SWAT 4  |
| Developers |
| Irrational Games |
| Publishers |
| Retail | Sierra Entertainment |
| Retail (Russia) | SoftClub |
| Digital | Activision |
| Engines |
| Unreal Engine 2 |
| Release dates |
| Windows | April 5, 2005 |
| Reception |
| Metacritic | 85 |
| IGDB | 85 |
| Taxonomy |
| Monetization | One-time game purchase, Expansion pack |
| Modes | Singleplayer, Multiplayer |
| Pacing | Real-time |
| Perspectives | First-person |
| Controls | Direct control, Menu-based |
| Genres | Action, FPS, Tactical shooter |
| Themes | Contemporary, North America |
| Series | Police Quest |
 |
| Police Quest |
|---|
| Police Quest: In Pursuit of the Death Angel | 1987 |
| Police Quest II: The Vengeance | 1988 |
| Police Quest III: The Kindred | 1991 |
| Police Quest: Open Season | 1993 |
| Police Quest: SWAT | 1995 |
| Police Quest: SWAT 2 | 1998 |
| SWAT 3: Close Quarters Battle | 1999 |
| SWAT 4 | 2005 |
Contents - 1 Availability
- 1.1 Version differences
- 1.2 Demo
- 2 Monetization
- 2.1 DLC and expansion packs
- 3 Essential improvements
- 3.1 Patches
- 3.2 Skip intro videos
- 4 Game data
- 4.1 Configuration file(s) location
- 4.2 Save game data location
- 4.3 Save game cloud syncing
- 5 Video
- 5.1 Widescreen resolution
- 5.2 Field of view (FOV)
- 5.3 Windowed
- 5.4 Anisotropic filtering (AF)
- 5.5 Vertical sync (Vsync)
- 6 Input
- 6.1 Mouse acceleration
- 6.2 Mouse sensitivity
- 7 Audio
- 7.1 Surround sound
- 7.2 Localizations
- 7.3 Changing language
- 8 Network
- 8.1 Multiplayer types
- 8.2 Connection types
- 8.3 Ports
- 8.4 GameSpy alternative
- 9 VR support
- 10 Issues unresolved
- 10.1 Player character gets stuck in map elements
- 11 Issues fixed
- 11.1 Screen flickering
- 11.2 Player doesn't move in online co-op
- 11.3 Text is not displayed properly in widescreen resolutions
- 11.4 Screen resolution resets on launch
- 11.5 "Insufficient onboard video memory" error message
- 12 Other information
- 12.1 API
- 12.2 Middleware
- 12.3 Editor
- 12.4 Modifications
- 13 System requirements
- 14 Notes
- 15 References
|
Warnings
GameSpy online services have been shut down (see Network for solutions).
SWAT 4 is a singleplayer and multiplayer first-person action, FPS and tactical shooter game in the Police Quest series.
General information
GOG.com Community Discussions for game series GOG.com Support Page
Availability
| Source | DRM | Notes | Keys | OS |
| Retail | | SecuROM 5 DRM[1] | |
| GOG.com | | Gold Edition. | |
Version differences
The Gold Edition includes the base game and The Stetchkov Syndicate expansion.
Demo
A demo is available from SierraHelp, ModDB and GameFront.
Monetization
| Type | Notes |
| Expansion pack | The expansion pack includes a new campaign, weapons and items. |
| One-time game purchase | The game requires an upfront purchase to access. |
DLC and expansion packs
| Name | Notes |
| The Stetchkov Syndicate | Release date: 02/28/2006.[2] | |
Essential improvements
Patches
The latest official patch for the base game is 1.1, and is available from SierraHelp, GameWatcher, GameFront, and Patches-Scrolls. The expansion did not receive an official patch, but there is a fix for the Polish localization specifically. The GOG.com release is already patched to version 1.1, and includes the expansion pack.
Skip intro videos
| Launch the game with -nointro parameter[citation needed] |
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
| System | Location |
| Windows | <path-to-game>\Content\System\Swat4.ini[Note 1]<path-to-game>\ContentExpansion\System\Swat4X.ini[Note 1] |
Save game data location
| System | Location |
| Windows | <path-to-game>\Content\System\Campaign.ini[Note 1]<path-to-game>\ContentExpansion\System\Campaign.ini[Note 1] |
Save game cloud syncing
| System | Native | Notes |
| GOG Galaxy |
Video
Video settings
| Graphics feature | State | WSGF | Notes |
| Widescreen resolution | | See Widescreen resolution. |
| Multi-monitor | | Disable intros to fix flickering. |
| Ultra-widescreen | | See Widescreen resolution for Vert- scaling.[3] |
| 4K Ultra HD | |
| Field of view (FOV) | 85°, Vert-. See Field of view (FOV). |
| Windowed | See Windowed. |
| Borderless fullscreen windowed | See the glossary page for potential workarounds. |
| Anisotropic filtering (AF) | See Anisotropic filtering (AF). |
| Anti-aliasing (AA) | See the glossary page for potential workarounds. |
| High-fidelity upscaling | See the glossary page for potential workarounds. |
| Frame generation | See the glossary page for potential workarounds. |
| Vertical sync (Vsync) | For the base game, see Vertical sync (Vsync). For The Stetchkov Syndicate, the option is available in the options menu. |
| 60 FPS and 120+ FPS | No frame rate or refresh rate cap. |
| High dynamic range display (HDR) | See the glossary page for potential alternatives. |
| Color blind mode | See the glossary page for potential workarounds. |
Widescreen resolution
| Use SWAT: Elite Force.[4] |
| Notes To get the same vertical field of view as in the original game, you need to adjust it in the mod's video settings to your aspect ratio – 101.4 for 16:9 or 95.43 for 16:10 resolutions. This can also be done by changing the value of BaseFOV in the User.ini file located in <path-to-game>\SEF\System. |
| Edit INI files[5] |
- Open the configuration file with a text editor (make sure the game has been launched at least once)
- Set the following values according to the desired resolution:
WindowedViewportX= WindowedViewportY= FullscreenViewportX= FullscreenViewportY= MenuViewportX= MenuViewportY= Notes Widescreen resolutions can cause text chat to have hidden/invisible text. See Text is not displayed properly in widescreen resolutions. Additionally, this affected the GOG release. Widescreen resolutions will simply zoom the camera in and cause HUD elements to be stretched. Screen resolution may reset on launch. See Screen resolution resets on launch. Intro videos remain in 4:3 resolution, to fix this Skip intro videos. |
Field of view (FOV)
| Use SWAT: Elite Force[citation needed] |
| Edit INI file[citation needed] |
- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Open SWATPawn.ini (make the game has been launched at least once).
- Go to class [SwatGame.SwatPawn].
- In this section, adjust the line FirstPersonFOV=.
- Change from 85.0 to the desired value.
Notes Not recommended to edit as this will cause sensitivity issues when using gadgets like the optiwand. Only affects weapon viewmodel. Editing SWATPawn.ini may not allow people to join the own's server. |
Windowed
| Edit Swat4.ini[citation needed] |
- Open the configuration file with a text editor (make sure the game has been launched at least once).
- Find Suppress=WindowedMode and comment it (put a ; at the beginning of the line).
- It is now possible to toggle between fullscreen and windowed mode with Alt+↵ Enter.
Notes To start the game in windowed, open the configuration file, find StartupFullscreen=True and set it to False. |
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
| Edit INI file[citation needed] |
- Open Swat4.ini at the Configuration file(s) location with a text editor (make sure the game has been launched at least once).
- Go to class [D3DDrv.D3DRenderDevice].
- In this section, adjust line LevelOfAnisotropy=1 (maximum is 16).
|
Vertical sync (Vsync)
| Use SWAT: Elite Force[citation needed] |
| Edit INI file[citation needed] |
- Open Swat4.ini within Configuration file(s) location with a text editor (make sure the game has been launched at least once).
- Go to class [D3DDrv.D3DRenderDevice].
- In this section, find UseVSync=False which can be set to true to enable Vsync.
|
Input
Control settings
-
Key map settings (1/4)
-
Key map settings (2/4)
-
Key map settings (3/4)
-
Key map settings (4/4)
Mouse acceleration
| Use SWAT: Elite Force[citation needed] |
| Edit User.ini[citation needed] |
- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Open User.ini (make sure the game has been launched at least once).
- Add the following lines at the bottom:
[Engine.PlayerInput] bInvertMouse=False MouseSmoothingMode=0 MouseSmoothingStrength=0.000000 MouseSensitivity=1.00000 MouseSamplingTime=0.001 MouseAccelThreshold=0.000000 DoubleClickTime=0.200000 Notes [Engine.PlayerInput] entries are created upon inverting mouse Y-axis. |
Mouse sensitivity
| Edit User.ini[citation needed] |
- Calculate sensitivity for SWAT 4 on mouse-sensitivity.com.
- Edit User.ini with a text editor:
[Engine.PlayerInput] MouseSensitivity=3.00000 Notes [Engine.PlayerInput] entries are created upon inverting mouse Y-axis. |
Audio
Audio settings
| Audio feature | State | Notes |
| Separate volume controls |
| Surround sound | Up to 7.0 output. See Surround sound. |
| Subtitles |
| Closed captions |
| Mute on focus lost |
| EAX support | DirectSound3D.[6] |
| Royalty free audio |
Surround sound
| Using OpenAL Soft[citation needed] |
- In <path-to-game>\System\, rename DefOpenAL32.dll to DefOpenAL32.bak.
- Download OpenAL Soft and copy soft_oal.dll (bin\Win32\) into the same folder.
- Rename soft_oal.dll to DefOpenAL32.dll.
Notes Using OpenAL Soft causes most voice clips to not play. |
| Using Directsound 3D restoration software[citation needed] |
The game uses OpenAL by default with a DirectSound 3D output ("Generic Hardware" output). Do not delete or replace DefOpenAL32.dll when using this method, using a more recent openal32.dll will crash the game. - Use Creative ALchemy or similar DirectSound3D restoration software.
- Open the configuration file with a text editor (make sure the game has been launched at least once).
- In this section set Use3DSound to True.
|
Localizations
| Language | UI | Audio | Sub | Notes |
| English | Separate US and UK releases, affected by different patch executables. |
| Traditional Chinese | Retail only.Download here |
| Simplified Chinese | Fan translation Here |
| Czech | Retail - 📥 |
| French | Retail only for base game; download for digital release. |
| French | Fan translation for The Stetchkov Syndicate; download. |
| German | Retail only; download for digital release. |
| Hungarian | Retail only. |
| Italian | Retail only. |
| Japanese | Retail only; download for digital release. |
| Polish | Retail only; download for digital release. |
| Brazilian Portuguese | Fan translation by GameVicio; Base game / The Stetchkov Syndicate. |
| Russian | Retail only; download for digital release. |
| Spanish | Retail only for base game; download for digital release. |
| Spanish | Fan translation for the Stetchkov Syndicate; download. |
| Slovak | Fan translation; download. |
Changing language
| Edit INI file[citation needed] |
- Open Swat4.ini (Swat4X.ini for The Stetchkov Syndicate) with a text editor (make sure the game has been launched at least once).
- Set Language= and SpeechLanguage= to the country code corresponding to the desired language (refer to this alpha 3 code list.
- Save and close.
Notes Language changes subtitle and interface language, whilst SpeechLanguage changes the voice language and works only in The Stetchkov Syndicate. Does not work for most recent version/GOG version.[dubious – discuss] |
Network
Multiplayer types
| Type | Native | Notes |
| Local play | Co-op, VersusUse Nucleus-Coop Unofficial mod. |
| LAN play | Co-op |
| Online play | Co-opThe official GameSpy service has been shut down; see GameSpy Alternative. |
Connection types
| Type | Native | Notes |
| Matchmaking |
| Peer-to-peer |
| Dedicated |
| Self-hosting | Dedicated server software included in the installation folder.[7] |
| Direct IP |
Ports
| Protocol | Port(s) and/or port range(s) |
| UDP | 10480-10483 |
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.
GameSpy alternative
Due to the GameSpy server shutting down, it is highly recommended to use one of the alternatives.
| Use Stats Master Server Patch[citation needed] |
- For the base game, back up <path-to-game>\Content\System\Engine.dll and replace it with this patched file.
- For The Stetchkov Syndicate and the Gold Edition, back up <path-to-game>\Content\System\Engine.dll and replace it with this patched file.
|
| Use Server Browser Alternative[8] |
| Hosting a server[citation needed] |
- Open <path-to-game>\Content\System\SwatGUIState.ini.
- Set bLAN=False and save the file.
- Open <path-to-game>\ContentExpansion\System\SwatGUIState.ini.
- Set bLAN=False.
- Set bUseStatTracking=False and save the file.
- Open <path-to-game>\Content\System\Swat4DedicatedServer.ini (run Swat4DedicatedServer.exe first if the file is not found).
- Under the section [Engine.GameEngine], make sure the line ServerActors=IpDrv.MasterServerUplink is present.
- Open <path-to-game>\ContentExpansion\System\Swat4XDedicatedServer.ini (run Swat4XDedicatedServer.exe first if the file is not found).
- Under the section [Engine.GameEngine], make sure the line ServerActors=IpDrv.MasterServerUplink is present.
- Disable any mods (or reconfigure their listen ports) that may clash with the port range 10481-10483 (or join port +1 - join port +3 if the server has a non default join port). Such mods may include AMMod.AMServerQuery, GS1, and GS2.
- If the server is listed at Game Tracker, change the query port to 10481 (or join port +1 if the server has a non-default join port)
|
VR support
| 3D modes | State | Notes |
| vorpX | G3DUser created game profile, see vorpx forum profile introduction. |
Issues unresolved
Player character gets stuck in map elements
Occurs at high frame rates as object hitboxes become enlarged. At high frame rates (above 150 FPS), the player character can more easily get stuck on map elements.
Issues fixed
Screen flickering
Some users with multiple monitors have issues with their screens flickering.
| Screens flickering (multi-monitor setup)[citation needed] |
- Disable the other monitors by doing one of the following:
- Unplug the monitor's cable that is connected to the graphics card (unplugging the power cable is not enough) and start the game.
- Press ⊞ Win+P to bring up the display switch dialog, and disable any additional monitor.
- On Windows 7 and up, run the game with the -nointro parameter, after having run the game at least once before, and with any additional monitor disabled.[9]
- Launch the game windowed (see Windowed and Widescreen resolution), then once on the main menu press Alt+↵ Enter to return to fullscreen.
|
Users with only one monitor have had issues with their screen flickering.
| Screen flickering (single-monitor setup)[citation needed] |
- Start the game with the -nointro parameter, or alternatively launch the game in windowed mode (see Windowed), then once on the main menu press Alt+↵ Enter to return to fullscreen.
|
Player doesn't move in online co-op
| Make sure a sound card driver is installed[citation needed] |
Text is not displayed properly in widescreen resolutions
| Change text language to English[citation needed] |
| Notes See Changing language. |
Screen resolution resets on launch
| Edit INI files[10] |
- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Open SwatGUIState.ini.
- Add or adjust the following lines according to the resolution:
ScreenResolutionChoices=800x600 ScreenResolutionChoices=1024x576 ScreenResolutionChoices=1024x768 ScreenResolutionChoices=1280x720 ScreenResolutionChoices=1280x1024 ScreenResolutionChoices=1366x768 ScreenResolutionChoices=1600x1200 ScreenResolutionChoices=1440x1080 ScreenResolutionChoices=1920x1080 ScreenResolutionChoices=2560x1440 ScreenResolutionChoices=3840x2160 - Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Open SwatGame.int.
- Add or adjust the following line according to the resolution:
ScreenResolutionChoices=("800x600","1024x576","1024x768","1280x720","1280x1024","1366x768","1600x1200","1440x1080","1920x1080","2560x1440","3840x2160") Notes Can cause text chat to have hidden/invisible text. See Text is not displayed properly in widescreen resolutions. |
"Insufficient onboard video memory" error message
Occurs with GPUs with over 4 GB of VRAM. This is a false positive that doesn't prevent one from playing and can be safely skipped.
| Edit executables with a hex editor[11] |
- With a hex editor (e.g. HxD), edit SWAT4.exe in <path-to-game>\Content\System\.
- Search for bytes 0F 85 5C 01 and replace them with 90 E9 5C 01.
- For The Stetchkov Syndicate expansion, repeat with SWAT4X.exe in <path-to-game>\ContentExpansion\System\.
|
Other information
API
| Technical specs | Supported | Notes |
| Direct3D | 9 | [12] |
| Executable | 32-bit | 64-bit | Notes |
| Windows |
Middleware
| Middleware | Notes |
| Multiplayer | GameSpy | GameSpy services are offline. See GameSpy Alternative |
Editor
The official editor is available here.
Modifications
The following mods require the
The Stetchkov Syndicate expansion to work.
SWAT: Elite Force
A total overhaul mod that improves the game's experience by adding cut content, better AI, more equipment, multiplayer features, general bugfixes, QOL improvements and much more. As of September 2, 2025, an official GOG.com distribution exists. Allows both the original and
The Stetchkov Syndicate campaign to be played as one. Can be played online (See GameSpy alternative). Spanish translation available here. See SEF First Responders and SEF-FR Tactical Edition for derivatives with their own goals and vision.
System requirements
| Windows |
| Minimum | Recommended |
| Operating system (OS) | 98 SE | 2000, XP |
| Processor (CPU) | Intel Pentium III 1.0 GHzIntel Celeron 1.2 GHzAMD Athlon 1.2 GHz | Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHzAMD Athlon XP 2500+ |
| System memory (RAM) | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Storage drive (HDD/SSD) | 2 GB | 2.5 GB |
| Video card (GPU) | Nvidia GeForce2ATI Radeon 850032 MB (Nvidia), 64 MB (ATI) of VRAMDirectX 9.0c compatible | Nvidia GeForce4 TiATI Radeon 9500128 MB of VRAM |
| Sound (audio device) | DirectX 8.1 compatible | DirectX 9.0 compatible |
Nvidia GeForce2 MX200 and MX400 cards are not supported by the game.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).
References
- ↑ SecuROM™ Support Website - SWAT 4 - last accessed on 9 June 2023
- ↑ GameSpot (2006) - last accessed on 2025-10-10
- ↑ SWAT 4 - PC Ultra Quality (3440x1440) - last accessed on 2019-08-18
- ↑ Verified by User:Orzelek303 on 2025-08-29 Tested on GOG.com version of the game, SWAT: Elite Force 7.2, and Windows 11 23H2.
- ↑ Widescreen Gaming Forum, SWAT 4 article - last accessed on May 2023
- ↑ SWAT 4 with 3D spatial sound 🎧 (OpenAL Soft HRTF audio) - last accessed on 9 June 2023
- ↑ Team Element - Forums :: SWAT4 - last accessed on May 2023
- ↑ SWAT 4 Multiplayer Tutorial - Mod DB - last accessed on May 2023
- ↑ GAZCHAP - SWAT4 Dual Monitor Fix - last accessed on May 2023
- ↑ moddb, SWAT 4 Widescreen Mod (Gold Edition) - last accessed on May 2023
- ↑ Troubleshooting - SWAT 4 Wiki - last accessed on May 15, 2023
- ↑ Verified by User:Eddman on 2025-06-02 The game fails to launch without d3d9.dll and throws error messages.