Kahenraz

I probably broke something. I'll reinstall Skyrim and fix this. Thanks for the test. To reiterate: there is no reason to use 1.1.6 over 1.1.5. This is just me trying to make it work around the false positives.

I've been running some scans and have tweaked some of the code so that it now passes checks (according to jotti) for the most common virus scanners. All I did was rename some strings, use dynamic linking for the hooks, and not embed the global hook dll into NoLauncher.exe; akin to MO's hook.dll. FixCursor.exe still has two false positives; one on AntiVir and the other on ClamAV. I'll be sending them an e-mail to hopefully get this fixed. This new version is ~exactly the same~ as the 1.1.5 with some files renamed and the work done under the hood to keep the virus scanners happy. I'm linking it here until I can get the last two false positives fixed so I don't have a repeat on the Nexus. https://codespunk.com/files/upload/SkyWnd_1.1.6-testing.zip It has "testing" in the name since I do not have Skyrim installed at the moment and, as far as I know, I may have broken something. I would appreciate it if someone with 1.1.5 could compare and make sure that everything works. The software has been renamed to "SkyWnd: Better Windowed Mode" with the tagline: "Multi-Monitor Support and More" to help promote this feature.

At some point this mod was flagged as "under moderation review" on the Nexus because some automated scanning software thinks that it's a virus. For what it's worth, I've been a member of the Nexus community since 2003 back when it was a website devoted to Morrowind and just wanted to share a cool thing I wrote for myself. I don't know how to get it reposted or who to contact and I have not received any messages about this in e-mail or to my Nexus account. I'm pretty sure it's been like this for a couple of months, as I haven't checked it in a while. It's unfortunate because the last version added multi-monitor support for video cards which do not support it, which was the crowning feature. Does anyone know who to tap to get this lifted?

This sounds like a bug with enb. When the mouse is captured then it is owned by the Skyrim game engine and it is out of my hands. I don't know how enb handles the cursor, but you should file a bug report worth them if it isn't hooking mouse clicks properly. When the mouse is captured by the game, my tool is hands-off and let's it do it's thing.

Try setting FixCursorVisibility in enblocal.ini to "false".

The only file that this tool modifies is "..Documents\My Games\Skyrim\SkyrimPrefs.ini" to force windowed mode with "bFull Screen=0" and "iSize W/iSize H" if you specify a value other than 0 for ScreenWidth/ScreenHeight in Skyrim.ini. I do not modify any other files on disk and do not write to the registry. You can confirm this by setting TESV.exe and any other file you think is being modified to read-only. z929669, I can see that you're having some trouble but I'm going to need clear instructions on how to reproduce an error to even attempt to fix this. Also of note, if any program in the chain is set to forcibly run in administrative mode, then you should set them ALL to run in administrative mode. For example, Skyrim.exe will fail to work properly if skse_loader.exe or TESV.exe is set to run as an administrator; either disable this setting or enable it for Skyrim.exe.

There are portions of the source code I use in a commercial product and therefore am unwilling to release. The source is also written using a commercial compiler which would require a license to even compile the code. As as been previously stated, the code is not packaged and can be dropped into a debugger to view strings and function calls. The executables also pass most online scans with the exception of some "generic" red flags which are due to the fact that I use low level hooks. I've been a member of the Nexus community since its incarnation in 2003 and worked with members such as Suzerain and Theta Orionis, long before it was even a "nexus"; use this as credibility if you like. Don't forget that using my software is no different from ENB, which is also closed source.

Let me know if you have any questions. I've also found that the FixCursorVisibility setting in enblocal.ini can interfere with my cursor handling. If you are using ENB and have a problem with this, set ENB's cursor fix to "false" in the ini file.

When my FPS drops (such as look out in the distance), my run speed falls significantly. Sometimes it's so bad that I'm almost literally running in place. It's completely aligned with my FPS. Had anyone experienced this before?

Bug fixes and support for spanning multiple monitors: https://nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/50221 Everytime I think I'm done and go to play I realize I want another feature. I've spent more time writing this than actually playing. Ha. :P Version 1.1.4 ------------- * Fixed a race condition at startup which could cause the game to appear locked up while in windowed mode * Fixed a bug introduced in 1.1.3 which would cause the window to no longer be resized smaller than the starting dimensions * Fixed an issue with letterboxing dimensions being wrong for aspect ratios less than 1 * It is now possible to specify resolutions larger than the native desktop limits for spanning multiple monitors of various configurations * Support for spanning multiple monitors added. Either set the desired resolution in your SkyrimPrefs.ini or in the Skyrim.ini. When entering full-screen with Alt-Enter and the set resolution is wider than the primary monitor, spanning is assumed and the window will be adjusted automatically to align against the left- most desktop relative to the primary monitor * Support for spanning low resolutions upscaled to multi-monitor width for fillrate limited video cards * Added support for letterboxing when using full-screen with resolutions which do not map to the monitor's aspect ratio

Multi-monitor support coming in the next version. There are some nice features with this that you won't get with native resolutions, such as the upscaling and spanning of lower resolutions to provide weaker video cards with surround capability. For example, I can use this to play at 4480x1080, a mismatched resolution considering I use a 23" in the center at 1920x1080 and 19" on the side at 1280x1024. But what if my video card can't handle such a high resolution? No problem! Scale it down.. in my case it would be 1866x450 with ForceSpanMonitors=true. Upscale and span for higher fps. I was pretty upset after I bought a GeForce 660 just so I could multi-monitor Skyrim only to find out that it doesn't support mismatched monitors. I tried SoftTH but it lagged badly and I lost windowed mode capability. So I added this feature to my tool. Yes, indeed. The way it should have been. :)

Fixed a few more bugs. I also added support for a splash image for anyone who would like to customize the loading screen: https://nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/50221 Splash customization may be attractive to S.T.E.P. by providing a form of branding to a modded installation. For example, when the user installs S.T.E.P. and launches Skyrim.exe the will see some custom art with your logo telling them they are indeed using your mod set. Version 1.1.3 ------------- * Fixed a bug where starting Skyrim.exe in windowed mode did not respect the screen aspect ratio until the window was resized * The starting window size now shrinks to match the screen resolution if it is smaller than the requested window dimensions rather than upscaling * Fixed a bug which would cause maximized letter boxing to disappear when reverting from full-screen to maximized windowed mode * Fixed a bug which could occur during the resizing of odd resolutions which would cause a small blank space to appear between the screen and the window borders * Windowed mode now opens centered rather than at the top left corner of the screen * Starup now provides instant feedback with a window clearly depicting Skyrim as "Loading". This splash image can be customized by placing a file "splash.png" in the same directory as Skyrim.exe. The dimensions must be 1:1 to be compatible with aspect-ratio resizing * Added a compatibility subroutine for capturing the Skyrim window in the event of a hook chain failure

New release and it's pretty rock solid: https://nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/50221 Version 1.1.2 ------------- * Fixed a bug which caused the internal windowed resolution to default to 1920x1080, regardless of the game resolution * Now allow alt-tabbing out while the game is at a loading screen; where is really matters * Fixed a bug where the game would only load up to a black screen if it was in a window but did not have focus * Fixed a bug which could cause the game window to disappear or shrink to a height of one pixel * Implemented support for Alt-F4 for closing the window when full- screen * Set the default capture position to the center of the screen (or window if in windowed mode) for consistency so that you will always know where to find your cursor when alt-tabbing out * Maximized letterboxing now respects the screen resolution's aspect ratio * Fixed a bug where restoring from a maximized window used the wrong aspect ratio * Fixed a bug which could occur in a maximized window which could block other windows from receiving focus with the mouse * It is no longer possible to bypass the game auto-pause when maximized or full-screen. The game will continue to remain unpaused while in windowed mode * Support for the Windows Display Manager (Aero) is required for windowed mode until a workaround can be provided

New version released: https://nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/50221 I just uploaded it so you might have to wait for it to sync with the server. Version 1.1 ----------- * Linear-interpolated downscaling added to provide a high quality windowed experience * Aspect ratio is now preserved on window sizing from any side and at all corners * Automatic letterboxing on maximize to preserve aspect ratio * The game no longer auto-pauses when focus is lost * Accidental support for multiple instances removed (broken). Use version 1.0 if you need this functionality

Is anyone aware of a way to prevent the game from pausing when it loses focus?

Everything that this tool does it superficial. If the game loads this far then there will be no problem. But even if I did go into the game, I have no idea what this does to know!

I made a patch for Friendly Guard Helmets: Get is here: Requiem - Friendly Guard Helmets Patch

Both the wrapper and the injector work fine. I get the ENBSeries display at the top left corner of the window. Updated the mod description with ENB compatibility.

This tool utilizes a global hook to prevent the Skyrim launcher from appearing on the screen and a low-level keyboard hook to detect the "Alt-Tab" keyboard combination. Either one may be triggering the false-positive, although it's most likely the global hook. The best I can do is remove the hook but then you'll have the launcher "blink" on the screen at startup. False positives are most likely: Skyrim.exe: Low-level keyboard hook NoLauncher.exe: Global hook FixCursor.exe: It probably doesn't like me calling SetSystemCursor() I did not use an exe compressor, as the files are pretty tiny as it is. Although running it through UPX would make them even smaller. It might break the hook provided by NoLauncher as it's embedded in the data section; I don't know if it would interfere. Exe packers are traditionally used to hide nefarious code by making them harder to scan. If I used a packer then these scanners would probably be really, really mad. The whole purpose of these tools is to hook and modify another application at runtime. It's not surprising that they're coming up as false positives. Which version should I use? It contains an injector and a wrapper version but no description of what each of them does.

From what I can tell, ENB seems to be a collection of things. Would someone please clarify what ENB is that everyone is referring to and where I can get it? The functionality of this tool is entirely superficial so it should be compatible with most everything with the exception other tools which interact with the game window.

I realized after I finished that I'd made it much more complicated than necessary. If I decide to revise this later I have ideas for things such as: Aspect-ratio locked resizingBicubic interpolation on resize (currently nearest-neighbor)Support for multiple instancesAlways display the game image (never go black if foreground is lost)Maybe more if I can think of anything. I was shocked after I'd finished that I'd stumbled upon a way to load multiple instances. Not what I was trying to do but still interesting nonetheless. :P

I don't know anything about ENB but it should work just fine. Everything this tool does is at runtime and through Win32 OS window handling routines.

Discussion thread: Skyrim.exe-The Way It Should Have Been by Kahenraz Wiki Link I just bought Skyrim the other day and I was sad to see the state of the window provided to us by Bethesda. Running it in window mode I experienced a lot of: Where'd my cursor go? Argh! Stop taking focus! No.. I only wanted to drag your window around.. give me my mouse back! So I wrote this to fix it. Works with or without SKSE. Uses BSD license so feel free to use it in S.T.E.P. Accepted for STEP:Core 2.2.9 - What mods does this replace? Issues running via MO need to be addressed