A way to change some of the colours in Cliffs Of Dover.

[Les]

Finally got around to checking out the colour-correcting capabilities of this neat little program (injectFxaa_by_some_dude).

For those not familiar with it, it's just a set of files you drop into your IL2:COD game folder, mainly in order to enable a kind of anti-aliasing that hadn't been available before.

Thing is, the earlier version of it that I've attached here also included some files that enable you to apply some other effects to Cliffs Of Dover besides anti-aliasing.

One effect is called 'Tone Mapping', which allows you to adjust the brightness and contrast and red/blue/yellow colour values that you see in the game. Changing these parameters alone can have a huge or subtle but significant impact on how your game looks. Combine them with the 'Vignette' and 'Sepia' effects and you can get something that looks like an over-the-top 'Warbirds Of Prey' cinematic type of effect if you want. Or just darken the shadows and get rid of that yellow cast the game has nowadays, which is what motivated me to check it out.

Just drop the files in where your Cliffs Of Dover .exe file is installed, start the game up, alt tab out of it, open up the 'injFX_Settings' notepad file, make some changes, click straight back to the game and see what effect they've had.

I'll include some more comparison screenshots and the settings I used if anyone's interested.

I guess I should say too, that there are still some visual aspects of the game that can't be reached or adjusted using a simple utility like this. It's pretty cool what you can adjust with it, but it's not going to bring back some things that have been changed or removed from the game. Also, the complex interconnected nature of the sim means fixing one thing can break another thing even at this basic level. For example you can make one time of day look great, only to find it ruins others. But still, it might be worth checking out for those that are into this sort of thing.

I have no idea whether it's compatible with Steam's online anti-cheat measures. These third party anti-aliasing 'hacks' have been around for several months now and I haven't heard of anyone getting banned because of them (pretty sure I even had them installed when online a couple of times a while back), but who knows, use at your own risk.

Edit 25-10-12 - Added latest settings. Neutral colours, with increased contrast.

Edit 30-10-12 - Added revised attachment. It uses my 'Neutral5' settings as default, but also includes a couple of others. It's been re-packaged so you can just copy and paste its contents straight into your Cliffs Of Dover install.

And here are all the settings others have contributed so far - http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showpost.php?p=473843&postcount=106
Along with all of mine - http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showpost.php?p=473845&postcount=107

Edit 31-10-12 - Added 'Neutral6' settings for both the 'injectFxaa_by_some_dude' utility and the newer 'SweetFX' utility by Ceejay.dk. here - http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showpost.php?p=474751&postcount=128 ***Note- If you're using the 'SweetFX' utility, zip up the original 'd3d9.dll' file in your 'Cliffs Of Dover' install to back it up, as the one in the 'SweetFX' utility will need to replace it in order to work.***

Edit 12-11-12 - Updated readme and re-attached 'FXAA PPI Rev 37...' to this post.

Edit 26-3-14 - Added some updated settings, adjusted for the Team Fusion 4.3 Patch version of the game, to post #236 of this thread, here - http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showpost.php?p=516086&postcount=236.

[Les]

Some more shots using the same four different settings - the default IL2:COD colours and levels, default IL2:COD colours but with increased contrast, default injectFxaa settings but with only anti-aliasing and Tone Mapping activated, and my own preferred look.

Also attached are the injectFxaa settings that keep the default IL-2:COD colours the same, while darkening the shadows.

[zapatista]

nice idea and thx for posting it, but does using this "modification" create problems with the steam integrity check for playing on online servers ?

[Les]

Same thing, with the default injectFxaa settings (but with only AA and Tone Mapping activated) attached.

To my eyes, the default IL2:COD look is way too yellow, with shadows too light for my tastes, while my own preferred look is probably too cold and blue and contrasty for most people. I think the default injectFxaa settings are probably most realistic, but I just don't like the warmer look it has.

[Les]

nice idea and thx for posting it, but does using this "modification" create problems with the steam integrity check for playing on online servers ?

I really don't think it does, but I can't say for sure. A lot of people have been using these kinds of FXAA anti-aliasing installs for a while now in different games, so I think it would have caught up with people by now if it was ever going to. I'm not a big online player at the moment anyway, so I personally can't be bothered researching where it's currently all at. If in doubt leave it out I guess.

[41Sqn_Stormcrow]

Apart from the AA thing you probably just need to tweak your screen settings so no need for additional files :)

[Madfish]

Just on a sidenote: using full screen filters is generally a subjective but also very broken way of fixing colors: It changes the colors for everything, including sunsets, fields, bark of trees, flowers etc.

I have a few screens here and one has a cathode backlight and PVA panel. It tends to, even though it's a higher end display, not calibrate to the whitepoint perfectly and has a bit of yellow tint. On that screen CloD indeed looks a bit too yellow indeed. I imagine that on low end screens that effect can be even worse.

On the IPS ones it looks perfectly though. Your screenshot has a very cold color tone, as if it's not the sunlight but a mix with moonlight.


Contrasts on most games always seem odd though. The problem is that gamers usually have a very tiny viewpoint and the image contrast is affected by the lighting of the surroundings.
Another issue is the quality of the screen itself. I'd bet 99.9% of all gamers don't have a screen that cannot display true black.



So I'd say it's better if people use a tool like that to fix the colors as I don't have any problem with them. I'm not sure about the general issue of using 3rd party tools though when it comes to steam games and playing multiplayer...

[skouras]

Is there any way to make the aa works as the pics above
it looks gorgeous:-p

[von Brühl]

The FXAA is post processing, so VAC wouldn't pick it up, it does not alter the game files in any way, just processes the images after CoD makes them, before transferring to your video card.

[MadTommy]

Thanks Les,

Very good of you to take the time to share! :cool:

[Les]

Thanks for the feedback.

These injectFxaa post-processing effects can be switched on and off using the pause button on a keyboard, much easier for me than changing the colour settings on my monitor when switching between IL2 and general viewing. Also, some of the more extreme effects that people might like to use, and that I haven't shown in the pictures I posted, just aren't possible via monitor adjustments alone.

I adjusted the colours on an S-PVA monitor that's been calibrated using a Datacolor Spyder3. The colours I'm seeing are pretty accurate, and even disregarding my general preference for colder, clearer imagery, I think the colour settings the game's using at the moment are just a bit off. I'm basing that opinion not just on what I'm seeing in-game now but on how it used to look in previous versions as well. In the past it's been too brown and then too blue, and now it seems too yellow.

It is true that this kind of post-processing effect changes the colour of everything from the flowers to the clouds, and so it's still up to the developers to set those internal colour relationships. The point is though, this injectFxaa utility is an easy way for anyone, with any monitor type or colour preference, to adjust the overall colour temperature and shadow strength to whatever suits them.

[skouras]

i want only the aa
what i have to download and put to my game folder:confused:

[Les]

Sorry Skouras, I thought you were just joking before about how bad the AA is in the game.

The pictures I've posted here have been reduced in resolution by 50%, which makes the game look smoother than it does when actually playing it. So even with the FXAA applied it won't look as good as these pictures.

If you still want to try it, the first folder I've attached to this post - FXAA PPI Rev 37. contains the main files you need. The second folder contains some settings that switch off all the injectFxx effects except the FX anti-aliasing.

Open up the first 'FXAA PPI Rev 37' folder, copy the contents from the folder of whatever version of DirectX you're using, and paste them into the folder where you have your Cliiffs Of Dover exe. installed (eg. Local Disk C:/Steam/steamapps/common/il-2 sturmovik cliffs of dover).

Then copy the contents of the second folder I've attached here and put that settings file in the same place (eg. Local Disk C:/Steam/steamapps/common/il-2 sturmovik cliffs of dover), overwriting and replacing the default injectFxaa settings.

To see what effect the FXAA has in-game, press the Pause/Break/ScrLk button on your keyboard on and off when looking at something like the edge of a cockpit window (if your keyboard has one, you may have to press the 'F Lock' button first or your Pause/Break/ScrLk button won't be switching the effect on and off).

[MadTommy]

I' not seeing any AA effect from this.. i'll have to have a mess about with it.

[skouras]

thank you very much
you were very helpful:grin::grin:
salute buddy..

[Les]

I' not seeing any AA effect from this.. i'll have to have a mess about with it.

It can be hard to see the effect sometimes as it only smooths out some edges. I posted some example pictures here - http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?t=25281&page=10

If you install the files I included in my first post and aren't seeing any change to the look of the game at all then it mustn't be working, as the default injectFxx settings change all the colours of the game too and the difference should be obvious.

If that's the case, make sure you're opening up the correct DirectX folder in the injectFxx package (the DirectX10 one if you're using the latest beta patch) and dropping the four or five files within it directly into your Steam/Cliffs Of Dover game folder (not your Cliffs Of Dover user documents folder), not just putting the whole DirectX folder in there.

Also make sure your 'Pause/Break/ScrLk' button isn't being Switched to 'F' mode by your keyboards 'F Lock' button and making it's injectFxx on/off function inoperable.

On another note, here are some more shots comparing the default colour/contrast settings to my preferred ones.

[Les]

I had some more comparison pictures to show, but there's a limit to five attachments per post and I can't be bothered uploading the pictures to an image-hosting site, then linking to them here to enable the pictures (and more of them per post) to show up without clicking on them, so...

[Les]

Not saying the adjustments I've made are perfect, or even more realistic, am just pleased to have found a way to make the game look more like how I want it to.

[Les]

And finally...

[MadTommy]

It can be hard to see the effect sometimes as it only smooths out some edges. I posted some example pictures here - http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?t=25281&page=10

If you install the files I included in my first post and aren't seeing any change to the look of the game at all then it mustn't be working, as the default injectFxx settings change all the colours of the game too and the difference should be obvious.

If that's the case, make sure you're opening up the correct DirectX folder in the injectFxx package (the DirectX10 one if you're using the latest beta patch) and dropping the four or five files within it directly into your Steam/Cliffs Of Dover game folder (not your Cliffs Of Dover user documents folder), not just putting the whole DirectX folder in there.

Also make sure your 'Pause/Break/ScrLk' button isn't being Switched to 'F' mode by your keyboards 'F Lock' button and making it's injectFxx on/off function inoperable.

On another note, here are some more shots comparing the default colour/contrast settings to my preferred ones.

Cheers, its working, I notice a big difference in colours and such but very little in AA. I'm happy with that as i hated the colours in CloD and have a calibrated monitor for print work, so changing monitor setting just for the game would give me issues for my work. So being able to tweak the colours it excellent. I've had a play about with different AA setting and none seem to make much difference. Maybe there is a very subtle effect, but not enough to be noticed by me. Maybe the effect is different for different graphic cards. I'm on a Nvidia GTX 480..

[Les]

Glad you got it working. The FX anti-aliasing is pretty subtle. It's more noticeable on some kinds of closer edge details than as an overall smoothing effect.

[SQB]

Ho.ly.crap. Your set up is brilliant Les, this is fantastic! I just hopped in after not seeing too much difference from your screenshots and.. the colour is just perfect! The blue bloom reminds me of DCS HDR (on the cold setting) which I've always hated, but with this it goes perfectly with the ground colour. Sunset and sunrise are also much less pink.

Thanks so much for this, I'll do some more tweaking too as I have some rather controversial opinions on what makes a game look good.

[SQB]

Cheers, its working, I notice a big difference in colours and such but very little in AA. I'm happy with that as i hated the colours in CloD and have a calibrated monitor for print work, so changing monitor setting just for the game would give me issues for my work. So being able to tweak the colours it excellent. I've had a play about with different AA setting and none seem to make much difference. Maybe there is a very subtle effect, but not enough to be noticed by me. Maybe the effect is different for different graphic cards. I'm on a Nvidia GTX 480..

Look at trees against the horizon, you can check that it's working by looking at menu text, the text becomes aliased and so becomes thinner and slightly blurred.

[Les]

Ho.ly.crap. Your set up is brilliant Les, this is fantastic! I just hopped in after not seeing too much difference from your screenshots and.. the colour is just perfect! The blue bloom reminds me of DCS HDR (on the cold setting) which I've always hated, but with this it goes perfectly with the ground colour. Sunset and sunrise are also much less pink.

Thanks so much for this, I'll do some more tweaking too as I have some rather controversial opinions on what makes a game look good.

No worries, am interested to see what colour variations people prefer.

Adjusting the actual values by Alt-Tab-ing and changing the numerical values while fine tuning and setting things up is a bit awkward, but you soon find the proper direction and range to move the numbers in. A slider type GUI utility would be handy for that, but I think this whole colour/effect aspect of the program has been dropped by the guy who was working on it as it's no longer included in later versions of the injectFxaa utility.

I like the fact any adjustments I've made can be toggled on and off, so if for example I want the more spectacular sunset back I can just press the Pause/Break/ScrLk button and there it is. Keeping different effects settings files zipped up near the game's exe. and swapping the files around could also allow the fairly convenient use of a variety of totally different looks.

[skouras]

Sorry Skouras, I thought you were just joking before about how bad the AA is in the game.

The pictures I've posted here have been reduced in resolution by 50%, which makes the game look smoother than it does when actually playing it. So even with the FXAA applied it won't look as good as these pictures.

If you still want to try it, the first folder I've attached to this post - FXAA PPI Rev 37. contains the main files you need. The second folder contains some settings that switch off all the injectFxx effects except the FX anti-aliasing.

Open up the first 'FXAA PPI Rev 37' folder, copy the contents from the folder of whatever version of DirectX you're using, and paste them into the folder where you have your Cliiffs Of Dover exe. installed (eg. Local Disk C:/Steam/steamapps/common/il-2 sturmovik cliffs of dover).

Then copy the contents of the second folder I've attached here and put that settings file in the same place (eg. Local Disk C:/Steam/steamapps/common/il-2 sturmovik cliffs of dover), overwriting and replacing the default injectFxaa settings.

To see what effect the FXAA has in-game, press the Pause/Break/ScrLk button on your keyboard on and off when looking at something like the edge of a cockpit window (if your keyboard has one, you may have to press the 'F Lock' button first or your Pause/Break/ScrLk button won't be switching the effect on and off).

i just try your colour settings and i was amazed
please make this as a mod:grin:

[MadTommy]

Here are some of my comparison shots...

1st image is default, 2nd my version.
http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/9218/launcher201205222222543.jpghttp://img59.imageshack.us/img59/7569/launcher201205222222530.jpg

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/7756/launcher201205222220065.jpghttp://img232.imageshack.us/img232/9416/launcher201205222220037.jpg

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/8255/launcher201205222219579.jpghttp://img269.imageshack.us/img269/928/launcher201205222219565.jpg

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/6248/launcher201205222219086.jpghttp://img28.imageshack.us/img28/3107/launcher201205222219064.jpg

I think it looks a lot better, obviously it is subjective and the look will depend on your monitor and its settings.

There are my injFX_Settings.h tonemap settings.

/*---------------------------------------------------
TONEMAP
--------------------------------------------------------------*/
#define Gamma 1.20
#define Exposure 0.00
#define Saturation -0.40 // use negative values for less saturation.
#define BlueShift 0.05 // Higher = more blue in image.
#define Bleach 0.10 // Bleach bypass, higher = stronger effect
#define Defog 0.055 // Strength of Lens Colors.
#define FogColor float4(0.00, 0.90, 0.00, 0.90) //Lens-style color filters for Blue, Red, Yellow, White.

I like the darker, less saturated look.

[skouras]

hey TOMMY the default is from original COD or from LES original zip

[MadTommy]

1st image is with the mod turned off, i.e original CLOD, 2nd my version. Using the setting shown.

[skouras]

thanks buddy
it has not much difference from the original zip that post LES
At least on my screen

[furbs]

Here are some of my comparison shots...

1st image is default, 2nd my version.
http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/9218/launcher201205222222543.jpghttp://img59.imageshack.us/img59/7569/launcher201205222222530.jpg

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/7756/launcher201205222220065.jpghttp://img232.imageshack.us/img232/9416/launcher201205222220037.jpg

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/8255/launcher201205222219579.jpghttp://img269.imageshack.us/img269/928/launcher201205222219565.jpg

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/6248/launcher201205222219086.jpghttp://img28.imageshack.us/img28/3107/launcher201205222219064.jpg

I think it looks a lot better, obviously it is subjective and the look will depend on your monitor and its settings.

There are my injFX_Settings.h tonemap settings.

/*---------------------------------------------------
TONEMAP
--------------------------------------------------------------*/
#define Gamma 1.20
#define Exposure 0.00
#define Saturation -0.40 // use negative values for less saturation.
#define BlueShift 0.05 // Higher = more blue in image.
#define Bleach 0.10 // Bleach bypass, higher = stronger effect
#define Defog 0.055 // Strength of Lens Colors.
#define FogColor float4(0.00, 0.90, 0.00, 0.90) //Lens-style color filters for Blue, Red, Yellow, White.

I like the darker, less saturated look.

What do i turn off to just have the colours Tommy and not the FXAA?

[Les]

Nice variation Tommy, quite a bit more red than mine.

Furbs, here's what you should see in the 'FILTER SELECTION' part of your 'injFX_Settings' file in order to have only the colour changes (the TONEMAP effect) activated -

/*------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FILTER SELECTION
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
// Comment to deactivate an effect.
// Example: To disable the tonemap effect, use // in front of #define USE_TONEMAP
//#define USE_ANTI_ALIASING
//#define USE_PRE_SHARPEN
//#define USE_BLOOM *NOT WORKING
//#define USE_TECHNICOLOR
#define USE_TONEMAP
//#define USE_SEPIA
//#define USE_VIGNETTE
//#define USE_POST_SHARPEN
//#define USE_FINAL_LIMITER

The things on that list are turned on and off by putting the // in front of them or taking them away.

Assuming all Tommy did was change the TONEMAP settings, all you have to do is leave only the USE_TONEMAP activated as above and then overwrite the TONEMAP settings with the adjustments in the text Tommy provided in his last post.

[SQB]

Hmmm, I've got a question, how can I add some contrast? It seems like that is one setting this has either a different name or just isn't there.

I would also love to add bloom but... that section doesn't work :(

Does ENB work with this game?

[Les]

Hmmm, I've got a question, how can I add some contrast? It seems like that is one setting this has either a different name or just isn't there.

I would also love to add bloom but... that section doesn't work :(

Does ENB work with this game?

I've been adjusting contrast with a combination of Gamma and Exposure.

The screenshots I've posted with increased contrast have used -

#define Gamma 1.15
#define Exposure 0.08

What's ENB?

[GF_Mastiff]

Yes I like this version much better.

:thumbup:

[Buchon]

ENB is DX9 only, so is useless here.

ENB is a DX9 injector which you can tweak DX9 games, its very popular since GTAIV, it really improves the DX9 games.

It not only let you adjust games effects but also add new ones, for example, it let you tweak TES Skyrim HDR and it add SSAO too, very useful with old games too.

http://enbdev.com/index_en.html



I really like those screenshots, you did a good job stimulating the lighting adding yellow, looks really good. :grin:

Shame that this dont work with SMAA :(

[MadTommy]

One bit of advice.. if you tweak colours make sure you try it with different times of day, what looks good at noon can look crap at dusk and vice versa.

[Les]

Thanks for the info Buchon.

Yeah, good advice Tommy. I've found when trying to make one selection of colour settings fit everything there's really only a small range of adjustments that can be made without compromising the look of one time of day or another. Even adjusting things for one time of day, I've been bouncing around checking the cockpit, the exterior of the plane, the ground, the horizon, the clouds, the sky, trying to keep them all balanced and not compromising the look of any one element too much.

I remember Oleg saying the same thing way back when, that when the devs make visual adjustments to one thing they have to consider it's effect on all sorts of other elements as well. At least in our case as end-users we can, if we want to, create and load up different settings/looks in order to keep things looking consistent regardless of what time of day we're flying in-game, not being limited to a one size must fit all approach like the devs are. There's even potential there for mission-builders to provide custom colours or effects settings for their missions if they want...

[Topo]

Someone can help me?

Iv'e got a crash on desktop and the log.log is:

redirecting CreateDXGIFactory
redirecting IDXGIFactory->CreateSwapChain
D3DX10CompileFromFile failed
c:\program files (x86)\steam\steamapps\common\il-2 sturmovik cliffs of dover\shader.hlsl(75,37): error X3004: undeclared identifier 'lumaSampler'

Win764bit, DX10mode (i think...)

Thanks!

[Les]

Topo, I really don't know, but 'shader.hlsl' is one of the files injectFxaa replaces, so I'm guessing (and only guessing) it's probably the wrong one for your system.

The latest beta patch for IL2:COD only runs in DX10 mode, so if you have that installed (and the game is running fine otherwise), make sure you copy and paste the contents of the DirectX10 folder that's found in the 'FXAA_PPI_Rev_37.zip' folder I linked to in the first post of this thread.

If you're not using the last beta patch for IL2:COD, maybe you're running in DirectX9 instead and need to use the contents of the DirectX9 folder?

[MadTommy]

maybe you're running in DirectX9 instead and need to use the contents of the DirectX9 folder?

Very unlikely to be running dx9 on win7 64bit unless he's on a very old graphics card.

I would try downloading the files again, in case the file got damaged. Good luck

[GF_Mastiff]

Topo, I really don't know, but 'shader.hlsl' is one of the files injectFxaa replaces, so I'm guessing (and only guessing) it's probably the wrong one for your system.

The latest beta patch for IL2:COD only runs in DX10 mode, so if you have that installed (and the game is running fine otherwise), make sure you copy and paste the contents of the DirectX10 folder that's found in the 'FXAA_PPI_Rev_37.zip' folder I linked to in the first post of this thread.

If you're not using the last beta patch for IL2:COD, maybe you're running in DirectX9 instead and need to use the contents of the DirectX9 folder?

I installed the mod and precision tools in game says it DX9 also, so what happened?

I placed the DX10 version in.

[Les]

I'm just another end-user here, I don't know enough about how 'injectFxaa' or Cliffs Of Dover works to offer tech-support.

The only times the injectFxx files have caused my particular game setup to crash has been when I accidentally saved the 'injFX_Settings' .H File as a .txt file and when I used one of the Sepia effect colours that wasn't recognised.

I was under the impression though that all previous versions of the game prior to the latest beta patch ran in DirectX9, regardless of whether a persons graphic card was capable of running in DirectX10. I'm sure that's the reason that was given for why we're still not seeing better water/beach/river effects for example (as the devs were waiting to switch fully to DirectX10 before implementing them).

Edit (26/5/12) - Just for the record, and to keep from spreading misinformation, the developers spokesperson, BlackSix, just mentioned in another thread that WindowsXP, and therefore DirectX9 (which is the highest version of DirectX WindowsXP can run) will continue to be supported. So my recollections above, that the game will eventually be DirectX10 (or higher) only, aren't accurate.

[Les]

Before this thread fades out altogether, thought I'd mention what I found to be an interesting coincidence.

Some random Youtubing Cliffs Of Dover player made a comment yesterday on one of my video's, so while I was replying I had a look at the video myself for the first time in ages.

It must have been recorded with beta patch 14413 or the official patch that followed it, whichever one introduced the 'new' propellor effects.

Check out the lighting and colours in it -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkH7I4QZB_A

That's how the default game used to look almost exactly one year ago, and is the sort of look I was trying to get with my adjustments to the current version. I think I've got it fairly close to that, but check out those reflections on the underside of the plane. Wouldn't mind seeing those brought back in at some point.

[Les]

Just thought I'd update this thread with some more settings (attached below).

These ones are designed mainly to make the sunrises and sunsets more spectacular (until it actually gets dark, when it's better to turn them off and let the default cold moonlight light things up). They're basically the opposite of my preferred settings (and even the default ones), which are very dark and blue in comparison.

Here are some comparisons between the default colours and these more colourful ones.

4am
http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/3497/0014am.png

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/2053/0024am2.png

9am
http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/1815/0039am.png

6pm
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/6937/0046pm.png

7pm
http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/4526/0057pm.png

http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/6185/0067pm2.png

8pm
http://img607.imageshack.us/img607/8420/0078pm.png

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/7897/0088pm2.png

8:30pm
http://img542.imageshack.us/img542/9282/009830pm.png

[Les]

Some more shots as the sun sets, using the same settings as above, attached again below.

http://img542.imageshack.us/img542/5548/000b.png

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/6307/001yvh.png

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/8185/002cvx.png

http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/1695/004bm.png

http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/844/007lj.png

http://img607.imageshack.us/img607/4812/009b.png

http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/8269/010il.png

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/3980/013m.png

http://img607.imageshack.us/img607/6750/014eh.png

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/3585/015jf.png

http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/9499/016hk.png

http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/7781/017br.png

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/1646/018gv.png

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/8281/020j.png

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/148/021tp.png

The last two shots show the point at which the default moonlight should be allowed take over from the sunlight effect, for a more natural look.

[Les]

Then again, who needs colour anyway? :-)

[Al Capwn]

Hey Les, thanks a lot for all these great color schemes, however I'm running into a problem and I'm hoping you or someone on the forum can help me out.

Personally I do not like FXAA and I really just want the tonemap function from the injector. I originally just commented out the AA option in the settings.h file and it was working last night. However, all of a sudden if I don't have the AA active, CloD won't boot and just crashes. Removing and putting back the injector doesn't fix it, but I do at least get an error in the log file.

redirecting CreateDXGIFactory
redirecting IDXGIFactory->CreateSwapChain
D3DX10CompileFromFile failed
injFX_Shaders\Tonemap.h(21,8): warning X3206: implicit truncation of vector type
d:\games\steam\steamapps\common\il-2 sturmovik cliffs of dover\shader.hlsl(75,37): error X3004: undeclared identifier 'lumaSampler'

Does anyone have a better understanding of the injector and possibly know what needs to be changed? I have no idea why it was working before and now refuses to work, but I'd really love to get these much more pleasing tonemaps into CloD.

Thanks!

[Les]

Hey Al. I just tested it on my system and got the same result, game won't start with the anti-aliasing disabled, gives a similar crash log to yours (and Topo's on the previous page). I have no idea why, didn't know it was a problem. Did some searching around and couldn't find any fix that would apply to my system. Could just be a bug with the application itself. It doesn't bother me as I prefer to have the FXAA enabled anyway, but sorry it's not working out for you. I don't know of a similar post-processing utility that can be used for colour correction only.

[Al Capwn]

Hey Al. I just tested it on my system and got the same result, game won't start with the anti-aliasing disabled, gives a similar crash log to yours (and Topo's on the previous page). I have no idea why, didn't know it was a problem. Did some searching around and couldn't find any fix that would apply to my system. Could just be a bug with the application itself. It doesn't bother me as I prefer to have the FXAA enabled anyway, but sorry it's not working out for you. I don't know of a similar post-processing utility that can be used for colour correction only.

Thanks for looking Les, I appreciate it. I've been using SMAA injector and I've looked around inside some of the .h files but I didn't have any luck finding a similar color correction module. Do you or anyone else know if injectSMAA supports this post process function?

[Les]

I read somewhere in passing that there isn't a SMAA injector that includes other filters too, like the 'injFXAA' package by 'some_dude' does, and like other FXAA/colour/effect utilities do for other games (eg. 'Skyrim', 'Rift', 'GTAIV'). From what I understand, the colour correction and other effects filters are made and exist entirely separate from the anti-aliasing ones, and have just been tweaked and put together in one convenient package, usually for specific games. So there's no reason such effects couldn't be included with an SMAA injector, but as far as I know no-one's bothered to do it.

[Topo]

Hey Al. I just tested it on my system and got the same result, game won't start with the anti-aliasing disabled, gives a similar crash log to yours (and Topo's on the previous page). I have no idea why, didn't know it was a problem. Did some searching around and couldn't find any fix that would apply to my system. Could just be a bug with the application itself. It doesn't bother me as I prefer to have the FXAA enabled anyway, but sorry it's not working out for you. I don't know of a similar post-processing utility that can be used for colour correction only.

I can confirm, the sim crash with AA disabled.

[VMF214_Jupp]

Thanks!

http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z477/Phenozo/Pre-MoDCloD.jpg
http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z477/Phenozo/Post-MoDCloD.jpg

With the new official patch, some recent tweaks, this very simple tool, the Tonemap information from this post, + this result, and I am ecstatic!

Windows 7
2GB Nv 550ti
650w PS
8 GB DDR3
AMD Quadcore 3.2 Ghz

[Les]

Glad you could make use of it Jupp.

Would you mind zipping up and attaching your 'injFX_Settings.h' file to your post in case others want to try it?

[SQB]

Hi there. I've been working a little on colour correction. My current tweak has higher contrast than the default game, which gets rid of some of that desaturation and overall mistyness of the image, and makes spotting those dots waaaay easier. Along with this comes some changes to saturation (it's a little more saturated), some red/yellow lens effects to give more red to sunrise/sunset and an optional WOP/BOS style vignette (which is also done through gamma, and therefore gives a nice boost of saturation and contrast to the screen eges).

I'll post the files when I've got it working fine. For now, some screenshots with anti-aliasing set low will have to do, I'll jump in and take some screenies!

[Continu0]

With the new official patch, some recent tweaks, this very simple tool, the Tonemap information from this post, + this result, and I am ecstatic!


What "recent tweaks" are you refering to?

[SQB]

Ok, I've taken screenshots and I'm happy with the settings. I live in Australia, so my upload is slow. I'll post the files for now, feel free to try them out. Screenshots will be uploaded and linked ASAP.

EDIT: Oh fiddlesticks, .h is not a valid file type to upload. Can someone teach me in the ways of zip?

The albums unfortunately got mixed up, and I can't edit them anymore. I'll make an account and upload them properly in a second. But keep in mind some of them are defaults and the rest are with my modification.

http://imgur.com/a/3utch#2

Some tasters:

http://i.imgur.com/LqjoU.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/2o687.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/2D3j0.jpg

[Les]

...h is not a valid file type to upload. Can someone teach me in the ways of zip?...

Right click on the 'injFX_Settings.h' file, select 'Send to', then 'Compressed (zipped) folder'. The zipped folder will appear directly below the original file.

[SQB]

Done and done

[Plt Off JRB Meaker]

Superb tool Les,thanks very much for sharing,this is a bloody Godsend mate;)

[Stublerone]

N1 tweak, jupp! Bit I personally do not like the candy look of sqb. Simply a matter of taste but I never saw such a colourful landscape ;) Looks like a candy bf109 to me, but tweaking clours in clod is great. In general the houses and landscape are too green and coloured/too saturated. I like the look of jupps colour tweak.

Difficult to see what you see because of the different monitors. Someone with a calibrated screen on adobe rgb standards? :) They are not comparable. There could be huge differences. My standard clod looks nearly similar to jupps approach, btw..

[SQB]

N1 tweak, jupp! Bit I personally do not like the candy look of sqb. Simply a matter of taste but I never saw such a colourful landscape ;) Looks like a candy bf109 to me, but tweaking clours in clod is great. In general the houses and landscape are too green and coloured/too saturated. I like the look of jupps colour tweak.

Difficult to see what you see because of the different monitors. Someone with a calibrated screen on adobe rgb standards? :) They are not comparable. There could be huge differences. My standard clod looks nearly similar to jupps approach, btw..

I'm going to make a range of approaches now that I've got the base down. The current version is oversaturated so that I can get the colours *correct*, once that is achieved I will tone it down to realistic levels (as I have started to do already, if you look at the files I have uploaded).

I will also make other stereotypical approaches, the default game covers the ever-so-popular "desaturated blue" take, so I'll skip that. But I'll try to focus on WOP style tint + oversaturation, "Real life!!111!!one" style desaturated grey/green and a couple of others as they come to me.

[furbs]

Looking good, the landscape is a little to colorful as you said.
The aircraft look great though!

[pstyle]

Hi,

Does the AA functionality in this override the game AA? That is, if I have AA turned "off" in the game, does this app still provide some AA anyway?

and what is the relationship to my GPU drivers for the same thing (AA)?

[SQB]

I've uploaded some albums to imgur, in order this time. Showing a warm, but normal saturation, version as well as the Wings Of Prey green.

Both albums contain default comparisons.

http://imgur.com/a/oXqaN

http://imgur.com/a/ZcF5o

FXAA functionality in this is minimal, and I'm unsure of the priorities. Forcing it on/off through your GPU drivers should be the divining factor, so if all else fails fall back to that! My role in this is more to provide colour tweaks.


So here's a variety (and I mean a variety) of settings I've found of equal merit. There are some crazy/fun ones in there too, with crazy/fun names. Enjoy!

[Alan Grey]

Thanks!
http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z477/Phenozo/Post-MoDCloD.jpg
With the new official patch, some recent tweaks, this very simple tool, the Tonemap information from this post, + this result, and I am ecstatic!


Hallo
You can publish your settings? Looks amazing !!!
Thanks !

[SQB]

Hallo
You can publish your settings? Looks amazing !!!
Thanks !

I would approximate that as a tonal change, 0.4(red and yellow) and 0.3(white) with about -0.4 saturation. Here's a file with those values is attached for comparison (except saturation at -0.2, my mistake).

For example: http://imgur.com/a/mpWNe#1

http://imgur.com/a/mpWNe#1

http://i.imgur.com/RZQR2.jpg

[Les]

Thanks Meaker.

pstyle, yes, this will still give you some anti-aliasing even with the AA turned off in game. FXAA is a post-pocessing effect added to the entire image after the actual game has been rendered by your video card. This FXAA anti-aliasing can't be controlled by your usual video card settings unless the game is coded to use it (and hardly any are). These FXAA 'injector' tools were made because nVidia developed the technology (for nVidia video cards, ATI/AMD have something similar) but people didn't want to have to wait for nVidia and the various game developers to make them available.

SQB, nice work. If you have time, maybe you can figure out how to divide the in-game 24hr time period into sections and make a set of settings that can be moved in and out to maintain a consistent look at all times of day or night. Not sure how many there would have to be. Assuming you could just use the default look for night, there might only be dusk/dawn, late morning/early afternoon, midday. The settings could all be left zipped up in the main game folder (with the zip folders appropriately named), so all you'd have to do is Alt-Tab to desktop and copy and paste their contents as need be. Most missions would be short enough to enable doing that at the start and end anyway so it shouldn't be too disruptive to the actual game-play.

[VMF214_Jupp]

To answer Continuo's question, of "what tweaks", the usual computer stuff, turn off bells and whistles, ProcessAffinity=15 in conf, run Game Booster3 to turn off processes, etc.

And for Les, and anyone curious about my settings :

I used MadTommy's, leaving everything else alone, except for the Tonemap section he posted. Copied it, pasted into the default injFX_Settings.h file appropriately overwriting that section, and viola!

#define Gamma 1.20
#define Exposure 0.00
#define Saturation -0.40 // use negative values for less saturation.
#define BlueShift 0.05 // Higher = more blue in image.
#define Bleach 0.10 // Bleach bypass, higher = stronger effect
#define Defog 0.055 // Strength of Lens Colors.
#define FogColor float4(0.00, 0.90, 0.00, 0.90) //Lens-style color filters for Blue, Red, Yellow, White.

[SQB]

...If you have time, maybe you can figure out how to divide the in-game 24hr time period into sections and make a set of settings that can be moved in and out to maintain a consistent look at all times of day or night.


I'd love to, but I'd only want to do this if I could figure out a way for it to change automatically. And that would require a *lot* of programming, for the time being I could run the game in DX9 and use the ENB profiles I've made, but that does detract from the look of the game a little. I'll give it a go anyway.

I'm curious to see if I can get depth of field working, that would be a laugh.

[IvanK]

Tried your settings Jupp. Certainly looks much better than stock, maybe a slight too purplish hue imo.

Also I notice you get some border affect to server messages etc, and the in game player list looks a little fuzzy.

[ParaB]

Here a some shots of the settings I use, aiming for a more 'natural' look. The colour change seems much more noticeable ingame though.

8 AM:

(1st pic is default colours)

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll92/Para_Bellum/clod8am.jpg

12 AM:

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll92/Para_Bellum/clod12am.jpg

6 PM:

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll92/Para_Bellum/clod6pm.jpg

[Jaws2002]

Thanks!

http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z477/Phenozo/Pre-MoDCloD.jpg
http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z477/Phenozo/Post-MoDCloD.jpg

With the new official patch, some recent tweaks, this very simple tool, the Tonemap information from this post, + this result, and I am ecstatic!

Windows 7
2GB Nv 550ti
650w PS
8 GB DDR3
AMD Quadcore 3.2 Ghz

Go put a blank white skin on a plane and take few scheenshots of it at different times of day. If you then open them in Photoshop and sample the "white" on the plane, you'll realize how much pink/purple you put allover everything.

This tool is only good for stylized screenshots, when you don't change the time of day or lighting too much. It's not really working in a dynamic scenario. You can do almost the same thing by adjusting your monitor.

[IvanK]

What are your settings ParaB ?

[ParaB]

Tweaked my settings some more:

8 AM:

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll92/Para_Bellum/clod8amV2.jpg

12 AM:

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll92/Para_Bellum/clod12amV2.jpg

6 PM:

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll92/Para_Bellum/clod6pmV2.jpg

Of course brightness especially depends on your screen and its settings.

My FXAA settings:

/*================================================= =====================================
"USER" ADJUSTABLE SETTINGS
================================================== ====================================*/

// TODO: Normalize values to be on a human range scale, whole numbers prefered, decimals usable for micro adjustments
// These values should have min/max limit checks included in their functions, so that the end user doesn't get crazy results

/*------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FILTER SELECTION
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
// Comment to deactivate an effect.
// Example: To disable the tonemap effect, use // in front of #define USE_TONEMAP
#define USE_ANTI_ALIASING
// #define USE_PRE_SHARPEN
// #define USE_BLOOM *NOT WORKING
#define USE_TECHNICOLOR
#define USE_TONEMAP
// #define USE_SEPIA
// #define USE_VIGNETTE
// #define USE_POST_SHARPEN
// #define USE_FINAL_LIMITER


/*------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FXAA SHADER
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
// Set values to calculate the amount of Anti Aliasing applied
float fxaaQualitySubpix = 0.62; // Default: 0.75 Raise to increase amount of blur
float fxaaQualityEdgeThreshold = 0.113; // Lower the value for more smoothing
float fxaaQualityEdgeThresholdMin = 0.0312; // Lower the value for more smoothing


/*------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRE_SHARPEN
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
//For higher precision in the calculation of contour, requires slightly more processing power
bool highQualitySharpen = 0; //0 = Disable | 1 = Enable

// Set values to calculate the amount of AA produced blur to consider for the sharpening pass
#define Average 0.8
#define CoefBlur 2

// Set values of the sharpening amount
#define SharpenEdge 0.2
#define Sharpen_val0 1.2


/*------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLOOM
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
// Number of samples per pixel taken for the Bloom effect. Don't set it to high! 4 = 25spp, 8 = 81spp, 16 = 289spp
#define NUM_SAMPLES2 4 // Must be set with a value dividable by 2
float BloomPreset = 0; // Disabled = 0 (Valid Preset Values = 1 to 9) Preset value 1 to 9 takes control over the next 3 settings.
float BloomThreshold = 0; // The min. level at which the effect starts (Valid Values = 1 to 9, use decimals for finetuning)
float BloomWidth = 0; // Sets the width of the effect (Valid Values = 1 to 9, use decimals for finetuning)
float BloomPower = 0; // The power of the effect (Valid Values = 1 to 9, use decimals for finetuning)


/*------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TECHNICOLOR
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
#define TechniAmount 0.3 // 1.00 = Max
#define TechniPower 5.0 // lower values = whitening

// lower values = stronger channel
#define redNegativeAmount 0.65 // 1.00 = Max
#define greenNegativeAmount 0.75 // 1.00 = Max
#define blueNegativeAmount 0.8 // 1.00 = Max


/*------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TONEMAP
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
#define Gamma 1.5
#define Exposure 0.00
#define Saturation -0.05 // use negative values for less saturation.
#define BlueShift 0.1 // Higher = more blue in image.
#define Bleach 0.05 // Bleach bypass, higher = stronger effect
#define Defog 0.0 // Strength of Lens Colors.
#define FogColor float4(0.08, 0.28, 0.10, 3.0) //Lens-style color filters for Blue, Red, Yellow, White.


/*------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SEPIA
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
#define Earthyellow // Color Tone, available tones can be seen in ColorTones.PNG (Do not use spaces in the name!)
#define GreyPower 1 //(Valid Values = 1 to 9, use decimals for finetuning), defines how much of the grey color you wish to blend in
#define SepiaPower 0 //(Valid Values = 1 to 9, use decimals for finetuning), defines how much of the color tone you wish to blend in


/*------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VIGNETTE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
// Vignette effect, process by which there is loss in clarity towards the corners and sides of the image, like a picture frame
#define VignetteCenter float2(0.500, 0.500) // Center of screen for effect.
#define VignetteRadius 1.00 // lower values = stronger radial effect from center
#define VignetteAmount -0.70 // Strength of black. -2.00 = Max Black, 1.00 = Max White.


/*------------------------------------------------------------------------------
POST_SHARPEN
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
// Controls additional sharpening applied after previous processing. Strength should be max 0.25!
float Sharpen = 0.01;


/*------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FINAL_LIMITER
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
// Controls the strenght of the limiter. 1.000 for default setting
int LimiterStrenght = 1.000;

[Laszlo]

@ParaB:

Hi,
könnten wir uns mal bei euch im DCS TS treffen? Würde gerne mal etwas mit dir besprechen`?!

[JG52Krupi]

Nicely done ParaB looks great :D

[Jaws2002]

I think that's way too dark. This was suposed to be a summer map. The sun should set at least two hours after that 6PM shot.
Take one shot exactly at sunset, see if you can see anything. :)

[GrandSurf]

Here my TONEMAP settings and some shots... (only reduced from 1080)

*------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TONEMAP
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
#define Gamma 1.20
#define Exposure 0.00
#define Saturation -0.70 // use negative values for less saturation.
#define BlueShift 0.05 // Higher = more blue in image.
#define Bleach 0.10 // Bleach bypass, higher = stronger effect
#define Defog 0.055 // Strength of Lens Colors.
#define FogColor float4(0.00, 0.70, 0.00, 0.90) //Lens-style color filters for Blue, Red, Yellow, White.

http://1.1.1.3/bmi/www.simmods.org/CoD/121023_CoD_1.jpg

http://1.1.1.3/bmi/www.simmods.org/CoD/121023_CoD_2.jpg

http://1.1.1.3/bmi/www.simmods.org/CoD/121023_CoD_3.jpg

http://1.1.1.3/bmi/www.simmods.org/CoD/121023_CoD_4.jpg

[IvanK]

Send photos over :)

[SQB]

ParaB, I strongly suggest you do some modification to these lines:

#define Gamma 1.5
#define Exposure 0.00


By increasing the gamme you've darkened the screen and added contrast (awesome! This game really needs that), but to compensate I reccomend increasing exposure, as this gives a dynamic highlight to the contrast, meaning the whole screen doesn't appear so dark!

My go to is 1.3/0.3 (respectively), as this really fleshes out the shading on aircraft, without darkening the game to the point where an aircraft's dot blends in to the sea before 7pm.


Also, seeing as the only lines you're changing are in one section, could you only post those lines? e.g.

/*------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TONEMAP
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
#define Gamma 1.5
#define Exposure 0.00
#define Saturation -0.05 // use negative values for less saturation.
#define BlueShift 0.1 // Higher = more blue in image.
#define Bleach 0.05 // Bleach bypass, higher = stronger effect
#define Defog 0.0 // Strength of Lens Colors.
#define FogColor float4(0.08, 0.28, 0.10, 3.0) //Lens-style color filters for Blue, Red, Yellow, White.

Though I see you're using technicolour as well! What modifications are you doing through that?

[Feathered_IV]

Really interesting stuff. Very much looking forward to trying this out. Thanks!

[SQB]

Ok, here's the results. A comparison of pictures:

http://imgur.com/a/8IQgb#0


Feathered, are you Australian? You're always posting at Aussie hours... I'm on to you.

EDIT: Realistically gamma should be constant but exposure should change (imagine a camera's shutter speed). At night the exposure should be .7 or .9 whereas at day time the exposure should be 0.05 or so.

[priller26]

Wow..those colors are awesome!!!!

[SQB]

The problem can only really be solved by more aggressive HDR in game! I give up on the various times, it's too hard. I'll optimise for just post morning (probably ~8am). 12am will look bleached, 4:15am will look dark. I can't fix that, sorry.

[Stublerone]

@ SQB: That is really the main problem. And you hace another estimation than other. Your screens all look worse than the standard in my opinion. It has much to do with the monitor and its settings. So it is hard to understand your efforts, because they are all tinted drastically. The approach of jupp is quite fine to me.

I think, the problem with monitors is important here. On my oled display or retina, it looks too much colour and the sunset is too overwhelming to me (looks like the sunsets in gta4, which is horribly overdone). What pabel do you have? TN or an ips or another? Did you tweak your monitor before tweaking the game? It looks like you have another view than me, e.g. ;)

A little weird. Overall we already claimed the colours of clod some time ago and even olegs initial settings were too colourful. And changing settings this way could effect new scenarios like BoM badly. So I think I will try an easy implementation like jupps and will go back standard, if not suitable for bom later on.

[[URU]AkeR]

So. Is it safe for online? thx

[Feathered_IV]

Feathered, are you Australian? You're always posting at Aussie hours... I'm on to you.

Ah, sorry boss. Busted! :(

[Feathered_IV]

Tweaked my settings some more:

8 AM:

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll92/Para_Bellum/clod8amV2.jpg

12 AM:

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll92/Para_Bellum/clod12amV2.jpg

6 PM:

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll92/Para_Bellum/clod6pmV2.jpg

Of course brightness especially depends on your screen and its settings.

My FXAA settings:

/*================================================= =====================================
"USER" ADJUSTABLE SETTINGS
================================================== ====================================*/

// TODO: Normalize values to be on a human range scale, whole numbers prefered, decimals usable for micro adjustments
// These values should have min/max limit checks included in their functions, so that the end user doesn't get crazy results

/*------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FILTER SELECTION
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
// Comment to deactivate an effect.
// Example: To disable the tonemap effect, use // in front of #define USE_TONEMAP
#define USE_ANTI_ALIASING
// #define USE_PRE_SHARPEN
// #define USE_BLOOM *NOT WORKING
#define USE_TECHNICOLOR
#define USE_TONEMAP
// #define USE_SEPIA
// #define USE_VIGNETTE
// #define USE_POST_SHARPEN
// #define USE_FINAL_LIMITER


/*------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FXAA SHADER
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
// Set values to calculate the amount of Anti Aliasing applied
float fxaaQualitySubpix = 0.62; // Default: 0.75 Raise to increase amount of blur
float fxaaQualityEdgeThreshold = 0.113; // Lower the value for more smoothing
float fxaaQualityEdgeThresholdMin = 0.0312; // Lower the value for more smoothing


/*------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRE_SHARPEN
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
//For higher precision in the calculation of contour, requires slightly more processing power
bool highQualitySharpen = 0; //0 = Disable | 1 = Enable

// Set values to calculate the amount of AA produced blur to consider for the sharpening pass
#define Average 0.8
#define CoefBlur 2

// Set values of the sharpening amount
#define SharpenEdge 0.2
#define Sharpen_val0 1.2


/*------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLOOM
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
// Number of samples per pixel taken for the Bloom effect. Don't set it to high! 4 = 25spp, 8 = 81spp, 16 = 289spp
#define NUM_SAMPLES2 4 // Must be set with a value dividable by 2
float BloomPreset = 0; // Disabled = 0 (Valid Preset Values = 1 to 9) Preset value 1 to 9 takes control over the next 3 settings.
float BloomThreshold = 0; // The min. level at which the effect starts (Valid Values = 1 to 9, use decimals for finetuning)
float BloomWidth = 0; // Sets the width of the effect (Valid Values = 1 to 9, use decimals for finetuning)
float BloomPower = 0; // The power of the effect (Valid Values = 1 to 9, use decimals for finetuning)


/*------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TECHNICOLOR
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
#define TechniAmount 0.3 // 1.00 = Max
#define TechniPower 5.0 // lower values = whitening

// lower values = stronger channel
#define redNegativeAmount 0.65 // 1.00 = Max
#define greenNegativeAmount 0.75 // 1.00 = Max
#define blueNegativeAmount 0.8 // 1.00 = Max


/*------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TONEMAP
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
#define Gamma 1.5
#define Exposure 0.00
#define Saturation -0.05 // use negative values for less saturation.
#define BlueShift 0.1 // Higher = more blue in image.
#define Bleach 0.05 // Bleach bypass, higher = stronger effect
#define Defog 0.0 // Strength of Lens Colors.
#define FogColor float4(0.08, 0.28, 0.10, 3.0) //Lens-style color filters for Blue, Red, Yellow, White.


/*------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SEPIA
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
#define Earthyellow // Color Tone, available tones can be seen in ColorTones.PNG (Do not use spaces in the name!)
#define GreyPower 1 //(Valid Values = 1 to 9, use decimals for finetuning), defines how much of the grey color you wish to blend in
#define SepiaPower 0 //(Valid Values = 1 to 9, use decimals for finetuning), defines how much of the color tone you wish to blend in


/*------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VIGNETTE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
// Vignette effect, process by which there is loss in clarity towards the corners and sides of the image, like a picture frame
#define VignetteCenter float2(0.500, 0.500) // Center of screen for effect.
#define VignetteRadius 1.00 // lower values = stronger radial effect from center
#define VignetteAmount -0.70 // Strength of black. -2.00 = Max Black, 1.00 = Max White.


/*------------------------------------------------------------------------------
POST_SHARPEN
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
// Controls additional sharpening applied after previous processing. Strength should be max 0.25!
float Sharpen = 0.01;


/*------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FINAL_LIMITER
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
// Controls the strenght of the limiter. 1.000 for default setting
int LimiterStrenght = 1.000;

Para, something in your settings is reducing the spastic tree shadows by about 50% :cool:

[Nephris]

For some reason i am not able to get the Injector activated anymore.
I got it running last may to test the FXaa. Clodo got reinstalled in the meantime and i wanted to test the colour tones now, but it doiesnt seem to get activated.
I extracted the folders "Dx09-OGL" into the installtion folder of Clodo (means the root with the lauchner inside).
Aswell I treid to extract the contetn of the DX09 folder into the root, as the other folders are empty.

Anyway, where did u extract what files to?
Am using the HD6970 btw.

[MadTommy]

AkeR;472712']So. Is it safe for online? thx

Yes.

[SQB]

Mainly for Al Capwn, here's my current settings.

[MadTommy]

The one issue i have with all this is.. i can't find a setting that works for both noon and dawn/dusk.

What looks good at noon is too dark at dawn/dusk.

[Jaws2002]

The one issue i have with all this is.. i can't find a setting that works for both noon and dawn/dusk.

What looks good at noon is too dark at dawn/dusk.

Of course. This is post processing. It is not collor or light dynamically created by the game graphics engine. It's like creating a "style" by adjusting your monitor, the only difference is that it doesn't affect other programs. This doesn't really works in a game with dynamic lighting.
This is something that is useful for "styling" screenshots, images, not dynamic games.

[Les]

Here are some settings that will work at any time of the day.

They're an attempt at getting about as neutral (realistic?) a colour scheme as I could get. All they do is increase the contrast (without blowing out any highlights) and get rid of the yellow-green haze the default game currently has.

I couldn't push the colours any further into the red (or blue) without adding a noticeable tint to everything. The increased contrast cuts down the sun glare and makes the twilight darker, but I don't think it's too bad.

If some of the ground colours still look bad, I think at this point it's not because of the way they're lit but is more due to the colour of the textures themselves, but that's just my opinion.

No pics at the moment.

[Les]

For some reason i am not able to get the Injector activated anymore.
I got it running last may to test the FXaa. Clodo got reinstalled in the meantime and i wanted to test the colour tones now, but it doiesnt seem to get activated.
I extracted the folders "Dx09-OGL" into the installtion folder of Clodo (means the root with the lauchner inside).
Aswell I treid to extract the contetn of the DX09 folder into the root, as the other folders are empty.

Anyway, where did u extract what files to?
Am using the HD6970 btw.

Make sure you're using the 'injectFxaa' version attached to my first post in this thread. Try copying and pasting the files from the 'DirectX 10' folder to wherever your 'Cliffs Of Dover' .exe is installed. Then make sure your Pause/Break key is working and see if the effects are switching on and off when you press it. Other than that I don't know.

[Yvetette]

Excellent work Les!! It took some time to get the colours to please my eyes, but the result is great. It's a new game world, thanks to you!!

[Stublerone]

Never saw pictures of england that colourful , even at a sunny day ;) Must be the auszralian sun above Fover!
Really nice approaches with room to tweak for everyone with your descriptions. Appreciate that! ;)

[xpzorg]

My settings
http://www.sukhoi.ru/forum/showthread.php?t=76225

[Cujo]

And finally...

Les could you please post those settings. Very subtle yet nice
Thanx

[Les]

No worries Yvetette, glad you could adjust them to your liking.

Les could you please post those settings. Very subtle yet nice
Thanx

From the screenshots I posted in that other thread?

Those pics were taken using the settings I've attached to this post (and elsewhere earlier in this thread), which look a bit blue during the day and which tend to go a little bit green as the light fades.

[SQB]

Never saw pictures of england that colourful , even at a sunny day ;) Must be the auszralian sun above Fover!
Really nice approaches with room to tweak for everyone with your descriptions. Appreciate that! ;)

Well I am Australian so that would be where that error comes from! I've been modifying colours by looking out the window, hence why I prefer darkened trees (an old mod that doesn't work anymore) and brighter sun/colours.

[Cujo]

No worries Yvetette, glad you could adjust them to your liking.



From the screenshots I posted in that other thread?

Those pics were taken using the settings I've attached to this post (and elsewhere earlier in this thread), which look a bit blue during the day and which tend to go a little bit green as the light fades.

Thank a bunch les

[macro]

i have this in my game now, works great thanks a lot

:)

[klem]

Les, (anyone?)

You say if FXAA elements is/are disabled the game crashes.

Are there any settings in the FXAA Section(s) that will reduce the text blurring or even effectively minimise all the FXAA effects to zilch and just leave the tone mapping?

[Les]

...Are there any settings in the FXAA Section(s) that will reduce the text blurring or even effectively minimise all the FXAA effects to zilch and just leave the tone mapping?

There are these settings...

FXAA SHADER
------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
// Set values to calculate the amount of Anti Aliasing applied
float fxaaQualitySubpix = 0.65; // Default: 0.75 Raise to increase amount of blur
float fxaaQualityEdgeThreshold = 0.133; // Lower the value for more smoothing
float fxaaQualityEdgeThresholdMin = 0.0633; // Lower the value for more smoothing...

But I've tried adjusting them up and down and couldn't see any difference.

The whole thing could probably be re-packaged leaving the FXAA part of it out altogether, but that's beyond me.

[Les]

In the meantime, here are the settings everyone has put forward so far.

[Les]

And here are mine, which I couldn't fit into the previous post with it's limit of five attachments only.

The folder contains - Cliffs Of Dover default colours with increased contrast, injectFxaa_by_some_dude default colours, my preferred extra blue settings, more colourful sunset-sunrise, Black and White, and what I've called my 'Neutral3' and 'Neutral5' settings (screenshots to follow below).

[Les]

Reducing the size of these pictures to fit the forums has made their effects less clear, but here are some examples of the 'Neutral3' and 'Neutral5' settings I've attached below.

The first picture in each set is default Cliffs Of Dover, the second is 'Neutral3' and the third is 'Neutral5'.

4am

http://imageshack.us/a/img43/3497/0014am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img59/9089/0024am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img825/6662/0034am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img401/8457/0044am.png

6am

http://imageshack.us/a/img821/9152/0056am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img577/1809/0066am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img829/4509/0076am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img11/9347/0086am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img440/6748/0096am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img7/2225/0106am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img560/5461/0126am.png

9am

http://imageshack.us/a/img138/4161/0139am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img41/9254/0149am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img689/605/0159am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img23/9605/0169am.png

Midday

http://imageshack.us/a/img689/8572/018noon.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img687/3965/019noon.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img824/732/020noon.png

Could be my last bit of tweaking, have pretty much done what I wanted to do with it.

[Gle55nn]

I'll include some more comparison screenshots and the settings I used if anyone's interested.
http://www.rdox.info/01.jpghttp://www.rdox.info/02.jpghttp://www.rdox.info/8.jpghttp://www.rdox.info/04.jpg
http://www.rdox.info/9.jpghttp://www.rdox.info/0.jpg

[E.F.Hartmann]

Reducing the size of these pictures to fit the forums has made their effects less clear, but here are some examples of the 'Neutral3' and 'Neutral5' settings I've attached below.

The first picture in each set is default Cliffs Of Dover, the second is 'Neutral3' and the third is 'Neutral5'.

4am

http://imageshack.us/a/img43/3497/0014am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img59/9089/0024am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img825/6662/0034am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img401/8457/0044am.png

6am

http://imageshack.us/a/img821/9152/0056am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img577/1809/0066am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img829/4509/0076am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img11/9347/0086am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img440/6748/0096am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img7/2225/0106am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img560/5461/0126am.png

9am

http://imageshack.us/a/img138/4161/0139am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img41/9254/0149am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img689/605/0159am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img23/9605/0169am.png

Midday

http://imageshack.us/a/img689/8572/018noon.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img687/3965/019noon.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img824/732/020noon.png

Could be my last bit of tweaking, have pretty much done what I wanted to do with it.



hello, I want to know how you install your sitting in the game any help would be welcome.
sorry for my english bad taste.

[adonys]

actually guys, you might want to switch this on SweetFX (http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=368880) (here you have another thread with more settings, screenshots and videos (http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18449854)), as it has them all, and SMAA is better and faster than FXAA :)

[Flanker35M]

S!

Adonys, looks nice that SweetFX. Could propably make a difference in IL-2 :) The colors in CoD are bland and could use a touch.

[Les]

hello, I want to know how you install your sitting in the game any help would be welcome.
...

Open up the 'injectFxaa_by_some_dude_9 with Neutral3 settings by Les' folder I've attached to this post, put the five files inside it into the folder where your Cliffs Of Dover 'Launcher.exe' file is installed (ie. Local Disk C///Steam/steamapps/common/il-2 sturmovik cliffs of dover). That's all. To uninstall it, just remove those five files.

To change the settings to the 'Neutral5' ones also shown in the screenshots, replace the 'injFX_Settings.h' file you've installed with the 'injFX_Settings.h' file that's inside the 'injFX_Settings Les Neutral5' folder I've also attached to this post.

To switch the effects on and off, use the 'Pause/Break/ScrLk' key on your keyboard.

[Les]

actually guys, you might want to switch this on SweetFX (http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=368880) (here you have another thread with more settings, screenshots and videos (http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18449854)), as it has them all, and SMAA is better and faster than FXAA :)

Thanks Adonys, I didn't know about that one. My own prior testing in Cliffs Of Dover didn't show any clear superiority of SMAA over FXAA, so the deciding factor in which one I used was the colour tweaking that the 'injectFxaa_by_some_dude' package enabled. But reading the changelog of the 'SweetFX' shader suite, it looks like that one might have even more options for fine tuning the colours. Big bonus too having the developer interacting with the community while he continues to work on the project. Will check it out.

[klem]

actually guys, you might want to switch this on SweetFX (http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=368880) (here you have another thread with more settings, screenshots and videos (http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18449854)), as it has them all, and SMAA is better and faster than FXAA :)

I tried it but it didn't do anything (I pasted all the files into the steam CoD folder). I hit the scroll lock button, also tried the Pause button.

[arthursmedley]

Les, thanks for posting . Had some really good results with this. No problem online either and helps give some relief from the "Instaglare" of daytime maps.

Like it!:grin:

[Les]

No probs ArthurS.

Klem, I got the 'SweetFX' utility working. It has to replace a 'd3d9.dll' file though, so I zipped up the original one as a backup and let the SweetFX one install. If you didn't overwrite that file maybe that's why it's not working?

Turns out there isn't a whole lot more to adjust with the 'SweetFX' shader suite/package/tool. In terms of it's colour control, it does basically the same thing as the 'injectFxaa_by_some_dude' utility, just a bit differently. I'm not seeing any real difference between the FXAA and the SMAA either, but haven't really analyzed it (and probably won't).

All in all though, I'm tending to think the 'SweetFX' utility is probably the better one to use. The 'injectFxaa_by_some_dude' utility is basically abandon-ware now, while the 'SweetFX' utility is still being worked on and seems to be a bit more user-friendly overall, with easier controls (eg. the settings files are easier to save, being just plain .txt files and the on/off button also takes screenshots).

There might be something about the 'SweetFX' utility I haven't found out yet that still makes the 'injectFxaa_by_some_dude' one better, but from this first look it doesn't seem so.

If you're already using the 'injectFxaa_by_some_dude' utility and are happy with how it looks, there might not be any point changing over to the 'SweetFX' one. But if you're not using either or want to check it out, I've attached the 'SweetFX' utility and some settings I tweaked for 'Cliffs Of Dover' to this post.

Just unzip the files and put them where you have 'Cliffs Of Dover' installed, but backup your 'd3d9.dll' file first as I think it gets overwritten by the 'SweetFX' one. And of course, remove the 'injectFxaa_by_some_dude' files first if you have to.

Edit 5-11-12 - Added latest SweetFX zip file containing my 'Neutral6' settings and a Readme file.

[adonys]

I had a look over readme, the d3d9 is only needed for DX9 injecting ,and also is just a hook, so it might still work if renamed into something else.

[Liz Lemon]

Yes, sweet fx is quite fun to mess around with.

You can make COD look like wings of prey without much difficulty. Not to my taste, but a fun thing to mess around with.

[jamesdietz]

Same thing, with the default injectFxaa settings (but with only AA and Tone Mapping activated) attached.

To my eyes, the default IL2:COD look is way too yellow, with shadows too light for my tastes, while my own preferred look is probably too cold and blue and contrasty for most people. I think the default injectFxaa settings are probably most realistic, but I just don't like the warmer look it has.

Les how exactly do I install this downloaded patch? I have it ok but after opening it I'm lost.I want my colors to look like your , but I haven't a clue.
thanks!

[larry69]

Les how exactly do I install this downloaded patch? I have it ok but after opening it I'm lost.I want my colors to look like your , but I haven't a clue.
thanks!

+1;)

[E.F.Hartmann]

Open up the 'injectFxaa_by_some_dude_9 with Neutral3 settings by Les' folder I've attached to this post, put the five files inside it into the folder where your Cliffs Of Dover 'Launcher.exe' file is installed (ie. Local Disk C///Steam/steamapps/common/il-2 sturmovik cliffs of dover). That's all. To uninstall it, just remove those five files.

To change the settings to the 'Neutral5' ones also shown in the screenshots, replace the 'injFX_Settings.h' file you've installed with the 'injFX_Settings.h' file that's inside the 'injFX_Settings Les Neutral5' folder I've also attached to this post.

To switch the effects on and off, use the 'Pause/Break/ScrLk' key on your keyboard.



I Thank You so much.:grin:

[Les]

No worries Hartmann.

James and Larry, I've re-packaged things so all you have to do is open up the zip file I've attached to this post and copy the files into your main Cliffs Of Dover directory.

It uses my 'injFX_Settings Neutral5' colours by default, but I've also included a couple of others as well as I didn't know which ones you wanted.

I included a bit of a Readme file as well, but basically, if you know where your Cliffs Of Dover .exe is installed on your computer, just put the files there and you should be good to go.

[baronWastelan]

actually guys, you might want to switch this on SweetFX (http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=368880) (here you have another thread with more settings, screenshots and videos (http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18449854)), as it has them all, and SMAA is better and faster than FXAA :)

I agree, I just tried this and it really transforms everything, thanks for the tip!

It's 0530 and the green-tinted-CLOD-glasses are off! The sunlight actually causes A/C to look illuminated! :)

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/0-sweetFX.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/0-sweetFX-off.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/00-sweetFX.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/00-sweetFX-off.jpg

[lonewulf]

Hi Les

I tried the files you provided the other day and I'm very pleased with the results. The colour enhancements make a big difference. Thanks very much.

[larry69]

..thank you Les! it works:)

[adonys]

Les, have you ported your Neutral3 and Neutral5 to SweetFX? I would like to test the Neutral5 into SweetFX please.

Also, please note that in injector.ini you have:

[smaa]
;smaa preset one of {SMAA_PRESET_LOW, SMAA_PRESET_MEDIUM, SMAA_PRESET_HIGH, SMAA_PRESET_ULTRA}
;keep it set to SMAA_PRESET_CUSTOM to allow for custom settings
preset = SMAA_PRESET_CUSTOM


which means the SMAA is running with the settings from your custom settings (defined in SweetFX_presets.txt file, and which by default are the ones from SweetFX_settings.txt file), which are:
#define SMAA_THRESHOLD 0.12 // [0.05 to 0.20] Edge detection threshold
#define SMAA_MAX_SEARCH_STEPS 16 // [0 to 98] Determines the radius SMAA will search for aliased edges
#define SMAA_MAX_SEARCH_STEPS_DIAG 6 // [0 to 16] Determines the radius SMAA will search for diagonal aliased edges
#define SMAA_CORNER_ROUNDING 0 // [0 to 100] Determines the percent of antialiasing to apply to corners.

and therefore somewhere in between the default SMAA_PRESET_MEDIUM (80% quality) and SMAA_PRESET_HIGH (95% quality)

if you want to see SMAA at its best, copy the settings of SMAA_PRESET_HIGH (99% quality) from SMAA.h file into your custom settings file (default is SweetFX_settings.txt file)

[Les]

No worries Lonewulf, glad you got it working Larry.

Adonys, I can't really make sense of what you're suggesting. I don't see any "settings of SMAA_PRESET_HIGH (99% quality)" in the SMAA.h file.

If you can adjust the settings to what you think looks best and attach them to a post here I'd appreciate it.

About porting the 'Neutral3' and 'Neutral5' settings between the 'injectFxaa_by_some_dude' utility and the 'SweetFX' one, is there actually a way to do that? The utilities have their settings arranged differently.

What I did do was put all the numbers from my 'Neutral5' settings into SweetFX. The results weren't quite the same, but I adjusted the colours a bit and got something that I think is very close to, and is actually a little bit better than, the 'Neutral5' settings. I've called them 'Neutral6' and have attached them below (for both utilities if anyone's interested). Couldn't be bothered doing the same for the 'Neutral3' settings, am a bit burnt out on all this colour tweaking at the moment.

Here are some pics of the SweetFX Neutral6 settings.

6am

http://imageshack.us/a/img715/904/0016am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img547/784/0026am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img821/1821/0036am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img442/4397/0046am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img515/9152/0056am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img824/1809/0066am.png

9am

http://imageshack.us/a/img15/2547/0079am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img163/4747/0089am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img194/927/0099am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img217/747/0109am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img687/3638/0119am.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img27/2387/0129am.png

Midday

http://imageshack.us/a/img19/5408/013midday.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img42/2682/014midday.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img59/3664/015midday.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img268/5472/016midday.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img12/5058/017midday.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img707/7094/018midday.png

31-10-12 Edit - Have also attached the 'injFX' and 'SweetFX' utilities with 'Les Neutral6' settings as default. The 'SweetFX' utility has also been changed to use the 'ULTRA SMAA Preset' suggested by Adonys.

5-11-12 Edit - Added my own Readme to the 'SweetFX_by_CeeJay.dk SMAA_PRESET_ULTRA using Les Neutral6 Settings.zip' file.

***Note- If you're using the 'SweetFX' utility, zip up the original 'd3d9.dll' file in your 'Cliffs Of Dover' install to back it up, as the one in the 'SweetFX' utility will need to replace it in order to work.***

12-11-12 Edit - Updated readme and re-attached 'FXAA PPI Rev 37...' to this post.

[adonys]

Adonys, I can't really make sense of what you're suggesting. I don't see any "settings of SMAA_PRESET_HIGH (99% quality)" in the SMAA.h file.

look in the SweetFX/Shaders/SMAA.h file:
And four presets:
* SMAA_PRESET_LOW (%60 of the quality)
* SMAA_PRESET_MEDIUM (%80 of the quality)
* SMAA_PRESET_HIGH (%95 of the quality)
* SMAA_PRESET_ULTRA (%99 of the quality)


//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// SMAA Presets

#if SMAA_PRESET_LOW == 1
#define SMAA_THRESHOLD 0.15
#define SMAA_MAX_SEARCH_STEPS 4
#define SMAA_MAX_SEARCH_STEPS_DIAG 0
#define SMAA_CORNER_ROUNDING 100
#elif SMAA_PRESET_MEDIUM == 1
#define SMAA_THRESHOLD 0.1
#define SMAA_MAX_SEARCH_STEPS 8
#define SMAA_MAX_SEARCH_STEPS_DIAG 0
#define SMAA_CORNER_ROUNDING 100
#elif SMAA_PRESET_HIGH == 1
#define SMAA_THRESHOLD 0.1
#define SMAA_MAX_SEARCH_STEPS 16
#define SMAA_MAX_SEARCH_STEPS_DIAG 8
#define SMAA_CORNER_ROUNDING 25
#elif SMAA_PRESET_ULTRA == 1
#define SMAA_THRESHOLD 0.05
#define SMAA_MAX_SEARCH_STEPS 32
#define SMAA_MAX_SEARCH_STEPS_DIAG 16
#define SMAA_CORNER_ROUNDING 25
#endif

[ElGringo]

Les, I wanted to thank you for the work you did on both injectors. My game look better than ever.
Adonys thank you for the SMAA Ultra it really changes everything about the game. it' s really better than FXAA: no more blurred distant planes, no more jagged and weird-looking welding lines all over the planes. the only problem is that sun reflections on canopies are a little aliased.
More people should try it. It' s the first AA that really looks well on this game

EDIT:I set #define SMAA_MAX_SEARCH_STEPS from 32 to 98(max) and I think it improved the rendering without noticeable FPS loss.

[baronWastelan]

:lol: CLOD Defogged!

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/00a-11.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/00-11.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/01-11a.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/01-11.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/02-11.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/03-11.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/04-11.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/05-11.jpg

[recoilfx]

That's way too much contrast and looks unnatural. It won't look nice when the sky isn't so bright (ie, evening and morning)

[jamesdietz]

baron Wastelen- How did you do it?Which of the methods included in this post & exactly how did you install same? Thanks!

[baronWastelan]

baron Wastelen- How did you do it?Which of the methods included in this post & exactly how did you install same? Thanks!

I used the "SweetFX" mentioned in this post:

http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showpost.php?p=473931&postcount=111

Put the files in your "il-2 sturmovik cliffs of dover" folder according to the readme, then use my attached settings file to replace the one that comes with SweetFX. When you start up a mission, you'll see a big difference :cool:

[hegykc]

Wow, these are awesome baron!

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/1282/codstuka.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/152/codstuka.jpg/)

[baronWastelan]

Wow, these are awesome baron!


Vintage film stills! Now we're talkin :cool:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/00-12.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/01-12.jpg

[Plt Off JRB Meaker]

I like Les'sown settings,just seems more realistic,so I have'nt changed a thing,just dropped his settings file into my system,without altering it.

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/204/launcher201210222115258.png (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/211/launcher201210222115258.png/)

[Flanker35M]

S!

Meaker, what settings are those? Sure look nice. I also like Baron's even they have a tad bit too much contrast to my taste. The original colors are washed out like..

[xpzorg]

I like Les'sown settings,just seems more realistic,so I have'nt changed a thing,just dropped his settings file into my system,without altering it.

Please, give your settings. Baron's settings in my system looks darkly.

[Plt Off JRB Meaker]

No problem boys,it's this one http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showpost.php?p=427669&postcount=5 :),ensure you also use this to http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showpost.php?p=427657&postcount=1,you need both folders I think,this is what I have done anyway,if in doubt read Les's instructions.

As Les instructs,just drop the two files into your main COD folder where your 'EXE' resides,start up the game and voila.

[Les]

Thanks for the recommendation Meaker.

Flanker and xpzorg, the first file I've attached to this post contains the 'InjecttFxaa_by_Some_dude' utility, using my settings as default. Just open the zip file and put it's contents into your main Cliffs Of Dover directory. I'm not sure which settings Plt Off JRB Meaker is actually using, but if it's not the 'Neutral6' ones that are installed by default, it will be one of the other settings that are also included in their own separate zip files.

The second zip file I've attached is basically the same thing, but using the 'SweetFX_by_CeeJay.dk' utility instead, and with only my 'Neutral6' settings included. Same deal with that, just copy its contents into the folder where you have Cliffs Of Dover installed and it should be working when you start up the game.

Edit - Here's a long and boring video showing the SweetFX 'Neutral6' settings at 7am over a nice ridge formation somewhere between Dover and London. Should have switched the SweetFX utility on and off to show the difference between it and the default colours, but was too busy looking around at the scenery. Flown with keyboard and mouse too, so the flight controls look a bit fluttery. Max graphics settings and recording with FRAPS made it a bit more stuttery than it could have been as well, but you get that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVs9wR5-WZU

***Note- If you're using the 'SweetFX' utility, zip up the original 'd3d9.dll' file in your 'Cliffs Of Dover' install to back it up, as the one in the 'SweetFX' utility will need to replace it in order to work.***

Edit 12-11-12 - Updated readme and re-attached 'FXAA PPI Rev 37...' to this post.

[jamesdietz]

Many thanks Les- really appreciate this change!

[klem]

Than ks Les,

for me the Sweetfx with your Neutral6 settings seems best.

[kristorf]

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/0-sweetFX.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/0-sweetFX-off.jpg




More to the point, how have you got rid of that pig awful forced weathering??

[Stirwenn]

First of all, i thank you for your job Les !
I did a go several times with Sweefix and your settings. Each time, i tried to i got a CTD. I repassed all the posts above and noticed that for DX10 users they have to rename the DX9 features. Could you tell it in the future in your Readme please ?
Solution is lost in a post, it would help newcomers to save time. Your Neutral5 tweaks do it for me well and it is a real pleasure to get very well looking clouds with their shadows playing on the ground ! nice ! thx again !

[Yvetette]

Next target Les: to reduce the amount of shadows so that only the shadows in the cockpit and the shadows of the clouds are seen. I believe that would make the performance better and reduce the annoying flickering.

[Les]

Kristorf, I believe that's the result of a hack, see here - http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?p=472860#post472860

Sorry Stirwenn, I forgot to mention that thing about the DirectX9 files. I'll include that information in my first post of this thread and include it in a Readme with the SweetFX download I've put together. Is the solution to just zip up the original 'd3d9.dll' file like I said in my previous post or are there other files that need dealing with too, and if so what exactly needs to be done?

Yvetette, nothing I can do about that. But it would be good if the devs would give more detailed shadow options in the game's graphics settings.

[jojimbo]

Les the video looks amazing

[Stirwenn]

Just the 2 d3d9.* to move to *.old... :) thx

[Robo.]

More to the point, how have you got rid of that pig awful forced weathering??

You can temporarily replace the bob_update03.SFS file:

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3571455.html

That's how I did it to take my Spit screens at least, works like a charm.

[kiwikillemoff]

Quick noob question. Can you use these setting changes online? Or is it for single player mode only?

[IvanK]

They work just fine On line.

[baronWastelan]

More to the point, how have you got rid of that pig awful forced weathering??

You can temporarily replace the bob_update03.SFS file:

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3571455.html

That's how I did it to take my Spit screens at least, works like a charm.

That's it :cool:

[Les]

Les the video looks amazing

Thanks jojimbo, I must have done something right as it's already got one dislike on Youtube. :-P

[Trooper117]

Excellent stuff!
Just to add, it makes the game look so much better now.. and thanks for your different settings files Les!

[jojimbo]

Thanks jojimbo, I must have done something right as it's already got one dislike on Youtube. :-P
you can lead a horse to water mate!!!! ;)

[Flanker35M]

S!

Got it Les, thanks a ton! Away with the washed out default colors!!!

[Les]

Thanks guys, glad you're finding it useful.

Hopefully in the future the devs will make some adjustments of their own and these partial fixes won't be needed.

Until then, I guess we just make do with what we've got.

[philip.ed]

Les, this looks awesome. I might see if I prefer your settings over mine.

please could you post your conf.ini?

[Les]

Philip, not sure if you mean my conf.ini or my injFX/SweetFX settings. If it's the injFX/SweetFX settings, they're linked to in the first post of this thread and attached to the post on page 15 that also has the video embedded in it.

[priller26]

I used the "SweetFX" mentioned in this post:

http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showpost.php?p=473931&postcount=111

Put the files in your "il-2 sturmovik cliffs of dover" folder according to the readme, then use my attached settings file to replace the one that comes with SweetFX. When you start up a mission, you'll see a big difference :cool:

AWESOME....going to install this tomorrow. Is instalation fairly easy?

[philip.ed]

Philip, not sure if you mean my conf.ini or my injFX/SweetFX settings. If it's the injFX/SweetFX settings, they're linked to in the first post of this thread and attached to the post on page 15 that also has the video embedded in it.

I meant what I said mate :grin:

[katdogfizzow]

Running SweetFX_by_Ceejay

Wow. This SMAA is really incredible. Colors awesome too.

The difference in the cockpit smoothing is really something to see. I disabled all AA including FXAA in NVIDA

The colors are perfect. Smoothing is terrific

Magnifiecnt

Note if you missed it: If you're running the dx11 version of the game, don't drag dx9 dlls into your main.

This looks like a MUST have. Big Thanks
http://i46.tinypic.com/2vudb47.jpg

Smoth as silk cockpit lines...FINALLY
http://i47.tinypic.com/2aj54et.jpg

huuuuge

[klem]

Just the 2 d3d9.* to move to *.old... :) thx

...and if I didn't do that?

I'm running Directx11 by the way.

[Stirwenn]

If i let these 2 files and as i am a Dx10 user, the game simply do crash. Renaming or removing was helpful for me.
I'm not sure but i wanted to do a track on ATAG with SweetFx to share with friends and i never succeded in. Do not know yet if it is because of SweetFX or because of customs skins as they are now available on the server.

[klem]

If i let these 2 files and as i am a Dx10 user, the game simply do crash. Renaming or removing was helpful for me.
I'm not sure but i wanted to do a track on ATAG with SweetFx to share with friends and i never succeded in. Do not know yet if it is because of SweetFX or because of customs skins as they are now available on the server.

I made a FRAPS film of it. Its not good resolution but you get the idea from this:
http://youtu.be/ZzMZXbUeoDQ
Broghtness, colour etc can be adjusted in settings but I use it as it comes.
Brighter yellowish parts are where the SMAA is toggled off to show standard CoD colours etc. It starts with SMAA on.

It is post-processing the output from CoD so just playing back a Track will only give standard CoD video output but you can switch SMAA in and out while viewing the track and recording it with FRAPS.

http://youtu.be/ZzMZXbUeoDQ

[Les]

Philip, what exactly are you looking for in the conf.ini? Is there something in there I could adjust for better graphics?

[BOB]

[window]
DepthBits =24
StencilBits=8
DrawIfNotFocused=0
SaveAspect=0

[NET]
speed=100000
localPort=27015
serverName=My Server
serverDescription=IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover
serverInfo1=
serverInfo2=
serverInfo3=
serverInfo4=
VAC=1
maxPlayers=255
socksEnable=0
socksHost=
socksPort=1080
socksUser=
socksPwd=

[Console]
IP=20001
UseStartLog=1
WRAP=1
PAUSE=1
HISTORY=1024
HISTORYCMD=1024
PAGE=20
LOG=0
LOGTIME=0
LOAD=console.cmd
SAVE=console.cmd
LOGFILE=log.txt
LOGKEEP=0

[rts]
; 0 - not use, 1 - show cursor and not capture, 2 - not show cursor, and capture
mouseUse=2
; 0 - not use, 1 - use if hardware exist
joyUse=1
; 0 - not use, 1 - use if hardware exist
trackIRUse=1

[rts_mouse]
SensitivityX=0.0
SensitivityY=0.0
SensitivityZ=0.0
Invert=0
SwapButtons = 0

[rts_joystick]
FF=1

[core]
RandSeed = 0
TexQual=3
TexFlags.PolygonStipple=0
Shadows=1
SpecularLight=2
DiffuseLight=2
DynamicalLights=1
MeshDetail=1
LandShading=1
LandDetails=1
Sky=3
Forest=2
VisibilityDistance=3
LandGeom=2
DrawCollisions=1
Water=-1
Effects=1
EffFlags.Light=1
EffFlags.SpriteRender=0
Grass=3
CordEffect=1
UseFog=0
UseLandCube=1
UseLandConnectedObject=1
LinearObjectManager=1
Roads=1
Sun=1
Clouds=1
EffFlags.LightSpritesProj=1
ShadowMapSize=5
TexFlags.AsyncLoad=1
TexFlags.ShowTexture=0
SimpleMesh.SWTransform=0
SimpleMesh.QuadTreeClip=1
SimpleMesh.InstancingHW=1
EffFlags.LightContextSprites=1
CloudsFlags.Detailed=1
TexFlags.CreateHDR=1
Decals=1
EffFlags.SWLight=0
TexFlags.CockpitOnePass=0
MegaTexture=0
TexFlags.Reflection=0
RenderTargetQual=3
MSAA=0
MeshStatics=1
MeshStaticsDetail=2
SimpleMesh.QTNoCompose=0
MeshFirstLod=0
MeshShowLod=0
SpawnHumans=0

[sound]
SoundUse=1
DebugSound=0
SoundEngine=1
Speakers=1
Placement=0
SoundFlags.reversestereo=0
RadioFlags.Enabled=1
RadioEngine=2
MusicVolume=14
ObjectVolume=7
MusState.takeoff=1
MusState.inflight=1
MusState.crash=1
MusFlags.play=1
MasterVolume=14
Attenuation=7
SoundMode=0
SamplingRate=0
NumChannels=2
SoundExt.occlusions=1
SoundFlags.hardware=1
SoundFlags.streams=1
SoundFlags.duplex=1
SoundExt.acoustics=1
SoundExt.volumefx=1
SoundFlags.voicemgr=1
SoundFlags.static=1
VoiceVolume=8
Channels=1
SoundFlags.bugscorrect=0
SoundExt.extrender=0
SoundSetupId=8
ActivationLevel=0.02
Preemphasis=0.8
RadioLatency=0.5
AGC=1
PTTMode=1
RadioFlags.PTTMode=0
RadioFlags.PlayClicks=1
ActLevel=9
MicLevel=10
SoundFlags.UseRadioChatter=0
SoundFlags.AutoActivation=0
SoundFlags.forceEAX1=0
speakers=1

[priller26]

I like Les'sown settings,just seems more realistic,so I have'nt changed a thing,just dropped his settings file into my system,without altering it.

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/204/launcher201210222115258.png (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/211/launcher201210222115258.png/)

Wow..this is awesome..gone is the "yellow" hue that covered everything. Im using FXaa with Les preferred, I also see Les Neutral3 and Neutral6, can you tell me in the ABOVE pic, which is my fav setting from the screenshots, which of the three this is? is this les preferred, Natural3 or Natural6? Also, HOW do I switch between the "preferred" and Natural3 and Natural6? DO simply remove the two of the variations I dont want to use? Thanks so much, so far, Im loving this app! :))

[adonys]

guys, really, the application has a readme which explains very well pretty much everything about its usage. including using presets.

also, for comparison sake, the app has a Splitscreen mode, which enables the before-and-after splitscreen comparison mode.

[Les]

Priller, that picture looks like my 'injFX_Settings Les Preferred' settings. To change the settings, just copy the 'injFX_Settings' .h file from any of the other 'injFX_Settings...' Zip folders and paste it into your main 'Cliffs Of Dover' directory, over-writing the 'injFX_Settings' .h file that's already there.

Adonys, did you check the SweetFX split-screen function? It's comparing the original image to something, but not to the changes I've made.

[ivo]

Hi I have a question in my directory game .../common/cod I hate to copy

both these file?

FXAA_PPI_Rev_37 using Les Neutral6 Settings as default + Les Neutral3 & 5 & Preferred Settings.zip (64.7 KB, 81 views)

SweetFX_by_CeeJay.dk SMAA_PRESET_ULTRA using Les Neutral6 Settings.zip (237.4 KB, 97 views)

or one of two I m confused...: Confuso:: Confuso:: Confuso:

[priller26]

Priller, that picture looks like my 'injFX_Settings Les Preferred' settings. To change the settings, just copy the 'injFX_Settings' .h file from any of the other 'injFX_Settings...' Zip folders and paste it into your main 'Cliffs Of Dover' directory, over-writing the 'injFX_Settings' .h file that's already there.

Adonys, did you check the SweetFX split-screen function? It's comparing the original image to something, but not to the changes I've made.



Thanks!

[priller26]

guys, really, the application has a readme which explains very well pretty much everything about its usage. including using presets.

also, for comparison sake, the app has a Splitscreen mode, which enables the before-and-after splitscreen comparison mode.

I know how to use JGSME thanks, and really, sometimes instructions are not written in such a way that everyone gets it right off the bat. When I read the readme.txt for the new app it said move all 8 files...countng actual files minus the txt files, I counted 7. I must have downloaded and counted a half dozen times to make sure I didn't miss something, maybe I still am, don't know at this point. It took you more time to scold than it did Les time to explain.

[Les]

Hi I have a question in my directory game .../common/cod I have to copy

both these file?

FXAA_PPI_Rev_37 using Les Neutral6 Settings as default + Les Neutral3 & 5 & Preferred Settings.zip (64.7 KB, 81 views)

SweetFX_by_CeeJay.dk SMAA_PRESET_ULTRA using Les Neutral6 Settings.zip (237.4 KB, 97 views)

or one of two I m confused...: Confuso:: Confuso:: Confuso:

Just use one of them ivo.

[Les]

...When I read the readme.txt for the new app it said move all 8 files...countng actual files minus the txt files, I counted 7. I must have downloaded and counted a half dozen times to make sure I didn't miss something, maybe I still am, don't know at this point...

Sorry about that Priller, I'll update the readme to make it more clear. The latest FXAA_PPI_Rev_37 version that uses my settings as default actually has ten files and folders in it now.

[priller26]

Sorry about that Priller, I'll update the readme to make it more clear. The latest FXAA_PPI_Rev_37 version that uses my settings as default actually has ten files and folders in it now.

Hello Les, no worry, I pretty much figured out it was just a number error. I'll look for your new app. Thanks so much for your time and effort, the restored colors are really a wonderful addition, I just did not like the green/yellow hue of the stock colors.:):)

[baronWastelan]

This is a 'special' settings file I use only for morning and evening. Sharpens, brightens and adds just a touch of red.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/6pm-110-london.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/sunset-spitfire-london.jpg

[archer11]

Thanks guys! I've been following this thread since the beginning, but only found last weekend the time and the mood to play around with this stuff.
Using sweetfx and I have to say, that now I've nearly got the colors and contrast I missed since this sim was published.

[ivo]

hi i have installed this file:SweetFX_by_CeeJay.dk SMAA_PRESET_ULTRA using Les Neutral6 Settings.zip

and it is very very good it seems a new game but I have a problem with my poor grafic card ATI hd 5750 1gb DDR5 when I have installed this mod I have more and more stutter.
Is there I file that I can modify for to reduce or erase this stutter?

Bye Ivo:evil::evil::evil:

[Mysticpuma]

This is a 'special' settings file I use only for morning and evening. Sharpens, brightens and adds just a touch of red.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/6pm-110-london.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/sunset-spitfire-london.jpg

Oh I wish I could get exhaust flames :(

[priller26]

Those are awesome morning/evening colors.

[klem]

hi i have installed this file:SweetFX_by_CeeJay.dk SMAA_PRESET_ULTRA using Les Neutral6 Settings.zip

and it is very very good it seems a new game but I have a problem with my poor grafic card ATI hd 5750 1gb DDR5 when I have installed this mod I have more and more stutter.
Is there I file that I can modify for to reduce or erase this stutter?

Bye Ivo:evil::evil::evil:

In Options.... Video....

Turn off AntiEpilepsy and SSAO unticked.
Set Detail Level to Medium then open Show Advanced and set Forest very low and both building settings to low. Grass and Shadows off. Could set Textures to Medium. Try that for starters. Increase from there.

You don't give your screen resolution but 1900 can be a hard hitter, 1680 is usually ok.

[ivo]

Thank Klem I'll try it...:):):)

[Crazy-Canuck]

Thanks for the recommendation Meaker.

Flanker and xpzorg, the first file I've attached to this post contains the 'InjecttFxaa_by_Some_dude' utility, using my settings as default. Just open the zip file and put it's contents into your main Cliffs Of Dover directory. I'm not sure which settings Plt Off JRB Meaker is actually using, but if it's not the 'Neutral6' ones that are installed by default, it will be one of the other settings that are also included in their own separate zip files.

The second zip file I've attached is basically the same thing, but using the 'SweetFX_by_CeeJay.dk' utility instead, and with only my 'Neutral6' settings included. Same deal with that, just copy its contents into the folder where you have Cliffs Of Dover installed and it should be working when you start up the game.

Edit - Here's a long and boring video showing the SweetFX 'Neutral6' settings at 7am over a nice ridge formation somewhere between Dover and London. Should have switched the SweetFX utility on and off to show the difference between it and the default colours, but was too busy looking around at the scenery. Flown with keyboard and mouse too, so the flight controls look a bit fluttery. Max graphics settings and recording with FRAPS made it a bit more stuttery than it could have been as well, but you get that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVs9wR5-WZU

***Note- If you're using the 'SweetFX' utility, zip up the original 'd3d9.dll' file in your 'Cliffs Of Dover' install to back it up, as the one in the 'SweetFX' utility will need to replace it in order to work.***

Edit 12-11-12 - Updated readme and re-attached 'FXAA PPI Rev 37...' to this post.

I have looked in my game directory, (C:/Steam/steamapps/common/il-2 sturmovik cliffs of dover), and I don't have a 'd3d9.dll' file. Any ideas here? I am running Direct X11, 1920x1080 Viewsonic HDMI 1080P Monitor

[klem]

I have looked in my game directory, (C:/Steam/steamapps/common/il-2 sturmovik cliffs of dover), and I don't have a 'd3d9.dll' file. Any ideas here? I am running Direct X11, 1920x1080 Viewsonic HDMI 1080P Monitor

I didn''t have them either and I checked with a squad mate who also didn't before he tried the injFX or Sweetfx files. Bottom line seems to be that if you are running Dx10/Dx11 dont worry about the Sweetfx Dx9 files, just don't use them. Don't copy them over or if you just extracted all to the game folder delete them, that's what I did and it seems to work ok.

[Les]

I have looked in my game directory, (C:/Steam/steamapps/common/il-2 sturmovik cliffs of dover), and I don't have a 'd3d9.dll' file. Any ideas here? I am running Direct X11, 1920x1080 Viewsonic HDMI 1080P Monitor

I really don't know much about this kind of stuff, but if the utility is working for you anyway, then As Klem said, it probably doesn't matter. Some people have had problems due to the DirectX9 files though, so I just thought I'd mention it for people to be aware of.

I suggested backing up the original 'd3d9.dll' file as that was the only one that the SweetFX utility wanted to over-write in my own case. Don't even know if it really needs to be included or not.

People can always use the Steam 'Verify Integrity of Game Cache' check to get their original files back anyway if they don't back them up first.

[Crazy-Canuck]

I assume this works if you are running 64bit?

[Stirwenn]

It runs because all your Steam's folder is about 32bits.
You may find these links useful if you're english speaking :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v21m_p7d2A4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxFOx-9wZPM

[clivewil]

@ Les

many thanks for posting this injector, and also your profiles - judging from the screenies, Neutral5 is the look i want. great job, cheers!





yeah, i have only one post. no i'm not a spambot, i'm a new CloD owner. please don't delete me.

[klem]

Hi Les,

I currently have these file for Sweetfx:-

http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showpost.php?p=474751&postcount=128

Both have your Neutral6 settings but some of the SMAA settings in the files are different. I assume your latest settings are in the complete package zip file?

I wanted to experiment with the brightness and other effects but don't know which parameters to play with. Is there a guide for this anywhere?

[GOZR]

Interesting ... I see absolutely no difference on my side! :( hum... ON oFF same thing..

[Les]

No probs clivewil, have fun.

Klem, the colours are the same in both SweetFX settings files, but the SMAA anti-aliasing is set to Ultra (instead of whatever the default was) in the latest package found here - http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showpost.php?p=477070&postcount=141

I couldn't see any difference between the default and Ultra SMAA settings myself, but thought I'd leave the Ultra settings in anyway. I didn't check if it lowered frames per second either.

There's no actual guide for tweaking the different effects that I know of, everyone seems to have just switched things up and down and on and off and found their own way through. That's not difficult to do, but it would be hard to make a guide for it as there are so many variables and different combinations that could be used to reach the same end. It's probably also dependent on the game you're adjusting. In Cliffs Of Dover for example, if you try to lighten up the cockpit shadows, you also lighten up the landscape shadows and probably the cloud and reflection surfaces too, so you have to make compromises and decide which details you want to lose.

In the SweetFX 'Tonemap settings' all three of these parameters will adjust the brightness in a different way, as will some parameters in the other settings categories -

#define Gamma x.xx //[0.00 to 2.00] Adjust midtones
#define Exposure x.xx //[-1.00 to 1.00] Adjust exposure
#define FogColor float3(x.xx, x.xx, x.xx) //[0.00 to 1.00, 0.00 to 1.00, 0.00 to 1.00]

With my 'Neutral6' settings, my priority was to make the daytime landscape colours look more natural overall by getting rid of the default yellow-green haze (without introducing a noticeable colour tint elsewhere), while making sure I didn't lose any highlight details in the clouds or reflective surfaces.

I played around with all the settings, but for effective colour and brightness adjustments, all I needed to use were the 'Technicolor' and 'Tonemap' settings. The other settings categories were just good for making extreme special-effect-like changes or for doing the same thing I was doing anyway with just the 'Technicolor' and 'Tonemap' settings.

The procedure I followed was to go through every parameter and check it's positive and negative range, then see how they interacted with each other.

These are some of the things I would check for whenever I made an adjustment - Cockpit shadows, cockpit highlights (seen on the surfaces where the paint is flaking for example), cockpit colours (coloured knobs and display panel surfaces for example), external plane shadows, external plane highlights, external lettering and decal colours, blue sky colour, horizon colour and brightness, cloud colour and brightness, general terrain colour and brightness, tree and forest darkness (mainly due to brightness of their shadows)...all of these things needed to be balanced according to the priorities I'd set (naturalistic mid-day colours without blown highlights).

Then it was a matter of changing the time of day to see how well the changes held up as it got darker in-game. Which is to say, checking to see at what time it would be better to simply switch the SweetFX adjustments off and use the default colours. As it was, I thought the 'Neutral6' settings gave a pretty good range of useability (7am - 5pm?), so decided to put them out there for others to try (and adjust as they see fit).

GOZR, which utility are you using, the 'SweetFX' or 'FXAA' one, and is it from the link I included in this post?

[GOZR]

Les.. the SweetFX .. I'm doing something wrong and it's very simple of use..
It is important to be careful with colors tone.. every monitors are calibrated differently something car appear blueish in one may appear greenish in the other. So the colors have to be pretty ok in a mid range good for all. This is why in many game contrast/ brightness colors can be a bit dole.

Les also I wonder about this" SweetFX on it's own doesn't work with 64-bit executables."

[Les]

GOZR, good point about everyone's monitors being calibrated differently. It's impossible to make settings that will suit everyone.

There are some universal standards people can try to align themselves to though. In my case, I'm using a colour calibration tool to get my monitor very close (~90%) to one of the RGB standards (can't remember which one).

This is what my game looks like (using my SweetFX Neutral6 settings at 9am) with my monitor unadjusted and adjusted (unadjusted/uncalibrated is the first picture and adjusted/calibrated is the second picture).

http://imageshack.us/a/img43/9911/1monitorcalibrationoffo.png

http://imageshack.us/a/img26/7562/2monitorcalibrationoffo.png

Seeing this, it's easy to understand how some people must think my SweetFX colours and brightness levels are off. I saw some screenshots from the Sukhoi forums the other day and indeed, my SweetFX settings look very different on their systems/monitors (like the screenshots above, or worse).

About the "SweetFX on it's own doesn't work with 64-bit executables." comment, I think someone else said it's not a problem because IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs Of Dover is a 32-bit game anyway.

If the SweetFX utility isn't working for you, perhaps try re-installing it without the 'd3d9' .dll file and/or the 'd3d9.fx' file, as they were causing problems with some people.

[baronWastelan]

A "PrintScreen" grab isn't going to show any effect of monitor adjustments when viewed on a different monitor. One would have to hold a separate camera in front of the monitor and take a snapshot to show the changes caused by [your] individual monitor calibration. Maybe there are monitors that have a separate screen-grab hardware built in, but I've yet to encounter one.

[Les]

The monitor calibration hardware I use has a sensor that reads a set of images displayed on my monitor while the monitor is adjusted to get as close as possible to a standard or ideal profile. The monitor calibration software then creates a colour profile that can be switched on and off (and which can be captured by a screengrab program like FRAPS), similar to a colour profile created in your video-card's Control Panel software.

The pictures I posted were showing the calibration softwares colour profile being switched on and off, in order to show how different my SweetFX settings would have to be be if I'd started adjusting them using the uncalibrated image as a base, and to give an idea of how different the same settings could look on any other uncalibrated monitor.

[GOZR]

Les.. "If the SweetFX utility isn't working for you, perhaps try re-installing it without the 'd3d9' .dll file and/or the 'd3d9.fx'"

Ok yes I just took off those two files and now it's working ;) ok now i see.. The one I places is too redish on my monitor.. I'll have to check things out.. Thanks again.

[GOZR]

I did try the Les Neutral3 Les Neutral5 Les Neutral6 and they are all too redish.. I like the contrast .

[GOZR]

Here a quick tweak :)

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/GOZR/Screenshot48265.jpg

I try to refer to my real life situation.. Up there is real bright.. bright of bright and the sun should be very strong and shade should be quite contrasted . all the above Lesprefered 3/5/6 do not have enough brightness.

[GOZR]

http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp344/GOZR/Screenshot50886.jpg

[Les]

Not sure what you're seeing GOZR. I haven't made any settings for the SweetFX utility except for the 'Neutral6' ones that can be found here - http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showpost.php?p=477070&postcount=141.

The Neutral3,5,6 and Les Preferred settings I made for the other FXAA utility won't look right if put into the SweetFX utility (didn't know they'd even work at all).

If the image is too red, you can try adjusting the numbers in this line found in the 'Tonemap settings' -

#define FogColor float3(0.30, 0.30, 0.40) //[0.00 to 1.00, 0.00 to 1.00, 0.00 to 1.00]

Those numbers can also increase the brightness a little bit, as can these lines (but not without losing highlight details)-

#define Gamma x.xx //[0.00 to 2.00] Adjust midtones
#define Exposure x.xx //[-1.00 to 1.00] Adjust exposure

[LcSummers]

Hi all,

first of all, that sweet fx is fantastic but i am struggeling with two features.

Wich lines do i have to alter to make the cockpit and the sky brighter? Its too dark for me. Tried it for the first time.

Thank you very much!!!:-P

S!

[Stirwenn]

To adjust brightness, i play around with a mix of Vibrance, Tonemap and Hdr settings.

[LcSummers]

To adjust brightness, i play around with a mix of Vibrance, Tonemap and Hdr settings.

Thanks alot Stirwenn,


the problem is i do not want to change the environment only the

COCKPIT and the SKY.

I dont think its possible to alter only cockpit and sky, if i try brightness, the whole scene changes.

S!

[GOZR]

http://youtu.be/S_MrTZGw_Z0?hd=1

Here some of my different settings ;) definitely change the sim for the better.. I love it and remind me much more the reality when I'm up there ;)

[klem]

http://youtu.be/S_MrTZGw_Z0?hd=1

Here some of my different settings ;) definitely change the sim for the better.. I love it and remind me much more the reality when I'm up there ;)

GOZR I'd like to try those settings. Can you attach your SweetFX_settings.txt.

Also could you tell me:-
What are your system specs?
Are you using TrackIR or HAT switch?
What method are you using to zoom in and out?

Many thanks

[Les]

LcSummers, I think you're right, as far as I know it's only possible to adjust the brightness of the whole scene.

GOZR, those settings in the video look pretty good to me. If you wouldn't mind sharing them here, I'd like to check them out on my own system too.

[Stirwenn]

+1 Gozr even if i discovered yesterday that switching from a screen to another results differ hardly.

[LcSummers]

LcSummers, I think you're right, as far as I know it's only possible to adjust the brightness of the whole scene.

GOZR, those settings in the video look pretty good to me. If you wouldn't mind sharing them here, I'd like to check them out on my own system too.

Thank you Les for responding

S!;)

[mungee]

Please can someone help me.

I've downloaded this file :

FXAA_PPI_Rev_37 using Les Neutral6 Settings as default + Les Neutral3 & 5 & Preferred Settings.zip (64.7 KB, 74 views)

but it saves it as a php file, not as a zip file!

Do I need to extract its contents? How do I do that?

I've tried using my zip file extactor and it fails to extract properly - it indicates that there's some sort of error. I've tried downloading it as a zip file (not a php file) and that also doesn't work - I'm clearly doing something wrong!!

Thanks in anticipation.

[Les]

Not sure what the problem is Mungee. Are you logged in to the forums here when trying to download the attachment? When I'm not logged in I can't download the attachments and can only save the link in a similar way to what you're describing. But when logged in all I have to do is left click on the attachment and a Window pops up giving me the option to save the file, then when I click 'okay' another Window pops up that allows me to choose where to save the file and what to call it.

[arthursmedley]

Les; where do I find this file;

"To install -
Zip up or rename the original 'd3d9.dll' file in your 'Cliffs Of Dover' install to back it up, as the one in the 'SweetFX' utility will need to replace it in order to work."

In order to use the sweetfx files?

[Les]

Arthur, it will be in the same place your Cliffs Of Dover .exe file is, eg. Local Disk (C:)/Steam/steamapps/common/il-2 sturmovik cliffs of dover.

It may be that you don't have that file though. It may also be that you don't need the one that comes with the SweetFX utility either. So don't be too concerned about backing up that 'd3d9.dll' file. I just mentioned it because that's what I found I needed to do. It seems there are at least three other variations on this depending on people's computer setups.

You might want to try just copying everything from the SweetFX folder except the two d3d9 files and seeing if the utility runs without them as that would probably be the easiest install.

[mungee]

Many thanks, Les.
Yes, the reason why I was unable to download the folder was because I hadn't logged into 1C.

[arthursmedley]

Thanks for the advice Les. Worked a treat!:grin: Now got this SweetFX running in RoF and CLoD. The effect is startling and fantastic.
Wonder if it would work in IL2 1946?

[Les]

Glad you got it working Arthur. I haven't tried the FXAA or SweetFX utilities in IL-2:1946, but I don't think it will work, unless you run the game in DX mode and not the OpenGL mode that it's mainly designed for.

[archermav]

Gents,
Some nice looking screens on this thread. I think I've got the SweetFX working (well, there is a difference when I press pause/screen etc) but not to the level shown on some screens here. I'm also reading about the DX10. I've taken a look in my confi file and cannot find the render DX10 file anywhere. Slightly OT I know, but what am I missing? I'm running a 6950 card.

Thanks

[Les]

Archermav, if you've installed SweetFX and are seeing any change at all, then it probably is working. The difference between the default settings I've included and the original game might not be that noticeable in some cases. Others have posted screenshots here using different settings that they've made for themselves. If they've shared their settings you might want to try them out too.

In regards to DirectX10, I don't think you're missing anything. As I understand it, the game is DirectX9 only.

[Catseye]

http://youtu.be/S_MrTZGw_Z0?hd=1

Here some of my different settings ;) definitely change the sim for the better.. I love it and remind me much more the reality when I'm up there ;)

Gozr,
Would you please post you file for this. It looks great!
I see that some of the red has been removed.

Thanks,

[baronWastelan]

A new Forest mod I've been playing with, a major rework of the forest ground texture. Made to work with Forests setting "Low":

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/new-darker-1.jpg

Here's with the CloD 'green mist', same time as above, 0900:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/new-darker-2.jpg

Also gives some forests even with Forests set to "Off":

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/new-darker-3.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/new-darker-4.jpg

For comparison here's what my original darker forests mod looks like in 1.11.x. Problem with it is Forests need to be set to "High" for it to look OK:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/02-11.jpg

[baronWastelan]

Last one for a while. Running out of interesting ideas...

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/Anson.jpg

[archermav]

Archermav, if you've installed SweetFX and are seeing any change at all, then it probably is working. The difference between the default settings I've included and the original game might not be that noticeable in some cases. Others have posted screenshots here using different settings that they've made for themselves. If they've shared their settings you might want to try them out too.

In regards to DirectX10, I don't think you're missing anything. As I understand it, the game is DirectX9 only.

Les,
Nice to know, thanks.

[andrea78]

I tried "SweetFX_by_CeeJay.dk SMAA_PRESET_ULTRA using Les Neutral6 Settings" and it is awesome. Clod is graphically more attractive without losing the realistic look... great works!

[Hemo]

Just downloaded and applied Les's SweetFX modified files. "Works a treat", as they say in Old Blighty, or Oz, or wherever they say that.:grin:
However, as I was trying it out on a quick mission free flight in a Hurricane over the coast of England, I noticed there is still considerable flickering jagginess at certain spots, most notably the Chain Home radar towers on the coast, and also a little at the edges of the cockpit windows. I tried disabling anti-aliasing in the game video menu (someone said to do this), but it didn't seem to change. Should I be disabling anti-aliasing in the game video options? Or is something tweakable that would improve this in SweetFX?

Many thanks for your files, Les!

Hemo

[Les]

Thanks Andrea.

Hemo, as far as I know, the SweetFX anti-aliasing effectiveness is at it's maximum with the settings you're using. I tried turning all the SMAA settings up even further but it didn't make any difference.

I think the general consensus is that regular anti-aliasing is limited by the game to something that looks like 2XAA, regardless of what you set your video card to use. When using the SweetFX SMAA, I can't see much if any difference with the in-game anti-aliasing turned off or on, but I leave it on anyway. It's also been shown that some jaggies do remain even when using the SweetFX SMAA, so it's not just you, but I don't know of any solution.

[Hippy Druid]

Here's a quick video I made using SweetFX.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xyj6x9WOCC4

[Anders_And]

A new Forest mod I've been playing with, a major rework of the forest ground texture. Made to work with Forests setting "Low":

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/new-darker-1.jpg

Here's with the CloD 'green mist', same time as above, 0900:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/new-darker-2.jpg

Also gives some forests even with Forests set to "Off":

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/new-darker-3.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/new-darker-4.jpg

For comparison here's what my original darker forests mod looks like in 1.11.x. Problem with it is Forests need to be set to "High" for it to look OK:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d63/baronWastelan/02-11.jpg

That MOD doesnt work online does it??

[DoolittleRaider]

Where can the 'Dark Forest' Mod be found?

[slojani]

Hello

I use Flight fx: Sweet FX GUI To change the color but after a few minutes of playing I get Launcher stop it.
Torchlight2_BetA.txt preset is a great , but it crashes game after two minutes.
What would be wrong. Without the use of Sweet FX game is running normally.

Thanks for help

[satchenko]

Hello

I use Flight fx: Sweet FX GUI To change the color but after a few minutes of playing I get Launcher stop it.
Torchlight2_BetA.txt preset is a great , but it crashes game after two minutes.
What would be wrong. Without the use of Sweet FX game is running normally.

Thanks for help

Where can i found this preset for Sweet FX mate?

[EAF92_Brigstock]

Hello

I use Flight fx: Sweet FX GUI To change the color but after a few minutes of playing I get Launcher stop it.
Torchlight2_BetA.txt preset is a great , but it crashes game after two minutes.
What would be wrong. Without the use of Sweet FX game is running normally.

Thanks for help

I'm getting exactly the same thing. :(

[slojani]

Hay,

Link to FlightFX Sweety ROF edition
http://riseofflight.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=278&t=34106&sid=efd6f35f65be7ab634768ea255802ff6.

[EAF92_Brigstock]

I think I found out why my game was crashing with SweetFX enabled.
I had FXAA enabled in NVidia control Panel. It is normally set to off in the default global settings. I've now disabled it for CoD and after some brief testing the lock ups seems to have stopped


Nope that wasn't it.....game still crashes and I haven't found a solution.

Tried updating DX, reinstalling .net4 and Visual C++. Crashes every time. Back to FXAA for now

[nacy]

Normal
SweeFX (HDR)

[nacy]

$

[Les]

Some updated SweetFX settings, more compatible visually with the Team Fusion patches.

The 'Les Neutral 7 for Team Fusion 4.3 Patch' settings have the games contrast and colours adjusted to something I find a bit more interesting.

While the ' Default Colour More Contrast for Team Fusion 4.3 Patch' keeps the default colours and just increases the contrast to cut through the green haze the game has by default.

Like the others above have been experiencing, Cliffs Of Dover has been crashing on me while I've been adjusting these settings, so I'm not sure the SweetFX utility is even stable anymore, but thought I'd put out the settings (and the utility with the Neutral7 settings as default) anyway.