SweetFX for Guild Wars 2

[Deleted]

Fhi, Kelimbror, Cowt you are all right. Some people/games seem to need to turn in-game anti-aliasing off to be able to see any effect of SweetFX. This is also mentioned SweetFX readme file:

Q: I don't see any change in the image
A: Try turning off anti-aliasing in the game (not in the mod)
The mod is not compatible with some antialias implementations.
It might be made compatible by setting compability flags.

If not then you can always use the included SMAA anti-aliasing.

I added note to my comment above + pic where this setting is.

[Rukh]

Yeah in GW2, it just seems to overwrite the AA settings. I don't know if it duplicates the processing, causing more work, or just ignores the game setting.

[Cowt]

Yeah in GW2, it just seems to overwrite the AA settings. I don't know if it duplicates the processing, causing more work, or just ignores the game setting.

I'd have to check it again to be sure, but in my case SweetFX MSAA does not appear to overwrite/override the in-game AA (FXAA?). Instead, both effects adjust the image.

It'd mean that you're spending more resources when using both. However, FXAA is so cheap that (at least on my system) it doesn't matter.

[Deleted]

Ooooh did not notice this sticky! \o/ Thank you!

Feel free to request anything \o/

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I would also suggest using the FXAA or SMAA of SweetFX instead, because it will give you back some fps.

[Fhi]

Probably far-fetched, but anyone knows of a way to retain the original game settings' post-processing on High but without the silly bloom and blurry horizon thing, using SweetFX?

[Rukh]

I wish I did. The textures are much more detailed, but the white flood lighting always on the right side of your character drives me nuts.

[Deleted]

Post-Processing in GW2 does a few different things which is hard to simulate in Sweet Fx.
I tried a few things but it's not exactly the same. It fades the shadows or makes it stronger in some places.
Or it brightens certain area's also in places, which I have no power of in Sweet Fx. Depending on the area it's stronger or more subtle. I figured The Grove was rather subtle, while Divinity's Reach has stronger shadows.
I tried to fix it with some bloom, but the downside of bloom is it only makes some shadows extra strong, while in GW2 it's made it more soft.

This is probably the best I could do to simulate the effect:

None - High processing on - Sweet Fx







Text:

Bloom:
#define BloomThreshold 20.00 //[0.00 to 50.00] Threshold for what is a bright light (that causes bloom) and what isn't.
#define BloomPower 0.850 //[0.000 to 8.000] Strength of the bloom
#define BloomWidth 0.1000 //[0.0000 to 1.0000] Width of the bloom

DPX:
#define Red 8.0 //[1.0 to 15.0]
#define Green 8.0 //[1.0 to 15.0]
#define Blue 8.0 //[1.0 to 15.0]

#define ColorGamma 2.5 //[0.1 to 2.5] Adjusts the colorfulness of the effect in a manner similar to Vibrance. 1.0 is neutral.
#define DPXSaturation 2.0 //[0.0 to 8.0] Adjust saturation of the effect. 1.0 is neutral.

#define RedC 0.35 //[0.60 to 0.20]
#define GreenC 0.35 //[0.60 to 0.20]
#define BlueC 0.35 //[0.60 to 0.20]

#define Blend 0.3 //[0.00 to 1.00] How strong the effect should be.

Vignette:
#define VignetteType 1 //[1|2|3] 1 = Original, 2 = New, 3 = TV style
#define VignetteRatio 1.00 //[0.15 to 6.00] Sets a width to height ratio. 1.00 (1/1) is perfectly round, while 1.60 (16/10) is 60 % wider than it's high.
#define VignetteRadius 1.30 //[-1.00 to 3.00] lower values = stronger radial effect from center
#define VignetteAmount -0.80 //[-2.00 to 1.00] Strength of black. -2.00 = Max Black, 1.00 = Max White.
#define VignetteSlope 2 //[2 to 16] How far away from the center the change should start to really grow strong (odd numbers cause a larger fps drop than even numbers)
#define VignetteCenter float2(0.500, 0.500) //[0.000 to 1.000, 0.000 to 1.000] Center of effect for VignetteType 1. 2 and 3 do not obey this setting.

[Fhi]

That's a great start Silverbleed! I'll try this out!

I normally disable bloom in any game, I don't like them. Lots of people like them (see ENBs) but for me it's just overdone. In GW2 it's silliness of the highest order how... bright and shiny everything is. Very dreamy-like. Low and high seem to add a very thick blurry haze to the screen. And on top of that High looks like it adds area-based tinting which ends up darkening the scene with a grey mask.

Without post processing, the game looks barren and flat but colorful and clear, but with it turned on, looks like vaseline is smeared on the screen. This is most obvious on my elementalist's Ride the Lightning spell. Without PP, I can see the defined particles of the lightning bolts and the particles when the spell ends and they evaporate into motes of lights. With PP, all I see is a giant blob of white.

[Kelimbror]

With PP, all I see is a giant blob of white.

I never realized how blurry default GW2 graphics are until I started running a very sharp SweetFX setting. Now if I disable it, the default game hurts my eyes. I suggest you sharpen the image if you want to see details like that. Some people don't like the overall affect it has on the landscape or ground, because it is a very noticeable difference. Low blooms on their own won't restore your spell clarity, so you will need some sharpness to the image as well. GW2 is supposed to look more paint brushy though, which is why there are lots of blobby glows and ill defined details once PP goes through.

[Deleted]

Those settings I gave you are the basics to achieve something as close as possible to the processing. So you might want to add things like FXAA and sharpness yourself.
I prefer the sharpness in any game, instead of blobby and dreamy.

And much color, of course :'D

[Fhi]

It's quite pretty. Might be too much color though. Not sure if I want to set the saturation to a lower value. It's very rich currently, but at the same time looks very cartoony. Especially with navy blue skies and green lush grass and my midnight red armor, and golden blonde hair.

[Deleted]

Hm on my own screen it's barely any different from the game itself, and in post-processing it also has effect on color that's why I included it. But you could try and turn it off, but it'll reduce the effect I tried to create with a huge difference. Because DPX brightens only the brighter parts and leaves the shadows alone just like post-process does. Any other preset in SweetFX does not.

Maybe you could try and lower the saturation in Vibrance instead. Put it on something like -0.15?

[carnifex2005]

Here's a fix for SweetFX from today's patch. GW2 now has a BIN folder...

Split install: Some games (mostly the ones using the Unreal Engine) needs to have a split install of SweetFX, where some files are put into the bin or bin32 subfolder
* The files to put in the subfolder are: d3d9.dll , dxgi.dll and injector.ini
source: http://sweetfx.thelazy.net/?page_id=112

http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/c...weetfx_busted/

[Kelimbror]

Thanks for that. I need to remember to check back on this when I'm home.

[Kelimbror]

Is there a setting somewhere in SweetFX which would notify me on screen, preferably in game (GW2), when the SweetFX effect has been enabled?

I've installed a preset but the difference in having it on or off is really subtle and I'd like to see a notification somewhere. I've pressed the "Scroll Lock" button, which should toggle the effect on/off and I barely see any difference.

My preset is quite subtle/minor (.Stormie Iris Shader) and it's difficult sometimes to see if the effect is enabled or not.

So I don't think there is an overlay, but I'm not positive. However...if you really can't see the difference with your eyes, why are you using it? If it was working before, there's nothing outside of you removing it, changing it, or .dll errors that would prevent it in my experience. If you have a newer geforce card, the latest patch did have issues causing it to not work in many games.

[Deleted]

My boyfriend currently also has problems with sweet fx. It does not work anymore on any game he plays. He own a Geforce I believe.

If you want to test if Sweet FX works, try turning Monochrome on or off, if your game doesn't show up in black and white after saving that, it doesn't work. Very easy to spot.

[Haligy]

this program is for better graphics or its something with better graphics and not too high for your pc ?? Seems nice