Game Settings
Game Settings
Introduction
Properly configuring your Prison Architect settings ensures a smooth, immersive experience. This guide covers all major settings categories, provides optimal recommendations for different hardware tiers, and highlights common pitfalls that can hinder gameplay or performance.
Graphics Settings
Access: Main Menu → Options → Graphics
- Resolution: Match your monitor's native resolution for best clarity. Lower resolution improves performance but may appear blurry.
- Fullscreen / Windowed: Fullscreen offers slightly better performance; Windowed allows easier multitasking.
- V-Sync: On prevents screen tearing (recommended if you notice tearing), Off can reduce input lag at high FPS.
- Quality Presets: Very Low, Low, Medium, High, Very High, Ultra. Presets adjust multiple options below.
- Advanced:
- Anti-Aliasing (MSAA): Smoothes edges. 2x or 4x recommended; 8x very demanding.
- Texture Quality: Affects visual detail of terrain, buildings, prisoners.
- Reflection Quality: Mirror/water reflections. Off or Low on weak hardware.
- Ambient Occlusion: Adds realistic contact shadows. Significant performance cost.
- Particle Effects: Smoke, fire, etc. Lower on weak GPUs.
- Fog Quality: Overhauls distant haze. Low impact.
#### Recommended Presets by Hardware Tier
| Tier | Hardware Example | Preset / Key Options | Expected Performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-End | Intel HD Graphics 620, 4GB RAM | Very Low preset; Resolution 1366x768; Shadows Low; MSAA Off | 30 FPS, acceptable for manageable prisons (<150 inmates) |
| Mid-Range | NVIDIA GTX 960, 8GB RAM | High preset; 1920x1080; Shadows Medium; MSAA 2x; Reflections Low | 45-60 FPS, handles medium prisons (200-400 inmates) |
| High-End | NVIDIA RTX 3060, 16GB RAM | Ultra preset; 2560x1440 or 1920x1080; Shadows High; MSAA 4x; Ambient Occlusion On | 60+ FPS, large prisons (500+) with minimal slowdown |
Audio Settings
Access: Main Menu → Options → Audio
- Master Volume: Overall game sound.
- Sound Effects Volume: Doors, alarms, footsteps, tools.
- Music Volume: Background tracks.
- Voice Volume: Warden's announcements, prisoner dialogue.
- Mute All / Unmute Toggle: Quick mute button.
- Key Bindings: Customize shortcuts for all actions (e.g., Build, Dezone, Report). Defaults are optimized but you can reassign.
- Mouse Sensitivity: Adjust cursor speed. Default is usually fine.
- Invert Mouse Y-Axis: Toggle for camera tilt.
- Camera Speed: How fast the view scrolls (with keyboard or edge scroll). Increase for big prisons.
- Edge Scrolling: Enable/disable moving camera by moving mouse to screen edge.
- Zoom Speed: Speed of zoom in/out.
- Colorblind Mode: Three options (Protanopia, Deuteranopia, Tritanopia). Adjusts UI colors for readability.
- UI Scale: Increase size of menus, buttons, tooltips. Recommended for high-resolution displays or visual impairments.
- Tooltip Delay: Adjust how quickly info tooltips appear (0.0s to 2.0s).
- Notification Style: Choose between Popup, Ticker, or Both.
- Font Size: Small, Medium, Large (affects tooltips and interface text).
- High Contrast Mode: Makes UI elements more distinct.
- Display Language: Choose from available translations (English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, etc.).
- Text Language: Separate from audio? Usually tied together. Some languages may require additional font downloads.
- Port Forwarding: To host a multiplayer session, ensure port 7778 (default) is forwarded in your router firewall. Consult router manual.
- UPnP: Enable automatic port mapping if supported.
- Connection Type: LAN (local) or Internet. Internet requires stable upload speed (≥ 2 Mbps recommended).
- Bandwidth Limit: Adjust data usage per second (Low/Medium/High). Choose appropriate for connection quality.
- Disconnect Detection Timeout: Time before a disconnected player is removed from the session.
- Autosave Interval: Minutes between automatic saves (5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, 60). Lower for frequent progress backup.
- Pause on Events: Automatically pause when prison events happen (e.g., Riot, Escape, Death, New Day). Helpful for beginners.
- Notifications: Toggle individual alerts (e.g., Workers done, Prisoner needs, Finance alerts).
- Speed Multiplier: Default (1x, 2x, 3x). Adjusts game speed buttons. Some players prefer slower build speed.
- AI Behavior: Options like "Allow Prisoners to Fight" (on/off) or "Require Guards to Search" – disabled by default for safety.
- Warning Display: Duration warnings stay on screen (Short/Medium/Long).
- Show Tooltips: On/Off. Keep on for new players.
- Enable Tutorial Popups: Even after tutorial, helpful reminders can be turned off.
Note: Keeping audio on enhances immersion (e.g., hearing a riot start), but can be distracting. Adjust SFX and Music to taste.
Controls Settings
Access: Main Menu → Options → Controls
Tip: Prison Architect relies heavily on mouse clicks. Assign 'Build Menu' (B) and 'Deployment Menu' (D) to easily accessible keys.
Accessibility Settings
Access: Main Menu → Options → Accessibility
Language Settings
Access: Main Menu → Options → Language
Attention: Changing language requires restart. Not all languages are fully translated; UI may contain placeholder English.
Network Settings (Multiplayer)
Access: Main Menu → Multiplayer → Host/Join
(Prison Architect supports co-op and competitive multiplayer where multiple players can manage a prison together or separately.)
Troubleshooting: If friends cannot connect, check firewall exceptions and forward port 7778 (TCP/UDP). Test with Direct IP connection.
Gameplay Settings
Access: Main Menu → Options → Gameplay
Special: Turning off "Pause on Events" reduces interruptions but may miss critical moments.
Recommended Configurations Summary
| Category | Low-End | Mid-Range | High-End |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resolution | 1366x768 | 1920x1080 | 2560x1440 or 1920x1080 |
| Quality Preset | Very Low | High | Ultra |
| Shadows | Low | Medium | High |
| MSAA | Off | 2x | 4x |
| Reflections | Off | Low | High |
| V-Sync | Off | On | On |
| Autosave | 10 min | 15 min | 20 min |
| UI Scale | 100% | 100% | 125%+ |
Common Misconfigurations & Attention Points
1. Resolution Overload on Integrated Graphics: Setting 1920x1080 on an Intel HD with Very Low can still cause lag due to pixel count. Downscale to 1366x768.
2. V-Sync Off + High FPS: May cause screen tearing. Enable V-Sync or cap FPS via GPU control panel.
3. Audio Mixing: Turning Master Volume to 0 while SFX on max will produce silence; check all sliders.
4. Colorblind Mode Misuse: If you select the wrong type, UI may become more confusing. Test each.
5. Multiplayer Port Not Forwarded: Host fails silently. Verify port 7778 is open using online port-checking tools.
6. Autosave Too Frequent: Every 5 minutes on a large prison can cause stutter during save; increase interval.
7. UI Scaling Too High: On 1080p, 150% may cut off menus. Stick to 100-125% unless on 4K.
8. Disabling All Notifications: Can miss prison break warnings. Keep essential ones (Riot, Fire, Death) on.
Adjust settings gradually after reaching a prison of 100+ inmates to ensure stability.