It must be so hard to make a million-dollar budget game these days. Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has had years of testing and investment, and yet, when it’s released on the PC it’s still not quite configured how we like it.

Fortunately, there’s a whole bunch of options to get it looking better or running more smoothly. The Infinity Ward engine that propels the game may have been heavily modified, but Activision helpfully includes a number of effects that can be turned on or off in-game.

If that’s not enough, you can also edit the config file and add command line integers to make it run just how you want it to. We’ve stuck to mere graphic tweaks and fixes, so they shouldn’t actually interfere with the game itself.

The in-game options menu is the first port of call if you're looking to gain a few frames. It's full of familiar options like anti-aliasing. Look out for the Image Quality setting, though. According to PC Games Hardware ‘Native’ runs the game with crisp default textures, but ‘Extra’ upscales the textures, making them look all blurry and horrible. Run in Native - if you can.

Conversely, the Extra mode for Texture Resolution doesn't upscale anything, it'll just make MW3's surfaces look better.

If you don’t mind your smoke looking a little harder (and who doesn’t?) you can turn Soften Smoke Edges off for a mild FPS boost.

Under the hood, buried in the config files, there are a few more values you might want to tweak to get Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 just the way you like it. You'll find the relevant files in C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\call of duty modern warfare 3\players2. config.cfg alters settings for singleplayer, and config_mp.cfg adjusts multiplayer. Open 'em up in notepad, and run a find (Ctrl+F) to go straight to the relevant entries.

Once you've tweaked it, save the file in its original location. If you screw things up you can just delete the config files and Steam will automatically regenerate them.

Weapon casings
seta cg_brass “1″
If you find the constant stream of ejected bullet casings flying out of your weapon distracting, change the '1' in this entry to '0'.

Depth of field
seta r_depthPrepass “0″
To use this setting, you’ll have to turn off depth of field in the main settings. This entry will let you tweak it more precisely that the in-game options menu. 0 is the default, ‘1’ sets it to ‘world’ meaning only objects in the background are blurred. ‘2’ will enable depth of field in the foreground and background.

Ragdoll settings
seta ragdoll_max_simulating “16″
Ragdoll physics mean that dead ‘uns fly around the screen and impact with buildings. Lower this to reduce the number of floppy limb simulations on screen at once.



Dead bodies (Multiplayer only)
seta ai_corpseCount “X”
Sets the number of corpses visible on screen at once. Unless you’re some kind of necrophile, you don’t really need your maps to be littered with bodies.

seta r_preloadShaders "0"
Setting this to ‘1’ preloads the shaders (surprisingly), resulting in smoother performance, but it may overload your memory a bit.

seta r_rendererPreference "Default"
Changing this to “Shader model 2.0” may benefit older cards.



seta sm_maxLights "4"
This sets the number of light flashes on screen at once. Reduce it if you’re prone to migraines, or to improve performance.

seta r_texFilterAnisoMax "4"/seta r_texFilterAnisoMin "1"
Maximum and minimum anisotropic settings - set the former to ‘8’ for maximum performance, but bear in mind that this may impact your frame rates.

seta snd_cinematicVolumeScale "0.5"
Reduce or increase this to set the volume level of the cinematic music.

seta sensitivity "4.0"
Sets your mouse’s sensitivity - great for twitchy gamers.

seta snd_enableEq "1"
Set this to zero to stop the game processing sound equalisation.

Other tips and tricks

Steam commands
To force DirectX 9 compatibility mode right-click on the game in Steam and choose ‘Properties’, ‘General’, ‘Set Launch Options’ and enter ‘-dx9’. Works a treat if you’re having problems with older graphics cards.

General problems
MapModNews has a whole load of more specific problems complete with fixes. It also highlights that there’s an issue with Modern Warfare 3 for certain Orange Broadband customers in the UK. Apparently it’s being looked into.

MW3 Configuration Utility
This handy little program lets you adjust config settings and more before running the game. It will even let you change the colour of your ping bar - if that floats your boat.



Widescreen Fixer
There are still issues with Modern Warfare 3 on certain monitors, but this widescreen fixer can adjust the game’s field of view. You’ll need to work out your monitor’s aspect ratio - find your resolution on this Wikipedia page, and match it up to the aspect ratio (for example, 1366 by 768 is 16:9). Then set the correct aspect ratio in the launcher. It’s a handy little tool, and it’ll also work with all other CoD games and some others, such as BioShock.

We think that’s covered pretty much everything there is to know about Modern Warfare 3. If you’ve got specific problems (other than annoying noobs) post ‘em in the comments. Likewise, if you’ve found a hack that makes the game run like a dream let us know.

http://youtu.be/wqursCdSgEM

Given the sheer number of people who have died in warfare in the course of human history, it’s fairly probable that soldiers have passed on in wildly random ways. Take this clip from Modern Warfare 3, pointed out to us by CVG. A knife is lobbed across a level, lands on a helicopter and then drops onto some unfortunate grunt below, like a particularly violent game of MouseTrap. Thing is, that’s probably happened at least once during an actual war (minus the part where the knife phases through the steel wing of the chopper), which turns this clip from hilariously jammy to faintly disturbing.

Modern Warfare 3 publishers Activision have been banging on about how their latest face-shooter has made more money than the GDP of a small country - but it seems it’s shifted fewer units than its predecessor, Call of Duty: Black Ops.

According to Eurogamer, Modern Warfare 3 has sold “just under” two million copies in the UK - 1.6 per cent less than Black Ops sold last year. Despite selling fewer units, Modern Warfare 3 has somehow made more money for Activision, bringing in £83.1 million for the uber publisher - 15 per cent more than Black Ops.

It also seems that these figures only account for PS3 and Xbox 360 copies of the game, so it’s unknown how much Activision have made from PC copies of the game - the majority of which are presumably downloads via Steam. We’re guessing many, many millions more though.

Who'd have thought it? Just like Modern Warfare 2, Modern Warfare 3 wants to know how easily offended you are. Very considerate.

This message pops up as you begin the single player campaign. We assume it refers to the controversial scene that we mentioned last week but, seeing as Graham has only just begun the single player campaign, there's potential for all kinds of upsetting things to be hidden within. Very exciting and, potentially, very disturbing.

Our review of Modern Warfare 3 has been delayed but will be published asap. Until then, why not read Graham's first impressions of Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer?

Are you easily disturbed? What was the game to disturb you? Let us know in the comments.

UPDATE: Graham has just posted his first impressions of Modern Warfare 3 on PC.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is out, and you'll see Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 reviews appearing all over the place. We don't have a review yet because we haven't had access to the PC version until the game was officially released. We did get a copy this morning, but it was for the Xbox 360. :(

So Graham went and bought a copy this morning. He's playing it for review right now.

The copy Graham bought this morning is the first we've seen of PC code. The PC version hasn't been shown at any preview events and the videos and screenshots have all come from console versions. The console mags in our building all got early access to console versions of the game, but the PC has been mysteriously absent. The Call of Duty Elite service that console players can use to track stats and stay in touch with friends has been delayed on PC, too.

Still, it's in shops, unlocked on Steam and we're getting stuck in right now. We'll bring you our impressions and our full review once we've had a chance to play it properly.

Are you playing Modern Warfare 3? What do you think so far?

Update: Activision's UK PR team have been in touch and have explained that the Xbox 360 copy was a bit of a mixup. They feel sad and have sent their apologies. Poor sad PR team. Everyone send cuddles.

VentureBeat have been speaking to Bret Robins - creative director on Modern Warfare 3.

Bret worked on the single player portion of Modern Warfare 3, due for worldwide release on Steam at midnight tonight. When asked how Sledgehammer deal with such a sensitive matter as World War III, he said: "You blow up a lot of cities, is what you do. We’re creating a huge, like a summer blockbuster story and experience. You try to go for the biggest and craziest moments and set-pieces and locations you can come up with. You try to do it in a very believable and authentic way, so it feels like this could actually happen."

He was also asked how the studio manage to create a story that's controversial, but not controversial enough to get banned or censored. It seems to be something Bret has considered in some depth.

"Without getting sued by everyone? Yeah. Very carefully, is how you do it. How do you go about blowing up the world? You just come up with scenes and moments that would make sense within the story. So you don’t do it just for the sake of blowing everything up, just for the fun of it. Does this make sense? Should the characters actually be here at this time? Does this fit the plot? You want it to be exciting, but you also want it to make sense. It can’t just be gratuitous, it can’t just be fantasy. It needs to be real missions, things that you think could possibly happen, given the extraordinary circumstances that you’re creating. So it’s always walking that fine line of believability and insanity and crazy action."



The creative director insists that the studio don't attempt to cause controversy for the sake of it but strive for originality, not gratuitous shocks: "What you don’t do is say: "we’re just doing this to top ourselves." Like you say: "it needs to be something that’s authentic, that actually moves the plot forward." We have some moments in the game that I think are pretty shocking, that push the envelope a little bit. But like I said before, it’s not a matter of trying to be gratuitous about it, doing shocks for shock value. You always want to push yourself and see if you can push the limits of the medium, and storytelling. We’ve got such a big audience for this game that we want to deliver something that’s memorable. Experiences that people are going to be talking about the next day after they played it, talking about with their friends. It’s really a matter of creating something unique."

We recently covered a controversial scene in Modern Warfare 3, which featured lots of pigeons getting massacred, along with the death of a child. The footage has now been taken down from YouTube, but we're sure you'll see plenty of it on the internet over the next few days, so don't worry too much.

Modern Warfare 3 is due for release this evening. And, although we'd love to get our review online for the embargo date, Activision are yet to send us review code. The console versions of Modern Warfare 3 have been shown off at recent events around the world, but the PC version has remained aloof.

Still, Graham will be playing at midnight tonight, and reporting his first impressions as soon as his fingers can type them. Until then, check out the launch trailer, embedded below.

http://youtu.be/zuzaxlddWbk

The new live action Modern Warfare 3 trailer shows a rare event. A veteran helping out a new player without telling him to GTFO. The prestiged pro makes it through the entire trailer without once saying anything even vaguely unpleasant about the other guy's mother, showing immense restraint when the noob RPGs a single man five metres away (a very familiar sight for Battlefield 3 players at the moment).

Call of Duty fever is reaching frenzied levels. CVG mention a van hijacking in France in which masked attackers used tear gas to stall a delivery vehicle, and reportedly made up with 6,000 copies of Modern Warfare 3. There are midnight launches happening around the world tonight, and launch events will be broadcast live on the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Youtube channel.

If you go along to your local launch and it turns out to be two men in ski masks selling copies out of a van, give Interpol a ring. Will you be picking up a copy of CoD this week?

The social network, matchmaking and stat-tracking service, Call of Duty Elite will not arrive alongisde Modern Warfare 3 on PC next week as originally planned. VG247 have spotted a blog post from community manager Dan Amirch explaining that the service has been delayed due to security issues.

"We’re as committed as ever to the PC, but the need to ensure a safe PC environment is greater than ever," said Beachhead Studio head Chacko Sonny. "It’s really extensive. We need more time to get there, so Elite on PC will not launch on Day 1. We’re working our butts off to make it happen, but we won’t release it until we know that PC gamers can enjoy Elite as it’s meant to be." It doesn't sound like a small delay either. "It is not going to come out until we've done a lot more work" say Beachhead.

The devs cite the insecurity of dedicated servers as the reason for the delay. It also means that there won't be a Call of Duty Elite subscription option on PC. The subscription service gives members access to Call of Duty web TV series, competition tournaments and monthly DLC packs. The DLC updates will still be available to PC players as separate downloads, as with previous Call of Duty map packs.

"Not being able to trust stats is a big problem for our design. Because of this, we had to re-imagine Elite for PC. Elite for PC will be about access to your own stats, or those of your friends. Basically establishing a circle of trust. And because it will have some reduced functionality, it will be free for everyone," said Beachhead.

We won't see a PC version of Call of Duty Elite for a while, then, and when it does arrive, it will be a different animal to the console versions. It's the latest example of a familiar trend in the lead up to Modern Warfare 3's release next week. Throughout the entire multi-million dollar PR and advertising campaign, the PC version of Modern Warfare 3 has been conspicuously absent. At press and preview events, and at the Call of Duty XP conference every instance of Modern Warfare 3 was running on consoles.

All of the videos and screenshots released seem to have come from console versions of the game, too. We only know that the PC versions is coming because Activision announced it, but we won't know it even exists for sure until we hold it in our hands next Friday. If the devs are "as committed as ever to the PC," why aren't they showing it?

 
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is out next week. In terms of the sheer mass of copies flying off shelves and raw marketing hype it's likely to be the biggest launch of the year. It's surprising, then that we've heard so little about the multiplayer changes that Infinity Ward are planning for the multi-quadrazillion dollar sequel. As well as some very promising tweaks to perks and kill streak rewards, new game modes hope to add more variety to CoD's obscenely popular arena-based man shoots.

Firstly, there's a capture the flag mode that asks you to hold on to the flag as long as possible to rack up points, dashing round the maps and finding hold up points that will let your team mates defend you. Kill Confirmed, meanwhile, won't give you any points until you snatch the dog tag of a downed enemy, forcing players to fight at close quarters. Will that finally remove CoD's devastating snipers from the equation? Find out more about the new changes in our Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 preview.

 
Even your weapons will have experience bars in Modern Warfare 3. The unlock system has been revamped, and will work differently depending on which of the three classes you play as, but the perks and point-streak rewards will be separate from the weapon unlocks. You'll be able to earn new attachments by fighting and killing with a weapon. See the devs explain the system in the new trailer above, spotted on Evil Avatar. Infinity Ward say that the unlocks will be geared towards giving players more options in combat, though some, like the weapon stabilising upgrade, will probably just make you better.

If guns can level up, it feels as though they're starting to become RPG characters in their own right. We're hoping for loyalty side quests and proper story arcs come Modern Warfare 4.