Just wondering if its better to enable it or disable it to obtain better performance..I understand there is currently a problem with AA and it consumes much more than what its supposed to..so I had to put it in 4X because I would get terrible framedrops at towns or places where wind or snow would blow. but even at 4x, it still drops a lot.
so I Was wondering if disabling FXAA would increase performance? I had read somewhere that FXAA was the AA method that consumed less resources, and im sure that the standard AA for skyrim is MSAA.
so which one would be best for perfomance?
Hello, I just had a quick question for anyone who knows a fair bit about Anti-Aliasing, I know people generally prefer MSAA over FXAA, but what about running them both at the same time? My PC can handle ultra settings in BF4, which puts MSAA at 4X and Post Processing (FXAA) at the highest level, and I can run it smoothly. My question, however, is would it look better running it just with MSAA? I have heard that FXAA produces a blurred image, and running both is unnecessary, and if this is true, why not squeeze out a few extra FPS? thanks!
About this mod
(Updated 29 Jun) *Now Supports Night Eye* Includes presets for Vanilla, Aeqiunoctium, Obsidian, Dolomite, NAT, COT, Rustic, Vivid Weathers. Each version has Default, Ultimate and Color Correction versions. Plus optional DOF types.
- Requirements
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This mod does not have any known dependencies other than the base game.
Mods requiring this file
Mod name Notes Racemenu Preset - Sheylar Skyrim Re-Engaged for NAT - I include an enbseries.ini to go with the quality version if it is too performance heavy. Re-Engaged - Realistic-Vanilla with DOF Choose the Vivid Weathers Version folder when installing SkyrimSE Re-Engaged ENB - Permissions and credits
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Author's instructions
Please do not redistribute, use or alter files and upload as your own preset without discussing with me and receiving permission. I am using personally tweaked ENB shaders and not necessarily the standard ENB config files. I received permission from other ENB coders to use certain effects and add into my ENB. Not getting permission is stealing from me & the other authors. Please be respectful of the modding community and the work that goes into mods for free and on the authors spare time. Thank you.File credits
Marty McFly- DOF/MXAO Shaders/L00ping- Certain effects added to enbeffect shader/Tapioks- DNI shader and then re-tweaked by myself/JawZ- PostPass Shader then re-adjusted to add in certain ReShade effects/MaxG3D- Bloom Shader/Matso- ENB rain texture/Adyss-ENB Shader Add-On/Boris- ENB Binary/Files/ReShade Team- ReShade effectsDonation Points system
This mod is opted-in to receive Donation Points Mio papa (2014 dvd9 ita 5.1 ita subs youtube. - Changelogs
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Version V8.1
- V8.1a (24 Jun) Obsidian Preset- Overhauled for ENB weather support. Tweaked a lot of settings. Overhauled colors, lighting, sky, bloom, clouds, SSAO-SSIL, SSS. If it had an effect active it was tweaked. Best option is to use ENB weather support to maximize visuals. Install SKSE and ENBHelper to work. See install video if unsure. Hope you like the new version.
- V8.1g (29 Jun) Rustic Preset - Updated to ENB Binary .386 which adds in many new effects such as [water] and [grass]. Plus adjusted many settings such as HDR, Colors, lighting, SSS, SSAO and time of day settings.
- V8.1b (29 Jun) NAT Preset - Update with ENB Weather Support. Needs SKSE and ENBHelper to work properly. See updated install video on description page. Completely redone. Too many changes to list.
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Version V8.0
- V8.0 (8 Jun) updated for enb binary .386 which adds color palette support and fixed [water] shader.
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Version V7.9
- V7.9 (1 Jun) Updated to latest .383 binary. Adds in additional lighting parameter for [particles].
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Version V7.8
- V7.8 (30 May) Obsidian, NAT, Vivid, Dolomite, COT and Vanilla updated to add in missing parameter under [particle] section, adjusted [skinspecular] section and slight adjustment for specular under [eye] section.
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Version V7.7
- V7.7 (29 May) Obsidian, NAT, Vivid, COT, Dolomite and Vanilla updated for latest .381 binary (Boris updated without version change) adds additional parameters for water and volumetric rays. No other changes.
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Version V7.6
- V7.6 (21 May) Obsidian, NAT, Vivid, COT and Dolomite updated to .380 binary. Just adds water tessellation and AA. Additionally, overhauled COT preset with a much needed update. Lots of changes. Too many to list.
- V7.6 (23 May) Vanilla preset overhauled and updated to enb binary 381. Too many changes to list.
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Version V7.5
- V7.5 (17 May) Obsidian, NAT, Vivid and Dolomite presets updated for ENB Binary .380. Adds additional parameter to [water] effect. Tweaked new settings only.
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Version V7.4
- V7.4 (16 May) Updated NAT, Obsidian, Vivid and Dolomite Presets to ENB Binary .379 which, adds [water] effect. Note, effect is subtle until water mods get their textures updated to work better with ENB water effect.
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Version V7.3
- V7.3 NAT, Obsidian, VIvid & Dolomite (4 May) Updated to binary .376 which adds [Grass] parameters to adjust directional lighting on grass.
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Version V7.2
- V7.2 NAT, Obsidian, Vivid & Dolomite (2 May) - Updated for ENB Binary .374. Also updated Ady's Shader Add-On to V1.4. Plus, added in Ady's sunsprite shader and tweaked sunsprites for my ENB. No other changes.
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Version V7.1.1
- NAT Preset (9 Mar) Updated to V1.3 of Adysss's Shader Add-on (God Rays) and slightly adjusted settings for update. No other changes.
- Obsidian Preset (9 Mar) Updated to V1.3 of Adysss's Shader Add-on (God Rays) and slightly adjusted settings for update. No other changes.
- Vivid Preset (12 Mar) Updated for ENB Binary V.372 which adds weather support however, did not enable for preset at this time. Added Adyss's ENB Shader Add-On which adds God Rays. Did a slight tweak to saturation/color and HDR as well.
- Dolomite Preset (15 Mar) Overhauled preset. Enabled eye adaptation for better brightness balance. HDR, DPX, Technicolor, Contrasts, Brightness and TDI settings adjusted for better balance. Added in Ady's Shader Add-on (God Rays). Updated for ENB binary .372 which does have weather support but, not enabled in this version of preset.
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Version V7.1
- Obsidian Preset (2 Mar) Updated for ENB Binary V.372 which adds weather support however, did not enable for preset at this time. Added Adyss's ENB Shader Add-On which adds God Rays.
- NAT Preset (3 Mar) Updated for ENB Binary V.372 which adds weather support however, did not enable for preset at this time. Added Adyss's ENB Shader Add-On which adds God Rays. Did a slight tweak to saturation as well.
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Version V7.0
- All Presets (16 Dec) updated for V.368 binary which adds in distant shadows.
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Version V6.9
- All presets (13 Dec) - All presets updated to ENB Binary V.365. Adds in shadow effect for both complex particle and fire lighting. I have it off by default due to possible FPS hit for some. You can turn on if you want to use.
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Version V6.8
- All Presets (10 Dec) All presets updated to ENB Binary .363. Which adds in PrePassShader(not active), skin specular effect, complex fire lighting, complex particle lighting. I also disabled Night Eye Fix by default due to in being activated by spells and such. Those wanting to use fix will have to turn on in the enbeffect shader. No color changes or adjustments made.
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Version V6.7
- All Presets - Updated SSAO-SSIL for the latest Binary V.352 update with new AO technique and better performance. (Note: Binary V.352 was updated without version change for this)
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Version V6.6
- Obsidian (14 Sep) Updated for ENB Binary .352 which adds in Skylighting
- NAT (15 Sep) Updated for ENB Binary .352 which adds in Skylighting
- Vivid & Dolomite (16 Sep) Updated for ENB Binary .352 which adds in Skylighting
- All Remaining Presets (16 Sep) Updated for ENB .352 which adds in Skylighting.
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Version V6.5
- All Presets (2 Aug) - Updated enblocal.ini and file structure for new ENB Binary .347. Which adds in shader cache for faster loading. No other changes.
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Version V6.4
- V6.4 Obsidian Preset (13 Jul) Enabled Eye Adaptation. Adjustment to sky gradients and clouds. Also adjustment to SSAO and SSS for better look to skins. Slight tweak to TOD settings and color settings.
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Version V6.3
- All Presets (10 Jul) All presets updated with Night Eye Fix so that night eye/vampire vision will work with ENB.
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Version V6.2 Seperated
- I separated all the 6.2 ENB presets. No changes were made to the preset themselves. I needed to separate to help me with updates and I am releasing a new Install video.
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Version 6.2a
- All Presets - Updated to ENB Binary V.345. Adds in Point Lighting and Screen Space Reflections. NAT, Obsidian, COT, Aequinictium, Vivid and Dolomite Presets had adjustments to contrasts, color, clouds. sky, window lighting, lightsprites, SSS and HDR for a better looking image quality.
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Version 6.1a
- All Presets- Boris updated ENB Binary .343 to change SSS effect. With 2.2 SSS settings it didn't go as well with the new coding for SSS. It caused grid and artifacts on characters under certain lighting conditions. Retweaked my SSS settings to fix this.
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Version 6.0a
- All Presets- Updated for ENB Binary V.343 which adds in SSS effect.
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Version 5.9a
- All presets- Boris released an update for .341 which added a [LensFlare_Game] parameter to help solve the issue for those using in-game lens flare. I have added to my presets and adjusted as needed.
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Version 5.8a
- COT, Vanilla & Rustic Presets- Updated for .341 Binary. Adds in animated star effect. (On by default but, varies by star texture mod used). Also (Thanks to Rudy) added in SMAA to the enbeffectpostpass shader. This is on by default.
- NAT, Vivid, Obsidian and Aequinoctium Presets- Updated for .341 Binary. Adds in animated star effect. (On by default but, varies by star texture mod used). Also (Thanks to Rudy) added in SMAA to the enbeffectpostpass shader. This is on by default. Adjustments to TOD, DPX and Technicolor color settings, adjustments to sky gradients and fogs.
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Version 5.7a
- All Presets- Updated for ENB Binary V.338. Added in EdgeAA (Although, I do not have enabled because it causes shimmering). Adds in dithering (Turned on post dithering). Adds in cloud clamp settings. Disabled ENB Rain due to amount of complaints for black rain. Could not fully remove issue so, figured best to disable and let users turn on ENB rain if they want it.
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Version 5.6a
- All presets- Updated for ENB.334. Which has better performance and adds in ENB SSAO denoiser setting which helps smooth out AO. Obsidian Preset I also reduced red tones.
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Version 5.5a
- Vivid Preset (9 Apr) Updated for .331. Also updated for last .330 update which added in parameters for specular under eyes, vegetation and objects. Also, disabled cloud shadow effect. Adjust fogs, sky gradients and clouds. Slight adjustment to colors.
- Obsidian Preset (9 Apr) Updated for .331. Also updated for last .330 update which added in parameters for specular under eyes, vegetation and objects. Also, disabled cloud shadow effect. Adjust fogs, sky gradients and clouds. Slight adjustment to colors.
- NAT Preset (10 Apr) Updated for .331. Also updated for last .330 update which added in parameters for specular under eyes, vegetation and objects. Also, disabled cloud shadow effect. Adjust fogs, sky gradients and clouds.
- Dolomite Preset (11 Apr) Updated for .331. Also updated for last .330 update which added in parameters for specular under eyes, vegetation and objects. Also, disabled cloud shadow effect. Adjust fogs, sky gradients and clouds.
- Aequinoctium Preset (11 Apr) Updated for .331. Also updated for last .330 update which added in parameters for specular under eyes, vegetation and objects. Also, disabled cloud shadow effect. Adjust fogs, sky gradients and clouds.
- Rustic Preset (12 Apr) Updated for .331. Also updated for last .330 update which added in parameters for specular under eyes, vegetation and objects. Also, disabled cloud shadow effect. Adjust fogs, sky gradients and clouds. Slight adjustment to saturation.
- Vanilla & COT Presets (12 Apr) Updated for .331. Also updated for last .330 update which added in parameters for specular under eyes, vegetation and objects. Also, disabled cloud shadow effect. Adjust fogs slightly.
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Version 5.4a
- Aequinoctium Preset (28 Mar) Added new Aequinoctium Weathers Preset.
- NAT and Obsidian (28 Mar) Adjust Image Based Lighting, Volumetric Rays, Cloud Shadows and Rain. Fixed issue with washed out colors at times. Slight adjustment to saturation as well.
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Version 5.3a
- NAT Preset (24 Mar)- Updated for ENB Binary V.329. Adds in cloud shadows, procedural sun, rain refraction, volumteric rays and more fog control. Also, adjusted lightsprites and volumetric fog slightly
- Obsidian Preset (24 Mar)- Updated for ENB Binary V.329. Adds in cloud shadows, procedural sun, rain refraction, volumteric rays and more fog control. Also, adjusted lightsprites, clouds, particles, rain and volumetric fog slightly
- Dolomite Preset (24 Mar)- Updated for ENB Binary V.330. Adds in image based lighting, cloud shadows, procedural sun, rain refraction, volumteric rays and more fog control. Also, adjusted lightsprites, clouds, particles, rain and volumetric fog slightly
- Vivid Preset (25 Mar)- Updated for ENB Binary V.330. Adds in iamge based lighting, cloud shadows, procedural sun, rain refraction, volumteric rays and more fog control. Also, adjusted lightsprites, clouds, particles and rain
- NAT & Obsidian Preset (24 Mar) Updating again (same version) to ENB Binary V.330. Adds in image based lighting.
- COT Preset (26 Mar)- Updated for ENB Binary V.330. Adds in image based lighting, cloud shadows, procedural sun, rain refraction, volumteric rays and more fog control. Also, adjusted lightsprites, clouds, rain and volumetric fog slightly. Also slight adjustments to contrast, HDR and Saturation
- Vanilla Preset (26 Mar)- ** Big Adjustment***Updated for ENB Binary V.330. Adds in image based lighting, cloud shadows, procedural sun, rain refraction, volumteric rays and more fog control. Also, adjusted lightsprites, clouds, sky, rain, bloom and volumetric fog slightly. Also slight adjustments to contrast, HDR and Saturation and other color levels.
- Rustic Preset (27 Mar)- Updated for ENB Binary V.330. Adds in image based lighting, cloud shadows, procedural sun, rain refraction, volumteric rays and more fog control. Also, adjusted lightsprites, rain and volumetric fog slightly. Also slight adjustments to contrast, HDR and Saturation
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Version 5.2
- Adjusted ENB Rain settings and changed to new ENB rain texture (texture by Matso).
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Version 5.1a
- Updated all presets to go with the new ENB Binary V.327. It adds specular adjustments as well as ENB rain effect. Additionally, adds a hotkey for ENB DOF (Shift+F7).
Also adjusted Vivid and NAT Bloom settings slightly. Also, slight adjustment to red setting for Obsidian Preset. No other changes.
- Updated all presets to go with the new ENB Binary V.327. It adds specular adjustments as well as ENB rain effect. Additionally, adds a hotkey for ENB DOF (Shift+F7).
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Version 5.0
- Updated NAT, Vivid, Obsidian and Dolomite Presets Only. Adjusted settings to get a better color/contrast balance. Also adjusted bloom and lightsprites to hopefully reduce overly bright fires and light sources. Adjusted sharpening, HDR, DPX, Technicolor 2 and other TOD settings.
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Version 4.9a
- Updated all presets DOFs again to remove blurring of character in 3rd person view. No other changes.
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Version 4.8a
- V4.8a- Updated all DOFs with newer version of the DOF Shader by Marty McFly. Had to rework all settings though do to previous settings now working the same way.
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Version 4.7
- Updated all presets with new SSS sections (Eyes, Objects and Vegetation) that was added into V.325 of the ENB Binary.
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Version 4.6
- Updated all presets with reworked SSAO_SSIL settings (ENB Only)
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Version 4.3a
- All presets updated to work better with ENB Binary V.320. Now preset have sky and direct/ambient lighting control.
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Version 4.2
- Updated NAT preset for both ENB and ReShade versions to go with the newly released standalone version of NAT by l00ping
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Version 4.1.1a
- Fixed an error in the DOF which was causing blur issues with up close objects/character
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Version 4.1
- - Rustic Preset- Added new Rustic Preset for Rustic Weathers Mod
- Dolomite Preset- Adjusted saturation levels, color balance, contrast, brightness and fixed red strength
in interiors.
- Vivid, COT, NAT and Vanilla Presets- No changes, except for new default DOF
Adjusted the default DOF to have a better focal point as well as set a closer distance to object before DOF kicks in. Also adjust blur strength and bokeh effect.
Made previous version default DOF now as the 'subtle' optional DOF.
- - Rustic Preset- Added new Rustic Preset for Rustic Weathers Mod
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Version 4.0
- Vivid Preset- (ENB Only) Adjustment to bloom and slight adjustment to DNI settings
Dolomite Preset- (ENB Only) Adjustment to bloom and slight adjustment to DNI settings
COT Preset- (ENB Only) Adjustment to bloom and minor adjustment to color settings. (ReShade Only) Minor adjustment to color settings.
NAT/Vanilla Presets- No changes
DOF- No changes
- Vivid Preset- (ENB Only) Adjustment to bloom and slight adjustment to DNI settings
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Version 3.9.1a
- Updated to newest version DOF+SSAO shader by Marty McFly for all ENB presets
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Version 3.9
- COT- Updated preset to work better with COT Version 5.7.
Vivid- Slight Adjustment to day and night brightness/darkness levels.
Vanilla, NAT and Dolomite- No changes
DOFs- No changes.
- COT- Updated preset to work better with COT Version 5.7.
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Version 3.8
- Dolomite Preset- Slight adjustment to sharpening, saturation, brightness and Day Night Interior settings.
Vivid Preset- Tried to brighten up during the day slightly without washing out the sky. Slightly brightened the nights. Slight adjustment to sharpening, saturation and Day Night Interior settings.
NAT- Slight adjustment to sharpening, saturation, brightness and Day Night Interiors settings.
Vanilla- Slight adjustment to sharpening (ENB version only)
COT- Slight adjustment to sharpening (ENB version only)
- Dolomite Preset- Slight adjustment to sharpening, saturation, brightness and Day Night Interior settings.
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Version 3.7
- Added new Dolomite-NLVA II Preset.
Vivid Preset- Slight adjustment to DNI settings for the new Vivid Weather V1.58
Vanilla/NAT/COT Presets- Lowered Lumasharpen setting.
- Added new Dolomite-NLVA II Preset.
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Version 3.6
- All Presets (ENB & ReShade)- Adjustment to lumasharpen
ENB Presets- New bloom added which is set by time of day (Day, Night & Interior)
- All Presets (ENB & ReShade)- Adjustment to lumasharpen
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Version 3.5
- ENB DOF= adjustment to all DOFs and added a new stronger Screen-Archery DOF
ENB MXAO- Adjustment to MXAO to be not as strong in the black levels
Vivid Preset (ENB)- Adjustment to some DNI settings
NAT/COT/Vanilla Preset- No changes.
- ENB DOF= adjustment to all DOFs and added a new stronger Screen-Archery DOF
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Version 3.4
- NAT- Preset updated with minor color adjustments and DNI (ENB version) adjustments due to an update to the NAT mod.
Vivid- Change out LUT file used. Adjustment to colors and contrast. Adjustment to DNI settings (ENB version)
ENB- Added 2.0 night adjuster option.
- NAT- Preset updated with minor color adjustments and DNI (ENB version) adjustments due to an update to the NAT mod.
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Version 3.3
- Added many new features to ENB (Thanks to l00ping)
- New Apply Game Color Correction (AGCC) mode
- New ENB MXAO added to ultimate presets (Thanks to Marty McFly)
- New one-click adjusters for interiors & night brightness settings
- Restructured DNI settings to be organized by time of day rather then type of effects
NAT Preset was updated for ENB version only. DNI settings slightly tweaked to work with updated NAT weather mod.
- Added many new features to ENB (Thanks to l00ping)
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Version 3.2
- Thanks to l00ping who ported over ReShade effects I use into ENB I no longer need to have a ReShade + ENB version.
ENB- All reshade effects ported over to ENB. No changes to settings in presets.
ReShade Only- Just a version # Change.
- Thanks to l00ping who ported over ReShade effects I use into ENB I no longer need to have a ReShade + ENB version.
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Version 3.1
- COT Preset Only- Updated to work better with V5.4se of COT. Disabled adaptation effect (ENB version). Adjustment to DPX & Technicolor2 for color balance with new COT. Adjustment to gamma/contrast. Adjustment to DNI settings (ENB version)
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Version 3.0.1a
- ENB Version Change only: Updated DOF shader to Marty McFly's most recent version. Which added better performance. I also had to change my DOF settings due to previous version settings not having the same results with new shader. I also added in an Extreme DOF option.
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Version 3.0
- COT- Adjustment to COT preset which I enabled adaptation effect for ENB versions to help with transition between bright/darker areas. Also some adjustments to color settings in reshade.
NAT-Slight adjustment to DNI to darker nights a slight bit.
Vivid- No changes
Vanilla/True Stroms- No changes
All Presets- All ENB presets has a slight adjustment to DOF effect which I added a slight strong Bokeh effect.
Disabled HDR Hotkey due to it having conflicts at time which it would actually become the ReShade toggle on/off key. So, to alleviate any issues just removed the hotkey.
- COT- Adjustment to COT preset which I enabled adaptation effect for ENB versions to help with transition between bright/darker areas. Also some adjustments to color settings in reshade.
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Version 2.9
- Added Natural and Atmospheric Tamriel (NAT) Preset.
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Version 2.8.1
- ENB Version- Slight adjust to red setting under DPX in reshade. New Day Night Interior Separation for brightness, contrast, saturation and tone mapping. Updated to new version on DOF Shader by Marty McFly for better performance. Updated bloom to work better with new DNI settings. Added new enbeffectpostpass shader which adds Sharpening (active) and letterbox, film grain, blur and vignette (all those not active)
ReShade Version- Slight adjustment to red setting under DPX for Vanilla and Vivid Preset.
- ENB Version- Slight adjust to red setting under DPX in reshade. New Day Night Interior Separation for brightness, contrast, saturation and tone mapping. Updated to new version on DOF Shader by Marty McFly for better performance. Updated bloom to work better with new DNI settings. Added new enbeffectpostpass shader which adds Sharpening (active) and letterbox, film grain, blur and vignette (all those not active)
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Version 2.8
- All Presets- Adjusted presets to work better with ELFX. Reduce red levels across all presets. Adjusted contrasts for all presets. Adjusted MXAO for all versions. Updated to new Natural Bloom 3.0 (MaxG3D) for ENB Ultimate presets
Vanilla/True Storms- Adjusted saturation slightly. Removed Film Grain. Added dither.
COT- Adjusted saturation slightly. Removed Film Grain. Added dither.
Vivid- Updated for Vivid V1.00. Adjustment to saturation.
- All Presets- Adjusted presets to work better with ELFX. Reduce red levels across all presets. Adjusted contrasts for all presets. Adjusted MXAO for all versions. Updated to new Natural Bloom 3.0 (MaxG3D) for ENB Ultimate presets
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Version 2.7
- Added new bloom shader by MaxG3D to ENB Ultimate Presets
COT Preset- Updated for COT 5.3
Vanilla/True Storms- Slight adjustment to red levels
Vivid Preset- Adjustment to contrast
- Added new bloom shader by MaxG3D to ENB Ultimate Presets
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Version 2.6
- -Updated to updated DOF Shader by Marty McFly
- Updated Vivid Preset for updated vivid weather V.99
- -Updated to updated DOF Shader by Marty McFly
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Version 2.4
- V2.4a- Updated for ENB Binary .310. Implemented new ENB effects to be used. DOF, Dither, Adaptation, Blur and Color Correction (mainly brightness and gamma control) Also, updated for COT V5.2
V2.4b- Updated COT preset for new COT V5.2. (Very minor adjustment from V2.3)
- V2.4a- Updated for ENB Binary .310. Implemented new ENB effects to be used. DOF, Dither, Adaptation, Blur and Color Correction (mainly brightness and gamma control) Also, updated for COT V5.2
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Version 2.3
- Only change was for COT preset. Had to make correction to preset. Wrong one was uploaded in V2.2
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Version 2.1
- Updated to newer version of MXAO by Marty McFly. Better performance.
ReShade Changes- Disabled FXAA. Adjustment to Lumasharpen. Disabled Dither. Adjustment to filmgrain.
MXAO Changes- Adjustment for better effect and performance with newer version of MXAO.
- Updated to newer version of MXAO by Marty McFly. Better performance.
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Version 2.0
- Included Presets for: Default Version, Ultimate Edition, Color Correction Only and Special FXs add on.
ReShade Changes- Adjustment to FXAA/SMAA/Lumasharpen. Minor color adjustment. Lowered Guassian Blur amount.
MXAO change- Slight adjustment to effect and slightly better performance
DOF change- Minor adjustment to blur strength and quality.
Bloom change- Slight adjustment to strength and trigger point.
- Included Presets for: Default Version, Ultimate Edition, Color Correction Only and Special FXs add on.
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Version 1.0
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- Donations
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- Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 Disc Size 3.8GB 10.16GB Install 3.8GB (optional) 4376MB (mandatory) Surround Support Dolby Digital Dolby Digital, DTS, 5.1LPCM, 7.1LPCM Welcome to Skyrim, Bethesda's long-awaited fantasy opus where you're free to carve out your own adventure. And of course, welcome to the new engine that powers the open-world experience, plainly dubbed the 'Creation Engine'. Although still partially based on the Gamebryo code that runs behind the scenes in Oblivion and Fallout 3, much has been made by Bethesda of how their new technology has improved character animations, lengthened draw distances on scenery and enhanced the game's AI systems. But put into practice on all three formats, are the differences really big enough to warrant this rebranding?All the basic tenets of what makes the Elder Scrolls series so engaging are present and correct in this release and translate convincingly to all three platforms. This includes the day-night cycles, the dynamic weather, and the much-hyped NPC routines - each of which help to breathe life into the many miles of its uncharted terrain. Putting the inevitable list of glitches that are associated with such a huge balancing act aside (some of which we'll address later), it was quite rightly awarded a 10/10 in Eurogamer'sSkyrim review for delivering on a very lofty ambition.Focusing on on the differences between the console versions first, here's our head-to-head video backed up by an exhaustive Skyrim triple-format comparison gallery, beefed up a little with extra shots since it was first posted. The 360 shots and footage are taken with the game running from DVD - as you're most likely aware, there are texture streming issues if you run the game from the Xbox 360 hard drive.A cursory look at the game reveals that the often-seen gamma level difference between the two consoles is present, giving PS3 more dynamic range in terms of colour at the expense of seeming a little 'washed out' in comparison to the Xbox 360 game.Anti-Aliasing and PS3 Blur
Looking closer, more significant differences start to become apparent. Perhaps the most striking is the marked blurriness to the PS3's image quality in general, particularly on textures. This is not a streaming issue - although each console displays instances of those - but instead something that affects every texture in the game despite the artwork being of equivalent quality to the 360's.According to our pixel counting tests on high-contrast edges, we can confirm this has nothing to do with the framebuffer itself. Fortunately, both the PS3 and 360 run at the full, promised 1280x720 native resolution. With the possibility of a sub-HD scenario ruled out, we can turn to the next potential culprit for the lack of clarity to the PS3 image: the anti-aliasing methods chosen by each platform.On 360, the AA situation isn't so clear. Perhaps we have a selective 4x multi-sample anti-aliasing (MSAA) scouting out edges, which in conjunction with the 1280x720 resolution makes it very comparable to the approach taken in Fallout 3. However, other scenes suggest that some form of post processing is the order of the day, as long edges can look very, very clean. Regardless, the overall look on Xbox 360 is very polished indeed, though we note that transparencies (such as waterfalls) can blitz edge-smoothing in some situations.While the PS3's post process AA method is thorough, it can affect the clarity of textures throughout the game. The definition on specular highlights in these screenshots is lost whenever FXAA is involved. The blurring on PS3 is almost certainly down to the implementation of NVIDIA's FXAA technology, which is also included as an option on PC. Best described as an 'intelligent blur', this post-processing technique attempts to identify high contrast edges at a pixel level. FXAA stands for fast approximate anti-aliasing and the 'approximate' part of its name is appropriate in that it processes everything within the final frame without prejudice. This includes geometry, 2D elements, and also the content of textures, which leads to the subtle blurring evident on floors and walls. Foliage also gets smoothed off - something that doesn't seem to happen on the Xbox 360 where it often looks as though anti-aliasing is applied before transparent objects and effects are rendered.Object detail and draw distances are two of the other big advances touted in favour of Skyrim's new engine, and again, it's the PS3 that stands out with a few more compromises in these areas. The SpeedTree engine previously used to render all the flora in Oblivion has since been supplanted by a more dynamic, in-house code that allows higher detailed flora to appear at further afield. This means that foliage (not to mention water) can now react according to wind speed and direction - a very impressive, yet subtle touch that adds greatly to the believability of the world.Tree detail has been toned down on PS3, but this is the kind of discrepency you'd only notice in a side-by-side comparison. Draw distances are a slightly larger issue, however, with rock formations not streaming in until you get much closer on PS3. Regarding object detail, there's a reduction in the complexity of trees and plant models on Sony's hardware, with branches being culled outright from trees to reduce CPU load. Factoring in the effects of the post-processing at play on PS3, however, the omissions to detail here are difficult to spot even in a side-by-side comparison. Outside of foliage, all other objects are identical across both versions, suggesting that densely packed forests were a specific point of contention for the hardware at some stage in the PS3 version's design.Draw Distance and Fade-In
There's a disparity in draw distance settings too (or object fade as it's referred to in the PC's advanced settings) which comes across as a larger issue. The distance at which grass is rendered is equal on both consoles, with the equivalent PC setting being placed at 7 on the relevant slider. It's a different story for objects and landscape geometry such as rocks on mountainsides though. In our 'walk-forward' shots on each console, we see the 360 draws in objects from much farther afield, with some rocky formations refusing to swap in on PS3 until the player walks forward a few seconds more.The issue here is not the absence of objects being visible from a distance, but rather how subtly these objects fade in on each console. Naturally, the greater the distance between the player and the object when this switch occurs, the better it is for the sense of immersion. All three platforms suffer from some obvious pop-in to a point, particularly when running across long stretches around mountainous terrain, but it's fair to say that it does so at a slightly more noticeable range on Sony's platform. Again, both consoles are quite similar in these regards, but as with the shadows, the 360 does offer a slight edge in handling these elements.Up close, shadows look much more defined on PS3. Step further away, however and the shadow cascade reveals itself more noticeably on the console, leaving the 360 with a fuller, clearer appearance overall. Shadows are the next big distinguishing point between the two console versions. Up close, there's a certain softness to the 360's implementation which may lead some to prefer the PS3's crisper, more defined look. This is only the case when at close range, as detail deteriorates significantly at a distance. From our comparison shots, it appears the draw distance on shadows is slightly further afield on 360, and they tend to pop-in in with more subtlety when running across long stretches of terrain.By comparison, the PS3's shadows do take a turn for the worse when putting distance between your character and smaller objects, such as NPCs or minor foliage. Compared to the 360, these look significantly pared down and tend to flicker quite noticeably on camera movement, which can be a distraction. Curiously, the shadows projected by buildings on PS3 aren't as greatly affected, and retain their solid, darkened look regardless. The flickering effect can occasionally be a problem on 360 too, as shown during the opening cut-scene. It can even reveal itself when the sun edges across the sky (causing all shadows in a town to jut across), but it is far less prevalent.The more eagle-eyed may have also noticed that in some of the comparison shots, shadows appear to be completely absent, or pared back on PS3. The issue here appears to be an off-set bias, where the shadow appears to be 'sunk in' to the scene. Not a massive issue by any stretch of the imagination but slightly weird nonetheless.Skyrim Performance Analysis
So with image quality leaning in favour of Microsoft's hardware, how does either console version stack up in terms of performance? Bethesda's games have a history of doing a better job of landing on the 30FPS target on 360, although typically at the cost of tearing when the engine is put under strain. Games like Fallout 3 New Vegas on PS3, meanwhile, opt to take much larger hits to the frame-rate in order to preserve the integrity of each frame - v-sync is engaged and there is no tearing whatsoever. Putting strictly engine-driven cut-scenes and traversal shots of Skyrim through our analysis tools paints a very familiar picture.The introductory cut-scene reveals that each console has its own issues with rendering. It's a one-off, and while not indicative of the open-world adventuring that makes up the rest of the game, it does demonstrate what happens when multiple NPCs are in the same place at once. Results are very much as predicted: the 360 resumes its previous strategy of building the experience around a fairly consistent 30FPS update, although it is prone to dropping v-sync where necessary. On the PS3, the complete opposite is true, whereby it's determined to bear the brunt of these frame-rate drops in order to keep v-sync engaged. The basic difference, then, is that one tears under strain, and the other produces a perceptible judder in equivalent situations.The root causes for these deficits in performance are remarkably like-for-like. The problem areas include multiple light sources, the mist effects above waterfalls, and the presence of too many NPCs in town centres, all of which can bring the PS3 down to 25FPS. Through it all, the 360 is committed to holding out at 30FPS by simply disengaging v-sync, with frame-rate drops on the console during traversal being a rarity. In the general run of play, the tearing we see is a worthwhile trade-off in order to preserve controller response, which would have otherwise been impacted by lower frame-rate refresh.All told, performance in these sections is very impressive given the ambition of the game, and the scope of the play-field. However, operating under similar conditions, it's worth mentioning that the PS3 can drop frames for one more reason; namely, stuttering, which occasionally crops up in larger environments when geometry decides to pop in on the horizon. This isn't as much of a distraction as it was in Fallout 3 New Vegas, but the issue can potentially be exacerbated by faster walking speeds afforded by stat increases, or even different modes of transport.So while performance is respectable during passive, exploratory sections of the game, it must be said that the issues hinted at with rendering multiple light sources and 4+ NPCs do become more glaring when taken to an extreme. For example, a Warrior character build can wield fire spells from the off - an effect that produces a dynamic, moving light source. When placed into a candle-lit arena with other magic users in combat, performance on PS3 drops down to 20FPS or lower for protracted periods of play, while the 360 tears constantly in a bid to prevent going further below 25FPS.This is not an ideal situation on either platform, of course, but in terms of sheer playability stemming from sharper controller response, the 360 version is clearly the one optimised best for most situations. The tearing is indeed aggressive at these points, and that can understandably be off-putting for some players (and may well influence your purchase). However, there's more to be gained in translating the player's inputs to the game without delay than what is ultimately lost here in image quality.Speaking of controller response, it's worth mentioning that players of the PS3 version are reporting an increase in controller latency once save files reach a certain size (the established estimate being 5.5MB). This also proved to be an issue in previous Bethesda titles for the console, harking all the way back to the days of Oblivion, which makes it all the more surprising a patch hasn't come to save the day yet.In the here and now, the issue hasn't manifested during our gameplay, but a colleague has switched over to the Xbox 360 version after 18 hours of play on PlayStation 3, describing the difference as 'revelatory' and the reports from other gamers make for some grim reading. This is something we'll try to look at in more depth as we attempt to make the issue manifest here. Stay tuned.A PC the action
Like many developers now making a big splash on consoles, the PC was the starting point for Bethesda. Its pedigree on PC-side development stretches all the way back to the late eighties, and it has since been the home to every Elder Scrolls game from Arena through to Oblivion.Although times have changed, PC fans' expectations for their beloved platform have not. Mod tools are expected. Improved textures, driver-based SSAO support, and custom tailoring via .ini file tweaks are expected. Although it was recently confirmed during Game Informer's Q&A session with director Todd Howard that 360 version was for all intents and purposes being treated as the lead platform, it's a relief to see the PC version has been given a little love and attention. Here's how the PC game looks in comparison to the Xbox 360 version, and there's a PS3/PC mirror of this video just a click away.After the Steam download and install, weighing in at 5740MB, we went with the recommended settings for our chosen setup - a 2.4GHZ Q6600 quad core system coupled with 4GB of DDR2 RAM and a 1GB Radeon 6870 GPU - all relatively cheap components that entitled us to the 'High' settings bracket. This comes pre-set with everything from 8x MSAA and 8x anisotropic filtering to reflections of land, objects and trees (but not sky). Put into comparison with the 360 version in like-for-like 720P footage, the image quality is at the very least on par, and often improved in discrete ways.Put under close inspection, many of the texture assets seem remarkably similar to consoles, although the tops of castle walls are clearly using different textures entirely. Meanwhile, in Helgen Keep, the addition of more detailed specular highlights on the columns and flooring adds greater definition to the scene. Outdoor shots also reveal differences in object placement; not only do trees look fuller by comparison, by virtue of having yet more branches over the 360 version, but there are simply more of them dotted around the landscape. Alongside the longer draw distance on shadows, these improvements all serve to make the world look richer and more alive from a distance.The look of the PC version is remarkably similar to that of the consoles, which is a testament to the deft coding hands at Bethesda. Improvements are present though, especially by way of draw distances on trees and shadows, plus higher quality textures in spots. As previously mentioned, FXAA is also supported on PC. This is a boon to those running graphics cards with too little VRAM to capably factor in MSAA, and is welcomed as a relatively low-cost alternative. The implementation here is of higher precision than the PS3's offering too and when used in combination with standard MSAA can deliver a delightfully smooth overall image. Meanwhile, although native screen-space ambient occlusion (SSAO) is not officially supported in the advanced control panel, the effect is possible on NVIDIA cards by means of tweaks to driver settings. It's a similar situation for effects such as self-shadowing trees and land shadows, both of which can be edited in via Skyrim's .ini file.Regarding actual playability on this PC build, it's slightly disappointing to see that the game's support of only two threads is bottlenecking performance in such a way that we were denied a pure 60FPS experience. The lack of support for quad-core processors suggests that the engine upgrade isn't quite as advanced as many would have liked - the report by Tom's Hardware on PC Skyrim performance is very enlightening.Nevertheless, we made the most of the situation by forcing a 30FPS cap to avoid the wild fluctuations in response. For monitors operating at a 60Hz refresh with v-sync engaged, forcing this lower frame-rate works well in producing judder-free camera motion, and at least this target frame-rate was more sustainable than on consoles and it has to be said that Skyrim definitely benefits from being rendered at higher resolutions.The ability to run the PC version at high resolutions makes a big difference to the visual impact of the game. Despite being developed with console in mind first and foremost, the artwork still has enough quality to deliver at higher resolutions. However, in common with the lack of polish on other versions, there have been problems with bugs on PC - input lag being one of them. For those affected, this can be resolved by yet another simple .ini tweak, where changing the 'iPresentInterval' value to 0 helps alleviate the issue for most people. Another workaround to this is simply using the 360 controller - a whole-hearted addition that activates seamlessly once plugged in. You do lose the greater range of control afforded by a keyboard's hotkeys, but it's comforting to know that the option is there and kitted out with a fully redesigned user interface.Skyrim: The Digital Foundry Verdict
So to round up, this is a valiant overall effort by Bethesda at delivering a bewilderingly huge fantasy game to three platforms, each of varying technical strengths and weaknesses. But, despite their best and most well-meaning efforts at achieving parity on both consoles, we can confirm that the 360 does command a clear advantage over the PS3 when it comes to both image quality and performance. Even with the PS3's mandatory install, the geometry pop-in in certain areas is more distracting than it is on Microsoft's platform, and the light blur introduced by its post-processing tends to affect the clarity of the image as a whole.For those lucky enough to be multi-platform owners, the 360 version also comes recommended for its more stable frame-rate. With that being said, they're both perfectly acceptable taken on their own terms, and the core of Skyrim's complex open-world design remains entirely intact on each. However, the save game issue on PS3 remains a concern and we'll continue to carry on playing there in order to see if its manifestation necessitates a blog update.Meanwhile, it goes without saying that the PC offers the best-case-scenario experience, with mod tools likely set to add to the long-term appeal of the game. If you can afford even a medium-level rig, and would like to dabble in the range of tweaks possible to the game's engine, this option is well worth your time and money.Sign inSkyrim Fxaa On Or Off Youtube
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