Home › Engine executable › Option files reference

Engine executable. Settings and tools of the game program (CivilizationVI.exe), usable without a mod. Mostly undocumented debug and configuration functionality; descriptions come from analysis of the executable and have not all been tried in the running game.

Option files reference

The exe registers 194 options. The game writes them into four text files in AppData/Local/Firaxis Games/Sid Meier's Civilization VI/; each file is read at start-up and the comment line above every key is the description the exe carries. Keys are unique across all files, names are case sensitive, and every option below is in exactly one file. This page is the merged, searchable list.

Value types. integer: whole numbers, booleans are 0/1. string: free text. A blank Default means the exe passes no constant I could read, most often 0; it is not "none". Floating-point options are probably missing from this list: they use a different register convention and were not scanned.

Command line. Integer options can also be set for one launch with -Key value; see command-line switches.

Description. Taken from the exe where its registration call could be read, otherwise from the comment in the option file (marked in the data as options-file). Options with no text have none anywhere.

Status. verified: registered in the exe and present in the file the game writes. Sections can be split between files (for example [Video], [Debug]).

Files and sections

File Sections (options)
GraphicsOptions.txt AO (1), Bloom (1), CloudShadows (1), Debug (1), DynamicLighting (1), General (19), Leaders (2), Shadows (1), Terrain (4), Video (12)
AppOptions.txt Debug (22), Language (5), Misc (5), Performance (9), UI (9), Video (8)
EOSOptions.txt EOS_Logging (8), Lobby (2)
UserOptions.txt Gameplay (51), Interface (18), Logging (1), Multiplayer (5), Tutorial (8)

[AO]

Key File Type Default Description Status
EnableAO GraphicsOptions integer — Whether or not to turn on AO verified

[Bloom]

Key File Type Default Description Status
EnableBloom GraphicsOptions integer — Whether or not to turn on Bloom verified

[CloudShadows]

Key File Type Default Description Status
EnableCloudShadows GraphicsOptions integer — Whether or not to turn on Cloud Shadows verified

[Debug]

Key File Type Default Description Status
EnableArbitraryWindowSizing AppOptions integer — Enables resolutions greater than the current monitor size (use "setres" in the debug console) verified
EnableAsserts AppOptions integer 1 Enable assertions. verified
EnableAudio AppOptions integer 1 Set to 0 to disable audio. verified
EnableBackgroundArtLoading AppOptions integer 1 Enable ArtManager loading in the background. verified
EnableBugCollection AppOptions integer 1 Enable Automatic Bug Collection. verified
EnableDataErrorCollection AppOptions integer — Enable Data Error Collection. verified
EnableDebugMenu AppOptions integer — Enable Debug menu. verified
EnableDebugPlotInfo AppOptions integer — Enable Debug information in the plot info tooltips. verified
EnableDumpCollection AppOptions integer 1 Enable Dump Collection with Bugs. verified
EnableGameCoreEventLog AppOptions integer — Log all game core events. verified
EnableLandmarkLogging AppOptions integer — Enable logging for the Landmark System. verified
EnableLocalBuildCollection AppOptions integer — Enable Local Build Bug Collection. verified
EnableLogCollection AppOptions integer — Enable Log Collection with Bugs. verified
EnableMemoryTracker AppOptions integer — Enable MemoryTracker. verified
EnableTerrainLogging AppOptions integer — Enable logging for the Terrain System. verified
EnableTuner AppOptions integer — Enable FireTuner. verified
EnableWorldBuilder AppOptions integer 1 Enable WorldBuilder. verified
EndGameState AppOptions string — End game state. verified
PlayNowSave AppOptions string — Forces the game to load only that save file. verified
Remarks AppOptions string /R1 Set remark levels(ex. /R0 / R1:ArtDef - means all off except ArtDef level 1) (default "/R1") verified
SuppressInfoPopups AppOptions integer — Suppress popups that are just informational (e.g., Civic Completed.) verified
TutorialState AppOptions string — Tutorial state. verified
UIOnlyRendering GraphicsOptions integer — Set to 1 to drop all rendering except for UI. This is a debugging switch verified

[DynamicLighting]

Key File Type Default Description Status
EnableDynamicLighting GraphicsOptions integer — Whether or not to use dynamic lighting verified

[EOS_Logging]

Key File Type Default Description Status
EnableConnectionLogs EOSOptions integer — — verified
EnableCoreLogs EOSOptions integer — — verified
EnableLobbyLogs EOSOptions integer — — verified
EnableOverlayLogs EOSOptions integer — — verified
EnableOwnershipLogs EOSOptions integer — — verified
EnableP2PLogs EOSOptions integer — — verified
EnablePacketLogs EOSOptions integer — — verified
EnableTimeoutLogs EOSOptions integer — — verified

[Gameplay]

Key File Type Default Description Status
AICityBuildPlotLog UserOptions integer — AI city build plot analysis logging level, 0 = off verified
AIOperationEvalLog UserOptions integer — AI operation evaluation logging level, 0 = off verified
AISettlementEvaluationLog UserOptions integer — AI settlement analysis logging level (very large), 0 = off verified
AI_MasterLogging UserOptions integer 1 Log all AI systems, 0 = off verified
AiDiplomaticActionLog UserOptions integer — AI diplomatic action logging level, 0 = off verified
AllPathsOn UserOptions integer — — verified
Attack UserOptions integer 1 — verified
AutoDeselect UserOptions integer — — verified
AutoEndTurn UserOptions integer — Whether or not to automatically end a turn when no more actions are available. (0 = off) verified
AutoProdQueue UserOptions integer — Forces the Production Panel to open in queue mode, 0 = off verified
AutoSaveFrequency UserOptions integer 1 Number of turns between autosaves verified
AutoSaveKeepCount UserOptions integer 10 Number of autosaves to keep verified
AutoUnitCycle UserOptions integer 1 Does the selection auto cycle to the next available unit? (0 = no, 1 = yes) verified
CameraLookAtTimeScale UserOptions integer — Modifies how fast the camera moves to the target location during 'look-at' events. verified
CityRangeAttackTurnBlocking UserOptions integer 1 Whether or not to treat city range attacks as a turn blocking notification. (0 = not turn blocking) verified
ClipCursor UserOptions integer 1 — verified
Difficulty UserOptions integer — — verified
DisableOneMoreTurn UserOptions integer — Removes the 'One More Turn' option after achieving a victory. verified
EdgePan UserOptions integer — Enables always-on screen edge scrolling, 0 = off verified
Era UserOptions integer — — verified
GameEffectsLogLevel UserOptions integer — Game Effects logging level, 0 = off, 1 = Minimal, 2 = Normal, Detailed = 3, Diagnostic = 4 verified
GameEraMomentsLog UserOptions integer — Game Era Moments Log, 0=Top moments only, 1=All moments verified
GameHistoryLogLevel UserOptions integer — Game history logging level, 0 = off verified
GameHistorySequentialLogLevel UserOptions integer — Sequential Game history logging level, 0 = off verified
LookAtPlayerOffTurnCombat UserOptions integer 1 Look at the local player's combat when not their turn. (0 = off, 1 = move camera, 2 = move and zoom camera verified
LookAtPlayerOffTurnCombatZoomLevel UserOptions integer — The zoom level to use for player turn combat, 0.0 to 1.0 verified
LookAtPlayerTurnCombat UserOptions integer 2 Look at the local player's combat on their turn. (0 = off, 1 = move camera, 2 = move and zoom camera verified
LookAtPlayerTurnCombatZoomLevel UserOptions integer — The zoom level to use for player turn combat, 0.0 to 1.0 verified
MiniMapZoom UserOptions integer — — verified
MovementPathOn UserOptions integer 1 Set to 1 to see the path a unit will traverse. verified
PlayVignettes UserOptions integer 1 — verified
PlotToolTipFollowsMouse UserOptions integer 1 if the plot tooltip follows the mouse cursor (0 = off) verified
ProfileDepth UserOptions integer — Depth of profiling, -1 = all verified
ProfileEnabled UserOptions integer — Profile logging enabled, 0 = off, 1 = on verified
ProfileSaveIfPlayerTimeExceeds UserOptions integer — If an AI player's processing time exceeds the time in seconds, keep the turn's autosave, 0 = off verified
QuickCombat UserOptions integer — Skips combat animations, 0 = off verified
QuickMovement UserOptions integer — Skips movement animations, 0 = off verified
ShowMapGrid UserOptions integer 1 — verified
ShowMapLabelsDeserts UserOptions integer — — verified
ShowMapLabelsLakes UserOptions integer — — verified
ShowMapLabelsMountainRanges UserOptions integer — — verified
ShowMapLabelsNationalParks UserOptions integer 1 — verified
ShowMapLabelsNaturalWonders UserOptions integer 1 — verified
ShowMapLabelsOceans UserOptions integer 1 — verified
ShowMapLabelsRivers UserOptions integer 1 — verified
ShowMapLabelsSeas UserOptions integer 1 — verified
ShowMapLabelsVolcanoes UserOptions integer 1 — verified
ShowMapResources UserOptions integer 1 — verified
ShowMapYields UserOptions integer — — verified
StartInStrategicView UserOptions integer — Set to 1 to start games in strategic view. verified
UnitCycleProximityType UserOptions integer — How the unit cycle determines the next closest unit to cycle to. 0 = Last closest, 1 = Closest of last two. verified

[General]

Key File Type Default Description Status
AmbientTimeOfDay GraphicsOptions integer — Enable/disable ambient time of day cycling. verified
AvailableViews GraphicsOptions integer — Set which game views are enabled: 0 = Strategic only. 1 = 3D only. 2 = Both. verified
ClutterDetailLevel GraphicsOptions integer — How much stuff on the map? 0 = not a lot. 1 = a lot verified
DefaultTimeOfDay GraphicsOptions integer — Default time of day verified
EnableAVX2Optimizations GraphicsOptions integer 1 [DEPRECATED] Allow use of AVX code paths on compatible CPUs verified
EnableAVXOptimizations GraphicsOptions integer 1 [DEPRECATED] Allow use of AVX code paths on compatible CPUs verified
EnableBreadcrumbs GraphicsOptions integer — Force GPU breadcrumbs, if available. This is a debugging switch verified
ForceDebugLayer GraphicsOptions integer — Force d3d debug layer. This is a debugging switch verified
MinimapQuality GraphicsOptions integer — Minimap quality (0 is 4xSuperSampling, 1 is 16xSuperSampling) verified
MinimapSize GraphicsOptions integer — Minimap size (0 is minimum size, 1 is maximum size) verified
OptimizationLevel GraphicsOptions integer — Maximum instruction set extension allowed for optimized code paths on compatible CPUs. Disabled (0), SSE2 (1), or AVX (2) verified
SSReflectPasses GraphicsOptions integer — Number of passes when calculating screen-space reflection with 16 samples per pass, default is 4 (64 samples). 0 disables SSR. verified
ScreenSpaceOverlay GraphicsOptions integer — Enable screen-space overlay effect. verified
SmallObjectCulling GraphicsOptions integer — Whether or not to cull models which are small on screen verified
SmallObjectCulling_End GraphicsOptions integer — Drop out small models at this threshold (area in pixels) verified
SmallObjectCulling_Start GraphicsOptions integer — Start fading small models at this threshold (area in pixels) verified
UseLowQualityWaterShader GraphicsOptions integer — Disable high quality water (no refraction or reflection). verified
UseLowResWater GraphicsOptions integer — Drop highest mip level for water LEAN maps verified
VFXDetailLevel GraphicsOptions integer — Indicates the level of detail for vfx. 0 = low. 1 = high verified

[Interface]

Key File Type Default Description Status
ChatTextValue UserOptions integer 12 The size of the text in the chat box. verified
ClockFormat UserOptions integer — In-Game Clock format (0 for 12-hour, 1 for 24-hour) verified
CopyrightAccept UserOptions string — Last version the user accepted the copyright notice. verified
FontSizeIncrease UserOptions integer — EXPERIMENTAL! Force font rendering at a point size beyond what was authored. verified
PlayByCloudClientReadyBehavior UserOptions integer — What happens after a client has readied up in a PlayByCloud game? 0 = Ask Me, 1 = Stay in Staging Room, 2 = Exit to Lobby verified
PlayByCloudEndTurnBehavior UserOptions integer — What happens after a PlayByCloud turn is committed? 0 = Ask Me, 1 = Do Nothing, 2 = Exit to Main Menu verified
PlayByCloudNotifyRemind UserOptions integer 1 Display unset PlayByCloud notifications reminder popup. verified
PlayByCloudSeenCompleted UserOptions string — List of PlayByCloud games that we have seen completed. Used by the UI. Do not alter! verified
PlayHistoricMomentAnimation UserOptions integer 1 Play reveal animation whenever a pride moment is unlocked. verified
PlotTooltipDelay UserOptions integer — The amount of time, in seconds, before displaying the plot tooltip. verified
ReplaceDragWithClick UserOptions integer — Replaces the drag functionality of DragControls with click to drag behavior, 0 = off verified
RibbonStats UserOptions integer — If stats should be shown below the leaders' portraits in the HUD ribbon. verified
SaveGameBrowseSortDefault UserOptions integer 1 Sort type for Save Game list, 1 = By Last Modified, 2 = Alphabetical verified
ScrollSpeed UserOptions integer — Determine the speed multiplier for mouse wheel scrolling. verified
ScrollTextSpeed UserOptions integer — Determine the auto scrolling speed for scrolling text. verified
SeenCrossPlayMultiplayer UserOptions integer — Has the user seen the Unified PC Play lobby? Displays new-game-mode indicator if they have not seen it yet. verified
SeenPlayByCloudLobby UserOptions integer — Has the user seen the PlayByCloud lobby? Displays new-game-mode indicator if they have not looked at it yet. verified
WorldBuilderMapBrowseSortDefault UserOptions integer 1 Sort type for World Builder Map list, 1 = By Last Modified, 2 = Alphabetical verified

[Language]

Key File Type Default Description Status
AudioLanguage AppOptions string English(US) The language to use for all audio in-game. verified
DisplayLanguage AppOptions string en_US The language to use for all text in-game. verified
EnableFallback AppOptions integer 1 Enable language fall-back. verified
EnableSubtitles AppOptions integer — Set to 1 to enable subtitles. verified
SteamLanguage AppOptions string english The previous language set by steam. verified

[Leaders]

Key File Type Default Description Status
EnableMotionBlur GraphicsOptions integer — Whether or not to use motion blur for leaders, requires medium quality (2) or greater verified
Quality GraphicsOptions integer — Overall leader rendering quality verified

[Lobby]

Key File Type Default Description Status
MaxLobbiesToList EOSOptions integer — Lobby searching will stop when at least this many games have been found. 10 < MaxLobbiesToList < 100. verified
SearchDuration EOSOptions integer — Maximum time to perform a full search on the lobby list screen. 1 < SearchDuration < 60. verified

[Logging]

Key File Type Default Description Status
NetMessageLogs UserOptions integer 1 Enable network message logging verified

[Misc]

Key File Type Default Description Status
AcceptedOutdatedDriver AppOptions integer — User has accepted the outdated driver pop up. verified
AcceptedUnknownDevice AppOptions integer — User has accepted the unknown graphics device pop up. verified
MovieAudioAPI AppOptions integer — Audio API for movie playback: 0 for WaveOut, 1 for DirectSound verified
TelemetryUploadNecessary AppOptions integer 1 — verified
UserSawCloudNew AppOptions integer — User has seen the NEW icon for Multiplatform Cloud saves. verified

[Multiplayer]

Key File Type Default Description Status
AutoModDownload UserOptions integer — Automatically download community made additional content when it is required to join a multiplayer game. verified
LANPlayerName UserOptions string — Player name used during local network games. verified
LobbyZone UserOptions string — — verified
TurnWebHookFrequency UserOptions integer — Frequency of Play By Cloud turn change WebHooks. (0 = Send on local player's turn, 1 = Send on every player's turn.) verified
TurnWebHookURL UserOptions string — URL to send a simple, no-payload WebHook for Play By Cloud turn changes. See TurnWebHookFrequency for frequency setting. verified

[Performance]

Key File Type Default Description Status
GameCoreReserveThreads AppOptions integer — Number of threads the Game Core should adjust its maximum by so as to not starve other systems of CPU time. The game may adjust this value based on available hardware. Use -1 to let the game decide verified
InactiveTickIntervalInMS AppOptions integer 32 Tick every N ms while the app is inactive. 0 means tick continuously. verified
LoadGameTickIntervalInMS AppOptions integer 16 Tick every N ms during game start. 0 means tick continuously. verified
MaxGameCoreThreads AppOptions integer — Max number of Game Core threads. The game may cap this value based on available hardware. Use -1 to let the game decide. verified
MaxGameCoreTradeRouteThreads AppOptions integer — Number of threads to use for trade path finding. The game may adjust this value based on available hardware or other setting. Use -1 to let the game decide verified
MaxGameCoreUnitMovementThreads AppOptions integer — Number of threads to use for unit path finding. The game may adjust this value based on available hardware or other setting. Use -1 to let the game decide verified
MaxJobThreads AppOptions integer — Number of engine job threads (including main thread). Use -1 to let game decide verified
ThrottleWhileInactive AppOptions integer — Should we throttle the game when its not the foreground app? verified
TickIntervalInMS AppOptions integer — Frame limiter. Tick app every N ms. 0 means tick continuously. verified

[Shadows]

Key File Type Default Description Status
EnableShadows GraphicsOptions integer — Whether or not to turn on Shadows verified

[Terrain]

Key File Type Default Description Status
LowQualityTerrainShader GraphicsOptions integer — Set to use low quality terrain shader (reduces texture filtering quality and specular lighting) verified
ReducedTerrainMaterials GraphicsOptions integer — Discard less important terrain materials. Saves memory. verified
TerrainQuality GraphicsOptions integer — Valid settings are 0 to 4. Higher number = higher quality. verified
TerrainSynthesisDetailLevel GraphicsOptions integer — 1 = full-res, 2 = low-res. verified

[Tutorial]

Key File Type Default Description Status
HasChosenTutorialLevel UserOptions integer — Set to 1 if the user has chosen a tutorial level verified
HasSeenCivRoyaleIntro UserOptions integer — Automatically set to 1 after the user has seen the CivRoyale How to Play screen at least once. verified
HasSeenPiratesIntro UserOptions integer — Automatically set to 1 after the user has seen the Pirates How to Play screen at least once. verified
HasSeenXP1FeaturesScreen UserOptions integer — Automatically set to 1 after the user has seen the XP1 features screen at least once. verified
HasSeenXP2FeaturesScreen UserOptions integer — Automatically set to 1 after the user has seen the XP2 features screen at least once. verified
HideXP1FeaturesScreen UserOptions integer — Set to 1 after the user has opted to no longer show the screen. verified
HideXP2FeaturesScreen UserOptions integer — Set to 1 after the user has opted to no longer show the screen. verified
TutorialLevel UserOptions integer — Experience level of player for tutorial prompts. verified

[UI]

Key File Type Default Description Status
AddMinimapSnapshotToSaves AppOptions integer 1 Enables adding a minimap snapshot to Single Player saves for preview verified
ColorblindAdaptation AppOptions integer — Changes game colors for users with color blindness. 0 = No adaptation, 1 = Protanopia, 2 = Deuteranopia, 3 = Tritanopia verified
EnablePausedShellMovies AppOptions integer — Enables pausing the background movie in the menu shell; saves bandwidth when playing via remote desktop. verified
IsTouchScreenEnabled AppOptions integer — Is the touch screen support enabled? verified
MouseKeyboardHotkeySupport AppOptions integer 1 Enables mouse and keyboard hotkey support verified
SteamControllerSupport AppOptions integer 1 Enables Steam Controller support if Steam is running verified
UseConsoleActions AppOptions integer — Replaces PC Input Actions with Console Input Actions, 0 = Defaults to PC Input Actions verified
UseRGBLighting AppOptions integer 1 Enables use of Logitech Gaming Software and Alienware AlienFX compatible lighting effects verified
WarnAboutModCompatibility AppOptions integer 1 Warn about mods not marked as compatible with this game version? verified

[Video]

Key File Type Default Description Status
AODepthResolution GraphicsOptions integer — Resolution of ambient occlusion depth map (NxN) verified
AORenderResolution GraphicsOptions integer — Resolution of ambient occlusion render texture (NxN) verified
AllowSWRenderer AppOptions integer — Set to 1 to allow the use of software renderers such as Microsoft's WARP verified
DX11_ForceImmediate GraphicsOptions integer — Submit draws via the DX11 immediate context verified
DeviceID AppOptions integer — Device ID of the GPU device to use (as provided by the OS). verified
FullScreen AppOptions integer 1 0 : windowed, 1 : fullscreen, 2 : windowed with no title bar verified
MSAA GraphicsOptions integer — MSAA sample count. 0 ==> 1. -1 ==> Max available verified
MSAAQuality GraphicsOptions integer — MSAA quality, enables EQAA or CSAA if supported verified
MemoryImpact GraphicsOptions integer — Overrides all other options to achieve desired memory profile. Must be set to -1 for changes in this file to be applied. verified
MouseGrab AppOptions integer — 0 : never grab, 1 : only in full screen, 2 : always grab verified
PerformanceImpact GraphicsOptions integer — Overrides all other options to achieve desired performance profile. Must be set to -1 for changes in this file to be applied. verified
PlayIntroVideo AppOptions integer 1 Set to 1 play the intro video on startup. verified
ReducedAssetTextures GraphicsOptions integer — Set to 0 to use full resolution textures. Non-zero to reduce them verified
RefreshRateInHz GraphicsOptions integer — Refresh rate for fullscreen mode. Ignored for windowed mode verified
RenderHeight AppOptions integer — Render height in pixels. verified
RenderWidth AppOptions integer — Render width in pixels. verified
ShadowMapResolution GraphicsOptions integer — Resolution of shadow map (NxN) verified
TerrainHeightMaskResolution GraphicsOptions integer — Resolution of mask for FOW (NxN) verified
UIUpscale AppOptions integer — UI will be scaled by 1 plus this value, non-integers may cause small artifacts verified
VSync GraphicsOptions integer — 1 = Wait for vertical sync. 0 = I don't mind tearing artifacts verified

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