INI Settings Overview

Complete reference for chimera.ini configuration file

About chimera.ini

The chimera.ini file provides additional configuration for Chimera beyond console commands. This file is NOT automatically generated, so you are responsible for keeping it up-to-date. Using the INI file is optional unless you want to take advantage of features configured through it.

You can get a fresh copy of chimera.ini from the Chimera repository.

File Format

Encoding

The chimera.ini file MUST be encoded using UTF-8. Other encodings will not work.

Comments

Lines that begin with a semicolon ; are comments and are ignored by the parser. Comments are also used to “comment out” settings:

;setting_name=value

Removing the semicolon before setting_name (“uncommenting” the line) will activate the setting.

Configuration Sections

The chimera.ini file is organized into the following sections:

Halo Settings

Game initialization, paths, ports, and core Halo settings

Video Settings

Resolution, refresh rate, vsync, windowed mode, and graphics options

Chat Settings

Custom chat, server messages, console, and messaging display

Font Settings

Override game fonts with custom system fonts

Controller Settings

Gamepad configuration and button mapping

Hotkeys

Function keys and keyboard shortcuts for commands

Additional Sections

Error Handling

Control how Chimera handles errors:

suppress_fatal_errors · boolean · default: "0"

Set to 1 to not show any error boxes created by Chimera.

show_segmentation_fault · boolean · default: "0"

Set to 1 to show segmentation fault errors.

Scoreboard

Customize the scoreboard appearance:

font · string · default: "small"

Font to use for the scoreboard. Options: smaller, small, large, console, system

fade_time · number · default: "0.5"

Fade time in seconds. 0.5 is default, 0 is instant.

[scoreboard]
font=small
fade_time=0.5

Player Names

Customize names displayed when looking at players:

font · string · default: "small"

Font to use for player names. Options: smaller, small, large, console, system

[name]
font=small

Server List

Configure server list behavior:

auto_query · boolean · default: "1"

Enable automatically getting the server list on open.

master_server_list · string

Master server hostname for server list queries.

master_server_key · string

Master server key hostname.

master_server_nat_primary · string

Primary NAT negotiation server.

master_server_nat_secondary · string

Secondary NAT negotiation server.

[server_list]
auto_query=1
;master_server_list=s1.master.hosthpc.com
;master_server_key=s1.ms01.hosthpc.com

Maps

Map compatibility settings:

map_compatibility_list · boolean · default: "1"

Enable/disable the map compatibility list. Used to support legacy maps that depend on Gearbox renderer regressions and legacy Chimera hacks.

[maps]
map_compatibility_list=1

Memory

Map loading and memory settings:

enable_map_memory_buffer · boolean · default: "0"

Load maps directly into RAM rather than use temporary files. Requires LAA-patched haloce.exe.

map_size · number · default: "1024"

Size of buffer (in MiB) to allocate for both the UI and one non-UI map.

benchmark · boolean · default: "0"

Show the time it took to decompress maps.

download_font · string · default: "small"

Font to use when downloading maps. Options: smaller, small, large, console, system

download_template · string

URL template used to download maps. Supports RFC 3986 URLs with placeholders:

• {map} - map name
• {game} - game type (“halor” for PC, “halom” for CE, “halod” for trial)
• {server} - current server’s IP address
• {password} - server password
• {mirror<x,y,...>} - comma-separated mirror values

download_retail_maps · boolean · default: "0"

Enable downloading of retail (HaloMD / Halo PC) maps. OFF by default due to potential incompatibility.

load_embedded_lua · boolean · default: "0"

Enable loading Lua scripts embedded in maps. No effect on Halo Trial.

[memory]
map_size=1024
download_font=small
load_embedded_lua=0

Ensure you have an English copy of retail Halo PC bitmaps.map and sounds.map before enabling download_retail_maps. Incompatible maps will result in corrupt assets and extremely loud sounds.

Debug

Advanced debug settings:

use_external_pixel_shader_collection · boolean · default: "0"

Use pixel shader collection from the “shaders” folder rather than built-in collections.

use_external_vertex_shader_collection · boolean · default: "0"

Use vertex shader collection from the “shaders” folder rather than built-in collections.

[debug]
use_external_pixel_shader_collection=0
use_external_vertex_shader_collection=0

Don’t modify debug settings unless you know what you’re doing.