SKYRIMLE RCRN v36 HDR

[TechAngel85]

I know there is a 3.5 thread, but it's all a rant about using search (probably should be deleted) and this is 3.6.

 

Realistic Colors and Real Nights 3.6 (RCRN)

https://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/1875

 

 

After writing the lighting guide for the wiki I felt like RCRN needed a voice and a place here in the mod suggestions. I did a lot of testing with RCRN as a standlone lighting overhaul and with ENBs. RCRN consistently was either at the top of the list or coming in second place. The only place this wasn't true was when combining it with Project ENB (that ENB is a beast all of it own and doesn't seem to play by the normal rules...haha! fyi...CoT works best with Project ENB out of the lighting mods because CoT doesn't really alter the ENB lighting)

 

Back on topic... RCRN consistently provided the best "natural" lighting across the board with only a very few exceptions (Project ENB). The colors aren't overly and unnaturally vibrant; they're enhanced with just the right about of light, especially when used in combination with an ENB. The sun rays on other lighting mods (aka RLwC) are at times drastically over done to the point you have to look at the ground to see. RCRN controls the sun rays well; providing a good balance. The nights are also customizable to please just about everyone on their preferred lighting at nights. I found Classic to be a good balance and the most natural. This is most likely all due to the fact the developers use "real life" lighting sources as their models.

 

Quick rundown of other nice features:

• Dynamic Interiors
• Volumetric Fog
• Sunset and Dawn Lighting
• Dynamic Weather
• Enhanced Weather Sounds (includes for interiors)
• Customizer to control features
• FXAA with no performance loss (TheCompiler's version, RCRN Plus, replaces this with improved SMAA over FXAA and can still be used with other ENBs)

There are some incompatible mods in STEP right now. Climates of Tamriel (CoT) is the biggest one out of those mods; however, RCRN comes with dynamic weather improvements of it's own. CoT failed when used without an ENB when it came to lighting in my tests. The majority of the time I couldn't distinguish CoT from Vanilla lighting; thus, between CoT and RCRN, RCRN came out on top. As for the majority of the others, RCRN addresses those with it's own versions and if it's just a texture then those are easily replaced by better ones in the STEP process.

 

Overall, I can't see why RCRN would not be a core or optional mod in STEP; possibly as a replacement for CoT. It does nothing to break immersion or lore and only enhances what is already in the the game, Volumetric Fog is optional for those that don't like it and it's install is STEP ready...just copy and paste or use the autoinstaller.

 

 

Thread.....posted.

Discussion.....initiated.

Waiting for response..............

[JudgmentJay]

I prefer RCRN over every ENB I've tried, but it's not without its flaws. Clear weather (weather id 81a) during the daytime does not look good to me. Its lighting feels harsh and ugly and there's too much glare on objects. Another problem with this particular weather id is that snow will be blinding unless you use the textures bundled with RCRN. Problem is they're very ugly. I was reading that TC's RCRN Plus alleviates this to some degree though? Going to try it out when I get home.

 

As for nights, interiors, rain, snow, etc... RCRN is unmatched in my eye.

[TechAngel85]

I understand that lighting is a very objective to the individual's personal tastes, quality of their monitor, etc. However, when reading around the forum I found that most mod testers, authors, modders, and even administration uses or prefers RCRN over other lighting mods. This left me dumbfounded as to why it's not a part of STEP.

 

And yes, CT's RCRN Plus does fix the blinding snow effects. There are so many textures in STEP that I don't think it would be hard to find one that works well with RCRN for the weathers and still look good. It's just a matter of testing which I would do, but am currently wrapped up in ENB/lighting combination testing. (that should be wrapped up soon) Like I said above, RCRN - Classic version and RLwC - Vision version are always at the top of the those lists with best overall lighting. RCRN just provides a lot more than lighting and for that, it's the clear choice in my book.

 

Obviously, incompatible mods (mainly those that change the weather, fog, and lighting) would have to be addressed as well as finding the right textures. Probably not something for the next minor release, but rather something for 2.3. I just feel that if so many are using RCRN that also use STEP then it should be an obvious choice to incorporate RCRN into STEP.

 

Though this might make the work in put into the lighting guide obsolete...lol

[EisDrache]

Actully I find the blinding in the snow very realistic especially when you think about real life. Back in the day there was alot less smog/polution which would make the snow alot whiter then it is today. Also the sun shining alot brighter then it does today. Which gives you the real life effect of Snow blindness. Which happens to alot of mountain climbers. Where they mostly get snow blindness is when they are high up usaully above all the clounds and smog and such.

[thalastwon]

At the time the last STEP version was written, RCRN 3.5/6 had not come out yet. Now that it's out though, I'm all for putting it back in STEP. Definitely beats COT by a mile in my eyes.

[Farlo]

This has been said numerous times (at least by myself). In the process of fleshing out v2.3 one of the first things we're going to do is set aside all the post-processing stuff (ENB, RCRN, RCwL, etc.) into an optional "Pack". With this method we can include a lot of options and really give the user some choice, so there won't be any more "RCRN is better than ENB! Put it back in STEP!" type arguments. Obviously a lot of testing needs to be done in order to objectively compare the various options, so please gather as many comparison screenshots and performance logs you can so we can back up our claims.

[rpsgc]

(...) so there won't be any more "RCRN is better than ENB! Put it back in STEP!" type arguments.

TC's RCRN Plus has both, so there! :P

[TechAngel85]

This has been said numerous times (at least by myself). In the process of fleshing out v2.3 one of the first things we're going to do is set aside all the post-processing stuff (ENB' date=' RCRN, RCwL, etc.) into an optional "Pack". With this method we can include a lot of options and really give the user some choice, so there won't be any more "RCRN is better than ENB! Put it back in STEP!" type arguments. Obviously a lot of testing needs to be done in order to objectively compare the various options, so please gather as many comparison screenshots and performance logs you can so we can back up our claims.[/quote']

That depends on the ENB. Some, like Project ENB, look better without a lighting mod. Some, like SkyRealism, a lighting mod only enhances the ENB further. This post wasn't to debate whether RCRN or an ENB is better. The point I am making is that RCRN is a great enough mod that it should be included in STEP and probably replace CoT. If a modder wants to use an ENB then RCRN will most likely only enhance the ENB; whereas, CoT does nothing but adds some dynamic weather and combining their optional presets have proven not that great of an idea with ENBs in my testing. RCRN overhauls the weather but adds so much more while sticking to lore. Those modders wanting to combine an ENB and lighting mod can head over the ENB Guide (when I get it updated) to view all these comparisons. My hours of testing will recommend which lighting mod to use with which ENB on the guide. However, those modders not planning on running an ENB would benefit more from RCRN than from CoT. These are all my opinions of course and that's why we can debate whether RCRN or CoT would be best in STEP. Most thus far from reading above prefer RCRN.

 

If you need some comparisons, there are two that I can't decide which is better. I'll post that in the Best of ENB_Visual Comparison thread if anyone wants to help decide. I'm running off of just 3hrs of sleep so please forgive if my writing comes off as harsh. It's not meant to be. :P How I feel---> HAHA!

[ssconvert]

Been out of the loop for a while and was wondering how RCRN plays with STEP? Are they compatible? I had used RCRN in a previous version of STEP and thought it had got the lighting just right, especially in the dungeons which is a must for immersion. Was wondering if anyone could answer the compatibility question, obviously COT and any ENB would be replaced.

Any help appreciated............

[TechAngel85]

They are compatible. Only thing that will be overwritten is a few textures that RCRN includes for snow and such.

[MontyMM]

Night of the Living Thread!

 

It doesn't get mentioned much these days, but I'm still quite fond of RCRN.  I find it works quite nicely with some of the more subtle ENBs.

[gamingsrc]

Awesome mod, I'm using it, precisely version beta 2.0.0 which work fine with STEP.

The next version will support Dragon Born DLC.

[Omolong]

I don't use this personally, but I've noticed that it can't be used with Realistic Lighting Overhaul, so the choice between them would have to be made if one of them were to be included in STEP or added in a similar fashion to Climates of Tamriel.

[gamingsrc]

RLO is an unfinished work as I have tested it for a week, also team that work on it is not organized at the present time.

 

RCRN support any thunder and audio weather mod including:

- Lightning During Thunder Storms

- Immersive Thunder

[TechAngel85]

No weather or lighting mods will be included in Core STEP at this time. We've decided that they all need time to mature in development. CoT was once in STEP and may be reevaluated soon since the completion of 3.1. If anyone would like to head over to CoT's thread and start advocating it we'll look into it for the next release.

 

https://forum.step-project.com/showthread.php?tid=628