The latest game version has limitations and issues and users are recommended to take action on them.
Special K features NieR: Replicant specific tweaks and features (collectively known as Radical Replicant), created by Kaldaien with contributions from Ersh and SkacikPL. These tweaks can provide a noticeable improvement to performance and allows for an uncapped frame rate provided the release version of the game is used.
While the official June 21, 2021 update for the game solved some minor issues, it also introduced new ones and broke the frame rate unlocker. As a result of this and because Special K will not be updated to support the latest version of the game, it is recommended to downgrade the game to be able to use the full scope of the fixes and features built into Special K.
These are the default settings applied by Special K for NieR: Replicant:
V-Sync is enabled by default, as otherwise the game might use a weird value that caps the game at a weird FPS (e.g. 48 FPS on a 240 Hz monitor). If you want to disable this change the Present Interval option in the Swapchain Management subsection in SK’s in-game control panel to 0 (Off) or -1 (allow the game to control it).
A 60 FPS lock is configured by default. Load into the game proper and open the SK control panel and disable or raise the Framerate Limit to go above 60 FPS. Note that SK will automatically cap to 60 FPS during the main menu and loading screens to minimize loading issues that might otherwise occur.
All NieR: Replicant related fixes are embedded into Special K so no standalone mod is required.
The usual install procedures apply:
This feature only works with an older version of the game, see the downgrade instructions.
The >60 FPS feature (aka “High FPS” or “High Dynamic Framerate”) was made possible thanks to the work made by Ersh and SkacikPL. This feature is now embedded in Special K, though users interested in the original mod can find it over on Nexus Mods.
Special K enabled the High Dynamic Framerate feature by default, which allows for FPS above 60 without speeding up the game. Note that the FPS limiter must be changed after the player have loaded into the game world, as the main menu and loading screens are capped to 60 to minimize streaming related issues.
Framerate Limit to allow for higher than 60 FPS gameplay.As a result of the way the game logic is tied to the frame rate by default, it is possible to disable Special K’s High Dynamic Framerate to speed up the game. This can make farming or proceeding through later playthroughs much faster.
High Dynamic Framerate feature.Framerate Limit to uncap the FPS.
G-Sync / G-Sync Compatible users:
> Advanced to the right of the Framerate Limit option and enable Nvidia Driver Black Magic.Low Latency + BoostStart-of-FrameEnabledPlaystation controller users can download and inject PS button prompts through SK’s texture injection.
Launch the game.
Press Ctrl + ⇧ Shift + ← Backspace to open the control panel of Special K.
In the file menu bar of the control panel, click on File and then Initialize Texture Mods.
Now click on File again, and select Browse Texture Assets and click on Injectable Textures.
887C8923.dds, A849ED21.dds, and A1856586.dds inside the textures folder \SK_Replicant_DualShock_v2\SK_Res\inject\textures.Copy/paste the extracted textures into the textures folder that was opened after clicking on Injectable Textures in step 4.
Launch the game. The Playstation buttons should appear in-game if all went well.
These textures are incompatible with ReShade due to the game using staging texture uploads.
While the official June 21, 2021 update for the game solved some minor issues, it also introduced new ones (such as a weird 57~58 FPS cap) and broke the community created frame rate unlocker. As Special K will not be updated to support the new game version, users have two alternatives available to them:
A) Downgrade to the older version of the game.
The linked executable is incompatible with Intel Alder Lake when used on Windows 10, upgrade to Windows 11!
Please note that more files than just the executable was changed in the patch, though this method have been found to be quite stable by many users so far. There is also a separate method available here which performs a binary downgrade patch on the game executable.
[Radical.Replicant]
HighDynamicFramerate=true
B) The new FPS/V-Sync behaviour of v1.0.3 can be disabled, though note that this will not restore proper >60 FPS support when using Special K.
This method will fix the weird 57~58 FPS lock the game had following the patch, by allowing users to use Special K to cap it properly to 60 FPS. Frame rates higher than 60 is not supported as it will result in a sped up game.
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139\Steam\{SteamID}\drawing_settings.iniFpsControlDisable=0 with FpsControlDisable=1Alternatively set:
[Render.FrameRate]
SleeplessRenderThread=true
in your game-specific config.
Use the latest version of Special K alongside Windows’ Variable refresh rate setting to prevent the game from occasionally losing VRR.
Do not use a forced display driver override for v-sync as this will prevent Special K’s fix from working properly.
The game may use fractional v-sync during cutscene playbacks (including the intro cutscene) which breaks VRR support for the remainder of the play session until the game has been restarted. Special K v21.11.22 and newer automatically prevents the game from using fractional v-sync (SyncIntervalClamp=1), though for NieR: Replicant this also needs to be combined with Windows’ Variable refresh rate setting as otherwise the issue will still occur when a cutscene starts playing as composition synchronization is lost and unable to recover properly even after the cutscene is over.
To prevent Vsync from being disabled and/or to prevent tearing after a pre-rendered cutscene starts on a fixed refresh display, try forcing Vsync on for the game at the driver.
A Bluetooth connected gamepad must be power-cycled after having toggled Steam Input.
Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S controller:
Disable Steam Input)DualShock 4, DualSense, Switch Pro controller:
Disable Steam Input)DS4Windows.exe to DS4W.exe to prevent the steam prompt (about the use of a remapping tool) from showing up.
- Use the Display menu on the top of the SK control panel to configure the game to run in
Borderlessmode, then open the menu again and now configure it to run inBorderless Fullscreenmode.
This was an issue in the Radical Replicant versions between v0.2.x up to v0.5.6, so update your copy of Special K to a version that carries Radical Replicant v0.5.6 or later. This corresponds to a version of Special K dated after 2021-04-30.
Update Special K to a version that carries Radical Replicant v0.9.0 or later. This corresponds to a version of Special K dated after 2021-05-22.