform as expected, you can uninstall the fix and then reinstall it with a different selection of options.

I'll go over them one by one:

Option 1 will add textures made by ESRGAN (AI based up-scaling) combined with some hand-made textures.
* Few thousand (~95%) of game textures have been replaced;
* New textures have increased resolution from 2x to 8x;
* Includes the replacement of decals / blood / clothing and part of the interface textures.
To use this option you will need a dedicated GPU preferably with 2gb or more of graphics memory and a modified executable that will allow the game to use up to 4gb of system memory. Of Course these executables are included, you just have to select the proper one for the game you own. Default is textures selected, steam executable selected, if you want the textures on the cd version of the game, be sure to select the right file for that. If you don't want the textures, just untick the box. Be aware the enhanced textures can lead to longer loading times. Don't be alarmed if you are met by a loading-screen taking longer than expected, just give it a minute and it will load.

Option 2 will apply the startup fix, this fix is for fast machines, if the machine was much faster than expected in game release year (2001) it would sometimes not initialize right and not start at all. Added bonus is that by using the fix it's also possible to use a directX wrapper, this will convert all aged directX 8 calls to a newer version and obey the windows vsync settings. Windows10 completely ignores vsync settings for directx8, this would result in the game running too fast and some of the game's events would trigger wrong or not at all. The wrappers will take care of that by limiting fps to whatever was set in your graphics card control panel, usually 60fps. (if you don't want the wrappers or the startup fix, you can limit fps in any other way you like, for example by using nvidiaInspector or msi-afterburner + rtss). Default is startupfix+dx8to9 wrapper, this is the most simple one, nothing needs to be configured. The dx8to11 wrapper can be useful in the scenario where you need to be able to select the graphicscard you want the game to use, or need other options. It comes with a control panel that can be found in your game directory, see the special chapter below.

Option 3 will let you pick 1 of the 3 possible soundfixes. The first (and default selected) one converts the game's sound calls while playing without modifying the actual sound files and is based on DSOAL. That library will emulate directsound3d almost perfectly with no loss of the original sound quality, The second one does modify the soundfiles before you play to a format that plays right without the need of a wrapper. The third option is indirectsound, this is a bit like the first option and was the default setting for a couple of years, but it has some issues on certain setups, I left it in for compatibility reasons, if the first two don't work, you could try that one. My advice, try the 1st option, if that doesn't work for you maybe the second or third one will.
Option 4, when the game was released 4:3 screens were the normal screen used, nowadays everyone is using wider screens, this fix will allow the game to scale for that, without stretching max to a fat blob.

Option 5, in 2019 a small problem surfaced on AMD Ryzen3 cpu's the makers of the game could never have anticipated back in 2001, a check for certain cpu capability returned a number that was too high and could not be interpreted as a valid result, some code failed and then followed a lot of errors ending in a crash. By circumventing this check the game now will work again on those new cpu's. Older cpu's don't seem to mind this check is missing now, so it's selected by default. Maybe you need to deselect it if you're trying to run on 2001 hardware, but on anything less than 10 years old it should be fine.

The following support files are included to prevent some errors that users experienced sometimes when running the game (directx8 required error and msvcrt100.dll missing)

Option 6a, The install of this file insures all proper directX files are on the system, preventing possible faulty conditions. If already available it will be skipped automatically.

Option 6b, The install of this file insures all proper Visual C++ files are on the system, preventing possible faulty conditions. If already available it will be skipped automatically.

Option 6c. Will install the packer/unpacker for the game and is supplied by remedy on the original CD release. It's so small i decided to check it by default, but you can uncheck it if you have no intend to ever modify the game.

Known issues and fixes

Installed sound option doesn't work right.
It can happen, the default selection works right on most systems, but not all, that's why three sound solutions are included. No problem, just uninstall the fix from settings/apps and reinstall it with an other option selected.

Can't choose install location.
This can happen if you installed the fix before and did not uninstall it. If you can't uninstall it anymore, for example if you just deleted it you can use this small registry fix to remove the last traces of the fix.
To do so manually remove the key "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{98913A55-F0D5-4EB9-979E-76273089BD6F}_is1"
Or download and add the reg file I prepared that does this for you here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a5j0AVH3hBPPBILYT9HsZ5123bcXTjvd/view?usp=sharing

DSOAL doesn't work?
If you still don't have sound with the DSOAL fix installed and you are using the 2022.1 version of the fixpack, you might need to use this small registry fix: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XwwusRnLEHj0gumTlO8lz4rdqSCl6_XZ/view?usp=sharing
In the 2023.1 version this is already included and will be installed when DSOAL was selected.

The game just goes to the store page after installing the patch.
This is an issue with the Italian version of the game and the Steam EXE file. I think it does work when you select the CD exe, but in that case you will loose steam integration. If that bothers you the best thing is not to install the added textures.

Loading takes a long time.
With the added textures installed, loading takes longer than usual, just give it a minute. If you can't stand it, rename the 'data' folder to for example 'dat'. That will effectively disable the added textures without going through the uninstall/reinstall cycle and will allow you to rename it back to the original name to re-enable them whenever you feel like it.

Loading screens appears to be shifted down.
This sometimes happens and is caused by the widescreen fix, it doesn't mean the game is crashed and it will load just fine.

F.A.Q.

The video player buttons are missing from the comics
Yes, they are scaled out by default because the clickable area does not correspond to the graphics of the button on modern screens and when using the widescreen fix. The buttons do have keys assigned to them and that still works,

Also you can press F2 in the comics to adjust the scaling, but you will probably find out the clickable area for the buttons is not where the button is displayed.

Some of the graphics settings are on medium after installing the fix, why?
The installer will set the following settings to medium automatically, so don't be alarmed if you set them to high before. They should be at medium setting when using the Highres Textures, otherwise the game might run out of memory at some point. It was found that with a dedicated GPU and more than 2gb of graphics memory, you can usually set the sliders to maximum, but if you do run out of memory just remember to set them back to medium and try again.


Do you have a Max Payne 2 fix too?
Yes i do! Max Payne 2 is a bit better, usually it at least runs normally. But if it doesn't I do have a small fixpack for it that includes the startup fix, the directX wrappers and the widescreen fix. It's just a rar file with some files in it you need to drop in the game directory, no fancy installer. You can get it from my drive at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bae_7yE8dgzrA8o4ms955ICsFaDBrzQO/view?usp=share_link

Version History

v2025.1
- All components updated where needed to their current version as per 20-Feb. 2023,
- Installer will check if the proper directory is chosen and warn you when it isn't, but you are also allowed to install it anywhere you like if you know what you are doing.
- Option to unlock all difficulty levels included
- FPS is capped at 144 on monitors with higher refresh rates with both dgVoodoo and Cosire's wrapper, as that seems to be the highest framerate the game can handle without issues. This has no impact if your screen has a lower refeshrate and vsync is on, then it will just follow that. The cap can be adjusted or removed if you require that, by either editing dgVoodoo.conf or d3d9.ini depending on the wrapper used and changing maxFPS to the value you want or zero to disable internal limiting.

v2023.1 All components updated where needed to their current version as per 28-Jan. 2023, DSOAL regfix included.
v2022.1 DSOAL soundfix added, Rasmaker option added. all files updated to latest version as per april 2022.
v1.2021.1 target directory is no longer fixed to "Max Payne" and can be chosen yourself, updated directX wrappers and widesceen files to latest as per 6-4-2021
v1.2020.2 fixed a small bug: the file-size of the AMD fix was not shown. Added DirectX and VCredist support files. 06-january-2020
v1.2020.1 added AMD Ryzen Fix and updated all the fixes to latest versions as per 29-december-2019
v1.01 added dgVoodoo dx8 to dx11 wrapper, 29-january-2019
v1.0 Initial release, 23-january-2019

About DgVoodoo's DX11 wrapper

You can use the "dgVoodooCpl.exe" found in your game directory to set up various options, for example what graphics card you want to use. Sometimes it's needed to select the actual card there instead of the default option. As for the other options, play with them as you please.

dgVoodoo2 watermark.
Just a heads up to anyone who applies the dx11 wrapper: it slaps a "dgVoodoo2" watermark in the corner of everything. But don't panic! Go into your "Max Payne" folder and a file called "dgVoodooCpl.exe" is there now. Open that up, click on the "DirectX" tab, and un-tick the "dgVoodoo Watermark" box. Hit "Apply" and you still have the fixes without having to look at that watermark!
*) in 1.2020.2 i've disabled the watermark by default, if you would want it follow the instruction above in reverse.

When using high resolutions like 4K, you may get the error:
"There is insufficient video memory to start with the selected display settings. Please set a lower resolution from startup dialog"
Then you have to open the dgVoodoo control panel, go to the "DirectX" tab, and increase VRAM to 1024MB (found by Lethal Placebo)
An other option is to use Cosire's dx8to9 wrapper, that one won't error it seems.
*) in 1.2020.2 i've set 1024MB as a default.

JPEG errors on newer CPU's

Newer CPU's can have a small issue, when you start the game a lot of JPEG errors come up and when you click them away the game crashes. This is due to an unforeseen result in the check of the CPU's capabilities, and then the game assumes the CPU doesn't have the requested capability, while in fact it does have it. This issue first surfaced on Ryzen3 CPU's and was named the Ryzen fix, but now it is known to happen on Ryzen3 and Intel 12000 Series CPU's and in the future there will probably be more CPU's with this issue. I will call it the 'Newer CPU Fix" from now on. (16-June-2022)

luigoalma came up with this find and was able to find a fix for it! You can read all details about it at: https://steamcommunity.com/app/12140/discussions/0/1640919737479023003

The actual fix consists of a small 3 byte change to one of the game dll's, rlmfc.dll. You can implement this yourself with a hex editor or download a dll I changed for you here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nPUgYVdj03J1jI0CONMrPit0snFN9P4_
This dll is supposed to go in your game directory, replacing the one already there and fixes those JPEG errors.

All creds for this fix are to be directed at luigoalma, "Provided to help allow your entertainment again, have fun!"

*) This is already included in the Fixpack, but i will leave the separate download here for people that need/want it this way.

Uninstalling

Normally you can uninstall the fix either from the start menu/Max Payne FixPack/Uninstall Max Payne FixPack or from add/remove programs in the windows/settings/apps section.

If this doesn't work for some reason you can remove it from the registry by manually removing the key "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{98913A55-F0D5-4EB9-979E-76273089BD6F}_is1" or by downloading a reg file I prepared that does this for you here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a5j0AVH3hBPPBILYT9HsZ5123bcXTjvd/view?usp=sharing

- Using this reg fix will remove all traces from previous installs of the fix from the registry.

The above is also useful if the installer won't let you pick a location to install,

Getting the best possible Image Quality from the game.

To get the best image quality from the game, follow the steps below:

In the game Launcher
1) Set up your 'Display Adapter' and 'Screen Mode' with 'D3D Hardware T&L' Acceleration.


2) In the Launcher hit the 'Options...' button and set 'Filtering Mode' to 'Anisotropic', 'Texture Color Depth' to '32bit', 'Fogging', 'Sounds' and 'Task Switching' to 'Enabled', 'Screen Buffers' to 'Double', 'Anti Aliasing' to 'Off'(*) and all sliders to 'High'(**). Press the 'OK' button to confirm.

(*) if you want anti aliasing look at the AA section
(**) When using the enhanced textures, start with the three texture sliders on medium. You can crank them up later if you have more than 2GB of graphics memory.




In the nvidia control panel
1) Launch your video card settings program: Nvidia Control Panel.
2) Head to Manage 3D settings, then go to Program Settings, find or add MaxPayne.exe there.
3) Then you'll see the settings for this application.

Apply following settings:
Anisotropic Filtering: 16x


Texture Filtering Quality: High Quality.

4) Press Apply to confirm the settings

Now you are ready to launch the game, so press the Play button in the launcher.

In game settings
1) Once you get to the game menu, hit options and then video
2) Set Texture Sharpness to maximum (or your personal preference)
3) Set Brightness to your liking, the best setting depends on your preference and screen, I like it two notches up from default.

4) Press back and back again to return to the main menu and play.

Anti Aliasing

The game's anti aliasing works bad when set from the game launcher options, sometimes it does nothing at all or sometimes white lines appear on edges or dark places, but there is a solution, by using Nvidia Profile Inspector (NPI) https://github.com/Orbmu2k/nvidiaProfileInspector/releases

1) Make sure you applied all the settings from the previous chapter

In the game Launcher
2) Open game's launcher, then head to Options... and set Anti Aliasing to 2x.


In the nvidia control panel
3) Launch your video card settings program: Nvidia Control Panel.
4) Head to Manage 3D settings, then go to Program Settings and find or add MaxPayne.exe there.
5) Then you'll see the settings for this application.
6) Apply following settings:
Antialiasing - Mode: Enhance the application setting
Antialiasing - Settings: set anything you want, because it will be edited using NPI
Antialiasing - Transparency: Maximum that your PC can handle.


7) Press Apply to confirm the settings

After this you will probably still have the white lines, but by setting a custom anti aliasing mode it can be fixed.

In the nvidia profile inspector
8) Now open Nvidia Profile Inspector
9) From the Profiles box at the top, select Max Payne
10) Then you'll see the settings for this application.
in section 3 - anti aliasing, find anti aliasing - setting and from the dropdown box next to it and select 4x4[4x4 Supersampling (D3D only)]


11) press the apply button on the right top and exit the program.
Launch the game and play :)

Afterwards
if you go back in the nvidia control panel after npi, you will see custom aa.


This picture shows the aa in action, look at the top of max's head.

[darkje]

killachriz96: it can happen during loading that the screen is shifted down, this is because of the widescreen fix. Usually it will just load fine regardless. You have to give it a minute if you have the added textures enabled, the game engine takes a bit of time for them. Don't assume it's stuck because of the shifted down screen.

[Mr. Calcium]

As i am now using dgVoodoo, it is already set to 144 as you mentioned, but when i tried Cosire's first it synced to my refresh rate which is 360hz regardless of what i set to in the d3d9 config file.

Which is why i will try Cosires using a driver level fps limit the next time i encounter these stutters and see if that would completely fix the stutters, going to keep my fingers crossed :)

[killachriz96]

so ive played this before with the fix a few months back and it worked fine. but now i get the loading screen on botttom and cant even load into 1st mission. can anyone help?

[darkje]

Mr. Calcium: you should limit fps to 144, that is the maximum the game can do without causing bugs to the triggers in some levels. For cosire's you will find a file called d3d9.ini and for dgVoodoo there is one named dgVoodoo.conf. In either you will find a parameter named FPSLimit and it should be set to 144, if it isn't already.

[Mr. Calcium]

I came to give a status update and it seems that the methods i used didn't completely fix the stutter after all, but is stable 98% of the time.

I am going to try using Crosires wrapper one more time the next time it happens and globally liming the FPS through Radeon software, as by default Crosire just matched my 360hz refresh rate and see if that fixes it completely.

[Lethal Placebo]

@Pxelo I see, can you please try uninstall the Fix from your Windows Programs list and try reinstalling the Fix and selecting a different audio option? The default is DSOAL and I suggest trying the Ultimate Soundpatch.

[Pxelo]

@Lethal Placebo A region where the game is not available to buy (got the game with a key)

[Mr. Calcium]

Yeah it wasn't easy figuring this one out given that my first expectation definitely wasn't the sound wrapper being the culprit of FPS issues.

Hopefully sharing my system specs and the solution helps someone else out if they face the stutter issue like i did.

[darkje]

@ Mr. Calcium: this is exactly the reason for the options, while the default settings work in 90% of the cases, there are always a few instances where the alternate option(s) work better for their specific system. Glad you found out what matches best to yours! happy gaming.

[Mr. Calcium]

So i had these horrible stutters when moving Max or the camera around, but here is what finally seems to have fixed things for me, i haven't moved past the starting apartment so can't be sure yet if it's a 100% fix, but for now seems fine.

Use the DgVoodoo FPS wrapper fix.
Use the ultimate soundpatch instead of the default DSOAL wrapper.
Widescreen optional.

Rest i left as default.

Using

W11
1440p 360hz monitor
CPU 9800X3D
GPU 9070XT

For whatever reason it seems that this DSOAL wrapper while fixing sound issues was also the cause of these horrible stutters, while the ultimate soundpatch seems fine.