Simulation of HDR/Bloom effects

[kct 5]

After reading a thread about a DirectX tweak to 'simulate' HDR/bloom effects over HERE, I'm wondering if the same can be carried out for a TW game. Since TW games are mostly DX9 games, I have no idea whether this would absolutely work, or not.

 

Source of plug-in: HERE

 

Below is a pic with one of my attempts (best so far...unfortunately, I overwritten the plug-in), unfortunately my laptop was reduced to a crawl when it was activated. At other times, the plug-in would force motion blur effects which would effectively kill the game.

 

Attached also is the one used in the LOMAC mod, however, I would probably suggest using a d3d9.dll instead. Shift + Backspace is the activation key, at least for that version (they can be tweaked to your liking).

 

I don't know where I'm getting with this, but this would probably change the way the game looked.

Lock_On_HDR.rar

Edited May 4, 2008 by kct

[kct 5]

A comparison in a cockpit, first pic is without bloom, second pic is with bloom.

 

Another thing I want to mention, when I said d3d9.dll, it is a d3d9.dll from one of the files in the download page of ENBSeries.

 

Third pic is the problem I'm facing at the moment (this was tested with the d3d9.dll in GTA ViceCity/GTA3 v0.074f)...maybe I'm using the wrong .dll?

[+suhsjake 11]

A Very interesting concept. Does it cause any major lag?

[kct 5]

That, is the biggest problem I'm facing now. Assuming that I do not switch out to the exterior views (and remained in the cockpit view), it would obviously lag.

 

This is due to the use of the shader in the .dll, in which it was pretty evident that cards in the lower end (I'm using a laptop's ATI X1400 here) would suffer a drop in performance.

[+suhsjake 11]

So I guessing, that it wouldn't take a big hit on an 8800GTX. Only one way to see.

[kct 5]

That also provided that anyone could manage to overcome the problem I described in my second post in this page (hopefully it is just some ini tweaking). However, the author of the plug-ins stated that most of them were made with nVidia-based cards in mind.

 

Uploaded is a set that I have modified (we don't need the d3d8.dll and the convertor included), keep in mind this was originally designed for one of the GTA games. Activation key is Shift + F12 (the default, usually).

TWtest.rar

Edited May 4, 2008 by kct

[+GrinchWSLG 24]

On my 7900GTO I had only slight slow down that I could notice. The effect however, at least as I tried it, was a quite a bit over powering, and the way it works on ground objects is too noticable. I do see potential in this once played with.

 

BTW, is this similiar to that directx mod for Operation Flashpoint? I can't remember the name of it, but that mod worked extremely well and made the game look absolutely stunning.

[kct 5]

No idea about the DirectX mod for OFP, however, does it function similarly?

 

A lot of people are toying around with similar effects for a lot of flight games (like LOMAC, IL2 and F4). I don't know, but this + maybe Lexx_Luthor's Siberian Skies = killer.

[+GrinchWSLG 24]

http://www.gotf.net/index.php?option=com_r...einfo&id=54

 

Here's a link to that DLL I was talking about. Its an older post process effect, but it worked well in OFP. The configurator it came with was pretty nice. I have no idea if it could be made to work with the SFP engine or not.

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

Thanks!

 

No idea about the DirectX mod for OFP, however, does it function similarly?

 

A lot of people are toying around with similar effects for a lot of flight games (like LOMAC, IL2 and F4). I don't know, but this + maybe Lexx_Luthor's Siberian Skies = killer.

 

There is a way, possibly in-game. If I understand correctly, the grafix brightness "bloom" is like overexposure, or massive scattering perhaps. I get that flying beneath my cirrus cloud layers which use BlendOp=BLEND_INV_SRC_ALPHA_ADD_SRC ( )

 

Just a guess ~> a uniform tga (or bmp) file, 1000km in size, can be positioned at very high altitude. This causes the sun to "bloom," and would have no effect on terrain below if its high enough you can't fly above it.

 

Below is the Siberian sun, which without the cirrus tga layer should be a tiny hard disc. However, the "bloom" (?) around the sun in this screenshot is correct for sun shining through high altitude ice crystal cirrostratus.

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

mmm, thinking more, the "bloom" (?) here is I think caused by the massive sunglare used by the Siberian Sun. Now it works fantastic, but its well off the deep end of the sim.

 

I don't have a sunset pic suitable now, with sun on the horizon, but only these. The concept works with the sun on the horizon, and the low-on-the-horizon sun "bloom" can be intensified with the Enviro file's Suncolor and Radiance variables which control the sun-side sky colour near sunrise/sunset. I think intensifying these would aid a "bloom" caused by a hazy tga file.

 

A solid uniform tga (or bmp works okay also) covering the map at high altitude, with no "holes" like the space between the clouds in these examples, might do the trick. It might not. Alot of this depends on the size and brightness gradient around the sun, which was something I tweaked to obtain the large sunglare in the Siberian Sun mod which creates a very large glare centered on a tiny hard sun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[+GrinchWSLG 24]

Well, don't try just running DXDLL on WOE just for the heck of it, even after taking everything out my game won't get beyond the main menu.

[FastCargo 412]

This is an interesting topic. I've found personally to think that bloom is overdone a bit in games, but HDR is a nice idea. Simulating temporary blindness (too much white) is pretty neat. Just never been crazy about the 'fuzz' that happens...or 'motion blur' for that matter.

 

FastCargo

[Gr.Viper 131]

The problem is that TW engine already imitates sun glare to some extent by turning objects black. Might look strange with HDR on.

 

BTW, this dll is controlled not only by Shift+F12 but by Shif+other nearby F keys. Allows turning different features on and off.

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

The problem is that TW engine already imitates sun glare to some extent by turning objects black. Might look strange with HDR on.

I REMEMBER THAT. :blink:

 

One of the first things I did in the sim was find how to turn that off. I think its...in Enviro file...set SunAngle=1.0

[+Julhelm 266]

Looks good except for motionblur and reflection which mess up my screen. Anyone find out how to make the bloom more evident during dusk/dawn phases?

[kct 5]

Well, don't try just running DXDLL on WOE just for the heck of it, even after taking everything out my game won't get beyond the main menu.

And it wouldn't run on mine. Probably because WoE and such were DX9 games (the d3dll file included in DXDLL was designed for DX8 games).

 

Still...anyone know what is the source of the sudden blur at one of my posts above when it is activated (it's a matter of hit or miss for me, and it is still happening)? It would happen in conditions with a lot of ground visibility, but NOT in conditions with less ground terrain exposure.

 

Here's a comparison before and after using the RE4 set (don't sue me over the extra Sparrows, I'm obviously following another game), in conditions where no ground terrain is in sight. You can see that Lexx_Luthor's Siberian Sun turned into a supernova the moment it is activated (the settings are untweaked).

Edited May 6, 2008 by kct

[+Stary 2,427]

Now this is something I was looking for quite a long time!

 

Did quick test with ViceCity tweaked by ktc and RE4 versions in WOE, WOI.

 

There is potential in it I see. Bloom works OK, looks nice, without any drastic frame drops, motionblur is a NOGO, other options -I had no time to fully check it.

 

BUT it's great discovery.

 

Still...anyone know what is the source of the sudden blur at one of my posts above when it is activated (it's a matter of hit or miss for me, and it is still happening)? It would happen in conditions with a lot of ground visibility, but NOT in conditions with less ground terrain exposure.

 

When turned on happen on my card all the time, look even stronger than yours, it's this that supposed motionblur?

[geoff 0]

I've managed to get this up and running and it looks great with no noticeable impact on performance. Having already played around with this in FS2004 and LOMAC what I discovered was that the enbseries config file gets created in the FLIGHT folder. This is how I installed: Download the DX9 .dll and drop it into your main folder. DO NOT at this stage install the enbseries config file. Now run the game, start a flight, exit and check out your FLIGHT folder. You should find a file there named enbseries Configuration Settings.

You can now edit that file to suit your taste. I have disabled all but light bloom. Having spent a while tweaking the settings I see a huge improvement in the look of the sim. To me it now looks more three dimensional and the lighting seems more luminous.

It's difficult to capture in screenshots, as the effect once tweaked can be quite subtle.

 

Before:

 

After:

 

Before:

 

After:

 

Before:

 

After:

 

 

Here are the settings that I used, you could use these as a starting point if you like. Simply copy and paste them over the settings in the enbseries file that was created in your flight folder. If you use the default settings created by the .dll the sim will look horrible, and you'll get the motion blur problem mentioned earlier in this thread.

 

[PROXY]

EnableProxyLibrary=0

InitProxyFunctions=1

ProxyLibrary=

[GLOBAL]

UseEffect=1

AlternativeDepth=1

AllowAntialias=1

BugFixMode=3

SkipShaderOptimization=0

QuadVertexBuffer=0

[EFFECT]

EnableBloom=1

EnableOcclusion=0

EnableReflection=0

EnableMotionBlur=0

EnableWater=0

EnableShadow=0

DepthBias=1

[iNPUT]

KeyUseEffect=123

KeyBloom=120

KeyOcclusion=121

KeyReflection=122

KeyCombination=16

KeyShadow=119

KeyWater=118

[REFLECTION]

ReflectionPower=15

ChromePower=10

UseCurrentFrameReflection=0

ReflectionQuality=0

ReflectionSourceSpecular=50

ReflectionSourceTFactor=50

UseAdditiveReflection=0

ReflectionDepthBias=0

UseLowResReflection=0

ReflectionSinglePass=1

UseEnvBump=1

EnvBumpAmount=100

EnvBumpOffset=100

[bLOOM]

BloomPowerDay=12

BloomFadeTime=150

BloomConstantDay=1

BloomQuality=0

BloomScreenLevelDay=40

BloomCurveDay=2

BloomPowerNight=25

BloomConstantNight=5

BloomCurveNight=10

BloomScreenLevelNight=20

BloomAdaptationScreenLevel=50

BloomAdaptationMultiplier=50

BloomAllowOversaturation=1

[sSAO]

UseFilter=1

OcclusionQuality=2

FilterQuality=1

DarkeningLevel=30

BrighteningLevel=30

IlluminationLevel=30

AdditiveIlluminationLevel=30

UseAmbientOcclusion=1

UseIndirectLightning=1

FadeDistance=50

[colorCORRECTION]

DarkeningAmountDay=8

ScreenLevelDay=60

ScreenLevelNight=20

DarkeningAmountNight=5

GammaCurveDay=0

GammaCurveNight=0

ColorSaturationDay=1

ColorSaturationNight=0

UsePaletteTexture=0

[PLUGIN]

WeatherMod=0

[WATER]

UseWaterDeep=1

WaterDeepness=20

WaterQuality=0

[sHADOW]

ShadowFadeStart=40

ShadowFadeEnd=80

ShadowAmountDay=60

ShadowAmountNight=30

ShadowScreenLevelDay=60

ShadowScreenLevelNight=20

ShadowQuality=0

UseShadowFilter=0

FilterQuality=1

ShadowBlurRange=30

[ENGINE]

ForceAnisotropicFiltering=1

MaxAnisotropy=16

ForceDisplayRefreshRate=0

DisplayRefreshRateHz=60

[MOTIONBLUR]

MotionBlurQuality=1

MotionBlurVelocity=10

MotionBlurRotation=10

[serverandenforcer 33]

Cool fix geoff. So does BloomPowerDay determine how bright objects are during the day?

[+Stary 2,427]

Cool fix geoff. So does BloomPowerDay determine how bright objects are during the day?

 

I think so -trying now high values for night settings, for increased luminosity of lights and burners. Still no luck on the motionblur.

I recomment setting reflections to on -gives nice lightning in cockpit -more subtle; but fps impact

 

EDIT:

 

Here are the shots -looks nicely, but not so realistic:

 

 

 

 

 

i am using resident evil 4 settings slightly modded only for night bloom

Edited May 11, 2008 by CA_Stary

[+76.IAP-Blackbird 3,557]

How to activate them?! Have downloaded the files and put them into my main folder but nothing happen?!

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

If ya'll are looking for terrain/object brightening, take a deep peek in the Enviro file.

 

For metal shine, skins are best tweaked in the skin folder TextureSet file. Afterburners are best brightened in their own ini files. This way, you can brighten these things alone, leaving other things untouched. Enviro sun variables can brighten skins also, and terrain, sky, and everything else too.

[serverandenforcer 33]

O.K., what I'm trying to do is to see if I can get the metal to reflect sunight so you can see the aircraft "sparkle" off in the distance.

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

This is a good start for metal skins...but may depend on Environment file settings.

 

[TextureSet]

:

:

Specular=1

Glossiness=0.1

Reflection=1

 

0 < Glossiness < 0.1 can yield even more intense shine, especially for long distance viewing, but I think closeup cameo suffers. 0.1 is a balance for me.

 

The direct reflection of sunlight, depending on fuselage--wing-sun-viewer angles, works perfectly. The distance potentially set to each aircraft LOD's is infinite in aircraftX.ini, but in practice is limited by computer monitor resolution. TK has confirmed that aircraft of apparent size smaller than one pixel are not drawn. Zooming in field of view can correct for this however.

 

Close up cameo...

 

About 2 kilometers...

 

More theory and labwork at the ThudWire link below, especially down page 2 for long distance viewing with respect to bank angles and sun angles. No outside "bloom," just TKstuff

 

~> http://bbs.thirdwire.com/phpBB/viewtopic.p...p;sk=t&sd=a

Edited May 12, 2008 by Lexx_Luthor