Insurgency

Insurgency

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Low Spec Insurgency cfg with explanations!
By GRIDLINES
I made this to get the most FPS out of an old computer. I built it so that you should be able to understand what something does and change it to what you want. This was thoroughly researched, tested a little, and a combination of many sources. I hope it works for you!
   
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Setup and tips
What you first need to do is create a new Notepad file. Anything that can be saved as a .txt should work.

Copy the contents shown here into your file. These are all commands that will function the same as if you were to input them into the console while playing.

Once you have everything in order, give the file a simple name. Let's assume it's named autoexec for simplicity. Then change the file extension of the file from autoexec.txt to autoexec.cfg

Place your new file into your Steam Insurgency cfg folder. It should be located approximately here on your hard drive:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\insurgency2\insurgency\cfg

If you want this to run on startup go into your Steam LIBRARY, open up the Properties menu for Insurgency by right clicking on it in the game list or game grid, and open SET LAUNCH OPTIONS...

Now add:
-exec autoexec.cfg
and click OK. It will now run whenever you start your game!

I strongly recommend restarting Steam before you launch the game to make sure that it actually reads the file. If you have any questions about how to create or use your config I strongly suggest looking up other cfg guides as they will be following the same steps.

You can run this file at any time in game using the "exec" console command. For example if you type in
exec autoexec
it will run all the console commands in this list.

I suggest turning down all your in-game video options as a first step if you run into crashes.

You can also turn down your resolution to increase your FPS.
Pastebin link
The full content of v1.01 is included here in this Steam guide for redundancy. Pastebin provides an easy way to copy everything at once.
https://pastebin.com/dBAAPCQc
cfg (first half)
I cannot fit it all into a single section so it is split into two parts.

-start of part 1-
cl_smooth 0 //Default is 1; Smooths out the difference between the clients prediction of your view and the server. Makes being on a high ping server nicer at the expense of putting you at an extra disadvantage. //cl_smoothtime //Default is 0.1; min is 0.010000 max is 2.000000 "Smooth the client's view after prediction error over this many seconds" cl_ejectbrass 0 //Default is 1; Shows first person shell casings if on. cl_ejectbrass_3p 0 //Default is 1; "Show brass ejection particle effect and model in 3rd person" cl_blurTapSize 0 //Default is 0.5; idk cl_forcepreload 1 //Default is 0; Forces the game to load the entire map upfront to avoid stuttering caused by loading the map on the fly. If you have crashes consider turning this off. cl_ragdoll_maxcount 10 //Default is 25; min is 10 "Clients will only show this many ragdolls" cl_show_splashes 0 //Default is 1; idk //cl_retire_low_priority_lights 1 //Default is 0; "Low priority dlights are replaced by high priority ones" This will not always improve performance. //cl_ragdoll_collide 0 //Default is 0; Turning this on will guzzle RAM and cause lag. Turn it on at your own risk. mat_clipz 0 //Default is 1; idk mat_hbao 0 //Default is 0; "Enables HBAO rendering" Horizontal Based Abient Occlusion, it creates shadows based on geometry. If you set this to "1" it may change back to "0" upon loading a new map. mat_antialias 0 //Default is 0; NOINFO mat_compressedtextures 1 //Default is 1; If "0" the source engine will use uncompressed textures for the current map. Will INCREASE LOADING TIMES and total RAM use, but will reduce on-the-fly load on the CPU. mat_queue_mode -1 //Default is -1; Setting it to 2 will improve performance on many multicore CPUs. Set to "-1" if you lack it or are unsure. "-1" uses the default for your system, "0" uses synchronous single thread, "1" uses queued single threaded mode, and value of "2" uses multi-threaded mode. mat_mipmaptextures 0 //Default is 1; Enables or Disables the mipmapping of textures by the GPU. Makes textures that are not up close have lower resolutions if on to avoid textures in the distance "sparkling" when moving. mat_picmip 2 //Default is 0; Sets the texture quality; min is "0 max is "2"; "2" is lowest quality, "0" is highest quality. Can cause a crash if changing this in-game or if it conflicts with in-game settings. Using sv_cheats you can set it between "-10.000000" and "4". mat_bumpmap 0 //Default is 1; Turns bumpmap rendering on and off. Essentially adds fake depth using a 2D texture. mat_parallaxmap 0 //Default is 1; Turns parallax mapping on and off. Related to bump mapping, parallax mapping creates fake depth using an illusion of 3D. mat_reduceparticles 1 //Default is 0; probably reduces particles mat_reducefillrate 1 //Default is 0; probably reduces fill rate mat_specular 0 //Default is 1; "0" will disable specularity, "1" will leave it as is. mat_fastspecular 1 //Default is 1; LEAVE ON. NO PERFORMANCE INCREASE IF OFF. Visually disables specular reflections while still rendering them. No effect on preformance. Only useful for comparing differences. mat_colcorrection_disableentities 1 //Default is 0; "Disables map color-correction entities" mat_motion_blur_enabled 0 //Default is 0; Ensures motion blur for materials is off. mat_forceaniso 0 //Default is 1; Sets Anistropic Filtering Level; "0" = bilinear, "1" = trilinear, "2" = 2X, "4" = 4X, "8" = 8X, "16" = 16X, //mat_hdr_enabled //Seems to either enable HDR or say if it is on or off. mat_hdr_level 0 //"Set to 0 for no HDR, 1 for LDR+bloom on HDR maps, and 2 for full HDR on HDR maps" //mat_max_worldmesh_vertices //Be careful when changing this variable. It can cause crashes. mat_phong 0 //Default is 1; Setting this to "0" will disable phong, a sort of fancy lighting. //mat_scope_fancy 0 //Default is 1; Leave unused so your scope isn't blurry. A scope with a low-detail dot will make shooting tougher. mat_disable_fancy_blending 1 //Default is 0; idk mat_colcorrection_disableentities 1 //Default is 0; "Disable map color-correction entities" mat_triplebuffered 0 //Default is 0; May enable triple buffering if you are fullscreen and using vsync. mat_filtertextures 1 //Default is 1; Smooths textures. Textures will appear blocky if this is off. Will NOT improve preformance! Setting mat_mipmaptextures to "0" will make this do nothing. mat_filterlightmaps 1 //Default is 1; Smooths lightmaps. Lighting will appear blocky if this is off. Will NOT improve preformance! //mat_monitorgamma //Sets monitor gamma. Does not make nightvision useless! min is 1.600000 max is 2.600000 "typically 2.2 for CRT and 1.7 for LCD" mat_bufferprimitives 1 //Default is 1; idk mat_blur_b 0 //Default is 0.7; idk mat_blur_g 0 //Default is 0.7; idk mat_blur_r 0 //Default is 0.7; idk mat_dof_enabled 0 //Default is 1; idk //mat_forcehardwaresync 1 //Default is 0; idk In DOTA 2 turning this off can allegedly cause problems if running Intel or Nvidia. mat_gbuffer_mode 2 //Default is 0; idk mat_lensfx 0 //Default is 1; mat_postprocess_x 0 //Default is 4; higher numbers improve post-processing effects mat_postprocess_y 0 //Default is 1; higher numbers improve post-processing effects mat_softwarelighting 0 //idk Crashes my game when I set it to "1". mat_envmapsize 32 //Default is 128; Seems to adjust the allowable physical dimensions of textures in TF2. It doesn't seem to do anything. Set to the sum of a power of 2 (aka 2*2*2*2... or 2^x) mat_envmaptgasize 32 //Default is 32; Seems to adjust the allowable physical dimensions of a sprayed texture in TF2. It doesn't seem to do anything. Set to the sum of a power of 2 (aka 2*2*2*2... or 2^x) mat_detail_tex 0 //Default is 1; Enables detail textures. I recieve an error about missing variable "$detailroughnessblendfactor" for 15 materials but that should not cause any issues. //mem_max_heapsize 2048 //Default is 512; Amount of RAM for the game to use, adjust to your system accordingly or delete it to be safe. Set to a number divisable 8. "Maximum amount of memory to dedicate to engine hunk and datacache (in mb)" //muzzleflash_light 1 //Default is 1; Doesn't do anything as far as I know. Setting it to "0" used to disable muzzle flash from your own gun in CSGO. May not work anymore. cl_muzzleflash_dlight_3rd 1 //Default is 1; Removes the light from gunshots in 3rd person if set to "0". Will make night maps harder with it off. //cl_muzzleflash_dlight_1st 1 //Default is 1; Removes the light from gunshots in 1st person. If your arms flashing on night maps bothers you then setting this to "0" will remove the indicator that you are lighting yourself up.
-end of part 1-
cfg (second half)
-start of part 2-
r_ambientfactor 0 //Default is 5; "Boost ambient cube by no more than this factor" r_ambientboost 0 //Default is 1; "Set to boost ambient term if it is totally swamped by local lights" r_drawflecks 0 //Default is 1; idk Draws the flecks if on? r_dynamic 0 //Default is 1; Disables certain dynamic shadowing. r_decals 0 //Default is 2048; Max amount of decals allowed to be rendered at any given time. decalfrequency 5 //Default is 10; The frequency that bullet impacts, or other decal makers, will make a decal. Seems to be a percentage. r_decalstaticprops 0 //Default is 1; "Decal static props test" If r_drawmodeldecals is on then you probably want this on too. r_drawmodeldecals 1 //--0--Default is 1; Turns decals being drawn on players, such as bullet wounds, on or off. r_DrawDetailProps 0 //Default is 1; Client variable you can change. "0=Off, 1=Normal, 2=Wireframe" r_ForceWaterLeaf 1 //Default is 0; "Enable for optimization to water - considers view in leaf under water for [culling]" r_fastzreject -1 //Default is 0; "Activate/deactivates a fast z-setting algorithm to take advantage of hardware with fast z reject." Will only boost preformance on specific hardware. Set to -1 for hardware autodetect. r_propsmaxdist 2 //Default is 1200; Maximum distance that props are drawn. r_threadeddetailprops 1 //Default is 1; Allows multithreadding for detail prop drawing. Meant for multicore CPUs. r_threaded_particles 1 //Default is 1; Allows multithreadding for particles for multicore CPUs. Know your hardware. r_threaded_shadow_clip 1 //Default is 0; r_WaterDrawReflection 0 //Default is 1; Enables water reflection r_WaterDrawRefraction 0 //Default is 1; Enables water refraction r_waterforceexpensive 0 //Default is 0; idk r_worldlights 1 //Default is 3; Number of world lights to use per vertex. Max is "4". The game resets this so feel free to set this again in-game. r_maxmodeldecal 0 //Default is 50; The maximum decals on a model or all models. r_maxdlights 0 //Default is 32; idk //r_staticprop_lod 5 //Default is -1; is a cheat and is ignored online r_shadowrendertotexture 0 //Default is 0; Determines shadow quality. Try to avoid having conflictions with your in-game settings. r_shadowmaxrendered 0 //Default is 32; The maximum number of shadows drawn by living entities. r_shadowfromworldlights 0 //Default is 1; "Enable shadowing from world lights" It may change in-game so feel free to set it again. r_shadowlod 2 //Default is -1; Level of detail of shadows. May be capped at "2". "-1" is the highest and "2" is the lowest. r_shadows 1 //Default is 1; Determines if shadows are drawn or not. Turning this off will cause your own flashlight to be useless! r_eyes 0 //Default is 1; Removes characters eyes if "0". r_flex 0 //Default is 1; idk r_lod 2 //Default is -1; Level Of Detail. 0 is highest and 2 is lowest unless you enable sv_cheats. //r_rootlod 2 //Ensures LOD doesn't fluctuate. Currently gives the error "r_rootlod is temporarily unsupported: bugbait#70052" as of July 2018. Changing this mid-match may cause a crash so I have disabled this by default. r_teeth 0 //Default is 1; Removes characters teeth if off. r_renderoverlayfragment 0 //Default is 1; Affects map decals? //r_3dsky 0 //Default is 1; "Enable the rendering of 3d sky boxes" requires sv_cheats. Will make some background buildings disappear. //r_frustumcullworld //Default is 1; Setting this to "0" is essentially telling the game to keep rendering objects outside of the FOV instead of culling them. May be valuable for a VR setup. rope_smooth 0 //Default is 1; "Do an antialiasing effect on ropes" rope_subdiv 0 //Default is 2; "Rope subdivision amount" min is 0.000000 max is 8.000000 ragdoll_sleepaftertime 1 //Default is 2; "After this many seconds of being basically stationary, the ragdoll will go to sleep" I'm not sure exactly what this will do. gl_clear 0 //Default is 0; idk csm_quality_level 0 //Default is 0; Cascade shadow map quality. "Cascaded shadow map quality level, [0,3], 0=VERY_LOW, 3=HIGHEST" tracer_extra 0 //Default is 1; Turning this off reduces effects from tracers. snd_mix_async 1 //Default is 0; Allows multicore processors to run part of the sound engine in parrallel with the renderer. Only enable for multicore processors. Can be set to "0" or "1". //I copied all 4 of these from another config and cannot determine what they do. Maybe it affects other player's flashlights? //r_flashlightvolumetrics 0 //Default is 1; idk //r_flashlightupdatedepth 0 //Default is 1; idk //r_flashlighttracedistcutoff 72 //Default is 128; idk //r_flashlightdepthtexture 0 //Default is 1; idk fps_max 61 //Default is 300; Frame rate limiter. This should be 1 above your screen refresh rate. This is an alternative to v-sync for computers that will go under 60fps with v-sync on. cl_showfps 1 //Default is 0; Shows fps in top left corner. 1 is real-time and 2 is averaged over the past second. "Draw fps meter (1 = fps, 2 = smooth, 3 = server, 4 = Show+LogToFile, +10 = detai" //Partial credit to 11.11.11 at steamcommunity. com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=280311741 for descriptions taken from the entitled 11's Impromptu Insurgency Tweak Guide //Small credit to SHADE at steamcommunity. com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=930715362 entitled Insurgency Low Spec CFG (updated) //Thanks to everyone who worked on the Console Command List at developer.valvesoftware. com/wiki/Console_Command_List //Thanks to Cathexis256 for making the original config that I added all this extra detail to //Small credit to Nuclear Donut at steamcommunity. com/app/730/discussions/0/412447613573349151/ entitled How to fix the game and get rid of csgo auto video settings //Small credit to Brian Ambrozy at icrontic. com/article/how-to-get-maximum-image-quality-in-team-fortress-2 for How to get maximum image quality in Team Fortress 2 //Thanks to Thanks to Udacity for youtube. com/watch?v=8OtOFN17jxM entitled Mipmapping - Interactive 3D Graphics //Augh there's too many people to credit when I'm playing it by ear as I try to learn by searching the names of these commands. //Thanks to the Source engine developers and the Insurgency developers for the descriptions available in console! //Thanks to you for reading this. Be careful that you copy and edit this document correctly so it works right! I do not mind if you share it. //The specific name of the cfg doesn't actually matter, it just has to match. (I would still suggest using only the alphabet.) //Don't forget that reducing the resolution and running the game in fullscreen can improve fps. Disabling the Steam in-game Overlay can also help. Borderless mode works better than Windowed mode. //cfg v1.01 release echo "autoexec cfg ran successfully"
-end of part 2-

Any feedback? Feel free to leave a comment.
changes
This guide is now updated to version 1.01, from version 1.0.

Nearly every setting now has its default value listed if it's applicable. I've added a few new crash warnings; cleared up and corrected a few descriptions. Mipmapping is now disabled by default and decalfrequency is 5% instead of 10% but otherwise it functions the same.

I intend to move around how things are grouped so that it's easier to find similar things. Multi-core rendering and special hardware options specifically should all be in one place.
20 Comments
Deadmau5UltraAnimals 12 Sep, 2024 @ 4:24am 
superb. Boutta try this on my pentium 13 inch toshi lappy with 124 mods. Wish me luckk
𓅃 スノ 𓅃 1 Feb, 2024 @ 11:06am 
my game crash with this when i try to load a game.
and i hear double music when o load the game in the menu
MisterRevenant 16 Mar, 2021 @ 7:46pm 
so i can literally just copy everything in the boxes into my autoexec.txt file before witching to .cfg and the explaintions wont interrfere with the actual configuration? or do i need to take out everything behind the "//" or the idks and stuff?
GRIDLINES  [author] 14 Nov, 2020 @ 4:14pm 
Feel free to make improved, edited, etc. versions of this. I don't need credit. I'm sure there's room for improvement. Be careful about falling into the trap of not knowing what something actually does or making a change just to make a change.

I think about "mat_mipmaptextures 0" sometimes. I think it should be "mat_mipmaptextures 1" instead. It's so small and I think it helps make far away stuff easier to see.
GRIDLINES  [author] 14 Nov, 2020 @ 4:14pm 
If someone wants to make the textures look super blocky/pixelated/square then check out these commands. You might need to mess with something else to make it happen but these are the keys to square red dot sights:
[quote]mat_filtertextures 1 //Default is 1; Smooths textures. Textures will appear blocky if this is off. Will NOT improve preformance! Setting mat_mipmaptextures to "0" will make this do nothing.

mat_filterlightmaps 1 //Default is 1; Smooths lightmaps. Lighting will appear blocky if this is off. Will NOT improve preformance!

mat_mipmaptextures 0 //Default is 1; Enables or Disables the mipmapping of textures by the GPU. Makes textures that are not up close have lower resolutions if on to avoid textures in the distance "sparkling" when moving.[/quote]
kisqvaX 18 Feb, 2019 @ 7:50am 
Thanks Man :oldschool::2017meatball:
fatikier 10 Jan, 2019 @ 6:00am 
Hey mate, thanks your for this awesome config. For some reason my FPS was dropping below 30 but thanks to you I'm able to play without any issues now.
GRIDLINES  [author] 25 Nov, 2018 @ 9:47pm 
I will not be continuing work on this. Here is a list of extra console commands that I saved to test later.


cl_impacteffects 1
cl_impacteffects_limit_exit 1
cl_impacteffects_limit_water 1
cl_impacteffects_limit_general 1

cl_hud_damageindicator_alpha 1
cl_hud_damageindicator_scale 2
cl_hud_damageindicator_time 2
cl_hud_cp_main_display 1

cl_updaterate 128
cl_interp_ratio 1
cl_cmdrate "128"
rate 128000
cl_threaded_bone_setup 0

r_queued_decals 0
r_queued_post_processing 0

snd_obstruction_Enable 0

m_rawinput 1
m_customaccel_exponent 0
m_customaccel_max 0
m_customaccel_scale 0
m_filter 0
m_forward 1
m_mouseaccel1 0
m_mouseaccel2 0
m_mousespeed 1
m_customaccel 0
Yamanashi 9 Oct, 2018 @ 1:10pm 
That's ok. This has been helpful enough.
GRIDLINES  [author] 8 Oct, 2018 @ 10:52pm 
Unfortunately I do not own DoI and don't plan on playing it. I intend on creating a low spec config (and possibly a mod) for Insurgency: Sandstorm but that's something that won't happen for several months. Doing this was surprisingly time consuming. I think I spent at least four hours on it at a time, three different times. It was tougher than I expected but it did show me that I want to do more stuff like this in the future. Don't bother waiting for it because if I do it then it'll just appear without warning.

Thanks for your interest.