For a long time I've played HLM and HLM2 with a gamepad and it worked great for me, but once I got to hard mode I realized I needed pinpoint crosshair accuracy in some of the gun fights (since the lock-on feature isn't available on hard mode).

So, I decided to switch to a mouse and keyboard, but the crosshair didn't feel right. Then I tried to work the in-game sensitivity slider, but it bothered me that it won't go in notches or have a number, and that is just slides around loosely. I wanted to get the slider to the middle but there's no telling exactly where that is, and I can't reset it to the default.

Then I decided to do some internet searching and look through the game's (configuration) files, and I found a solution. There is a way to get an exact sensitivity by editing the game's config file.

The config file by default should be found in: The file is called
"USERNAME" should of course be replaced by the username you are logged in as (or played the game as) on your Windows system.

For Linux or Mac the directory is different and you can find out about it here: https://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Hotline_Miami_2:_Wrong_Number


First before editing the config file, make a backup in case something goes wrong.
It's unlikely something will go wrong, but this file contains all your save data and settings so it should be backed up first.

I recommend opening it up in a free program called "Notepad++", as that is what I used and it will be easier that way when following this guide.

Once opening the file, scroll to the bottom and find a section like this:

So once you find this section at the bottom of the config file, notice it says "sensitivity", followed by multiple identical "NULL" characters, with a different character sandwiched between the "NULL"s, and "soldier.dat" on the right side.

The part to know about is that distinct character/symbol in between all the "NULL"s. This one little character is the one that you will change to get a different sensitivity.

Now I wish it was as easy as putting a number from 1-100, but it's not. However, still imagine it as a scale (like mouse sensitivity has always been) going from 1-95. Instead of numbers though, there are various characters that make up the scale. It looks like this:

The first character here (a "NULL" and not a space) would be the lowest on the sensitivity slider, and the final "d" character would be the highest sensitivity (on the slider). "5" would be exactly in the middle. The characters may look different depending on what text editor or web browser you're viewing them in, so I recommend to copy/paste them into a new text file to see, then copy/paste the character on the sensitivity scale you want into the savedata.vfs file.

What the sensitivity actually means is how it is relative to your Windows (or desktop) sensitivity (based on mouse and OS DPI/CPI settings). So if you set it to the exact middle for the game (5), it would be the same speed you move the cursor around on the desktop. This is assuming you have mouse acceleration turned off in Windows, which if you don't I highly recommend to do so (do an internet search if you don't know what this means).

Finally, I recommend to not change any of the other values as it could corrupt your config/save file or it could be considered cheating if you are trying to unlock achievements/progress this way.
I hold no responsibility for any consequences you receive after editing this file.

The mouse sensitivity here also applies when using the level editor.

Hotline Miami 1 doesn't have a mouse sensitivity option, but I believe it's just set to the middle (default desktop cursor speed).

When the cursor gets to the edge of the screen it can continue to go beyond where you can see it and have other erratic behavior.

If there are any corrections or suggestions you have, just let me know. Thanks for reading, and leave a rating if you'd like.