NepU has it's fair share of issues that plague a lot of PC games and some that plague most Japanese games, such as no support for resolutions over 1080p, lack luster controller options, mediocre hardware support and crashes galore.

Since NepU released, I've been hard at work trying to solve every major issue people were having with the game. The first issue being that the game looks blurry due to it's use of poorly done upscaling and some form of FXAA. The game crashing for various reasons. Missing redists and more. And we'll get into these issues further in each section. In order to keep this guide somewhat short and sane because I cover so many topics and issues, there will be certain fixes I won't go in-depth with such as the use of X360CE since it's straight forward and an even better written guide than I could produce is located on the download page itself.

NepU upscales from a low resolution to whatever resolution you set the game to or uses your desktop res if you're running fullscreened AND uses some form of FXAA to help with the jagged edges introduced by upscaling.

Here we'll explain the use of a tool called "GeDoSaTo". Originally I created a plugin for the game and it seemed to be hit and miss for people and this seems to be caused by nep_sys01.dat either becoming corrupt or storing something it's not meant to. When using a fresh copy of nep_sys01.dat GeDoSaTo works perfectly. Me and a few others in the Steam forums discovered this problem and I soon found out that nep_sys01.dat is actually becoming corrupt for some people, the exact cause of this is unknown. (Note: There are notes at the bottom that may help if you run into issues and they further explain some of GeDoSaTo's options. Please read them.)

EDIT: It appears there may be a bug in the newest release of GeDoSaTo causing it to flat out not work for some people, it's game detection is broken. I've reported it to Peter but so far no word on a fix or how many people it has been affecting. As it is now, no-one else besides me and another user have reported any issues. A temporary work around is to copy "D3DCompiler_47.dll" from GeDoSaTo's install location and paste it into Neptunia's root folder, you need to do this for ALL games now as it seems this is the way GeDoSaTo is now designed to work.

Here's a screenshot of an untouched NepU:

(Note: Click each thumbnail for a larger view of each image to really see the difference. *Probably obvious, but whatever.*)
Yuck. Blurry image and muddy textures, not very pretty.

Heavily (Inappropriately) touched NepU:


As many others have taken the liberty to make guides on NepU and GeDoSaTo, I noticed a few things that were wrong that I'll be correcting and better explaining here as well as making a step by step guide on how to make a proper profile for NepU or if you want, I'll provide a link to a pre-made one so there's minimal effort on your end, yay!

First thing's first, download GeDoSaTo: https://community.pcgamingwiki.com/files/file/897-gedosato/
(Note: The official website for GeDoSaTo has been down for quite some time, the above link is a mirror for it via PC Gaming Wiki.)

Next, we'll startup GeDoSaTo and head on over to User Whitelist and make an entry called something like:

This is the name of NepU's executable (Neptunia.exe) without the .exe at the end and a description of the program so we know GeDoSaTo is using our User Whitelist. Edit: I noticed that this may not be straight forward for people that don't mess with programming languages so I've made an example just below this of the line that should be added that can be copy/pasted into your User Whitelist.

Example:
Next, you can either copy and paste the default Settings into a new User Settings file or download this: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B24T9un7K5onQ2NVek1nSXVSVlE/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-NoZLXc4L23Hl8avY7kXv1w

(You can extract this folder to; GeDoSaTo\config) OR to make a custom User Settings file, you must make a new profile by clicking here:
Then type "Neptunia" without the quotes, create it, and then you'll need to click the big "U" next to the profile drop down menu and paste your contents in there to make a custom User Settings file. (MUST HAVE forceAlwaysDownsamplingRes as true or it will fail to work properly.)

Now you can just edit the file to your liking by going to Edit Settings in GeDoSaTo, go to the Profile drop down and select; config\Neptunia\GeDoSaTo_User.

GeDoSaTo needs to be running and Activated for downsampling to work. This may not work in windowed or borderless windowed, there are mixed results, to be safe, just play in fullscreen or test your luck but this guide is for fullscreen. I already have the most common downsampiling resolutions selected and I personally use 3840x2160 but people may have different monitor resolutions and as such you should choose a resolution that matches your aspect ratio. Full texture filtering is also enabled and it works perfectly. Most of the post processing settings won't work as the game needs to have support for them in the first place so it's mostly just a waste of time messing with them. Anti-aliasing is NOT needed, downsampling is the best form of AA as it anti-aliases everything, even sprites, shaders, effects and all models, most AA CANNOT anti-alias effects. Turning on FXAA will give you a blurry look, or the "vaseline effect" as a lot of people describe it and is ultimately useless as it will not improve the look of the game, it's a dumb, cheap, and ugly way of making games look less jagged. SMAA will do NOTHING if you're downsampling from a decent enough resolution and fails to anti-alias the previously mentioned effects and will cause a HUGE performance impact so there is literally no positive to using it. You may need to delete your nep_sys01.dat file in "Neptunia U\savedata", make sure to back it up first just in case and you NEED to set Steam to not automatically download files from the cloud for NepU by going to the game in your Steam Library, right click on it and select Properties, then Updates and uncheck Steam Cloud. (Note: This will disable Steam from uploading and downloading your save file, so once you get NepU running properly, re-enable this feature, it will then use your new and most current nep_sys01.dat and upload it to your Steam cloud.)

The reason I have done this as a USER profile is because if it's done any other way and if/when GeDoSaTo updates with NepU support, your profile will be overwritten, you can take preemptive action and just use the link provided or make your own user profile as described above. Downloading my pre-made user profile is also much easier than setting up your own.

NepU crashes on startup or fails to find a missing .dll or your game was working fine but now crashes all of a sudden or maybe you changed the game to fullscreen mode and that causes it to crash and you have no way to change it back.

NepU has a lot of crashes as I explained earlier in the guide and a majority of them are caused by the developers NOT including key redistributables required to run the game properly. Sometimes these crashes are caused by a corrupt nep_sys01.dat. Or sometimes the game doesn't support your hardware running the game in fullscreen mode, or it's a software conflict, but either way, the only way you seem to be able to play is in windowed mode and you can't get it back because it keeps crashing, this is also solved by deleting nep_sys01.dat. Now I'll go further into fixing these issues. (Note: Another potential fix to startup crashes is to disable tabtip.exe under services in Windows 10. It was discovered by another user in the Steam forums. But I did create the BAT files to automatically fix it.)


If you're running Windows 8/8.1 or 10 there's a good chance that Tabtip.exe is running. Tabtip.exe is the service that tells the On-Screen Keyboard to run when you tap a text box with a touch screen device. If you DO NOT have a touch screen enabled device, it's best you leave it disabled as no other programs depend on this service at all. If you DO have a touch screen enabled device it's probably best you only temporarily disable this service, for that I have created some bat files to do just that: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B24T9un7K5onMF9MYWUzWnNzM2c/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-XCM30EYj5yRjgrCbGx_2HQ
Simply run the Disable Tabtip.bat file to disable the service and run the Enable Tabtip.bat to enable the service. Disabling and enabling this service WILL NOT harm your system in any way, as mentioned; no program or other service depends on this service. And, if you are skepticle you can right click and Edit the bat files to see their contents if you don't feel safe running bat files from complete strangers online.


Luckily, I was able to solve this one pretty easily, I discovered that NepU uses these redists:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B24T9un7K5onZnVTdUFXc1B4Ykk/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-xtqfMga5E9NrL8ZAbkrUlQ

Download that zip, we'll be going into each folder and installing each version of Visual Studio C++'s redists and Direct X's redists.

Visual Studio: For VSC++ we have three folders, go into each one and run the vcredist_x64.exe and vcredist_x86.exe installers, if they're already installed, tell it to repair them and finish the installation. Once done, you may be prompted for a restart, wait until all of them and Direct X are done and properly installed.

Direct X: For Direct X, we have a Jun2010 folder, go into it and scroll until you see DXSETUP.EXE, run it, let it finish and if prompted to restart, go for it.


This fix is simple enough, I discovered that nep_sys01.dat can become corrupt and cause the issues mentioned above.

To fix this we simply need to go to your Steam Library, right click the game, go to Properties, go to the Updates tab and uncheck Steam Cloud then go to the Local Files tab and click Browse Local Files. You should now be in NepU's root folder, go to the folder titled "savedata", now back up the file; "nep_sys01.dat" to a safe location then delete it from the folder. Now try to run NepU again.
(Note: If it works, go back through the process of re-enabling Steam Cloud for NepU or your save data WILL NOT be uploaded and thus cannot be downloaded on other PC's or re-downloaded if it becomes corrupt or you accidentally uninstall NepU.)

NepU isn't recognized by Nvidia's Optimus technology to use the Nvidia adapter to play the game and instead resorts to using the built in Intel graphics adapter causing a black screen when fullscreen or very bad performance in game. This can happen with AMD switchable graphics but so far it hasn't been a notorized issue, it seems it's more sensitive to 3D applications but this portion of the guide will walk you through both.


Firstly, right click your desktop and click Nvidia Settings/Control Panel or go to your Start Menu and do a search for Nvidia Control Panel and open it.
On the left hand menu you should see 'Manage 3D Settings', click it.
Image is not owned by me, used for reference only.

Next you'll want to click the 'Program Settings' tab, select 'Neptunia.exe' from the drop down list if it is shown, if it's missing from the list you'll need to click Add and find the location of NepU's .exe which should be here: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Neptunia U" unless you chose a different install location. Double click Neptunia.exe and it should add it to the drop down list. Select it and under the 'Select preferred graphics processor for this program:' choose the 'High-performance NVIDIA processor' option and save your settings.

Last but not least you may need to delete your nep_sys01.dat which can be done like so:
You simply need to go to your Steam Library, right click the game, go to Properties, go to the Updates tab and uncheck Steam Cloud then go to the Local Files tab and click Browse Local Files. You should now be in NepU's root folder, go to the folder titled "savedata", now back up the file; "nep_sys01.dat" to a safe location then delete it from the folder. Now try to run NepU again.
(Note: If it works, go back through the process of re-enabling Steam Cloud for NepU or your save data WILL NOT be uploaded and thus cannot be downloaded on other PC's or re-downloaded if it becomes corrupt or you accidentally uninstall NepU.)

Firstly, you can right click your desktop and open your AMD/Catalyst Control Center/Radeon Settings or search for either one via the Start Menu, if you're running Radeon Settings, you'll need to open it and go to the Preferences button at the bottom of Radeon Setting's main window and when the menu appears, select Additional Settings, this should bring up the old control panel, you'll need to go to 'Switchable Graphics Application Settings' like such:
Image is not owned by me, used for reference only.

Go ahead and check your 'Recent Applications' list for Neptunia.exe, other Nep games may use that same name so make sure it's the one with NepU's icon, if it's not shown in your 'Recent Applications' list, then select 'Add Application ...' and go to: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Neptunia U" unless you chose a different install location and select 'Neptunia.exe' and select OK. Now change it's 'Graphics Setting' to 'High performance' this will tell the AMD card to take over for the game when it's started, now select Apply and you're done.

Last but not least you may need to delete your nep_sys01.dat which can be done like so:
You simply need to go to your Steam Library, right click the game, go to Properties, go to the Updates tab and uncheck Steam Cloud then go to the Local Files tab and click Browse Local Files. You should now be in NepU's root folder, go to the folder titled "savedata", now back up the file; "nep_sys01.dat" to a safe location then delete it from the folder. Now try to run NepU again.
(Note: If it works, go back through the process of re-enabling Steam Cloud for NepU or your save data WILL NOT be uploaded and thus cannot be downloaded on other PC's or re-downloaded if it becomes corrupt or you accidentally uninstall NepU.)

While it may not be corruption, there is a change made to nep_sys01.dat that can cause the game to not run with GeDoSaTo properly even when it was working perfectly.

To fix this we'll need to change all your settings to be proper, the settings you'll want to use forever. You can even make multiple versions if you want if you plan on playing the game on different monitors, etc. Read below on how to do this. (Note: Read the Other Info section about crashes and possible fixes.)

Firstly, if your NepU is having issues with GeDoSaTo go ahead and go into your Steam Library, right click the game, go to 'Properties', then the 'Updates' tab and uncheck 'Steam Cloud', now go to the 'Local Files' tab and select 'Browse Local Files', you should be in the Neptunia U root folder, now navigate to the 'savedata' folder, find nep_sys01.dat and delete it then restart the game and setup all your settings, you may want to go through the tutorial (Play the first mission, check out the overworld screen and check out your character 'Set Up' screens.) as it's tied to that settings file. This way you don't need to do it every time you play the game. Once done, go ahead and right click nep_sys01.dat, go to 'Properties' and make it 'Read Only', now make a backup of your nep_sys01.dat file and put it in a folder labeled with the resolution you used. You can do this multiple times to make separate resolution nep_sys01.dat files, just make sure you take off 'Read Only' when making any changes to the options of NepU or they won't save or could potentially cause a crash.

This is a long shot, but I think the game saves different data to that file through the progress of the game, such as a string when you've completed the tutorials so that no more tutorial pop-ups will show their faces and I'm sure there are other things that get saved to the file. This COULD potentially cause a crash if it fails to save data to that file. So if you do start to experience crashes that weren't there, it's likely caused by setting the file as Read Only. Either way, it's a good idea to keep a backup of your nep_sys01.dat in a safe location so if GeDoSaTo does fail to work with NepU you can just replace it and be on your way.

Some people have experienced issues with the sound in the game ranging from no audio from characters to distortion when multiple characters are talking.

These range from in-game options to changing Windows audio settings to deleting that troublesome nep_sys01.dat file again and even updating sound drivers.


There are two reasons this can happen, corrupt nep_sys01.dat or you mistakenly turned them off in the audio settings of the game itself. (Go check, ya goof!)

If the problem persists try this: To fix this we simply need to go to your Steam Library, right click the game, go to Properties, go to the Updates tab and uncheck Steam Cloud then go to the Local Files tab and click Browse Local Files. You should now be in NepU's root folder, go to the folder titled "savedata", now back up the file; "nep_sys01.dat" to a safe location then delete it from the folder. Now give the game another go!


There are only two causes of this problem;

1.Bad sound drivers. (Go check with your motherboard/sound card vendor's website for updated drivers.)

2.Change your Windows audio output settings.
The best way to test this is to right click your speaker icon in your task bar:

Select Playback Devices, then right click your Default Device and select Properties:

(Note: Your Default Device always has a green checkmark next to it, a green phone icon means it's the Default Communications Device.)
Next, you'll want to go to the Advanced Tab and change the Default Format to; "16 bit, 44100 Hz (CD Quality)":

Then just click OK and your settings should be saved, give NepU another go and see if the problem persists.

Your controller may not work with NepU and this is because NepU dropped support for DirectInput devices and only accepts XInput devices.

X360CE is your go to guy for getting your controller to work properly in NepU. If you have a PS3 or PS4 controller you can use Scarlet Crush's DS3 Wrapper.

X360CE is pretty straight forward so I won't go very in-depth with this one and it doesn't require anything special to work with NepU. Once you setup a profile that's probably already been made for your controller, you just drop the appropriate files into the Neptunia U root folder and NepU should now work with your controller. Download: http://www.x360ce.com/

(NOTE: All users should instead use Nefarius' ScpToolkit as I linked and mention to below this paragraph. Leaving this section for users who may not want to use ScpToolkit but it is MUCH easier to use for people that are NOT comfortable with more advance PC tinkering.) Again, I won't go in-depth with this as all the info for the installation is on the download page for it, but a brief summary is basically that Scarlet.Crush's XInput DS3 Wrapper "emulates" an Xbox 360 controller with your DS3 or DS4, it even works with some unofficial PS3 controllers and I highly recommend using this OVER X360CE if you have a DS3 or DS4 or even an off-brand PS3 controller. Some off-brand controllers will not be recognized as a PS3 controller and actually as a generic gamepad, you can sometimes combat this by HOLDING the PS button as you plug it in. This is my own little secret as I've had a few and it seems to generally work on most of them because it fakes them into PS3 mode. Download: http://forums.pcsx2.net/Thread-XInput-Wrapper-for-DS3-and-Play-com-USB-Dual-DS2-Controller

A user by the name of Nefarius has taken up Scarlet's work on SCP Tool since they disappeared and created a much more user friendly experience for DS3 and DS4 users; his work can be found here: https://github.com/nefarius/ScpToolkit/releases
Installation is straight forward, follow it to a T and you'll be fine. I actually recommend this OVER DS3 Wrapper/SCP Tool as it's continuously being updated and supported and is also much easier to install.

This game was a direct port from the Vita, they didn't put a ton of effort into it and this is a common thing seen with the other three Neptunia games. The camera is HYPER sensitive to the slightest touch of the stick. You can also only move in eight directions, like a d-pad with diagnol support. And this is because this is the way the game was on Vita. (I assume?) And this is hard coded into the game, no way for any of us to fix it. IF has to fix it so bug the ever loving Nep out of them. The game also only supports inputs as if they are digital, there is no inbetween, it's stop and go, zero and one, baby, no analog support. Pretty sure it was this way on the Vita as well. So don't bug me about it. Bug them.

The intro and or other movies are playing strangely, black, stuttering, low FPS, etc. All the Neptunia games have this issue and it will cause an outright crash in the other three games since it was designed to use the default Microsoft codec to play the videos. A lot of XDA programmed games have this issue but instead skip the videos if the Microsoft codec is not set as the default codec. In this day and age there should be no reason to need any external method to play the game's videos. They could have used a system like Bik Player so the videos could be played on the fly without the need of a codec or resetting the window position/properties.

You probably have a codec pack installed such as CCP, LAV Filters or K-Lite. Either uninstall them or update them. If updating them, update them and check the game, if the videos still play weird, uninstall them. There are a ton of players with built in codecs. While a lot of games have their own built in players and method of playing, Neptunia games do not, just like all XDA games.

You made it to the end of the guide!

But there is still much work to be done.

If I end up remembering anything else or discovering more fixes myself, I'll update the guide to reflect such discoveries or memories.

But for now, this is it.












Really.




....just...Nep-off already...