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Launch Options

Right click Team Fortress 2 in your Steam library and click Properties…. In the window that appears, under Launch Options, remove anything that’s in there and paste

-novid -nojoy -nosteamcontroller -nohltv -particles 1 -precachefontchars -noquicktime

into the box and click ok.

Read below about optional launch options and choosing your own DXLevel.

DXLevel Launch Options

Info

Add these launch options to your first launch, and then remove them.

  • -dxlevel 80 : DirectX 8, Pixel Shader 1.1. Uses outdated rendering methods which do not take full advantage of hardware.
  • -dxlevel 100 : DirectX 9, Pixel Shader 2.0b. Uses hardware to determine graphics capabilities. (recommended)

The DXLevel is automatically determined and cannot be set.

The DXLevel is automatically determined and cannot be set.

-novid -nojoy -nosteamcontroller -nohltv -particles 1 -precachefontchars -noquicktime

  • -novid : disables Valve startup logo, saves time
  • -nojoy : stops Joystick system from starting up, faster startup and less memory usage
  • -nosteamcontroller : disables Steam controller system, faster startup, less memory usage and less input conflicts
  • -nohltv : disables SourceTV hosting, less resource usage
  • -particles 1 : limits beam count to the minimum of 512
  • -precachefontchars : precaches font rendering for common characters
  • -noquicktime : disables initializing Quicktime. If you use the replay rendering feature, do not use this. Does not do anything on Linux

Extra Launch Options

  • -console : displays console on startup
  • -nostartupsound : disables game music on main menu
  • -r_emulate_gl : changes rendering pipeline to accommodate OpenGL quirks and support levels, still runs using DirectX
  • -freq x : forces your refresh rate for when TF2 does not automatically detect it. For example, if you have a 144Hz monitor, x would be 144, for -freq 144
  • -no_texture_stream : disables texture streaming. Useful if you are on a powerful system not under video memory pressure.
  • -autoconfig : resets graphics quality to recommended for your hardware. Useful with the None Preset. Remove after first launch.
  • -hushsteam : For security. Prevents local game servers from registering their IP with Steam
  • -console : displays console on startup
  • -nostartupsound : disables game music on main menu
  • -displayindex x : uses the monitor at the specified display index. starts at 1. 0 is the primary display (and the default)
  • -no_texture_stream : disables texture streaming. Useful if you are on a powerful system not under video memory pressure.
  • -autoconfig : resets graphics quality to recommended for your hardware. Useful with the None Preset. Remove after first launch.
  • -hushsteam : For security. Prevents local game servers from registering their IP with Steam
  • -glslcontrolflow : enables support for GLSL control flow. This allows for 4 world lights. ⚠️ Experimental as it may cause rendering issues
  • -glmenableclipplanes : used to disable AMD driver workaround which reduces performance ⚠️ Experimental as it may cause crashes
  • -snd_openal : uses OpenAL instead of Mac Audio Queue, which can reduce latency and provide improved audio effects. ⚠️ Experimental as it is unsupported by Valve
  • -console : displays console on startup
  • -nostartupsound : disables game music on main menu
  • -displayindex x : uses the monitor at the specified display index. starts at 1. 0 is the primary display (and the default)
  • -no_texture_stream : disables texture streaming. Useful if you are on a powerful system not under video memory pressure.
  • -hushsteam : For security. Prevents local game servers from registering their IP with Steam
  • -autoconfig : resets graphics quality to recommended for your hardware. Useful with the None Preset. Remove after first launch.
  • -gl_enablesamplerobjects : enables OpenGL sampler objects ⚠️ Experimental as its performance impact (negative or positive) is unknown and its Source implementation may not be complete
  • -gl_amd_pinned_memory : uses AMD_pinned_memory for efficient device memory handling ⚠️ Experimental as its performance impact (negative or positive) is unknown
  • -gl_nv_bindless_texturing : uses NV_bindless_texture for reduced overhead for managing bindings ⚠️ Experimental as its performance impact (negative or positive) is unknown and its Source implementation may not be complete

Uncommon Launch Options

These launch options do not need to be used by the vast majority of users, but they are here for the few that need them.

  • -nouserclip : uses software clipping instead of hardware user clip planes, FPS increase or decrease depends on your CPU+GPU and graphics API
  • -nosound : disables sound, no performance boost unless your drivers are slow
  • -small : allows for resolutions smaller than 640x480
Last update: August 25, 2021
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