List of Essential and Optional MGS2 Mods / Tweaks

This started as a thread I created on the Metal Gear Solid 2/3 Steam forums and as I continued to improve and add to it. Few people suggested I should turn it into a guide which I thought was a good Idea so here it is. I will continue to enhance it over time but for now I'll post the already existing thread here and I hope you guys find it useful. These games deserve much better than Konami's lacklustre effort, thanks to all the mod authors for carrying the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection on their back.

1. MGSHDFix v2.3[github.com] - (Author: Lyall / Wintermance)

• (New) Now Updated to v2.3 with Support for Game Version 2.0.0
  
• MGSHDFix allows for a number of improvements to the game such as:
  
• Fix Aspect Ratio
  
• Change Mouse Sensitivity
  
• (New) Ability to Skip the Konami MGS Launcher
  
• Skip the Konami Intro Warning / Splash Screens
  
• Fix FOV when using an aspect ratio narrower than 16:9
  
• Run the game in Windowed or Fullscreen Borderless Mode
  
• Run the game as your native resolution or set a custom resolution
  
• Forces the framebuffer size to be the same as the custom resolution.
  
• (New) Adds support for Steam Deck 16:10 Aspect Ratio and Native resolution
  
• Increase Anisotropic Filtering (You can also do this via your GPU Control Panel)
  
• Fix issues related to HUD in MGS2 when you play the game above 720p resolution.
  
• Extends size of the texture buffers, allowing textures larger than 16MB to be loaded
  
• Prevents keyboard/mouse input when game window is in the background/unfocused
  
• - Simply edit the MGSHDFix.ini file via Notepad and make any changes you like.
  
• - MGSHDFix files must be installed inside MGS3's root directory "\Steam\steamapps\common\MGS2"

- Important Note Regarding the New MGSHDFix v2.3:

- You must delete the previous version of MGSHDFix files and set your game Graphics Settings to "Original" within the Metal Gear Solid 3 Konami Launcher Menu.

2. MGS2MC Better Audio[www.nexusmods.com] - (Author: KnightKiIIer)

• Fixes the low quality compressed audio by porting the sound files from the PlayStation 3 HD Collection.

1. MGS2 - High Resolution Textures AI Upscaled[www.nexusmods.com] - (Author: liqMix)

• If you plan on installing "Big Slop (4x)" YOU MUST DOWNLOAD AND USE MGSHDFix v2.3[github.com] as it adds support for
  large texture resolutions. The extracted size of "Big Slop (4x)" comes in at roughly 30GB worth of textures, pretty extreme but why not.

• Make sure to install MGS2 - High Resolution Textures AI Upscaled[www.nexusmods.com] FIRST to serve as a baseline before you install and overwrite individual hand made Texture Mods below.

- Important Note Regarding the High Resolution Texture mod:

• Make sure to install Upscaled Textures (AI Slop Edition) - MGS2 UPDATE 1.4.0 Temporary Patch[www.nexusmods.com] As this mod fixes some textures that aren't upscaled for 1.5.1 by the main Upscaled Textures (AI Slop Edition). Download till the author can get around to fixing it themselves. Thanks to Afevis[next.nexusmods.com] for all his efforts.

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2. HD Handmade US Flag with reverse fix[www.nexusmods.com] - (Author: Afevis)
3. HD Sons of Liberty Flag[www.nexusmods.com] - (Author: hollhorse)
4. Higher Resolution KojiPro Posters[www.nexusmods.com] - (Author: somebigb0ss)
5. (WIP) HQ BetterBoxes - MGS2[www.nexusmods.com] - (Author: somebigb0ss)
6. (WIP) Silver-haired Raiden[drive.google.com] - (Author: sixbottlesdown)
- Changes Raidens Hair colour to silver which imo looks better in game
7. MGS2MC - Uncensored PS2 Blood Textures[www.nexusmods.com] - (Author: Afevis)
8. MGS2MC - M9 Laser Fix (Original PS2 texture)[www.nexusmods.com] - (Author: Afevis)
9. Solid Snake Hair Fix[www.nexusmods.com] - (Author: GuyOnAChair)
10. MGS2MC - Snake First Person Glove Color Fix[www.nexusmods.com] - (Author: Afevis)
11. PS2 Title Card Restoration Project[www.nexusmods.com] - (Author: Afevis)
12. Medkit Red Cross Restoration[www.nexusmods.com] - (Author: Afevis)
13. Torture Table Fix[www.nexusmods.com] - (Author: Afevis)
14. Solid Snake Legacy Bandana[www.nexusmods.com] - (Author: iroquoispliskin1972)
15. Solid Snake and Pliskin fixes and overhaul[www.nexusmods.com] - (Author: iroquoispliskin1972)
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- Afevis Mod Packs:

* Afevis has created a collection of several preconfigured mod packs which automatically configure all your game files/folders as needed for the mods to work with a single click if you rather have a all in one solution with out installing mods individually which you can download here Afevis's MGS2 Mod Pack - AI Upscaled[next.nexusmods.com].

To run the game through the computer's dedicated GPU instead of being forced to use its CPU's integrated graphics, DXVK can be used to fix this issue.

1. If using MGSHDFix v2.3[github.com], go to MGS2 Root Directory at "\Steam\steamapps\common\MGS2", Or you can right click on Metal Gear Solid 2 on Steam > Manage > Browse Local Files which should open the root folder and rename d3d11.dll to wininet.dll.

2. Download dxvk MGS3[drive.google.com] and extract its contents to MGS2 Root Folder as mentioned in Step 1.

3. Press ⊞ Win+R and run dxdiag.

4. In the DirectX Diagnostic Tool window, click the Display tab and take note of the dedicated GPU name in the Device box.
Open dxvk.conf in Windows notepad or Notepad++[notepad-plus-plus.org] and type the dedicated GPU's name in-between the quotes, exactly as it reads in the previous step. Save and close the file and run the game.

* Full credit to PCGamingWIKI[www.pcgamingwiki.com] for this guide.

With the release of MGSHDFix v2.3[github.com] you are able to skip the Konami Launcher and set your Controller Type, Language, and Region Settings in the "MGSHDFix.ini" file as predefined settings.

1. Download and extract the MGSHDFix v2.3[github.com] files inside your MGS2's root directory "\Steam\steamapps\common\MGS2", Or you can right click on Metal Gear Solid 2 on Steam > Manage > Browse Local Files which should open the root folder. Simply copy the MGSHDFix v2.3 files inside the MGS2 main folder.

2. Open "MGSHDFix.ini" file via Windows Notepad or Notepad++[notepad-plus-plus.org] and edit the following settings to your liking in order to skip the Konami Launcher with your predefined settings.

[Launcher Config]
; If enabled will skip the launcher app and run the game directly
; (options like game language & button style will need to be configured below)
SkipLauncher = true

; CtrlType: PS5, PS4, XBOX, NX, STMD, KBD
CtrlType = PS5
; Language (may depend on Region setting): EN, JP, FR, GR, IT, PR, SP, DU, RU
Language = EN
; Region (MGS3 only): US, JP, EU
Region = US

• NOTE: By default [MGSHDFix v2.3] will skip the Konami Logo and Splash screen during Metal Gear Solid 2's boot up for a seamless transition into the main menu
  

Support for Steam Deck was added in MGSHDFix v2.3[github.com].
Steam Deck users can also enjoy a native 800p (16:10) experience by installing this mod.

1. Switch your Steam Deck to Desktop Mode, download and extract the MGSHDFix v2.3[github.com] files to your MGS2's root directory.

• NOTE: To access the root directory of MGS2 on Steam Deck switch to Desktop Mode and right click on Metal Gear Solid 2 on Steam > Manage > Browse Local Files which should open the root folder. Simply copy the MGSHDFix v2.3 files inside the MGS2 folder.

2. Add the Steam Launch Commands to the game by right clicking Metal Gear Solid 2 on your Steam Library > Properties > and copy the following line inside the Launch Options after you installed MGSHDFix v2.3[github.com]

WINEDLLOVERRIDES="wininet,winhttp=n,b" %command%

• NOTE: As of patch 1.4.1 Steam Deck support is officially added and [xaudio2_9.dll] is included with the game and no longer needs to be manually installed.

- How to Skip the Konami Launcher on Steam Deck:

With the release of MGSHDFix v2.3[github.com] you can Skip the Konami Launcher and set your Controller Type, Language, and Region Settings in the "MGSHDFix.ini".

1. After having downloaded and extracted the MGSHDFix v2.3[github.com] files inside your MGS2's root directory simply open MGSHDFix.ini file via a Text Editor in Desktop Mode and edit the following settings to your liking in order to skip the Konami Launcher with your predefined settings.

2. To access the root directory of MGS2 on Steam Deck switch to Desktop Mode and right click on Metal Gear Solid 2 on Steam > Manage > Browse Local Files which should open the root folder.

[Launcher Config]
; If enabled will skip the launcher app and run the game directly
; (options like game language & button style will need to be configured below)
SkipLauncher = true

; CtrlType: PS5, PS4, XBOX, NX, STMD, KBD
CtrlType = STMD
; Language (may depend on Region setting): EN, JP, FR, GR, IT, PR, SP, DU, RU
Language = EN
; Region (MGS2 only): US, JP, EU
Region = US

• NOTE: By default [MGSHDFix v2.3] will skip the Konami Logo and Splash screen during MGS2's boot up for a seamless transition into the main menu

• Windows:

  "\Steam\steamapps\common\MGS3\mgs2_savedata_win"

• Linux:

  "Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/2131640/pfx"

If you have Black Bars on sides of your screen that is because you have a odd resolution added by your TV / Monitor above your native display resolution and the game automatically uses the highest resolution on the list for your display.

You can fix this issue either by using MGSHDFix v2.3[github.com], (simply download it and drop the files into the root directory of your game) or alternatively you can use THIS guide to delete those odd resolutions added by your TV/Monitor by using a small utility called Custom Resolution Utility (CRU) [custom-resolution-utility.en.lo4d.com] which might potentially resolve the same issue in other games also.

Use your Graphics Driver Control Panel to cap the frame rate to 60 FPS

• NVIDIA Control Panel - Screenshot[i.imgur.com]
  
• Radeon Additional Settings - Screenshot[i.imgur.com]

- Disclaimer

I did not make any of these mods I'm simply linking them for convenience, All credit goes to the mod authors. Please consider supporting them on their Nexus Page[www.nexusmods.com]

[Jarrod]

FYI, "HD Handmade US Flag with reverse fix", "Snake First Person Glove Color Fix", and "Torture Table Fix" have all been hidden and they all link to
Afevis's MGS2 Texture Fix Compilation [www.nexusmods.com]

Just figured it'd be a good consolidation for the list.

[Fonzie]

I just updated the list above for thew new version MGSHDFix 2.3 and added a quick note:

Important Note Regarding the New MGSHDFix v2.3:

- You must delete the previous version of MGSHDFix files and set your game Graphics Settings to "Original" with in the Metal Gear Solid 3 Konami Launcher Menu.[/b]

[Captainklums]

Ok great but isn't a guide supposed to.. guide you into how to install? I'm clueless, thanks for any help

[Fonzie]

Small update, I added new section "How to fix Crash On Startup" guide taken from PCGamingWiki to the thread just for sake of convenience and visibility.

[Fonzie]

@Oliver Glad to hear it!

[Oliver]

It worked after reinstall*
I had downloaded serveral mods and there was a conflict i think

[Fonzie]

Hey guys I just made some important updates to the guide above.

List of changes:

* Added Upscaled Textures (AI Slop Edition) - MGS2 UPDATE [www.nexusmods.com][/b] as this mod fixes some textures that aren't upscaled for 1.5.1 by the main Upscaled Textures (AI Slop Edition). Afevis [next.nexusmods.com] for all his efforts.

* Added Afevis Mod Packs:
- Afevis has created a collection of several preconfigured mod packs which automatically configure all your game files/folders as needed for the mods to work with a single click if you rather have a all in one solution with out installing mods individually which you can download here Afevis's MGS2 Mod Pack - AI Upscaled [next.nexusmods.com] .

* Added two new optional mods to the list.

[Oliver]

@Fonzie, i guess i will try and reinstall the game and try again

[Fonzie]

@Oliver, yes all works perfectly.

[Oliver]

Does this still work. The launcher that opens is indeed 1440p, but when i decide to launch MGS2: Sons of liberty the resolution goes to like 720p