v1.23 , back to top Nexus (opens Nexus Mods in a new tab)
Nexus Mods (opens in a new tab)
NFS Unbound with the OUTLAWS mod: a Nissan Skyline R34 waiting at a red light on a wet Lakeshore street at night

Need for Speed UnboundPC overhaulv1.23

NFS Unbound OUTLAWS Mod: Full game overhaul

The Underground 3 we never got, rebuilt inside Lakeshore.

Rainy looks on the asphalt, heavy bass and variation instead of mumble rap, up to 60 engine swaps per car, rebuilt physics so RWD and AWD behave like different machines, overhauled visuals, and killed restrictions. Just scratching the surface of what OUTLAWS brings back to the streets.

Download on Nexus (opens in a new tab) Install guide
Author
Stargirl
Version
1.23
Platform
All PC versions
Size
~3 GB

OUTLAWS 1.23

What do you want to know about OUTLAWS?

What is the OUTLAWS mod?

OUTLAWS is a complete gameplay and visual overhaul for Need for Speed Unbound on PC. It relights every preset of Lakeshore's daytimes, including a deep purple night grade and wet asphalt, and replaces the soundtrack with 74 custom tracks. It also rebuilds car and FI audio, gives FWD, RWD and AWD cars their own handling, reworks crashes, police and the economy, adds 20 to 60 engine swaps per car, reworks all tuning items, unlocks every bodykit and removes customization restrictions.

Lakeshore is actually a decent map, OUTLAWS overhauls it with the atmosphere of wet night lighting, unfiltered audio, and unrestricted garage tuning, essentially giving the game the Underground 3 treatment directly on your current install.

OUTLAWS is one coordinated gameplay overhaul. Every system is tuned against the others, and every piece can still be switched off in the installer.

Version
1.23
Built by
Stargirl
Runs on
All PC versions
Disk space
~3 GB

Frosty can stay closed

Download the OUTLAWS installer from Nexus, run it, show it where Unbound is installed and hit Install. Standalone puts the whole mod on, and if you'd rather go through it piece by piece there's Modular. Every original file it replaces goes into an OUTLAWS_Backup folder first, so Uninstall really does give you your game back.

Installer
Files tab on Nexus
Mod manager
Not needed
Frosty
Still works
Editions
Standalone or Modular

74 tracks in the game's own banks

Every vanilla track is gone. All 74 are encoded in the game's own format and injected into its own music banks, so there's no streaming layer or extra player running next to the game. Free roam alone rotates through 60 of them, and cop chases get their own chase, cooldown and overlay layers. Liked the stock playlist? Switch the soundtrack off in the installer and it's back, original track names and all.

Free roam
60 in rotation
Music banks
All eight filled
Stock music
One switch away

20 to 60 engines per car

Every car gets 20 to 60 new engine swaps, with extended gearing and drivetrain swaps to back them up. Forced induction is in there too. Body kits are all unlocked, the rarity-gated ones as well, and shared wheels are wired into every car's mesh registry, so the rim you fit actually shows up on the car.

Engine swaps
20–60 per car
Body kits
All unlocked
Rims
Any rim, any car
Part restrictions
Lifted

Retuned car by car

Steering response, grip loss, slip angle and recovery were retuned for every car individually, and RWD, AWD and FWD each have their own character now. Drift styles were redone too: brake stabilised, throttle stabilised, both, or switched off if drifting isn't your thing. Crash cams are gone, so a hit keeps you behind the wheel.

Tuning
Per car, per drivetrain
Drift styles
Brake, throttle, both or off
Crash cams
Gone

Heat 3 is where it starts

Heat 1 and 2 are stock, so cruising stays cruising. Hit Heat 3 and the units accelerate harder than you're used to and spot you sooner. They drive differently too. Heat 4 and 5 keep going from there.

Heat 1–2
Stock
Heat 3–5
Reworked

Online is off by default

Out of the box OUTLAWS blocks Lakeshore Online, because your car is running OUTLAWS handling and gearing and the people in that lobby are on stock. Switch on Online play in the installer (on Frosty it's the ONLINE PATCH) and car performance goes back to stock tuning. Then everybody races on the same numbers.

Out of the box
Online blocked
Online play on
Stock car performance
Back to solo
Re-run the installer

At a glance

OUTLAWS rebuilds Unbound from the inside: the way the city looks at every hour, the entire soundtrack, every engine note, how the police hunt you, what a car costs, how it drives, and how far you can take it in the garage.

The target was an old school street racing game. Money means something. Nights look like nights. The cops make you work. The garage has the doors taken off.

Visuals

  • Every hour of the day relit from scratch
  • Wet asphalt reflections across the whole map
  • Weather, fog, water and steam effects reworked

Sound

  • A 74 track soundtrack in every music system the game has
  • Free roam alone rotates through 60 different tracks
  • Car audio rebuilt across the roster: engine, exhaust, turbo, blow off and overrun

Streets

  • Police fully reworked and rebalanced (slightly more challenging)
  • An economy where cars and parts are goals again

Driving

  • Handling retuned per car and per drivetrain
  • Damage, crash rules and rollover physics reworked
  • Field of view and camera shake reworked, crash cameras and the scripted barrel roll gone

Garage

  • 20 to 60 new engine swaps per car
  • Performance parity across the roster, with extended gearing and drivetrain swaps
  • Elite NOS split into a duration item and a power item
  • The garage unlocked from end to end, body kits included
  • Any rim on any car, wired into the mesh registry so it actually renders
  • Brake calipers, tire lettering, stance and ride height on every car

Build

  • Full HUD restyle with custom fonts, dark menus and custom textures
  • Built and gated for online play
  • Available as one full mod or as five modules

The overhaul

The big stuff

Lighting, sound, how the cars drive and what you can bolt on. Those four get the most room down here, the rest comes after.

Lighting every hour, relit from scratch

Night is the reason most of us are here. It runs a deep purple and cyan grade now. Bloom, ambient light, ground bounce, fog and colour correction were retuned together, so the city gets properly dark, lit mostly by the street lights, and you can still see where you're going.

Then there's the wet asphalt. Planar terrain reflections run out to 500 metres across the whole map with fog still rendering, and screen space reflections use the velocity buffer, so they hold still on a moving car. Morning and overcast moved onto a pre-sunrise sky dome with the sun sitting on the horizon. Exposure is clamped in every mood, so no hour of the day blows out to white.

  • Velocity-buffer SSR
  • Purple & cyan nights
  • Reflections out to 500 m
  • Weather, fog, water & steam
  • Pre-sunrise sky dome
  • Exposure clamped
OUTLAWS night lighting: the Lakeshore harbor road and skyline at night, street lights reflecting on the wet asphalt
OUTLAWS dawn lighting: the same harbor road under a pink and violet pre sunrise sky, street lamps still lit
OUTLAWS morning lighting: low sun and haze over the Lakeshore skyline seen from the harbor road
OUTLAWS daylight: the Lakeshore skyline over the harbor road at noon under layered clouds
Time of day

Sound 74 tracks, new engine audio

The stock soundtrack is out, all of it. 74 tracks went in, encoded in the game's own format and injected into all eight of its music banks, so race music, free roam, pursuits, drag events and even the credits are OUTLAWS tracks now. Free roam alone rotates through 60. Every track is matched to one loudness target with true peak limiting, which means you stop riding the volume between songs.

Car audio lives in the Core module. Engine and exhaust sounds were redone across the roster, intake noise as well, and the turbo layers got rebuilt along with blow-off and overrun. There's a pass over bolt-ons and tire noise too. If you want the stock music back, switch the soundtrack option off and the original tracks return with their original names.

  • All 8 music banks
  • 60 tracks in free roam
  • BOV & overrun
  • Stock music on a switch

Now playing · OUTLAWS soundtrack

Track 07 / 74

Free roam · Lakeshore, after midnight

  • Engine notes Rebuilt
  • Turbo sound Rebuilt
  • Soundtrack 74 trk
  • Free-roam rotation 60 / 74

Handling per car, per drivetrain

Every car got its own pass on steering response, grip loss, slip angle and recovery. Aero, tires, drift and chassis configs were redone across the roster on top of that, and RWD, AWD and FWD don't feel interchangeable anymore. Camber and caster are wired up, and ride height has more steps.

Crashes got rebuilt too, with new crash rules for racers and cops and new damage graphs. Parts break off differently as well. The crash cams are gone and so is the scripted barrel roll. You can still roll it if you really earn it, that's just physics now.

  • Tuned per car
  • Drift styles redone
  • Camber & caster
  • More ride height steps
  • No crash cams

Running another handling mod? Leave Handling & Physics off and keep yours.

Drivetrain

Rear-wheel drive

This one wants to come round. Lift mid-corner and the rear steps out, stay on the throttle and it holds the slide. Get greedy on the exit and you're looking back where you came from.

Rotation
Launch grip
Entry stability
Drift willingness

Front-wheel drive

Pulls itself out of corners. Go in too hot and it pushes wide, trail the brake a little and the nose tucks back in. Not much drama, which is kind of the point.

Rotation
Launch grip
Entry stability
Drift willingness

All-wheel drive

Best launch of the three, and it digs its way out of slow corners. In return you get some push in the middle of a corner, so you learn to drive around it.

Rotation
Launch grip
Entry stability
Drift willingness

Feel guide · not in-game data

Garage doors taken off

20 to 60 new engine swaps per car. Gearing got extended to go with them, and you can swap the drivetrain or add forced induction. The Performance module redoes the engine and transmission configs and runs a parity pass, so the top of the roster ends up in one performance window. Elite NOS is split in two now, one item for duration and one for raw power.

Body kits are all unlocked, rarity-gated ones included, and part restrictions are lifted across the roster. Bumpers, canards, roof lights, LED boards, mirrors, you name it. Any rim goes on any car and renders properly. Brake calipers, tire lettering, stance and ride height sliders work on every car. Every parts list was rebuilt, license plates too.

  • 20–60 swaps per car
  • Drivetrain swaps
  • Elite NOS split
  • Any rim, any car
  • Rarity gates gone

Turn Performance off for vanilla power figures. Every OUTLAWS engine swap stays in either way.

OUTLAWS garage: a Nissan Silvia with its hood up and the engine bay exposed
  • Engine swaps 20–60 / car
  • Bodykits All unlocked
  • Rarity-gated kits Unlocked
  • Part restrictions Removed
  • Gearing Extended
  • Drivetrain swaps Added
  • Forced induction Added

Also changed

The rest of it

  • COPS

    Cops got faster

    Heat 1 and 2 are left stock, so the early game stays chill. From Heat 3 the units accelerate harder than stock and they spot you sooner. Stargirl's words: the cops make you work.

    Heat 3–5
  • ECON

    Money's tight

    Payouts and buy-ins are rebalanced for an actual grind, and the second-hand dealer was reworked. Saving up for a car is a thing again.

    Real grind
  • HUD

    HUD & menus

    The whole HUD is restyled in the OUTLAWS colours with custom fonts and a reworked speedometer, and the garage and menus went dark. Race gates and checkpoint markers are hidden by default for a cleaner view, one switch in the installer brings them back. The customization thumbnails got fixed while she was at it.

    Dark menus
  • CAM

    Camera

    Field of view was reworked for a much stronger sense of speed, and the speed-based FOV rush kicks in earlier and pushes further. The camera sits a little higher and camera shake has a new ceiling. Crash cams are gone, so a hit doesn't yank you out of the car anymore.

    FOV rush
  • NOS

    Burst NOS is off

    Burst NOS is off by default, so drifts and near misses don't top up your nitrous anymore. Elite NOS got split into a duration item and a power item. Miss the arcade refill? The Burst NOS option in the installer brings it back.

    Burst optional
  • AI

    AI difficulty

    In the Modular edition AI difficulty is its own module, so you decide how hard Lakeshore races you. Standalone comes with AI Normal.

    Modular edition

Gameplay

Clips from one evening

Six clips from one evening of play, recorded in 4K with OUTLAWS on. They're muted and they loop, other than that it's exactly what came out of the game.

  • FOV rush Field of view was reworked for a much stronger sense of speed, and the speed-based FOV rush kicks in earlier and pushes further.
  • Under the tracks Boost effects, backfire, smoke, drafting and air trails were all redone for OUTLAWS.
  • Takedown at dusk Pursuits have their own music now, with separate chase, cooldown and overlay layers, all running from the game's own banks. You'd hear it if this weren't muted.
  • Night race Steering response, grip loss, slip angle and recovery were retuned car by car. RWD, AWD and FWD each behave like different machines.
  • Spray on the highway Road surface presets were reworked across the map, along with the water and weather effects. Wet highway at speed is where you see it.
  • Back streets Payouts and buy-ins got rebalanced for a real grind, the second-hand dealer too. That R34 takes a while to afford now.

Install guide

Getting it running

There's an installer for the Steam and EA app versions and it's the easy way. Pick an edition, set your options, show it the game folder and start Unbound like you always do, no mod manager involved. The video next to the steps walks through all of it. Rather stay on Frosty? Route B.

Choose an install route

  1. Start clean

    Take off other overhauls that touch the same stuff, then verify the game in Steam or repair it in the EA app. The installer checks that your game files are original before it changes anything, so this saves you a failed first try.

  2. Get it from Nexus

    Download the OUTLAWS installer from the Files tab on the Nexus page (1.3 GB) and run it.

    Windows might say "Windows protected your PC". That's SmartScreen, and it shows up for every new program without a paid code-signing certificate. It isn't a virus warning. Click More info, then Run anyway.

  3. Pick an edition

    Standalone (the recommended one) puts all of OUTLAWS on in one go. Modular lets you take every module on its own, visuals and AI difficulty included.

  4. Set your options

    Core is always on. Everything else is a switch: Handling & Physics, Performance, race gates, Burst NOS, Online play, the soundtrack and unlocks. Not sure what you want? The planner below shows what each one does.

  5. Show it the game folder

    Browse to wherever Need for Speed Unbound is installed. If OUTLAWS is already on there, the installer tells you which parts, and the summary shows how much disk space your setup needs.

    e.g. X:\Games\Need for Speed Unbound\Need for Speed Unbound

  6. Install and play

    Hit Install, then start the game the normal way. Want different options later? Run the installer again. It puts your original files back first and then applies the new set.

    Uninstall is in the same window. Until then your original files sit in OUTLAWS_Backup inside the game folder.

  1. Add OUTLAWS to Frosty

    Import the OUTLAWS .fbmod (1.2 GB) into Frosty Mod Manager. The main download is the complete mod and runs on its own, so don't combine it with the modular files. Going modular? 01 CORE is required, the other modules go on top in any order and don't overwrite each other.

  2. Repair the game

    Repair it in the EA app, or verify the files on Steam. Stargirl's note on this one: this step matters.

  3. Clear the caches

    Delete the cache folder in Documents\Need for Speed(TM) Unbound and Frosty's own Caches folder. ModData in the game directory has to go as well. Old caches are behind most broken Frosty installs.

    e.g. <game folder>\ModData

  4. Running other mods? OUTLAWS goes last

    Put OUTLAWS at the very bottom of the list so it loads after everything else. Otherwise the other mods overwrite parts of it and you lose some of what OUTLAWS does.

  5. Apply and launch from Frosty

    Click Apply Mods and start the game from Frosty every time. Launch from Steam or the EA app and the mod data gets skipped.

    One route per game copy. Don't run the installer and Frosty on the same install.

Install planner

Try the switches before you install

Same options as the real installer. Flip them here and check the summary, then set up the installer the same way. Nothing on this page touches your game.

1 · Edition
Presets
2 · Options

Online & saves

Lobbies and save files

Starting a new career

  1. 01

    Back up your save

    It lives in Documents\Need For Speed(TM) Unbound\SaveGame\savegame. Copy the file called 1 somewhere safe. Copy it back in whenever you want your old career again.

  2. 02

    Start fresh if you can

    Once it's backed up, delete the file called 1. A fresh save avoids conflicts with other mods and broken states, and for the reworked story mode Stargirl strongly recommends it. Some mods change your save and game files for good, and no mod can undo that.

  3. 03

    Performance off for the first weeks

    On a new save the early tiers are low, so Stargirl recommends switching Performance off at first. Turn it back on around week 2 or 3.

  4. 04

    Leave unlocks off the first time

    "Unlock everything" gives you every car and part from the start, campaign included. Great for messing around in the garage. On a first run it skips the grind the economy was rebalanced for.

  5. 05

    New to Lakeshore? Keep the gates

    OUTLAWS hides race gates and checkpoint markers. If you don't know the routes yet, switch them back on and lose them later.

Compatibility

Will it run on my copy?

OUTLAWS 1.23 is for Need for Speed Unbound on PC, and the installer handles both the Steam and the EA app version. This is what people usually ask about.

OUTLAWS compatibility matrix
Setup Status Notes
Steam version OK Supported by the installer
EA app version OK Supported by the installer
Frosty Mod Manager Note Optional, use the .fbmod files
Other handling mods Note Leave Handling & Physics off and keep yours
Other overhauls Heads-up Take them off first, they touch the same files
Lakeshore Online Heads-up Only with Online play switched on
Existing saves Note Back it up. A fresh save is recommended
Game updates Heads-up Wait for a matching OUTLAWS release on Nexus, then reinstall
Download size Note Installer 1.3 GB · Frosty .fbmod 1.2 GB · Manual install 2.7 GB
Disk space Note about 3 GB once installed, any route

FAQ

Stuff people ask

Q01

What is the NFS Unbound OUTLAWS mod?

A full overhaul of Need for Speed Unbound on PC, made by Stargirl. It relights every hour of the day and swaps the soundtrack for 74 tracks. Car audio, handling, crashes, police and the economy got redone as well, and every car gets 20 to 60 engine swaps with the garage opened up. It's free on Nexus Mods and comes with its own installer for Steam and the EA app. Frosty works too, if you prefer it.

Q02

Can't I just run a few smaller mods?

Sure, plenty of people do. OUTLAWS covers lighting, audio, handling, police, the economy and the garage in one package, with every system tuned against the others, and anything you don't want can be switched off in the installer. If you only want one small change, a small mod is lighter. If you do mix mods on Frosty, put OUTLAWS at the bottom of the list so nothing overwrites it.

Q03

Do I need Frosty Mod Manager to install OUTLAWS?

No. The installer patches the game directly and you start Unbound the normal way afterwards. Frosty is there if you already manage your mods with it. Just don't use both on the same game copy.

Q04

Can I play NFS Unbound online with OUTLAWS installed?

Yes, with Online play switched on in the installer, or the ONLINE PATCH if you're on Frosty. That puts car performance back to stock tuning, so nobody shows up with a modded car in a lobby full of stock ones. Until you switch it on, OUTLAWS blocks online lobbies.

Q05

Do I need to start a new save?

It's strongly recommended, especially for the reworked story mode. A fresh save avoids conflicts with other mods and broken save states, and an old save with a full bank account skips the grind the economy is built around. Keeping your old save can work, though some bugs may still show up. Back it up either way: it's the file called 1 in Documents\Need For Speed(TM) Unbound\SaveGame\savegame.

Q06

Can I install only parts of OUTLAWS?

Yes. Pick Modular in the installer and you get every module on its own, visuals and AI difficulty included. Standalone has switches as well, for Handling & Physics, Performance, the soundtrack, Burst NOS, race gates, unlocks and Online play.

Q07

Does OUTLAWS replace the NFS Unbound soundtrack?

Yes, every vanilla track. 74 tracks go into all eight music banks and 60 of them rotate in free roam. Want the original music back? Turn the OUTLAWS soundtrack option off and it returns with the original track names.

Q08

Does it bring back Burst Nitrous and race checkpoints?

Both are off by default. The Burst NOS and Race gates & checkpoints options in the installer bring the vanilla versions back.

Q09

How do I uninstall or change options?

Run the installer again. Reinstall puts your original files back first and then applies the new options, Uninstall gives you the stock game back. Until then the originals sit in OUTLAWS_Backup inside your game folder. Verifying or repairing the game in Steam or the EA app works too.

Q10

Which versions of the game does it support?

The 1.23 installer supports the Steam and EA app versions of Need for Speed Unbound on PC. The download is 1.3 GB, and once it's installed OUTLAWS takes about 3 GB, whichever route you use. After a game update, check the Files tab on Nexus for a matching OUTLAWS release before you reinstall.

Seen enough?

It's free on Nexus. And if it's not for you, Uninstall gives you the stock game back.

Download OUTLAWS 1.23 (opens Nexus Mods in a new tab) Read the install guide