The ENB Series Bloom and HDR mod

[Dimus 0]

This mod is quite old and I have tried it in OFF P2 in the past but did not bother much with it. Lately I have been using it in FSX (DX9 version) with great success and in my opinion, spectacular results. So I found the DX8 version again and dropped it in the root folder, using my FSX config file. Haven't done much testing but for starters it seems to be working as it should be. I'll post some screenshots when I have some.

 

What this thingie does is add bloom effects in light sources and also darkens the shadowed areas. Some don't like it. Personally I think that it simulates the human eye reactions to light quite well. Also, at least in my medium to low end rig, it has negligible FPS hit.

 

The file can be downloaded here:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/jcjphh

 

All you have to do is drop the d3d8.dll and enbseries.ini files in the game's root folder. It will load when the game loads. You can switch it on and off any time by Shift-F12 so you can see the difference.

 

The ini file includes all the tweaking that can be done. I personally follow the suggestions for FSX by Nick Needham which you can find here:

http://www.simforums.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=32482

 

Again, this may not be to everyone's taste and it takes a bit of experimenting to get used to but some of you may like it. Anyone already using it?

 

As said, I'll try to post some pictures from OFF when I can to show off the effect.

 

 

[MikeDixonUK 5]

I use it also, I quite like the way that the glare often hides enemy fighters until they're right on top of you on sunny days, "Beware of the Hun in the Sun" and all that.

 

This pic I took a while ago shows it quite well I think, such as how the horizon is masked by the light:

Edited December 16, 2009 by MikeDixonUK

[Olham 164]

Hmmm - need to see more pics. So far, I liked what OFF offers, and I think the overall

praphics appearance of OFF is done very well.

This seems to just add contrast, do I get that right?

If you come up with additional creme on top of the cake, I may use it -

please show some good examples, Dimus.

[Gous 0]

Interesting...as we can see from MD's pics, it all seems more real with this mod. I will try it, but we are going to need more pics!

[foreigndevil 0]

Interesting...as we can see from MD's pics, it all seems more real with this mod. I will try it, but we are going to need more pics!

Yes, more pics. Sounds interesting, though.

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

Does this make it easier to spot airplanes at a distance? Does sunlight glint off the wings more? If so, I would be very interested in trying this out.

[Dimus 0]

OK here is a series of pics in pairs. Always the first is without mod and the second with mod. I understand that some might comment that the mod-on ones are just darker. They are indeed darker but this reflects the shadowed areas or areas that are "on the other side" of the light sourse (check how the halb silhouette is darkened against the sun in the last pair of pics).

 

I repeat, it is much a matter of taste, plus it takes a lot of tweaking and one can try reducing or increasing the effect through entries in the ini file. As for light glinting on wings mein Herr, I'm afraid I can not comment as I haven't flown a lot with it, it might be the case, after all it doesn't hurt to try. It is free and will not harm anything. Don't like it, remove it. Enjoy the pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Olham 164]

It seems to just boost contrast. In Photoshop, when I click "auto contrast"

for my screenshots, they often look similar.

But OFF made a lighter overall picture, and aircraft in the air, with all the reflections

from the clouds, may look brighter; also the landscape with all the haze reflecting

light. For me, OFF has found the right lighting.

[Siggi 10]

Ooh, gawd, I don't cotton much to that.

[Herr Prop-Wasche 7]

Can you tweak it so it isn't so dark or is it always dusk?

[Gous 0]

Oh it's...beautiful. I will try it tomorrow morning. Thanks Dimus!

[carrick58 23]

Good Tweeking, However, for those of us that dont see that great , Let there be light

[Dimus 0]

Descent replies, as expected.

 

Olham, it indeed boosts contrast, Herr Prop-Wasche, the darkness can be adjusted, I agree it is a bit too dark in some shots, I will reduce it myself.

 

Also bare in mind that monitors are different and screenshots do not show the effect fully. It is a dynamic effect and should be tried during flight to check it and give it justice. It can also be used for bloom effect only and not contrast, it's quite flexible. Well you need to have a tweaking apetite of course. Good luck to anyone who tries.

[foreigndevil 0]

Thanks for showing us the shots! Apart from the darker impression, I don't notice much difference. And if it involves too much tweaking, I guess I'll pass, it would leave me with less time to fly while I want more flying time ...

[Bandy 3]

I've been experimenting with it for a few weeks in BHAH and was waiting to post on it, but Dimus beat me to it .

 

To my eyes ENB series makes the environment look like you're wearing a pair of good polarizing sunglasses. Maybe not historically accurate all the time, but I bet some pilots did wear shades during certain daylight conditions It sort of makes all surfaces have a luminous effect, like light is emitting from them, very dreamlike in some ways, a little like the extradimensional travel sequences from 'Contact'.

 

You should also be aware that once installed (2 simple files) that it can be turned on and off (toggled) by simply hitting 'shift + F12', so it is no big deal if you don't like it to turn it off, OR it may work for you under some light conditions but not others. Try it! You just might like it!!!

 

ENB has been found to improve fps in some flight sims, but you must be running Vista or win7 to get this advantage, otherwise no benefit other than the effects. It has been described as "eating videocards for breakfast" otherwise, but that just might be with other sims...

[Creaghorn 10]

i tried it and so far i like it. still tweaking a little to get the most realistic feel, but that thing is great .

thanks for posting.

i have somewhere on harddisk some p2 patch where you can alter the chance of having gun jams. maybe it would also work for BHAH. anybody tried it yet?

[Creaghorn 10]

i can only recommend this mod to everybody. though the posted pics are too dark, you can tweak the darkness/contrast as you like. it's really easy. not much tweaking.

i used exactly the very good explanation and settings of the guy in the link in the first post. the scenerie looks IMHO more real and the sun is brighter and hides the specks better.

the best thing, specks are better visible in the distance.

 

only thing i made different is

DarkeningAmountDay=25 set to

DarkeningAmountDay=20.

works perfectly for me.

and you can easily switch it on and off during flight with shift-f12

 

thank you Dimus

[Dimus 0]

I think you got the hang of it Craeghorn .

 

I did the same tweaking. It was indeed too dark in my pics. In FSX these settings work well but I guess CFS3 is a different engine.

[Olham 164]

Okay, you guys, now you made me curious: new pics, please?

[Dimus 0]

It doesn't take too much to try Olham. It will show you more than screenshots can.

[PinkPanther 0]

Looks like a badly setup monitor to me. There is no detail in the clouds because the whites are blown out. Clouds are what I use to tell if when I watch a movie to see if my TV has good contrast ratio or needs adjusting. I don't see how it simulates the human eye at all.

[Creaghorn 10]

in this pics posted by dimus the clouds are too glowing and "the fog" like. i tweaked it to look perfect on my rig. if anybody wants to try it, i can send the settings i made. also take a look onto the ground colors. would post more pics to show the difference but my amount of bytes is full.

 

 

 

[Olham 164]

Okay, Creaghorn mailed it to me - so I'll experiment over Christmas.

[Creaghorn 10]

of course everbody has different tastes, otherwise there wouldn't be so many different pizzas. here some more pics with the difference. mostly i like the scenerie with this mod because it was really a masterpiece and beautyful before, and now it looks a bit more real . at least for me