SKYRIMLE Ultimate Lighting Overhaul

[kuroyume87]

Just uploaded on Skyrim Nexus. https://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/37846//?

 From the look of it, it sounds (and look) promising. Especially for people with a mid-rig machine, like me. Unfortunately, I personally can't test it right away as I am waiting for a new SSD hard disk to improve my laptop performance, and I have format erased the memory right yesterday (part of skyrim setup I've backed up anyway).

 

It would be cool to hear an opinion about this by the Step community...

[TechAngel85]

The lite version I wouldn't recommend without SMAA (if that's possible) Since you have to turn off all hardware AA, the lite version is a drab. However, the High version looks promising since FXAA is turned on and the "jaggies" are mostly gone. If it can still be paired with SMAA then that could take care of that while keeping the lite version. As for the Ultra, I'm not sure how I feel about the Gaussian blur. Altogether the Ultra with the full effect most definitely gives the game a different "feel" that I'm sure some will love.

 

I would like to see some comparative screenshots between vanilla and the High version.

[VoidNull]

Hello there! I am the author of ULO and would be happy to answer any questions. 

 

ULO is just a highly tweaked configuration file for the SweetFX shader suite, so it supports both SMAA and FXAA with a tiny ini tweak:

 

In the file named SweetFX_settings.txt at the very top you will find the following options.

 

/*-----------------------------------------------------------.

  /                      Choose effects                         /

  '-----------------------------------------------------------*/

 

// Set to 1 for ON or 0 for OFF

#define USE_SMAA_ANTIALIASING 0 //[0 or 1] SMAA Anti-aliasing : Smoothens jagged lines using the SMAA technique.

#define USE_FXAA_ANTIALIASING 1 //[0 or 1] FXAA Anti-aliasing : Smoothens jagged lines using the FXAA technique

 

 

This is the standard SweetFX layout.  

 

If you wish to add FXAA or Switch out FXAA for SMAA simply make the edit in the config file. 0 is off, 1 is on. 

 

SweetFX's SMAA uses a tiny bit more performance than FXAA, and I also exaggerated the FXAA settiogs to enhance the Gaussian Blur quality without causing any drop in performance.

[statmonster]

Looks interesting -thanks for pointing it out!

[phazer11]

And also between say an ENB with RLO and/or ENB with ELFX

[VoidNull]

I uploaded a screenshot of Vanilla, as requested. Its an Exterior shot, so you can compare it with all Ultra, High and Lite. 

 

Edit: Screenshots have been updated to better represent the current version with CoT.

 

This is Ultra:

 

This is the High without the Gaussian Blur:

 

 

This is "Vanilla" Lighting with RCRN and ELFX:

 

And here is Sharpshooters:

 

Sharpshooters looks stunning but that scene runs at 20 FPS on my GTX 580, where as my Ultra runs at 60 FPS and the GPU is only at 12% additional load from vanilla. If I were going to take screenshots I would use Sharpshooters, but I would much rather play with mine.

 

:)

[TechAngel85]

Author states it's not as good as ENB which I why I'm most curious about compares to vanilla. Not too mention ENB compares would could take forever because of the vast amounts of them. However, if someone wants to tackle that, have at it! :D

 

Thanks for the information, VoidNull. If you'll send a PM to Z or Farlo on Nexus, they'll set you up with a Mod Author badge here on the STEP forums.

[VoidNull]

Not to toot my own horn but I think ULO is on par with 98% of the ENB's out there at a fraction of the performance cost. There are a few exceptions but those ENB profiles come at a staggering hit to performance. I picked Sharpshooters as the Comparison as its the most intensive and most download so almost everyone has some idea of how Sharpshooters runs for them so it acts as a good baseline for comparison. 

 

:)

 

If people are interested in an even better looking version of ULO then that can be arranged. However every enhancement comes at the cost of performance and I felt that with the initial release of the mod it was important to emphasize the performance gained VS your average ENB as that's what really distinguishes it from all of the ENB profiles out there. That being said I could use every setting SweetFX has to offer and still only take half the performance hit of Sharpshooters ENB.

[phazer11]

In before Aiyen asks to integrate the mod into his ENB which uses SweetFX. IDK if he will but who knows.

As for sharpshooter's I never really liked the look so I don't have any idea what it is like performance wise.

[TechAngel85]

I uploaded a screenshot of Vanilla, as requested. Its an Exterior shot, so you can compare it with all Ultra, High and Lite. 

 

:)

 

This is Ultra:

 

This is the High without the Gaussian Blur:

 

 

This is "Vanilla" Lighting with RCRN and ELFX:

Thanks! I see the bright snow issue with RCRN in the vanilla shot (of course it's not "real" vanilla seeing RCRN and ELFX is still used but provides a good idea). You've done a good job. More saturation, a little more brightness, and a bit more contrast is seen.

[VoidNull]

Little bit of an update. Due to popular demand I'm currently checking out CoT and Relighting Skyrim. If my own tests go well then the next version of ULO may be more geared towards those two mods instead of RCRN and ELFX. 

 

ULO should work with and enhance just about anything, but if CoT and RS are better then I see no reason not to use them.

 

:)

 

Edit: So I like the look of CoT over RCRN, but im not a fan of the washed out look of ROL. So I will now be working on tweaking more towards CoT + ELFX.

 

ULO will work just fine with either CoT, RCRN, ELFX or ROL, or any other lighting more for that matter... but this is more a case of what the mod will be fine tuned towards.

[TechAngel85]

Might be a wise move. RCRN is becoming a bit "old school" it would seem in the community. I rarely hear about it anymore.

[VoidNull]

Thanks for the advice! Ive been away from Skyrim for almost a year so I was not up to date with all the popular mods. 

 

Anyway, v1.1.0 of ULO has been released and has been optimized to work with CoT.

 

:)

[Aiyen]

Posted by phazer11 - Today 03:55 AM

In before Aiyen asks to integrate the mod into his ENB which uses SweetFX. IDK if he will but who knows.

As for sharpshooter's I never really liked the look so I don't have any idea what it is like performance wise.

Hehe phazer11 ;) 

 

Yes I already use SweetFX since it does add a few extra Post Process features that is just pointless to add to ENB since they are already in SweetFX, and the addition is simple. 

 

As for performance, then obviously SweetFX will be able to outmatch only ENB in performance, since SweetFX essentially only adds color correction shaders (Not counting the AA ones). If you only use ENB to add color correction then it will also have a very good performance (50+ FPS on my GTX660). So to compare the performance of SweetFX and ENB is pointless since the basis for comparison is not even remotely the same. For comparison then my ENB preset which use SweetFX as well can do 30-40 FPS on my card with my ini changes etc. 

 

Also Sharpshooters ENB is old..... and is not optimized for the newer more optimized versions of ENB. The only reason it is suddenly so popular again is due to gophers video off it, then again everything he touches gets a lot of action due to the exposure. 

 

Currently I am working on an CoT ELFX version instead of an CoT RLO version. This mainly because with the recent update of ELFX then I do think it looks superior to RLO. 

Took me all day to make it compatible with my SR install.... man I hate Sounds of Skyrim! But I digress. RCRN... it is old by now, and I while I still think it works, then CoT 3.1 is just better imo. As for upcoming weather mods then I know JawZ is working on his own that is entirely optimized and made for ENB tweaking, but is only going to contain revised versions of the vanilla weathers and perhaps a few more. Really looking forward to seeing his work. 

 

But again there is no point in comparing this with ENB from a technical point of view, since it just does not make any sense. 

One could of course take this tweak and then simple add it to an ENB and use its color correction while still keeping the detailed shadows etc. 

 

Edit: Should not call it a mod, since it is essentially only a tweak. The mod would be SweetFX but alterations to it are tweaks. Need to start reminding myself of that when talking about ENB´s as well :S

[VoidNull]

Yep, it is just a preset for SweetFX and I have never alluded to it being anything more. However, SweetFX is not emblazoned into the public mind like ENB is and simply calling it "Blah SweetFX profile" would have been a great way to have it go completely ignored. 

 

The only artistry is that ULO uses a lot of tricks to fake other lighting effects in order to keep absolutely rock bottom performance usage over even other pure SweetFX profiles, let alone the average ENB profile. It does not change the shadows, it does not actually change the in game lighting, it doesnt use real HDR or even ambient occlusion... but it fakes those things at about 80% quality and 7x the performance of ENB. 

 

ULO is not designed for people who want the most amazing looking Skyrim ever. ULO is designed for people who want Skyrim to look good without sacrificing performance. So mostly people with Older PC's, Laptop users and those who like the idea of ENB but could never justify the performance loss and would rather turn up other settings. Anyone who has a favorite ENB profile already will more likely than not want to stick with their favorite ENB profile because as you said, ENB can do things that SweetFX does not. ULO is here to fill a hole in the market and service the people that ENB left behind, not to directly compete with ENB. 

 

:)