SWAT 3 FAQ
The following collection of frequently asked questions (FAQ) concerns general and overview questions about Sierra's SWAT3 game.
What is SWAT 3?
SWAT 3 a first-person view tactical squad shooter which simulates the world of SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics), specifically the LAPD's SWAT division. SWAT 3 is the third iteration in a long franchise of SWAT and Police games from Sierra, but it is a fundamental change from the previous titles. It did build off the previous titles' successful elements, including a strict sense of simulation and authenticity (thanks to consultants at the LAPD)
Who made SWAT 3?
SWAT 3 was created by a team of developers who were part of the larger developer house, Sierra Studios. The particular team sometimes referred to themselves as the TakeDown Studio. The game was originally published by Vivendi Universal, which owns Sierra.
In 2008 Activision merged with Blizzard and acquired the rights to the Sierra/Vivendi product line. Activision currently holds the publishing rights to Swat 3.
How fast of a computer do I need?
Here are the system requirements for running SWAT 3 (according to GOG.com):
Minimum System Requirements:
Windows XP or Windows Vista
1 GHz Processor
256MB RAM
550 MB hard drive space
4X CD-ROM
3D graphics card compatible with DirectX 7
Windows compatible sound device
Mouse and keyboard
Recommended:
1.4 GHz Processor
512MB RAM
3D graphics card compatible with DirectX 9
Additional Recommendation for Last Resort Mod:
3D graphics card compatible with DirectX 9 with 1GB VRAM or more.
Where can I get SWAT 3?
Since Swat 3 is now an old game it would be nearly impossible to find it in a retail store. If you'd like to purchase SWAT 3, GOG.com and Steam are selling Swat 3 for as low as $4.99 USD (digital download). The usual price when not on sale is $9.99 USD for this DRM free copy of the game.
Can I still play multiplayer with SWAT 3?
Soon after the merger with Activision, the Swat 3 official servers were shut down on November 1, 2008.
Unfortunately dedicated game servers were never released so the only way to play multiplayer games now with Swat 3 is to use a third party application such as Hamachi.
Swat 3 has built in LAN gameplay so using a third party application (see above) allows you to basically have a Local Area Network party over the internet.
There is work being doing on a WON replacement server that promises to allow old fashioned Swat 3 online gameplay. It is logically called NuWon.
Is my game updated to the latest version of SWAT 3?
The last official version of Swat 3 released was version 2.1 and is known as "Swat 3: Tactical Game Of The Year" (Swat 3: TGOTY). Some language versions only got a version 2.0 release.
There were three different retail versions of SWAT 3 released between 1999 to 2001. Each of these games is a different title and version name, making it quite confusing to follow all the different versions. For this reason, we have this handy SWAT 3 Upgrade Wizard for all your potential upgrading needs.
If you purchased your copy of Swat 3 from GOG.com or Steam your version will already be the most recent version.
Where can I download mods and maps?
Swat 3 was designed to easily allow maps and mods (short for modifications) to expand the content of the game.
Look in our weblinks section of the website for places to download from.
How do I install these maps/mods?
After you have downloaded the files you must move them into the same folder that you installed Swat 3 into.
• Swat 3 maps must be placed in the Missions sub-folder.
• Swat 3 mods must be placed in the Mods sub-folder.
(if these sub-folders don't already exist you can manually create them)
Mods get activated by using Swat 3's Mod Manager (Mod.exe can be found in Swat 3's main folder).
Important tips:
• Never Unzip a map or a mod when installing them. Swat 3 can automatically see into .ZIP files.
• Mods and maps don't work in single player campaign mode. You must start a LAN game to use them.
Swat 3 crashes at startup!
This is a very common problem with everyone who tries to run Swat 3 on a modern Windows machine. Please read how to fix it here.
CD version of Swat 3 Doesn't work!
If you have an original retail version of Swat 3 on CD-ROM you may find you have problems getting it to run. Safedisk copy protection that is built into the CD version is not compatible with modern versions of Windows. In fact Microsoft disallows it from working on Windows 10 machines because they consider it to be a potential security issue.
To get your legally owned CD copy working you will need to install your game and then either download a NO-CD crack from the internet or use the Last Resort mod (it comes with modified No-CD cracks). Don't forget to make sure your game is patched to the latest version first though!
Swat 3 has a really low framerate!
You may find that Swat 3 runs really sluggishly (for example the mouse pointer moves slowly in the menus). Swat 3 is an old game that uses 16-bit colour mode which is poorly supported these days by video card drivers and operating systems. Please read how to fix it here.
Some of this page was originally written by Pie4foo for 10.David.com, and modified for Last Resort.