Mortal Kombat 1: Best DX12Config.ini for Fast Load Times

The “Fast Load” secret for MK1 lies in forcing the game to prioritize raw throughput over texture quality during the “Press Start” sequence. If you are experiencing “Checking for Rewards” or “Loading Shaders” hangs, the following adjustments are essential.

File Path

Mortal Kombat 1 stores its local configuration in the AppData local folder.

%LOCALAPPDATA%\MK12\Saved\Steam\Config\WindowsNoEditor\UserSettings.ini

(Note: For Epic Games Store, the path replaces ‘Steam’ with ‘EOS’)

Technical Note: To skip the unskippable logos and gain back roughly 15 seconds of startup time, navigate to your installation folder: MK12\Content\Movies and rename MK12_000_BootUp.mp4 to something else.

Optimized “Instant Combat” Configuration Block

Search for these variables within your UserSettings.ini. These settings are designed to reduce the “Asset Bottleneck” during stage loading.

Parameter	Recommended Value	Technical Purpose
TextureQuality	2 (High)	The Match Fix. Ultra High (3) forces 4K textures that stall HDDs and slow SSDs.
Antialiasing	DLSS/FSR	Use Upscaling to reduce the initial frame-buffer load during the loading transition.
UpscaleSharpen	0.0	Prevents additional post-processing passes during the loading screen.
DiskCache	Enabled	Ensure your NVIDIA/AMD control panel has Shader Cache Size set to 10GB+.

[/Script/MK12.MKUserSettings]
TextureQuality=2
Anisotropy=4
ShadowQuality=2
Bloom=0
MotionBlur=0
AmbientOcclusion=0
ReflectionQuality=1
ParticleDensity=1
# Force 60FPS lock for menu stability
FrameRateLimit=60

HowTo: Engineering the Ultimate MK1 Load Speed

Follow these GameEngineer.net technical steps to eliminate “Match Wait” times:

1. The “Very High” Texture Trap: In MK1, the “Very High” texture setting is poorly optimized for many mid-range VRAM buffers. Switching to High reduces the match load time by up to $40\%$ without a noticeable loss in visual fidelity during 60FPS combat.
2. Windows Graphics Preference: Go to Windows Settings > System > Display > Graphics. Select Mortal Kombat 1, click Options, and set it to High Performance. This ensures the game doesn’t “spin down” your GPU during the loading screens.
3. Steam Overlay Conflict: The Steam/Epic overlay can sometimes interfere with the game’s “Synchronizing” phase. Disable the Steam Overlay in the game properties to speed up the transition from the “Press Any Key” screen to the Main Menu.
4. Shader Cache Warming: MK1 pre-compiles shaders on the first launch. If you experience stutters after a patch, delete the contents of %LOCALAPPDATA%\NVIDIA\DXCache (or AMD equivalent) to force a clean, fast re-compilation.
5. Controller Input Delay: Using a wireless controller can occasionally cause the “Startup Movie” to hang while it polls for the device. Plug in your controller via USB before launching for the fastest “Cold Boot” to “Menu” time.

Technical Explanation: VRAM Throttling and Loading MB/s

In Mortal Kombat 1’s benchmark, you may notice a “Loading Speed” metric in MB/s. This isn’t just measuring your SSD speed; it measures how fast the CPU can decompress game assets and move them into the GPU’s VRAM.

When you use the highest texture settings, the engine attempts to move nearly $6\text{–}8\text{GB}$ of data per match. If your VRAM is already near capacity, the engine uses System RAM Swap, which is significantly slower. By setting TextureQuality=2, you lower the required bandwidth for a match to roughly $3\text{–}4\text{GB}$, allowing even a standard SATA SSD to hit the “instant load” threshold required for smooth Krossplay.