Play Postal 2 on modern systems! Quality of life improvements, fixes and mods for Postal 2.

This guide will help you to make Postal 2 run much better on modern systems, plus a few mods and quality of life improvements!

Getting started: Things you will need

Before starting, here is all the software and applications you will need:

A copy of Postal 2 With the “Paradise lost” DLC: (the DLC is not really necessary for the game to work, but this guide will cover a few things with it):

Base Game: https://store.steampowered.com/app/223470/POSTAL_2/

DLC/Expansion: https://store.steampowered.com/app/360960/POSTAL_2_Paradise_Lost/

Notepad++: (This will help us edit INI files):

APP: https://notepad-plus-plus.org/downloads/

Rivatuner statistics server: (This will help us cap the FPS of the game):

APP: https://www.guru3d.com/files-details/rtss-rivatuner-statistics-server-download.html

(NOTE: The developer of this game has updated it for a very long time, so running it on modern machines is very easy and not a hassle at all!)

With that out of the way, let's begin with the Quality of life improvements!

Quality of life improvements

FOV change:

The game supports a FOV slider in the game settings, so it's not necessary to change anything on a INI file, you can find it in the “performance” tab, in the options menu, the maximum FOV is 110.



Vsync (Optional and a little buggy):

You can activate Vsync if you go to the ini file, but from the testing that i have done, it doesn't seem to work if you do it from there, so I found another solution.

Install rivatuner statistics server, click on add and find the “Postal2.exe” In the system folder, in the directory you have installed the game.



Select it and in the “frame limit” option put 60 FPS. (if you want to do it for Paradise lost, you will have to go to the postal 2 directory, find the Paradise lost folder, find the other system folder and the “Paradise lost.exe” and do the same thing as before).

Personally, I don't recommend capping the FPS, because the game runs like absolute trash with it, but if you want to do it anyways, go ahead.

(Note: The only way that i found to play the game at 60 FPS is to use the API wrapper used in the “Get EVEN better performance and stability” Fix, since it caps the FPS at 60 by default, so you can follow those steps and use that instead, The only issue with this dll file is that is it not compatible With Xpatch (as far as i know))

The best way to play the game is not capping the framerate at all, since this game is kinda buggy, it needs very high FPS if you want to have a fluid experience.

Anisotropic Filtering:

There is an option in the performance menu that lets you change the AF, you can change it in the INI file, but i don't see a point in doing it from there since you can do it from the game menu.



Low performance on modern PC´S fix:

It can sometimes happen that, even on a capable pc, the game may suffer from bad performance issues, here is the fix:

Right click on postal 2, go to manage and click on “browse local files”, go to the system folder and Find the Postal 2.ini.





right click it and edit it with notepad++, click on "search" and on the “find…” button and type in the “Find what” box the following:

 ReduceMouseLag 

then change the value to false and save the document.





Now the game should work fine.

Get EVEN better performance and stability:

While doing research for this guide, i stumble upon this github:

d3d8to9: https://github.com/crosire/d3d8to9

This is an API wrapper that transforms the DirectX8 renderer into a DirectX9 in real time, it improves the performance on modern 64 bit OSes.

I REALLY recommend that you try it. To install it, you have to go to releases, click on the d3d8.dll file, download it and put it in your system folder, where “Postal2.exe” is located.

If you want to do it for paradise lost, you will have to find the “ParadiseLost.exe” and do the same thing as before.

(Note: I don't know if this works for the expansion or even with Xpatch, because when I use it on the base game, the framerate is capped at 60 by default, but when I installed Xpatch, the frame rate WAS NOT capped.

Even on Paradise Lost the framerate is not capped , i will still suggest you to use it anyways and if it worked for you (or not), please, leave a comment!)

Random crashes FIX:

One of the most common bugs in Postal 2 and its expansion is the random crashes that can happen through your playthrough. To fix this, you should go to the options menu and in video settings, use the OpenGL render.

The Downside of using OpenGL is that you CAN NOT use fullscreen mode, you will have to use fullscreen windowed, apart from the fact that the game Stutters a lot when using it.

I still don't know why this happens. If someone knows why, please, comment on this guide and I will update it with a solution.

In my experience, i Don't use OpenGL for the reasons mentioned above, I Also don't know if this 100% resolves the crashing issues, but I decided to cover it in this guide anyway if it fixes the problem for some of you…

Mods

(Note: The majority of postal 2 mods have some performance and crashing issues, take this into account when installing them.)

The best places on the internet for postal mods are:

The official Mod DB page: https://www.moddb.com/games/postal-2

The Official Steam Workshop of the game: https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/browse/?appid=223470&browsesort=trend&section=readytouseitems

A few good mods that i recommend are:

Eternal Damnation:

A very good campaign, it features new weapons, enemies and a new story.

If you want to play it, you will need the original mod and a "Postal 2: share the pain" copy that you can find on Mod DB. I will link the mod and the game copy below.

Original mod: https://www.moddb.com/mods/eternal-damnation

“Share The Pain” copy: https://www.moddb.com/games/postal-2/downloads/postal-2-share-the-pain-multiplayer-full-version

Doomstal:

A recreation of the Doom levels in the postal 2 engine, sadly, it only features the first episode, but i recommend playing it anyways.

You can find it on the steam workshop, the mod db page only has an outdated version.

Doomstal: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=787024605

Nicks coop:

A mod that adds coop to the game, i have never used it, but if you want to play the game with your friends, here is the way.

You can find it on mod db and the steam workshop.

Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=737631813

Mod DB: https://www.moddb.com/mods/nickscoop-postal-2-coop

Xpatch:

A really excellent unofficial patch that fixes a lot of bugs, adds meaningful gameplay changes and overall, makes the game better.

I ABSOLUTELY recommend that you give this mod a try, you can even play workshop content with it.

Sadly, the d3d8to9 doesn't seem to work as far as i know, i'm not really sure, but i recommend you install d3d8to9 + Xpatch + Workshop content and you will have a blast.

You can find it on mod db and the steam workshop, but the new updates and improvements are located in the official mod DB page, so i recommend you go there instead.

Mod DB: https://www.moddb.com/mods/5024x-unofficial-patch

Corkscrew rules (steam port):

A port of a licensed addon only available in russia and japan, it features a new story, new weapons and a new map.

I haven't played this one, and as far as i know they say that it's pretty bad, but i think it is a good piece of history, so i will leave the link anyways.

It even has compatibility with Xpatch, so you can have a much better experience with the addon, you can find the patch in the official mod db Xpatch Page that i already mentioned.

Corkscrew Rules (Steam Port): https://www.moddb.com/mods/corkscrew-rules-steam-port

Xpatch For the Addon: https://www.moddb.com/mods/5024x-unofficial-patch/downloads/xpatch-20-compatibility-patch-for-corkscrew-rules

A Week In Paradise:

This mod combines base postal 2 and apocalypse weekend expansion into one game, while adding a lot of new weapons, cheats and much more.

There is an up to date version of this mod called “a week in paradise forever”, but it only works with the 5023 version of the game, apart from the fact that it is incompatible with Xpatch.

You can find the mod in the official mod db page

AWP: https://www.moddb.com/mods/awp-a-week-in-paradise#:~:text=AWP%20is%20an%20enhanced%20version,the%20original%20Postal%202%20levels

and also AWPF

AWPF: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1300887994

I recommend that you check the steam workshop of the game, since there are a bunch of really good mods that you can only find there.

I would Especially check weapon packs and the sandbox mod, since they are really well made mods and they are really fun to mess around with.

In fact, you should go to the steam workshop and sort the mods by "most popular" and install the ones that interest you, there are some pretty good mods out there.

Final Words

This is it! That's all you need to know to run postal 2 on modern machines, I hope you found this guide useful.

If you have any other problem, you can go to the official PCgamingwiki page:

Official Page:https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Postal_2

Or you can leave a comment on this guide!



See you next time!.

[kolter]

DgVooDoo is a more advanced wrapper which converts directx 8 calls into directx 11, you can add it as an alternative to d3d8to9.

[λ ThePowerarmor76 λ]

ok, i think i will give it a go ane of these days.

[Chief]

I've had a pleasant experience with dgvoodoo in Postal 2, I don't know if it's better or worse than d3d8to9, but maybe it can run with xpatch.

[λ ThePowerarmor76 λ]

I also plan on doing more guides fo other games since people could have a hard time with some other games.

[λ ThePowerarmor76 λ]

No, i havent tried it, do you think i should add it? i was also going to change the title of the guide a little so that people dont have a hard time finding it.

[Chief]

good guide, did you try dgvoodoo as a stability improvement?